TT BLOG
Luke Hunter
@gullsgullsluke
Luke and the team look back on a roller-coaster 25/26 campaign.
Luke’s Summary…
With the final still largely etched into my short-term memory bank, this piece has been a little bit of a slog. So close, again. I make that the fifth consecutive play-off failure and I am finding myself wondering when will it be our turn?
A look back at the TorquayTalk 25/26 predictions show an increase in expectation heading into this campaign – I think most United fans recognised we had overachieved the season before, but with a full summer, booming attendances and a wave of optimism – Paul Wotton’s period of grace had turned to one weighted by expectancy.
That weight would grow heavier as discourse was quickly dominated by an inability to transfer home dominance into away performances – there was a feeling of déjà vu around that phenomenon, and it would be October before United finally won on the road – limping through to defeat a struggling Salisbury.
Disappointing cup exits at the hands of AFC Totton and Maidstone felt familiar and sour but were arguably softened by an upturn in league results as we moved through the latter months of 2025 and the Christmas period with momentum building – despite seemingly constantly conceding first, and a never-ending injury burden, United kept finding a way. Indeed, Paul Wotton would oversee four wins from five to win January’s Manager of the Month award. And then February arrived. Particularly Chippenham (a).
Despite having the opportunity to place daylight between ourselves in first and second, United fell to defeat at the hands of the bottom club, in a performance that felt a far cry away from prospective Champions – ill-disciplined, tired and shapeless. Five without a win – in the context of those aforementioned familiar themes – would spell the end for Paul Wotton’s reign at Torquay United.
Things moved quickly after that, with the headline generating appointment of Neil Warnock and Ronnie Jepson taking the helm on an interim basis before Jimmy Ball would make the switch from divisional rivals AFC Totton. Still somewhat restricted by an injury crisis, Ball would have eight matches to try and get United over the line. The arrival of Deon Moore was a particular highlight, with five wins earning a third-place finish and a home play-off tie against Dorking.
United clinically despatched the team from Surrey and progressed to the final away at second-placed Hornchurch with confidence. Despite showing flashes of quality throughout, Torquay were unable to ever completely get the job done, and a roller-coaster season would end in roller-coaster fashion; a 3-2 defeat in extra-time. The rest, as they say, is history.
We again fell short this season, which is especially disappointing with heightened expectations, but with the club going from strength to strength off the field and Jimmy Ball breathing some fresh impetus and ideas – we’ll go again. Thank you to the wider TT team for their work this season and to the contributors below for their submissions to this piece –
- CH — Clive Hayward
- HS — Harry Salvidge
- MH — Matty Hayward
- DR — Dominic Roman
- SH — Steve Harris
- RD — Rob Dand
- RM — Rachel Malloch
- SJ — Sam Jones
- TK — Thomas Kelly
- MHr — Mark Hirst
- JU — Joe Uglow
- SS — Sam Swann
PLAYER OF THE SEASON 25/26: SONNY BLU LO-EVERTON
CH: SBLE – consistent performances all season in a number of midfield roles. Looks after the ball well and never stops moving.
HS: When Torquay were underperforming and weren’t picking up results, Lo-Everton was constantly head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.
DR: Sonny Everton. Once he settled in Sonny showed plenty of class. A clever little player who reads the game better than anyone else at Torquay.
RM: Deon Moore. The missing piece to the jigsaw. So nearly grabbed promotion with his goals tally.
TK: Deon Moore. He may only have featured for 10 games but what an impact he made in that short spell. He gave us the physicality we were desperately lacking after Cody’s unfortunate injury laden season and scored some vital goals to boot. I really hope we can entice him to sign on for 26/27.
JU: Sonny Blu Lo-Everton – consistent all season and a pleasure to watch. His first touch is excellent & looks after the ball so well!
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON 25/26: SAM DREYER
CH: Dylan Morgan. He got better and better as the season went on, adding goals which is important for a winger. He was outshining Jordan Young by the end.
RD: Sam Dreyer – The reason we haven’t won the league, or gone up in the playoffs, is basically because we had to field Ed Palmer and Jay Foulston in central defence for a brief spell. The lack of genuine back up for Dreyer and Dyer during the winter really cost us.
TK: Sam Dreyer. Plays the game with such maturity. I always felt confident with Dreyer in the centre of defence. Definitely destined to play in the EFL in the near future. I hope Hornchurch wasn’t his final game for us, but he deserves a chance to play at a higher level.
MHr: Sam Dreyer. A clear winner in a small field. He showed his quality in the play-off final and hopefully we get well compensated for him as it’s time for him to have a go at a higher level now.
JU: Dylan Morgan – really improved this season, especially under Jimmy Ball, and ended up with a fantastic goal return. Looking forward to what he can do under Jimmy for a full season.
SS: Sam Dreyer. A top talent who kept consistent all season, I will be surprised if there isn’t a lot of interest around him this summer.
GOAL OF THE SEASON 25/26: YOUNG v ENFIELD (H)
CH: Wilson at Chelmsford. He decided he needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck after coming on as sub, drove inside and unleashed a piledriver to give us the lead against fancied opposition.
SH: Jordan Young versus Enfield at home – After latching onto a long pass from Matt Worthington before cutting onto his left foot and finding the top corner. I chose it because of the quality of the technique and vision displayed by Young, as their keeper had no chance.
TK: Youngy’s first goal of the season against Enfield. I’m probably going to miss some obvious ones later but thinking back, just wow. He cut inside and slammed it into the top corner. Trademark.
JU: Deon Moore’s first in the Play-Off Final, shrugged the defender off, chested it down and smashed it on the volley. Lovely finish and sent 900 of us wild in the early moments of the game at Hornchurch.
SS: Jordan Young versus Enfield. Youngy has scored a number of fantastic goals this year, but his strike on the opening day was my favourite. As soon as it left his boot, you knew it was in.
DR: Jordan Young away at Hornchurch. Youngy at his best, a lovely strike in a big game.
GAME OF THE SEASON 25/26: DORKING (H (PO))
CH: Torquay 4-2 Dorking. Superb performance when it really mattered. Credit to the manager too for an unexpected recall for Nash Sundire, who man-marked the dangerous Charlie Carter out of the game.
DR: Two games stand out, Dorking at home was a wonderful performance and atmosphere. I’ll go for Worthing at home though, two teams attacking throughout, providing a great spectacle. A reminder that Paul Wotton’s team did provide entertainment at times!
SH: 4-2 win over Dorking Wanderers in the play-off semi final. A dominant display against one of the leading sides in the division and one of United’s best ever performances in National League South. The 7-0 win over Eastbourne comes a close second.
TK: Dorking (H) in the play off semi finals. One of the best atmospheres at Plainmoor I can remember and what a performance the lads put in. We blew Dorking away. Everyone stepped up and made for a wonderful afternoon. Just a shame it ultimately came to nothing.
JU: Dorking Play-Off Semi-Final – we could and should have scored 6 and they were very lucky to get their 2 towards the end, an almost complete performance.
SS: Play-off semi final versus Dorking. A fantastic occasion with an amazing atmosphere. I will remember our performance and the celebrations in the Popside for a long time.
BEST AWAY DAY OF THE SEASON 25/26: TONBRIDGE
CH: Hornchurch in the league was great, but I’d probably go for the last day win at Tonbridge. Mainly because of the great company: live music and ciders after the game and a penalty shootout on the pitch for the elite!
MH: Tonbridge was excellent. Lovely bash put on afterwards, taking (missing) penalties on the pitch. Can’t believe I’ve got to go there a fourth time, mind.
SH: Weston Super Mare away – a vociferous away following in a localish game and a convincing display against a promotion rival.
TK: Maidenhead just takes it for me ahead of Slough. Easy to get to by train, great pubs, a proper non-league stadium with character and Torquay won! The company wasn’t bad either and the debut of GEV the movie was created.
JU: Tonbridge (a) – set off on the Friday night with a stop-over in Reading with plenty of TT friends. A very enjoyable Saturday at the football followed, and despite it being a 12:30pm kick-off we somehow ended up on the last train home after enjoying the hospitality and even taking penalties on the pitch afterwards!
SS: Weston Super-Mare. The away end was full as we held firm against a physical Weston side. Dennis’ two goals on the break led to great scenes in the away end.
UNSUNG HERO OF THE SEASON 25/26: DAN HAYFIELD
HS: Yellow Army – showing dedication all season home and away. Even when the season was tough they were still there in numbers and on multiple occasions outnumbering the home support.
MH: Dan Hayfield is perhaps the most unsung-heroey player of all time, to the extent that he’s now probably very sung. Has been consistently good all season, never shirked responsibility, in a year where he could’ve been on his way out in the summer.
DR: Dan Hayfield. Dan very much fits this category perfectly. PW left him out a lot in the early stages of the season and we lacked energy and battle without him, especially away from home. A very honest and hard-working pro who doesn’t let us down.
SH: Dan Hayfield – A lot of what he does goes under the radar, but the desire he showed to win a tackle and make a lung-bursting run before producing a cross from which Matt Jay scored against Salisbury in March helped United end their winless run during Neil Warnock’s interim spell in charge.
TK: Jordan Dyer. Often overlooked compared to Dreyer, we missed him when he was out injured and it’s no coincidence our form drastically dipped when he was absent during our horrific February defensively. So glad to see him sign a new deal for us next season.
JU: Dan Hayfield – started out of favour but pretty much started every match from October onwards. Ever dependable, he’s put in shifts at full back, wing back and centre midfield this season and is rarely less than a 7/10 each week.
BEST MOMENTS OF THE SEASON 25/26…
CH: Getting a hug from the Chairman on the Thursday before the Hornchurch play-off. “Bring it home” he whispered. Yeah. That went well…
HS: Slough (a) – as it’s one of my local games it was great to have some mates come and support Torquay, and also my baby daughter enjoying the goals going in.
MH: Talking to Jimmy after the play-off semi. Everything felt so possible.
DR: The second goal from Moore last Saturday felt like it should be the winner, but in typical Torquay style it wasn’t to be.
SH: Dorking at home in the playoffs. It was a day that showed the club at its best.
RD: Probably Dorking in the semis. That buoyant mood you get when leaving the ground after a game like that is just something else. I hope people who aren’t into football manage to find something else in their lives that replicates that feeling.
RM: Signing Deon Moore!
SJ: The reaction of the club and Jimmy Ball to the play-off defeat. It shows how much of a good place we are in, and how I can’t wait for next season already.
TK: In the moment, going 2-1 up at Hornchurch in the final. I really thought that was going to be the goal that was going to get us promoted, 900 going mental in the away end. If you could bottle up that feeling and sell it…
MHr: It only created joy for about 10 minutes, but Deon Moore’s second goal in the final at Hornchurch is a clear winner.
JU: Deon Moore putting us 2-1 up last Saturday. Let’s not talk about how we were feeling 15 minutes later though…
SS: Deon Moore’s second goal against Hornchurch. Bittersweet now, but the scenes in the away end when we went 2-1 up were incredible. It really felt like that was our moment, but this is football. Onto next season.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS 25/26…
CH: Jordan Dyer: irreplaceable in this team.
HS: BBC Radio Devon Sports Team – purely for their support for me when I’ve been unwell and giving me the opportunity to commentate on this amazing club which never makes life boring.
MH: Deon Moore, man. He’d have scored about eighty goals if we’d had him all season. I’d like the records to show that I was right about him even when he was bang average at Dagenham — there was obviously a player in there. Got to be working our socks off to get him signed for next season.
DR: There’s definitely been challenges for the Bryn Consortium this year, but they have risen to it and continued to show how passionate they are about our football club. Saturday’s watch-along was brilliant and a perfect illustration of how much improvement there has been off the pitch.
SH: Neil Warnock and Ronnie Jepson. Dylan Morgan, Jordan Dyer, Sam Dreyer, Jordan Young and Deon Moore.
RD: Jimmy Ball – I was never really vocally anti-Wotton until the end, but it was absolutely time for a change. I like how JB thinks. He seems quietly confident, and has already made good decisions both in terms of recruitment and man management.
RM: Chris Parkman, my Torquay United supporter friend for all the lifts home & away, her positivity, optimism, great company and all-round loveliness. Chris encapsulates all that’s good as a trooper in the Yellow Army.
SJ: TorquayTalk as per usual. The Bryn Consortium for saving the club and Paul Wotton for leaving the club in a better place than he found it.
TK: Has to be Jimmy Ball for the hard work he has done to turn our fortunes around when it looked like we were going to fall out of the play-offs. His passion and desire for the club is undeniable and I feel so confident going into the summer.
MHr: The FA Cup defeat at Totton back in September might have been really disappointing at the time, but was it the moment that the owners were alerted to a manager that was worth keeping an eye on?
JU: As always Dom Roman for being relentless in ensuring each game is covered with previews, verdicts, in-game updates and talking point articles. Sterling job keeping it all ticking along!
SS: Callum Dolan’s quick-fire double against Dorking. Good luck in the future, Callum!
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