When Gary Johnson was appointed as Torquay United manager in September 2018, few would have believed at the time that he would end up becoming the Gulls' third longest serving manager
A 1-0 defeat at home to Chippenham Town on September 8, 2018 saw his predecessor Gary Owers relieved of his duties – and many of the Plainmoor faithful were expecting an appointment along the lines of Lee Hodges or Steve Tully.
However, it would be the former Yeovil, Bristol City and
Cheltenham boss Johnson who United chairman Clarke Osborne and CEO George
Edwards turned to when selecting a successor to Owers.
The Gulls' journey under Johnson began with a 2-0 away win
over Hungerford United on September 15, 2018, which was followed by a 7-0 rout
of Wessex League side Lymington Town in the FA Cup second qualifying round a
week later.
Then came the first real challenge of Johnson’s then brief
reign – the visit of league leaders Woking to Plainmoor for a game he described as a ‘six-pointer’. Despite trailing 2-0 at half-time, United
rallied to draw 2-2 - with Jamie Reid netting a brace for the Gulls.
Under Johnson, Reid was a player transformed as he finished
the 2018-19 campaign with 32 goals to his name. He then went on to score a
further 21 in the 2019-20 National League season.
Johnson also made good use of his connections with Bristol
City, where his son Lee was manager. United had already loaned Jake Andrews and
Opi Edwards from the Ashton Gate club, and they would be joined at Plainmoor by
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Saikou Janneh. He was also joined at Plainmoor by
his brother Pete, who became his head of recruitment, and former Gulls defender
Aaron Downes, who was appointed as his assistant.
It wasn’t until January 19, 2019, that United tasted defeat
for the first time in the league when they were beaten 3-2 by Bath City at
Twerton Park. By this time, the Gulls had set a new record for unbeaten league
games of 16. However, Oxford City would find themselves on the receiving end of
the backlash of that loss, as United won 7-2 – after leading 5-0 at half-time.
It was also a game that saw Jake Andrews score a hat trick from midfield, while
Reid and Janneh netted a brace apiece.
The second half of the season also saw United produce a ‘fly
on the wall’ documentary which – amongst other things - captured the scenes in
the dressing room before and after each game. This included a scene when
Johnson tore into his charges, giving them the full ‘hairdryer’ treatment when
they trailed 1-0 away to East Thurrock on a Tuesday night in February 2019.
However, Johnson’s message had the desired effect as United turned things
around to win 2-1, with Ruairi Keating scoring a late winner.
At the end of March 2019, the Gulls beat Chelmsford City 3-1
at Plainmoor which left them with one hand on the title. A 3-3 draw with
second-placed Woking a week later at the Kingfield Stadium – which was secured
with a Ben Wynter volley in stoppage time - effectively ended the Cards’ challenge
for top spot. This meant that when United beat Eastbourne Borough 2-0 at
Plainmoor in front of a crowd of more than 4,500, with goals from Connor
Lemonheigh-Evans and Jake Andrews, which saw them confirmed as National League
South champions for 2018-19.
Defeats against Chippenham Town and Hungerford followed –
the latter saw the Gulls receive the trophy in front of a National League South
record crowd of 5,351 - before United said goodbye to the National League South
with a 4-0 win away to St Albans City. It was a game that saw another record
fall as Kalvin Kalala – who Johnson brought to Plainmoor from Cheltenham -
opened the scoring with the fastest goal in the club’s history after 10
seconds.
Back in the National League, United started the 2019-20 campaign
with a 2-1 win over Boreham Wood. It
would be a season that would throw up several inconsistencies for the Gulls –
partly due to injuries – as United recorded 4-2 wins against eventual champions
Barrow and play-off winners Harrogate Town. Nevertheless, they would also lose
5-1 to Stockport County at Plainmoor in November 2019 and were thrashed 6-2 to
Yeovil Town on Boxing Day 2018. Bizarrely the heavy defeat to Stockport
occurred around a month after the Gulls had beaten the Hatters 4-0 at Edgeley Park
– making the aggregate score from both fixtures 5-5.
The Covid-19 enforced suspension of the National League saw
United end the campaign after 36 matches. The outcome of the season was decided
using PPG (points per game) to calculate the league’s final placings, which saw
the Gulls finish in 14th place.
In the extended close season before the start of the delayed
2020-21 campaign, Johnson was busy in the transfer market, as Danny Wright, top
scorer in his National League title winning side with Cheltenham, joined as a
replacement for the Mansfield Town bound Reid. Other notable new arrivals
included Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Gary Warren, who joined the Gulls
permanently following successful loan spells from Bristol City and Exeter City
respectively, and experienced left-back Dean Moxey also arrived from Exeter. On the eve of the season, Johnson also made three loan signings in the form of Adam Randell (Plymouth Argyle), Sam Sherring (AFC Bournemouth) and Louis Britton (Bristol City).
United started the campaign with a 1-0 home win over pre-season favourites Stockport, with Lemonheigh-Evans netting a last-minute winner, in a match played behind closed doors – due to coronavirus restrictions. They followed this up with a number of other impressive results, including a 5-0 win away to Hartlepool United on October 31, 2019 (which was broadcast live on BT Sport), as the Gulls established themselves amongst the league's front-runners.
Other memorable results included a 6-5 FA Cup first round exit to Crawley Town, a 6-1 drubbing of Yeovil Town on Boxing Day and a 4-0 away victory over Boreham Wood in the FA Trophy fourth round – which marked Johnson’s 100th game in charge.
Over the course of the campaign, United would score a number of late goals in what became as known as 'Gary time'.
The remainder of the season saw the Gulls remain neck and neck with Sutton United, with both sides sharing the lead at various stages. The title race itself was decided in their penultimate game of the season, as United drew 2-2 with Barnet and Sutton beat Hartlepool United (more on them later) 3-0 to claim top spot.
Nevertheless, United could at least console themselves with their highest ever finish in the National League of second place - the Gulls' finished third and fourth in the division under Paul Buckle between 2007 and 2009 - as they prepared to face Notts County in the play-offs. The Magpies were promptly dispatched 4-2 after extra time to set up a final with Hartlepool United.
The final was played at Ashton Gate to avoid clashing with matches from the delayed Euro 2020 matches being staged at Wembley. The Gulls appeared to have taken the lead on eight minutes through Kyle Cameron, however referee Simon Mather deemed Cameron to have impeded Hartlepool goalkeeper Brad James - even though the replay of the incident showed that contact appeared to be minimal.
On 36 minutes, the Pools were in front when Luke Armstrong found the target when he capitalised on a rebound, after strike partner Rhys Oates had been denied, with a shot that went in off the cross bar.
In the second half, Cameron had another effort disallowed for a foul on James, but just when it seemed as though Hartlepool would hold onto win, goalkeeper Lucas Covolan went up for a corner and headed home an equaliser for United to force extra time.
There were no further goals in extra time, as the final went to
penalties. Despite Covolan saving two Hartlepool penalties, misses from Billy
Waters and Danny Wright meant the Gulls remained level at 4-4 after Asa Hall,
Joe Lewis, Armani Little and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans all converted.
Ryan Donaldson then made it 5-4 to Hartlepool before Matt Buse had his
spot-kick saved by James, as the Pools secured their return to the Football League
at the expense of the Gulls.
The close season saw a number of players leave Plainmoor as
Ashton Gate hero Lucas Covolan earned himself a move to the EFL with Port Vale.
Kyle Cameron and Aaron Nemane both moved to Notts County and Ben Whitfield
joined Stockport County.
New arrivals included goalkeeper Mark Halstead from
Morecambe, central midfielder Tom Lapslie from Colchester United and a number
of young prospects, who included Dan Martin (Cardiff City), Ali Omar
(Barnsley), Keelan O’Connell (AFC Bournemouth) and Klaidi Lolos (Plymouth
Argyle).
Johnson also brought in a number of players following
pre-season trials, including Dan Holman, who served under him at Cheltenham
Town, and winger Gabby Rogers, a former United youth team player who had been
released by Yeovil.
United made a slow start to the 2022-23 campaign, losing
their opening three home games of the campaign against Altrincham (1-3), Woking
(0-4) and Grimsby Town (1-3). However, a 1-0 victory over Southend United in
September courtesy of a late winner from Connor Lemonheigh-Evans got the Gulls
up and running at Plainmoor. The Southend win also marked goalkeeper Shaun
MacDonald’s return to the club, after turning down a new contract in the
summer.
For the remainder of the season, they would only lose two
more home league fixtures (against FC Halifax Town and Solihull Moors).
Johnson also used the loan market to good effect, bringing
in Sinclair Armstrong and Stephen Duke-McKenna from Queens Park Rangers and
Stephen Wearne from Sunderland.
Memorable results from the campaign included completing a
first ever league ‘double’ over Yeovil Town (3-0 on Boxing Day at Plainmoor and
2-1 in the return at Huish Park on January 2, 2022) and a 5-1 win over Notts
County which saw Lemonheigh-Evans bag his first career hat-trick.
In the end, United finished 11th – only falling
out of contention for a play-off spot with three games to go.
The summer of 2022 saw a number of departures as Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Joe Lewis both signed for League Two side Stockport County and Armani Little and Shaun MacDonald also headed to the EFL to sign for Forest Green Rovers and Cheltenham Town. Amongst others leaving for pastures new were the long serving Ben Wynter and the experienced Danny Wright.
New arrivals included Kieron Evans on a season-long loan from Cardiff City, strikers Aaron Jarvis (Scunthorpe United) and Corie Andrews (AFC Wimbledon), midfielders Brett McGavin (Ipswich Town), Ryan Hanson (Dover Athletic) and Shaun Donellan (Maidenhead United), centre backs Ross Marshall (Stevenage) and Ollie Tomlinson (Plymouth Argyle) and right-back Dylan Crowe (Ipswich Town).
However, the first half of the season saw the Gulls get off to a slow start. They didn’t win their first home game in the league at Plainmoor until the eighth attempt, when United beat Aldershot Town in emphatic style, winning 6-1 with Aaron Jarvis becoming the sixth Gulls’ player to score a hat-trick under Johnson’s reign. The Gulls also experienced a number of heavy defeats, losing 4-1 at home to Solihull Moors, 6-0 away to Wrexham, 4-0 away to Notts County and 5-1 at home to Chesterfield.
A combination of injuries and poor form saw Johnson dip into the loan market, as Mark Ellis and Stephen Wearne returned to the club for second spells, Dillon De Silva followed in the footsteps of Sinclair Armstrong and Stephen Duke-McKenna in joining on loan from QPR and central defender Lucas Ness came in from Charlton Athletic.
The FA Cup offered them some respite, as they reached the first round where they memorably drew 2-2 with Derby County at Plainmoor before losing the replay at Pride Park 5-0.
Nevertheless, United remained in trouble and Johnson once again looked again to the loan market to strengthen his side. Experienced midfielder Kevin Dawson, who served under Johnson at both Yeovil and Cheltenham, arrived from Gloucester City, Jack Stobbs and Lewis Collins joined from Oldham Athletic joined from Oldham Athletic and Newport County in provide the squad with more width and young centre back Nico Lawrence signed from Southampton. They were also joined by experienced Frank Nouble, who counted the likes of West Ham United and Wolves amongst his former clubs.
A run of five straight wins in late March and April (Boreham Wood a 1-0, Scunthorpe United a 1-0, Eastleigh h 2-0, Maidenhead United a 3-1 and York City h 3-2) lifted the Gulls into contention for survival. However, a 5-1 defeat away to Chesterfield and draws in their last two games – 2-2 away to Altrincham and 1-1 at home to Wrexham – saw United’s relegation to National League South confirmed on the final day of the campaign.
During the summer of 2023, Johnson secured the signatures of Kevin Dawson, Jack Stobbs and Lewis Collins on a permanent basis as the Gulls aimed to build a squad capable of winning promotion from the National League South at the first attempt.
They were joined by Brad Ash, who signed from Weymouth, young defender Finley Craske signed from Plymouth Argyle and Torbay-born Will Jenkins-Davies arrived on loan from the Pilgrims. Dillon De Silva also returned to Plainmoor on a permanent basis after he was released by QPR.
A draw at Dover Athletic and a defeat against Worthing at Plainmoor left the Gulls with one point from their opening two National League South fixtures. Nevertheless, a run of six wins from seven points have lifted United firmly into promotion contention.
