GRECIANS HAVE TITLE IN SIGHTS WHILE PILGRIMS MISS OUT ON PLAY-OFFS

After securing promotion to League One on Tuesday night with a win over Barrow, Exeter City now have the League Two title in the sights following their 1-1 draw with Northampton Town. 

The Grecians' 2-1 victory over Barrow had moved them level on points with Forest Green Rovers, but City are now one points ahead of Rovers after they lost to Harrogate Town.

Matt Taylor's side can clinch the title if they beat Port Vale at St James Park next Saturday, however Vale can still secure automatic promotion themselves should they beat the Grecians and Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers fail to win their respective fixtures. 

Regardless out of the outcome of their encounter with Port Vale, City will definitely be playing Plymouth Argyle in a Devon Expressway Derby next season - after the Pilgrims missed out on the League One play-offs. 

On manager Steven Schumacher's 38th birthday, Argyle were thumped 5-0 by Milton Keynes Dons who themselves had harboured hopes of automatic promotion. 

The Pilgrims only needed to match Wycombe Wanderers' result to finish in the top six, but they were 3-0 down at half-time and reduced to ten men after Jordan Houghton received two yellow cards. Scott Twine had netted twice for the Dons in the first half and he also another two goals in the second half, as he set a club record for the club by scoring four times in one match. 

However, Argyle can take some comfort by the fact that with a haul of 80 points in any other season would have been more than enough to secure a play-off spot. And with a young team and a young manager, the Pilgrims will surely be there or thereabouts in League One in the 2022-23 campaign.

COOPER AND DIENG NAMED IN TEAMS OF THE SEASON

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper and Exeter City midfielder Timothee Dieng have both been respectively named in the League One and League Two team of the season for the 2021-22 campaign. 

Cooper, 22, who is a graduate of the Pilgrims academy, has appeared in every minute for Argyle in 2021-22, including their FA Cup fourth round tie against Chelsea, where he won a number of admirers. He has also kept 18 clean sheets in Argyle's League One campaign - and made his 100th appearance for the club against AFC Wimbledon on March 8. 

The Pilgrims head into their final league game of the season against Milton Keynes Dons needing a win to secure a play-off spot. 

Dieng is currently the Grecians' top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions and netted twice in their recent 2-0 win over Rochdale which leaves City on the verge of securing automatic promotion, should they beat Barrow on Tuesday night. 

It could be said that the difference between the current campaign and the 2020-21 season are like night and day for Dieng, as he was part of the Southend United that were relegated from the EFL in 2020-21. 

Former Grecians loanee Kane Wilson, now with Forest Green Rovers was also named in the side alongside Dieng.

NEIL WARNOCK AND THE SOUTH WEST

After Neil Warnock's announcement of his retirement as a manager, we will now take a look at his spells as in charge of Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle.

Torquay United (1993): 

In January 1993, Torquay United were fighting against relegation from the Football League and chairman Mike Bateson made the decision to appoint Neil Warnock as 'consultant' to work alongside rookie boss Paul Compton.

The Gulls' squad at that time included young hopefuls such as Darren Moore and Paul Trollope, who would go on to have good careers that would take them to the top-flight - but were still learning their trade at the time. However, Warnock did have some experienced heads to call on, including goalkeeper Kevin Blackwell, who would later serve as his assistant at numerous clubs, and he would bring in Don O'Riordan as player-coach from his former club Notts County.

Two months later, Warnock was appointed as caretaker manager of the Gulls and galvanised the club, as they successfully avoided relegation with a 1-0 win away to Carlisle United in the penultimate game of the campaign - courtesy of a Duane Darby effort. United then won his final game in charge at home to fellow strugglers Gillingham, who also beat the drop, before handing the managerial reins to O'Riordan, as he left Plainmoor to charge of Huddersfield Town. A year later, the Gulls would reach the Division Three Play-offs. 

Warnock would later describe keeping United in the Football League as one of the highlights of his career.

Plymouth Argyle (1995-1997)

After leading Huddersfield Town to promotion to Division One - now Championship - in the 1994-95 season, Warnock returned to the South West to become manager of Plymouth Argyle. At the time of his arrival, the Pilgrims had just been relegated to Division Three - now League Two - for the first time in their history. 

During 1994-95, Argyle had had three different managers - Peter Shilton, Steve McCall (caretaker) and Russell Osman (consultant) - and Warnock quickly set about rebuilding the squad that he had inherited. Only Mark Patterson, Martin Barlow and Mickey Evans remained from the previous campaign, as Warnock brought in a whole host of new faces, including Chris Billy, Ronnie Mauge, Adrian Littlejohn, Mick Heathcote and Steve Cherry. 

The Pilgrims eventually missed out on promotion and had to settle for the Play-offs. They memorably defeated Colchester United 3-2 in the semi-finals over two legs to set up a final with Darlington. 

In what was their first ever visit to Wembley, Argyle won 1-0, with Ronnie Mauge scoring the only goal of the game in front of a crowd of 43,431. It was Warnock's fifth promotion as a manager, and his fourth through the Play-offs - which remains a record. However, his relationship with chairman Dan McCauley turned sour and he was dismissed during the 196-97 season. 

Warnock then went onto manage Oldham Athletic, Bury, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace (twice), QPR, Leeds United, Rotherham United, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough. Further promotions followed with Sheffield United, QPR and Cardiff City, which took the numbers of promotions he has won to eight - a record in English football.

SIX TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS NOTTS COUNTY

1. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans' first career hat-trick. 

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans picked the perfect time to score his first career hat-trick as he helped to inspire the Gulls to a 5-1 win over Notts County. The Welshman struck in the 14th, 77th and 85th minutes as he became the first Torquay United player to net a treble since Danny Wright against Hartlepool United on October 31, 2020. Lemonheigh-Evans also becomes the fifth United player to score a hat-trick under Gary Johnson's reign - a list that includes Jamie Reid, Saikou Janneh and Jake Andrews as well as Wright. 

In addition to this, he also takes his tally of the season to ten - which means he has now completed double figured goal returns for the past two seasons after scoring 11 in the 2020-21 campaign. 

2. United's third goal was crucial. 

Notts County did manage to reduce their arrears to one goal in the 74th minute when skipper Kyle Wootton. Had the Magpies managed to find an equaliser could the outcome of the match had been different? If they had done it may have shifted the momentum back in Notts' favour, but thankdfully Lemonheigh-Evans' second and United's third helped to re-establish their contorl of the match - as they then went onto score a fourth and fifth to complete

3. Armani at the double - in terms of goals and assists. 

As well as scoring a brace, Armani Little also provided two assists - for Lemonheigh-Evans' second and third goals. His cross field ball picked out the Welshman to restore the Gulls' two-goal cushion on 77 minutes and he got the better of the Magpies in the 85th minute to tee up Lemonheigh-Evans for the goal that completed his hat-trick. On another day Little could conceivably been voted as man of the match himself. After today his goal tally for the 2021-22 season stands at 13, one short of the 14 that last season's top scorer Asa Hall managed to score. 

4. Danny Wright's role as a focal point shouldn't be underestimated. 

He may not have managed to get on the scoresheet himself, but Danny Wright's importance in United securing their victory over Notts County shouldn't be discounted. Wright played an important role in setting up Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and his presence and know how played a part in bringing United's more attack minded midfielders into the game. His experience and know how proved to be invaluable for the Gulls, and will continue to be for the remainder of the campaign.

5. Seven points off seventh place. 

United's win over Notts County moves the Gulls within seven points of seventh place - the National League's final play-off spot. The result also means that the Gulls have now won four of their last five league matches, and they have recorded three successive league wins since December.

6. Ending 56 years of hurts. 

Aside from an FA Cup win in 2005-06 and last season's play-off semi-final win, Torquay United hadn't recorded a league victory over Notts County since May 9, 1966. On that occasion goals from John Benson and Tommy Spratt proved to be decisive for United, who went on to win promotion with a draw against Darlington under Frank O'Farrell, who passed away recently. The year 1966 proved to be a memorable year for both the Gulls and England - could the same be true in 2022?

 

STEAK, DIANA ROSS: THE DAVID MCVAY STORY

If I Believe in Miracles, and the subsequent film documentary, told the story of Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough in the late-1970s then David McVay's Steak, Diana Ross: the diary of a football nobody tells the tale of the Black and White half of Nottingham at Notts County. 

The book, and its sequel Steak, Diana Ross 2, is based on diaries kept by McVay himself while he was a young professional at Meadow Lane, takes a nostalgic look at his career during the 1970s. Amongst the characters brought to life in the book are the then Magpies manager Jimmy Sirrell, former Scotland midfielder Don Masson and Brian Kilcine, who famously lifted the FA Cup for Coventry City as captain of the Sky Blues in 1987. 

In addition to this, he also had a seven-match loan spell with Torquay United in the 1977-78 season under Mike Green. McVay spent his time at Plainmoor lodging with former United midfielder Geoff Cox and his wife Madge, whose son Maurice was an amateur player with the club, later a professional, and harbouring hopes of studying at Cambridge University. 

Away from the match action, McVay spent much of his time watching TV and the occasional night outs with his teammates, which included the likes of Ian Twitchin, Clint Boulton, Les Lawrence, Willie Brown and Colin Lee. Then there was the small matters of the football matches, which at that particularly point in time featured trips to far flung locations such as Huddersfield Town and Barnsley - not to mention the necessities of overnight stays and long coach journeys home, which often saw them arrive home in the early hours of the morning. 

McVay would return to Notts County and later had spells with Peterborough United and Lincoln City as well as Cumberland FC. After retiring from playing, he became a journalist with Nottingham Evening Post and later the Daily Telegraph. Besides Steak, Diana Ross, he also wrote a complete history of Notts County, a biography of former England striker Tommy Lawton and Forest's Cult Heroes, which details the career of 20 Nottingham Forest heroes.