GULLS REWARDED WITH HOME DRAW

Torquay United were rewarded with a home draw in the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy against FC United of Manchester, after dispatching Hemel Hempstead Town in the Last 16 on Saturday.

The Gulls put aside speculation concerning the ownership of the club, and their stuttering form in the Vanarama Conference, to defeat their Conference South opponents 2-0.

A penalty from Ryan Bowman and a second half effort from Aussie defender Aaron Downes proved to be enough to make the difference. Bowman has now scored in every round for the Gulls, whose recorded in the competition this season reads: played 3; won 3; scored 11; conceded none.

United are now one of the highest ranked teams remaining in the trophy and have yet to face a fellow Conference side. Their two previous opponents in the competition before Saturday - Bishops Stortford and Bromley - both ply their trade in Conference South.

FC United, who were formed in 2005 in response to the Glazer family's purchase of Manchester United, currently play in the Northern Premier League and are likely to bring a large following to the Launa Windows Stadium.

The weekend also saw Durrell Berry leave the Gulls after spending three months with the club under non-contract terms.

ASHLEY'S AMAZING UPWARD TRAJECTORY

Since he left Plymouth Argyle in the summer of 2010, Ashley Barnes’ career has been on an amazing upward trajectory.

Currently playing with Burnley in the Premiership is a far cry from his more humble beginnings with Southern League side Paulton Rovers, who he left to join the Pilgrims in 2007 when he was snapped up by Ian Holloway.

Initially, he found first team football at Home Park hard to come by as Barry Hayles and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake were firmly established Holloway’s first choice strike partnership.

He found himself loaned out to Oxford United, Salisbury City and Eastbourne Borough before he eventually broke into the first team at Home Park under Paul Sturrock - as he scored his first goal for the Pilgrims towards the end of the 2008-09 season in a 4-0 win over Coventry City.

However, a change in management that saw Sturrock replaced by Paul Mariner saw Barnes loaned out again, this time to Torquay United – where he failed to find the target in six matches - before he joined Brighton and Hove Albion on loan towards the end of the 2009-10 season, before making the move permanent.

It was at that point when Barnes joined Brighton from the Pilgrims for undisclosed fee, following a successful loan spell towards the end of the 2009-10 season.

His move to the South Coast proved to be a big success for Barnes, as he helped the Seagulls to win the League One title in first campaign with Brighton - the 2010-11 season. He also finished the campaign as the Seagulls’ second top scorer with 20 goals in 49 appearances.

In January 2014, Barnes was snapped up for Burnley by Sean Dyche and at the end of the season the Clarets won promotion to the Premiership.

Since then, Barnes has taken the leap to the top-flight in his stride, and helped Dyche’s men secure their first Premiership victory of the season when he scored the only goal of the game in their 1-0 win over Hull City on November 8^th 2014.

Also, during his three years with the Pilgrims, Barnes was capped by Austria, who he qualifies for through his grandmother, at Under-20 level. If he can continue his current vein of goal scoring form for the Clarets, a senior call-up might not be out of the question in the future.

 

WINDS OF CHANGE

There has been an air of change around Plainmoor during the last week, after it emerged that former Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas arrived in south Devon as an advisor to Torquay United chairwoman Thea Bristow.

As well as advising Bristow, Thomas, who was Chairman of the U's between 2008 and 2012, is also acting as an advisor to a group interested in buying the Gulls, which is believed to include Hayes and Yeading assistant manager Tristan Lewis.

Thomas also announced that he would be helping Bristow to review all aspects of the club over a three week period, and has also met with the staff at United.

At this moment in time, the Gulls - like most clubs in the lower leagues in these difficult times - are losing money and, following last season's relegation from the Football League, have also suffered a major reduction in income.

Following their relegation to the Conference, the Gulls received parachute payments which - in the season after next - will come to an end. Therefore United need to find new ways to generating funds to enable them to be competitive on the pitch, and then there is the added factor of keeping their revamped youth academy going.

The former is an area where Thomas has a high level of expertise; as chairman of Oxford, he oversaw their return to the Football League at the time when their own parachute payments had long since ceased.

And the latter is where Lewis's experience could come into play; in addition to his role with Hayes and Yeading, he is also the UK Director for the Pro Direct Soccer Academy and is a UEFA A' Licence holder.

He has also spent eight years working in Reading's youth academy.

The duo's arrival in Torquay was greeted with a cautious welcome; the disastrous reign of Chris Roberts, as well as the sale of the now defunct Hereford United to Tommy Agombar, is fresh in the minds of many Gulls fans.

However, in the current climate, Thea Bristow is not in a position to constantly underwrite huge losses indefinitely so some changes will have to be made.

KEN FURPHY 1931-2015: A LIFE-TIME IN FOOTBALL

Following the recent death of former BBC Radio Devon commentator and pundit Ken Furphy at the age of 83, we will now look back an interview with Ken that appeared in the Torquay United versus Darlington programme on February 24th 2007.

Those of you reading this article who have had occasion to tune into Torquay United matches on Radio Devon will no doubt be familiar with the dulcet tones of Ken Furphy.

Over the years, Ken has imparted his personal wisdom and given his in-depth analysis of numerous Gulls’ fixtures.

He became a local radio pundit following a successful managerial career which saw him make his name at Watford, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United. He then moved across the Atlantic to manage in the North American Soccer League in the 1970s and coached the New York Cosmos who had players such as Pele and Giorgio Chinaglia in their ranks. 

As a player, he started with Everton as a youngster and made his name as a defender with today’s visitors Darlington. Whilst with the Quakers Ken was involved in a number of memorable FA Cup runs. He helped Darlington to defeat Chelsea after a replay in the 1957-58 season.

 “We were winning 3-0 at half time and ended up drawing 3-3. We won the replay 4-1 and it was the first cup tie to be played under floodlights. People used to say to me that if I played in a cup tie every week, I’d be playing for England”.

It was during his time at Feethams that Ken first became interested in coaching following a meeting with his Quakers team mate striker John Spuhler, who was one of the first FA qualified coaches.

In 1962, he embarked on his first managerial role when he took charge of Fourth Division side Workington Town. Ken was one of the youngest managers in the league at the age of 31 and was following in the footsteps of Bill Shankly, who had also taken charge of Workington early in his career.

His stint in charge of Workington proved to be a successful one as he guided them to promotion in 1964. The Reds also enjoyed a successful cup run during his tenure, which included a 5-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

“After two years we got promotion and, during that time, the crowds went up from 700 to 2,500. A lot of people told me I couldn’t get out of the bottom league without playing route one, but I was determined to prove them wrong and I did. We also had a good cup run and beat Blackburn Rovers 5-1.”

Ken then moved on to Watford in 1964 where he would stay for a number of years. During this time, he would guide the Hornets from Division Four to Division Two and would lead them to the FA Cup Semi Finals in 1970 after beating Liverpool in the Quarter Finals. Ken also managed to unearth a number of promising youngsters, including future England international Tony Currie.

A new challenge awaited him in 1971 as he left Vicarage Road to become manager of Blackburn Rovers. Before his arrival, Rovers had slipped from the First Division to the Third Division and were keen to return to their former glories. Ken undertook a rebuilding task at Ewood Park, but did not stay to see his plans bear fruition as he left Blackburn to become manager of Sheffield United in 1973.

On arriving at Bramall Lane, Ken found himself in charge of a number of familiar faces.

“When I went there they were third from bottom in the First Division. Tony Currie, Keith Eddy and Colin Franks were all at the club. I had worked with them when they were youngsters at Watford.”

Ken managed to turn things around at Bramall Lane and was asked by Sir Alf Ramsey to take charge of the England Under-23 side. He enjoyed a successful 1974-75 campaign as the Blades finished fifth in Division One and missed out on European football on goal difference. However, in the following season he left Sheffield United after an indifferent start to the campaign.

This proved to be the start of a new beginning for Ken as he received an offer to take charge of the North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos.

“It was coming up to Christmas and I was phoned by Clive Toye (The Cosmos’ General Manager) and asked to take charge of the New York Cosmos.”

At this time, the NASL had become home to many high profile foreigners including Brazilian legend Pele, who played under Ken at the New York Cosmos, as well as maverick Italian striker Giorgio Chinaglia. After his stint managing the Cosmos, Ken also took charge of Detroit Express and Washington Diplomats.

He was also given the task of managing Team America in the 1976 Bicentennial Tournament against England, Brazil and Italy.

In 1981, Ken returned to the UK and ran a couple of sports shops before embarking on a broadcasting career with Radio Devon in 1984. He has been covering matches for them ever since and witnessed the emergence of Lee Sharpe with Torquay in his early days covering matches for the station.

 

Article by Steve Harris

 

 

 

 

MONK'S RISE FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In the past year, Swansea City manager Garry Monk has emerged as one of the brightest, young managerial prospects in English football.

After guiding the Swans to Premiership safety last season, after initially replacing former Danish international Michael Laudrup on an interim basis before he was handed his managerial reigns permanently by Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins.

Since then the Swans have continued to maintain their Premiership status and Monk won the Premier League Manager of the Month for August 2014 after the Swans made a strong start to the current campaign.

This is the latest instalment of a career that has seen him win three promotions; won their first major trophy and played in Europe. started in 1995 when he joined Torquay United as a young YTS hopeful.

Whilst he was a young player at Plainmoor, Monk was part of the same Gulls youth side as Tony Bedeau, Wayne Thomas and Matthew Gregg and his duties also involved cleaning the boots of the then Torquay skipper Alex Watson.

He made his debut as a 16-year old in an away game against Chester City on November 4^th 1995, and went on to make a further four appearances in a Torquay shirt before he was snapped up by Southampton at the end of the campaign.

 

After moving to the Dell, he completed his apprenticeship with the Saints, shortly before signing his first professional contract with them. He made a brief return to Plainmoor for a six-match loan stint during the 1998-99 season before making his debut for the Saints against Derby County on November 28^th 1998.

As well as his loan spell with the Gulls, Monk was also loaned out to Stockport County, Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday.

He would make a further ten appearances for Southampton – including their final two homes matches at the Dell in the 2000-01 campaign against Manchester United and Arsenal respectively -  before leaving towards 2003-04 campaign to join Barnsley.

However, Monk failed to settle at Oakwell and joined Swansea during the summer of 2004, which marked the beginning of his long association with the south Wales club. His move to the Swans coincided with their ascent up the leagues as they won promotion from League Two in his first season, which was the Swans’ final season at the Vetch Field before their move to the Liberty Stadium.

In the following campaign Swansea lifted the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy by beating Carlisle United 2-1 in the final at the Millennium Stadium; however, they missed out on a second consecutive promotion as they were beaten by Barnsley in the League One Play-off final later that year.

Garry was appointed as club captain by the then Swans’ manager Roberto Martinez on the eve of the 2006-07 season.

A year later, he led the Swans to League One title as they marked their return to the second tier of English football for the first time in 24 years. He then played a key role to helping them to an eighth place finish in the Championship last season.

After establishing themselves in the second tier under Martinez and his successors, Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers, Swansea won promotion to the Premiership when they beat Reading in the 2011 Championship Play-off final, with Monk once again captaining them to success.

He is part of a select band of players to have played for the Swans during the rise through the years, which also includes Leon Britton and Alan Tate.

Following Rodgers’s move to Liverpool, the Swans lifted the Capital One Cup in 2013 when they defeated Bradford City 5-0 at Wembley, and Monk lifted the trophy alongside Ashley Williams.

And a year later when Laudrup left the Liberty Stadium, it was to Monk that Swansea Chairman Huw Jenkins turned help steer them clear of the relegation zone and then onto the current level of stability that they currently enjoy.

WHY MATT GRIMES CAN BE A SUCCESS AT SWANSEA

The opening day of the January 2015, or Friday January 2nd to be precise, saw Exeter City experience a 'black Friday'.

It was 'black' in the sense that the ink used on the club accounts changed from red to black, as the Grecians received a £1.75 million windfall from the sale of star midfielder Matt Grimes to Premiership side Swansea City.

The fee has enabled Exeter manager Paul Tisdale to turn the loan signings of David Noble and Alex Nicholls into permanent ones, and further investment is planned for the club's youth department and training ground.

In recent years, several talented players have progressed through the Grecians' youth ranks such as Dean Moxey, George Friend and Danny Seaborne, but Grimes looks set to eclipse that trio; and the fee the Grecians received for him is three-and-a-half times what they received from Manchester City for Martin 'Buster' Phillips in 1995, which was £500,000.

Phillips had been hailed as Britain's first £10million footballer by former Grecians manager Alan Ball, but found first time football hard to come by at Maine Road as Ball was sacked following City's relegation from the Premiership at the end of the 1995-96 season.

Subsequent managerial changes saw him fall out of favour and eventually re-joined Ball at Portsmouth before returning to Devon with Plymouth Argyle and, later, Torquay United where he ended his career.

However, Grimes, who was capped by England Under-20's during his time at St James Park, could turn out to be a success for the Swans, who are of course managed by former Torquay United defender Garry Monk.

First of all, Grimes is joining a side that has gained a fine reputation for a short passing style that would suit him as a footballer.

And secondly, the Swans have proved to be adept and identifying and developing talent during their top-flight tenure with players such as Scott Sinclair, Joe Allen and Gyflli Sigurdsson all being sold on for big fees. Prior to his move to the South Walian outfit, when the Swans were first rumoured to have been interested in securing his signature, it was suggested that Monk didn't want Grimes going back to the Grecians on loan.

If that isn't an endorsement that the Swans boss doesn't see Grimes, who hails from Exminster, as a future Premiership player, I don't know what would.

SECOND HALF DOUBLE GIVES RED DEVILS EDGE OVER GLOVERS

Two stunning second half strikes from Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria proved to be enough Manchester United to see off the threat of Yeovil Town in the FA Cup third round.

Over 9,000 poured into Huish Park to watch the Glovers had match the Premiership opponents for a long period in which Yeovil had a chance to take the lead on 55 minutes. Striker Kieffer Moore connected with a cross from Sam Foley, but he could only muster a weak shot that he fired straight into the arms of United keeper David De Gea.

Herrera, who arrived at Old Trafford in the summer from Athletic Bilbao, gave the Red Devils on 64 minutes with a dipping shot from the edge of the penalty area before club record signing Di Maria, a second half substitute, ended the tie as a contest with a 90th minute strike.

This ensured that Louis Van Gaal's first ever FA Cup tie ended in victory for the visitors and there is every chance that the Cup could provide the Dutchman with his first silverware of his Old Trafford tenure; it is the only knock out competition that United are still involved in owing to the absence from European football.

UNITED VS SPURS- 50 YEARS ON

50 YEARS ago, Torquay United famously held the mighty Tottenham Hotspur to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Plainmoor. 

We will now look back at that date and an occasion that has been ingrained in Gulls’ folklore ever since. 

Throughout their history, Torquay United have never managed to defeat a top-flight side in the FA Cup. One of the few occasions they came close to doing so came in the third round in 1965 when they drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur at Plainmoor. 

After knocking out Canterbury and Colchester United in the first and second rounds respectively, United were drawn at home to the North London Giants who had become the first team to the League and FA Cup ‘double’ in the 20^th century four years earlier. 

Managed by the legendary Bill Nicholson, Spurs featured a number of household names in their line-up, including Jimmy Greaves, Alan Mullery, Maurice Norman, Cliff Jones as well as future Gulls manager Cyril Knowles. 

A crowd of over 20,000 poured into Plainmoor to watch the encounter and it looked at one stage as though they might be set to witness a giant-killing act as Bill Atkinson gave United the lead from the penalty spot, after Robin Stubbs had been felled by Knowles. Scotland international Alan Gilzean then headed home a cross from skipper Ron Henry for an equaliser for Spurs before an effort from Norman and a second goal for Gilzean gave the visitors a commanding 3-1 lead. 

However, with five minutes remaining, Stubbs netted twice to bring United level in the most dramatic of circumstances, and Tommy Northcott rattled a header against the bar just before the final whistle, as the two sides met again at White Hart Lane for the replay.

Unfortunately, there was to be no fairy tale ending for United as Spurs resoundingly won 5-1 - with Jimmy Greaves scoring a hat-trick. 

The original tie ultimately proved to be the last hurrah of the long reign of United manager Eric Webber who replaced at the end of the campaign, after 14 years in charge. 

His replacement, Frank O’Farrell, led United to promotion in his first full season in charge – the 1965-66 campaign – with many of the players who had held Spurs to that famous draw being part of the side who achieved it. 

Line-ups: 

United: Terry Adlington, Alan Smith, George Allen, John Benson, Colin Bettany, Trevor Wolstenholme, Bill Atkinson, Geoff Cox, Robin Stubbs, Tommy Northcott, George Somers

Spurs: Billy Brown, Cyril Knowles, Ron Henry, Alan Mullery, Maurice Norman, Tony Marchi, Jimmy Robertson, Jimmy Greaves, Alan Gilzean, Cliff Jones, Terry Dyson

SO WHO WILL FEATURE FOR THE RED DEVILS AT HUISH PARK ?

With no European football on their agenda for this season, Manchester United will see the FA Cup as an opportunity to win some silverware when they begin their Cup campaign against Yeovil Town.

Manager Louis Van Gaal, who will be embarking on his first tie in the world’s oldest knock-out competition, will no doubt want to avoid a repeat of the Red Devils’ elimination by another League One side, MK Dons, in the Capital One Cup. Therefore, it is highly likely that he will be looking to select a reasonably strong line-up.

In goal, Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea has been in fine form this season – underlining his credentials as the heir apparent to Iker Casillas at international level - but it is possible that Van Gaal may look to rest him for their meeting with the Glovers.

One alternative to the Spaniard is Danish custodian Anders Lindegaard – who has warmed the bench on several occasions in the Premiership this season.

Young defenders Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair may feature in the centre of defence. Both players have progressed through the club’s youth ranks into the Red Devils’ first team this season; Blackett has received international recognition with Gareth Southgate’s England Under-21’s, whilst McNair was called up into the Northern Ireland senior squad for their most recent Euro 2016 qualifier against Romania.

It is possible that Van Gaal could be looking for an experienced figure to play alongside one of them. Northern Ireland international Jonny Evans, who is now the club’s longest serving central defender – following the summer departures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – certainly fits that bill. The same could also be said of England duo Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

Should Van Gaal opt to play a 4-4-2 formation – the Dutchman has spent much of the current campaign deploying the 3-5-2 system he used with Holland at the World Cup in Brazil last summer - Brazilian right-back Rafael could feature on the right hand side of the defence, or Jones may be deployed as a makeshift full-back.

Luke Shaw, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury and is set to return to action on Boxing Day, would be seen as an ideal candidate to fill the left-back role if Van Gaal decides on a four-man defence.

In midfield, Belgian international Adnan Januzaj and Ecuadorian Antonio Valencia could feature on the wings. Januzaj was handed his debut last season by David Moyes, but hasn’t featured as often in the current campaign following the arrival of club record signing Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid.

Vice-captain Michael Carrick and third-captain Darren Fletcher are leading candidates to lead the Red Devils out at Huish Park, should club captain Wayne Rooney not feature. They could be joined in the centre of midfield by Belgian international Marouane Fellaini or academy graduate and England Under-21 international Jesse Lingard. Another option for the Red Devils in midfield is Spanish international Juan Mata who received an FA Cup winners’ medal with Chelsea in 2012.

Van Gaal may see the cup tie as an ideal opportunity to rest his fellow Dutchman Robin Van Persie. If that is the case then Rooney or Colombian loan signing Radamel Falcao are the leading candidates to the lead the Red Devils’ attack.

The tie could also provide the United boss with a chance to give a run out to rookie striker James Wilson. After coming through the club’s youth ranks, Wilson has impressed since he was handed his debut during Ryan Giggs’ spell in charge as caretaker manager, following the dismissal of Moyes, and might feature at Huish Park.

Regardless of the outcome of the tie, it will surely be remembered as another of the great FA Cup matches in Yeovil Town’s history.

Probable line-up: (3-4-1-2) Lindegaard; McNair, Evans, Blackett; Januzaj, Fletcher, Lingard, Shaw; Mata; Rooney, Wilson

An abridged version of this article appeared in the Sunday Independent on December 28th 2014.