TT BLOG
Luke Hunter
@gullsgullsluke
Luke and the team draw curtains on a season of growth.
Luke’s Summary…
This piece is a little later than planned, but it has allowed me to reflect post dust-settling. In many ways, it has been one of my favourite seasons – it has been my greatest wish to see the club owned by custodians such as Bryn and I truly believe this is just the start of something very special – meteoric attendances, genuine sellable assets and a club to be proud of; those are my takeaways.
Early season optimism was fairly reserved (as referenced by TorquayTalk’s predictions…) – we were just happy to be there. I think even the most glass-half-full United fans understood the scale of the challenge and that seemed to manifest in the opening weeks and months – we didn’t really fully fledge, away matches were particularly challenging and a feeble FA Cup exit at the hands of Bishops Cleeve added some sustenance to those reservations.
But, for as bad as we were on the road, we were colossal at Plainmoor, and that spectacular home form kept us floating around the upper echelons – we were even on top of the tree for Christmas. Paul Wotton continued to strengthen his ranks and with – particularly – the arrival of Jordan Young and Matt Jay we were always in touching distance; suddenly, United fans dared to dream.
The final quarter of the season was dotted with some extraordinary matches that will live long in the memory of Gulls supporters – Dorking, Truro and Hemel were each special in their own rights. But, unfortunately, we also had a Chesham, Salisbury and Boreham in us – it felt like we could never quite garner the consistency to pull away. Playoffs it was, and we all know how that ended.
If I am being completely honest, I think the step-up would have been a struggle so early under new ownership – it is of course easy to say that at this point, but I do believe putting 24/25 down as a season of consolidation isn’t the worst thing in the world. However, there will be more pressure next time around, especially with the fans so spectacularly rallying around the club as they have. The bar has been set – on and off the pitch – and I expect us to be firing on all cylinders from August with promotion the solitary aim.
This season has been special in so many ways – it has been a joy to share it with the the rest of the TorquayTalk team; a huge thank you to all of them.
Thank you to the following for contributing to this piece.
- Clive Hayward (CH)
- Dominic Roman (DR)
- Joe Uglow (JU)
- Jonny Jones (JJ)
- Mark Hirst (MH)
- Matty Hayward (Mha)
- Rachel Malloch (RM).
- Rich Heesem (RH)
- Rob Dand (RD)
- Sam Swann (SS)
- Thomas Kelly (TK)
PLAYER OF THE SEASON 24/25: JORDAN YOUNG
MHa: “Cody Cooke. Quite aside from the fact that he’s got rabbits, which definitely helps, he’s been a total warrior this season. Nineteen goals in a team that barely creates, and offered so much more as a target man. Performance at Hemel was one of the best centre forward displays I’ve seen from a Yellow.”
SS: “Jordan Young. As soon as he signed, the whole squad improved. We went from a play off contender to a title contender. His goals and assists are ridiculously high for the number of games that he played.”
TK: “Jordan Young. So many contenders to choose from but in the end, it just had to be Jordan Young. He gave us the creative spark in midfield we had been lacking and his introduction to the squad made us stronger. His goals and contributions played a big part in getting us top of the table at Christmas and helped push us on in our title challenge. Tough on Cody but Youngy just gets it for me.”
RM: “Cody Cooke, ploughed a lone furrow up front, took a few knocks for his endeavours and scored 20 goals.”
DR: “Sam Dreyer. Consistently good and a key figure behind our success all season long”
JU: “Sam Dreyer, a revelation at the back, can defend properly, wins his headers and his battles but also is incredibly gifted with the ball at his feet. Pips Jordan Young for me as he’s happy to use both feet! Honourable mention to Jordan Dyer who would have challenged Sam had he been fit all season.”
JJ: “Jordan Young. For his immediate impact and points he won us.”
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON 24/25: SAM DREYER
100% OF THE VOTE
RH: “Sam Dreyer – what a diamond of a defender we have found. Seriously good at this level. Composure on the ball is always good and rarely gets beaten in the air. A future captain who leads the back line excellently.”
TK: “Sam Dreyer. Has been an absolute rock in the defence all season. So mature and level headed at such a young age and I have no doubt he will be heading the EFL in the next few years. I knew he would do us well when we signed him.”
MH: “Sam Dreyer. Clearly he’ll be playing at a higher level before too long. Hopefully we can fend off any interest this summer”
CH: “Sam Dreyer – all class and looks well capable of emulating his Dad.”
SS: “Sam Dreyer. Dreyer was phenomenal from the moment he arrived. He is so mature and level headed for someone of his age, on the pitch. If he keeps playing first team football, he will have a long and successful football career.”
JU: “Sam Dreyer, a revelation at the back, can defend properly, wins his headers and his battles but also is incredibly gifted with the ball at his feet. Pips Jordan Young for me as he’s happy to use both feet! Honourable mention to Jordan Dyer who would have challenged Sam had he been fit all season.”
RD: “Sam Dreyer – Cooler than a cucumber. Lovely hair.”
GOAL OF THE SEASON 24/25: JAY v CHELMSFORD (A)
TK: “Matt Jay Chelmsford away. It just has to be. He started the move on the counter, saw the keeper off his line and lobbed it from 50 yards. A goal worthy of winning any football match, expect (of course) we didn’t. I expect big things from Matt Jay next season with a proper pre season under his belt. Contributed with some important goals such as Truro away which was my 2nd choice.”
DR: “Matt Jay away at Chelmsford. Hell of a shot from distance, hard to beat.”
JJ: “Matt Jay at Truro because it was a moment of magic that decided a tight game.”
RM: “Matt Jay at Truro. Top drawer and top corner! A great day out and non stop singing in the raining beer.”
JU: “Matt Jay away at Truro, just knew as soon as he cut in it was going in!”
RD: “Hard to beat Matt Jay from almost the literal halfway line at Chelmsford, but Jordan Young’s frankly sensual free kick at Worthing is right up there too. We lost both games, naturally.”
GAME OF THE SEASON 24/25: WESTON-SUPER-MARE (H)
MHa: “I mean, it’s Hemel, isn’t it. Utterly mental day. Fairly mental game of football.”
RH: “Truro away. Felt like we had won the league that day with that result. It was however not meant to be”
TK: “Enfield (H). The first league game under the Bryn Consortium. From a sentimental standpoint, I loved everything about the day. Going into a season with hope and excitement after a summer of interaction and positivity that Torquay fans have not experienced for a long long time. Our club was in good hands and alive and kicking. I had 3 generations of my family at Plainmoor that day and it’s moments like that that made all the fighting for our clubs survival all the more worth it. Naturally we went a goal down in 4 minutes but we fought back and got the win. Credit to the Enfield fans who made a great racket and travelled in decent numbers. Glad to see them stay up.”
MH: “The 2-2 draw at Worthing. They were flying high, our record against them wasn’t great & it was before we’d started winning games on plastic. After a really slow start, we got back in the game and it was end to end. It would have been a real blow to lose, but Cooke’s injury time penalty meant we took a fully deserved point.”
JU: “Hemel (a) on and off the pitch the club showed up, one of the best striker performances in recent years from Cody Cooke and unbelievable support from the 2000 travelling Yellows.”
SS: “Torquay 4-2 WSM. There weren’t many classic games this season, but Torquay were fantastic that night. At 2-1 down, within a spell of indifferent form, the pressure was starting to build. Torquay really showed how capable they were that night.”
JJ: “Go for a game I actually wasn’t at; but WSM at home because it had absolutely everything and to win with 10 men was no mean feat.”
BEST AWAY DAY OF THE SEASON 24/25: HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
TK: “Hemel Hempstead. What a proud day. 2,000 Torquay fans descended to Hertfordshire, more in hope than expectation, that we could achieve a 2nd NLS title. The company, the atmosphere, the performance. I’ve never known anything like following this club in a long time. We didn’t get the title, but we gave it a right good go. To see the Bryn Consortium clap the fans at the end brought a tear to my eye. We’ve come so far in such a short period of time. Naturally we didn’t get the promotion we wanted, but we get to go again next season and that’s the most important thing.”
MH: “Worthing for the game, but I really enjoyed Eastbourne. Had never been before & got there early enough to have a long walk along the sea front to the ground. Nice place!”
DR: “Hampton (a). Lots of friends, lots of socials and a win, plus a chat with Bryn (the Consortium, not the dog)”
SS: “Hemel away will live in the memories for the rest of my life, I was so proud to be a Torquay fan. Dorking and Truro were also superb”
JU: “Honourable mention to Dorking (a) which was also another cracking away day, with a great following from the Yellows, Hampton (a) a close third.”
UNSUNG HERO OF THE SEASON 24/25: JAY FOULSTON
RH: “Will Jenkins-Davies. Think he’s an excellent player at this level. Unlucky with injuries but when available scored plenty and always tries to make something happen.”
TK: “Jordan Dyer. Sam Dreyer will take most of the plaudits, but Jordan Dyers contribution at the back should equally be recognised. He’s put in some excellent performances for us this season and a bit like Ben Wynter, has been consistent in most of the games he played.”
DR: “Jay Foulston – gets on about his business quietly, terrific lad and signing.”
JJ: “I’ll go Ed Palmer. Filled in quite a bit over the season and didn’t put a foot wrong.”
CH: “Mike Edwards. Low profile Assistant Manager but the Manager often praises him privately. He seems quite calm, and has a wealth of experience and education.”
RM: “James Hamon. Ever present and especially 2nd half of the season put in some quality performances.”
SS: “The TUFC media and hospitality team. A big part of the rebuild of this club has been off the pitch. Every time I visit the club either as a fan or for media work, I am always made to feel so welcome. A massive change from 12 months ago.”
RD: “Jay Foulston – We never looked as good without him in the side and he even grabbed himself a couple of goals too. Cody Cooke worked hard too, even during his leaner spells, but you can’t really call the top scorer an unsung hero. He’s got a little trophy and everything.”
BEST MOMENTS OF THE SEASON 24/25…
RH: “Enfield at home for me. Packed out Plainmoor and the Yellow Army were in fine voice. What a moment, we had our club back.”
DR: “The off the field progress, especially the community share coming to fruition. Something that we never thought we’d see.”
JJ: “Winning at Bath and celebrating with Bryn consortium on the terrace. It seemed a life time apart from the game there just weeks prior, when we were staring oblivion in the face.”
CH: “Jay’s winner in the pouring rain at Truro.”
SS: “The celebrations after Truro (a) The fans and board celebrating together was one of many beautiful moments”
JU: “Matt Jay’s goal against Truro, for a couple days I really believed we were going to do it but it wasn’t to be thanks to Weston & St Albans”
FINAL SHOUTS 24/25…
RH: “The Yellow Army especially the amazing away supporters as always. You are all heroes. Especially the likes of Jonny Jones and Clive Hayward to name a couple.”
TK: “Pier blogging and candlelight liquid dinner with Clive for Worthing (a). Very entertaining and had a great laugh. Doing the live GEV show at Boots and Laces, chatting with Paul Wotton about his career and scone toppings. Going to the top of the world and having my Torquay shirt recognised by 2 people in Svalbard. Dorking (a) stood with Chris and Sam, getting that quality TT content you all love. So many more I’m missing but it’s been a wonderful season and so many memories have been made. Thanks for your support everyone. Let’s do it all again next season!”
MH: “The goal difference column is there for a reason. We have to be more ruthless in games & hand out a few hammerings so goal difference is always in our favour”
DR: “Huge respect to the Bryn Consortium and how they’ve dived full length into the challenge of running our club. So many improvements and so much attention to all aspects of the football club. They’ve brought pride and passion back to the TUFC boardroom and want us to enjoy the ride side by side. Wonderful.”
CH: “All my TUST colleagues for quiet but important work behind the scenes”
RM: “The Yellow Army. Averaging 4,000 over a season in 6th tier football is astonishing.”
JU: “Another fantastic season of articles and YouTube episodes from my fellow contributors at TT. It really is a pleasure to talk and write about the club again after what we’ve all been through, here’s to another great season and hopefully ultimately a successful one”
RD: “Statues of the entire Bryn Consortium outside Plainmoor Lidl immediately, please. They’ve turned around the Titanic, extended the band’s slot on the upper deck and restocked the lifeboats. Marvellous work.”
TORQUAYTALK 