TT BLOG

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

It’s the hope that kills you!

When Cole Palmer scored his perfectly placed left footer on Sunday night, I have to admit I thought it was England’s night and England’s tournament! That’s the thing about Football, it pushes your emotions to over-ride rational thinking. That’s why if you asked most English people to predict the outcome of the final, most people would have said ENGLAND! And that’s why bookies make a very good living taking bets on the sport. Heart often rules head, and I was of course proven wrong. But I make no apologies for this, I will continue to get carried away here or there supporting my football teams and continue to believe the stars will align and glory will be ours…even if the truth is mostly something different.

Buckland (a) Draw

The first Pre-Season game of the summer is rarely much to write home about. It is, after all, mainly a 90 minutes for players to stretch their legs, build fitness up and for Torquay this year, start building on the pitch relationships and rapport with new team mates. In the end it was a game that offered glimpses of how Paul Wotton will set the team up this season, and glimpses of what the likes of Hasani, Collins and Seymour will bring to the table. After months of Gulls-free time the Yellow Army were gagging to get back to it, and that included the Bryn Consortium who really are getting stuck into the task of improving all areas of Torquay United. Meanwhile some South Devon College youngsters got an opportunity in the fancy new away kit, whilst a few trialists and last season’s stand-out youth player Jacob Wellington also got on. This is just the beginning of this new journey, and I’d expect Tavistock (a) to be more of the same….with perhaps a goal or two thrown in for good measure.

Ollie’s Return

Having already signed a number of defenders, it felt like Ollie Tomlinson had disappeared out of view, but up he popped at the Bowls Club last week and the centre back was straight into the action at Buckland on Friday night. In our ‘Stay or Go’ views for 24/25, I had the ex-Argyle man marked down as one to keep. Granted, he had a wobbly end to 23/24, but in the first half of the season he was one of our better players and he has the potential to still improve at Torquay United. The tumultuous 2023/24 can certainly be described as ‘character building’ for someone like Tomlinson, with defensive partners changing week by week and a horribly unsettled dressing room – it wasn’t an easy place to be. This time around Ollie should be aided by a more organised and sturdier team alongside him in a happier environment, and with any luck this could be a year to remember for him and the club. Good luck to the lad.

Fixture List

We finally got the fixture list! The good news was an opening day game at fortress Plainmoor. A chance for the Yellow Army to fully regather, sip some pints in glorious sunshine (well you never know!) and rejoice in the new Torquay United that is emerging. The bad news? Well localish away fixtures are all mid-week, which is understandable but disappointing nonetheless, and the Boxing Day game is away at Weymouth. What other games stand out on the calendar? Well Marc White’s Dorking visiting on 24th August looks like a tasty one and the fixtures versus Truro City will carry some extra spice due to Paul Wotton. At the moment it’s hard to know what to expect from 2024-25. Expectations from supporters will be lower than last summer and I think that’s a positive thing. Can we win the NLS? Who knows, but I’ll definitely be there to find out.