As Torquay United prepare for the visit of Aveley to Plainmoor this Saturday, the between difference the siuation they found themselves their last meeting with the Millers in last February and the present couldn't be more stark.
On that occasion, the then Gulls owner Clarke Osborne had just served his notice to place the club in Administration, which would later result in the club received a ten-point penalty, Gary Johnson had resigned as manager and his assistant Aaron Downes had taken charge on an interim basis.
In the end, United earned a creditable 2-2 draw with the Millers in front of an improved crowd of 3,642, an attendance that compares favourably to the 3,842 which they attracted for their opening game of the season against Enfield Town and the 3,566 who witnessed their last home game with Dorking Wanderers.
However, comparing what United were like then to the situation that they currently find themselves in is almost like comparing night to day. The club's present owners, the Bryn Consortium, brought the club out of Administration; they have since appointed Paul Wotton as manager with Neil Warnock as football advisor and a Community Share Issue which was launched recently by the club's Supporter's Trust (TUST) has more than reached its target of raising £100,000 to be invested in the club and secure a second Supporter's seat on the United board, joining TUST chair Nick Broderick.
Add to the Gulls' fortunes on the pitch have improved, having won four of their opening five matches of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, none of this would have been possible had it not been for the positivity created by the Bryn Consortium, headed by co-Chairman Michael Westcott and Mark Bowes-Cavanagh.
Since they took over, they have created an enthusiasm amongst the fanbase, which has seen United sell a record 1,500 season tickets and launched a new replica shirt, with a similar yellow and blue hooped design to the one they wore between 1993 and 1995, which has sold out in the club shop.
The contrast to their approach to engaging with the fanbase couldn't be more different to the one adopted by Osborne and his former Chief Executive George Edwards.
Other than his appearance at Ashton Gate in the 2021 National League Play-off final, the last time Osborne was seen at an event connected to Torquay United in South Devon was during the Presentation Evening held at the English Riviera Centre following United's National League South title triumph in 2018-19. On that occasion, Osborne's profile was so low that it left you wondering if there was any point in him actually being there at all.
Compare this to the presence of the Bryn Consortium at Neil Warnock's 'Are you with me?' show at the Princess Theatre, they all turned up en masse and all looked as though they genuinely wanted to be there. And they will - to a man - undoubtably be looking forward to enjoying further success in partnership with Wotton and Warnock.
