FAC RD 3 Torquay United V Brighton 2nd Jan 2010

Look back to our relegation season and the club was in a total mess and it wasn't so long ago was it? Unfortunately there are many fans who just want a "sack Buckle"quick fix when we should all know that this was always going to be a long haul back to being a respectable league club again. Paul Buckle and his team have been moving us in the right direction and slowly but surely bringing in the right players for the club and improving the squad where it matters. In reality Its the only sure way to do it and there have been and still will be a few hiccups on the way but we now have a decent youth set up which will one day bear fruit and a squad that is improving and taking us away from danger.
Its a long haul and we will have to continue to see the odd Tyrone Thompson introduced and hopefully developed into better players. Clubs like ourselves simply cannot afford to compete with the likes of a Notts County and buy ready made talent at will so one or two raw talents will inevitably continue to be part of the master plan. I too thought Tyrone was poor yesterday but there were too many ready to immediately jump on his back though I actually thought the got better in the second period. More coaching required or release him?
The days of seeing a Tony Brown , Bruce Rioch or Tony Currie play for a club like ours have long gone the game has evolved in such a way that players of that calibre simply don't need to come down our level to continue earning a living in the game and we will be very fortunate indeed to be able to attract the likes of Dean Keates though I'm certain it wont be for the want of trying.
There is no quick fix for a club like ours the only real danger is a
lack of patience from some of us just look at what fan power has done at Bolton to Garry Megson, It just doesn't make sense.

I think Nicky Wroe represents the quality end of our squad and Elliott Benyon the cheap wage lower end that ALL League 2 clubs seek to emply given ther financial limitations.

Therefore I'm not surprised that the club constantly strive to stay ahead of the game regards Wroe's contract and at the same time readily extend young Elliott's deal.

In my opinion we DO badly need an experienced and ruthless central defender to show the others how it is done, has a history of winning things and a dominating personality. Likewise a similar replacement to pay alongside Wroe in midfield.....................Greavsie is about two or three years past that now without being constantly rested and taking an age to recover form those little knocks that never used to bother him.

Another proper striker to replace Sills with adequate pace to worry defenders who have as much difficulty dealing with "Tortoise Tim" as a Derby field would have with the winner of a Newton Abbot selling plate.

Tim's been great, done an exemplary job; but now needs to be moved out; as do Hargreaves and Nicho......................that's not being disrespectful to them ~ but we do need to improve the pace and ruthlessness of the side so that the skill levels of the better quality players like Zebroski, Wroe, Smith and Thomson can flourish.

Did anyone get to see our match highlights on TV? they showed the great header Charnock had that hit the crossbar, I would expect one of the pictures I have put up that Darryl kindly sent to me, is that very header.

What saddens me the most, is the club put so much effort into getting this game on, I was standing outside the ground and was so pleased to learn the game was going ahead.

Losing the game was bad enough, but then we learn one person was taken unwell and its believed another person slipped down the steps,but I have not seen or read anything that tells me that is a fact. Add to the all that went on on the popside and it has turned what should have been a good day out at Plainmoor ruined and tarnished.


But our club has come up with some much deserved praise and the story in todays Herald Express has been warming to read.



TORQUAY United's former commentator for the blind is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack and collapsing after Saturday's 0-1 defeat against Brighton.

Derrick Brad, 85, from Green Close, Marldon, is currently in intensive care at Plymouth's, Derriford Hospital.

His son, Lawrence, 44, who arrived in the Bay on Saturday from his Bournemouth home, said both he and his mother Marilyn were 'incredibly grateful' for the help Derrick received.

Lawrence said: "I think the club were brilliant and the club doctor was brilliant and they were very helpful. They took mum across to Torbay Hospital and drove mum's car over to the hospital for her too."

Lawrence explained that his father was taken to Torbay Hospital first but there were no beds for him there so he had to be transferred 30 miles away to Plymouth.

He said his mother was 'OK' but that it had 'all been a bit of a shock to the system'.

Club stewards tended to Mr Brad, a former Paignton estate agent and chartered surveyor, was the long standing commentator for Torquay United's blind fans, after he collapsed in the reception area of the club.

He was then treated by the Gulls' club doctor Vivek Kulkarni before paramedics took him to Torbay Hospital for further treatment.

Dr Kulkarni said patient confidentiality meant he could not say too much about Mr Brad's condition when he found him.

Dr Kulkarni added that when he arrived Mr Brad was already being looked after by club stewards.

"There were a lot of people milling around in the reception at that time after the match and when I arrived there were stewards looking after the gentleman," said Dr Kulkarni.

"The stewards were clearly first aid trained and deserve a lot of credit for doing what they did.

"We stayed with Mr Brad until an ambulance arrived to take him to accident and emergency at Torbay."

Last year Mr Brad retired from commentating fortnightly on the club's home games for the blind supporters, after originally taking up the position in 1953.

He has also previously commentated on games for people listening in hospitals across South Devon.

I have had many PM's asking me how the lady is that fell. I have just had a chat with Rob and can confirm there was no lady who fell down the steps in the family stand, only the gentleman who is in the story I have posted above from the Herald Express.