The A-Z of Torquay UnitedA reminder of the people, teams, places and animals that have had an impact and influence on Torquay United during our long history – all categorised alphabetically. |
W |
Chris Waddle |
| Former England star Chris Waddle is one of the most famous players to ever put on a United shirt. The winger was 37 by the time he arrived at Plainmoor in 1998, and ended up only representing us a handful of times. He then moved back to one of his old teams Sheffield Wednesday as coach. |
Jamie Ward |
| Ward was released by Aston Villa in 2006 and was duly snapped up by Ian Atkins that summer. The striker soon made a name for himself at Plainmoor, exciting the crowd with his pace and trickery. Unfortunately with the Chris Roberts regime looming large, Jamie’s time at the club was short-lived and he left for Chesterfield in January 2007. |
Eric Webber |
| Webber originally joined United as player-manager in 1951, and played at centre-half for the club until 1955; when he retired to concentrate on the managerial role. Eric went on to become one of our greatest ever bosses, ushering in a terrific time at the club. On the pitch the team had memorable FA Cup adventures, and enjoyed famous games against Leeds United and Huddersfield Town (1955), plus a great effort versus Tottenham Hotspur (1965), when the team forced a replay. In the league Webber almost masterminded promotion to Division Two, and managed the team to promotion to Division Three in 1960. Webber finally left in 1965, after overseeing one of the most exciting periods in our history as the crowds flocked to Plainmoor! |
Wembley |
| Torquay United have played five times at Wembley Stadium over the years. Our first appearance was the Sherpa Van Trophy Final at Wembley (Bolton Wanderers) in 1989. After that there were two League Play-Offs games in 1991 (Blackpool) and 1998 (Colchester), before an FA Trophy loss in 2008 (Ebbsfleet); quickly followed by that Cambridge Conference Play-Off victory in 2009. Overall winning two out of five! |
Steve Woods |
| Woods started his career at Stoke, and moved to United from Chesterfield in 2001. Roy McFarland soon benefited from the centre-back’s quality, and the calm defender went on to become a regular in the team. Leroy Rosenior took charge in 2002, and paired the composed Woods with the experienced Craig Taylor. It proved a great partnership, and the team won promotion in 2004 with Steve chipping in a number of crucial goals (including that match at Southend). The defender remained loyal as the club were relegated back to League Two in 2005, and became one of the few consistent performers in a troubled time at Plainmoor. Paul Buckle arrived in 2007 and made Woods captain soon after, as the side looked to bounce back to the league. Steve left in 2009 after making 283 appearances for United, and is regarded as one of our finest ever defenders. |
TUFC PROGRAMME ARTICLE: A-Z Feature ‘W’ – Chester 1st April 17
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