GULLS BECOME FIRST CLUB TO ANNOUNCE RETAINED LIST

Within hours of the final whistle blowing on their final National League fixture of the 2017-18 season against Ebbsfleet United, Torquay United became the first club in the top five English leagues to announce their retained list.

The Gulls will be playing regional non-league football for the first time since 1927, and manager Gary Owers is looking to bounce back from National League South at the first attempt.

Five players have been shown the door by Owers, including former Partick Thistle defender Conrad Balatoni and Gibraltar international Jake Gosling.

A further three players - Ryan Clarke, Josh Gowling and Jon-Paul Pittman who were all signed by previous manager Kevin Nicholson - have been placed on the transfer list.

Six players were offered new deals - including skipper Sean McGinty and Player of the Year Luke Young, the only two players to have played in every minute of the 2017-18 campaign, former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Vincent Dorel, left-back Liam Davis and striker Brett Williams.

Owers is now awaiting their responses, as well as Jakub Sokolik and Neal Osborn who the club are in talks with, in addition to his other targets.

One-time Exeter City starlet Jamie Reid is the only player under contract who is considered part of Owers' plans. Having previously played in the National League South before earlier in his career during a loan spell with Truro City, he could yet prove to be a valuable asset to Owers.

It is believed that the Gulls will have one of the biggest budgets in National League South next season and will be one of only a very few full-time outfits in the division.

However, Ebbsfleet manager and one-time Gulls loanee Daryl McMahon believes that the Gulls could have a chance of bouncing back if they can sign the right players.

“It’s a tough division to get out of and obviously Torquay are going to be the big hitters in that league,” said McMahon.

“They looked a decent side today and if they can keep some of their better players and get some new ones in, they’ll have an excellent chance of getting out of it.

Already under contract: Jamie Reid

In talks over new deal: Jakub Sokolik, Neal Osborn

Under contract but on transfer list: Josh Gowling, Jon-Paul Pittman, Ryan Clarke

Offered new contract: Vincent Dorel, Liam Davis, Sean McGinty, Luke Young, Ruairi Keating, Brett Williams

Released: Conrad Balatoni, Reece Mitchell, Sam Chaney, Jake Gosling, Yan Klukowski

FOUR THINGS WE LEARNED FROM YEOVIL TOWN LADIES VERSUS ARSENAL WOMEN

With Yeovil Town Ladies due to return to action next month against Everton Ladies on May 9th, 2018, we will now take a look at four talking points from their recent 0-0 draw with Arsenal Women.

1. Should Megan Walsh be England's number one?

Since Phil Neville became  manager of the England women's side he has been seen watching a number of WSL One matches, but should he be taking in a Yeovil Town Ladies game to check out the form of Megan Walsh?

Walsh, who joined the Lady Glovers after Notts County Ladies went into liquidation, was in stunning form to keep out efforts from a number of seasoned internationals, including Beth Mead, Danielle Van De Donk and Vivienne Miedema. She was instrumental in ensuring that Yeovil Ladies not only secured their second point of the campaign, but their second successive clean sheet.

2. Jessie Jones continues to excel.

Against a midfield that included England's Jordan Nobbs and Danielle Van De Donk - a European Championship winner with Holland - Jessie Jones more than held her own in the centre of the park against her illustrious opponents. In the first half, she twice threatened Arsenal keeper Anna Moorhouse's goal with Yeovil Town Ladies' best chances of the afternoon that could have seen them nick all three points.

3. The future is bright, but it is Green and White?

During their maiden Women's Super League One campaign, Yeovil Ladies manager Jamie Sherwood has blooded a number of young players who have excelled. Teenage right-back Thierry-Jo Gauvin produced a steady display that belied her tender years - which included a off-the-line clearance to deny Beth Mead - and the slightly more mature talent of Bow Jackson who formed part of a solid centre back pairing with Nicola Cousins. With Sherwood due to stand down as manager at the end of the current season, due to work commitments, his successor will luckily be inheriting a young, enthusiastic group of hard working players.

4. Friendships can go beyond rivalries.

Next up for the Lady Glovers will be a trip to Merseyside to face Everton Ladies, who feature former Yeovil Town Ladies midfielder Angharad James amongst their squad. In his post-match interview, Lady Glovers boss Jamie Sherwood said

WHAT THE GULLS NEED TO DO NEXT

'Some people seem to think a year or two in the Conference won't be too bad for this club, if you cut to Conference budgets and hope for the best there is a danger that the club could fall further.

'There needs to be a realisation that we are 200 miles from the nearest footballing hotbed and there are players at that level earning two or three times what some of our lads are earning."

Those were the words of the then Torquay United manager Keith Curle speaking to Four Four Two magazine shortly after the Gulls' first relegation from the Football League at the end of the 2006-07 campaign.

Since Curle, who now manages of Carlisle United in League Two, gave this assessment, the Gulls have won promotion back to the Football League, experienced a second relegation to the newly renamed National League and - following yesterday's 1-1 draw with Hartlepool United - will be playing in the National League South next season.

They now have the unwanted accolade of being the first former Football League club to be relegated into the division.

After two years of pulling off last ditch 'great escapes' under Kevin Nicholson, his successor Gary Owers was unable to complete a third to make the story into a trilogy.

Nicholson's dismissal after four games left a lot of fans wondering whether he could have engendered the same spirit levels that saw the Gulls avoid the drop in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns amongst the squad that he assembled in the summer of 2017.

However, without the level of guidance similar to what Nathan Jones enjoys at Luton Town, with former Nottingham Forest boss Paul Hart as his assistant for example, Nicholson would more than likely have found a third 'Harry Houdini' act difficult.

What followed Nicholson's dismissal proved to be particularly damaging, as a six-match spell under the caretaker management of Robbie Herrera saw the Gulls drop a number of unnecessary points in fixtures - most notably against Guiseley away, Solihull Moors at home and Chester FC at home.

Against Guiseley two conceding in the last five minutes saw them lose 3-2 despite leading 2-1, and in their home fixture with Chester United led 1-0 only to be forced to settle for a point courtesy of a late equaliser from Ross Hannah.

Had a permanent successor to Nicholson been lined up straight away - instead of having to wait for six weeks for Owers to be appointed - could relegation have been avoided?

The culture of conceding late goals did continue under Owers - Barrow away, Dagenham & Redbridge away stand out as examples. A number of loan signings and free transfers came and went with varying degrees of success before Owers and assistant Martin Kuhl finally managed to find a winning formula.

However, it ultimately proved to be too little too late as United's record in their previous eight games following their draw at Hartlepool reads: played eight won four, drawn two and lost two.

In total the Gulls have used 41 players this season, a figure which includes 24 permanent signings and 17 loan signings, only in the 1995-96 campaign (43) - when they survived being relegated by Stevenage Borough's Broadhall Way home not being up to league standard - and the 2006-07 season (42), under the chairmanship of Chris Roberts, have they used more over the course of a regular campaign.

Owers had already said they are looking ahead to next season already, if they are to make an immediate return from what will be a level of football that they haven't played at since the 1926-27 season, then they need a team which has a similar level of ability to the one which they are finishing the current campaign.

As Curle said if they cut the cloth accordingly to the league that they are being relegated into - they will find it difficult to escape from.

A DIFFERENT TIME, A DIFFERENT PLACE

To say that the 2017-18 season has been a difficult one for both Torquay United and Hartlepool United is certainly an understatement.

Following Barrow's win over Guiseley - the Gulls' National League status is hanging by a thread and the Pools have had brushes with both relegation and oblivion; the former was resolved on Tuesday night with a 1-0 win over Leyton Orient whilst former Darlington chairman Raj Singh's takeover, in partnership Sky TV's Jeff Stelling, saved the club from liquidation.

However, it wasn't always like this for Torquay and Hartlepool. In fact on March 27th, 1999, it was almost perfect - especially for Gulls' fans.

It was the day that Torquay fielded two debutants by the names of Eifion Williams and Jean-Pierre Simb.

Williams, a Wales B international, had recently arrived at Plainmoor for a club record fee of £70,000 from League of Wales side Barry Town. He also came with Champions League pedigree, having netted for the south Wales side against Dynamo Kiev, who featured Andrei Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov in their playing ranks, in the competition's qualifying stage earlier in the season.

Simb, on the other hand, was the first of a number of French players to join the Gulls and would prove to be something of a cult hero.

As well as these two, former Everton and Wales keeper Neville Southall kept goal for Torquay and ex Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle United striker Peter Beardsley was in the Hartlepool side.

The pair would have faced each other a countless number of times in a number of higher profile encounters, including Merseyside derbies and England versus Wales international fixtures.

Very few modern day League Two fixtures in recent seasons have seen two players as highly decorated as those two line up against each other.

Whilst Williams featured from the start, Simb entered the fray as a first half substitute for Mark Platts and had a hand in creating the first goal, as his cross was flicked on by Brian McGorry and Williams was on hand to open the scoring for the Gulls.

In the second half, Williams completed his brace for the afternoon when nodded home a left wing cross from deep from Robbie Herrera and later completed his hat trick by latching onto a precision pass from Simb to coolly slot home to mark his Football League debut with a treble.

It was real Roy of the Rovers stuff!

However, his time at Plainmoor never quite hit those heights again. Although he did score twice against Blackpool in injury time on August Bank Holiday Monday in 2000, Williams' highest goal return in a season for the Gulls was nine in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 campaigns.

Nevertheless, Williams' connections with Hartlepool didn't end there and then on that day, as Pools manager Chris Turner, who was also in charge of Hartlepool on the day in question, paid £30,000 to bring him to Victoria Park in March 2002. In the 2002-03 season, he helped them to win automatic promotion and two years later, he also helped them to reach the League One play-off final where they were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday on penalties.

BRUNO DELIVERS KNOCKOUT BLOW TO MOURINHO TO HELP HAND PEP THE TITLE

The journey of West Bromwich Albion head coach Darren Moore from being a Torquay United apprentice to managerial victor over Jose Mourinho has been a long and winding one.

Moore's second game in caretaker charge of the Baggies saw them secure victory over Manchester United, which effectively ended the Red Devils' hopes of catching rivals Manchester City and handed former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola his first Premier League title.

It all began for Moore as a teenager in his native West Midlands when he was recommended to the Gulls by John James, the scout who also had a hand in another West Midlander Lee Sharpe finding his way to Plainmoor.

His debut for United came whilst he was still a teenager against Birmingham City, who at the time were in second place in the 'old' Third Division - what is now League One. Although the Blues won 2-1, Moore was used on several other occasions by then manager Ivan Golac, and he even managed to find the back of the net in a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.

Moore soon became a firm favourite of the Plainmoor faithful, and even earned the nickname 'Bruno' for his likeness to the boxer Frank Bruno. He was awarded his first professional contract on the eve of the 1992-93 season and was part of the side that pulled off a 'Great Escape' under Neil Warnock with a 1-0 win over Carlisle United in the penultimate game of the season, and also received the club's Player of the Year award for his efforts.

The following season, under Warnock's successor Don O'Riordan, saw the Gulls challenging at the right end of the table. They reached the end of season play-offs where they faced Preston North End over two legs for the chance to compete in the final at Wembley.

United won the first leg 2-0 at Plainmoor with Moore finding the target with a stunning volley and Duane Darby added another, as they headed to West Lancashire with a two-goal advantage.

However, the second leg proved to be a game to forget for both Moore and United, as he was dismissed for striking out at North End striker Paul Raynor in retaliation to being kicked in the chest by the Lillywhite's forward on 36 minutes. To rub salt in the wounds, Raynor scored a late winner in injury time to secure a 4-3 aggregate win for Preston.

Since the incident, the Yellow Army have never been too shy of reminding Raynor of the part that he played in the aforementioned fixture whenever their paths have crossed.

Moore remained with the Gulls until the summer of 1995 when he joined Doncaster Rovers for a fee of £62,500, which was decided by a tribunal, but he remained a firm favourite of the Plainmoor faithful and has always received a warm welcome on his subsequent returns.

He later went on to appear for Bradford City, Portsmouth, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County, Barnsley and Burton Albion. He helped the Bantams, the Baggies and the Rams win promotion to the Premier League in the 2001-02 and 2006-07 seasons respectively (although he didn't appear in the top-flight for Bradford).

After retiring from playing he became a development coach at West Brom before joining Alan Pardew's backroom and stepped up to take charge of first team affairs following his dismissal.

His two results in charge so far have yielded a draw with Swansea City and the unlikely victory over Mourinho's Manchester United, which played a key role deciding the destiny of the Premier League title. He might even be in with a shout of getting the job on a more permanent basis.

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS FC HALIFAX

1. Squad players still have a big part to play for the Gulls.

Had Elliot Romain not been suspended for yesterday's fixture then Jamie Reid wouldn't have been on the pitch to score his sixth goal of the campaign when he did. However, he was in the right place at the right time to latch onto Luke Young's ball into the box, which was adjudged to have crossed the line by the linesman on the far side, which was enough to see United return to winning ways following back to back defeats against Dover Athletic and AFC Fylde. More of the same will be required if Saturday's match isn't going to turn out to be a false dawn.


2. All eyes on Barrow and Woking.

The Gulls are now effectively in a mini-league with Barrow and Woking and trail the former by four points and the latter by five in their battle to stay in the National League. Gary Owers' side are now five points from safety with three games left and are reliant on them dropping points. They will also need to avoid dropping points themselves in their remaining games against Hartlepool United away, Guiseley home and Ebbsfleet United home.

3. Guiseley could have a big say too.

Remarkably despite being bottom of the league and 15 points adrift of safety, Guiseley still have a  mathematical chance of staying up - a chance which hinges on them winning all of their remaining five matches. This run will see them play Barrow, Woking and the Gulls in the space of a week starting on Tuesday, as well as a Thursday night encounter with Dagenham & Redbridge. Sean St Ledger's men are certainly capable of throwing a few spanners in the works, and will certainly not want to go down without a fight.

4. The Luke Young - Connor Lemonheigh Evans partnership works wonders again.

Since United manager Gary Owers switched to a 3-4-3 formation Luke Young and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans have both been key performers in the middle of the park for the Gulls .
Young was instrumental in setting up Jamie Reid for United's decisive goal and Bristol City loanee Lemonheigh-Evans was voted as the sponsors man of the match for the second time in three matches, as well as making the Non League Paper's team of the day, having also won the award against Woking on Easter Monday. The dynamic duo will be just as important to the Gulls in their final three fixtures.

5. The Gulls home and away records are now almost identical.

Following United's win over FC Halifax, their home and away records for the 2017-18 season are nearly the same and can only be separated by goal difference. The Gulls have tested victory at home only five times and have drawn five and they have done the same on their travels. However their home goal difference is minus 9 whilst their away goal difference in minus 18. 
With two home games left and one away, United will certainly need to make Plainmoor into a fortress and their final away fixture is against Hartlepool, whose away record is better than their home record at Victoria Park.

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR

The brief for Torquay United is simple: win all four of their remaining National League fixtures to avoid becoming the first former Football League side to be relegated to the National League South.

Back to back wins for the third time this season against Chester FC and Woking over the Easter Bank Holiday gave hope to the possibility of the Gulls pulling off a late resurrection. However, subsequent losses against Dover Athletic and AFC Fylde have left United facing into the abyss.

Defeat against FC Halifax coupled with fellow strugglers Woking beating Bromley would be enough to seal the Gulls' fate. However, there are factors that could that United can live to fight another day.

The Shaymen's visit to Plainmoor will be their fourth game in the space of seven days and their second in the space of 48 hours, as they drew 2-2 with Gateshead on Thursday night to extend their unbeaten run to six matches.

Then there is also the return of Rhys Healey - currently on loan from Cardiff City, an Easter gift from former Gulls' boss Neil Warnock - from a one-match suspension that he received following the two yellow cards that he was awarded in United's 1-0 defeat to Dover.

Healey, 23, marked his debut on Good Friday at Chester with the game's opening goal as the Gulls won 2-0, and they could be more to come from a player who was rumoured to be a loan target for Plymouth Argyle manager Derek Adams last season.

Early signs suggest there could be more goal to come from Healey, who was awarded a new contract by Warnock during an injury spell earlier in the season, between now and the end of United's National League campaign, as there are no illusions over the task that they face.

FEED THE FISH

The career of Yeovil Town striker Alex Fisher could easily be described as 'have boots, will travel.'

Fisher's career has seen him appear in England, Spain, Italy and Scotland, but now - certainly for the moment - he has made his home at Huish Park.

After starting his career at Oxford United, he has turned out for a range of clubs that includes AS Monza, Jerez Industrial, Mansfield Town, Torquay United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Motherwell.

His debut for the Glovers came as a substitute in an FA Cup fourth round tie against Manchester United - just hours after making the journey to south Somerset to sign from Motherwell. He wasn't the only debutant on display that evening as Alexis Sanchez was making his bow for the Red Devils following his big money move from Arsenal.

It also marked his return to English football two years after he left Torquay United to join Inverness Caledonian Thistle. During his six-month stay with the Gulls, Fisher found the back of the net five times in 16 starts and he has already been amongst the goals for Yeovil.

So far in his brief spell at Huish Park he has netted five times for the Glovers, which has included a brace against Coventry City in a 6-2 win over the Sky Blues at the Ricoh Arena. His most recent effort came in the 89th minute against Swindon Town at County Ground, which earned Yeovil a 2-2 draw with the Robins.

If Fisher can carry this form into the 2018-19 season for Darren Way's side then the Glovers look set to be challenging at the top end of the table.

CAREY RECEIVES DOUBLE RECOGNITION

Plymouth Argyle midfielder Graham Carey received double recognition this week, as he followed up being named in the PFA League One team of the season for 2017-18 by being named in FourFourTwo's top 50 players outside the Premier League.

The Irishman, who was also named in the League Two team of the season for the 2016-17 campaign, came 27th in the magazine's annual list which includes players from Leagues One and Two and the Championship.

He is the only Pilgrims player to feature on the list and the only player from either Argyle, Exeter City or Yeovil Town.

Carey is also the sixth highest-placed League One player on the list behind Josh Morris (Scunthorpe United) 26th, Charlie Mulgrew (Blackburn Rovers) 21st, Jack Marriott (Peterborough United) 19th, Bradley Dack (Blackburn) 18th and Nick Powell (Wigan Athletic) 14th.

Other notable names in the list includes former Argyle loanees Joe Bryan and Bobby Reid (both with Bristol City) 23rd and 12th, ex Torquay United striker Adebayo Akinfenwa (Wycombe Wanderers) 25th, ex-Exeter City starlet Ollie Watkins (Brentford) 17th and Plymouth-born defender Sean Morrison (Cardiff City) 8th. 

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY UNITED'S EASTER FIXTURES AGAINST CHESTER AND WOKING

1. Is Neil Warnock the footballing equivalent of the Easter Bunny?

Cardiff City manager and former Gulls' boss Neil Warnock's delivery of Rhys Healey to Gary Owers on loan until the end of the season could turn out to be the greatest Easter gift of all.
Healey marked his debut for United on Good Friday against Chester FC with an angled effort on three minutes. In his withdrawn attacking role behind Elliot Romain and Brett Williams, his touch and movement looked a different proposition to what you would normally find from most forwards in the National League and Warnock - who steered the Gulls to safety in 1993 - could have another role to play in another United Great Escape.

2.  The form of Brett Williams and Elliott Romain has been and will be instrumental.

Following the Gulls' back-to-back victories over Brett Williams and Elliot Romain remain on track towards overhauling the five goals scored by current joint-leading scorers Jamie Reid and Luke Young (five). Williams' opening penalty against Woking took his tally to three and Romain's header, from Luke Young's corner, against Chester was his fourth of the campaign - so it's now a case of more of the same please.

3. Goals from other players are important too.

Following Woking's equaliser from Reece Grego-Cox, it appeared as though the Gulls needed a goal out of nothing - and they got one three minutes later through Connor Lemonheigh-Evans. The Bristol City loanee picked the perfect opportunity to open his account for United, as he found the back of the net from 25-yards after being teed up by his midfield partner Luke Young. It was the 11th goal scored by a midfielder for the Gulls this season: Young 5, George Dowling 2, Josh McQuoid 2, Lemonheigh-Evans 1, Aaron Barnes 1.

4. United have been able to beat 'bogey sides' this season.

Prior to this season, Torquay United hadn't beaten Barrow since March 2009 or Woking since September 2014. However, this season the Gulls beat Barrow 3-1 in February and have ended their 'hoo-doo' against Woking in what was a 'cup final' for both sides - a game that United had to win and one that Woking couldn't to lose, but the Gulls won now have another six 'cup finals' between now and the end of the season.

5. Defensively sound.

Whilst United have scored six goals in their last five matches, they have only conceded three times (Maidstone United, Solihull Moors and Woking) and have kept two clean sheets (Leyton Orient and Chester FC). It's important in the Gulls' situation that they don't concede fewer than they score, but with a forward line comprising of Romain, Williams and Healey attack might be the best form of defence.