As today marks the 22nd anniversary of Neville Southall's debut for Torquay United against Hull City on 12 December 1998, we will take a look back at the legendary Everton and Wales goalkeeper's time at Plainmoor.
In his 2012 autobiography The
Binman Chronicles Neville Southall stated that there were just three
results that he listened out for on Saturday at 5 o’clock, ‘Everton, Bury and
The Gulls’.
His association with Torquay United
began in 1998 when he was drafted in by the then United manager Wes Saunders following
an injury to Kenny Veysey. At the time Southall was working as a goalkeeper
coach at Huddersfield Town and Tranmere Rovers and it was his connection with
Huddersfield, who were then managed by Saunders’ former Newcastle United
team-mate Peter Jackson that alerted the Gulls to his availability.
Southall had experienced a nomadic
career since leaving Goodison Park in 1998 after 17 years following spells with
Southend United, Stoke City and Doncaster Rovers. During his lengthy spell with
the Toffees’ he became Everton’s most decorated player ever, winning two league
titles (1985 & 1987), two FA Cups (1984 & 1995) and a European Cup
Winners’ Cup (1985). He was also voted as Footballer of the Year in 1985 and
won 92 caps for Wales – which was a record until it was surpassed by Chris
Gunter in November 2018 – and for a time in the 1980s he was regarded as the
best goalkeeper in the world.
He made his debut for United on
December 12, 1998, against Hull City in a relegation ‘six-pointer’ that pitted
23rd (United) against 24th (the Tigers) against
each other. The stakes could hardly have been higher for the Gulls in this
encounter, as defeat would have placed them level on points with the Tigers on
18 points.
There were plenty of signs of
encouragement for the Plainmoor faithful in the opening ten minutes when
Southall’s fellow debutant Alan Lee – a Republic of Ireland Under-21
international on loan from Aston Villa - narrowly missed the target after being
set up by Robbie Herrera.
Southall was then called into action
as he punched a corner away and saved a shot from Tigers defender Bob Dewhurst
at the second attempt.
Torquay made the breakthrough in the
15th minute as Chris Leadbitter picked up a loose ball and
looked to pick out Kevin Hill with a cross. However, the wind caught it and
carried it over Hull keeper Steve Wilson and into the back of the net off the
far post to give the Gulls the lead.
As well as competing against Hull,
the Gulls were also battling against the elements, and they earned themselves
an important two-goal cushion six minutes before the half-time break. Steve
Tully won the ball in midfield and played a one-two with leading scorer Scott
Partridge before leaving Tigers left-back Mike Edwards for dead. He then
produced an inviting low centre, which found Partridge who slotted home to
score his tenth goal of the season.
In the second half, the Gulls were
denied a third with nine minutes to go when Wilson made a diving save at the
feet of Hill, as United ended Southall’s debut with a clean sheet and a win
that moved them up one place in the league table. Intriguingly, Southall left
the game without his gloves – as he had made a bet with a group of Hull fans
behind the Babbacombe End goal that he would get booked in the second half.
Southall then remained with United
for the rest of the 1998-99 season, with other notable performances including a
penalty save in a 2-1 win over Rochdale at Plainmoor in January 1999 and
another creditable display which played a major part in securing a goalless
draw in a Devon derby with Plymouth Argyle at Home Park in March. His
performances ensured that he became a big favourite with the Plainmoor faithful,
and he later won the club’s player of the year award for the 1998-99
campaign.
In his 2020 book Mind
Games Southall said: "At Torquay I realised that dropping down
the leagues was part of ageing; I felt like a father figure, so I learnt new
ways to enjoy the experience."
It was an experience that Southall
felt that he had enjoyed to the extent that he agreed to return to the Gulls
for the 1999-00 season. After a strong finish to the previous campaign there
was a genuine belief that United could mount a challenge for promotion. Two of
his former Goodison Park colleagues Adrian Heath and Derek Mountfield had both
won promotions in the lower leagues after leaving Goodison Park; Heath from
Division Two with Burnley in the 1993-94 season and Mountfield with Carlisle
United from Division Three in the 1994-95 campaign. There seemed there might be
a genuine possibility of Southall emulating them with the Gulls.
During the 1999-00 season, Southall
wasn’t the only connection that the Gulls had with Everton. Alex Watson,
brother of his former teammate Dave Watson was the club captain and
player-coach, Southall’s former Toffees’ team-mate Paul Holmes re-joined United
seven years after he left for Birmingham City at the end of the 1991-92 season
and midfielder Mick O’Brien, an FA Youth Cup winner in a young Everton side
managed by Colin Harvey, who coached and managed Southall during his halcyon
days with the Toffees, who signed for the Gulls following a successful trial
spell.
For the first half of the campaign
United remained firmly in contention for promotion, which was coupled with a
fine run in the FA Cup as they reached the third round for the first time in
ten years. After beating Southend United and Forest Green Rovers in the first
and second rounds respectively, United were then drawn away to Queens Park
Rangers.
The R’s had been relegated from the
Premier League at the end of the 1995-96 campaign and were looking to make a
return to the top-flight at the time of the tie; Gerry Francis –who had led the
R’s to a fifth place finish in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992-93 –
was back as manager for a second spell and their squad included players with
plenty of top level experience including Chris Kiwomya and Iain Dowie.
In the match-day programme, former
QPR striker Stan Bowles predicted in his ‘Fancy a Flutter’ column that the R’s
would win 4-1 (incidentally the odds for this outcome was 12-1!). Despite this
prediction United got off to a promising start as Wayne Thomas had a headed
effort disallowed early on. Moments later future Gulls’ midfielder Stuart
Wardley gave the hosts the lead in the 9th minute as then it
looked the prophecy of the maverick striker may be about to come true. However,
Bowles hadn’t counted on the form of Southall as he rolled back the years to
make a string of breath-taking saves to keep QPR at bay.
Torquay adopted a more attacking
approach in the second half as they switched from a 3-5-2 formation to 3-4-3,
which paid dividends as the Gulls began to create more chances. At the other
end of the pitch Southall was still playing out of his skin, as he made
arguably his most impressive save of the match when he denied the R’s Norwegian
striker Rob Steiner with his foot. United finally managed to find an equaliser
in their 81st minute through a free kick from O’Brien, which
David Beckham would have been proud of, to force a replay. Despite a valiant
effort in the second meeting at Plainmoor, United went down 3-2.
Southall’s spell with the Gulls came
to an end in January 2000 by 'mutual consent', following a 2-1 defeat away to
Chester City, in which he sustained concussion. All in all, he had made 61
appearances for the Gulls in the space of just over 13 months. After his
departure United fell short of making the play-offs and ended the season in
ninth place, higher than both Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City.
However, there would be a happy end
to the 1999-00 season for Southall. His displays for United helped to earn him
a Premier League swansong in a one-off game for Bradford City against Leeds
United in March 2000. At the age of 41 years and 178 days, he became the fourth
oldest player in Premier League history.
During his time with Torquay,
Southall had a brief spell as a co-caretaker manager of Wales for a Euro 2000
qualifer against Denmark at Anfield with Mark Hughes. After leaving Plainmoor
he went on to manage Dover Athletic, Hastings and Margate, the latter role saw
him work with his former Wales manager Terry Yorath who briefly held the role
of Director of Football at the club.
These days Southall works as a
teaching assistant for a pupil referral unit in Ebbw Vale and is very active on
social media supporting a number of charitable causes – including suicide
prevention and LGBT rights. He often collaborates with a number of charities
through ‘twitter takeovers’ which see a number of different organisations use
his twitter account to hold regular question and answer sessions.
