TT BLOG
Matt Roberts – @MatthewVA438
Matt discusses the departing Ben Whitfield
Like most Torquay supporters I’d been resigned to seeing Ben Whitfield leave at the end of the season, whether we were promoted or not. He’s a league player playing in the Conference, to half-borrow a quote he used about the club when he signed in the summer of 2019.
Having fallen out of favour with then new manager John Askey at Port Vale, Ben upped sticks and left the Potteries for life on the English Riviera. As someone who was born and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, I have great sympathy with him in this regard. Having spoken to Gary Johnson, the decision to make the move was clear, with Ben remarking that “He knows how to get the best out of players, but more than that, small managers tend to get the best out of small players”.
I think on this score, Whitfield was spot on, and it didn’t take long for him to wow the Plainmoor faithful with his skill, pace and work ethic, in fact it was his debut where he made a superb impact, scoring a header to equalise against Woking away. As the months went on, the performances got better and better, and Ben became one of the most established players on the team sheet. When he got the ball, you knew that something special could happen, with full backs sometimes at a loss to deal with his turn of pace.

One thought on “WHITS by Matt Roberts”