For the second season in a row Torquay United manager Gary Johnson is facing another rebuild after several of his squad opted to seek pastures new.
Attacking midfielders Armani Little and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans have turned down new deals with the club and 2021-22 Player of the Year Shaun MacDonald has also decided to try and secure a contract in the EFL. In addition to this, veteran striker Danny Wright and right back Ben Wynter have opted to search for new clubs nearer their families in Gloucester and London respectively.
They could yet be joined by centre back Joe Lewis who the Gulls will be due compensation for, as he under the age of 24.
With nearly all of those players mentioned above, Johnson had a hand in their recruitment. Lemonheigh-Evans, MacDonald and Wynter were all first brought to the club by his predecessor Gary Owers, but Johnson did bring Lemonheigh-Evans back for his second and third loan stints before signing him permanently in the summer of 2020 and he re-signed MacDonald in September 2021, after his departure at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.
The three R's - recruitment, recruitment, recruitment - or the three C's - contacts, contacts and contacts - have always been important for every Torquay United manager due to the number of factors, most notably the club's geographical location. Financial considerations and budgets also have to be taken into account too.
Last summer, Johnson had to contend with the departures of Lucas Covolan (Port Vale), Kyle Cameron & Aaron Nemane (Notts County) and Ben Whitfield (Stockport County). However, due to the late finish of the 2020-21 season due to United's play-off campaign - which saw the Gulls agonisingly miss out on a return to the EFL, as they lost to penalties to Hartlepool United.
Nevertheless, with a longer amount of time to plan and prepare and although Johnson had talked of 'marquee' signings, it is worth mentioning a number of players that United have signed over the years haven't been considered as 'marquee' arrivals.
Two examples include David Graham, whose star had fallen from his early days with Rangers, which saw him appear in the UEFA Cup and in an Old Firm game for the Gers. Then there is Eunan O'Kane, who arrived from Northern Irish side Coleraine after returning to the province following his release by Everton. When they eventually left Plainmoor, it was for fees of £215,000 and £175,000 respectively, which could certainly be described as 'marquee.'
