TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman

@DomRoman

Dom discusses another disappointing game at Plainmoor

DE JA VU

We’ve bottled another one. How many brain freezes can one team have in 3 games? When it’s this Torquay United team, it’s a lot. After the shambolic winner for Southend on Saturday, the Gulls found a way to lose their heads again, losing a 2nd goal and losing another game when at least a point was there for the taking. The Bromley winning goal in this game was shocking even by our standards. Halstead giving the ball away stupidly with a loose roll out, and then Shaun Donnellan having a complete meltdown with a lunging challenge you could see for miles. A nailed on penalty, another ridiculous goal conceded and more misery at Plainmoor. No lessons being learnt by this United squad who keep finding new ways to lose, and it’s hurting us again and again (and again).

HOOF-BALL

I hate the term hoof-ball. It’s never used in a flattering way – ‘Oh we played some good hoof-ball tonight’ or ‘Did you see that fantastic half of hoof-ball?’. But it’s what we were for much of the first half. Defenders get the ball, look up and look long. Strikers struggle to gather, pieces aren’t picked up by the ponderous midfield and the opposition come away with the ball…and repeat. Why do we do this? The team played more on the deck in the second half, getting the ball down the wings and stretching Bromley a little with Evans becoming more prominent, but why is this not a Plan A rather than a Plan B. Direct football works if you’ve got the right players in place and the right strength and aggression around the pitch (Buckle 2007-08!), but these are clearly not the right players to carry it out. Keep the ball on the pitch lads, it’s our only hope.

NICO LAWRENCE

Unlike many of his team mates, I could watch Nico Lawrence all day long. Calm, cool, strong and quick, he is an absolute delight to see in action. Doing everything with a minimum of fuss, a proper career awaits for this young lad. He’s the exact opposite to defensive partner Ross Marshall, a player who’s a bag of nerves at the back, making everything look difficult and lacking any intelligence on the ball. Unfortunately only one of these is likely to still be at United next season!

JARVIS DOING HIS BIT

After a sharp finish against Bromley Aaron Jarvis now has 13 goals in 32 games in 2022-23, and considering his previously exploits that’s a very good return. His efforts deserve better support this season, the striker is one of the few permanent players who has the right mentality for National League football, someone you can count on week in week out to pull his sleeves up and give you a performance. There’s still elements to work on, sharper and quicker distribution comes to mind, but with his deceptive speed and tough physique there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to play EFL football again in the coming years. Aaron should believe in himself, unlike many others he is proving doubters wrong and is a striker who’ll give any NL CB a run for their money.

GARY OUT?

The last 3 games have understandably pushed many supporters over the edge. Only 10 days after a victorious fist pump following the joyous Barnet (h), this disastrous defeat saw boos and a ‘Gary Out’ banner unfurled in the pop. The man himself states he’s still ‘The Man’ for the job, but there’s no sparkle or energy in his words, and it’s very hard to believe in him after 3 chastening losses littered with tactical bemusement and hoof-ball tactics. A very sad situation for a manager who has brought us plenty of great memories, but is seemingly running out of ideas to stop the Gulls returning to where he found us. Any change appears unlikely, and if something does happen, would it be too late anyway? At this present moment we are a club sleep walking back into regional football, and that really hurts.