ALAN WELSH 1947-2020

In modern times they have been a number of players who have joined Torquay United after leaving Plymouth Argyle, but Alan Welsh, who has sadly passed away recently, bucked that trend.

After starting his career with Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in his native Scotland, Edinburgh-born Welsh joined Millwall in 1965 and made five appearances for the Lions before he was first enticed to Devon by Frank O'Farrell in 1967, when the Irishman signed him for Torquay United.

He made his debut for United on November 5, 1967 in an away fixture to Mansfield Town as part of a new look strike pairing with the legendary Robin Stubbs. A month later Welsh scored his first of the seven goals that he would score for United in the 1967-68 campaign in a 2-0 victory over Southport on December 5, 1967, as he finished his first season at Plainmoor as United's joint-second top scorer with Ronnie Barnes. It was a contribution that proved to be valuable for United as they recorded their highest ever league finish of fourth in the 'old' Division Three - now League One - agonisingly missing out on promotion to the 'old' Second Division (now Championship).

Welsh remained at Plainmoor until 1971 when he joined Plymouth Argyle for a fee of £15,000. The irony of this move was that arguably his finest hour in a United shirt came against the Pilgrims on November 5, 1968, when he scored United's second and decisive goal as they beat Argyle to secure their first ever league win at Home Park. The result led to a sparky response from the then Pilgrims' manager Billy Bingham who declared that Torquay were 'a lucky side' and 'over my dead body' would they win the return fixture.

In addition to this, Welsh also won United's player of the year for the 1969-70 season - a campaign which he finished as the Gulls' leading scorer with 15 goals.

His move to Home Park also coincided with the Gulls' relegation from Division Four and a time when many of his former Plainmoor colleagues headed to AFC Bournemouth where another of his former United teammates John Bond was manager. It was a period in the Gulls' history known as the 'Bond Burglary'.

Whilst with the Pilgrims Welsh formed a fine striker partnership with a young Paul Mariner - who Waiters had plucked from non-league Chorley.

He was also a virtual ever-present for a period of 18 months during which time he helped Argyle to reach the semi-finals of the League Cup in the 1973-74 season under Tony Waiters. Welsh made an important contribution in their run to semis, as he netted a brace in their 3-0 fourth round win over QPR at Loftus Road and was also on target in their 2-1 victory over Birmingham City in the fifth round.

Following their semi-final defeat to Manchester City, which the Pilgrims lost 3-1 over two legs, he was described by BBC commentator John Motson as 'a player who should be playing in the top division'; a fine compliment when you consider he was partnering Mariner who would later win a UEFA Cup winner's medal with Ipswich Town in 1981 and represent England in the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

The semi-final defeat to City proved to be his final appearance for the Pilgrims as he was sold to Bournemouth for a fee of £30,000. Welsh later made a brief return to Millwall and had short spell in non-league football with Maidstone United before finishing his career in South Africa with Cape Town City.

CONNOR IS A GULL

The worst kept secret in football has finally been revealed following the unveiling of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans as a Torquay United player. 

Former Wales Under-21 international Lemonheigh-Evans, 23, has enjoyed four different loan spells at Plainmoor between 2018 and 2020; but he now follows in the footsteps of his former Ashton Gate colleague Jake Andrews in signing for United on a permanent basis from the Robins for an undisclosed fee.

He appeared 23 times for the Gulls last season before the 2019-20 campaign was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and United manager Gary Johnson expressed his delight at finally making Lemonheigh-Evans a fully-fledged Torquay United player. “The worst-kept secret has now been revealed, and I’m delighted to confirm that Connor Lemonheigh-Evans is now a Torquay United player,” said Johnson. 

“It’s a fantastic signing for our club. Connor has committed himself to the area, and I look forward to once again working with him for the coming season. He was unlucky last season with a couple of bad tackles that led to lengthy injuries, but he’s 100% now, and Connor at 100% is a real asset to us.”

Over the course of his previous loan stints with the Gulls, Lemonheigh-Evans has made a total of 73 appearances and scored eight goals and made 19 assists. This goal scoring hauls includes a brace in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round against Winchester City in October 2019, which came less than a week after he had netted a brace for Wales Under-21’s against Switzerland. 

His time at Plainmoor has also seen many highs and lows; in the first spell with the Gulls they were relegated from the National League under Gary Owers, who he had previously played under Bath City. However, he returned to Plainmoor in the 2018-19 campaign under Johnson and was part of the United side that lifted the National League South title. 

Lemonheigh-Evans’ capture now takes the United squad up to 20, which gives Johnson the choice of a strong first eleven with five good quality options from the bench along with four development players in the form of rookie pros Olaf Koszela, Louis Slough, Owen Price and JJ Evans.

GULLS AIM TO DO THINGS GARY'S WAY

The names might be different, but in term of style it could be argued that there are certain similarities.

For Kevin Ratcliffe read Kyle Cameron, for Kevin Sheedy read Jake Andrews, for Adrian Heath read Ben Whitfield and for Andy Gray read Danny Wright. As Gary Johnson looks to add the finishing touches to his Torquay United squad ahead of the 2020-21 season, his squad possesses certain players who, in terms of style, bear a passing a resembelance to Everton's league title winning side of the 1984-85 season under the late Howard Kendall.

While Kendall's signing of Gray from Wolves for a fee of £250,000 was considered something of a risk - owing to the Scotsman's long term knee problems - his arrival provided a young side full of promising talents with a leader both on and off the field; his presence helped to transform them from being a promising team full of potential into eventual league champions.

At the age of 32, Gray's move to Goodison Park represented his final chance to win one of the English game's major honours and he ended his tenure with the Toffees with an FA Cup winner's medal (1984), a league championship winner's medal (1984-85) and the European Cup Winner's Cup medal (1985). Wright might be slightly older than Gray at 35, but his arrival at Plainmoor, following his release by Solihull Moors, is arguably his last chance to add to the National League South title winner's medal he won with Histon in the 2006-07 season, the FA Trophy winner's medal he earned with Wrexham in 2013 and the National League title he won while working under Johnson in the 2015-16 campaign at Cheltenham Town.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be one of the most challenging situations that English football has faced in many years, and the wider consequences of it could yet be felt for many years to come. However, the Gulls appear to be better equipped to deal with the fallout of the crisis than many other National League clubs. At the time of writing Johnson is reportedly on the verge of adding an attacking midfielder to his squad - widely tipped to be former Bristol City loanee Connor Lemonheigh-Evans - in the same week that it was announced that Dover Athletic could be on the verge of insolvency after their contracted players refused to take a 20% pay cut.

As the National League season won't be starting until October 3, the Premier League and the EFL campaigns commence on September 12, United have had to delay the start of their pre-season training, with a planned behind closed door pre-season friendly with Buckland Athletic being cancelled, and their playing staff have remained on the Government's furlough scheme. 

Hopefully, once the season does get underway it will prove to be a successful one for the Gulls as they aim to do things Gary Johnson's way.