TT BLOG

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

RIP PAUL DOBSON

Scorer of one of the most iconic goals in the history of Torquay United, Paul Dobson firmly etched his name into Gulls’ folklore when he struck to equalise in United’s final day draw with Crewe Alexandra on May 9, 1987.

The Gulls were trailing 2-1, with the club’s Football League status hanging by a thread, following the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation between the ‘old’ Fourth Division and the GM Vauxhall Conference. Then Dobson scored in time added on after Bryn the Police Dog famously bit Jim McNichol, and Lincoln City went down instead of the Gulls.

Although Bryn’s bite on Jim McNichol attracted the headlines following the game. Dobson’s contribution has tended to go under the radar a little bit. This was something that McNichol alluded to when yours truly interviewed him for After the Jaws of Victory: 12 stories of Torquay United Legends.

Dobson’s effort against Crewe was his 17th of the 1986-87 campaign in all competitions, after manager Stuart Morgan signed him on a free
transfer from his hometown club Hartlepool United in the summer of 1986. This was marked improvement on the goal scoring returns of United’s previous two top scorers Mario Walsh (1984-85) and Steve Phillips (1985-86), who scored five and eight goals respectively.

Under Cyril Knowles, who succeeded Morgan in the summer of 1987, Dobson continued to be amongst the goals, as he netted a hat-trick of the opening day of the 1987-88 season in the Gulls’ 6-1 victory over Wrexham.

He would also form a formidable partnership with barnstorming target man Dave Caldwell, following his arrival from Chesterfield, as Knowles led United to the play offs where they would face Swansea City in a two-legged final.

After losing the first leg 2-1 at the Vetch Field, United drew 3-3 in the re-match at Plainmoor which was a record 62nd game of the campaign for the Gulls, who ran out of steam in the end.

However, Dobson could look back on a season where he found the back of the net 25 times in all competitions, becoming the first player to score 20 or more goals in a season since Robin Stubbs in 1966-67. No United player would repeat the feat until 2003-04 when David Graham scored 23 times in all competitions.

Like many players who featured for the Gulls against Swansea at Plainmoor, it proved to be Dobson’s final appearance in a United shirt as he joined Doncaster Rovers for a fee of £20,000.

Further moves to Scarborough, Lincoln (who were condemned to relegation by his goal in 1987), Darlington, Gateshead, Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor United followed before he retired from playing.

He later worked as a welder and he was one of the key figures from the day who was interviewed in the Netflix documentary, Losers: the Jaws of Victory including manager Morgan, McNichol and goalkeeper Kenny Allen in 2019.

His contribution to the history of Torquay United will never be forgotten, not just by those who saw him play, but by future generations too.