When he accepted the job as manager of Torquay United recently, Paul Wotton became the third former Plymouth Argyle player to take charge of the Gulls. One is the Pilgrims' record appearance holder Kevin Hodges, and the other is Mike Green who was in charge at Plainmoor between 1977 and 1981.
Like Wotton, Green had been captain of a promotion winning Plymouth Argyle side as he skippered the iconic Paul Mariner-Billy Rafferty team of the 1974-75 season, who were promoted as runners-up in the 'old' Third Division - now League One.
Green had started his career with hometown club Carlisle United before moving onto Gillingham and Bristol Rovers. He also captained Bristol Rovers to promotion from the 'old' Third Division a year before his success with the Pilgrims in the 1973-74 campaign, and he was the skipper of the Pirates when they famously beat Brian Clough's Brighton and Hove Albion side 8-2.
Whilst at Plainmoor, Green combined the manager's role with playing - becoming the club's first player-manager since Eric Webber was appointed in 1951 - and appointed former Gulls striker John Rudge, who he had played alongside at both Carlisle and Bristol Rovers, and ex-United manager Frank O'Farrell remained at the club as General Manager.
His appointment - in succession to Malcolm Musgrove - in March 1977 brought about an upturn in United's fortunes as they finished 9th (1977-78), 11th (1978-79) and 9th again (1979-80) in his three full seasons in charge. In the 1979-80 campaign, the Gulls were fifth in the Division Four - now League Two - following a 2-1 win over AFC Bournemouth on New Year's Day 1980 (there were no play-offs in those days) and looked well placed to win promotion.
However, a run of one win in their next 15 league fixtures saw them drop out of contention as they eventually finished in 9th place.
It was during this spell that Green received an approach from Bristol Rovers regarding their vacant manager's position. He was given permission to speak to the Pirates, but they were unwilling to match the £20,000 compensation that the United board were requesting for his services, so he remained at Plainmoor.
As well as improving the Gulls' playing fortunes, Green also helped to develop a number of players who United were able to sell for generous fees. These included Colin Lee to Tottenham Hotspur (£80,000), John Turner to Chesterfield (£80,000) and Donal Murphy to Plymouth Argyle (£60,000).
Unfortunately, an indifferent 1980-81 season, which saw the Gulls finish 17th, Green's contract wasn't renewed, bringing the curtain down on what was the second longest post-war managerial reign at Plainmoor at the time. He was replaced by Frank O'Farrell, who took charge for the 1981-82 campaign with Bruce Rioch as his assistant, who Green had signed as a player during 1980-81.
Green then turned his back on the game and later ran a Post Office in Torquay until his retirement.
