FL2: Torquay Utd v Macclesfield 25th Sept 2010

Stay at home. Cancel your internet connection. Buy yourself a Samourai sword and do us all a favour.

I often wonder whether people actually read all of a post that is more than a couple of paragraphs and whether it is worth writing any more than a few lines.

This sort of backs up my feeling, so I have cut my initial post from last night down to 3 short paragraphs detailing my thoughts on the ref.

There is nothing in my post which is not correct. Buckle took all the plaudits for our good start but has to take it on the chin as he cocked up by playing an unfit player in Senda yesterday. Aussie contradicts himself because in his own post he says that he would have prefered another left footed centre half in Charnock to a totally unfit right back.
We have been there before and have not learned our lesson.
Carlisle is patently obviously not a right back therefore it is stupid playing him in that position.
Nothing personal but the manager cocked it up yesterday - simple as that.

I don't usually do ‘match reports’ as I don't have the most 'football-savvy' brain, but I’ll break that rule today.

Firstly, it was, as Bucks said afterwards, 'a bad day at the office' and one that occurs to every team in football and no doubt in everyone's working and personal life. It was a blip and one that will be forgotten in a short time.

If our first five minutes play, which was excellent in its' execution, had been rewarded with a goal that game would've been out-of-sight by the break.

Macclesfield were a team who came looking to get a draw and gifting them a goal changed their whole mentality shifting the emphasis from our game to theirs.

That we then pulled one back should've been the time to move on and take the game by the scruff but unfortunately they had a stubborn midfield & defence and one player in particular who seemed determined to allow nothing through him. We huffed and puffed with no reward. Too many lazy passes and lack of thought when it came to the killer, incisive move.

Set-pieces, both the execution of and the defending of, are drilled into the players on the training ground until they become second nature; they are then re-run on a board before the game lest anyone should've forgotten. The five utilised by the team in attack are as well-worked as anything in our league, as is the defending of the same when the opposition take theirs. But it must be remembered that it isn't just set-pieces that have to be learnt, it is also the moves within the game.

For instance, if player X receives the ball on the far touchline and player Y is seen to move alongside him then player Z should instinctively see this as his cue to find his position to make the flow of the movement work, as then do players A, B & C. These 'inter-game' moves are also practised over and over on the training ground and it is this movement within the game that is key to getting a result. Different players are therefore able to mould certain types of play & movement in ways others may not, and are able to subtly change the way other players are operating. It is this which dictates when a manager makes a tactical substitution. It's not always to do with one particular player not playing well, but that bringing a different player on changes how the others play and their reaction within the game. The timing of this as dictated by our own teams' play is crucial, but so is the method of play employed by the opposition. See them tire in a certain area of the pitch, or struggle on certain types of play, and a change that may not be apparent to those of us on the touchlines, will be considered.

Yesterday Paul Buckle realised a change was needed in the pattern of play and brought on a player who was required to do this for him. A player who has trained hard with those players still out on the pitch with this situation in mind; a player who has even tried this pattern of play in the reserves and should be able to be trusted to come on and follow the instruction given to him beforehand. Without the player doing so the whole reasoning for the change, and the impact it would have on the game, and therefore the tactics employed by the manager, flies out the window.
The player entrusted with this came on at a tactically crucial time in the game but didn't follow those instructions nor did he comply with the training ground routine that was integral to the reason for the substitution. Even when he was being ‘informed’ of this fact during play there was no response from him. It killed that plan stone-dead stopping the required change in emphasis in our play to take place.

That game yesterday wasn't just an uncomfortable loss & one that should've been avoided, it was also part of a learning process for those involved and I know that aspects of it have been taken on board; not just what happened during the game but the routines employed beforehand and the reactions afterwards. I'm sure it has all been taken in and will form part of the structure of discussion on Monday morning, both in the managers' office and on the training ground.

The more successful people in life are those who take on challenges and are prepared to try out different ideas, without which stagnation sets-in. By stepping out of the ‘comfort-zone’ mistakes will be made and expected, for it is from making mistakes that most knowledge is gleaned and real experience gained. It is what one does with this knowledge that is crucial and the strong person is one who is prepared to put his hands up and admit some things should've been done differently and be prepared to learn from it, even though that may cause discomfort for a time. Someone who is able to see the bigger picture and thrives to work to that end in the knowledge that decisions made may not always be correct but are done because it is the only way to move forward to achieve all that is aimed for. It would be easy to sit back and make no decisions safe in the knowledge that to do so also means no mistakes made and therefore no flak. That would be a sure way for our club to achieve zilch.
In Paul Buckle we have a manager who is not only of this former mind-set, but more importantly one who is intent on instilling that throughout the club; within the management, the coaching staff and the players. It doesn't happen overnight and it takes some personnel longer to take on-board than others, but we have a manager who has a canny knack of seeing through those who aren't 'up for it' whether it be in the management or playing side, and a man who is prepared to discard them if needs be. It isn't about being ruthless, but honest in building a structure and mind-set within, and for the future, of the club and one that Torquay United will reap benefits from.

Buckle knows when a player has reached a point in his career when said player has slipped backward, even by the smallest of notches, in his ability to keep pace with a game even though the paying public aren't aware of this. As he rightly says, it's not just on the pitch he'll notice it but the slight holding back on the training ground and within the body language of the player when he's around the staff and other players. He knows when that situation is irretrievable and needs to be dealt with and on the balance of play in his managerial career he has so far proven to be correct.
He has also developed a good eye for the potential in younger players, and knows how to bring them on. Again that has become apparent in his handling of some of the youngsters who have been at the club a while and who have trusted in him. Ellis, Benyon and Robertson to name three. Even when those on the outside were howling at him to put these players in the team on a regular basis he knew to ignore the clamour and use his own judgment of the player himself; what he'd seen on the training ground and his instinct of when it was the right time to introduce each as regular first-team starters. Again his judgment would seem to have been spot on. That he has now brought in another crop of exciting youngsters that will prove to be the bedrock of our team in seasons to come adds to this.

One day Paul Buckle will move on; he knows that, we know that and the board know that. He is an ambitious manager and one that I'm sure will grace the Premiership at some point. But he is also a thoughtful, honest and gracious man. One who knows full well the chance the board of Torquay United gave him and who stood by him at all times, and in return gives his all for the club. He will not want to move on up the management ladder and see all the good work achieved over the last three or so years at Torquay United come crumbling down. Even now he is building a foundation that allows any subsequent manager and his staff to come in and use that as a platform to move the club even further on and I am convinced that he has this in mind in a lot of the work he does behind the scenes.

On that note I feel that yesterdays’ game may end up being an important turning point in our season, but not for the worse, for the better.

Apologies, it seems to have changed from a match report!

I'm not sure about the Charnock theory. Buckle did play him on the right side against Swindon in the reserves. He must have seen something that he didn't like about Charnock playing there (he didn't look comfortable there against Stevenage) and therefore made the call to put Senda in and move Robbo alongside Guy. Let's not forget that Robbo is a centre half who's done a bloody good job at right back and in my opinion deserves his chance at centre half. Just as Charnock is now back up to Branston, Robbo should be the 2nd choice to Ellis. If I were Robbo and PB played Charnock out of position instead of him I wouldn't be that happy.

It's wonderful with hindsight to slate the manager for getting a tough decision wrong. But one defeat and we've already got the tiresome comparisions with Tisdale and Buckle, with the addition of comparing Danny Senda to Mo Camara by an equally tiresome individual who never ever has anything positive to say and who only pipes up when the results aren't so good. I bet he's been itching to say something since the Accrington game.

As for 4-4-2. Well, we can't play it at the moment unless we move Zebs and he's been great on the right. Gritts, sadly after initial promise, isn't the answer and Kee isn't quite ready.

Anyway. We must move on and focus on the next game.

Meerkat

You can cheer up.......we will not be heading on a downward spiral towards relegation.

I know you love nothing better than an anti buckle rant, of course he makes the odd mistake....who doesn't? Even your hero up the road makes 'em too

Unlike most on here I would have played Senda yesterday, he will only get fitter with real games and a right back that can attack effectively when needed is surely a must for a team with aspirations of promotion this season. We have Nicholson who can join in on the left.......Robbo, despite having done a decent job is not the long term answer at full back, he's not mobile enough.
Senda has the pedigree and is a proven performer at a higher level and he's been brought here to play in the 1st team. As stefano rightly says, their was enough about his game and what he will offer us to be optimistic.

We didn't lose the game because of his inclusion........if you'd been there you would have seen that for your self, we lost it because too many of the side played below their level, and as budleigh says we expected to win the game in the second half, rather than actually going out and doing the necessary hard work.

Stevens is still a frustrating player who flits in and out of games too much.......we desperately need a left footed winger or perhaps throw Saul Halpin in - O'kane is a quality player who can unlock defences - he must play.
When Carlisle came on, it wasn't to play RB, again you would have seen that if you were there too - Buckle was screaming at him to push on and support Zebroski.

Looking forward to seeing you post after Tuesdays game, when you are in a better position to deride individual performances.....

...mind you, if we win - i suppose their's a slim chance you might not post eh ;D

No doubt this will attract some flak but it's about time i posted my thoughts on yesterday.
Im inclined to go with the "bad day at the office" explanation. The team as a whole looked somewhat disjointed for a lot of the match. At the start we looked a quality team and had Zeb's shot gone in instead of bouncing back off the post it would have been a different story. Bevs had little chance in my opinion with any of the goals. Perhaps made the target smaller for the 3rd goal but all were well struck. I thought Senda whilst looking pacy going forward was a bit suspect in his defensive positioning and passing, he kept drifting too far in towards Robbo. Nico was his usual solid self. Robbo and Guy had problems with the aerial balls compared to their usual performances. Maccy were good at getting the ball to their striker and he did a good job of winning it and holding posession waiting for support from midfield. Our midfield was sadly below par, Too many times Stevens & OKane kept trying to play nice little short passes. The trouble was that most of the time, the opposing players were reading it like a book and getting straight onto whoever had the ball. Nicky W's passing was sadly suspect again. His defensive play has improved but at the cost of his attacking ability. Manse played with his usual passion but against a 5 man midfield was outnumbered without more support from the other midfielders. Benners was quite effective but once Zebs dropped back to more of a right winger, he had no one to play the ball off to. Im very much afraid that neither Stevens nor OKane have the pace to play as wingers. At present only Zebs and Macklin look to have the guile and pace to exploit any width. We tried playing with a narrow midfield yesterday and there was no way the opposition were letting us pass the ball through them. When Macklin came on, he was crying out for the ball to be fed to him in space out wide on several occasions but nobody seemed interested in feeding him. Im also afraid that as several posters have said, Gritts just isnt good enough at the moment. Im struggling to recall if he managed to win anything in his vicinity? Several people have mentioned the referee. Was it the same one as Rochdale last season? A perfectly valid penalty shout for handball in the first half plus another more 50/50 one. Robbo managed to head the ball in despite being sandwiched by 2 defenders and gets penalised? Benners certainly looked to be ankle tapped in the 2nd half and gets a booking?

Maccy came set up as a 4-5-1 and to their credit played effectively and caught us on the break.
Just to respond to Meerkat's comparison of Buckle with Tisdale, I seem to remember him being roundly slated by a lot of Exeter fans when they were looking decidedly dodgy with 2 months to go last season. Strange how 3 or 4 matches can result in "hero to zero" or vice-versa...