Now that the dust has settled on Torquay United's National League South title winning the 2018-19 campaign, the question remains as to where the scale of Gary Johnson's achievement in winning the league lies in terms of United's history?
Johnson joins a list of managers who have led United to promotions - since they first entered the Football League in 1927 that includes Eric Webber (1960), Frank O'Farrell (1966), John Impey (1991), Leroy Rosenior (2004) and Paul Buckle (2009).
It is worth noting that the promotion successes of Messrs Webber, O'Farrell, Impey and Rosenior were all achieved at what is known as League Two; in the case of O'Farrell, it proved to be the start of arguably the most successful spells in the Gulls' history as United began a period in which saw them hold their own in the 'old' Third Division - League One in new money - for a period of six years until 1972. The Gulls' most recent promotion triumph, prior to their title success this season, came in 2009 in the National League (the league that United will be competing in next season) when they beat Cambridge United 2-0 at Wembley to secure a return to the Football League.
While the National League South is a division which is lower in the footballing pyramid than either League Two or the National League, it was the first time that United have competed in regional non-football since they were elected to the Football League at the expense of Aberdare Athletic in 1927, the achievement of Johnson's side in clinching the National League South title shouldn't be discounted.
United entered the 2018-19 season at something of a crossroads after being relegated to the National League following two successive seasons of avoiding relegation.
Failure to win promotion at the first attempt could have seen them marooned in National League South, in much the same way that Stockport County were in National League North - prior to their own title triumph this season, which ended their six-year stay in the division - as well as two other of the Gulls' former Football League contemporaries Kidderminster Harriers and York City, who will be spending their fourth and third seasons at that level heading into the 2019-20 campaign.
At the time of Johnson's appointment, the Gulls were 14th in the National League South table and three points off the play-offs and, perhaps most pertinently, ten points behind the then leaders Woking, who United would eventually finish ten points clear of at the end of the season.
To find examples of where a manager has been able to transform the fortunes of the Gulls in such as short space of time, you need to look back to the managerial reigns of Cyril Knowles (1987-1989) and Dave Smith (1989-1991) - both of which your correspondent is too young to remember by the way!
Knowles took the team who survived the drop at the end of the 1986-87 season, in the wake of the infamous 'Bryn the Police Dog game' against Crewe Alexandra, and led them to the play-offs at the end of the 1987-88 campaign where they lost to Swansea City in a two-legged final. It was achieved with the only the additions of Phil Lloyd, Sean Haslegrave and Dave Caldwell - plus the emerging talents of a certain Lee Sharpe.
Smith succeeded Knowles early in the 1989-90 campaign, at which point the Gulls were second bottom of the 'old Division Four, and led them to the 15th place finish in the league by the end of the season. There was also the added bonus of an FA Cup giant-killing against West Ham United thrown in, as Smith then went on to lay the foundations of the side that would win promotion at Wembley against Blackpool in 1991 under John Impey.
Although the promotion from National League South under Johnson was earned at a lower rung in the football pyramid, it is no less important in the context of United's history.
