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Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 00:23
by Rjc70
tomogull wrote: Ahhhhh ....... must be RONNIE SHAW !!! I expect Stefano played against him as well !!!!! ;-)
Indeed it is. My grandfather and mum's favourite player. Would be more than happy to hear more first hand accounts, tomo. Probably fairer to say, in mum's case, most fondly remembered player. Glad to see he got so many votes.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 17:58
by Plymouth Gull
The penultimate player to pick up 6 points on the list was someone who again featured a while ago, but judging from his limited appearances he must have been a good player! It's…

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Jim Fryatt

Time spent at club: 1967, 1974-1975
Gulls Appearances: 31
Gulls Goals: 11

Looking at his history, Jim Fryatt seems to be the epitome of a journeyman footballer. His career started at Charlton in 1957, making 5 appearances in 3 years. He moved on to have successful spells at Southend and Bradford Park Avenue, and even a pretty good year at Southport, scoring 15 in 39 games. In 1967, he came to Plainmoor, and made 27 appearances scoring 11 times.

Upon leaving United, he had spells with Stockport County, Blackburn Rovers, Oldham Athletic, and Southport again. In 1973, he went to America on a loan deal, joining Philadelphia Atoms. That move was made permanent in 1974, before returning to England with spells at Stockport and Torquay. He only made four appearances in his second coming at Plainmoor, with no goals scored. His career ended with spells back in America, with Hartford Bicentennials and Philadelphia again.

He since managed Las Vegas Quicksilvers, and according to Wikipedia is still out in the US now.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 20:25
by RussianGull
How is he penultimate on the list?

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 20:40
by Plymouth Gull
The last player to pick up 6 points was quite similar to Jason Roberts, in that he wasn't here for long before moving on to have a career at a much higher level than Torquay United. It's…

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Jamie Ward

Time spent at club: 2006-2007
Gulls Appearances: 29
Gulls Goals: 11

Jamie Ward started his career at Aston Villa in 2005, and spent some time on loan at Stockport in 2006, making 7 league starts for the Hatters. His performances at Edgeley Park won him an admirer in Ian Atkins, then Torquay-boss, who plucked him from Stockport's grasp that summer. Ward proved a hit at Plainmoor, bagging over 10 goals in his 6 month spell. He was playing at the club during the fateful Roberts era, and it was Roberts that made the decision to sell then top scorer and best player Ward, for a measly £95,000 on deadline day in January. The sale was effectively the final nail in the coffin for the clubs Football League status.

Ward moved from Plainmoor to Chesterfield, where he again continued to impress, averaging close to a goal every two games for the Spireites. This form saw him get a move to Sheffield United in 2009, where he made over 60 league appearances. He failed to make much impact on the scoring charts at Bramall Lane, as he was pushed wide instead of playing down the middle. In 2011, he went to Derby on loan, before making that move permanently. Jamie has been with the Rams since February 2011, and has made nearly 130 appearances in the Championship with the Pride Park outfit.

Ward has also had an impact on the international stage, featuring regularly for Northern Ireland.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 20:41
by Plymouth Gull
RussianGull wrote:How is he penultimate on the list?
I was hoping to edit it before anyone saw my error. Duly corrected ;-)

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 10 Feb 2015, 23:37
by samuel
Jim Fryatt, had the best mutton chop sideburns in the league. Liked him. Apparently had a punch up with Robin Stubbs. Shame he didnt stay longer. Jamie Ward was good as well, gave good service. Sold on the last day of the transfer window and with that our last chance of avoiding relegation.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 11 Feb 2015, 10:50
by Plymouth Gull
Moving on to the players that picked up seven points. Just two ex-Gulls shared this spot, and now progress into the top 50 is really being made. Anyway, this spot belongs too…

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Darren Moore

Time spent at club: 1992-1995
Gulls Appearances: 124
Gulls Goals: 12

Darren Moore started his career at Plainmoor, and is one of the players that have gone on to bigger and better things in his career. Moore made his debut against Birmingham in 1992. He partnered Wes Saunders at the heart of the Gulls defence, and went on to make over a century of appearances for United. He left Plainmoor in 1995 to go to Doncaster for around £60,000, making over 70 league starts. Moore went on to have spells with Bradford and Portsmouth, with the latter splashing half a million for his services. He was a success at Fratton Park, and West Brom paid £750,000 for him. He went on to make over 100 league appearances for the Baggies, over 5 years.

In 2006 he left WBA to join Derby, before his career ended with spells with Barnsley and Burton.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 11 Feb 2015, 12:38
by wivelgull
WIVELGULL'S LIST

1. Robin STUBBS

2. John SMITH

3. Mark LORAM

4. Tommy NORTHCOTT

5. Reg WYATT

6. Colin BETTANY ('The Beast')

7. Alan SMITH

8. Terry ADLINGTON

9. Ernie PYM

10. Rodney JACK

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 11 Feb 2015, 14:48
by taxilady
have you just written that Wivel,or are you sharing a list that you previously submitted ? None of my players have appeared yet !!! Obviously I made fairly popular choices !

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 11 Feb 2015, 15:38
by Mo Gull
Darren Moore was one of mine. Never forget the header he scored in the first leg of the playoffs against Preston, and then the 'punch' in the second leg - which used to be online, but I can't find it now.

Absolute rock at the back and a player that I would still have in the team to this day. Perfect for our pitch as he wasn't the most mobile, but he could tackle anyone that came into his zone of terror.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 11 Feb 2015, 15:48
by samuel
Hooray, Darren Moore. The first one on my list. Loved this chap. Gave his all. Liked Mo's 'zone of terror'. That about sums up his awesome presence. Have programmes of him playing in the reserves as a youngster against Glastonbury and the likes. Came up through the ranks. He still has strong associations in the area, especially in Totnes. Never spoke to him but apparently a thoroughly nice man.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 12 Feb 2015, 07:29
by Plymouth Gull
The second player to pick up seven points was playing at a similar sort of time to the other ex-Gull with the same number of points. It's…

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Chris Myers

Time spent at club: 1986-1988, 1990-1993, 1993-1994
Gulls Appearances: 111
Gulls Goals: 7

Chris Myers began his career at Plainmoor as a trainee in 1986, and despite turning pro in 1987, he was released from the club with just 9 appearances under his belt. That didn't seem to faze the midfielder, however, and after spells with local sides Dawlish and Barnstaple, Myers rejoined United in 1990. Over the next three years, Myers made nearly a century of league appearances, and was part of the side that won promotion in 1991.

In August 1993, he was sold to Dundee United for £100,000. After failing to settle, he was loaned back to Plainmoor 6 months later. He made 6 appearances over a loan spell. Eventually, Chris left Dundee in 1996, and had spells with Wrexham and Scarborough. In that summer, he joined Exeter City, where he performed well for a year before being released. After another trial at Torquay, though this one unsuccessful, Myers returned to non-league football with Dorchester, Taunton and Dawlish, playing on until 2008.

In fact, his last spell at Dawlish saw him hold both player and manager roles at the club.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 12 Feb 2015, 08:39
by wivelgull
Just written.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 16 Feb 2015, 13:15
by Plymouth Gull
Too late unfortunately, Wivel.

Anyway, apologies for the delay. Chris Myers was the last player to appear, and now we are on to players that picked up 8 points. Only two players shared this spot, with the first one being…

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Terry Adlington

Time spent at club: 1962-1967
Gulls Appearances: 162
Gulls Goals: 1

Adlington is the second goalkeeper to appear on the list, ahead of the much more recent Andy Marriott. Terry started his career at local side Blackwell Colliery Welfare. It was here that he was scouted by Derby County, and played for the Rams for seven years, making just 36 appearances. Adlington joined Torquay United in 1962 for £1,000, and was first team keeper for the first three and a half years of his time at the club. Unfortunately a broken finger ended that. Adlington actually did score for United in an FA Cup game against Barnet, as he got injured so ended up playing on the wing. In 1965, he had a testimonial in recognition of his career, where a South Devon XI took on Arsenal.

After leaving United, Terry went to America, playing for Baltimore Bays and then Dallas Tornado the following year. Adlington came back to the UK and had a spell in charge at Dover and then Maidstone. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1994.

Top 100 Torquay United Players

Posted: 16 Feb 2015, 17:19
by Plymouth Gull
Joining Terry Adlington on 8 points was a man that has already been mentioned in this thread, so I now know the position he played on the field! It's…

Ron Shaw

Time spent at club: 1946-1958
Gulls Appearances: 384
Gulls Goals: 99

Ron Shaw is one of those players that we rarely see in football these days, a true 'one club man'. Shaw only played professional football for Torquay United, making around 400 appearances (those figures above are from Wikipedia which I believe doesn't include cup games). Shaw is the fifth highest appearance holder, behind Kevin Hill, Dennis Lewis, Ian Twitchin and Tommy Northcott.

Ron played on the wing for United, and scoring around a century of goals is an impressive feat. He was part of the side that played in front of the biggest ever crowd at Plainmoor as the Gulls were edged out by Huddersfield Town.

Unfortunately Shaw is way before my time and there is not much on the internet, so hopefully some people that remember him can contribute a bit more about him here!