TALKING POINTS

Chris Wade

@tufcchris

Chris discusses the NLS game

THE AFTERMATH

My word. Where to start. Tuesday’s defeat at Weston has brought a passionate, frustrated and defiant response from the fanbase that love our club so much. There was no part of that evening that was acceptable, from the weather, to the pathetic first half display, to the awful goals that we conceded, and the cowardly reaction from our manager. A game that we should have been able to be positive about and attack, playing against a struggling team turned into an absolute nightmare. We can all have our opinions on the boardroom situation, but that output from the players going onto the field is the big issue. That is nowhere close to acceptable.

RESPECT TO DOWNESY

In the current situation, what you need is leadership. You need your manager and leader to stand up, take responsibility and lead from the front. We didn’t get that on Tuesday. Assistant Aaron Downes was left to come and applaud the fans and take the stick. He was also sent out to do the post match media responsibilities. Unless there was a reason for that, I don’t think that is acceptable from a manager. Stand up and take responsibility for the abject performance and 850 soaked supporters. But Aaron is a man of integrity. He was a good captain and leader on the pitch and showed it again on Tuesday, fronting up and apologising. It achieves nothing and gets no points, but integrity is important.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JARVIS

I fear that we are about to see just how important Aaron Jarvis is to this Torquay team. Another all action performance and goal on Tuesday was ended by an unfortunate collision with a Weston defender as he very obligingly headed into his own net. But Jarvis left the pitch very gingerly and is awaiting the results of a scan. If that means any kind of time away from action, that is a MASSIVE issue. Nine goals already this season shows how integral he is to our set up, and replacing that will be very difficult indeed. But injuries happen in football, and this management group and players may need to find an answer to that question on Saturday.

REINFORCEMENTS

This may appear like a broken record, but the squad size remains a real challenge. With the potential absence of Jarvis and Tom Lapslie on Saturday, along with a damaged nose to Dean Moxey that may mean him also missing, this squad just cannot cope with that level of absentees. The squad has been talked about for weeks, and GJ mentioned it for the first time in his press call this week, rather oddly appearing to say, if players don’t want to come what can you do. That may well be true, but it also doesn’t improve a team. It’s his job to find the answers within the budget and to the required quality.

THE OPPOSITION

A team that have improved in recent weeks and won their last four games is frankly the last thing that we need right now. But that is what we face on Saturday. Hampton have sprung to life in recent weeks, and 12 points from the last 4 games shows that. That has included scoring 4 goals in each of their last two home games. But Johnson and his players simply have to find the answers to get a result this weekend. Already 7 points behind Yeovil and with them at home again (shock), falling further behind with a date with the Glovers only ten days away really isn’t an option. Leadership and courage is required.