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Crippling Indifference Strikes Again
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No heart.
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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27/01/2010
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More On Torquay United
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I'm not sure where to start with this. I've got better things to do with my time than watch this team at the moment, though unlike hundreds of others who voted with their feet last night, my insanity still remains. Though I am beginning to see that if you get no enjoyment out of something, why do it?
I'm going to Notts County for the weekend away, I'm going to Accrington for the novelty of it. You'll do well to get me to the next two midweek aways though, I have better things to do with my time, money and effort. What is the point?
I could handle it if the team were just not good enough but gave it their all and just fell short. If they show fight and pride then you can't really argue. However, the way the team just ambled off the field last night, with little appreciation shown to barely 1,000 people who remained to support them, fills me, and I can imagine a fair number of those aforementioned with a sense of deflation. Maybe they are giving it their all, but it certainly doesn't look it like it from where I'm sitting.
This is perhaps harsh on some individuals, but collectively as a team, they are falling way short of what is expected of them. The second half last night was a diabolical show of indifference. And it's not as if it's a one off.
If Torquay had someone in the final third with an end product or any sort of quality, they'd have waltzed out of Underhill with three deserved points. Rarely have I seen such territorial advantage wasted as it was by the visitors. Perhaps it was down to the astute marshalling of the backline by Gary Breen, along with an admirable performance by Joe Devera who was bought on very early as a sub for the injured Ismail Yakubu. As it was, Torquay were so bad in front of goal that we had to score their equaliser for them. Just as it looked like we might hold on, Paul Furlong diverted a clearance into his own net. Agonising. We looked like we may just nick it.
Maybe a win is what we needed to really pick the players up. It was a crucial game, and the table would have looked a little more comfortable if we'd managed it. As soon as they equalised, our heads were even lower than they currently are. There is zero belief. But it was the air of inevitabilty that led to it that is so disappointing. We had no shots in the second half. We were encamped in our own half following a series of long balls which were easily returned by the Torquay defence. We could not even string two passes together and worst of all, we didn't look bothered about it. Noone was prepared to stand up, sort everybody out and lead the rest. Isn't that what our captain is supposed to do?
I was doing my best to distract myself from it. Every time Trevor Kettle referees it's the same old jokes, but why not? To be fair, he was excellent in the middle, seemingly shrugging off his needless whistling and frantic showing of cards that had earned him such a reputation beforehand. Torquay's substitutes were also an oddity. Not that I'm a hair expert, but their left back could have done with a trip to the barbers, and the 'diminutive' left winger that followed must have heard it all before. But seriously, what a tiny man he was. He actually looked quite good on the ball though, to be fair. All of this was almost a requirement to divert attention from this awful game of football.
I can take a positive out of the game though. Lee Sawyer. He looks quite an acquisition, with driving runs and vision for a pass undoubted. For a small lad, he uses his body very well and you can see that he's been brought through the ranks of Chelsea. Unfortunately he went off early in the second half, I can only imagine he was injured. At least I hope he was injured. To bring on a misfiring Albert Adomah for our main attacking threat would have been silly, surely?
I've always been a firm believer since we came back up that we have been severely limited by our situation. Whoever is in charge will have a mountain of a task with the budget limitations that we've had. I've kept on saying it about Ian Hendon, his job is extremely tough. However, at least in these last five years we've had a team that in the main, has tried and fought until the very last minute. The team we have now are not doing that, and this is why 1,014 Barnet fans showed up last night. That is why 67 went to Morecambe, around 40 will be at Accrington, and about 50 at Shrewsbury.
Why should I bother? If the team isn't going to, then why should I spend my hard earned going to watch it? Notts County need to be able to field eleven men on Saturday and that should see them through. It's just not good enough.
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