The relegation battle

50/50 wining ticket at AFC Totton is worth £54.50

Table looking a lot better after Saturday’s results.

If we play like Saturday we won’t encounter too much of an issue. Downes has won 2 drawn 2 and lost 2 and if we do repeat that form then we may be relieved of squeaky bum time by the final game. Not that we ever tend to do things the easy way, mind.

Yes, I was a bit surprised to be removed from both Yellow Army facebook and the ‘Torquay Supporters’ Facebook group also moderated by Mark Horler - and additionally the Club and Joe Barlow. No reasons given. Think my last post on the former was praising Joe and TUST regarding the balloons and stuff adding to the matchday atmosphere. Last (and possibly only) one on the latter, which was cropped by them, was suggesting NDA’s should be respected by all parties when it came to questions being asked of them. Clearly subversive talk.

I was contacted by Mark Horler on fb messenger after I first started posting on there and it was clear he wanted a ‘certain type of poster’ from that unsolicited intrusion. Found it a bit strange. It appears he blocked me on messenger at some time thereafter. Odd behaviour, but have returned the favour as I didn’t particularly want to be contacted on something I tend to reserve for mates - probably down to my age and limited use of the facility more than anything - in the first place. I guess him and his two chums he coordinates attacks on the Trust in combination with, will be happier for my removal. Who knows what ‘information’ he dispenses to others via personal messaging, but it is bound to influence some.

Can’t see why I’ll bother again if given the choice, but naturally slightly miffed at someone just positing an agenda on a ‘forum’ they administer and removing views that challenge it. It probably made sense for them to remove someone challenging them when they decided to take their agenda onto the open group, though. Some might consider it a by-product of having an ownership that thrives on divide and rule and not engaging with fans for so long. Tends to affect behaviours for the worse.

I did read elsewhere that a well known fundraiser for disabled supporters and good person was told at the game on Saturday that certain persons said to him they won’t speak to him any more as he belongs to TUST - along with 750+ others. Fair play to him shrugging such idiocy off, but I must say it made me think twice about attending Plainmoor over Easter with that sort of nonsense, as I’m not sure how I’d react to that being said to me. I’ll probably go and support us, though. It’s more important to me than some people’s silly little agendas.

And I would feel the same toward that person, too, Rags. No time for them. But if said to me directly I would expect a heated exchange to follow as I don’t appreciate or let that type of behaviour lie, so full credit to anyone and the person who had to on Saturday from me.

In a toss up of running that gauntlet and watching the Club I love, the bigot won’t win unless he owned the place, but it would be an unpleasant interaction to have to endure nonetheless. As you say, it’s essentially quite sad some drive that wedge when there has been such an outpouring of love for our Club so recently in the difficult situation we are now in thanks to the current ownership.

The spreading of misinformation and controlling hostile narrative often tends to do nothing but bad for the more well intentioned among us. I wish the trust well in their clear endeavours. Sadly, I am one of a growing number who have seen first hand now the type of nonsense that they no doubt have to regularly endure while carrying out their duties diligently to their growing list of members.

Yes, I did see one person suggesting briefly the Forever Yellow Fund should be dipped into. Suicidal madness when you consider the purpose it was set up for. However, add in a bit of stirring and the same madness becomes cumulatively madder it seems.

That particular poster would likely blame the trust for sunshine when he wanted rain, but it doesn’t detract from the heightened levels some of the nonsense attains. Broad church, but some seem to want that parapet to preach on behalf of the current ownership and against an organisation representing a large cross section of the support for just a little while longer.

I quite like a spreadsheet, and the end of season gives me a chance to play forecaster on promotion and relegation. It's not scientific: I take the average points per game over the past 6 games, multiply that by the number of games remaining for each team and add it to their current points total. It's not accurate: my method takes no notice of who any team has played over those six games, or who they are going to play going forward. Its simply mathematical extrapolation.

I have us ending the season with 53 points, 7 clear of 21st team Eastbourne, who in turn are two points clear of 22nd place Dartford.

This would be fine in a normal season, but the NL South is not in a normal season and the majority of that is due to the weather over winter and the large number of postponements. There are two clubs who aren't in good form and who have suffered significantly because of postponements, not least because they shared a ground for a while. 

Taunton have only won two of their last 18 games. One was, of course, at Plainmoor, the other away at Worthing the Saturday before that. They have lost the three games since they played us. They now have 9 games to play in 27 day, assuming no further postponements.

Truro City have 12 games to play in 26 days starting tomorrow. It was all going well for them until they won at Dartford in early January. Since then they have won 2 of their last 11 games.

In addition to those two, Hemel Hempstead are on a terrible run of form. At one point they were doing alright, having earned 40 points from their first 28 games, including 4 wins out of 5 up to and including 13th January. Since then they have won 1 of their last 12, and 0 of their last 10. Hemel still have to play away to both Truro and Taunton, however their next two games are home to 8th place Aveley and away to 3rd-place Braintree.

I'm not saying we are safe (touch wood! ), but I'd rather be where we are than any of those three clubs; even if we have lost to all of them this season. I have Truro finishing 1 point ahead of us and Taunton 3 points behind us. My issue is that I can't work out if their current form of a point per game is too many or too few. I suppose that doesn't particularly matter because they are not the two teams we are fighting against. Dartford are currently in 21st place and have only won 1 of their past 10 games (and that away at Dover); while Eastbourne in 22nd are on the same run of form as we are yet still 6 points behind us.