TT BLOG

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive discusses the departing midfielder

It wasn’t meant to be. Despite hopes being high when Oscar Threlkeld signed for the Gulls last summer, and although we did get him playing again after a year wrecked by injury, it just didn’t really happen for him or us.

Our departing captain was one of Torquay’s more high-profile acquisitions. Those who follow such things remembered him for a successful spell at Argyle in his early twenties. Having come through the ranks at Bolton, he spent the 2015/16 season on loan at Home Park, but wasn’t available for the Wembley playoff defeat against AFC Wimbledon. His subsequent permanent move paid off as the Greens won promotion out of the basement in 2016/17. An ill-fated move to Belgium with Beveren was followed by spells at Salford and Bradford. He did win silverware at Salford (an EFL Trophy), and it must have been frustrating to do so in the Covid-curtailed season when the crowd under the Arch when the final was eventually played consisted of two Nevilles and a dog.

He spent 2023/24 at Morecambe, but only featured twice for them due to a serious injury. He swapped Morecambe Bay for Torbay, washing up at Plainmoor, and the hope was that he would be able to put the injuries behind him and give much-needed leadership to a brand new and quite inexperienced squad. His vaguely-Viking surname inspired hopes that he might perhaps turn out to be another Asa Hall.

The first thing to say about his time at Torquay is that he didn’t let anybody down in terms of availability. The club’s statement on Monday morning credited him with 47 appearances. That had a few of us scratching our heads, but it is accurate: Oscar started 34 games and was a sub for 13 more.

Where he didn’t give us what Paul Wotton must surely have hoped for was in leadership. Aged 30 when he signed, and with a UK career wholly in the Football League, he seemed an obvious choice as captain. On paper, he should have been able to drive us forward in midfield, and his experience should have given him authority to enforce high standards on the pitch.

Oscar has taken quite a lot of criticism from Torquay Talk and others this season. It would be harsh to call him “anonymous”, but he seldom managed to put a stamp on games. He did some of the nasty stuff for us quite well, supplying a little solidity playing deep, but he seldom had much influence with the ball. He was trusted as a “safety-first” option in the season-ending playoff defeat to Boreham Wood, but his performance was emblematic of a team that ultimately didn’t quite score enough goals.

He was playing a couple of divisions lower than he has been accustomed to, and he should have been able to impose himself far more. Whether we like it or not, captaincy is also sometimes about “getting into the referee’s ear” and he never really did that: I know this was a concern for the coaching staff. There were times when we desperately needed someone to be more assertive in the face of a lot of opposition “dark arts” and- let’s be honest- some officials who looked out of their depth. That might be where Oscar was most disappointing.

But I don’t think we need to be too hard on him. Oscar has a young family, and playing 300 miles away from home was never going to be ideal. He must have clocked up thousands of miles shuttling between South Devon and Lancashire. He’s clearly been a good player, and he must have a couple of years left as a pro if that’s still what he wants to do. I hope it works out for him.