REBUILDING TASK AWAITS HARGREAVES

In the end Torquay United simply ran out of games under Chris Hargreaves as they returned to the Conference just five years after winning promotion back into the Football League.

Hargreaves himself captained that Gulls team to victory over Cambridge United at Wembley, and also scored Torquay's opening goal in their 2-0 win, but is now entrusted with building a side capable of challenging for a second promotion from the Conference.

If he is to succeed in this feat then Hargreaves will need to solve two major problems that helped contribute to the Gulls' relegation: scoring goals and establishing a settled midfield.

The former conundrum is one that Hargreaves may already have found the answer to in the form of Kingsbridge-born Ashley Yeoman.

Prior to Hargreaves' appointment as successor to Alan Knill, Yeoman had spent the early part of the season at Calor Gas Southern Premier Division side Bideford- managed of course by another former Torquay midfielder Sean Joyce- but was recalled after Knill's dismissal.

Another loan spell followed- this time in Conference South with Dorchester Town- before Yeoman returned to Plainmoor and netted his first goal of the campaign for the Gulls in a 2-1 win over Bury.

Further goals in the Devon derby against Exeter City on Easter Monday and Mansfield Town brought Yeoman level with fellow strikers Elliot Benyon, Karl Hawley and former loanees John Marquis and Paul McCallum with three goals; only Marquis possessed a better goals to game ratio than Yeoman, he netted three times in five appearances whilst Yeoman scored three in eight appearances.

It is no coincidence that Torquay's best run of form this season came during Marquis' loan spell from Millwall, which read played 5, won 2, drew and lost 1.

The latter problem is one that also posed questions for Hargreaves's predecessors Martin Ling and Knill- a midfield that has never looked the same since the departure of Eunan O'Kane to AFC Bournemouth.

During the current campaign- under both Knill and Hargreaves- the Gulls have used ten different combinations of central midfielders, which has- at various times- included skipper Lee Mansell, Damon Lathrope, Ben Harding, Leicester City loanee Jak McCourt, Damien Mozika, Joss Labadie- who was banned for ten matches for biting Chesterfield's Ollie Banks- and Nathan Craig.

None of these players managed to successfully fill the void left by O'Kane, and one of the tasks facing Hargreaves now is to find a midfielder who possesses the ability to influence a game in the manner in which the talented, young Irishman once did.

Then there is also the great 'what if' surrounding the postponement of the Gulls' league meeting with Northampton Town in January, which could have had a bearing on the outcome of the campaign.

Whether Torquay would have beaten the Cobblers if the original had gone ahead will probably never be known, but after winning two out of their three fixtures under Hargreaves' fledgling reign the Gulls would have felt confident against a Northampton side, who were then still under the caretaker managerial reign of Andy King- following the dismissal of Aidy Boothroyd- and rooted to the bottom of the table.

As it transpired the match was called off, and by the time the re-arranged fixture was staged Northampton had appointed Chris Wilder as manager and had managed to regroup, and ran out as 2-1 winners.

Nevertheless, the plain facts are in the cold light of day are that Torquay United will once again be facing life in the Conference again.

GRECIANS END IRON UNBEATEN RUN

Exeter City retained their Football League status and ended promotion chasing Scunthorpe United's world record 28-match unbeaten run in the process as they beat the Iron at St James' Park.

A Craig Woodman strike on the stroke of half-time gave the Grecians the lead before Jimmy Keohane added a second in the second half to seal the win for Paul Tisdale's side and brought an end to Scunthorpe manager Russ Wilcox's unbeaten start as Iron manager, a world record that was previously held by Andre Villas-Boas when he was in charge of Porto, as well.

Despite their defeat, Scunthorpe were still able to clinch promotion as fourth-placed Fleetwood Town failed to beat Southend United.

For the Grecians, it was an end to what has proved to be a season of transition as Tisdale has been forced to blood a number of young players due to financial constraints, but those young players will learn from the experience and hopefully stronger for it in the 2014-15 campaign.

A BITTERSWEET VICTORY

It was the win that they wanted over Mansfield Town, but results elsewhere meant that Torquay United will be returning to the Conference five years after winning back into the Football League.

An own goal from John Dempster- a former teammate of Gulls' manager Chris Hargreaves at Oxford United- set Torquay on their way before Kingsbridge-born Ashley Yeoman- the nearest thing at the club to a local boy at Plainmoor- added a second.

James Jennings pulled a goal back for the Stags- who had been reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Matt Rhead- early in the second half before Tottenham Hotspur loanee Shaquile Coulthirst scored a third when he turned home a cross from substitute Jordan Chapell to seal the win.

Sadly, a 3-0 win for the Gulls' fellow strugglers Northampton Town at Dagenham & Redbridge proved to be enough to condemn Torquay to the Conference.

This now means that the Gulls have joined a group of clubs who have been relegated to the Conference twice that includes Halifax Town, Chester City, Darlington, Lincoln City, Hereford United and Barnet.

They also join another list of clubs who have experienced relegation from the Football League after winning promotion from the Conference, which contains Kidderminster Harriers, Rushden & Diamonds, Boston United, Chester City and Aldershot Town.

A SIMPLE BRIEF

The brief for Torquay United and Exeter City this weekend is simple: win.

Torquay need three points from their visit to Mansfield Town to keep their slim survival hopes alive, and they also require a definite result in Wycombe Wanderers clash with Bristol Rovers at Adams Park and hope that Northampton Town fail to win away at Dagenham & Redbridge.

One factor that could work in the favour of Chris Hargreaves' side, who will no doubt be high of confidence after Easter Monday's Devon derby victory over the Grecians at St James Park, is that there is an onus on either Wycombe and Bristol Rovers to seize the initiative in their meeting and win the match.

If the Chairboys and the Pirates share the spoils at Adams Park they will both need to pick up points in their final matches of the season as Northampton would still be able to catch them heading into the last day.

Meanwhile, Exeter require a win against a promotion chasing Scunthorpe United side, who are unbeaten in 28 games since Scunny manager Russ Wilcox took charge at Glanford Park following the departure of Brian Laws, to ensure their mathematical safety and guarantee they won't need to travel to Hartlepool United on the final day of the season needing a point to survive.

A win for Paul Tisdale's side, or even a draw, would see them move a step closer to safety; but defeat would leave them in a situation whereby they were glancing over their shoulder at other team's results.

GULLS GET STAY OF EXECUTION AGAINST GRECIANS

Torquay United kept their hopes of avoiding relegation alive with a crucial win over Devon rivals Exeter City.

Scott Bennett gave the Grecians a first half lead before Courtney Cameron and substitute Ashley Yeoman struck in the second 45 minutes to hand the Gulls a lifeline regarding retaining their Football League status.

It was United's first Devon derby victory of the season and City's first loss against of their local rivals in the current campaign; and both sides still have plenty of work to do to remain in League Two.

Fortunately for both sides, their fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers, Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers all lost their respective fixtures- but Torquay still need to win their remaing fixtures: Mansfield Town away and Wycombe at home; and Exeter require one more victory from their home clash with Scunthorpe and the final day trip to Hartlepool United.

Their respective fortunes do hinge heavy on what happens at Adams Park next week, where Wycombe host Bristol Rovers in a relegation 'six-pointer' in the truest sense of the phrase.

HARGREAVES THE FOURTH

When Chris Hargreaves lines up against Paul Tisdale on the touchline in Torquay United's Devon derby with Exeter City, he will be the fourth Gulls' boss he has faced since taking charge of the Grecians in 2006.

As well as this, it could prove to be the most crucial meeting between them since their famous Conference Play-Off semi-final second leg when Exeter triumphed 4-1 at Plainmoor after trailing 2-1 in the first leg.

Not since then has so much ridden a meeting of the Gulls and the Grecians.

Torquay's Football League status, which they regained five years ago, is hanging by a thread following their Good Friday defeat at home to Dagenham & Redbridge and defeat at St James' Park would condemn the Gulls to relegation outright.

A victory for Torquay however would see them live to fight another day, but victories for Northampton Town and Wycombe Wanderers in their respective fixtures would see United relegated regardless of how they perform against the local rivals.

City themselves need the three points from the game to stave off their own relegation worries, and with a home fixture against title chasing Scunthorpe United and a long away trip to Hartlepool United to follow their Devon derby outing; the Grecians need to find a win from one of those matches to retain their own league status.

The two sides have met before situations where it has appeared that both sides would their league status. In the 2000-01 season, the Gulls faced the Grecians at Plainmoor on January 20th and both sides were in the bottom three of Division Three - and were staring at the relegation trap door to the Conference.

A Mark Ford penalty gave Torquay the lead before Exeter were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Chris Curran- a player who had come through the Gulls' youth ranks.

The Grecians then equalised through Mark Rawlinson before 'super sub' Kevin Parker scored a last gasp winner for United, which lifted them further away from trouble.

Exeter then enlisted the services of Steve Perryman as a 'football consultant' to work alongside with their then manager Noel Blake, whilst Torquay later dispensed with their manager Wes Saunders as  Colin Lee was brought in as Caretaker manager.

Both men steered their respective clubs away from danger, although it took Torquay longer to do so as a final day deciding victory over Barnet was needed to make themselves safe.

Two years later, the Grecians were relegated from the Football League for the first time ever, whilst the Gulls would join them in the Conference four years afterwards.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: THE ARGYLE SQUAD 1983-84

We will now look at what the Argyle side that faced the Hornets at Villa Park did next.

Geoff Crudgington- Goalkeeper

Geoff remained with the club until 1987- during which time he helped the Pilgrims win promotion from Division Three in 1986. After hanging up his gloves, he joined local non-league side Millbrook before returning to the club as Football in the Community Officer and later became the Pilgrims’ goalkeeper coach, a position he held until 2011 when he left Home Park when the club went into Administration and now works as a coach driver.

 Gordon Nisbet- Right Back

Another player who remained at Home Park as a player until 1987, Gordon later had spells with Exeter City and Ottery St Mary. He later returned to Home Park as youth coach and had a brief spell as joint Caretaker Manager with Alan Gillett between the managerial reigns of David Kemp and Peter Shilton. He joined the Devon and Cornwall Police force after he replaced as youth coach by Ian Bowyer in the 1993-94 season.

Chris Harrison- Centre Back

A former Argyle apprentice, Chris remained with the Pilgrims for a further season before signing for Swansea City, bringing the curtain down on 11 years at Home Park. He later returned to the South West to join Saltash United.

Lindsay Smith- Centre Back

Lindsay left the Pilgrims at the end of the 1983-84 season to join Millwall and later returned to Cambridge United for a second spell before dropping into non-league football.

John Uzzell- Left Back

A popular and long serving left back, John Uzzell remained with Argyle until 1989- during which time they won promotion from Division Three and established themselves in Division Two. On leaving Home Park, he joined Torquay United, who he helped to win promotion in 1991 before he was forced to retire following an horrific facial injury sustained in league match against Brentford in a challenge with Gary Blissett. John is still involved with the game as a match analyst for Opta at Plainmoor.

 Kevin Hodges Right Wing

The club’s record appearance holder with a seemingly untouchable 620 games for Argyle during a 15-year career with the Pilgrims that came to an end in the 1992-93 season when he joined Torquay United. During this time, he helped the Pilgrims win promotion and was awarded two testimonials for his service. Kevin later managed the Gulls between 1996 and 1998 when he returned to Home Park to succeed Mick Jones. He remained in charge of the Pilgrims until he was dismissed and replaced by Paul Sturrock in 2000. Kevin is currently back at Home Park as Head of Youth after coaching spells with Bristol Rovers and Yeovil Town.

 David Phillips- Centre Midfield

One of the few players who eventually made it to an FA Cup final when he helped Coventry City beat Tottenham in the 1987 final, David Phillips earned himself a move to the Sky Blues at the end of the 1983-84 season. He also went on to play for Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City and won 62 caps for Wales.

 Leigh Cooper- Centre Midfield

The Captain of the side on the day of their Semi-Final, Leigh Cooper’s stray pass led to Watford scoring the only goal of the game. He remained at Home Park until 1990 when he joined Aldershot and after the Shots folded in 1992, Leigh returned to South West to play for Truro City, who he later managed.

Andy Rogers- Left Wing

Scorer of the winning goal in their Quarter Final with Derby County, Andy Rogers stayed with the Pilgrims for a further year before joining Reading. He later played for Southend before dropping into non-league football with Farnborough and Carshalton.

Gordon Staniforth- Striker

The Pilgrims’ Player of the Year in the 1983-84 season, Gordon Staniforth remained at Home Park until 1985 when he was sold to Newport County. He later went to play for York City before dropping into non-league football to sign for North Ferriby United. Gordon later became a youth team coach at Leeds United and is currently managing the Doncaster Belles in the FA Women's Super League Two.

Tommy Tynan – Striker

A true Argyle great, Tommy Tynan left Home Park a year after their FA Cup Semi-Final appearance to join Rotherham United, but returned to the Pilgrims on loan towards the end of the 1985-86 season to help Argyle seal promotion from Division Three with ten goals in nine appearances. The move soon became permanent as he helped the Pilgrims establish themselves in Division Two prior to his departure in 1990 when he joined Torquay United. He was the last Pilgrims’ striker to score 20 goals in a season before Reuben Reid managed the feat this season.

Johnny Hore- Manager

An Argyle legend as a player- he famously marked Pele in a friendly against Santos- the FA Cup Semi-Final proved to be the highlight of his managerial tenure at Home Park as he was dismissed several months later due to their poor league form. He later became Caretaker Manager of Exeter City and also managed Barnstaple Town and Torrington.

 

Many of these players still turn out for the Argyle Legends side on occasions.

THE ROAD TO VILLA PARK: PLYMOUTH ARGYLE'S RUN TO THE FA CUP SEMI FINALS 1984

As today marks the 30th anniversary of Plymouth Argyle's FA Cup Semi-Final against Watford, we will now look back at the Pilgrims' route to the last four.

Given the fact that it was the title for a surrealistic novel by George Orwell, the year 1984 was always destined to throw up a couple of shocks and surprises.

There surely can’t be many achievements in football that can be considered more surprising than a team from the third tier of English football coming within touching distance of reaching the FA Cup final.

However, for Plymouth Argyle this proved to be a reality during the 1983-84 season as they went all the way to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they were narrowly denied a place in the final by Graham Taylor’s Watford.

With a catchment area that extends into large parts of Devon and Cornwall, the Pilgrims’ 127 year history is scarred by failures to achieve what many regard as being their true potential as a club.

In 2008 Plymouth inherited the mantle from Hull of being the largest city in Europe never to have hosted top-flight football, when Hull City reached the Premiership for the first time.

Nevertheless, in 1984 they would achieve what many would regard as being the club’s finest hour as they ended up being just 90 minutes away from what would have been their first trip to Wembley.

That said, early on in the season few would have expected the Pilgrims to achieve anything on that scale as a poor start to the campaign saw manager Bobby Moncur dismissed in mid-September and former Pilgrims’ stalwart John Hore appointed as his successor.

Hore’s tenth match in charge, an FA Cup replay at home to Southend United, proved to be a catalyst for their season.

After a goalless draw at Roots Hall, the Pilgrims came out on top in a scrappy replay thanks to a Mickey Stead own goal and a strike from talismanic striker Tommy Tynan to secure a 2-0 win.

Next up was non-league side Barking, and it needed a 86^th minute effort from defender Lindsay Smith to seal victory over the part-timers from East London, which set up a third round meeting with fellow Third Division outfit Newport County.

The tie proved to be a real ‘blood and thunder’ contest’ as County took the lead through future Liverpool and Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge before Kevin Hodges levelled matters. Aldridge later restored County’s lead before Tynan netted a late equaliser from the penalty spot in the third minute of injury time to earn a replay.

In a replay at Somerton Park, an Andy Rogers effort proved to be enough to seal the Pilgrims’ place in the fourth round where they would entertain Division Four side Darlington.

A 2-1 victory over the Quakers, managed by former Tottenham and England defender Cyril Knowles, was earned thanks to goals in either half from John Uzzell and Gordon Staniforth meant that the Pilgrims would be in the fifth round draw for the first time since 1953.

It was at this stage of the competition that they faced top-flight opposition for the first and only time that season as they were drawn away to West Bromwich Albion.

Although many of the individuals who had made the Baggies a force to be reckoned with in the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as Ron Atkinson, Bryan Robson and Laurie Cunningham, had moved on to pastures new, they were expected to win comfortably. They were managed by Johnny Giles and possessed a team of real pedigree that included future Spurs and Fulham manager Martin Jol and former European Cup winner Tony Morley.

However it was the Pilgrims who came out on top- winning 1-0 courtesy of a strike from Tynan, which set up a home tie in the Quarter Finals against Derby County.

An official crowd of 34,365 poured into Home Park to see the Pilgrims take on a Rams’ side that were managed by Peter Taylor, who was flying solo as a manager after his split from Brian Clough several years earlier. Derby were due to play another match in court on the Monday after the game over PAYE arrears.

Despite their off-the-field issues, the Rams could still call upon a number of well-known figures such as Kenny Burns, John Robertson, Archie Gemmill and Dave Watson.

Far from being over-awed by the occasion, the Pilgrims rose to the challenge as goalkeeper Geoff Crudgington didn’t have a save to make. This was in stark contrast to his opposite number in the Rams’ goal, Steve Cherry, who pulled off a series of outstanding saves as Argyle failed to turn possession into goals as the tie finished goalless.

In the replay, which was held at the Baseball Ground four days later, history was made when Andy Rogers struck after 16 minutes with a goal directly from a corner that he later described as being a ‘total fluke’.

Regardless of whether he meant it or not, the Pilgrims were in the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in their history and only Watford stood between them and a place in the final.

On Saturday April 14th 1984, a crowd of 43,858 witnessed the semi-final at Villa Park in which Plymouth fell agonisingly short against the Hornets.

In the 13^th minute, George Reilly inflicted what proved to be a telling blow on the Pilgrims when he headed home a cross from England winger John Barnes to score the game’s only goal.

Argyle tried in vain to find an equaliser and created numerous chances, including a late effort from Kevin Hodges that went narrowly wide and helped to underline their potential. They didn’t disgrace themselves and earned themselves £80,000 for their efforts.

Whilst their cup efforts had earned them many plaudits, the Pilgrims had struggled in the league and secured three wins from their final four games of the season to finish five points clear of relegation.

Meanwhile Watford were beaten 2-0 in the final by an Everton side that included future Argyle manager Peter Reid.

One member of the Argyle side, David Phillips, did eventually make it to Wembley three years later as part of the Coventry City side that famously beat Spurs in the 1987 FA Cup final.

The Pilgrims finally made it to Wembley themselves in 1996 when they reached the Division Three Play-Off final where they defeated Darlington 1-0 to win promotion under Neil Warnock.

EXETER SEEKING VITAL WIN IN CURETON HOMECOMING

Exeter City head into tomorrow's League Two clash with Cheltenham Town needing a win- which  would almost secure their Football League status- in a game that will mark the return to St James Park of Jamie Cureton.

The Grecians are currently four points clear of the drop zone with 47 points- 23rd placed Northampton Town who occupy the final relegation spot have 43- and a win would move them onto 50 points.

This would leave the Grecians potentially needing at least one more point from their remaining four fixtures against Chesterfield away, Torquay United and Scunthorpe United at home before making the long trek to Hartlepool United on the final day of the campaign.

However, Exeter have failed to beat the Robins in nine attempts since they first met in 1999 when Cheltenham first won promotion to the Football League, eight of which have ended in defeat for the Grecians.

It also includes their Boxing Day defeat by a single goal against the Robins, which was scored by Cureton, which is one of eight goals scored by the veteran striker since he made the move to Whaddon Road last summer.

Cureton's tally is also two higher than the Grecians' top scorer Tom Nichols, who has netted six times this season, so many of the St James' Park faithful could be forgiven for wondering where they would be if they had retained his services at the end of the previous campaign.

However, Cureton will be lining up for the Robins tomorrow afternoon and the Grecians' defence will need to do everything they can to stop him making a goal scoring return to St James' Park.

ARGYLE PREPARE FOR OXFORD EXAMINATION

Nearly two years ago, Plymouth Argyle secured a draw with Oxford United that played a crucial part in helping the Pilgrims retain their league status.

Fast forward to the present day, and John Sheridan's Argyle of 2014 will be facing Oxford this Saturday needing win to leapfrog the U's and regain their place in the Play-Off zone.

Oxford - now managed by Gary Waddock- slipped out of the top seven last Saturday following a 2-0 defeat at Fleetwood, which was their third loss in as many games, so they will be looking to arrest what is now starting to look like an alarmingly slump.

The Pilgrims, on the other hand, bounced back from a defeat against Burton Albion to win 2-1 against Newport County at Rodney Parade on Tuesday night. Tyler Harvey and skipper Conor Hourihane were on target for Argyle as they returned to winning ways.

There will also be an extra historical significant for the Pilgrims this weekend, as it will be almost 30 years to the day since they travelled to Villa Park to face Watford in the 1984 FA Cup Semi Final.

PLAYING FOR EVERYTHING

As they enter their final six matches of the 2013-14 campaign, the task now facing Torquay United is- as snooker legend Steve Davis once described- 'to play for everything as though it means nothing.'

A minimum of four wins from their final six league matches, starting with tomorrow's visit of promotion chasers Scunthorpe United, could potentially be enough to keep the Gulls in the Football League, providing results elsewhere  .

Many of the Plainmoor faithful have fond memories of the Great Escape under Ian Atkins of the 2005-06 season when the Gulls won four out of their last five matches to stay in the league, and a similar return from their remaining fixtures is required now.

Tomorrow's meeting with Scunthorpe will also see the home debut of loan signing Shaquile Coulthirst-who arrived at Plainmoor on the final of the loan transfer window from Tottenham Hotspur.

Goals have been hard to come by for the Gulls this season- winger Jordan Chapell is the club's top scorer with five and Aussie defender Aaron Downes has chipped in with four. However, they haven't found the back of the net since the end of October and the beginning of January respectively.

Since Downes' last goal against Morecambe on January 5th, which was his fourth of the campaign, only his fellow centre back Krystian Pearce has found the target more than once.

Of all the strikers used by Gulls' boss Chris Hargreaves and his predecessor Alan Knill, only Millwall loanee John Marquis could be regarded as prolific. Marquis appeared five times for the Gulls in November and December 2013 and scored three times- against Scunthorpe, Southend United and Bristol Rovers- before his loan spell from the New Den was cut short due to injury.

If Coulthirst can emulate Marquis' goal return during his stay on the English Riviera between now and when he is due to return to White Hart Lane then the Gulls might just have a fighting chance of pulling off what would be another escape act that Harry Houdini himself would be proud of.