2017-18
After starting in the spring of 2017, 2017-18 was the first full season for TorquayTalk and a chance for us to stretch our legs over an entire campaign. Unfortunately the campaign was not a good one, Kevin Nicholson lost his job only a few games in and new manager Gary Owers, despite some shoots of promise, could not turn the ship round in the right direction. The end result was our first relegation to regional football, and a club in crisis under the ownership of Clarke Osborne.
2018-19
Torquay United looked to be heading nowhere at the start of 2018-19, with the unpopular Gary Owers continuing to struggle in the Torquay hot seat and supporters fed up with the lack of progress. Then it was Owers OUT and Johnson IN. This was Gary Johnson at his best, charming the Yellow Army with likeable soundbites and creating a team that would take the National League South by storm, with much-maligned striker Jamie Reid the figure head, supported ably by the likes of Kalvin Kalala, Saikou Janneh and more. After years of grind and struggle the Gulls had rediscovered swagger and with the title won, the football world seemed a better place as we headed back into the National League.
2019-20
The Gulls were back…in National League football at least! Gary Johnson kept most of the players who had served him well in the NLS, and United set about tackling a new league with plenty of early success. In the end Torquay’s form fell off a cliff before Xmas, and they sat around mid-table when COVID 19 interrupted everything in March 2020 and the season was eventually voided. Jamie Reid again banged in the goals, and this would be last we would see of him in a United shirt. A season of mediocrity, but something to build on heading towards 2020-21.
2020-21
The 2020-21 season is probably one of the strangest in Torquay United’s history. It started out behind closed doors due to COVID, and would remain that way for much of the campaign, before the Yellow Army finally arrived back in full numbers in the spring. On the pitch the Gulls started the season by beating Stockport County, and with the help of new acquisitions Moxey, Wright, Randell & Sherring, went on a run that saw them push clear of the pack and look nailed on as champions. But then injuries started to take it’s toll, results became mixed and a resilient Sutton side pipped us to the title. The play-offs brought delight in beating Notts County, but then heartbreak in June at Ashton Gate – United’s dream of a return to the EFL was shattered.
2021-22
Season 2021-22 started as an Ashton Gate hangover. The squad had lost a number of players, and recruitment had to be hasty due to the play-offs not ending until late June. Indeed there were fears of a relegation scrap as the team struggled for results, but a win away to Weymouth at the start of the winter helped breed confidence and with the likes of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, Armani Little, Ben Wynter and Armani Little still around United started a charge that at times looked like it could take them back to the Top 7. In the end, despite some sparkling results against Notts County and Chesterfield, it wasn’t enough, and mid-table was the end result.
2022-23
The summer of 2022 saw many of Torquay’s best players leave the club, including Wynter, Lewis, Little and Lemonheigh-Evans and with an influx of the new signings joining the squad, United started the season slowly and never really recovered. There was some joy in the FA Cup with a replay against Derby County, but the results only truly improved in the league when the under-fire Gary Johnson managed to bring in Kevin Dawson and then Frank Nouble. By then the Gulls needed to win every game to avoid relegation, and with top goal-scorer Aaron Jarvis leading the way, they did manage to take it to the last day. But it was too little too late and only 2 years after that play-off United found themselves back in the NLS, with Johnson declaring that he was going nowhere.
2023-24
After Torquay’s productive end to 2022-23, Gary Johnson kept most of the squad and hopes were fairly high that the Gulls would be pushing to the summit of the NLS and pushing back up to the National League. But the reality was very different, and despite some shoots of promise, United struggled, especially on their travels. This led to a toxic atmosphere on the terraces, as the majority of the Yellow Army demanded action by Clarke Osborne and demanded that Gary Johnson be removed from his post. As the winter bubbled along United were in an unforgiveable mid-table position. And then the statement from Clarke Osborne in February changed everything. The club and it’s supporters came together to save Torquay United, and after points deductions, Aaron Downes managed the team to safety. A season where TUFC had reached it’s lowest ebb, but positive news was just around the horizon!
2024-25
With Osborne and Johnson long gone, it was time for the Bryn Consortium to take charge and usher Torquay United into a new area, with supporter representation and consultation at the forefront, it was a breath of fresh air to all. Neil Warnock jumped at the chance to help out, and Paul Wotton was soon appointed as the new manager, quickly recruiting a squad that would be ready to have a crack at the National League South. Attendances jumped and the United faithful were seeing a reborn club that cast aside the secrecy and gloom that had gone before. Results weren’t perfect but the side were energized and motivated, remaining in play-off contention all throughout the season, before a late surge saw a push for the title. In the end it came down to a last day shoot-out between ourselves and Truro City, but goal difference was the deciding factor as we were edged out. There was then play-off heartbreak as Boreham Wood deservedly won at Plainmoor. A season that ended in disappointment but also a lot of pride in what Torquay United had achieved, much of that due to the Bryn Consortium.
2025-26
Torquay supporters approached the 2025-26 season with full confidence that this could be the season, and with the likes of Matt Worthington and Louis Dennis joining, the Bryn Consortium were certainly backing their manager! But despite a confident start and a run that took the Gulls to the summit of the NLS at the end of January, Paul Wotton couldn’t find consistency, especially away from home, where a number of defeats deflated the travelling Yellow Army. So a month after winning the manager of the month award and after a thrashing at home by Chelmsford, PW was relieved of his duties. Neil Warnock temporarily steadied the ship, before Totton manager Jimmy Ball stepped in with an assurance that helped inspire the squad into a run of form that eventually took us to a 3rd place finish. The play-offs were joyful to start with as United despatched Dorking on a fantastic day at Plainmoor, but then utterly miserable as Hornchurch won the play-off final in a dramatic finish.
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