TorquayFans.com | Torquay United Fans Forum

Stephentsd wrote:Hi, Mansfield Town fan here

Paul Cox will win you games simple as that, he'll turn you into a well oiled machine that are extremely organised and difficult to play against, you wont get any thashings, he will get players putting their bodies on the line, he starts off slow but the 2nd half of the season his teams generally fly, be patient with him.

As for his style, it wont be pretty he likes to play long ball, he does mix it up, put hes very direct, wants balls into the box as fast as possible, he likes a big lump striker up top and a fast striker to play off him. Whats good is you have Briscoe which he knows from Mansfield, Briscoe was instrimental in our success in the conference.

The very best of luck, i'll be keeping an eye on you with great interest, names i would expect him to sign would be Ross Dyer, Anthony Howell, Lindon Meikle and Lee Stevenson.

All the best

Lindon Meikle has another year to run at York and won't be getting anywhere near the action next season, as he didn't the last 3 or 4 months of last season. York are desperate to offload him but I am praying he doesn't end up at Plainmoor. Think Billy Bodin. Lindon is a similar type of player, diminutive, tricky, runs about a lot but never scores and never produces anything ever. His confidence is shot to bits too at the minute. He is at best lower half conference standard and he may get more joy against some of the poorer defences in the conference now and then. Obviously I am aware that you need to start getting players in but it's vitally important you don't once again make desperate signings and get lumbered with duff players on 2 year or longer deals. I'm 100% sure that those in charge won't allow this to happen willy nilly anyway. Maybe the odd player will turn out to be a dud but not the 4,5,6,7 plus that Knill and Hargreaves signed.

Paul Cox looks like a shrewd appointment and decision making all round from the new consortium has been swift, confident and decisive. What a breath of fresh air. Best of luck for the new season and I send my regards to everyone I knew down there. Hope you all are well.

Sounds, style wise, similar to a certain Mr Ling - boring, no nonsense football where we are tough to beat.

Of course, not many liked that style then....

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-t ... -1-6969234

Thought you might like to view the local newspapers opinion of Cox .

Hi Guys
A Stags fan in peace here.
I just wanted to congratulate you on appointing Paul Cox as your new Manager.
I hope he gets you back up.
He deserves some more success, as he's a genuinely decent, honest bloke.
I think you have already sussed out that your football won't win any beauty competitions, but you will win matches. More than you'll lose them.

Tranmere's, Grimsby's, Cheltenham's and Lincoln's loss is Torquay's gain.

You've just appointed the shrewdest Manager that ANY non league team could have signed.

You can now fully expect your players to run through walls for the cause, and there will be nowhere to hide if they fall short of their duties.

Give him a little time to settle in though, as he's a Nottinghamshire lad, that has only managed in and around our vicinity. I'm sure moving down to your place will be an upheaval for Coxy and his young family. Stand by him, He'll sort out the club for you.

Pig headed, and very stubborn at times, He'll dig his heels in, and fight his corner.
He'll take the flack and not care one bit, but he'll also turn around plenty of doubters (and there will be some) if he's given a fair crack of the whip.

I'll keep my eye out every Saturday for Torquay's results now, and I hope to see you all back at Field Mill in the football league at the earliest opportunity.

I wish Paul Cox, and all at Torquay Utd the very best of luck next season.

Cheers Guys
Staggo

Post Script.

Tell Helen that she's over doing it slightly with the Botox nowadays ( But Staggo from Mansfield still would )

Brief history of Cox's career to date.

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/ste ... story.html

Interesting footnote in there - Other than his last half-season with Mansfield, EVERY time he has managed a club, they have finished higher than the year before.

Staggo wrote:Hi Guys
A Stags fan in peace here.
I just wanted to congratulate you on appointing Paul Cox as your new Manager.
I hope he gets you back up.
He deserves some more success, as he's a genuinely decent, honest bloke.
I think you have already sussed out that your football won't win any beauty competitions, but you will win matches. More than you'll lose them.

Tranmere's, Grimsby's, Cheltenham's and Lincoln's loss is Torquay's gain.

You've just appointed the shrewdest Manager that ANY non league team could have signed.

You can now fully expect your players to run through walls for the cause, and there will be nowhere to hide if they fall short of their duties.

Give him a little time to settle in though, as he's a Nottinghamshire lad, that has only managed in and around our vicinity. I'm sure moving down to your place will be an upheaval for Coxy and his young family. Stand by him, He'll sort out the club for you.

Pig headed, and very stubborn at times, He'll dig his heels in, and fight his corner.
He'll take the flack and not care one bit, but he'll also turn around plenty of doubters (and there will be some) if he's given a fair crack of the whip.

I'll keep my out every Saturday for Torquay's results now, and I hope to see you all back at Field Mill in the football league at the earliest opportunity.

I wish Paul Cox, and all at Torquay Utd the very best of luck next season.

Cheers Guys
Staggo

Post Script.

Tell Helen that she's over doing it slightly with the Botox nowadays ( But Staggo from Mansfield still would )

Top man for this and we do hope to see you soon back in the glory which is League football sometime soon!

I think all should take note of this post and take encouragement from it. Very helpful insight and right along the lines of my current thinking.

Good luck to Paul Cox, I think he'll bring out the best of Louis Briscoe (although I thought he was one of our best players last season anyway) and if he implements a style of football that the players understand and can follow, we'll be miles ahead of where we were last season when nobody had a bloody clue what they were supposed to do.

Firstly would like to thank the Mansfield fans, for coming on the forum and giving us an honest opinion, refreshing. There is a huge difference between the appointment of Chris Hargreaves who at the time had a football management CV that was blank, 0, games, 0 achievements, and Paul Cox, who I believe has 438 games already on his CV and 3 promotions.

The Paul Cox way of playing is not the type of football I like, in fact I hate that style of football, however, I also realise there is huge difference between the position TUFC as a club is in today, than it was a few seasons back under Martin Ling, I accept we're now a non-league club, the budgets will be reduced, so there is a need for a functional manager that knows what needs to be done, to succeed at this level and Paul Cox is proven.

If this lad makes us hard to beat, wins more games than loses, I'll take that over the so called pretty football of CH, that saw us smashed by Braintree, embarrassed by all four clubs that were relegated any day, no matter how hard it's going to be, to take.

So called "long ball" football can be just as entertaining as "pretty" football if played well. Getting it forward to a good target man and then playing off him will result in plenty of goals which is what football is all about. I'd prefer this to aimless tiki taka with no end product.

Very positive vibes on his appointment. We need a team that fights and we have signed a manager that's takes no messing. Looking forward to this season already. Signed on a 1 year contract, is that to suit both parties maybe.

Jerry wrote:So called "long ball" football can be just as entertaining as "pretty" football if played well. Getting it forward to a good target man and then playing off him will result in plenty of goals which is what football is all about. I'd prefer this to aimless tiki taka with no end product.

I agree, hit and hope is what we did most of last season. Maybe played it around the back four a bit, but then that just let's the opposition get shape, unless it's executed very well. Direct football if played well, can catch the opposition out, resulting in lots of crosses, lots of one on ones, can stretch the other side to leave players like young more space so when they pick up the ball they can spread a pass or take a pop at goal. Get rid early stops silly errors for goals against, takes the pressure off keepers, and leaves the more skillful players, your Bowmans, Briscoes and Young's to do their stuff at the right end of the pitch. We'd all love to see the Leroy years again, but I doubt that will happen, certainly not in this league.

From what I remember reading about PC when he was at Mansfield, I think he brought with him a large number of players from the Conf North - particularly players who played under him at Eastwood - who subsequently stepped up to the Conf level and were successful. I would expect that this would be part of his remit for us, and I'm anticipating that some of our signings will be quite obscure and possibly from lower levels.

The only cautionary vibe I am getting is that recruiting players for Mansfield is far far easier than for Torquay. Lets face it, Mansfield is pretty much ideally located for cherry-picking from a football-rich geographic area. Hopefully PC can still work his magic for us.

I don't think his signings will on the face of it excite our fans (I may be wrong though) - what we need to remember is that this guy knows exactly what it takes to get out of the Conference. If he thinks an unheard of player from the Conf North is the man for us, lets give him time.

Really shrewd appointment in my view. Nothing is ever certain in football but someone is playing the odds here!

I am naturally very pleased, having been going on about Paul Cox for a few months as someone we should look at. Pleased with the positive reviews from Mansfield fans.

The best manager available, in my view, who has experience of this level. Hopefully, his contacts will stretch this far South West.

Really pleased with this appointment. We have been crying out for someone with experience and a good track record at this level. I'm not overly concerned by the style of play. If the ball is getting into the box quicker and more often it should make things more exciting where it really matters providing we have players who can deal with it when the ball gets there.
A massive rebuilding job to be done and I'd settle for a steady first season providing we are well organised and difficult to beat.
Stags fans, thanks for your comments and the links. We know PC is very direct in his play but can you shed any light on his favoured formation and how he likes to set the team up? Does he go for the journeyman type of player, youngsters or a good mix?