tommyg wrote:How can you possibly say Ajala is our best player on the back of a couple of pre-season games?
I can say Ajala is our best player by the very same thing you suggest not possible, Pre-Season. I'm not talking about last season, I'm talking about our current squad. How do you tell who your best players are before the season starts? Pre-Season. Ajala stood out as the best and therefore is our current best player.
It's a tricky one with Ajala, I agree that he was our best player in pre season but thought it would've been unfair on Cameron to leave him out after how he performed end of last season. Similarly, people saying where's Chapell, considering we only get 5 subs in the conference, I'd rather have Ajala on the bench than Chapell and I'm pretty sure with that we'd still need a spare GK, defender, CM and ST so there's not really any space left...
tommyg wrote:How can you possibly say Ajala is our best player on the back of a couple of pre-season games? I don't blame Hargreaves for starting him on the bench. Cameron was excellent towards the end of last season and Briscoe was our stand-out performer today. I suppose you could have played all three with one of them alongside or just behind Bowman and that could be something to look at in future games.
My biggest problem with the line-up was Benyon starting and Yeoman not even on the bench. Hargreaves transfer listed one and gave a new contract to the other, but the one he apparently doesn't want played and the one he does want was left at home!
Thing with Ajala is that he wasn't just our best player, he was the best player on the pitch by a thousand miles. He wasn't simply the best of a bad bunch, he was at a level so far advanced of his team mates and opposition that he was very nearly playing a completely different game. The kid isn't just good, he's unreal.
Pea wrote:
Thing with Ajala is that he wasn't just our best player, he was the best player on the pitch by a thousand miles. He wasn't simply the best of a bad bunch, he was at a level so far advanced of his team mates and opposition that he was very nearly playing a completely different game. The kid isn't just good, he's unreal.
If he was unreal then he wouldn't have been on the bench for Welling six months ago and would have secured a contract with a club in the Football League. I don't intend to knock him - he was excellent in pre-season and I'm happy he was rewarded with a contract, but I'm not getting carried away after a few friendlies. Hopefully he will produce similar displays when given a chance in competitive fixtures, but I was more than happy with Hargreaves' decision to start Cameron and Briscoe on the wings today.
There is a slightly concerning level of acceptance that losing to Gateshead is 'ok' because they are considered to be one of the best teams in the division. However, this division is the Conference, not League 1 that we nearly got promoted to, two and three years ago, not even league 2 - but the Conference, the stinking VANA-bloody-RAMA tinpot Conference and we were outplayed by Gateshead!
No offence to Gateshead but if/when we lose to teams like that, then perhaps we can accept it as a shock but the fact it is accepted as a likely outcome (which I also expected) maybe demonstrates that this is going to be our worst season since 1926 or earlier.
It is absolutely nonsensical to keep harping on about Ajala - I havn't seen him as yet but suggesting that if we played Ajala,Yeoman and Ives then the result would have been any different is just plain daft.
Our problems are obvious - we had two full backs who are poor, a centre half (downes) who isn't really wanted by the manager and another centre half who spent all last season playing right back for Salisbury.
Add a keeper who is average at best - a central two of Young and Harding (the latter being one of the slowest players I have ever seen) and there are a still a shed load of problems with this team
I thought we might have got a draw from this one but predicted we would concede 3 which we did.
It was a very poor start - there is no other excuse for it.
brucie wrote:It is absolutely nonsensical to keep harping on about Ajala - I havn't seen him as yet but suggesting that if we played Ajala,Yeoman and Ives then the result would have been any different is just plain daft.
Our problems are obvious - we had two full backs who are poor, a centre half (downes) who isn't really wanted by the manager and another centre half who spent all last season playing right back for Salisbury.
Add a keeper who is average at best - a central two of Young and Harding (the latter being one of the slowest players I have ever seen) and there are a still a shed load of problems with this team
I thought we might have got a draw from this one but predicted we would concede 3 which we did.
It was a very poor start - there is no other excuse for it.
This is where your argument is pointless.
As for the part after that, I didn't suggest that the result would have been different, I just suggested that Ajala (along with Yeoman and Ives to be fair) should have been in the starting XI.
brucie wrote:It is absolutely nonsensical to keep harping on about Ajala - I havn't seen him as yet but suggesting that if we played Ajala,Yeoman and Ives then the result would have been any different is just plain daft.
Our problems are obvious - we had two full backs who are poor, a centre half (downes) who isn't really wanted by the manager and another centre half who spent all last season playing right back for Salisbury.
Add a keeper who is average at best - a central two of Young and Harding (the latter being one of the slowest players I have ever seen) and there are a still a shed load of problems with this team
I thought we might have got a draw from this one but predicted we would concede 3 which we did.
It was a very poor start - there is no other excuse for it.
You left out the fact we are having to persist with South Devon League standard, Benyon!
Brucie makes some good points and largely agree with him - definitely a poor start.
Just because it was a poor start, however, doesn't mean there is any reason to get on the teams/CH back and no reason to believe we can't beat welling and southport - both teams at the poorer end of the division and a couple better performances would do the squad the world of good, and hopefully we would put up more of a fight when we start playing the better teams again.
No your the one making the pointless arguement - almost every manager starts the season opener with his most experienced line up - it happens time and time again.
If you really think that Hargreaves was going to start with a sixteen year old with no experience and a player who couldn't make Wellings starting line up at the end of last season then you must be thick or something. Really if you cannot see why he didn't start with these players today I give up.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Hargreaveskept exactly the same starting line up on Tuesday either.
brucie wrote:No your the one making the pointless arguement - almost every manager starts the season opener with his most experienced line up - it happens time and time again.
If you really think that Hargreaves was going to start with a sixteen year old with no experience and a player who couldn't make Wellings starting line up at the end of last season then you must be thick or something. Really if you cannot see why he didn't start with these players today I give up.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Hargreaveskept exactly the same starting line up on Tuesday either.
Brucie, you haven't even seen Ajala play and suggest that he isn't our best player, shouldn't have started today and call me "thick". I can see why Hargreaves went for these players to start, but I think it was the wrong decision seeing as he didn't choose our strongest side (when he said he was going to) and baffled that he didn't do so.
Sharot1999 wrote:As a Gateshead fan I just wanted to say hello to Keith, Kirsty and Charlotte who went to The Schooner pre match.
Well done for the terrific supporter numbers today.
We had 1 point after 4 matches last year, and we didn't do too badly.
Good luck for the rest of the season.
Kevin
I know (knew) Kirsty, Keith and Charlotte and just would like every Gulls fan to spare a moment for them and all those that made the journey today, many of which will still be on their way home. I'm in no position to pass any more comment on the plight of TUFC but I for one certainly mentioned those fans to my friends today and what an inspiration they are for their club. I'm deeply sorry about the result today and hope everyone had / has a safe journey home. Cue snide comments from losers trying to get one-upmanship on an internet forum which I really couldn't give a **** about tbh. All I wanted to say is that every Torquay fan should take minute out tonight with their Horlicks, Doom Bar or bong to think about those special fans that went today and how much time, cash and energy they have spent in trying to get this this group of players over the start line.
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.
tommyg wrote:
If he was unreal then he wouldn't have been on the bench for Welling six months ago and would have secured a contract with a club in the Football League. I don't intend to knock him - he was excellent in pre-season and I'm happy he was rewarded with a contract, but I'm not getting carried away after a few friendlies. Hopefully he will produce similar displays when given a chance in competitive fixtures, but I was more than happy with Hargreaves' decision to start Cameron and Briscoe on the wings today.
Here speaketh someone who hasn't the first clue how football actually works. Not every talented player can be in the Barcelona starting XI. Believe me or don't, I don't care either way, the kid is so far beyond our level it's untrue. He'd slot straight into a top L1 side without any trouble at all and he'd take not more than a month to get up to Championship standard. All this Brucie style bollocks about "he wouldn't have been on the bench for Welling" just demonstrates an appalling lack of appreciation for how the inner workings of football actually function.
I once overheard someone say "if Ben Collins was actually a talented driver, he'd be in F1, not pissing about on Top Gear". I can't believe people that stupid manage to make it to adulthood.
Ajala a Championship standard player - are you being serious or just looking for a bite? The last Torquay player you were wetting yourself over was Nathan Craig who is now playing part-time in the Welsh league. I suppose that's the "inner workings of football" holding him back. Ajala has pace and a trick or two but to suggest he would walk into a top L1 side when he can't actually get in our starting XI shows that you are the one who doesn't have a clue how football actually works.
AustrianAndyGull wrote:
I know (knew) Kirsty, Keith and Charlotte and just would like every Gulls fan to spare a moment for them and all those that made the journey today, many of which will still be on their way home. I'm in no position to pass any more comment on the plight of TUFC but I for one certainly mentioned those fans to my friends today and what an inspiration they are for their club. I'm deeply sorry about the result today and hope everyone had / has a safe journey home. Cue snide comments from losers trying to get one-upmanship on an internet forum which I really couldn't give a f*** about tbh. All I wanted to say is that every Torquay fan should take minute out tonight with their Horlicks, Doom Bar or bong to think about those special fans that went today and how much time, cash and energy they have spent in trying to get this this group of players over the start line.
Hi Andy so you are still here. How can you stop supporting Torquay. Obviously for some reason you have. Stop supporting a club is very rare and indeed strange from a grown man, kids change teams at school but that's kids. So Andy you either still have feelings for the club and come back, or leave us alone for good and stay off this forum. It's almost you want sympathy when you post , I love you as a poster, but hate you ditching the club , so if that's your decision stay away