1. Hampton and Richmond were another 'Guiseley' in the Gulls' midst.
Torquay United's final home league defeat of the 2017-18 campaign came against part-time Guiseley and their first home league loss of the 2018-19 came against another part-time outfit in the form of Hampton and Richmond. Overcoming determined part-time opposition like Guiseley, who United failed to beat in six attempts - a sequence which included five defeats, has been an achilles heel for the Gulls in the past three years prior to their relegation to National League South. Both Hampton & Richmond's goals were as a result of set pieces as they dug in to come away from Plainmoor with all three points. It's a problem that United need to solve, in addition to dealing dealing with the extra burden of being the biggest club in the league.
2. United need goals badly.
As mentioned in a previous article on this site, former Gulls manager Dave Smith to win promotion in the lower leagues you need to score goals, and United have now gone 397 minutes since they last scored a goal - when Ruairi Keating headed home Liam Davis' cross against East Thurrock in the 53rd minute. Indeed it was Keating who came closest to scoring for United against Hampton & Richmond in the 58th minute, after coming off the bench at half-time, with a shot that hit the post and bounced clear.
So far this season this season, United manager Gary Owers hasn't managed to find a strike partnership that works so far this season from a combination that includes Keating, Jamie Reid and Brett Williams - who were all retained from last season - and new summer signing Andre Wright.
On Saturday against Hampton and Richmond, Owers opted for a 4-3-3 formation, with Williams playing as the central of the three frontmen with Reid and Jason Banton either side of him.
If there's anything that we can learn from that is that Williams isn't suited to playing as a loan striker - a role that requires a particular set of skills.
What Owers wouldn't give for two strikers who could deliver the returns of Elliot Romain and Rhys Healey, who found the back of the net four and seven times respectively whilst on loan at Plainmoor last season. Nevertheless, the Gulls' goal scoring statistics need to change, and change quickly, if United are going to challenge at the right end of the table where many believe a team of their stature as a former Football League club should be challenging.
3. Relying on the defence isn't enough.
Following on from the previous point about goal scoring, Saturday's defeat to Hampton and Richmond was the first time that United have conceded more than one goal in a game this season.
As they are currently finding goals hard to come by - conceding them at the other end leaves them facing an uphill task.
Their clean sheet against Gloucester City on Easter Monday was their fifth in seven league matches for the Gulls, but they cannot be expected to be relied upon to keep one every week.
4. Captaincy switch.
After deciding to drop current skipper Brett Williams to the bench for Easter Monday's clash against Gloucester City, Gary Owers handed the captain's armband to midfielder Asa Hall.
With Williams currently struggling for form - the question remains whether Hall might end up keeping the role permanently to help to allow Williams to focus on re-discovering his goal scoring touch. However, if Hall does retain the armband for next Saturday's visit of Hemel Hempstead it won't be the first time he has captained a side at Plainmoor, as he skippered his previous club Barrow for their visit to Plainmoor in the National League last February.
5. The growing unpopularity of Gary Owers.
Following their defeat to Hampton and Richmond, the Gulls side left the field to a chorus and chants of 'Owers Out'. This was then followed on Easter Monday against Gloucester City with an incident involving the use of flares on the pitch from the United fans who made the journey to Evesham and another unsavoury incident towards the end of the match which saw a fan throw a cup of hot coffee over Owers.
Sandwiched in between these two events was a poll run by Devon Live on whether Owers should be sacked, which prompted a response of 95% saying yes.
The actions of thIf the Gulls current poor form continues then not only will Owers come under increasing pressure, but General Manager Geoff Harrop and Chairman Clarke Osborne will also be facing the same pressure from the fans.
