SECOND STRING CHAMPIONS

Torquay United's reserve side marked their first season since second string football returned to Plainmoor by winning the totesport.com Combination by beating their counterparts from Plymouth Argyle 5-1 at Home Park.

Gulls boss Paul Buckle was able to give run outs to players like Billy Kee, Danny Stevens and Mark Ellis, all of whom have featured in the Torquay first team this season as they clinched the title with two games to spare.

Buckle also spoke about the genuine pride felt by the players in winning the competition.

"You can sometimes tell a football club by its reserve side and we try to win every game," said Buckle.


"There is a winning mentality at our place and you can see that Torquay United has a bright future with some of the young players we're bringing through.

"The players were a credit to the club and themselves. It's not always easy to play in reserve games but I ask them to play with the same attitude they would show for a first-team game, and they've done that."

On the same day, two young Gulls hopefuls, Saul Halpin and Lathaniel Rowe-Turner, featured for Derby County's reserves against Nottingham Forest's second string side. The Rams won the game 7-1 with Halpin scoring a hat-trick.

These two achievements illustrate just how much young talent there is at Plainmoor at present and the future is certainly looking bright for the Gulls.

SUPER SHAUN

Shaun MacDonald showed why Terry Skiverton is keen to keep at Huish Park beyond his fifth loan spell with Yeovil Town, from Swansea City, as the young Welshman netted a hat-trick in the Glovers' 5-1 win over Leyton Orient at the Matchroom Stadium last Saturday.

It was slightly ironic that Shaun would net his first career hat-trick came against the team currently managed by the manager who first brought him to the Glovers in January 2009, Russell Slade.

He made his debut in a 1-0 win against Huddersfield Town in which he scored the game's decisive goal.

His spells at Huish Park have also helped the central midfielder gain international recognition with Wales. Having received 25 caps at Under-21 level, a national record, Shaun made his senior international debut last October against Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

With the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Jack Collison and his Swansea team-mate Joe Allen ahead of him in the international pecking order, securing regular first team football will be essential to keeping him in the mind of Wales manager Gary Speed when it comes to picking future Wales squads.

With Glovers' boss Terry Skiverton starting to assemble what looks like a potentially exciting squad at Huish Park with the likes of Craig Alcock, Paul Huntington and Luke Ayling, allied with the slightly more mature talents of Dean Bowditch and Andy Welsh, Yeovil fans will be hoping Shaun can be part of it too.

INTERNATIONAL ROLE FOR NELSON

Plymouth Argyle defender Curtis Nelson has been called up for the England Under-18 squad for a friendly against Italy on April 12th.

Nelson, who has been on the radar of Under-18's manager, and former Exeter City boss, Noel Blake for some time after the young defender went on an unbroken 26-match spell in the Pilgrims' first team which began on November 2nd 2011 when Argyle faced Bristol Rovers.

If selected, he will join a list of players with South West footballing connections who have played for England at that level in recent times. These include former Yeovil loanees Steven Caulker and Ryan Mason and ex-Argyle loanee Dean Parrett, a one-time team-mate of Nelson's.

VOTE JAKE

Torquay United loanee Jake Robinson is one of five League Two players nominated for the ESPN PFA Fan's Player of the Month for March 2011.

The decision by Torquay boss Paul Buckle to deploy him on the left hand side of midfield during the month as proved to be an inspirational one as Jake, who is on loan from Shrewsbury Town, has scored five goals in seven games for the Gulls.

This included a brace against his parent club in Torquay's 5-0 victory over the Shrews.

To vote for Jake please visit http://fansaward.givemefootball.com/

Full List of Nominees


League 2

Jake Robinson - Torquay United

Clayton Donaldson - Crewe Alexandra

Gareth Ainsworth - Wycombe Wanderers

Jack Lester - Chesterfield

Lawrie Wilson - Stevenage

Special mention to Barry Corr (Southend United) and Alex Cisak (Accrington Stanley)


League 1
Craig Mackail-Smith - Peterborough United

Gary Jones - Rochdale

George Boyd - Peterborough United

Glenn Murray - Brighton & Hove Albion

Lee Barnard - Southampton

Special mention to Dean Cox (Leyton Orient) and Peter Clarke (Huddersfield Town)

Championship

Adel Taarabt - Queens Park Rangers

Danny Graham - Watford

Grant Holt - Norwich City

Jonathan Howson - Leeds United

Nicky Maynard - Bristol City

Special mention to Connor Wickham (Ipswich Town) and Jamie Ashdown (Portsmouth)

Premier League

Damien Duff - Fulham

David Luiz - Chelsea

Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool

Frank Lampard - Chelsea

Jack Wilshere - Arsenal

Javier Hernandez - Manchester United

Luis Suarez - Liverpool

Micah Richards - Manchester City

Scott Parker - West Ham United

Wayne Rooney - Manchester United

JACK TURNS DOWN MOVE TO COTTAGE

After attracting interest from Premiership side Fulham, Plymouth Argyle starlet Jack Stephens has opted to stay with the Pilgrims.

Jack, who hails from Torpoint, stated that he wished to continue learning his trade at Home Park.

He is the second Argyle youth product to turn down a move away from Home Park this year after Joe Mason rejected a £300,000 deal offered by Swindon Town in January.

GRITTS BACK AMONGST FRIENDS AT HUISH PARK

Yeovil Town have bolstered their attacking options with the signing of Martin Gritton from Chester FC until the end of the season.

Gritts started the season at Plainmoor at Torquay United on loan from his then parent club Chesterfield.

However, an injury sustained on the opening day of the season against Northampton Town prevented him from discovering the form which he displayed during his previous stay with the Gulls between 2002 and 2004.

He left Plainmoor for a second time in January and soon signed for Chester FC who currently play in the Evo-Stik First Division North.

His link-up at Yeovil Town, a club he had a brief loan spell with in the 2000-01 season, sees him re-united with a number of his former team-mates.

These include Alex Russell, who he appeared with for Torquay, Paul Wotton, his ex-Plymouth colleague and, of course, Glovers boss Terry Skiverton who was skipper of Yeovil during Gritts' previous spell at Huish Park.

BUCKLAND REACH DEVON BOWL FINAL

Newton Abbot based Buckland Athletic reached the final of the St Lukes Devon Bowl for the first time in their history after a penalty shoot-out win over Plymouth Argyle.

Bucks took the lead in the 35th minute through Danny Gaze on 35 minutes before Simon Walton levelled matters for the Pilgrims on the hour mark.

Gaze added a second for Buckland in injury time, which was quickly cancelled out by a late equaliser from Matt Rickard which sent the tie to a penalty shoot out that Bucks won 5-4. 

WEST END ROLE FOR JACK

Plymouth Argyle starlet Jack Stephens looks set to join Premiership side Fulham in a deal that would be worth  £125,000 initially to the cash-strapped Pilgrims.

The Torpoint teenager made his debut for Argyle last September in a 3-2 home win over Sheffield Wednesday as a late substitute and has made a further five appearances for the Pilgrims since then.

As Stephens is still an apprentice at Home Park, the deal can be completed outside the transfer window.

BOWLING FOR DEVON

This week sees the Westinsure St Luke's Challenge Bowl reach the Semi-Final stage as four teams from various points of the footballing pyramid battle it out to win this season's competition.

Newton Abbot based Buckland Athletic remain the South West Peninsula League' s sole representative in the tournamnent and they play host to Plymouth Argyle at Homer's Heath.

The Bucks, who were founded in 1977, defeated Torquay United in the previous round and will be looking to give Argyle a run for their money.

In the other Semi-Final, Exeter City face Tiverton Town, of the Zamaretto Southern Premier League, in a repeat of the tournament's 2009 final which saw the Grecians win 2-0. Tivvy, who currently have former Torquay United favourite Kevin Hill amongst their squad, will no doubt be looking for revenge as they seek to win the competition for a 10th time.

Westinsure St Luke's Challenge Bowl Semi-Finals

Buckland Athletic vs Plymouth Argyle

Tiverton Town vs Exeter City

GULLS CLOSE IN ON PROMOTION PACK

Having won their last three league encounters, Torquay United travel to Macclesfield Town just one solitary point outside the League Two Play-Off zone.

The Gulls started this sequence with a 2-0 win over Stevenage, which they followed up a 5-0 win over fellow Play-Off hopefuls Shrewsbury Town, a game that saw Torquay loanee Jake Robinson net a brace against his parent club.

If that looked impressive enough, the Gulls further underlined their credentials by beating second placed Bury 2-1 at Gigg Lane. After trailing to an early strike from Chris Holroyd, Paul Buckle's side struck back with goals from Craig Stanley and Chris Zebroski to come away from Greater Manchester with maximum points.

That result means that the Gulls are now very much in the promotion picture and they are still due to face Port Vale, Wycombe Wanderers, leaders Chesterfield and Rotherham United.

At the time of writing, Torquay are one point behind 7th placed Port Vale, two points behind fourth place Rotherham , six points behind third placed Wycombe and seven points behind Bury in second place.

The last time the Gulls won promotion from League Two, or Division Three as it was known then, in 2004 under Leroy Rosenior, they did so after winning four of their final five league games of the 2003-04 campaign.

If a run resembling the one that the Plainmoor class of 2004 managed in the end of the season run-in was replicated by Paul Buckle's Gulls in 2011, it could see them finish the 2010-11 League Two campaign in a similar manner.

ARGYLE STAFF GIVEN PAY ULTIMATUM

It was supposed to be a day when the new owners of Plymouth Argyle football club were unveiled to the public.

However, the saga at Home Park took another turn when it was revealed that the club's playing and non-playing staff were informed that they would be required to defer their salaries or see the club close.

The announcement was made after the club's potential buyers failed to agree to fund wages and costs until the end of the season.

Despite this revelation, talks between the club's administrators and the interested parties are still ongoing.

TALKING YEOVIL #15

Following negotiations with the duo, Yeovil Town have announced that manager Terry Skiverton and assistant manager Nathan Jones have put pen to paper on new two-and-a-half year deals that will keep the pair at Huish Park until the year 2014.

Since taking over from Russell Slade in February 2009, Skivo has overseen 100 matches in charge at Huish Park during which time the Glovers have maintained their League One status and enjoyed a level of stability in a climate that has seen many clubs struggle financially.

Skivo has proved to be a shrewd investor in the loan market and he has been able to bring players such as Steven Caulker, Ryan Mason, Jon Obika, Alex McCarthy, Shaun MacDonald, Max Ehmer and Oli Johnson to Yeovil on temporary deals in the past two seasons.

During the current campaign, he has unearthed a few promising permanent signings including Luke Ayling, Paul Huntington, who won the Npower Player of the Month award for January 2011, Ed Upson, Paul Wotton and the experienced Alex Russell who was plucked from Blue Square Premier side Bath City in January.

News of the pair signing their new contracts was followed by the announcement that Jon Obika and Shaun MacDonald would be returning on loan to Huish Park for the third and fifth times respectively.

Skivo has also suggested that he would like to bring MacDonald to Yeovil from his parent club, Swansea City, on a permanent basis. As the young Welshmen has one year to run on his current deal at the Liberty Stadium it will be interesting to see what developments are made on that front.

SMOKIN' JOE

As Plymouth Argyle stand on the brink of a new era, as takeover talks for the ownership of the club near the brink of conclusion, we take a closer look at a player who could have a big impact for the Pilgrims in the years to come.

Many young wannabe footballers grow up with the dream of playing for the home town club before going on to achieve hero status amongst the fans.

For Plymouth Argyle striker Joe Mason that dream has been realised, and he is still yet to celebrate his 20th birthday.

Since making his debut at home to Sheffield United last season, Joe became selected more frequently by the Pilgrims' then manager Paul Mariner.

The young Pilgrim continued to progress following the appointment of Peter Reid last summer and, following the sale of Bradley Wright-Phillips to Charlton Athletic, he is currently Argyle's leading scorer with seven goals to his name.

Peter Reid breathed a sigh of relief when the youngster turned down a potential £200,000 move to Swindon Town during the January transfer window.

After snubbing the Robins, Joe revealed his desire to help the Pilgrims out of their current plight, which was seen them placed deep in the League One relegation following a ten-point deduction for going into Administration.

Joe has also received international recognition from the Republic of Ireland, whom he qualifies to play for through his grandmother, at Under-21 level. He has received two caps to date and was recently named in their squad for their upcoming friendly against Portugal.

During the current campaign, he has been joined in the Argyle squad by fellow youth team products Curtis Nelson and Jack Stephens, which will hopefully give Peter Reid a nucleus of young talent to work with once the 2010-11 season is out of the way.

JAKE HELPS TORQUAY TO TAME THE SHREWS

Torquay United loanee Jake Robinson was a talismanic figure for the Gulls in their 5-0 win at the weekend against his parent club Shrewsbury Town at Plainmoor.

Robinson scored Torquay's second of the game from the penalty spot in the 54th minute after debutant Gavin Tomlin opened the scoring for the Gulls after five minutes. Robinson struck again in the 56th minute with a stunning solo effort before Chris Zebroski and an own goal from Shrews skipper Ian Sharps completed the scoring.

His brace against Shrewsbury takes Jake's tally for the Gulls up to five, which includes the goal he scored against Hereford United on his debut when it was later revealed that he hadn't been registered in time to be available for selection.

ARGYLE BIDS ARE IN

Plymouth Argyle administrator Brendan Guilfoyle has received a number of bids for the Pilgrims after the deadline for receiving bids passed at noon on Monday 14th March 2011.

Guilfoyle has also announced that he will choose his preferred bidder who take over Argyle, who are currently four points from League One safety after receiving a ten point deduction for entering administration, on Thursday.

Many Pilgrims followers will be pleased to know that the group connected with former directors Sir Roy Gardner and Keith Todd, Affinity Sports Finance, have pulled out of the running for control of Argyle.

Once the winning bid has been announced, it should enable manager Peter Reid to strengthen his squad with a few loan signings ahead of the closing of the loan deadline a week on Friday after he had been prevented from doing so by a transfer embargo imposed on the Pilgrims since last December.

FRIENDS REUNITED

Tomorrow's clash between Torquay United and Shrewsbury Town will see two players go head to head with their former team-mates.

Former Gulls midfielder Nicky Wroe, who spent two and a half years at Plainmoor before joining the Shrews in January, will be lining up against his former colleagues as will Jake Robinson, who moved in the opposite direction to sign for Torquay on loan until the end of the season.

Gulls boss Paul Buckle has the blessing of Shrewsbury manager Graham Turner to select Robinson in the Torquay squad as no clause was inserted in the deal preventing him from lining up against the Shrews.

With both sides in the hunt for a Play-Off spot it promises to be a very competitive encounter and the two players could well have a big say on its outcome.

TORQUAY LOAN TRACTOR BOY RONAN

In a bid to strengthen his side's Play-Off bid in League Two, Paul Buckle has signed Ipswich Town striker Ronan Murray on loan until the end of the season.

Ronan has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level and made his debut for the Tractor Boys in the South West earlier in the season against Exeter City in the Carling Cup. He was on the score sheet as Ipswich defeated the Grecians 3-2.

One person who played a key role in brokering the deal was former Gulls assistant manager Steve McCall, who is currently employed as Chief Scout at Portman Road.

REID DEDICATES WIN TO STAFF

A first half strike from Rory Fallon was enough to give Plymouth Argyle victory in their six-pointer with fellow relegation candidates Swindon Town.

The Kiwi striker hit the target in the 10th minute and his fellow forward Joe Mason struck the woodwork twice as the Pilgrims moved off the foot of the League One table for the first time since they were docked ten points for going into Admininstration.

Manager Peter Reid dedicated the win to the 16 staff who lost their jobs at the club following the announcement that the Pilgrims would be going into Administration.

He said: "It's been really difficult.

"Yesterday was a horrible day in terms of good people losing their jobs, and that affected me, so it must have affected the players, and the victory is for everyone who has gone.

"It's dedicated to them.-especially Sue who was my PA."

ARGYLE SHOW SPIRIT IN FACE OF ADVERSITY

Since it was announced that they would entering administration and receiving a ten point deduction, Plymouth Argyle have come out all guns blazing.

The Pilgrims have achieved six points from a possible six following the announcement of the penalty after winning 2-1 at home to Colchester United, a result that they followed up with a 4-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Bondz N'gala opened the scoring in Sheffield before Joe Mason helped himself to a brace before Yannick Bolasie added Argyle's fourth. Giles Coke and Reda Johnson, who the Pilgrims sold to Wednesday in the January transfer window, replied for the Owls.

This tuesday sees the Pilgrims play host to fellow relegation candidates Swindon Town. The last meeting, at Home Park, between the two sides in the FA Cup first round saw the Robins win 4-0.

However, like Argyle, Swindon have seen a lot of personnel changes since then as Charlie Austin and Sean Morrison, who were both the scoresheet on that day for the Robins, have left the County Ground for pastures new.

Also, it would be ironic if Joe Mason was to score the winner for the Pilgrims on the night. During the January transfer windowThe then Robins manager Danny Wilson tabled a bid for the Argyle starlet , which was turned down by Joe, much to the relief of manager Peter Reid, as the young striker pledged his allegiance to the Home Park club.

TORQUAY SIGN PRINGLE

Torquay United boss Paul Buckle has moved to strengthen his squad further by signing Ben Pringle on loan from Derby County.

Pringle, who was brought to Pride Park by Rams' boss Nigel Clough in 2009 from Ilkeston Town, started his career with West Bromwich Albion before dropping into non-league football where he appeared for Newcastle Blue Star and Morpeth Town.

A left midfielder, he has signed for an initial one-month loan and his arrival helps fill the void left by Ryan Gilligan's return to his parent club,  Northampton Town.

To date, Ben has made 20 league appearances for Derby and he was named as the club's Young Player of the Year in the 2009-10 season.

ARGYLE IN ADMINISTRATION

Following a meeting of club directors, Plymouth Argyle have been iu administration and Brendan Guilfoyle of the P&A Partnership has been appointed as the club's administrator.

The Pilgrims had already lost ten points on February 21st 2011 after announcing their intention to go into administration.

This decision brings to a head what has been a difficult season for Argyle off-the-field during which time they have faced a winding up order in the High Court over an unpaid tax bill, the forced sale of key players including Craig Noone, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Reda Johnson, a transfer embargo over further unpaid taxes, which has prevented manager Peter Reid from being able to replace these players, and the non-arrival of promised investment from their Japanese majority shareholders that has seen the club unable to pay their playing and non-playing staff on time for several months.

GULLS BLESSED WITH STRENGTH IN DEPTH

As Torquay United head towards the business end of the 2010-11 season, they do so as a team challenging for the League Two Play-Offs.

Following their midweek draw with promotion hopefuls Rotherham United, the Gulls are now four points off 7th place, the minimum posiition that would ensure them of a place in the end of season Play-Off showdown.

At this critical stage of the season, manager Paul Buckle has plenty of options available to him in a number of key positions.

Left back Kevin Nicholson has been a influential player for the Gulls in his position, but recently he has been replaced by former Leicester youngster Lathaniel Rowe-Turner, who has produced a number of solid performances in that role.

In the centre of defence, promising defender Mark Ellis has been rested for a number of games and Chris Robertson has filled in for him.

Another player who has been rested in recent weeks is goalkeeper Scott Bevan and reserve keeper Danny Potter has taken over between the sticks and made a crucial penalty save to deny Rotherham hot shot Adam Le Fondre in their 1-1 draw with the Millers'.

Buckle also had the luxury of being able to leave Northern Irish starlet Eunan O'Kane on the bench in their away clash at Accrington, as loan signing from Morecambe Craig Stanley filled in for him. However, the former Everton youngster returned to the starting eleven on tuesday to score his sixth goal of the season.

Stanley has since extended his loan deal from the Shrimpers until the end of the campaign.

Up front, O'Kane's fellow Northern Ireland Under-21colleague Billy Kee is currently on seven goals for the season and is being tipped by Buckle to surpass the 14 goals scored by Elliot Benyon, who joined Swindon for £135,000 in the January transfer window.

Also, loanee striker Jake Robinson, the Gulls player at the centre of the unregistered player saga, has shown more than few glimpses of promise since arriving from Shrewsbury Town in a deal that saw Nicky Wroe move to the New Meadow in the opposite direction.

The Gulls have certainly proved that they are no pushovers this season and have only lost nine league games during the 2010-11 campaign. This is the same figure as the four teams currently in the League Two Play-Off zone (Rotherham, Shrewsbury, Port Vale and Gillingham) and second placed Wycombe Wanderers.

They could well be in the mix come the end of the season.

FORMER TIVVY LOANEE INSPIRES BLUES TO LEAGUE CUP WIN

Sunday's Carling Cup final saw Birmingham City overcome favourites Arsenal to lift the trophy at Wembley, their first major silverware since 1963.

A key player in their success was goalkeeper Ben Foster, who received the Man of the Match award, a player that enjoyed a loan spell with Devon non-league side Tiverton Town during the 2003-04 season.

Foster joined Tivvy on loan from his then parent club Stoke City and made 16 appearances whilst at Ladysmead.

This was the first time since signing for the Potters that he made appearances totalling double figures for any side. Prior to this spell, he had been on loan at Bristol City without making a first team appearance.

Ben later had loan spells with Stafford Rangers and Kidderminster Harriers before he joined Wrexham in loan deal during the 2004-05 campaign.

During his spell with the Red Dragons, Wrexham reached the final of the LDV Vans Trophy where Ben was spotted by Sir Alex Ferguson who was watching the game as his son, Darren, was playing in it. He then signed Ben on a permanent deal from Stoke and the rest turned out to be history as Ben went on to appear for Manchester United and England before moving to Birmingham in 2010.