FL2: Torquay United v Northampton 7th August 2010

Also interesting to note that Paul Buckle is the third longest serving manager in League Two after John Coleman (a ten year-plus stalwart at Accrington Stanley) and Sammy McIlroy (a former international boss).
Indeed, Bucks is the sixteenth longest serving manager of any of the 92 clubs in the top four divisions.

What an enjoyable start to the new Season.
It was a day when we remembered the immense contribution of Paul Bristow to the successful recent history of the club , and Bucks programme notes reminded us of this. In fact PB stated "I hope that the players can put on a performance today that he would have been proud of ". That hope was more than realised as a convincing 3-0 win over one of the hot favourites for promotion surely gave a sense of pride to all Torquay fans.

The black arm bands worn by all of our players (interestingly worn on the right arm by 10 out of the 11....the exception being the scorer of the third goal who decided on the left) were a fitting tribute...luckily it wasn't an away match as the arm bands wouldn't have shown up on the new shirts.

The defence again looked superb. Admittedly it's a no nonsense approach to defending...we don't play our way out of trouble but instead opt to get the ball away from the danger zone as quickly as possible with a powerful header or a firmly whacked clearance.

On the subject of firm whacks Mansell administered one to the red booted, & shoulder length dreadlocked Rodgers after about 10 minutes. Rodgers seemed to lose a little interest in the game from then on....in fact he was so poor that he was replaced at half time. His ineffectuality was such that Nico decided he didn't require marking and so Kev instead rampaged forward supporting our attack & scored our first League goal of the Season.

Driving across Dartmoor at lunchtime on my way to the game Radio Devon decided to supply me with commentary of the Argyle game. I remember them commenting on a typical 'defenders shot' which I assume had gone high & wide. How different to the defenders shot we witnessed as a composed Nico accurately drilled the ball home.

'Silly Billy' Benyon had a particularly poor first half. His effort as always not really being in question, but nothing he tried came off.
Gritton spent his time complaining, maybe with justification, that he was being hugged to death by Northampton defenders & Zeb showed signs that he had watched too much World Cup coverage over the Summer with a number of unconvincing but theatrical dives.

Robertson picked up a soft booking. The Ref was appalling & that fact shouldn't be ignored just because we won handsomely.

And so at half time with just Nico's goal separating them it was Gulls 1 Cobblers 0.......time for the first appearance of The Forkers for 2010/11.




50/50 draw time & striding out into the sunshine , accompanied by a few others was Russell Musker who made the draw. Russell selected ticket No. 22605 but as no one came forward to claim the £470 on offer a further announcement was made. Time crept on...Aussie had finished his forking & his careful padding down of the turf just outside the touchline...it was just after 4'o'clock, the players about to emerge... when it was announced that the winner had been found & it was none other than Frank O'Farrell !

Frank who had probably been on the pitch stood next to Russell as he made the draw & unknowingly having the winning ticket inside his jacket pocket all along. We were promised a 'Stewards Enquiry' but I'd rather the Devon F.A held a full investigation just as soon as they've finished with the Joma Cup ;D

Second half kicks off & within minutes 'Danniesta' Stevens cut in from the left & played a perfectly weighted ball into Zebs path...Zebs shoots but doesn't score...chance missed I assumed....but the Northampton defence react slower than statues to the rebound whereas Zeb nips in & pokes the ball home.

During my drive Gordon Sparkes had remarked with great glee that a number of Executive seat holders etc had still not returned & had missed Argyles 47nd minute goal. I did wonder how many of the Boots & Laces half time regulars had missed one if not both of our goals. I had observed a ginger haired former secretary of the TUST making his way for a half time pint & couldn't help speculating on how many of the afternoons goals he witnessed.

'Silly Billy' Benyon slotted away a third & the chant of 'easy, easy' could not have been music to Northamptonshire ears after many hours spent on the M5.

A really pleasant afternoon & I can't have been the only one who said a silent thankyou to the players, staff, & particularly Paul Bristow as I left Plainmoor yesterday.

I won't go for the match report attempt as so many above have produced more detailed and witty postings than I ever do particularly Alpine Joe - who would ever have thought he could be confused with Robert's cohort Joe Giordano when he first appeared posting a few years back (at the same time one of the other consortium members did)??!! Anyways - my musings from the game:

I was caught in horrendous traffic and unable to park so missed the minute's applause for Paul Bristow - I was glad to hear it was a fitting tribute to a great man. The programme had a very simple piece from his wife Thea and reading it certainly had me thinking about the bigger things in life than football for a while.

I think this was the first time for over 22 years that I didn't get to attend a single home pre-season friendly, but given there were so few faces that arrived (because so few were needed) it was only Billy Kee and Lathrope that I hadn't seen play before from the squad so I knew what to expect from the squad that finished last season.
The performance from the very kick-off was businesslike and while it took us a little while to get into the full stride I thought we looked fairly comfortable and solid for the opening period. I've seen teams out-muscle us so many times over the years - but that was exactly what we did to Northampton.
Our physical approach was matched with a very good workrate and simply gave their players very little time on the ball. It took Zebs a little while to blow the cobwebs off and was one of the few players that didn't look too hot in possession - but typical of Zebs his work-rate was incredible and the rewards paid-off with a goal but more importantly he was leaving players for dead at the end because he is such an athletic player with such a great attitude and I felt was worthy of MOTM today.

Bevan and the other defenders were solid - they worked well, encouraged each other, covered well and did the right thing when they had the ball for the majority of the time. I think Bevan's performance showed that he had an injury that hampered him last season - and that he looked confident, agile and was back to the player that was playing well for us in the BSP promotion season. Branston and the others carried on the same form that made them so formidible last season.

The performance of Mansell and Wroe was solid - nothing spectular but then we have enough in the rest of the team to create chances without having to rely on them to do everything going forward. I'm happy with that. I personally felt that Danny had a greater impact the longer the game went-on - he was instrumental in giving their players the run around and used the ball well - his vision and execution of a pass is so often excellent - although his crossing wasn't spectacular.

Gritton worked hard but perhaps didn't get the breaks - he's certainly not got any faster than when he was here last time but that's not what he is about! It's a shame he got a gash on the leg, but I think Billy Kee's arrival showed that he will be a real problem for the opposition - watch-out Reading!
Benyon showed real maturity with his performance - I believe that his reading of the game is far better than some might give him credit for - he gets into the right spaces, is better at anticipating both the opposition and his team mates and I don't think anyone thought that he would miss that chance to make it 3-0.

There were certainly enough performances to catch the eye of any visiting scouts but I am hopeful that we can keep these players unless an offer comes that suits both the club and the individual.

I think some people were being harsh on the ref - I was told that on the way down some of the Northampton supporters on the coach were threatening to break his glasses on the way back if he didn't do them a few favours! Didn't make any difference though.....

One thing I was surprised about was to see John Milton on the touchline (as I didn't look at the squad photo). I know that his return would never have happend whilst Colin Lee was still at the club but I didn't think he would be back. I guess John Yems will not be involved any more then.......

All in all it was a very solid performance and very much in the same manner in which we finished-off last season. It wasn't always flowing football in the mould of the Dutch team of the 70's but it was gritty and positive in a way that wasn't dirty or route-one.
I'm not getting carried-away - I confidently predicted a win of 3 or more goals on this very thread but I think that there is still more to come from this determined group of players.

Still, better than being expected to walk a pub league! The lack of pressure from having to jump over a lower bar of expectation could help us clear it higher than our perceived capabilities.

Nice to see Dave getting his plug in for the TFF on the fans' view video currently being run on .com's Player service.

Good advertising Mr R!

Funny how the Journo`s and Bookies don`t tend to agree about us, mainly because Journo`s are lazy (except DT ) and Bookies go off recent form!