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Dom Roman

@DomRoman

Dom discusses the winger after his contract signing this week

JACK STOBBS

A new signing would normally mean a ‘New Gull Profile’, but having already covered ‘Stobbsy’ in March when he first arrived, there’s no need to go over Jack’s pre-Gulls days again (https://torquaytalk.com/2023/03/17/new-gull-profile-jack-stobbs-by-sam-turner/)! Thankfully all of Jack’s days are Torquay United days from now on, as the winger signs on for Gary Johnson, TUFC and the National League South in 2023-24.

Jack’s debut on loan for United from Oldham was away at Gateshead, when the Gulls struggled to a 1-1 draw against the Heed, with Kieron Evans grabbing a second half equaliser in front of a fantastic 173 Yellow Army following. Thomas Kelly remarked “Jack looked to create when he was on the ball. Unlucky to see his effort blocked when the keeper fluffed it with Jarvis and contributed to Evans’s equaliser”.

After that the winger was an ever-present for United until the end of the season, and during that time he grabbed a commendable 4 assists as the Gulls finally, finally, finally looked like a decent team. Initially playing wide right in a 4-4-2, Stobbs was then asked to move to wing back as Gary Johnson reverted back to his favoured 3-5-2, not his natural position but one which he filled admirably (only being exploited once for his lack of defensive qualities at Chesterfield).

The biggest thing that stood out for me with Jack is his unselfish running for the team, always helping out back in defence when required and putting a shift in. Nothing too fancy, but professionalism like that can often be taken for granted, and you could tell his team mates appreciated the consistent work and honest endeavour. Loan and permanent signings often arrive with none of those traits, as we know full well.

Going forward Stobbs likes to hog the touchline, he’s not a flashy player but one that will always try to find space for a pass and then push on to attempt and get a dangerous cross in. An old fashioned winger in many respects, but there’s nothing wrong with that. He soon showed the ability to whip in dangerous crosses both in open play and from set pieces, and with Collins on the other side and Nouble a willing target in the middle, Gary Johnson’s team suddenly had balance and quality to pick up points.

After leaving Oldham with a mixed time under his belt, this is a great chance for Jack to establish himself as a 1st team player at Plainmoor and we should be happy to have him onboard for 2023-24. Whether on the wing or at wing back I don’t think he’ll let us down and I can see a stream of 7/10’s being awarded by our contributors. With more chances to shoot in the NLS, Stobbsy should also be able to bag himself the odd goal for good measure.

The early squad building is promising, with characters signed on who the Yellow Army can get behind and some positive vibes being spread around. The next steps will be furnishing this squad with flair, pace and unpredictability, some X-Factor to help bring the ‘fun’ mentioned by Gary Johnson back to Plainmoor. Whilst the main aim for 23-24 should be achieving promotion, the Gulls must also get bums on seats with entertainment and plenty of goals. It might be greedy and optimistic asking for a repeat of 2018-19’s fun and frolics, but there’s no harm in asking…