Cambridge V Torquay United 13th September 2008

I honestly feel that the slightly flukey result against Northwich last week may have completely turned our season around. This result, judging by the players reaction at the end of the game today has given them the belief that we can play abit and mix it with the best. Just hope the Plainmoor crowd now get off the players backs and give them the same sort of backing that the brilliant Cambridge fans give their team.

Dave

The 1500 who supported the team against York a couple of weeks ago never stopped cheering. I think it's a little unfair to criticise the fans in general who were fantastic that night. They have I think had just cause to be concerned since.
Our last 3 game winning streak ended some 17 games ago. Let's hope that we can get the hat trick next Saturday.
Now that of course will be interesting in itself as far as attendance is concerned the first home Saturday game of the season

Not that I was carried away by the result today, but following the evidence before my eyes, the level of organisation, discipline and pure will to win; chatting to a few of the players after the game and looking at the table tonight I've put my money where my mouth is and backed us at 20/1 to finish outright champions.

Any horse that is put out at twenties from sixes, one furlong into a mile race and has still "got it's action" has got to be a punt at that price..................and we were twenty fives before the kickoff!

Looking at some of the "in play" quotes on here with the advantage of having been there make me laugh.............."Thompson up front"- where do you get that from? "need to bring on Benyon and Green" - to achieve what?

We played 4-5-1 today (just as Tisdale did against them last January!) and they started4-4-2 but abandoned that on the half hour in favour of 4-3-3. They didn't manage one attempt on target before half time and the much hyped McEvilly not one all day. Puffing and panting like a huge kebab, he was reduced to foul upon foul and spent time added on playing in the back four such was his inability to get back up front from defending a corner. Mind you he should have been red carded for sticking his forehead in Ellis' face in the first half and the composure our young centre back showed in the face of naked thuggery was immense.

We kept the shape brilliantly, soaked up their pressure and then pushed on in the last twenty minutes and there was only going to be one winner from that point on.

Some of the passing still lacks confidence and composure at times, but sides like Cambridge close you down in nano seconds and you just have to stick in there until they have blown their sails out.

Chatting to Wayne Carlisle afterwards it was good to hear his eloquent views on the "numpty factor" in our support - particularly at home, and any of these Plainmoor barrackers, moaners and HE letter writers should take heed of the magnificent support that the Cambridge crowd give their team - 4,000 there today and a vibrant noisy atmosphere throughout......................just like last season.

Mark Ellis too was very upbeat and hopeful of his calf injury repairing in a fortnight or three weeks. Todd was immense today and Robertson too fitted in impressively thanks to the very constructive support he got from Hodges beside him.

Verdict: the team spirit is superb, the "gremlins" from the assimilation of Thompson, Wroe and Carayol are rapidly being eradicated; and the respect in which our team is held by rival teams is immense. It's coming together!

Oh, and we sported royal blue shorts with white shirts and socks!

Thanks for your great report and views Merse, just one thing, don't knock the remarks made by me about bringing on Green or Benyon. Yes you were there, but like you have to at times, I listened on the radio. Dave T was making the point that Thompson was playing far to deep and that Sills was not getting any support.

To win games you need to score and based on what I was hearing, bringing on a striker sounded like what was needed.

Glad to see It was a game where the team tried hard to play football the way its meant to be played

great report merse.

congratulations to Bucks and the team, a great win and performance by the sound of things.

Just have to echo the comments of Merse concerning Wayne Carlisle. Here is somebody who was only so pleased to come over and chat to the supporters. He came over as a thoroughly decent guy who is committed 100% to achieving success with Torquay United. Every player is going to go through rough patches. We can only hope that goal today will go some way into getting some of the moaners off of his back and allow him to play with confidence so he can consistantly display the quality he quite obviously has.

Well if he thought Thompson was supposed to be a "striker" today he would think that wouldn't he. With Thompson and Wroe peeling wide off Hargreaves between them, we were getting forward OK without directly confronting their "Big Two" in the centre - Bolland and Hatswell.
Sills was pre-occupying them whilst we went down the channels.

Scoring was a matter of patience as they first changed their line up and formation, then pushed forward too much and thus left the game nice and stretched to allow Stevens to be brought on and do what he is good at...................close control, cutting in from the left and playing nicely weighted incisive little balls to the other midfielders.

Yes, we played the way "it was meant to be played" Dave, the way the manager had demanded!