Dom Roman – @DomRoman
In the next part of our TT season review, I asked the TT team to vote on various TUFC 18-19 awards, below is the results from the following illustrious panel:
DR – Dom Roman AC – Andy Charles KS – Karl Standeven MA – Marcus Arscott
BC – Ben Currie SD – Sam Druiff SJ – Sam Jones RM – Rachel Malloch
TK – Thomas Kelly MH – Matty Hayward RH – Rich Heesem JJ – Jonny Jones
A) PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1ST – Jamie Reid
MH – “Who else? While it’s always tempting to try to carve out some nuance and vote for someone who isn’t the top scorer, someone who others have overlooked, someone who plays an unnoticed role, but this year it is impossible to ignore the hitman. If 32 goals and 14 assists isn’t enough to convince you that Jamie is our most important player, his hold up play this season has been superb and has meant we haven’t needed to sign a target man to complement him.”
2ND – Asa Hall
SD – “Asa has been a revelation for Torquay this season. I love the way he can dictate a game of football. For me, he’s our best captain since Mansell, Asa is a player that doesn’t look particularly pleasing or skilful at times, but when he’s absent, we lack a lot of discipline”.
3RD – Kyle Cameron
DR – “Cam was pretty much unknown to us when he arrived last summer, but it wasn’t long before he cemented his place in the 1st team and became a fans favourite with aggressive and whole-hearted displays. Cam has been a revelation for me and is improving all the time, just the sort of player I want at Plainmoor”.
B) YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (22 years old and younger)
1ST – Saikou Janneh
DR – “Saikou came in and instantly made a big impression on us all. I love his appetite for the game, always wanting to be involved and showing total commitment for the team. His movement off the ball and unselfish running helped create so many opportunities for Reidy, whilst he also bagged a number of important goals with confident finishing. A real talent”.
2ND – Ben Wynter
SJ – “Short of confidence under Owers but ended up as one of the most important players. Solid defensively and an asset going forward”.
3RD – Kyle Cameron
SD – “It’s hard to believe that Kyle Cameron is 22 years of age. His maturity on a football pitch is that of a player who could be 32! To be a vice captain in a squad that has a few ‘senior pros’ is a credit to the lad. Partial to the odd mistake, it’s great watching Kyle learn his trade at Torquay. He reminds me of a young Angus MacDonald, and I think he will make the step up to the NL perfectly”.
C) BEST GOAL
1ST – Jamie Reid V Concord Rangers
MH – I know it didn’t really matter, but if you can show me three better consecutive touches of a football than that I’d be amazed. An unbelievable strike”.
2ND – Asa Hall V Truro City
SD – “I can picture it again, I was in my usual spot on the popside between the halfway line and the home end. He just caught a loose ball so sweetly and bent it into the top corner, or top bins if you like, with his wrong foot. It’s without doubt one of the best goals I’ve ever seen scored, and I bet Asa has scored few as good as that”.
3RD – Ben Wynter V Woking
DR – “United had dragged themselves back into the game and up stepped the young man to bang a left footer in from close range to send us into delirium. Not the most difficult goal we’ve scored, but a massive moment and brilliant composure from Ben to hit the target”
D) BEST GAME
1ST – Woking Away
SD – “Woking (a). What do you say about that crazy afternoon?! 1,400 of the yellows faithful in a terrible open away end, Ben Gerring being relentlessly abused by all concerned! 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 3-1, 3-2, 3-3. I’d be lying if I’m over that game, I still get a bit giddy thinking of it. Went through every emotion possible”
2ND – Truro City Home
SJ – “Great Boxing Day game and a great performance in front of a great crowd”
3RD – Chelmsford City/Oxford City Home
MH – “It’s hard to pick the best games of this season because so many have been fun, but only because we’ve battered teams: not necessarily because they’ve been exciting games. But Chelmsford at home was a huge match, a close contest, and resulted in two late goals for the Gulls. I really enjoyed it”
E) TOP AWAY DAY
Woking April 19
DR – “It was the game everyone had waited for and boy it didn’t disappoint! A game of thrills, spills and wild celebrations with your mates as the title was all but wrapped up in a crazy last 10 minutes. Woking (A) had it all”
Other Mentions:
AC – “For combination of result, the way the result came and one other reason, I’ll go for East Thurrock. Great meal and beer in the local pub (simply the best chips I have ever eaten), meeting up with a few people I hadn’t seen in years and then winning with a Ruairi Keating goal in added time – I’ll happily take that over some of the 1,400 away attendances where we failed to win. I always want the win over the day out!! (NB: I wasn’t at Billericay or Woking!)”
SJ – “Eastbourne 2- 4 Torquay. First time I got to see Johnsons team in action and what a treat. Also saw Reidy get his first career hat-trick. A special moment”
TK – “WSM – Outnumbering the home fans in huge numbers, excellent atmosphere, crap result!”
MH – “Bath (a) was a great day out ruined by two hours of football. So was Chippenham. I strangely enjoyed Boreham Wood in the Trophy. The Truro “away” game was fun. As was Lymington. But the best away day I’ve had this season was Dulwich Hamlet away. Lovely little ground (Tooting and Mitcham FC), pints on the terrace, good game of football, good atmosphere, two late goals: a good day”
F) UNSUNG HERO
JOINT WINNER – Liam Davis/Ruairi Keating
DR – “Liam didn’t miss a game and got on with his job quietly and effectively. Very few right wingers troubled LD and he should be proud of an excellent season. Meanwhile Mr 100% Ruairi was an asset whether he was on the pitch or not. The Irishman is full of character and is a real team player who loves playing for Torquay United”
Other Mentions:
MA – I’m going to think outside of the box here and say Dan Feasey – United’s physio. Dan worked under Gareth Law and stepped up to the mark when Gareth left for Argyle. I know that, in part, he’s been helped by the youth of the squad, but how many injuries have we had this season? And, of those, how many players took longer than their expected recovery times to come back? The squad has never looked fitter and Dan must take his fair share of the credit for that.
AC – “Gary Owers. (Has he gone, mad I hear you cry). He might be a shite manager and a shite coach but you can’t really fault his recruitment this season. Although he brought in some dogs let us not forget that Shaun MacDonald, Ben Wynter, Jean-Yves Koue Niate, Kyle Cameron, Asa Hall, Jake Andrews, Opi Edwards and Ryan Dickson were all signed by the Mackem Genius and that is a fairly decent chunk of our title-winning first XI. Don’t ever tell me I don’t court controversy”
MH – I’ll go for a player because it can seem a bit damp to say something like “The Yellow Army” or “The backroom staff” (sorry, lads, if anyones said that). Ben Wynter has been called the “unsung hero” or “most under-rated player” so much in recent weeks that he has become very much a “sung hero” and very much a rated player – deservedly so. My decision, thus, is Shaun McDonald – he’s dug out a few excellent saves this year after being brought in as second choice to Alex Bass. He’s also a great chap and was signed – at least in part – because he drove a long way for a trial. Special mention to the excellent, ever-present Liam Davis too.
G) BEST MOMENT
1ST – Ben Wynter Goal
MH – “Wynts’ goal at Woking was just so much fun. It all but sealed the title and if there was a roof on the terrace there, it would have come off. Just fantastic stuff, I want to live that moment again and again”
2ND – Gary Johnson taking charge
DR – “Wynts goal was totally brilliant, but the biggest and best moment for me was the day Gary Johnson took charge of my beleaguered football team. From then on everything changed and the Yellows world became a better place. What a man”
3 – Eastbourne Home
SD – Eastbourne at home. We won the title, I cried. Best day of my life.
TORQUAYTALK 