Of all the names associated with both Torquay United and Darlington, the most famous one is surely that of Cyril Knowles.
The popular former Spurs and England
Cyril led the Quakers to promotion from Division Four in the 1984-85 campaign, and also kept them in Division Three,
prior to his arrival in South Devon in the summer of 1987 following the departure
of Stuart Morgan.
Before his appointment at Plainmoor, the Gulls had endured a number of
difficult seasons that had seen them only retain their Football League status
through re-election and a last day escape against Crewe Alexandra.
Cyril galvanised the club in his first season in charge and
led the Gulls to brink of promotion one year after they were almost relegated
to the Conference, as they lost out to Swansea City
And achieved it with largely the group of players that inherited, with the addition of Phil Lloyd, who followed him from Darlington, his assistant Sean Haslegrave and barnstorming Scottish striker Dave Caldwell.
He also masterminded a memorable 1-0 win over his former
club Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup courtesy of a goal from Derek Dawkins.
However, Torquay were beaten in the return leg at White Hart Lane
His reign at Plainmoor also coincided with the emergence of
a talented teenager from the West Midlands by
the name of Lee Sharpe. In his 2005 Autobiography, My Idea of Fun, Sharpe
accredits Cyril’s ‘Murderball’ sessions for providing him with some extra
toughness which stood him in good stead in a career that saw him play for
Manchester United, Leeds and England
The 1988-89 season saw Cyril etch his name permanently into
the folklore of Torquay United when he guided the Gulls to the final of the
Sherpa Van Trophy. This meant Torquay became the first of the three Devon
Football League sides to play at Wembley.
After trailing Wolves 2-1 in the Southern Area Final first
leg on aggregate, the Gulls produced a memorable 2-0 victory at Molineux in the
second leg. Goals from Mark Loram and Dean Edwards as well as a memorable
goalkeeping display from Kenny Allen ensured Torquay would face Bolton
Wanderers in the final.
Another hallmark of the Gulls’ display was the tactical
awareness that Cyril showed to keep Wolves’ prolific strike force of Steve Bull
and Andy Mutch at bay.
Sadly, the Gulls were unable to repeat the heroics of
Molineux and, despite taking a first half lead through Dean Edwards: they were
defeated 4-1 by the Trotters.
Cyril resigned as manager in the 1989-90 campaign following
a disagreement with Chairman Lew Pope and later became manager of Hartlepool
United. He looked set to guide the Pools to promotion from Division Four before
he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in March 1991.
Sadly, the brain tumour would claim his life and Cyril
passed away on August 31st 1991. Following his death a floral
tribute was placed outside Plainmoor which read “Thank you for showing us that
Wembley was more than just a dream.”
