The Princess Theatre in Torquay has played host to many pantomimes over the years, so it was quite apt that Neil Warnock - a football manager seen by many as a pantomime villain - was the star billing as his 'Are you with me?' show came to the Bay.
After guiding Torquay United to one of their many 'great escapes' during the 1992-93 season and having returned to Plainmoor to assist the Bryn Consortium as a football advisor, the Yellow Army are never much with Warnock in his current role with the Gulls, which was reflected with the turnout for the show.
The evening began with Talksport presenter, Comedian and United fan Charlie Baker acting as a warm up act with his own unique brand of Devon centric comedy. Also included in the opening period was the unveiling of two of the Gulls' latest summer signings in the form of Dan Hayfield and Joe Dyer, who joined from Bath City - complete with the videos that have accompanied each signing on social media. This was swiftly followed by the announcement that Dean Moxey had agreed a new deal to stay with the club as a player-coach.
They were then joined on the stage by the rest of the squad, plus manager Paul Wotton and his assistant Mike Edwards, and Wotton said a few words before departing the stage exit right.
Then to the main event with Neil Warnock, which was hosted by EFL football commentator Paul Walker, and took in Warnock's journey through professional football as both a player and a manager, which, of course, included his time in charge at Plainmoor that he spoke of fondly. At the time of his arrival at the Gulls, Warnock had recently been sacked by Notts County following their relegation from the top-flight, after he had led them to back-to-back promotions to reach the 'old' First Division, before the formation of the Premier League, and had grown disillusioned with management.
However, steering United to safety helped to give him his passion for the game back and went on to win a record eight promotions as a manager. He also provided several insights into his managerial approach and spoke of his emphasis on man-management.
A question and answer session with former Soccer AM presenter, and Gulls fan, Helen Chamberlain followed before a mock fire was assembled and Warnock read a poem that he had written based on his career. This included a reference to every club he'd ever worked for, which showed to be articulate and thoughtful - and belied his reputation for often being confrontational with opposition managers and referees.
And there yet could be a couple of verses to add for his current role assisting Wotton with the Gulls.
