TorquayFans.com | Torquay United Fans Forum

Wind the clock back to last season, the FA Cup tie with Derby County at Plainmoor. We fought like lions and deserved to win. In attendance that day was out of work and available Neil Warnock. We should have sacked Johnson and appointed NW, who was waiting to be asked.

We missed a trick, we would be in a better place than where we find ourselves now. Just look how he saved Huddersfield from the drop....that could of been us IF only we had sacked Johnson.

I wonder if Mike Bateson would return, just as long as he does not put Mervyn Benneynin charge again, that was embarrassing the first time around.

Not sure why loan signings are thought to be the answer.
What club in their right mind is going to want to loan us any half decent player and even if they did why would that player want to come to this basket case of a club. It’s not likely to enhance the career of a promising youngster - and that’s not what we are looking for anyway- and we’ve got plenty of worn out old pros of our own already.
We’re in this mess because of Johnson’s abysmal recruitment over the last two years and despite what some of his supporters say his legacy, when he does eventually leave, will be written large on the back of a postage stamp.

Am I missing something or have we played just 2 games?
Get a grip!

Neil Warnock taking over Torquay in recent years was and is just nonsense. He was and is on big money and that is the way it goes.

Mike Bateson nostalgia is nice and he meant well most of the time. However, we did end up bottom of the league when there was no automatic relegation so it was hardly the best of times.

Back to the present day, we are one of the few clubs who are full time in this league so our budget is relatively big and things will get better.

Lets panic in a few weeks.

2 games and we are carrying on from last season - I would agree that Bateson/Warnock are completely ludicrous, but equally ludicrous is the assertion that we are likely to get any better given the squad that Johnson has lumbered us with.

Hardly much point having four fit for purpose offensive players if you have nothing in midfield or defence.

I'd disagree with you about the loan signings Dave. Players such as Lawrence and Keiron Evans did enhance their stock being here last year. How we could do with Evans a player who has the legs to run at the opposition and open up the space for the forwards, instead of the carthorses Hanson. Macgavin, Hall and Donellan.

Short term, loan signings seem the only option to address the ridiculous injury crisis which we have yet again.

DB57 wrote: ↑14 Aug 2023, 07:27 We’re in this mess because of Johnson’s abysmal recruitment over the last two years and despite what some of his supporters say his legacy, when he does eventually leave, will be written large on the back of a postage stamp.

It's not the recruitment. We have some good talented players. It's the tactics. Constant hoofing the ball upfield to the oppositions defence to allow them to come back at us with the ball on the ground. Saturday was a perfect lesson on how to play football. Just what does go on on the training ground?

Brewers boy wrote: ↑14 Aug 2023, 10:25 It's not the recruitment. We have some good talented players. It's the tactics. Constant hoofing the ball upfield to the oppositions defence to allow them to come back at us with the ball on the ground. Saturday was a perfect lesson on how to play football. Just what does go on on the training ground?

Completely agree with this. Excuse the ignorance of not being 100% sure on how part time football works in the modern day but my guess is a team like Worthing trains probably 2 or 3 evenings a week and they seemed to have a clear way of playing, a tactic the players clearly knew and were no doubt able to do there homework on some of our better players thus keeping the likes of Jarvy, Collins & Ash quiet for long periods. Flip that to a team that trains 4/5 times a week for hours at a time (of course depending on midweek games etc) it's mind numbing to see the lack of a plan, lack of a tactical shape or way of playing and not even have one free kick or set piece routine apart from lumping it in the box when we get one?! Do Downes and Johnson just get the players to do laps whilst they do a quick google search of the opposition and then play a bit of "who can kick the ball the furthest?"

Football has moved on it just seems at the moment our management team have been left in the footballing stone age.

What talented players like Craske, Jenkins-Davies, Tomlinson, Donellan,Hanson, Macgavin? - half this team isnt up to it or are far too inexperienced. How often do Johnson and Downes get down to Plainmoor?

You are not telling me that they commute over 200 miles per day - 5 days a week just doesnt happen. Johnsons down on a Thursday for the press call. Wednesday is a day off, and everything else is a secret.

Tactics maybe a part of it but we are nowhere near good enough either.

You're very tolerant, we just do not pass and move like other teams, and for a full time professional team dont seem as sharp and fit as the opposition.

Skillsy wrote: ↑14 Aug 2023, 11:41 Midtable, good to hear a little bit of reasoned thought.

As you say, we are two games in. It's been poor so far but there are forty four games left. If things haven't improved in ten games or so there might be a case for change.
Two weeks ago everybody was positive. The whole future of the club now seems to be in great peril, let's hope the ground hasn't been sold by tomorrow night and the players all signing on the dole.
I fully understand fans are disappointed and lash out as a result, but we have to keep things in perspective.

If you're going to count perspective as having 44 games left then you should take into account the 44 games previous. The two games played so far we've drawn and lost, the two games played at the beginning of last season we drew and won! So perspective does have merits when veiwed in the long term and the long term is last season we finished on 48pts and we are already 3pts behind that.
If things haven't improved in ten games or so then that would be judging after at least 12 games, we all already know how that works and back then we were saying we need a striker, a defender and a stronger midfield. We are saying the same again which means it's repeating. That's perspective.

Johnson has been taking the mick out of the club, supporters and Uncle Clarke. The local press seem to lap it up.

Brucie, willing to give craske and davies the benefit of the doubt this early into the horror show, as for the rest with the addition of marshall and crowe. We cannot even get shot of them on loan, no one wants them, when you only have a squad of 19 outfield players , three get injured on a very regular basis and six who are not fit to wear the shirt no matter how many years we work on them then that leaves a very small squad.

As the meerkats on the insurance advert say 'Simples - Johnson out'.

GJ has to go. Torrid football.

Great fella