TT BLOG
Luke Hunter
@gullsgullsluke
Luke and the team look ahead to what promises to be a very different 2024/25 season.
Luke’s View…
In 2018, on this very site, I wrote the following…
“I still find the hardest part knowing we’re so unsustainable off it (the pitch) – particularly the last few years where things just seem to have become so perilous – I hope most of all, one day, we can be really proud of the club thriving off the field and celebrate its existence for all the right reasons”
How good does it feel? No more flicking through financial accounts, council minutes or Torbay Weekly exclusives… How good does it feel? To now know that the custodians of our Football Club care as much as me, you, us… How good does it feel? To see actions, rather than words and feel valued rather than taken for granted.
For sanity’s sake, I have spent most of the recent summers trying to forget that Torquay United existed, but this year, I have followed everything – every signing, every article, every interview… it has been brilliant. I cannot wait for this season – we were desperate for a reset and I think Michael, Mark and co. have absolutely nailed their first few months – off the pitch, finally, I am proud.
On the pitch, I think we will be challenging at the right end of the table, but I am under absolutely no illusion that this will be a tough season – it is important to remember that Paul started this campaign some four weeks behind everybody else and we should keep that context in mind for the first few months. I think we can expect a team playing for the shirt, and they’ll benefit from an invigorated Yellow Army – some stability will help the likes of Ash and Craske build on last year, whilst Mussa and Threlkeld will add some much needed class – I’m also confident we’ll see a stable and resilient backline which was criminally out of sync last season.
In any case, it will be a season that we move forward – I am sure of it – and of course, TorquayTalk will be there every step of the way – an independent voice aiming to bring more and more Torquay United content to more and more people. I always take this opportunity to scribble down that TT and everything it has stood for in the last few years – not always without opposition – would not be possible without captain Dominic Roman and his band of merry men and women; all volunteers from all sorts of backgrounds, who just want to share our lovely little club.
Those same volunteers have once again offered their thoughts on all things 24/25 – and yes, I will absolutely be dragging these predictions up again in May…
Thank you to the contributors!
- Andy Charles (AC)
- Chris Wade (CW)
- Clive Hayward (CH)
- Danny Burnell (DB)
- Dominic Roman (DR)
- Jonny Jones (JJ)
- Joe Uglow (JU)
- Mark Hirst (MH)
- Matty Hayward (Mha)
- Rachel Malloch (RM)
- Rich Heesem (RH)
- Sam Jones (SJ)
- Sam Swann (SS)
- Steve Harris (SH)
- Thomas Kelly (TK)
- Tom Diamond (TD)
WHO IS YOUR TIP FOR PLAYER OF THE SEASON AND WHY?
PREDICTION: SAM DREYER.
MHa: “Sam Dreyer. He’s got everything you want in a modern centre back. Does the basics well – great in the air, quick over five yards – but also has a great pair of feet. He’ll be crucial if we’re to do well.”
CW: “Sam Dreyer. Been outstanding in pre season and looks like a leader. Strong in the air and hopefully will get a few too. Looks an excellent prospect.”
SS: “Sam Dreyer. I’ve been impressed with a lot of our signings, but Sam Dreyer looks to be a quality acquisition in particular. I will be really surprised if he isn’t playing in the football league in a few years. Mussa and Dyer look fantastic as well.”
TK: “Brad Ash. I think he’ll score over 20 goals this season for us and if he does, it’ll be hard to not vote for him as POTS. I love his work ethic and was delighted that he agreed to stay for another season. He’s a player who does a lot more than just scoring goals.”
JU: “Omar Mussa, POTS awards usually go to your main match winners and Mussa has shown glimpses that he can be that match winner for United playing in the no.10 position.”
DR: “Jay Foulston – after some difficult years for our sponsored players Jay will turn our luck around by being consistent performer for United.”
AC: “Cody Cooke. Just have a feeling he has a lot of goals in him and those flashy numbers might beat off competition from more impressive players at the back.”
SJ: “I reckon Dan Hayfield. It’s hard to tell who will do what with so many new players and so much uncertainty, but I have a feeling Dan will become a favourite. An energetic box to box midfielder who can score a few goals and play his heart out for the Gulls will definitely endear himself to the United faithful. Especially after the shambles we’ve had recently.”
TD: “Omar Mussa – Looked a class above when he came on vs Exeter in pre season.”
WHO IS YOUR TIP FOR YOUNG (<21) PLAYER OF THE SEASON AND WHY?
PREDICTION: MATT CARSON OR SAM DREYER.
CH: “Sam Dreyer. Physically imposing, calm on the ball.”
SH: “Matt Carson – he has all the ingredients to join the list fine left-backs that the club has had over the years.”
TD: “Sam Dreyer – Rolls Royce at the back”
RM: “Matt Carson. youngster plays with maturity.”
AC: “Matt Carson. Because God loves a marauding left-back!”
JJ: “Sam Dreyer – heard from multiple people he’s a class above, let’s hope so!”
WHO IS YOUR TIP FOR TOP GOALSCORER AND WHY?
PREDICTION: BRAD ASH.
SS: “Brad Ash. I think Ash will really shine this season. If he removes the part of his game where he snatches at chances under pressure, he can be a 20 goal striker. He gets in the right position and the 352 will make much more use of his running off of the ball this season.”
MH: “Cody Cooke – presumably he’ll be on penalties too as he scored plenty for Bath.”
DB: “Brad Ash – Fancy him to make it back to back top goal scorer with his work rate and willingness..”
RH: “Cody Cooke. Looks like the forward with the most all round game. Good in this league so expect him to score a few.”
MHa: “Brad Ash. In a team where he doesn’t have to play up front on his own, he’ll get a fair few.”
SJ: “This is a tough one, because we have four strikers and its not clear who will play the most. I’m going to go with Ash again, simply because he managed to score 14 goals last season in a team that barely knew how to play football.”
RM: “Brad Ash. he’s looked lively pre season and top scorer in 23/24 amongst a poor squad of players, should shine in 24/25.”
AC: “Cody Cooke. There’s competition for a change and three of them have pedigree at this level. Just a feeling he’ll get the service he needs..”
JU: “Cody Cooke, I think at least three out of four of our strikers will chip in with atleast 10 goals, but I reckon Cooke will be the one to play the majority of games, with Seymour and Cooke alternating as his partner, he may not have scored in pre season but his stats for Bath City show he knows where the net is.”
WHICH FIXTURE ARE YOU MOST ANTICIPATING AND WHY?
DORKING (A)
JJ: “Opening day at the moment! Haven’t seen us play since April and the first game at Plainmoor under Bryn should be buzzing.”
TK: “Hard to look past the two Dorking games. After speaking to Marc White on our podcast recently, you can tell he is excited at the prospect of returning to Plainmoor and should both clubs be fighting towards the top, the away game in March could prove to be vital.”
MH: “Dorking Wanderers (A). The last visit there was the point when it hit me that we were probably going down, would be nice to have a more pleasant memory.”
DB: “Bath away – Fun in the sun on the terrace!”
RH: “Enfield – start of a new era at the club. It’s going to be exciting and expect a decent crowd.”
MHa: “The FA Trophy final.”
SH: “Dorking Wanderers – there were 11 goals between the two sides during their two previous National League encounters.”
SJ: “Enfield at home on the opening day. I don’t care what the result is. It’ll just be a glorious day for united, in that stunning new kit.”
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THE LEAGUE AND WHY?
MAIDSTONE UNITED.
AC: “Maidstone. Classy last year and don’t look to be all that much weaker.”
DR: “Maidstone – Elokobi did well last season and they can step forward again in 24-25.”
SS: “Dorking. Their squad is full of experience and goals.”
CW: “It’s a tough one. Maidstone are probably my favourites but it’s open. They went close last year and have a manager that knows the league.”
MH: “Maidstone. Their cup run interfered with their league form last season, but if they’ve put the money earned to good use, they should be hard to beat.”
DB: “There’s a real feel good factor around us, but for some reason, I think Boring Wood will bounce straight back up.”
RH: “Dorking. Used to promotions and winning in the lower leagues.”
CH: “Dorking. Experience in this league and will score goals- at least that’s what Marc White tells us.”
SH: “Maidstone United – the Stones performed very well in what was George Elokobi’s first full season as a manager and he would have learned from that experience. Plus Aaron Blair and Shaq Coulthirst have the potential to score 30 + goals.”
WHO IS THE NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH DARK HORSE?
AFC HORNCHURCH.
RM: “Torquay United!”
DR: “I’ll say Eastbourne.”
JU: “Farnborough FC, they’ve made some impressive signings this summer, in particular Sam Smart and Richard Chin, I reckon they’ll be around the play offs.”
JJ: “Farnborough – made some good signings to build on last season.”
TK: “AFC Hornchurch. Maybe not for the title but certainly for play off contention. They’ve got a good manger in Daryl McMahon and apparently have a bit of financial backing behind them. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them challenge for a play off spot come seasons end.”
CH: “Hornchurch- decent investment.”
CW: “Chelmsford again. Difficult place to go.”
MH: “Hornchurch. Their squad hints that they have a fair budget – they have a decent manager & expect a play-off run.”
MHa: “Chesham? I don’t know!”
ARE THERE ANY OTHER NLS PLAYERS YOU’RE EXCITED TO SEE?
MHa: “Ryan Hanson.”
CH: “No.”
SH: “Bath City’s Harvey Wiles-Richards has the potential to be the best young goalkeeper outside the EFL.”
SJ: “Since our lot are such an unknown, I think just anyone in a United jersey really!”
TD: “Looking forward to seeing how Crosbie does at this level. From a non TUFC perspective looking forward to seeing Sol Wanjau Smith at Bath as I played against him in youth football a number of times.”
AC: “Richard Chin of Farnborough.”
JU: “No, only care about Wotton and Warnock’s tricky Yellows.”
MH: “Junior Dixon. Highly rated Birmingham prospect who has gone on a season loan to Boreham Wood.”
SS: “I will be interested to see how Kalala does at Chelmsford.”
WHAT WILL TORQUAY UNITED’S FINAL LEAGUE POSITION BE?
AVERAGE PREDICTION: 5th.
SJ: “12th. Safe from relegation, with signs of progress throughout the season.”
TD: “1st”
RM: “Play offs spot; hopefully a winning end.”
DR: “I’ll say 4th, not quite pushing for top spot but involved in the play offs.”
TK: “5th, which would represent a good base to build on, regardless of promotion or not. I’d love to think we can challenge for the title, but I think it’s going to be one of the most competitive divisions this season and I think we’ll need time to gel to reach our full potential. We definitely can challenge for top spot, but it will be tough. Torquay fans will continue to travel in numbers and hopefully we can be the 12th man.”
CW: “Always the million dollar question. I think we can win but i will say 3rd.”
MH: “4th. It’s unfair to expect a brand new squad put together following the tumultuous affairs of last season to suddenly be all-conquering.”
COYY – LUKE
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