One legacy of Leroy
Rosenior’s three-and-a-half year spell in charge of Torquay United – long
before his infamously brief ten-minute stint in 2007- is the Launa Windows
Stadium (Plainmoor in old money) faithful have had an expectation of attacking,
passing football.
It was a style of
play that was characterised by midfield pass masters such as Alex Russell and
Jason Fowler. This has meant that subsequent Gulls’ managers have almost been
obliged to accommodate a Nicky Wroe, a Eunan O’Kane and, more recently, a Luke
Young into their respective sides.
However, Leroy
didn’t transform the group of players that he inherited from Roy McFarland in
2002 into the promotion winners which they later became in the 2003-04 campaign
overnight.
In his first season
in charge, the 2002-03 campaign, the former West Ham striker oversaw plenty
free flowing and free scoring, attractive football.
The Gulls scored 77
goals in all competitions, 71 of which came in the league, that included 31
from the strike partnership of Martin Gritton and David Graham who found the
back of the net 16 and 15 times respectively.
Whilst scoring
goals came easily to Leroy’s Gulls, conceding them at the other end proved to
be an Achilles heel as they conceded 71 in the league and a further eight in
cup competitions.
It was a flaw that
ensured that Torquay finished the campaign on the periphery of the Division
Three promotion race in 9th place.
Fast forward to the
present day and Chris Hargreaves’s Gulls of the 2014-15 campaign are
experiencing a similar headache.
In the current
Vanarama Conference season to date, Torquay are the joint-second highest
scorers with 38 goals with second placed Grimsby Town – leaders Barnet are the
highest scorers with 50.
Nevertheless, due
to the 29 goals that they have conceded, the Gulls find themselves in 10th
place in the league table with 32 points, four short of the Play-off zone.
The conundrum
facing Hargreaves now is finding a way of strengthening the defensive base
behind his more attack-minded players such as Young, leading scorer Ryan Bowman
and wide men Louis Briscoe and Toby Ajala.
His recent addition
of ex-Plymouth Argyle right-back Durrell Berry on non-contract terms is
certainly a step in the right direction.
After overseeing
his first campaign in charge, Leroy swooped to bring Craig Taylor to Plainmoor
on a permanent basis, following a successful loan spell from the Pilgrims,
moved Matt Hockley into centre midfield to partner the more cultured Russell.
He later brought in Brian McGlinchey as left-back from Argyle following a
successful loan spell.
The end result was
that the Gulls won automatic promotion for the first time in 38 years and
finding players of similar ilk on what is an extremely limited budget is the
challenge now facing Hargreaves.
Unfortunately, in
the current financial climate, players may have to leave before new arrivals
can be sought.
However, it is
often forgotten that Taylor’s central defensive partner, Steve Woods, spent the
entirety of the 2003-04 season at Plainmoor under non-contract terms.
