Whereas Manchester United famously had their Class of 92,
which consisted of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Paul
Scholes and Nicky Butt, Torquay United can claim to have their Class of 95.
During the 1995-96 season, which saw the Gulls only retain their Football League status after Stevenage Borough’s Broadhall Way home was deemed not to meet League standards, saw United hand debuts for four teenagers, who all went on to have lengthy careers in the game.
They included Garry Monk, who joined Southampton for £50,000 in 1996 before going on to play for and manage Swansea City in the Premier League, Matthew Gregg, who signed for Crystal Palace for in a deal worth £400,000, Wayne Thomas, who Stoke City paid £250,000 for, and Tony Bedeau, who became a stalwart for the Gulls.
Bedeau, who hailed from Shepherd’s Bush, first arrived at Plainmoor in the summer of 1995 after he was released by Chelsea and was handed his debut by Don O’Riordan in a 0-0 draw with Cardiff City on September 8, 1995.
He then remained involved in the first team under Eddie May, O’Riordan’s successor, and Kevin Hodges before he signed his first professional contract on the eve of the 1997-98 campaign. Bedeau spent much of the season playing second fiddle behind Rodney Jack, Andy McFarlane and Jason Roberts, during his loan spell, as the Gulls reached the Division Three Play-off final. Bedeau came on as a sub in the final against Colchester United as a replacement for Steve McCall.
In the 1998-99 season, he became a regular starter under Hodges’ successor Wes Saunders, appearing up front alongside Scott Partridge and then Eifion Williams. In addition to this, he was also a teammate of Chris Waddle and Neville Southall, and the former even recommended him to Sheffield Wednesday, who tabled a £50,000 bid for him.
However, it would be the 1999-00 campaign that would prove to be Bedeau’s finest season at Plainmoor, as he finished the season as the Gulls’ top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions.
During the course of the season, United also reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in a decade, where they faced Queens Park Rangers, his local club, at Loftus Road and drew 1-1 to force a replay back at Plainmoor. Aside from Neville Southall’s virtuoso display in goal and Mick O’Brien’s David Beckham-esque free-kick, the biggest memory that I took away personally from that game was seeing Tony’s dad and granddad in the away stand and the sense of pride that they had in seeing him ply his trade as a professional footballer on that stage.
In the replay, Bedeau gave the Gulls the lead and looked as though the headline writer’s might have had their dream script: ‘Shepherd’s Bush boy beats the Rs’. Sadly, it wasn’t to be as QPR came back to win 3-2 on the night.
After missing out on the Play-offs in 1999-00, the 2000-01 season proved to be a campaign of great highs and great lows for Bedeau. After missing early part of the season through injury, he returned in a Worthington Cup first round, second leg tie against Gillingham, where he netted twice as the Gulls won 3-2, but bowed out as they lost 4-3 on aggregate. He later attracted interest from Oxford United and Rochdale, but remained with the Gulls. It would also be another season where he would see a change of manager as Wes Saunders was sacked and replaced by Colin Lee on a temporary basis. Bedeau also found himself deployed in a wide role, which was where he played in United’s final day decider against Barnet at Underhill, which the Gulls famously won 3-2.
However, talks between Lee and Chairman Mike Bateson broke down when it came to Lee being named as manager on a permanent basis and Bateson appointed former Derby County manager Roy McFarland instead. McFarland and Bedeau never seemed to see eye to eye and he found himself transfer listed, he even joined Barnsley, who were in Division One - now Championship, on loan.
Nevertheless, after McFarland left the club in the summer of 2002, Bedeau received a new lease of life under Leroy Rosenior and was part of the Gulls’ squad who won automatic promotion in the 2003-04 campaign. He also received a call-up for Grenada, where he featured alongside his former Plainmoor colleague Jason Roberts.
The latter part of his time with the Gulls saw Bedeau deployed in a variety of role, including striker, right winger as even as a right-back. He was rewarded for his long service with the Gulls with a testimonial against Plymouth Argyle ahead of the 2005-06 season and was also voted as the League Two player of the month for March 2006.
Bedeau left United for Walsall in the summer of 2006, but returned a year later under Paul Buckle and stayed for the 2007-08 campaign. In returning to Plainmoor, he joined a select band of players who was a teammate of both Alex Russell and Jason Fowler and Lee Mansell and Kevin Nicholson; the others include Steve Woods, Matt Hockley, Kevin Hill and Martin Gritton.
He then returned to London, when he joined Kingstonian before retiring from football where he remained until his untimely recent passing.
An abridged version appeared on TorquayTalk as part of their Gullacticos series.
