TT REVIEW

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive looks back over 2025

TUFC 2025 REVIEW

There we were, now here we are.

It’s been a year that may be remembered best for Oasis roaring back, creating great memories for several generations of fans as well as introducing the UK public to the subtleties of surge pricing. I’ve decided against having the Mancs’ songs as the running theme for this piece, but I’ll give you a couple. Although the Football League still seems Half a World Away, I have decided that Don’t Look Back in Anger doesn’t really strike the right note for this review, although there will always be a tinge of regret for what might have been if things had gone a little differently in the Spring.

THE TITLE CHASE – WHAT A RIDE

The year started with a bang: title rivals Truro despatched at Plainmoor in front of a fantastic crowd of 5135. Jordan Young with a trademark “cut-in-from-the-right, refusing-to-pass-it-to-some-bugger” precision shot into the bottom corner.

January had more downs than ups though, with league points dropped at a freezing Slough and a soggy St Albans, and a coupon-busting defeat at home to Hampton. Playing with no recognised striker in the Trophy at Worthing didn’t end well. Our back four was at half strength too, and our 5-1 pumping was sadly predictable.

February was another mixed bag. The obligatory 1-0 loss at Maidstone was followed by a win over Eastbourne but there were losses at Hornchurch (which might be in Essex) and Chelmsford (which certainly is).

We showed our class in a 2-2 draw at Worthing though. Sam Dreyer’s red card was later overturned, and his dismissal spurred us to a deserved late equaliser. Earlier, Jordan Young had scored a sublime free kick. He never leaves the Sussex Transport Community Stadium without putting a screamer into the top corner!

Our battling performance at Worthing was followed by the awful overnight news that Tony Bedeau had died. A generation that had grown up singing Pink Panther songs and giggling over stadium announcers’ mispronunciations of his surname mourned his loss at the ridiculous age of 45. Some good came from his passing: many of us bought his replica shirt with the proceeds going to his family. The club had struck exactly the right note in celebrating his life.

A low-key draw at Weston-super-Mare was notable mainly for a bloody nose for Cody Cooke and much needed reinforcement up front by short-term signing Ozzy Zanzala, who had driven through the night to sign on the dotted line.

March began on a frustrating note as we failed to hold onto a 2 goal lead against Boreham Wood, but the following Tuesday brought a bright, cold night at Chippenham. It was a fixture rearranged after waterlogging. Only 700 were there to see it, but United dug out a result that was the springboard for an epic charge towards the end of the season. Ozzy bundled in a vital goal and we were off on one of the rides of our lives.

Take out the disappointing home draw with Salisbury and March was a fantastic month for the Yellows.

We won at Tonbridge with Young slotting a first half winner up where the owl sleeps. We had the best day out at Dorking with Jordan Dyer’s late header sparking wild celebrations. Bath at home was the most routine three points since Toblerone started a night shift.

It was tight at the top. The title race had started to gather national attention because with 40 games played the top five of Worthing, Truro, Eastbourne, Dorking and Torquay were covered by three points. There was a breathless article on the BBC website, some TV coverage and my drive to Aveley was enlivened by the Gulls even getting a mention on Fighting Talk!

Aveley was a banana skin. Against 10 men we struggled to get the win: a resurgent Cody Cooke eventually kicked it out of the way with a scuffed winner way too close to the end for comfort. It confirmed Aveley’s relegation after 2 seasons and set the Yellows up for potential glory.

April burst into life with what looked like a routine game at home to Chesham. Sadly the visitors had other ideas, cementing a smash and grab 2-0 win with more dark arts than the Louvre in a power cut. We didn’t know it at the time, but that unexpected loss cost us the title.

Torquay finished the regular season like a freight train. After brushing aside Slough at home, the Easter weekend saw a Matt Jay special account for Truro away (what a day out that was!) and doomed Weymouth were lucky to escape with a 3-0 beating.

As Paul Wotton had predicted all year, it all boiled down to the final afternoon. Of March’s Famous Five only Torquay and Truro remained in with a chance. It was a classic so-close-and-yet-so-far Yellows scenario. We did our bit, 2000 of us taking over Hemel Hempstead and Cody, Cody, Cody putting the Tudors to the sword with his hat trick. But down in Cornwall St Albans succumbed to three goals in the first 15 minutes (two of them before we even kicked off!) and it was the Tinners who snatched the only automatic promotion spot on goal difference. They didn’t score against us in three attempts, but were more prolific throughout the season and worthy if unexpected champions.

After such a fantastic run hopes remained high for the playoffs. The system meant that we only had to win our home final, but

Boreham Wood came to a packed Plainmoor and did a job on us. 1-0 flattered us, and the squad that had had to be put together in haste the previous summer came up short on the biggest occasion.

A couple of weeks later, there was also heartbreak for the women’s team. Needing a win against Sherborne to seal promotion they also lost 1-0 against determined opponents with a point to prove. Despite dominating possession one defensive error was enough to give the title to Marine Academy Plymouth, who had already completed their fixtures.

The Women have since signed some excellent players and it looks like a two horse race with Forest Green this time round.

OFF FIELD – A WORK IN PROGRESS

It all felt like a wasted opportunity, and the Board also made a rare misstep with a belated and initially poorly-communicated launch of more expensive season tickets for 2025/26.

They will argue- with some justification- that following a Chairmen’s Chat it all came right in the end, and the Plainmoor faithful again put their money where their mouths are with total sales marginally up from 2024/25.

The Mark Thomas experiment quickly failed. The entrepreneur- who had spent years creating sporting events in China- seems to have rubbed a few too many people up the wrong way and having taken the reins as CEO on June 4th he was gone by October. As we know, this wasn’t the only restructuring during 2025, with a round of redundancies announced in December as the club wrestles with the constant challenges of football finances and tries to make the off-field operation more efficient.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom off the field: far from it in fact. A lot of work has gone into improvements and bringing more events to the Cove and to Boots and Laces.

The Supporters Trust continues to play a big part, as befits joint owners. During 2025 members’ subscriptions were put to good use with investments in new railings on Bristow’s Bench, the repair of the Plainmoor clock and a significant investment in the new Big Screen: the old one having given up the ghost in the early weeks of the new season. There was also financial support for youth football via the Community Sports Trust and TUST is again a proud sponsor of the Women’s team.

Matchday Ambassadors are back. Paul Bastard is- as we all knew he would- doing a great job as our first Supporters Liaison Officer (allegedly having been tipped off about the vacancy by my sister in law!), and in good weather there are now fanzones, offering a great chance to get to the ground early, meet friends and have a relaxed pint in the sunshine.

Activities are being laid on for all ages. There are high hopes that the green space can be incorporated in the club’s lease as part of wider plans to partner with the Council to make the most of what is arguably Torbay’s biggest community asset.

SQUAD STRENGTHENING

In football, standing still can be a dangerous game.

Whether we like it or not, and whether it’s sustainable for them or not, there are other clubs in this division with more spending power. Relegated Dagenham secured the services of former Newcastle and Liverpool bruiser Andy Carroll. Serial contrarian Lyle Taylor rocked up at a “minted” Chelmsford, whilst Worthing soon secured the services of Adam Hinshelwood for a second tilt at the title.

Torquay have backed their manager too though, with a significant uplift in the playing budget. The retained list and early acquisitions focused on getting more support/competition for top scorer Cody Cooke and replacing a midfield which had ultimately come up just short.

Strikers Louis Dennis and Sonny Fish arrived (the latter immediately damaging his knee for a long term absence), whilst we said goodbye to Brad Ash and (to all intents & purposes) Ben Seymour. Those two will feel they have a point to prove having seriously underachieved in Yellow.

It was a total rebuild in midfield. Munashe Sundire arrived to bring some steel, Sunny-Blu Lo Everton signed on, as did winger Dylan Morgan and the hugely talented Callum Dolan, who had impressed us during his loan spell in the darkest of times under Gary Johnson two seasons earlier. Later, Matt Worthington was brought in and given the captain’s armband after failing at Oldham.

We had a decent pre-season: hammering League Two Newport being the highlight.

2025/26 – INCIDENTS & ACCIDENTS

Following Tuesday night’s draw at Bath we find ourselves in a play-off spot, sitting 4th in the table with 43 points from 24 games.

At times, we have spluttered. Having got very lucky last season, we have had a horrible crop of injuries which can only have hindered any attempt to build consistency.

“Nash” wrecked his knee early on- it’s been great to see him with a smile on his face recently as he nears the end of his lengthy re-hab. At one point, neither he nor Lo Everton, nor Morgan, nor Dolan were available for selection.

Their absence was a big reason for another embarrassingly early FA Cup exit at Totton in September and we had no better luck in the Trophy, coming off second best to a Maidstone team who would clearly like to play us every week. There have been too league many defeats (7) for a squad with title aspirations, and United’s away form has frequently caused concern.

Dorking was a low point, with a defensive game plan going up in smoke by 3:07pm, a 3-0 half time deficit and Torquay fans streaming through the exits from 45 minutes onwards. Jordan Young’s 100th minute strike was of no consolation whatsoever.

A week later, leaders Hornchurch impressed everybody with a deserved 2-1 win at Plainmoor.

It’s time for a couple of well-placed cliches. How about “Football is a funny old game” and “The darkest hour is always just before dawn?”

We desperately needed a reaction, and the midweek trip to Farnborough provided it. Louis Dennis put us two up in 11 minutes and we passed the Hampshire side to death. Their keeper- playing his 200th game for the club- was the only thing between Torquay and double figures. We followed up with another classy win at Maidenhead, who started their post-Devonshire era with a home defeat against the pride of that county.

The only good thing about the FA Trophy defeat to Maidstone was that no league points were at stake, but it was just a blip in what turned out to be a fantastic run of 5 wins in a row.

But we never do it easy, do we? As a fanbase our ability to roll with the punches is unquestioned. Our heroes don’t always display that quality though. Before we knew it, the skipper started a long spell out of the team with a jaw issue and Callum Dolan appears to have embraced his Inner Liam Gallagher.

It was 2 major players out- at a time when the squad had finally started to get back to fuller strength. What happened next? Yes, you guessed it: we stuck 7 (seven) past last season’s big spenders Eastbourne! We completed a Sussex Double 3 days later, winning a big game against most people’s title favourites

Worthing. Not content with that, we then went to fancied Chelmsford and two absolute screamers from Exeter loanee Kieran Wilson and dead ball maestro Jordan Young saw us briefly go top of the league.

United’s men & women are both targeting promotion: it’s probably not make or break for the club, but it’s a really important season.

There are definitely grounds for optimism in the New Year, but in Michael Westcott’s memorable phrase: “The chemicals (of the Bryn takeover and the joy of getting our club back) have worn off” and in my less-memorable Gulls Eye View comment: “It’s time to deliver”.