Over the years Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United have enjoyed a relatively harmonious relationship.
To an outsider, it probably could be likened to the kind of connection that West Ham have with their East London neighbours Leyton Orient - a rivalry that is neither bitter nor vindictive and Hammers seldom rarely begrudge Orient any success so long as it's on a smaller scale than their own (it is also worth noting that the two clubs haven't been in the same division as each other since the late 1970's).
And as a club, the Pilgrims face the same challenges that the Gulls face in terms of geography and being able to match their contemporaries in terms of wages.
It has been suggested in one local newspaper in the South West that United could be the ideal club to for the Pilgrims to send their younger player to on loan to help to adapt to the rigours of the professional game.
When Argyle were last in the Championship they loaned Matt Villis, Reuben Reid, Ryan Dickson, Scott Laird and Ashley Barnes to the Gulls between 2004 and 2010 with varied degrees of success.
An opportunity exists for fringe first team players at Home Park in the form of the Pilgrims' reserve side in the South West Peninsula League, but that is a standard which is several steps below the National League, never mind League One where Argyle will be playing next season.
One example given as a player who could have benefited from such a move was striker Louis Rooney, who has had loan spells with Truro City and Hartlepool United in recent seasons, and was released by Argyle manager Derek Adams at the end of the current campaign.
Rooney could yet prove to be a player that is on Gulls manager Kevin Nicholson's radar over the close season, and this is another area of any future partnership that could be of advantage to United.
A steady stream of players have moved from Home Park to Plainmoor in recent times, from John Uzzell and John Matthews in 1989 to Luke Young, who won the Gulls' Player of the Year award for the second time in three seasons recently.
There have been other players who the Gulls perhaps could have taken a closer look at following their exits from the Pilgrims. Names such as Ryan Leonard and Isaac Vassell spring to mind, who have both carved out good careers for themselves away from Devon at Southend United and Luton Town respectively - although Vassell ended up with the Hatters via a spell in Cornwall with Truro City.
Whatever views both sets of supporters hold over this subject one thing is definitely certain that both clubs need to find new and innovative ways of competing in what is becoming an increasingly competitive environment.
