FOUR WINS IN FOUR FOR THE GULLS

 Torquay United made it four wins out of four in the National League in dramatic circumstances, as a late penalty from Aaron Jarvis sealed a late victory at home to Braintree Town. 

The Gulls had trailed to their Essex opponents who edged ahead early on when Will Davies broke free of the United defence before slotting home. 

In the second half, the game changed in the 57th minute when the Gulls were awarded a free-kick, which Jack Stobbs stepped up to take He swung it towards the far post and found the back of the net after deceiving Braintree keeper Jack Sims. 

Finding the target visibly lifted United as they continued to pile on the pressure and they finally got their rewards deep in injury time. Jarvis was felled in the penalty area by Sims and referee Elliot Swallow pointed to the spot. Jarvis duly stepped up to take the spot-kick, which he powered past Sims to score the winner for the Gulls and seal a fourth win on the spin. 

On many occasions in the history of the game, a stroke of good fortune managerial careers and seasons can be transformed. 

Two that spring to mind are Howard Kendall's first spell at Everton between 1981 and 1987 and Sir Alex Ferguson's reign as Manchester United manager. 

In the 1983-84 season when Everton were trailing Oxford United in the Milk Cup at the U's former Manor Ground hom, a mis-timed back pass from Oxford midfielder Kevin Brock was latched onto by Adrian Heath, who promptly levelled matters for the Toffees. Everton then won the replay and reached the final of the Milk Cup, where they were beaten by Liverpool after a replay, and then went on to win the 1984 FA Cup, which was followed by two league titles (1984-85 & 1986-87) and the European Cup Winner's Cup. 

For Ferguson, Mark Robins' winning goal against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup in the 1989-90 campaign helped to propel the Red Devils to winning the competition, which became the first trophy that they ever won under the Scot.  

Whether the Gulls' win over Braintree proves to the case remains to be seen, and on the basis of their first half showing improvements need to be made. However, the fact remains that United are the only team in National League South so far in the 2023-24 campaign to win four successive games - something that leaders Worthing are still yet to achieve.

 

GULLS' POINTS HAUL MIRRORS 2018-19 START

 Whisper it quietly, but Torquay United's start to the 2023-24 season is mirroring the one they made in their National League South title winning campaign of 2018-19. 

The Gulls followed up their opening day draw with Dover Athletic and their 3-0 defeat in their opening home fixture with Worthing with back to back wins against Chippenham Town and St Albans City, which gives Gary Johnson's side seven points from their opening four National League South encounters. 

An opener from Ross Marshall and a 'Gary time' winner from Aaron Jarvis helped to seal the win against Chippenham at Plainmoor, whilst a solitary headed effort from Ollie Tomlinson proved to be enough to clinch all three points against St Albans.

They now have the same number of points on the board that they had under Johnson's predecessor Gary Owers in 2018-19, which were secured with a draw away to Chelmsford City, home wins over Bath City and East Thurrock and an away defeat to Oxford City. 

Of course in 2018-19 it is worth noting that the Gulls were yet to make the loan signings from Bristol City, which helped to transform them into title challengers. Jake Andrews and Opi Edwards arrived in early September and made their debuts in United's 2-0 win over Hemel Hempstead Town in Owers' penultimate game in charge before his dismissal in the wake of the Gulls' 1-0 home loss to Chippenham. Then, following Johnson's arrival, the duo were joined by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, who returned to Plainmoor for a second loan spell, and Saikou Janneh. They both featured from the bench as United drew 2-2 with Woking in Johnson's first home game in charge. 

The rest as they say is history, as United went on to win the National League South title in a campaign which proved to be 'a tale of two Garys'. 

With Plymouth Argyle midfielder Will Jenkins-Davies the only loan player currently with the Gulls at the moment, there is room for Johnson to bring in another four loanees. The likelihood is that any new arrivals won't be appearing until the EFL transfer window has closed on August 31, but there is no denying that a couple more additions would give Johnson's squad a more complete look; they were down to the barebones against St Albans, with skipper Asa Hall, experienced duo Dean Moxey and last season's leading scorer Jarvis all absent. 

In 2018-19, the Gulls went 16 games without defeat in National League South following Johnson's appointment, which included ten straight wins, before going down 3-2 away to Bath. By which time they were well and truly in the thick of the title race, and a similar run in 2022-23 would help put them further in the driving seat.

 

 

 

TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS WORTHING

1. A wake up call for United. 

If United’s 2-2 opening draw against Dover Athletic didn’t serve as a big enough wake up call for Gary Johnson’s about the strength of the National League South in the 2023-24 campaign, then Saturday’s defeat to Worthing certainly should. 

To their credit, Worthing showed themselves to be comfortable in possession, they were accomplished at playing the ball out from the back and they broke forward at speed. 

With a former Brighton and Hove Albion defender Adam Hinshelwood as manager, the Rebels produced a brand of football, which probably could be described a lite version of the brand of football that the Seagulls produce in the Premier League. 

2. Trio return to haunt the Gulls. 

The Worthing side on Saturday included three players who have featured for the Gulls in recent years in the form of centre back and captain Aran Racine, midfielders and Joe Felix and Ricky Aguiar. 

Skipper Racine made one appearance for United in the 2016-17 season on loan from Forest Green Rovers, but his stay was cut short due an ACL injury sustained on his debut against Gateshead on January 28, 2017. Felix joined the Gulls midway through the 2021-22 season and was released at the end of the campaign and Aguiar joined on loan from Swindon Town, who he joined the Rebels on a season long loan. Indeed, Aguiar opened the scoring the visitors on 31 minutes.

All three went home happy with all three points. 

3. Mark Halstead on song. 

The fact that United goalkeeper Mark Halstead was voted as man of the match in spite of his side's poor showing spoke volumes of the Gulls' display. 

In the second half, Halstead was called upon to deny a long range from Aguiar, which he parried away. A minute later, he made a routine save to prevent Worthing striker Greg Luer from finding the target and Luer went close again on 65 minutes, to be denied by a one-handed save from Halstead. 

Then in the 77th minute, Worthing sub Joao Luque found himself through on goal, with only Halstead to beat, but Halstead's reflexes came to the rescue for United. 

4. Tom Lapslie and Kevin Dawson big misses in midfield. 

The absence of midfield duo Tom Lapslie and Kevin Dawson was keenly felt by the Gulls as they struggled to get a foothold in the game. Towards the end of last season, Dawson, following his arrival on loan from Gloucester City, and Lapslie both made their presence felt towards the end of the campaign as they constantly pressed their opponents and made sure that they knew that they were in a game. 

Sadly, in their absence, that was decidedly lacking. 

5. Abigail Byrne. 

Saturday also saw Abigail Byrne became the first female official to take charge of a match at Plainmoor. Over the years, there have been several female assistant referees running the line at United home games, including Wendy Toms, who became female linesmen to run the line in a Football League match when she did so when United faced Carlisle in the 1994-95 season, Sian Massey-Ellis and Stacey Pearson, but no female referee until Byrne took charge on Saturday.

SEASON PREVIEW 2023-24: YEOVIL TOWN

Although Yeovil Town might be playing in the sixth tier of English football for the first time since 1997, optimism is higher at Huish Park than it has been for a long time. 

Following their summer takeover by local businessman and life long Glovers fan Martin Hellier, an immediate return to the National League is in the thoughts of manager Mark Cooper, who has brought in a number of new faces, including Jake Hyde and former Gulls striker Frank Nouble. Rhys Murphy has also returned to Huish Park for a second spell with the club. Scoring goals was an issue for the Glovers in 2022-23 and hopefully the addition of the aforementioned trio can solve that problem. 

Hellier's takeover has also brought some much needed stability to the club, following the chairmanship of the unpopular Scott Priestnall and the short lived 'stewardship' by Matt Uggla, who has become the owner of York City. 

As well as the new faces, club stalwarts Josh Staunton and Matt Worthington remain; however, Staunton won't be able to play of any of the away games against teams with artificial surfaces due to a knee problem. Cooper also bolstered his defence with the signings of centre back Jamie Sendles-White and left back Alex Whittle. 

Both Hyde and Murphy have fine pedigrees of scoring goals in the National League South from their stints with Woking and Chelmsford City respectively. If the three Jordans - Stevens, Maguire-Drew and Young - can provide them and Nouble with plenty of ammunition, then a title is very much on for the Glovers. 

Should they win promotion at the first time of asking, Mark Cooper will also become the first manager to win promotions from both National League North and National League South, after winning the North with Kettering Town in 2007-08. 

Player to Watch: Frank Nouble

The well travelled Nouble was on the radar of manager Mark Cooper towards the end of last season, but the Glovers couldn't get the deal completed so he joined Torquay United instead. Now Cooper has got his man, he will be hoping can help to inspire a promotion challenge.

In: Rhys Murphy (Southend United), Jake Hyde (Wrexham), Jake Wannell (Taunton Town), Lewis Williams (Tiverton Town), Will Buse and Josh Owers (Bristol City), Jamie Sendles-White (Welling United), Frank Nouble (Torquay United), Alex Whittle (Chesterfield), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (Derby County), Zac Bell and Ollie Thomas (Bristol City, loan)

Out: Grant Smith (Bromley), Charlie Wakefield (Woking), Jamie Reckord and Ben Richards-Everton (Gloucester City), Max Hunt (Buxton), Lawson D'ath (Banbury United), Callum Harriott & Zanda Siziba (York City), Jake Scrimshaw (Eastleigh), Ollie Hulbert (Barry), Malachi Linton (Taunton Town, loan), Ollie Haste and Benjani Junior (Dorchester Town),

SEASON PREVIEW 2023-24: TORQUAY UNITED

 Torquay United manager Gary Johnson will be aiming to start the new 2023-24 campaign in a similar manner to which they ended last season, by trying to recreate the run which almost saw them avoid relegation from the National League. 

The Gulls managed to win five, draw three and lose two of their final ten league games, which included a run of five successive wins against Boreham Wood (a), Scunthorpe Unired (a), Eastleigh (h), Maidenhead United (h) and York City (h). Sadly, it was proved to be a case of too little, too late as they were relegated by two points on the final day of the campaign. 

However, Johnson has managed to retain the majority of the squad who fell short of retaining their National League status, with only Southampton loanee Nico Lawrence and striker Frank Nouble not returning to Plainmoor for the 2023-24 campaign. 

Kevin Dawson, Jack Stobbs and Lewis Collins have all rejoined the Gulls on a permanent basis following successful loan spells from Gloucester City, Oldham Athletic and Newport County respectively. Then United's former QPR loanee Dillon De Silva then followed suit by signing permanently for the Gulls following his release by the R's. 

Johnson has also bolstered a defence which already includes Shaun Donnellan and the veteran Dean Moxey with the signing of former Plymouth Argyle prospect Finley Craske, and another former Pilgrims youngster Ollie Tomlinson appears to have come on leaps and bounds during loan spells with Taunton Town and Chippenham Town. 

Argyle midfielder starlet Will Jenkins-Davies has also arrived from Home Park on loan. He will looking to follow in the footsteps of Adam Randell, who has established himself as a first team regular following his loan spell at Plainmoor in the 2020-21 campaign.

Up front, Bradley Ash will be looking to fill the void left by Nouble's departure after signing from Weymouth. Ash scored 18 times in all competitions for the Terras in the 2022-23 campaign, and the early signs from pre-season are that he could form a strong partnership with United's leading scorer and player of the season from 2022-23 Aaron Jarvis. 

As former Gulls boss, the late Dave Smith once said when asked what a side needed to win promotion, he replied 'score goals, lots of them' - and goals were crucial to United winning the National League South title under Johnson in 2018-19. 

If Ash and Jarvis can approach the figures achieved by Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh of 32 and 19, and if the midfield can chip with the amount of goals the likes of Jake Andrews, Kalvin Kalala, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Asa Hall, the only survivor from United's 2018-19 squad, then a second promotion from the NLS will be firmly in their sights.

Player to Watch: Lewis Collins

The former Wales Under-21 international has been a revelation since he moved from being a striker to being a wide player by Johnson. After scoring three times in 15 appearances whilst on loan from Newport in 2022-23 he will be aiming to better than tally in the forthcoming campaign.

In: Kevin Dawson (Gloucester City), Jack Stobbs (Oldham Athletic), Bradley Ash (Weymouth), Lewis Collins (Newport County), Callum Thomas (Under-18s), Finley Craske (Plymouth Argyle), Will Jenkins-Davies (Plymouth Argyle, loan), Dillon De Silva (QPR)

Out: Frank Nouble (Yeovil Town), Ali Omar (Larne), Ben Wyatt (St Albans City), Olaf Koszela and Alex Moyse (Dorchester Town), Jack Winsor (Bideford), Lewis Brooks, Jacob Mensah

SEASON PREVIEW 2023-24: EXETER CITY

 Gary Caldwell's first full season as Exeter City sees the former Wigan Athletic and Chesterfield boss looking to rebuild his squad following the departures of a number of key players. 

Central midfielder Archie Collins and right wing-back Josh Key became the latest of the club's academy products to move on to pastures new; Collins joined Peterborough United, while Key followed in the footsteps of fellow Grecians' academy graduate Matt Grimes to sign for Swansea City. 

Caldwell has used the loan market to good effect to bring in goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo, right wing-back Dion Rankine and central midfielder Ryan Trevitt from Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brentford respectively. 

The signing of left-back Vincent Harper from National League side Eastleigh could turn out to be a shrewd one, as Harper, formerly of Bristol City, was rated as one of the best left-backs outside the EFL. 

Retaining last season's leading scorer Sam Nombe, who found the back of the net 18 times for the Grecians, will be pivotal to their chances of success. As will their ability to fill the voids left by the departures of their more high profile players. 

Player to Watch: Sam Nombe

In the wake of the departures of Archie Collins and Josh Key, much of the Grecians' prospects for the 2023-24 campaign rest largely on the shoulders of Sam Nombe. The former MK Dons front man found the back of the net 18 times in all competitions last season, and a similar return will be required for Gary Caldwell's men in the current campaign.

 

In: Vincent Harper (Eastleigh), Jack Aitchison (Motherwell), Ryan Trevitt (Brentford, loan), Dion Rankine (Chelsea, loan), Demetri Mitchell (Hibernian), Tom Carroll (Ipswich Town), Viljami Sinisalo (Aston Villa, loan), Reece Cole (Hayes and Yeading), Zak Jules (MK Dons)

Out: Jevani Brown (Bristol Rovers), Archie Collins (Peterborough United), Josh Key (Swansea City), Kevin McDonald (Bradford City), Jake Caprice (Burton Albion)

SEASON PREVIEW 2023-24: PLYMOUTH ARGYLE

After winning the League One title with 101 points in the 2022-23 season, a return to the Championship for the first time in over a decade awaits Plymouth Argyle.

In what will be their first campaign in the second tier since the 2009-10 season, Argyle have shown that they are not there to make up the numbers after breaking their club record transfer fee twice. 

Pilgrims' boss Steven Schumacher paid in the region of £1million to sign bring midfielder Morgan Whittaker back to Home Park on a permanent basis, following a loan spell from Swansea City. 

Then, in a matter of weeks, Schumacher replicated the fee to bring another loanee from the 2022-23 campaign back to the club in the form of attacking wing-back Bali Mumba from Norwich City. 

In addition to this, Schumacher has also made a number of other potentially astute signings in the form of Spanish defender Julio Pleguezuelo from FC Twente and goalkeeper Conor Hazard from Celtic who will provide not only cover for Michael Cooper as he recovers from injury, but also competition. 

Following their previous promotions to the second tier in 1974-75, 1985-86 and 2003-04, Argyle always managed to consolate their position in the division, staying there for two years (1975 to 77), six years (1986 to 1992) and six years (2004 to 2010). And with a core of young players, including midfielders Jordan Houghton and Adam Randell, the Pilgrims have a group of players who could potentially remain with the club for a number of seasons. 

Survival will be Argyle's first priority in 2023-24, but after that the path followed by similar sized clubs such as Brighton and Hove Albion, Brentford and Luton Town could yet be become open to them in the near to distant future. 

Player to Watch: Bali Mumba

The £500,000 that the Pilgrims paid Cardiff City for Steven McLean had stood as the club's record transfer paid since January 2008 until this summer, as Argyle paid in the region of £1million plus for both Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba. 

During his loan spell from Norwich City, Mumba won the EFL League One young player of the season award and was named in the League One team of the season for 2022-23. 

Mumba will now be looking to enjoy further success with the Pilgrims after returning to Home Park on a permanent basis.

In: Julio Pleguezuelo (FC Twente), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (Aston Villa, loan), Conor Hazard (Glasgow Celtic), Morgan Whittaker (Swansea City), Bali Mumba (Norwich City), Lewis Gibson (Everton), Lewis Warrington (Everton, loan)

Out: Niall Ennis (Blackburn Rovers), Danny Mayor (Fleetwood Town), James Wilson (Bristol Rovers), Conor Grant (Port Vale), Ryan Law (Truro City), Finley Craske (Torquay United), Will Jenkins-Davies (Torquay United, loan)