TT BLOG

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Engerland….

It’s hard not to see some similarities between England’s first two games of Euro 2024 and Gary Johnson’s 2023-24 Gulls team. Obviously the players are based at entirely different levels of the football pyramid (I won’t be making comparisons between Kane and Jarvis or Saka and Stobbs!), but like GJ’s underperforming United side, the Three Lions lack sparkle and belief going forward, too slow and unimaginative as many of our England teams have been in the past. Struggling to find sharp passing and interplay in the final third, it’s been a tough watch, with the important consolation being that 4 points are in the bag. With talents like Bellingham, Saka, Foden and all, it’s up to Gareth Southgate to discover energy, confidence and balance amongst this potentially excellent side. We’ve seen in the past the national team suddenly click into gear with one or two changes or a moment of quality or luck, so this tournament could still give us summer cheer…otherwise eyes will quickly turn to pre-season and a nice pint in the sunshine at Buckland.

Captain Fantastic

We asked the Yellow Army on Social Media this week to name their favourite skipper from their time supporting the Gulls. The first one that made an impression on me was Wes Saunders who bossed the defence in the early nineties, alongside a certain youthful brick shithouse in the form of Matt Elliott! Next on my list is a similar type of player, 2003-04 hero Craig Taylor. I’ve always loved a commanding centre back and Taylor led that team from the back perfectly. As one of the final pieces to one of our best teams in recent history, his name will always command respect. The third player I’ll mention is Chris Hargreaves…aka Tarzan, aka Hargy Bargy! Bringing him in during the summer of 2007 felt like a gamble due to his advancing years, but it paid off big-time. Flowing hair, energetic run after energetic run, he set an example for the rest to follow and had two brilliant seasons at Plainmoor between 2007-09.

3 Years Since Ashton Gate

What might have been, what could have been, why was it disallowed, ifs and buts etc etc, the spectre of Ashton Gate 20.06.21 has loomed large over us all ever since that cruel play-off loss. Rarely can afternoons have such highs and lows all within a couple of hours, and I’m not sure I’ve ever celebrated a goal like that Covolan one. But at some point, the healing process has to begin. Heck we may have gone up in 2021, but then been relegated soon after, and still ended up in the position we are now, we will never know. Under Osborne, Edwards & Johnson I can’t say confidently that the promotion would have led us to become a stable EFL club that’s for sure. But what we always knew is that Clarke Osborne was never right for our club, and we can at least take solace in the fact that true and passionate supporters are now making the decisions at Torquay United. We’ve had a clean cut off, we’re getting a refresh, a new Torquay United and I hope we’ll soon have special new memories that don’t end in heartbreak like that hugely gutting day in Bristol. Moving on from Ashton Gate? We’ll get there (I hope).

The Squad Building

The squad stands at 11, so still ample work to do for Wotton/Warnock as we edge towards the Pre-Season Friendlies. It’s hard to know what to make of the signings so far and how they’ll all gel together won’t become apparent until August time, but I feel one of the common threads is ‘work rate’ and I believe that’s something that Paul will demand from his players in spades. It was apparent when his team beat us at Plainmoor, with lots of willing running and hard work to win the ball off the Gulls and move forwards. Another keyword is ‘firepower’, and with Ash, Seymour and Crosbie around I don’t think we’ll be shot-shy in 2023-24! What do we need? I’ll keep asking for an experienced CB to boss that defence (not sure whether I’ll get one!) and creative midfielders/wingers to provide the ammunition for these strikers could help make us into real contenders. After the influx of signings the following weeks have felt somewhat boring that’s for sure, so more incomings please TUFC!

Painting Plainmoor

And finally, well done to those who have worked at Plainmoor in recent weeks, the club can accomplish so much more with Torquay United and it’s loyal supporters working in harmony, and that feeling can only help when the football gets going. ‘Football without fans is nothing’ said Jock Stein. Bloody right.