TALKING POINTS
Luke Hunter
@gullsgullsluke
Luke discusses the draw at Plainmoor
TORQUAY UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
There isn’t really anywhere else to start is there? Across the past 24 months, I have never felt further away from this football club, but on Saturday… I had never felt closer. From the second I left home, I felt like I had reconnected with an old friend – a friend who needed me and wanted me. There was life, the clouds had parted and finally I saw Plainmoor and the club that I fell in love with 20 years ago. The importance of leadership, ownership, morality and community within a football club may never feel as stark as it did to me yesterday – it is everything. The storm may not have fully passed and choppy waters lay ahead but I know now that we are going to be okay. If all that feeling could be encapsulated in one single moment it was shortly after kick off when the entire ground rose to a chorus of “stand up, if you love Torquay” – a truer metaphor could not be spoken and I will remember that moment alongside some of the great United moments of my lifetime.
THE FOOTBALL COMMUNITY
To thank everybody that has shown us kindness this weekend would be an impossible task, but it was especially nice to see a few shirts from other teams yesterday – Argyle and Buckland most notably – amongst countless other acts of generosity. Seeing your badge on a donation bucket is an alarming moment but the rallying of all those around us has given me nothing but hope going forward. We must never, ever, forget that benevolence.
OUTGOING DIRECTORS
Emotions are running high so I’ll put this very, very, very simply – your presence is not necessary on a matchday at Plainmoor – a last gasp bid at appearing approachable is too little too late. Our story is not yours to tell anymore.
THE TRANSITION
I thought Aaron Downes’ men (or “our” team, as he put it rather perfectly in his post-match interview) put in a good performance against a good side – Aveley have been a credit to the division this season and they were well drilled, well organised and a threat going forward – their place in the league is deserved. I thought we approached the match much more positively than in recent weeks and pushed onto the front foot – it was a breath of fresh air seeing our best two strikers up front together as well – it was a solid performance and warranted a result that I am sure we wouldn’t have earnt this time last week. The team had clearly risen and faced up the events of the last 48 hours but there were understandably a few moments when emotion took control – I expect that will have started to subside a little bit by next week and I would hope to see a much calmer and collected performance… but that is not to take anything away from Saturday, everybody put in 100% and wore the shirt with pride: that was enough for me.
TACTICS
This isn’t the week to be critical but if I could offer two tactical thoughts I would be focusing on before Weymouth – 1) wing play; we have to start punishing teams through the wings; the introduction of Dan Martin opened up a lot of opportunities down the left, unfortunately we struggled to convert these but getting Dan confident and match-fit will add a different dimension. 2) Building from the back, including goal kicks – it is just all a little bit scattergun and I’d like to see some better shapes as we move the ball forward. Downes will be able to enjoy a week focusing exclusively on Weymouth now, hopefully with less distractions – the Yellow Army will be there in numbers and I’m already excited to be reunited once again with that old friend that is feeling a little bit more like the one I know and love.
COYY – LUKE
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