TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Dom discusses talking points ahead of the game at Plainmoor

LOOKING FOR HOME COMFORTS

Torquay United return to Plainmoor again, looking for a 2nd home win of 2022-23 – what a desperate stat that is on the 7th January! Considering we’ve got 1 win at home, conceded 27 goals and only kept 1 clean sheet in that time, it’s no wonder the Yellow Army are reaching breaking point. Until now the supporters have kept backing their team, kept willing them on and kept politely applauding after numerous defeats, but another 0 points against Halifax could see the tide turn ugly and anger bubble over from the terraces. After Gary’s comments post-game at Yeovil he’s walking on a tightrope with many of the Yellow Army that’s for sure. Of course there is an alternative, actually winning the game and giving us all a joyous weekend for a change as some positivity seeps around the Gulls, now that would be nice. The supporters need something from their football club.

THE LINE-UP

Two new additions this week, Ricky Aguiar and James Crole on loan from Swindon and Cardiff. The second phase of the ‘help I need new players quick’ began in earnest and our hopes cling to these two young men sparking United into life. Aguiar is an attacking midfielder with an eye for a goal, maybe he’s the man to take command and take a chance in front of goal, meanwhile Crole is only a teenager but highly rated by Cardiff, so we’ll see how much impact he can make (after a surprising ‘international clearance’ is granted!). The 3-5-2 looked decent at Huish Park (up until the penalty area..), so I’d expect Gary Johnson to stick with that formation and I’d also expect him to place Aguiar straight into the line-up, but we shall see. With 6 loan signings on our books if Crole arrives, someone will have to drop out, so that’ll be interesting to note when the line-up is announced. The nervy rejigging to seek a winning formula continues at TUFC.

GARY JOHNSON STAYS

I think if the owners had any ideas about replacing Gary Johnson they would have done it by now. The big derby games saw more failure and the Yellow Army start to show their frustration at how the season is unfolding, but there is no sign that any changes will be made. Instead new recruits are being arranged and it seems likely that Gary Johnson will be in charge until May at least, either to go down with the sinking ship, or help keep us afloat for another season. Perhaps the small margins in results and the small gap to safety (at present) make them unwilling to consider a change, perhaps they don’t want to pay a high earner off, or perhaps they just have an unbreakable faith in Gary Johnson to get the results. Whatever the thought processes at the top, we won’t be hearing them, all we can do is hope their decisions, or lack of decisions, don’t leave us back in the clutches of the NLS.

THE OPPOSITION

Manager Chris Millington took charge last summer from the departing Pete Wild, and had to cope with Wild swooping back in to poach some of his old players. The squad had a number of changes (much like TUFC) and started slowly (like TUFC), but unlike the Gulls they eventually found some form and jumped up to mid-table. Currently in 14th with 32 points, they are amongst a posse of clubs who could push for a wide open play-off position. Their main threat upfront is Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, a tall striker who has got 7 goals in the NL so far this season, whilst in goal Sam Johnson is a very good NL stopper. The Shaymens’ form on their travels has been poor with no win since October, whilst they also don’t score many goals – 24 in total, 4 less than Torquay. With Halifax struggling away and the Gulls terrible at home something has to give…or it could be a draw of course, and that’s not much good to either team at the moment.