Photograph (c) MiraclePR
As the National League kicks off, Clubnets caught up with Woking defender Ben Gerring who gave his assessment of both the Gulls’ and the Cards’ strengths and weaknesses for the season ahead and set the record straight about his feelings for his home club.
Gerring on: Torquay and Woking Prospects for 19/20
They have that home support, get good crowds and have an unbelievable manager
I watched Torquay against Exeter last Tuesday. They have a lot of technical players so I would expect them to be in or around the top ten, definitely. They have that home support, get good crowds and have an unbelievable manager.
The club’s on the up, they’re a good footballing team but they are weak; I feel that physically they could get beaten up against a side like Woking. (Going) toe-to-toe with them on the floor is a no-no because they are technically better than us so we will look to rough them up a little bit.
That is where we see our strengths and their weaknesses clashing. It will be down to who can come out stronger on the day. They need to play through that and not get sucked into it because it’s not just us that will do that to teams but there are some big, strong lads in this division.
So I would expect them to be top ten and mid-table would be great for us in all honesty.
Gerring on: Relations with Gulls fans
Anybody who thinks I don’t like Torquay United is mad. I will always be grateful to that club
(Last season, Torquay fans) had a bit of fun with me and I took a lot of stick. At the end of the day, I look at it like I had two years there where we had to stay up and we achieved both of those goals under severe (pressure). I saw grown men cry because they didn’t want their club to go into that division. I was having a young baby myself so the stress levels were through the roof.
Every week was do or die; in every training session it was drilled home how important it was to keep this club in this division. It was with great pride that we achieved what we did under the circumstances.
The next year they went down, so to then get abused was madness. I was getting stick for it and I was thinking, ‘why are you coming for me, I did my job?’
So I got a bit of stick, which was fine. I was at Paignton Zoo at the time and I read a song (about me) which was actually quite funny. I did laugh and a lot of my friends jumped on it as well.
We were playing at home to Weston and I was suspended and I thought it would be a good idea to sing one back. That kind of went down like a lead balloon, didn’t it? Some saw the funny side of it, seeing it for what it was, and some were horrified and thought I was a real bad guy.
At the end of the day, we were title contenders and I just added to the spice; I made it fun.
Anybody who thinks I don’t like Torquay United is mad. I believe that if I was to really apply myself and give them no option but to give me a call I would never ever say never to that opportunity. I am a Torquay fan at the end of the day. I’ve been to watch that club since I was a young age and I would still get giddy around some of the Kevin Hills, Lee Mansells and Guy Branstons; the players that I’ve watched growing up.
People might look at the modern era and the players coming on now and putting that yellow shirt on seeing how lucky they are. I was a local boy who got to do that so I will always be grateful to that club and I will always support them regardless of what happens.
Gerring on: His Woking Career
With 4,000 people behind you cheering you on, you have that extra man.
Obviously I’ve chosen to stay another year. It was a no-brainer really as it was always my first choice.
In the first year I joined at a tough time. They were under a bit of pressure with results not going their way and I wasn’t match fit so we just had to make it work. The fans warmed to me and I warmed to them and it’s just a good working relationship.
Last year the best two teams rightly went up.
We had an unbelievable backing at home which gave us a real good chance because our form going into the play-offs was terrible. We hit a bad spell at the worst possible time. But ultimately with 4,000 people behind you cheering you on, you have that extra man don’t you? It showed in the semis as we were 2-0 down with a mountain to climb against a very good Wealdstone side.
I always thought that the semis were going to be tougher than the final because the way Wealdstone play was always going to be more difficult for us than Welling. We had a good set of results against Welling in the FA Cup and the League so once we got to the final, I believed there was only going to be one winner.
(This year), the same demons are still going to be there: ‘he will come up against quick players, he’s going to struggle.’ I’ve heard it all before and I’ve just got to prove to people I can do it at this level. Only time will tell.
Torquay begin their National League campaign at home to Boreham Wood while Woking travel to Dagenham & Redbridge. Both games kick-off at 3pm.