Football Season Guide

National League

England

National League

2015/2016

Torquay United

In

Tyrone Marsh (att), Ebbsfleet), Waide Fairhurst (att), Macclesfield), Exodus Geohaghon (def), Stourbridge), Shepherd Murombedzi (mid), Reading), Dan Butler (def), Portsmouth), Bayan Fenwick (mid), Peacehaven), James Hurst (def), Hednesford), Nathan Smith (def), Port Vale - loan), Fabian Speiss (gk), Notts County)

Out

Martin Rice (r)(gk), Truro), Aaron Downes (r)(def), Cheltenham), Krystian Pearce (sp)(def), Mansfield), Elliot Benyon (sp)(att), Aaron Dawson (sp)(def), Truro), Duane Ofori-Acheampong (sp)(att), Dover), Courtney Cameron (r)(mid), Thomas Cruise (r)(def), Dale Tonge (r)(def), Tony Ajala (r)(mid), James McQuilkin (sp)(mid), Ben Harding (sp)(mid), Oliver Guegen (sp)(def), Jordan Chapell (sp)(mid), Chester), Ryan Bowman (r)(att), Gateshead), Levi Ives (sp)(def), Bristol City)

Torquay suffered a rather dismal last season in what was a harsh introduction back to life in the non-league after a few years in League Two. Chris Hargreaves actually made a superb start of the season but it soon became clear that the team lacked both the depth, experience and quality to battle for an immediate return to the Football League. Things went pretty bad in the second half of the season, including some embarrassing defeats to rather modest sides, and it was no great surprise when the manager was let go at the end of the season. However, that was a decision that also stemmed from the change of ownership at the club and the direction that a new board are taking. Torquay will operate with a rather modest budget this season and are definitely not among the big spenders in the division, even if they are one of the more established and well-known clubs. The new owners opted for experience in choosing the new manager and Paul Cox was given the job, mostly on the basis of winning promotion from this league only two years ago with Mansfield. Cox’s teams are now renowned for playing fluent football but they do get good results more often than not. Thus, the aim for the new manager will be to extract the most from what will be a rather average squad and ensure that the Devon side are more effective as a whole. There was quite the overhaul of the playing squad over the summer and only a handful of players remain from last season. Ryan Bowman, Aaron Downes and Levi Ives are the most notable departures, with Bowman in particular leaving a hole in attack that has yet to be filled. On the other hand, the likes of Angus MacDonald and Luke Young are still with the Gulls and some decent talent has been brought up too. Tyrone Marsh is a promising striker who did well for Welling at this level last season. James Hurst is an assured full-back who can prove an excellent addition as well. But overall the squad still looks far from complete and more work will be needed to ensure that Torquay at least do better than last season and finish in the top half of the table. Cox knows how to get results at this level, however, and the fans should approach the new season with a level of encouragement and optimism.

Target

All change at the club and a mid-table slot is the best that they can expect at the moment.