Since the beginning of February, Nicholson has overseen a
remarkable turnaround after three years of decline and mis-management; it is also
likely that his achievements wouldn’t have gone unnoticed across the Vanarama
National Conference.
Before United kicked off against Boreham Wood on February 20th
2016, they were rooted to the bottom of the division and 12 points adrift of
safety. Now, 14 games later, the Gulls have since retained their National
League status – at a time when the spectre of regional non-league football for
the first time since the 1926-27 season was looming large – with two games to
spare.
After moving a number of players off the wage bill in the
January transfer window, including Dan Lavercombe (who he sold to Wigan
Athletic and then loaned back), James Hurst and Louis Briscoe; he then signed
Nathan Blissett and Shaun Harrad – two of his former team-mates from his days
at Kidderminster Harriers and Notts County respectively – to bolster his attack
and drafted in wide man Iffy Allen from Yeovil Town.
Perhaps his most important signing has been former
Huddersfield Town midfielder Danny Racchi whose role as a deep-lying playmaker
in front of the back four has given the Gulls a more solid look, and he has made a
big difference to a midfield area where Luke Young had been badly missed until
his recent return. Nicholson also made good use of the loan market to bring Josh Rees from Nottingham Forest and goalkeeper Brendan Moore from Fleetwood Town.
This could prove to be important to the Gulls’ future reputation – especially as the emergency loan system is due to be scrapped next season and any bigger clubs looking loan out young players will be looking to send them out in the during the transfer windows to clubs who will look after their development.
It is also worth mentioning that Nicholson concluded his
transfer business for the month with a profit believed to be in the region of
£47,000.
Off the field, Nicholson has also played a key role in
helping to improve the club’s image within the local community, which have
included a Pool and Darts night at the Galaxy Centre in Torquay, where many
players were in attendance. If anyone is fully aware of the importance of the club to the locality, then Nicholson has a greater sense of this than most – as, whilst still a player at Plainmoor, he ran a five-a-side football league with former team-mate Lee Mansell.
And now he has completed the job he was brought in to do, he now has surely earned the right to build on the foundations that he has helped to lay and, hopefully, he and the club can reap the benefit of them in the future.
