Just like when Eric Morecambe attempted to play Grieg's Piano Concerto number one on the Morecambe and Wise show, Torquay United are playing all the right notes under Paul Wotton - but not necessarily in the right order.
United are currently third in National League South after 15 games, roughly a third of the way through the season, after building literally a brand new squad from scratch after the Bryn Consortium brought the club out of Administration.
In the summer, Wotton retained Dean Moxey, Finley Craske, Ollie Tomlinson and Brad Ash from the 2023-24 side, along with Austen Booth who was under contract, but has since left the club, before securing a host of new signings. He has recently added Jordan Young from Yeovil Town for an undisclosed fee, and Young duly marked his debut with a goal in the Gulls' recent 2-2 draw with Chelmsford City.
As a player, Wotton played under the likes of Neil Warnock, Paul Sturrock and Tony Pulis amongst others; three managers for whom being fit and organised was a given. However, with the arrival of Young and the emergence of Omar Mussa as a regular starter, he has also looked to add more flair to his side.
Wotton has also spoken of how United aren't the finished article yet, and has also mentioned the need to develop partnerships and strong understandings all over the pitch. The former was something that was true of some of the Gulls' most successful teams in living memory, most notable Leroy Rosenior's automatic promotion winning side of 2003-04, Paul Buckle's 2008-09 National League Play-off winning side and not to mention Gary Johnson's National League South title winners of 2018-19.
The latter side on that list is the one that Wotton is looking to emulate in the short to medium term, and he is edging closer towards achieving it, as the constant strive for improvement continues. It's entirely plausible that towards the end of the season, everything will fall into place for United and all the right notes will be played in their correct order to the tune that Wotton wishes them to play.
