1. Not only are the Gulls top of the league, they are also top of the goal scoring charts.
Yesterday's 3-1 win over Welling United didn't just cement Torquay United's position at the top of the Vanarama National League South, it also saw them top the league's goal scoring charts as well.
The Gulls have now found the back of the net 35 times this season, a figure also matched by fellow promotion challengers Woking and Billericay. When you consider that the Gulls had only found the back of the net five times prior to Gary Johnson's arrival as manager it is a feat that is truly remarkable.
2. A fifth straight win.
United's victory over Welling was their fifth straight league win, following on from their 4-1 wins over St Albans City and Concord Rangers and their 2-0 wins at Dulwich Hamlet and Dartford.
Only during their six-match winning streak in September 2014 in the National League under Chris Hargreaves have United enjoyed a better run of form since they were relegated from League Two at the end of the 2013-14 season. They are also three matches away from equalling the club record set by Kevin Hodges' side in the 1997-98 season of eight successive wins between January and March 1998.
3. Kyle Cameron was a rock in defence.
With 15 goals conceded, the Gulls also possess the best defensive record in the National League South and have kept ten clean sheets in the league, as well as a further two in the FA Cup.
Two figures who have been instrumental in maintaining this record for United's centre back pairing of Jean Yves Koue Niate and skipper Kyle Cameron, and Cameron was once again in imperious form against Welling. The former Newcastle trainee and one-time Scotland Under-21 international produced another commanding display in the centre of the Gulls' defence, which ensured that the Wings forward line was well and truly clipped. He will surely go down as Gary Owers' best signings and greatest parting gift to Gary Johnson.
4. The luxury of having two goalkeepers to choose from.
Just as Leroy Rosenior had the luxury of being able to call upon Kevin Dearden and Arjan Van Heusden during the 2003-04 promotion season, Gary Johnson is lucky enough to have Alex Bass and Shaun MacDonald to choose from in the 2018-19 campaign. Bass, currently on loan from Portsmouth, made his return in the Gulls' midweek win over Dartford, but Gary Johnson opted to recall MacDonald against Welling - partly so he can ease Bass into action, following a lengthy absence with medial collateral ligament damage, ahead of what looks set to be a busy festive period.
5. The crowds are flocking back to Plainmoor.
A season high attendance of 2,467, which included 52 fans from Welling, was only bettered in the National League by the crowds at Chesterfield versus Salford City (5,055) and Wrexham versus Eastleigh (4,105). It was also a bigger crowd than two League Two fixtures: Crawley Town versus Northampton Town (2,369) and Morecambe versus Port Vale (1,769).
As United fortunes improve under Johnson, the crowds are only likely to grow.
