TT BLOG

Steve Harris

@steveharris84

Steve reveals his top 10 players from the last 10 years

10 – ASA HALL (2018-PRESENT)

The signing of Asa Hall in the summer of 2018 could be seen as a statement of intent of bouncing back from National League South. However, it turned down to be a lot more besides. Hall emerged as one of the best Gulls’ captains in recent years – as he finished the 2020-21 season as top scorer in all competitions with 14 goals. He would also score the decisive goal in United’s 2-1 win over Taunton Town in their penultimate game of the 2023-24 campaign, which helped the Gulls retained their National League South after losing ten points for going into Administration.

HALL STATS – POSITION: MIDFIELDER, APPEARANCES: 192, GOALS 45

9 – LUKE YOUNG (2014-18)

A stand-out performer in a struggling team during much of his stay at Plainmoor, Luke Young offered Gulls’ fans a beacon of hope during what was a difficult time in the club’s history. During his four years at the club, following his release by home-town club Plymouth Argyle in 2014, he was voted as the club’s player of the year three times (2014-15, 2016-17 and 2017-18). His long range volley against Wrexham, the club he would later join in 2018, is regarded by many as one of the best goals ever seen at Plainmoor.

YOUNG STATS – POSITION: MIDFIELDER, APPEARANCES: 142, GOALS 18

8 – ARMANI LITTLE (2019-22)

A previous foe of United’s when he featured for Woking against the Gulls in the 2018-19 season in National League South. Nevertheless, following United’s promotion success, he signed for United on a permanent basis and became a key figure in the Gulls’ midfield and finished the 2021-22 campaign as leading scorer with 15 goals, which earned him a move back into the EFL with Forest Green Rovers.

LITTLE STATS – POSITION: MIDFIELDER, APPEARANCES: 90, GOALS 19

7 – ADAM RANDELL (2020-21)

Plymouth Argyle loanee Adam Randell made his debut for the Gulls on the opening day of the 2020-21 season and went on to make 48 appearances in all competitions. Although he was mainly used as a holding midfielder, Randell also appeared at right-back and right midfield, and appeared in the latter role in the 2021 Play-off final against Hartlepool. His displays also helped him to win the clubs’ Young Player of the Year award and he has established himself as a first team regular with the Pilgrims on his return to Home Park.

RANDELL STATS – POSITION: MIDFIELDER, APPEARANCES: 50, GOALS 3

6 – NATHAN SMITH (2015-16)

Nathan Smith became the first loan player to win the club’s player of the year award in the 2015-2016 season whilst on a season-long loan from Port Vale. Although he was only five feet ten inches tall, Smith still managed to win numerous aerial duels with players who were far taller than him, which he combined with fabulous positional sense. Since returning to Vale Park, he has been a regular for the Valiants in both Leagues One and Two.

SMITH STATS – POSITION: CENTRE BACK, APPEARANCES: 44, GOALS 3

5 – CONNOR LEMONHEIGH-EVANS (2018-22)

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans first joined United on loan under Gary Owers before returning twice more on loan under Gary Johnson before signing permanently in 2020. Lemonheigh-Evans’ arrival coincided with the time when the Gulls were relegated to National League South. However, he returned to help United win promotion at the first attempt as champions. During his second loan spell, he also appeared for the Wales Under-21 squad and scored twice for them against their Swiss counterparts before returning to Plainmoor to do the same for the Gulls in a 4-1 FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie with Winchester City.

He joined United permanently in the summer of 2020, and scored on the opening day of the 2020-21 campaign against Stockport County, and finished the season with 11 goals in all competitions as the Gulls agonisingly missed out on promotion to the EFL. He found the target another 11 times in the 2021-22 season, which included his first career hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Notts County, before joining Stockport in the summer of 2022.

CLE STATS – POSITION: MIDFIELDER, APPEARANCES: 164, GOALS 30

4 – RHYS HEALEY (2018)

Despite only joining the Gulls in March 2018 from Cardiff City, when they were managed by Neil Warnock, Rhys Healey ended the 2017-18 campaign as United’s joint-leading scorer with Jamie Reid on six. His haul included the Gulls’ goal in their 1-1 draw with Hartlepool United, which saw relegation to National League South confirmed, a hat-trick in a 4-3 midweek home defeat to Guiseley and he was on target on the final day of the season as the Gulls drew 1-1 with Ebbsfleet United.

HEALEY STATS – POSITION: STRIKER, APPEARANCES: 8, GOALS 6

3 – ANGUS MACDONALD (2012 & 2014-16)

After enjoying two loan spells with the Gulls under Martin Ling, Angus MacDonald joined the Gulls on a permanent basis following their relegation from the Football League in 2014. Unfortunately, despite a promising start to the 2014-15 campaign, United floundered and they ended the season in 13th place. MacDonald then found himself playing under three different managers in a short space of time after Chris Hargreaves’ departure and Paul Cox brief stint in charge before Kevin Nicholson was appointed. MacDonald was handed the captain’s armband by Nicholson and he proved to be another influential figure during Nicholson’s first great escape. He was one of United’s key performers, despite having the threat of a three-match ban for receiving a 15th yellow card hanging over him for much of the time towards the end of the 2015-16 season. His efforts later earned him a £100,000 move to Barnsley and he has since appeared for the likes Hull City and Aberdeen, who he recently appeared in the Europa League for.

MACDONALD STATS – POSITION: CENTRE BACK, APPEARANCES: 98, GOALS 3

2 – JAMIE REID (2015-20)

Torquay-born Jamie Reid had only scored 11 goals across his three separate spells with United, which included two loan spells from Exeter City before to him joining the Gulls permanently. Gary Johnson’s appointment as successor to Gary Owers saw a change in his fortunes, as he finished the 2018-19 campaign with 32 goals to his name as United won the National League South title. He then found the back of the net a further 21 times in the 2019-20 season before it was curtailed by the outbreak of Covid-19. Reid later moved onto Mansfield Town and Stevenage and he has represented Northern Ireland at international level in 2024 and scored on his debut.

REID STATS – POSITION: STRIKER, APPEARANCES: 176, GOALS 63

1 – KIEFFER MOORE (2016)

Kieffer Moore’s loan spell from Forest Green Rovers in the 2016-17 season proved to be short but sweet. He netted five times for the Gulls in four appearances, which included a hat-trick against Solihull Moors. After returning to Forest Green, he nearly re-joined United on a permanent basis in January 2017, but Ipswich Town came in with an 11th hour bid for his services. Moore has since gone on to appear for Wales in Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

MOORE STATS – POSITION: STRIKER, APPEARANCES: 4, GOALS 5

COYY – STEVE

THE FULL LIST:

50. Callum Dolan – 49. Toby Ajala – 48. Frank Vincent – 47. Jake Andrews – 46. Mark Halstead

45. Stephen Wearne – 44. Shaun Harrad – 43. Brett Williams – 42. Will Goodwin – 41. Nathan Blissett

40. Vincent Dorel – 39. Arkell Jude-Boyd – 38. Robbie Cundy – 37. David Fitzpatrick – 36. Frank Nouble

35. Tom Lapslie – 34. Aaron Jarvis – 33. Lucas Covolan – 32. Danny Wright – 31. Brendan Moore

30. Dan Sparkes – 29. Shaun MacDonald – 28. Kalvin Kalala – 27. Dean Moxey – 26. Kyle Cameron

25. Aaron Downes – 24. Ryan Bowman – 23. Sam Sherring – 22. Ben Wynter – 21. Dan Butler

20. Durrell Berry – 19. Nico Lawrence – 18. Joe Lewis – 17. Aaron Nemane – 16. Saikou Janneh

15. Danny Racchi – 14. Liam Davis – 13. Ben Whitfield – 12. Stephen Duke-McKenna – 11. Sinclair Armstrong

10. Asa Hall – 9. Luke Young – 8. Armani Little – 7. Adam Randell – 6. Nathan Smith

5. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans – 4. Rhys Healey – 3. Angus MacDonald – 2. Jamie Reid – 1. Kieffer Moore

OTHER ARTICLES

DONATE TO TT

The TT Site now has a donations page – https://torquaytalk.com/donate-to-tt/

Any donations much appreciated!

TT PARTNERS

TWITTER – INSTAGRAM – ETSY – YOUTUBE – FACEBOOK