Torquay United Fans Forum

Donuts76 your post made me laugh out loud. It is funny how sometimes things like this stay with you for the rest of your life.

I may have said before but I always remember Frank O'Farrell inviting me up to Plainmoor to see the physio when I had a bad knee injury playing South Devon League Football. I was so surprised by his kindness I never will forget it.

7th Augut 2004
Bristol City 1
lost signal in the Andes
8th August 2004
Torquay 1
got signal back upon arrival in Cusco.

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere but I see that Gary McGuire has passed away.
Another in our list of brilliant keepers, an inspired Frank O'Farrell signing who was a big part in our clinching promotion in 66
We had three keepers that season, Terry Adlington for the first third then Mike Turner who wasn't quite at the level required then Gary who was quite outstanding. Think he must have sustained a bad injury as his spell ended half way through the following season.

Southern Area Sherpa Van Final away at Wolves 1989.
1-0 from the home leg until the last 10 minutes to the runaway 3rd division leaders. Two goals in the last 10 minutes from Steve Bull meant we had no chance in the 2nd leg. Oh well, let’s turn up for the lads.
Wolves had advanced info printed for the final. They were so sure.
2 nil Torquay. Dean Edwards and a cheeky quick free kick from Loram. We had just sold Lee Sharpe to Man Utd. but he was in with the foolish 100 or so that made the journey.
Could barely keep ourselves contained on the way back to the motor past the shell shocked Wolves fans.
The best.

I have a gap of a few years due to sporting commitments and family but my favourite memories (not necessarily best matches)

1. Hereford (Home) 1993
Sounds a weird one I know, especially as it was 0-0 but it was my first United game and for some reason I was hooked from there and dragged my old man along most Saturdays from then on.

2. Gillingham (home) 1993
2-1 win and a pitch invasion, what more can you ask for. If I remember rightly this results guaranteed us safety for another season.

3. Preston North End (home) 1994
Playoff match and a full house. 2-0 win and surely we are going to Wembley? I listed to the away game on the radio in disappointment (the start of things to come) we had a really good side that year as well.

4. Exeter (home) 1996ish
We dominated them, hot day, carnival atmosphere, Rodney Jack masks out on the pop side. Those were the days

5. Orient (Away) 1998
Not the result we wanted but my first ‘proper’ away day. (Not a local derby) support was excellent

6. Scarborough (Home) 1998
Thought we were unbeatable that day. If we played half as good in the final we would of walked it

7. Plymouth (Away) 2001 I think
2-2 draw. We were un fancied and snatched a draw. Felt like a win, great atmosphere.

8. Plymouth (Home) 2011
Completely outplayed them and won 3-1 great to see us dominate our a club that has always overshadowed us (although it didn’t last long)

9. Woking (Away) 2019
Another great away day and that goal and scenes at the end.

10. Hungerford (Home)2019
It seems few of our memorable matches we actually play well. It’s show football is more than just the results. Great day and amazing to see us lift the trophy.

Many of the aforementioned and I`ll add 16 March 1968 Gulls 3-0 Bury. Old Div 3 top of the table clash in front of 10693 fans and the MOTD cameras. Looked nailed on for promotion to Div 2 (Championship now) but it all went bad in the season run in to narrowly miss out.

Little correction: Gulls won the final match of 59/60 2-0 against Gillingham, to finish third. I noticed that Gateshead lost their football league place that year, although they finished up five points ahead of Oldham and six ahead of Hartlepools. Two points per win at that time.

As a schoolboy I was also at the 8-3 win over Newport in October 1963. From memory we were 2 up after about 10 minutes but it was 2-1 at half time. According to a book I have the score was still 2-1 with less than 20 minutes to go.

That Bristol City win was one of so many heroic performances that season...almost too many to mention.

I’ve been wondering if any footage exists anywhere of Dave Caldwell’s diving headed winner there and also of his debut overhead scissor kick (v Hereford at Plainmoor?) as both goals were just Roy of the Rovers and I’d dearly love to relive them again.

Any old footage of Paul Smith (remember his dribble and curled finish v Southend way back) would also mean a lot.

Here’s in hope.
Great to reminisce.

How could I forget the Spurs 3-3 in 1965 in my top ten ! I was by the corner flag at the Cowshed end. When the replay took place, a Monday night I think, I was in Newton Abbot folk club, above the Ship Inn. The word went round that Torquay had won - how Gullible we were ! A pity there isn't any archive/YouTube footage of the home match.

gateman49 How dumb of me!! For some reason I cannot explain I linked 49 to Football.

January 2012 Argyle away with nearly 3,000 Gulls fans seeing Mansell score the winner.

exilegull wrote: 13 Jan 2021, 19:05



Rochdale, a big low when Hancox was brought on a decade after the peak of his sunday league talent and then promptly gestured at the away fans

Not a big fan ,then

Chorleygull wrote: 13 Jan 2021, 17:44 2004 Hull 0 Torquay 1. An utterly brilliant display by Leroy's team against a team who were second at the time. Craig Taylor was a colossus. The fans were desperate for us to sign him at one time and I thought some showed short memories at a later stage for the stick they gave him when things started to go wrong.

Yep that was a superb performance, Hull were the divisions big club, fighting for the championship, big name manager in Peter Taylor and had just moved into the KC stadium and we absolutely played them off the park.

Equally memorably was the season after in league one when we took Sheff Wed apart at Hillsborough in the first half and were applauded off by their fans at half time with a 2-0 lead although unfortunately the end result was 2-2.

Then towards the end of the season battling relegation we went to Oldham who were also struggling and put in one the most complete performances I can remember, winning 2-0 with a fantastic yellow army bouncing around from start to finish. Constantine curled one onto the bar in front of the away end from about 30 yards.

Other memories from big matches..
I was pretty young for the Bolton Wanderers game, but vividly remember taking the lead in that game although not so much more about the game, but both before and after the Bolton fans were genuinely delighted that we had reached the final. Same experience when we played Wednesday in the 3rd round in 1989 and also took the lead, before Sheff Wed got 5. The Blackpool game was incredibly tense and seemed to go on forever.

1998 - Torquay 4 v Scarborough 1, we'd won 8 in a row earlier in the season, looking at automatic promotion then form fell apart and missed out last day at Leyton Orient and it felt like the season would ebb away. Then went to Scarborough and took a first leg 3-1 win. Get crowd for the return but I remember there was a fair amount of tension and the feeling it would be a tight game - within 10 minutes Jack had ended the tie with two breakaway goals and the entire rest of the match was just a massive party, with McCall adding the cherry on the cake. Shame about the Colchester match.

Then other more personal memories..
2005/6 we'd just been relegated, lost Aggy and Akinfenwa and made a poor start to the season. First match I went to was home versus Shrewsbury, came out with real tempo, Alan Connell curled a shot in off the bar in the first minute or so from outside the box, beating a certain Joe Hart in goal, Darren Garner bossed the midfield and on the right side Mamadou Sow absolutely tore Shrewsbury to pieces, looking a world beater and we ran out 2-1 winners. Next match I travelled with enthusiasm to Mansfield, arrived a couple of minutes late in pouring rain, went into the away stand, which was no longer the away stand and had to be escorted down the touchline by the stewards in front of the home stand, getting soaking wet - Mamadou Sow obviously couldn't do it on a wet weekend in Mansfield and we brought on Carl Priso for what I believe was his debut - lost 3-0.

Harrogate away in the FA cup replay, absolutely freezing, bloody awful performance which ended up going all the way to penalties as we all developed frostbite

Rochdale, a big low when Hancox was brought on a decade after the peak of his sunday league talent and then promptly gestured at the away fans

59/60 Utd 2 Gillingham 2;Season final home match that won us promotion, I remember Larry Baxter ending the game with blood-soaked plugs hanging from his nose.
1988 Bolton 1 Utd 2; I was just about to leave the old Burnden Park feeling slightly frustrated that Bolton had wiped out our lead, when Mark Gardner hit a screamer to give us the points. I was right behind it and knew it was going in. The frustrating thing was we did the double over Bolton but they went up and we lost to Swansea in play-off final !
Utd 8 Newport 3; Stubbsy's great five goals, of course but Reg Jenkins's screamer tends to get overlooked. I always loved going to Rochdale later, where he became a cult hero. There used to be a photo of him on the wall in the club bar at Spotland. I wonder if it's still there.
Sherpa Van Trophy final Utd 1 Bolton 4. Does my memory serve me well, was there a warm-up 7-a-side match before between the two sides, with Stubbsy turning out for us and George Best in yellow too ? Took the lead and might have held it longer but for a lucky in-off for them !
2004 Bury 1 Utd 2; we were absolutely played off the part in the first half and maybe Ryan Lowe should have a couple more but....I have never seen a more complete turn-around than the second half by Buckle's boys - we never game them a kick.
Blackpool 2 Utd 2, then the pens win at Webley. Was it Ashley Bayes, our keeper who scored one ? Then Dave Bamber rolled it past the post with his left foot, turned and walked disconsolately back, smoothing the hair back on his head. I still have the fanzine, 'Bamber's left foot'.
2004 Hull 0 Torquay 1. An utterly brilliant display by Leroy's team against a team who were second at the time. Craig Taylor was a colossus. The fans were desperate for us to sign him at one time and I thought some showed short memories at a later stage for the stick they gave him when things started to go wrong.
April2006 Carlisle 1 Utd 2. 13,000 fans turned up to Brunton Park to watch them being awarded the championship trophy in style but goals from Kevin Hill and Jo Kuffour rocked them. Unfortunately they got one back right after half-time, which meant for a nerve-wracking second half. We hung on and then went on a run that saved us from the drop into non-league. I think we had been six points adrift with four to play, or something like that.
April 2010 Grimsby 0 Utd 3; similar situation, as we went to struggling Grimsby for a real 'six-pointer' and played them off the park. The first was a pen when, I think we hit the post, the ball rolled agonisingly along the goal line to Nicky Wroe, who was about to tap it in when yanked back by their keeper behind him. Wroe calmly despatched the pen but I could never understand how the keeper didn't get sent off ! Anyway, a dazzling Muzzy Carayol put paid to them as he laid on one for Elliot Benyon with a fantastic cross from a seemingly impossible position by the corner flag and then dribbled through their defence from the half-way line to seal it.
Utd 2 Cambridge 0, play-off final at Wembley. I think Cambridge were probably favourites but we had the right players on the day. I though captain fantastic Hargreaves's goal was great, (his weaker foot ?) and tends to get underplayed for Sillsy's, understandably emotive second.
Got to throw in Stockport 0 Utd 4. We were at the end of the ground where Whitfield, Kalala et al were running riot. We were right behind Ben's crosses which were just begging to be put away.
I think that might be 11 - sorry ! Never my strong point, maths.
I'm just dreading this season being declared null and void after Gary has produced a team playing great stuff well worthy of its place in the above pantheon !
COYY !