THE MAKING OF AFTER THE JAWS OF VICTORY

 After the initial success of my first Torquay United book, Torquay United: A History in 50 Matches, my thoughts soon turned to ideas for my next project.  

Having been aware of Simon Hughes’ series of books interviewing Liverpool players from different eras: Red Machine, Men in White Suits and Ring of Fire covering the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s respectively, Andy Mitten’s ‘We’re the famous Man United’ series of books and Simon Hart’s Here We Go, which looks at Everton in the 1980s, the idea of writing a book of player’s stories appealed to me.

All of these books were written by fans turned journalists of the clubs in question and were written with the fans of said clubs in mind, but could also be enjoyed by football fans who didn’t support these particular clubs. This was something that I also found appealing.

No one to my mind had ever written a similar book about a lower league club, and Torquay United are a club with a rich history. The Bryn the Police Dog inspired ‘great escape’ of the 1986-87 season is well documented – as evidenced by the Netflix documentary Losers: The Jaws of Victory.

However, what is often overlooked is that it preceded one of the greatest spells in the club’s history that followed it. In the 1987-88 campaign, under the late Cyril Knowles, United missed out on promotion; defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Littlewoods League Cup second round; unearthed a real gem in Lee Sharpe, who they sold to Manchester United for £185,000, and lost out to Swansea City in a two-legged Fourth Division play-off final.

This was then followed by their Sherpa Van Trophy final appearance against Bolton Wanderers in the 1988-89 season, the Gulls’ first ever trip to Wembley, which they secured by beating Steve Bull’s Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Southern Area final over two legs.

The 1989-90 campaign saw Knowles leave the Gulls to be succeeded by the former Mansfield Town, Southend United, Plymouth Argyle and Dundee manager Dave Smith. Under Smith, the Gulls’ reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the fifth time in the club’s history, after beating West Ham United in the third round at Plainmoor.

Smith laid the foundations for the Gulls’ promotion in the 1990-91 season through the play-offs with a 5-4 victory over Blackpool on penalties, after drawing 2-2 in normal time and extra time. The match saw United become the first side to win a play-off final at Wembley and goalkeeper Gareth Howells became the first keeper to save and score a penalty in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley, as he struck the Gulls’ fifth successful spot-kick.

This was then followed by several relegations, promotions, play-off campaigns and numerous ‘great escapes’ – which all added to the makings of a great story.

The next challenge was to draw up a list of potential candidates and in the end, I came with an interesting mix of characters for the final 12. They included the maverick (Dave Caldwell), the local boy made good (Chris Myers), the cult hero (Jim McNichol), the starlet who progressed to the top-flight (Darren Moore), the former player-manager who became a globe-trotting coach (Don O’Riordan), the stalwarts of South West football (John Uzzell and Kevin Hill), the thinker (Alex Russell), the University educated Guardian reader (Martin Gritton) and the inspirational leaders (Alex Watson and Chris Hargreaves) to name but a few.

A foreword by Derek ‘the Dude’ Dawkins, scorer of United’s winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur in 1987 – and winner of the BBC’s Football Focus Torquay United cult hero poll in 2005 – also helped to capture the flavour of the era.

Having started actively supporting the club in 1991, I had seen all but two of the 12 players featured in the book in action – those two being Jim McNichol and Dave Caldwell – so it was a real labour of love.

I had hoped to conduct a number of the interviews in person, however, in the main, due to Covid, the closest I came was speaking to Darren Moore from his office in Sheffield Wednesday’s training ground via Zoom.

The majority were done over the phone, including the interview Chris Hargreaves which I conducted whilst on my lunch break from my day job.

Social media proved to be an aid for communicating with Alex Russell and Don O’Riordan; Russell was in Cairns in the far north of Queensland in Australia, while O’Riordan was based in the West of Ireland. Russell sent his responses to me as voice memos on WhatsApp, in which he read out the questions before giving me the answers, thus providing me with an insight into his thought processes. O’Riordan also used WhatsApp.

As well as sharing their memories of their playing days at Plainmoor, they also treated me to some of the back stories to their careers which were particularly interesting. My particular favourite was Jim McNichol’s Scotland Under-21 exploits, which saw him appear alongside players like Gordon Strachan, John Wark and Steve Archibald who later featured in the Scottish senior side at World Cups. The side he played in was also managed by Andy Roxburgh, who led Scotland to Italia 90 and Euro 92.

Another interesting insight was the reason Don O’Riordan missed out on a Republic of Ireland call-up in what could be described as a ‘sliding doors’ moment for him (you’ll need to buy the book to find out what it is.)

Alex Watson also talked warmly about coming through as an apprentice with Liverpool during one of the greatest eras in their history, including making a Charity Shield appearance at Wembley. Kevin Hill and Martin Gritton both shed new light on their non-league days before becoming full time pros in their early 20s. John Uzzell’s tale of how he went from being a fan on the terraces to being a long serving professional with Plymouth Argyle before going on to become a well-respected senior pro at Plainmoor will surely interest readers of both a green and yellow persuasion.

From a Torquay United perspective, my favourite story was Alex Russell’s thoughts on both automatic promotion in 2003-04 under Leroy Rosenior at Southend United and the subsequent relegation from League One on the final day of the 2004-05 season against Colchester United.

The end result was not only a 171-page book, but also that I was able come away happy in the knowledge that all 12 interviewees were as keen to share their stories with me as I was to ask them about them.

After the Jaws of Victory is available from torquayunitedahistoryin50 — After The Jaws of Victory

 

TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS TONBRIDGE ANGELS

 1. United fail to recover after going two down. 

Against Worthing, Torquay United recovered from being two goals down to win 3-2. However, lightning didn't strike twice at Plainmoor as the Gulls lost 2-1 to Tonbridge Angels after falling two goals behind in the first half. 

Goals from Tom Leahy and Ricky Korboa in the first half for the Angels gave them a two-goal cushion, but, try as they might, United could only find what proved to be a mere consolation in injury time when Louis Dennis headed home a cross from Jordan Young

There might have been a hint of an offside with Leahy's opener, but manager Paul Wotton stated in his post-match interview that his side need to start games better.

2. A series of near misses. 

Throughout the game, Jordan Young, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Matt Jay and Sam Dreyer to name but a few all had chances for the Gulls, but they couldn't convert him. 

When Louis Dennis finally did make the breakthrough in the fourth minute of second half injury time, when he turned home Jordan Young's cross, it proved to be a mere consolation. 

On another day the Gulls could have won handsomely, or if they had got a goal back before half-time it could have been a different game. Unfortunately, they weren't able to and the outcome was a win for Tonbridge. 

3. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton's tireless display in midfield. 

One plus point of United's display against Tonbridge was performance of Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in the centre of midfield. 

He worked tirelessly throughout and always looked to get on the ball and was unlucky not to find the scoresheet himself. On 48 minutes, he had a shot punched away by Angels keeper Laurence Shala and then he was denied by Shala again in the 56th minute before the rebound 

4. Angels strong on the road. 

Whilst Tonbridge Angels have only won once at home, their away form ranks amongst the best in National League South. 

Saturday's victory for Alan Dunne's was their fifth on their travels in 2025-26, and their list of victims includes second placed Worthing and play-off hopefuls Maidstone United. 

The Gulls are due to visit the Angels' Longmead Stadium home on the final day of the campaign, and there could yet be something riding on it for United. 

5. Still in contention. 

Despite their defeat, the Gulls still remain in contention at the top of the National League South, with the gap between themselves and top spot remaining at three points. 

The top five in the division are currently separated by five points; fifth placed Horsham have 38 whilst Weston Super Mare in fourth, United in third and second placed Worthing all have 39 and trail leaders Hornchurch, who are on 42 points, by three. 

Boxing Day's clash with Weston Super Mare will have a lot riding on it, the Gulls are yet to face the Seagulls, who are managed by former Willand Rovers and Tiverton Town boss Scott Rogers. 

MANAGERIAL CHANGES IN THE SOUTH WEST

 After the becoming the fourth manager to take charge of Yeovil Town in the 2025-26 campaign, Billy Rowley made a winning start to his managerial reign in charge of the Glovers. 

Former Chelsea, Fulham and Millwall academy coach Rowley made his name as manager with Southern League Premier South side Walton and Hersham, who were top of the league when he was approached by Yeovil. 

He follows in the footsteps of Mark Cooper, Danny Webb (who returned to his role as assistant manager at Chesterfield after failing to settle at Huish Park) and former interim boss Richard Dryden. 

A Luke McCormick brace helped to seal a 2-1 victory over Boston United and Rowley's next task will be to unite the Glovers' fanbase and build towards a return to the Football League. 

Plymouth Argyle have also seen a return in the non-playing staff as former manager Derek Adams has returned to the club as director of football to work alongside manager Tom Cleverley and head of football operations David Fox. 

Adams managed the Pilgrims between 2015 and 2019, during which time he led them to the League Two Play-off final in 2015-16, promotion from League Two as runners-up in 2016-17 before leading them to a seventh place finish in League One in 2017-18. 

Since leaving Home Park in 2019,  Adams has had three spells in charge of Morecambe (2019-2021, 2022-2023 and 2024-2025); in his first spell with the Shrimps he guided them to promotion to League One in 2020-21, courtesy of a League Two Play-off victory over Newport County. 

He has also had a brief spell in charge of Bradford City and a third stint north of the border with Ross County. His experience of the lower leagues will no doubt prove to be invaluable to Argyle and Cleverley. 

GULLS MAINTAIN WINNING RUN IN FACE OF ADVERSITY

 With their squad weakened due to injuries and the well documented incident involving skipper Matt Worthington and Callum Dolan, Torquay United still managed to extend their winning run in National League South to five matches against Chelmsford City. 

Goals from debutant Kieran Wilson, who joined on loan from Exeter City, and a free-kick from leading scorer Jordan Young, which takes his tally for the season to 12, secured the win over the Clarets. It was a result that briefly lifted the Gulls to the summit of the division and made to appear more remarkable by the fact that Paul Wotton's men made the journey to Essex on the day. 

According to Google Maps, 242 miles separates Plainmoor and Chelmsford's Melbourne Stadium home, but the United team bus set off from Plainmoor at 6.30am on Saturday morning, with the players who stay in the Gulls' Lodge next to the ground being its first passengers. 

United fans of a certain age will probably remember two of the most important away days in the club's history. The first is Barnet away on the final day of 2000-2001, when the Gulls beat the Bees 3-2 with goals from Jason Rees, Kevin Hill and David Graham to stay in the Football League. The other is Southend United away on the last day in 2003-04, which saw United win 2-1 to secure automatic promotion for the first time in 38 years. 

Both of those results were achieved despite the team travelling on the day of the game, and whilst we live in a time where overnight stays are deemed a necessity rather than a luxury, United's result and performance against Chelmsford, at a time when their squad was down to the barebones, showed a certain level of resilience. 

It's also worth noting it was their third game in the space of seven days, following on from a 7-0 demolition of Eastbourne Borough and 3-2 win over high flying Worthing after being two goals down after the opening 17 minutes. 

In the immediate present, the next challenge for Wotton is to extend their winning league run to six  matches when Tonbridge Angels head to Plainmoor on Saturday in what will be the Gulls' last home game before Christmas. 

GULLS SHOW BOUNCEABILITY TO BEAT WORTHING

 Torquay United followed up their seven goal hammering of Eastbourne Borough by coming from behind to beat high flying Worthing at Plainmoor. 

Joel Colbran and Joe Cook had put Worthing 2-0 up after 17 minutes at Plainmoor, and many of the Gulls faithful would have begun to fear the worst. 

However, United soon rallied as Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Dan Hayfield and Dylan Morgan all went close prior to Louis Dennis following up his hat-trick against Eastbourne to make it 2-1 after 25 minutes.

 United then equalised through leading scorer Jordan Young equalised six minutes later, when he latched onto a through ball from Sonny Blu Lo-Everton before cutting inside onto his left foot and fired past Worthing keeper Josh Jefferies. 

In the second half, the Gulls edged ahead on 55 minutes when Young's cross with his weaker right foot picked out Dennis, who took a touch before completing his brace - and his fifth in two games. 

As the game wore on, United showed another side of their game as goalkeeper James Hamon made an important double save deep in injury time, which was in double figures, as the Gulls made it four wins out of four in the league. The result also ended Worthing's nine game winning run. 

TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS EASTBOURNE BOROUGH

 1. The Gulls' biggest win in over seven years. 

At the end of a difficult week for Torquay United, which saw skipper Matt Worthington and Callum Dolan both suspended following an off-field incident, the Gulls responded by beating Eastbourne Borough 7-0. 

It was United's biggest win since they beat Lymington Town FC in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup in September 2018, in one of their early games under the reign of Gary Johnson. 

In addition to this, it was also the Gulls' biggest league victory since the 1956-57 season when they beat Swindon Town 7-0 at Plainmoor, in which the club's all-time leading scorer Sammy Collins netted a hat-trick. 

2. Louis Dennis' hat-trick. 

Louis Dennis added his name to the list of players to have netted hat-tricks for Torquay United, and became the first player to hit a treble for the Gulls since Cody Cooke on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign against Hemel Hempstead Town. 

It was perhaps quite fitting that on a day that United scored seven that Dennis opened the scoring in the seventh minute. He then completed his brace on the half hour mark with a solo effort. His hat-trick came in the 57th minute, which made it 5-0 to the Gulls after Jordan Young and Dylan Morgan had found the target. 

3. Jordan Young takes his tally for the season to ten. 

By netting a brace against Eastbourne, United's leading scorer Jordan Young took his tally for the season to ten goals. He netted his first in the 39th minute following good work on the right hand side from Matt Jay and Louis Dennis, to make it 3-0, and then completed his brace on 63 minutes when he latched onto a long ball from keeper James Hamon and lobbed Eastbourne keeper Ryan Sandford to make it seven. 

Not only is Young one goal away from equalling his tally for the 2024-25 season of 11, he has now also hit double figures in National League South in three successive seasons. 14 for Yeovil Town in 2023-24, 11 for the Gulls last season and now ten and counting in the current campaign. 

4. Dylan Morgan starting to shine. 

After missing much of the second half of the 2024-25 campaign through injury, Dylan Morgan was a stand out player for the Gulls in their pre-season fixtures. However, just as he was starting to replicate his pre-season form in the regular, he went off injured in United's 3-1 win over AFC Totton in August 2025, just after he scored United's opening goal. 

In the first minute of first half injury time, Morgan slotted home a low drive after being teed up by Jordan Young and then added United's fourth in the 58th minute. 

5. The crowd. 

The one, and possibly only, disappointment about the Gulls' result against Eastbourne was that the crowd dipped below the 3,000 mark. The total attendance was 2,952, which included 45 away fans. With two home games in the space of a week, some fans may have chosen between watching United face Eastbourne and Worthing on Tuesday night. 

To those who were absent, you missed a treat. 

6. Eastbourne to reimburse their fans. 

After the match, it was announced that the Eastbourne players will be reimbursing the cost of the match tickets for all visiting fans. 

TOMMY TYNAN AT 70

 One of the finest strikers ever to ply their trade in the South West, Tommy Tynan also ranks amongst the best centre forwards never to grace the top flight of English football. 

Liverpool-born Tynan started his career with his boyhood idols Liverpool, after winning a competition in the Liverpool Echo newspaper searching for the club's next star. Whilst at Anfield, he served under their legendary manager Bill Shankly, but never made a first team appearance for the Reds - but spent time on loan at Swansea City. 

A brief spell with Dallas Tornados in the North American Soccer League followed after he left Liverpool before Sheffield Wednesday was next port of call for Tynan in 1976, where he spent two years prior to a brief spell with Lincoln City in 1978.  

However, it was at Newport County where Tynan would really make his mark as he helped the Welsh side as he formed a formidable partnership with John Aldridge.  The duo helped them win promotion from the 'old' Fourth Division and the Welsh Cup in the 1979-80 season. 

Winning the Welsh Cup earned County entry to the European Cup Winner's Cup for the 1980-81 campaign, which saw Newport reach the quarter finals where they beaten 3-2 by East German side Carl Zeiss Jena on aggregate. Tynan netted both goals in the first leg staged beyond the Iron Curtain, but they lost the return leg at Newport's Somerton Park home 1-0. 

In 1983, Tynan headed to the South West when Bobby Moncur signed him for Plymouth Argyle; in his first season at Home Park, he played a key role in helping the Pilgrims reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup under Moncur's successor, Johnny Hore in the 1983-84 campaign. Tynan famously scored the winning goal in their fifth round win over West Bromwich Albion, which was Argyle's only win over top-flight opposition during the run. 

The goals continued to flow for Tynan in the 1984-85 season, in which he saw another change of manager after Hore was sacked and replaced by the charismatic Scotsman Dave Smith. 

Tynan was on the move again in the summer of 1985 for domestic reasons as he returned to South Yorkshire to sign for Rotherham United. Nevertheless, he would return to the Pilgrims on loan towards the end of the 1985-86 campaign, after falling out with Millers' boss Norman Hunter. 

His second spell at Home Park to be a glorious one, as he found the back of the net ten times in nine appearances as promotion to the 'old' Second Division was secured with a 4-0 win over Bristol City. Tynan then made the move permanent and played a starring role as the Pilgrims achieved their second highest post-war league finish of seventh in the 'old' Second Division in the 1986-87 season. 

Following his release by Argyle in 1990, Tynan linked up with Dave Smith again at Torquay United as player-coach, as he helped the Gulls complete a then club record run of 15 league matches as United topped the Fourth Division table. He finished the 1990-91 season as the Gulls' joint top scorer with 19 goals, which included his 300th career goal in a 3-0 home win over Carlisle United in October 1990. 

A brief spell with Doncaster Rovers and a stint as player-manager of Goole Town then followed for Tynan before he returned to Plymouth, where he ran a pub, worked for Plymouth Argyle as commercial manager and later became a taxi driver.