Butterflies - we need more Tigers at the moment!

[Dave Deacon]

Steve Massey has asked me to post the following on this Forum after it first appeared on the TigerTalk Forum yesterday:-

I personally think tonight's [brackley] game will (or should be) a crossroads for many of the players in the side, including our new Romanian "Butterfly".

Too many have underperformed at this level this season, and I'm sure Steve [Thompson] will learn a lot more about them all this evening.

I felt a lot of the "hunger" has gone from the side, the "desire" needed when the team is one or two down, or to finish chances off when we are on top of sides. One of those players for me is our Romanian.

This will no doubt surprise many people, particularly as he's only been here a very short time, but my first view of Florin at Bashley was poor, very poor, and except for the first 15 mins the team carried him playing rest of game with 10 men! His body language said more about him and his character than anything he can do on the ball.

There seems a flaw in his make up, you don't need to watch him over many games to detect it, it was quite clear to see on that cold frosty evening. Start of the second half, having worn a shirt under his strip during first half, he came out with ANOTHER one under the strip! He than proceeded to "hide" for rest of the half and the quickest and longest run was to dugout when brought off!

Meanwhile, Captain Ash was a tower at the back and yes he just wore a short sleeve shirt!

I referred to him as a Butterfly, because on occasions when the sun is shining and everything is fine with the world, you will see him in all his beauty, flitting and floating around with such ease he looks magnificent!

Unfortunately player's like this do not WIN you anything! Oh its great for a team like Truro to sign an ex International and creates a little hype and exposure for a time, but just like the Butterfly, you will only see him when everything is perfect and those occasions are few and far between!

You can perhaps see why he's had so many clubs and is now plying his trade at this level of the game.

If he suddenly stands up, rolls his sleeves up and puts together 6/7 great games on the trot and influences the side to such an extent you would expect of an EX International at this level, then I will eat my words and be thrilled to do so!!,

But this type of player at this level is an out and out luxury, of course he has fantastic talent but needs to be playing in the right team at the right level and this is not it!

No, what is needed for our team right now is not the gifted, diminutive "Butterflies" but lots more "Tigers" snarling and biting hard at the opposition with a hunger and desire to hunt the ball down. We have only tended to play or work when we've had the ball and not enough hard work when we haven't.

The play offs are still a possibility, small but there's still a chance.

That's why tonight is such a vital game for us.

It will be very difficult of course but with two home games (against teams we should beat if we want to make the playoffs) after this, its a great opportunity for the guy's to pass us to victory like we know they can!

Best wishes to Steve and all the Team.

Mass

[Old Treyewonian]

As always Mass says the things some of us City fans don't like to.

I've pondered that some of our players simply may not be good enough at this level. It's a hard thing for a fan to say because you've cheered and seen this team steamroller through the divisions and you automatically assume they'll step up flawlessly to the next level, but it doesn't always happen that way. And I know the feeling from my own job experiences. I mentioned in another post that some of the old regulars seem to be spending more time sitting on their backsides than being out on the pitch. Is this a sign?

What's really frustrating is that for our first half dozen games we looked great and our FA Cuo win at Maidenhead was outstanding. So it's hard to put your finger on why it's all gone pear shaped. It's not a lengthy injury list or vast amounts of suspensions. Maybe like a cocky boxer we got complacent, got walloped and haven't recovered our senses yet.

As for our new Romanian signing, just look at his list of clubs and how long (or not long) he's stayed at them. That may tell you something.

Of course after 5 years of non stop success the law of averages said we had to hit the buffers sooner or later (it's happened to FC United of Manchester for example) and after being the playground bullies for so long we're now in with teams who are capable of bullying us back and maybe we don't know how to handle that!

If we make the play offs this season from where we are now then personally I think it'll be the biggest league achievement of the Heaney era. However if we don't make it I think the experience of this season will actually have done us a favour.

Mind you all the talk about wins to get us towards the play offs should be more about wins to get us away from the vicinity of the bottom four as we're not exactly safe from relegation yet! But then I am a pessimist - which means I'm never disappointed...just resigned to the fickleness of fate!

[chairman]

I too am a pessimist and find I get p...ed off when things go right!

Seriously though, it might be a small blessing if City just consolidate at this level and give management more time to take stock ready for next year and on.

[hammers]

Can anyone please tell me where the name Tigers came from, I have always known it to be Truro City,

at the moment the bite seems to have gone out of the Tigers, maybe those running the club are not giving them the right food, by that I mean the right quality players, & maybe it is time to retire some of the older Tigers & buy in some Baby ones,

City Suporters I am not in any way being unkind to Truro City, I am just maybe trying to put a lighter side onto the teams ongoing problem, that of winning.

Hammers :c:

[Nemesis]

Can anyone please tell me where the name Tigers came from, I have always known it to be Truro City,

Hammers

When the club went through its' rebranding, they asked its junior supporters to find a nickname for the 'supporters club' and 'White Tigers' was the winning entry. The name just seems to have been used in relation to all parts of the clubs.