What i am struggling to understand is how we can so easily revert back to our old, early season ways of showing little attacking threat needing Howe to pluck a goal from nowhere when at Burton we were superb and nearly every attack involved 4, 5 or 6 Gulls players in advanced positions. Absolutely bizarre. The other bizarre thing about the Burton game too was the way in which we attacked and threw men forward given we were facing a side with one of the best home records in the division, who had one of the best goals scored to goals conceded ratio in the divison and who had a really offensive line up themselves. If ever there was a game in Lings mindset to keep it tight and be defensive then it was Burton away. I'm not complaining i'm just saying i found it completely weird having seen what had gone on before in the previous 24 games.
Maybe Ling did actually read one of my threads and said,"f*ck it, just go out and do stuff" . If so i loved it! I think the critical issue for the players now is confidence as every time we are just a goal up as the game wears on we become more jittery and the psychology must kick in that we might concede. Likewise if we are 0-0 late in the game. This is a huge problem if it's happening and means we need to be at least 2 goals in front in order to be able to be confident of getting a win. That hardly happens though so there are many things to ponder indeed.
Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
austrianandygull wrote: 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.
No worries Andy - I have no problems with people discussing their views and opinions and here is the perfect medium for it. My post alone shows how I feel about the second half display but not once did I shout out in the second half with personal attacks on any of the players wearing our badge. My point is that everyone in the home ends should want Torquay to play well and win football matches and I fail to see how destroying a players confidence whilst in a game will help do that. The idiots who were doing it around us were already talking sh1te about Bodin BEFORE the game kicked off. How EXACTLY do they think this helps with his and our current form?
We have to remember that Bodin's form is only part of the problem and as a fanbase - behaviour which was observed last night is only making the problem harder to solve.
[quote="yellowsmiffy"]Perhaps this is what we are really missing! I know it played an important part of the management's decisions during games last season!
Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
Ok, second attempt at this. For what it’s worth, my views on last night.
Both penalties looked correct to me although Gow played for his and suckered the clumsy challenge from behind. He is clearly what makes Exeter tick and they offered nothing going forward until his introduction at half time. Both pens very well dispatched.
First half I thought we closed them down well, played some good stuff and never looked troubled. Our defence was in complete control!
Second half, it was difficult to know whether the turnaround was due to the changes Exeter made or us playing so badly. It was obvious that our confidence is suffering as we appeared to be unable to pass the ball to another yellow shirt for a good half an hour or so. Exeter threatened, were lively and caused us a few problems but they never had us on the rack. You could feel the goal coming though as we were so poor for such a long time it something was always going to give. Gow was a cut above for them and everything went through him. They also gave Craig much less room than he had in the first half when he was causing them problems.
Regards the Danny Stevens incident towards the end of the game, there looked like contact to me, but I also feel it was just outside the area. He went down far too easily though and it appeared he was trying to go through a gap that simply wasn’t there. Ref was never going to give it in a million years. Other than that, Danny offered nothing and is clearly not match fit. Neither is Bodin. In fact, I would say that most of the team looked knackered by the end, in sharp contrast to the dirty Grecians. Mansell and the centre backs excepted who all had immense games for me. Praise also goes to Poke and Craig who both played very well.
I have read some comments praising Rene Howe, but for me he did nothing last night. Not sure if this is due to the service he is getting, but his confidence is also low and he was marked out of the game second half. Why do we insist on pumping the ball at his head when he clearly likes it into feet. I don’t know if he has been told to drop so deep when we are defending, but it just invites their players to keep pushing on. We had no outlet and were not able to get in behind should the need arise. It was crying out for someone to get in amongst them up front (Yeoman) and it showed in the first half that City were average at best when closed down and hurried. Not enough of that in the second half last night and I though Rene looked disinterested. A handful, yes, but a shadow of the player we know he is and never really threatened their goal.
For me, it is disappointing that we are in January and we still haven’t sorted out our best team and formation. Maybe injuries have played a part, but it appears that Ling is missing some fairly obvious issues.
Lathrope and Mansell do not work so well together in the middle. Neither have the composure required to find a couple of yards, put their foot on the ball and pull the strings like Eunan did last year. Craig I believe can do that and I think he is ready now. His closing down last night was really good and his skill on the ball is desperately needed right now. It is a tough decision to make though as dropping either Manse or Lathrope is undeserved. Needs must though, for the sake of the team.
433 would of course accommodate all three in the middle and is my favoured formation. We haven’t had the wide men to play it so far this season though, be it through injuries or form. I think it would make us more solid though and gives the wingers a bit more freedom to get forward.
Enjoyed the atmosphere down in the corner, but it was quiet for long periods of the second half. Not surprising considering what was on offer, but it would have been nice for the ‘fanatics’ to try and create an atmosphere. Lift the team a bit perhaps. That’s what they created the group for right? Not having a pop, just making an observation.
the stick billy gets is discraceful, the lad needs our support not abuse, two fans behind me booed him when his name was read out on the teamsheet , i looked around and shook my head in disbelief, if he is going to turn this corner then he needs our support, some of you call yourselves supporters, well support him dont abuse him. get behind your players, they need us.
Mine is acting a bit weird too. I don't mean it's stood at a bus shelter nodding and emitting grunts or anything, it isn';t even wearing a Greeks shirt but it's being bloody weird and i don't like it. As someone notoriously dense when it comes to my computer i beg STOP IT!! YOU'RE SCARING ME!!!
Strangely enough it was Pope Gregory the 9th inviting me for drinks aboard his steam yacht, the saucy sue currently wintering in montego bay with the England cricket team and the Balanese Goddess of plenty.
yellowsmiffy wrote:With regards to the ref missing it, that's why Stevens wasn't booked for diving or a pen given I presume. It had to be one or the other.
Think this is the first or second time we've ever disagreed Smiffy but it never is that clearcut. It should be, but it rarely is one or the other, normally the ref will just ignore it.
I was stood with forevertufc and we were both right behind Stevens who definitely tried to con the ref. Disagree with whoever it was that said the ref was poorly placed as he was running diagonally between the opposite sides to the assistants (how he should) and had a clear view of it. He was unimpressed and Stevens was lucky not to get a card for it. Personally I thought the ref had a good game.
. If so i loved it! I think the critical issue for the players now is confidence as every time we are just a goal up as the game wears on we become more jittery and the psychology must kick in that we might concede. Likewise if we are 0-0 late in the game. This is a huge problem if it's happening and means we need to be at least 2 goals in front in order to be able to be confident of getting a win. That hardly happens though so there are many things to ponder indeed.
