Torquay United v Exeter City - now 15/01/13

[AustrianAndyGull]

Cheers Ben. It's frustrating how we can follow the performance at Burton with this against bitter rivals. So far this season, every time i thought i had seen us put in a performance we could build on we have gone out the next game and played like chipmunks on ritalin. We just can't seem to string a couple of decent games together and i haven't a clue why. You could say that we are bound to be inconsistant as we are a league 2 club and just not very good but we just don't seem to have any ideas of how to get even a modicum of consistency together. To be fair to Ling he has tried umpteen different formations but none work. I think the manager can only take so much flak and maybe it's time for some of the players to really try and get their heads out of their rectums. Maybe i'm being unfair but Ling has had a go at all formations and often replaced attackers with attackers as subs when we have been in a lead so it's not all down to him trying to hang on. Like royalgull says, some of our players just aren't very good and some of our fans need to stop having such high opinions of some players who and perhaps accept that they have been wrong, or certainly mis-led.

Just read your comments Dave (forever) and the scenario you have described about Howe sounds like much of our early season form and if it is i am worried. Why can we be so flowing and purposeful with attackers all over the shop one week and then another not 3 days after be totally the opposite? It doesn't make sense. Something isn't quite right.

Oh and good post Ben. Can i moan about Billy now?

One day you will all have to come on here and eat the biggest humble pie of all time when it is finally confirmed that Billy is no good and has been no good since the day i said it 50 years ago. 8-] Not that i want that to happen. I've stuck with my opinion and that's all i can do.

[MH91]

rightly said Ben..the idea of being a fan is to support your team in good or bad..how is anyone going to benefit from Billy od Dnny being abused on the pitch? or even in a forum like this one...as Ben Mayhew said..the lower down the pyramid of football you go...the more you get the sence of community and the club actually rooted in the community..in that order of thoughts I am sure some of the players read the forum...

[Southampton Gull]

I wouldn't blame Bodin - he is in the team because we don't have anything better. Can someone explain to me How Exeter who don't have any money either can sign good players like Woodman,Amankwaah,Gow,Oakley and the like whilst we sign absolute dross and waste 70k in the process.

And still fail to beat us.....................

You really are clueless.

[gullintwoplaces]

I agree SG. Brucie throws around descriptions like "clueless" and "useless" like sweeties. Now of course he prefaces it with "my son, who was at the game, said we were useless".

We were not "clueless" or "useless" last night. We played well in the first half, poorly in the second. Some players (Manse, Saah, Downes, Rene, Poke) put in outstanding performances, how the hell is that "useless"? We are struggling at the moment for sure, Billy needs to be rested and maybe needs a few spells with a sports psychologist.

Now it is time to get behind the team, not knock them. And I thought that Danny WAS hacked down at the end, in the box, in front of a really "clueless" referee. His booking of Saah was a disgrace.

[Yellow4life]

Did anyone have a good view of Danny's appeal for a pen right near the end ? It looked like he was brought down and Manse made a big noise.

Clear foul, I was exactly opposite it. I believe it was just out of the penalty area however. Once the defender commits- he is in trouble.

[hector]

Frustrating to -yet again- concede a late goal. It is beyond a joke now as that is nine points thrown away in the last five minutes of the last six games. I would have taken a draw before the game and to be honest a draw was probably fair and if anything more than we deserved. I would say we shaded the first half but in the second half when they brought on Gow, Oakley and Keohane (if only we had players like to bring on) they really did look a different level to us. We were poor. Constantly losing possession and looking pedestrian compared to the composed clever football Exeter played in that second half. The two teams looked like they are: one going for promotion and the other more likely to be facing a relegation battle. Those who point to our games in hand are deluded. We are not winning. What use are games in hand when you cannot win and you concede goals at the end of matches? Two wins since October tells its own sorry tale. Simon Baker said on Tv or radio that he is 'not worried'. Well, I think those creased brows should start forming because we looked very poor last night.

I did not listen out for any interviews so I don't know if Ling said 'we're doing the same things as last year' or not. But patently whatever he is doing is not working. At best we looked mediocre but that is flattery.

As for the players, well,
Poke did all he could do. Only really had that save from a superb Exeter move when Keohane back heeled.
Oastler a bit hit and hope
Saah usual reliable self
Downes superb
Nicholson. I think we may be facing an uncomfortable truth as he seems to have struggled for a while now.
Craig had an excellent game
Mansell had a good game, much better than recent weeks.
Lathrope - think he struggles in 4-4-2. Better as that anchor in midfield, an example of things not being the same as last year, Martin Ling.
Bodin. Poor but I feel sorry for the lad. His confidence is shot and people on his back does not help. We have a superb player on our hands with him if it clicks. He needs our encouragement not barracking.
Jarvis did well and Howe as usual was immense.
Thompson and Stevens offered little when came on and their impact was negligible when compared to the game changing substitutions Exeter made.

All in all, I think Torquay fans have every reason to be worried. We can't win and we leak late goals. Not looking forward to us being exposed on sky in 12 days time.

[Lloyder5]

I agree SG. Brucie throws around descriptions like "clueless" and "useless" like sweeties. Now of course he prefaces it with "my son, who was at the game, said we were useless".

We were not "clueless" or "useless" last night. We played well in the first half, poorly in the second. Some players (Manse, Saah, Downes, Rene, Poke) put in outstanding performances, how the hell is that "useless"? We are struggling at the moment for sure, Billy needs to be rested and maybe needs a few spells with a sports psychologist.

Now it is time to get behind the team, not knock them. And I thought that Danny WAS hacked down at the end, in the box, in front of a really "clueless" referee. His booking of Saah was a disgrace.

No need for a paternity test there then!

[Plymouth Gull]

Clear foul, I was exactly opposite it. I believe it was just out of the penalty area however. Once the defender commits- he is in trouble.

Really? I was on the halfway line in the pop and there was no contact. Stevens was looking for it and he didn't get it.

I thought the other two pens were both definitely fouls too - their defender had his hand above his head which is always dangerous, whilst it looked like Oastler nicked Gow's ankle. Both excellent strikes too, thats how to take a penalty.

As for the game, first half we equalled them out really, not forcing many clear cut opportunities. We'd kept them quiet in the final third bar one or two chances. Then the second half, well, barring Mansell, Nicho, Poke, Downes and Rene, the other 6 players were still in the dressing room. We were shocking in the second half, I can't recall a sustained spell in their half. I admit, I said at half time that we needed to get an extra body in midfield as we were getting over-run, but for me the change came a bit too late. Jarvis didn't touch the ball in the second half, he was knackered. Bodin looked like he's eaten too much over Christmas and looked half-arsed in the second half, which isn't what you want in a derby. When he did do something well, he then overdid it and passed it straight to a blue shirt. I still believe there is the player we saw last year in there, but his confidence is shot to pieces and I'm struggling to see what we could do to help him. IF we had the squad/players then loaning him out for a month could be an option, but we don't.

Finally the game changing moment, or player, was Alan Gow. Class above. Thank god he didn't start otherwise we'd have been out of sight.

A note on the fans, bit of a disappointing turnout really, family stand was still basically empty which was appalling really.

Going to need to be much better than that against Chesterfield I fear.

[Dave]

Totaly agree with you Nick on the Stevens thing, as already said I could not have been closer or had a better view of it, the referee was in a perfect position he (ref) actually laughed is was such a poor attempt to con him. Stevens was lucky he didn't get booked.

[Richinns]

First half – We did alright. Probably slightly the better team. Some signs of decent link up play and the move from Bodin to Craig and then into Howe for the penalty was very encouraging.

Second half - complete joke. Looked like a team 2 divisions below our opponents. Let them run the game and when we did finally get the ball all we had the capacity to do was whack it as far as we can hoping Rene can control it, take it round 4 defenders and beat the keeper as he had no support so no other option. Midfields were none existent (all 5 of them when we changed it). We sat and waited for them to equalize. The mentality was completely wrong - I think with 15-20 mins go we had a rare venture into their half and Stevens tried to take it to the corner flag! The pitch was dreadful but Exeter managed to play the ball around alright so we had no excuse what-so-ever.
I am afraid Ling's idea of us liking to knock it around is a distant dream as we are very much now long ball and we don't even do that very well. I felt very sorry for Rene last night - he had about as much support second half as Jimmy Saville would have if he was still alive right now.

As for the t0ssers who have decided that every time Bodin touches the ball, runs, breaths etc and abuse him for anything they can think of - be very ashamed of yourselves. You are allowed your opinion but this has gone into the realms of bullying. He is only a kid and his form is bad but you guys are destroying him as a player currently and probably driving him out the club.
Once left he will go on to another team and show the talent he has got and all you lot will be left with is "he never did that for us". One bloke behind us shouted out - "70k - I will give you £70 to f*ck off Bodin". Both myself, Brother and Father felt the need to tell them exactly what we thought of their behaviour.
Seriously guys - try supporting your team instead of turning up at a game with an agenda of Bodin bashing.

[Plymouth Gull]

Does Ling actually know we are allowed to score more than once? Perhaps the lads should let him know..

[AustrianAndyGull]

First half – We did alright. Probably slightly the better team. Some signs of decent link up play and the move from Bodin to Craig and then into Howe for the penalty was very encouraging.

Second half - complete joke. Looked like a team 2 divisions below our opponents. Let them run the game and when we did finally get the ball all we had the capacity to do was whack it as far as we can hoping Rene can control it, take it round 4 defenders and beat the keeper as he had no support so no other option. Midfields were none existent (all 5 of them when we changed it). We sat and waited for them to equalize. The mentality was completely wrong - I think with 15-20 mins go we had a rare venture into their half and Stevens tried to take it to the corner flag! The pitch was dreadful but Exeter managed to play the ball around alright so we had no excuse what-so-ever.
I am afraid Ling's idea of us liking to knock it around is a distant dream as we are very much now long ball and we don't even do that very well. I felt very sorry for Rene last night - he had about as much support second half as Jimmy Saville would have if he was still alive right now.

As for the t0ssers who have decided that every time Bodin touches the ball, runs, breaths etc and abuse him for anything they can think of - be very ashamed of yourselves. You are allowed your opinion but this has gone into the realms of bullying. He is only a kid and his form is bad but you guys are destroying him as a player currently and probably driving him out the club.
Once left he will go on to another team and show the talent he has got and all you lot will be left with is "he never did that for us". One bloke behind us shouted out - "70k - I will give you £70 to f*ck off Bodin". Both myself, Brother and Father felt the need to tell them exactly what we thought of their behaviour.
Seriously guys - try supporting your team instead of turning up at a game with an agenda of Bodin bashing.

Totally agree with this Rich. Bengull and a few others have voiced their disappointment at the level and frequency of abuse towards Billy during games and for all that i think Bodin is weak mentally and a poor player i certainly wouldn't dish any abuse out during games. It is a lack of support and counter productive.

That said i do strongly believe that if myself ( or anyone else ) wants to come on the forum and say he's not very good, he should leave, he's a lazy player or whatever then i haven't got a problem with that and there is nothing wrong with that. Me saying that i think he's sh*t and i want him out is my opinion and not abuse. I feel it more appropriate to be saying it on here than actually shouting it from the stands at games. For what it's worth i totally agree with the bloke that shouted that but i wouldn't say it at a game but i'm perfectly within my rights to come on this forum and say it ( perhaps omitting the f*ck word for something like sod though 8/ ).

You are right, his form his bad and at least if i saw some improvement in his performances or he had a brilliant game one week and then three or four bad and struggled for consistency that way i may be swayed into giving him the benefit of the doubt but he has been really poor all season and there comes a point when the lad himself has to take some responsibility for this and accept that fans are right to be unhappy with what he has produced since signing. I also totally disagree that fans expect too much because of the financial outlay needed to bring him in, we're not expecting him to be like Messi but his output is persistent with a lower league BSP player and at least if he performed to the bare minimum standard expected from every player most weeks he would get a lot more support.

Whether i like Bodin or not is irrelevant, what is relevant is that his constant selection doesn't benefit the team overall nor does it offer us anything extra so on that basis i don't want him to play. Who we bring in to replace him is anyones guess but it is so obvious that the lad needs a total break for the benefit of his career and his confidence and i do have some sympathy in that respect.

I have said it before though that Ling will find it impossible to leave him out of the team because he was his flagship signing, he spent the cash given to him by the club and a benefactor and in his eyes he may feel a bit silly now given Bodins form and that he fast turning into a dud acquisition. He will want to see him succeed and that is admirable as if he can then we will have a decent player on our hands but at the moment it isn't working playing Bodin, it doesn't look like working playing Bodin and in our current predicament we need some bottle in the side and some battlers too.

I hope this post is reasonable and it is clear to you all that i am not a Bodin basher. I have poked fun of him ( and other players ) in my eccentric storylines in matchday threads but they are just for humour, there is no malice in them and i hope these 'jibes' aren't construed as abuse.

[Yellow4life]

the referee was in a perfect position

Actually, the referee was at a bad angle, in that area he should be on the left side approaching the touchline as the ball goes further up

I agree Nick about the game changer; Gow, we would have not had a chance. Suspect he will start with Cureton on 28th...

[Dave]

Does Ling actually know we are allowed to score more than once? Perhaps the lads should let him know..

Apparently Nick he does..http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 00832.aspx so this makes wonder why more player are not getting up to support our attacks.

[Dave]

Actually, the referee was at a bad angle, in that area he should be on the left side approaching the touchline as the ball goes further up

I agree Nick about the game changer; Gow, we would have not had a chance. Suspect he will start with Cureton on 28th...

Well as you are a referee I will bow to your knowledge, that said I still believe the ref got it spot on as I was close and at a perfect angle to see it as already said.