The tale of Torquay United’s current seven-year spell in non-league

Torquay United have spent the last seven years playing in non-league after being relegated from League Two in 2013/14. This weekend they have the chance to return to the EFL but their journey to this stage has been far from simple.

The Gulls were relegated from League Two on April 26, 2014, despite beating Mansfield Town 3-1 on the day. Torquay finished five points behind Bristol Rovers, who were also relegated, and Wycombe Wanderers, who survived on goal difference.

The hope whenever you get relegated is to bounce back straight away, but with just two promotion spots available in the National League, it was always going to be a tough ask.

Chris Hargreaves remained as the club’s manager despite leading them to relegation, and he could not mastermind a return at the first time of asking, or even a top-half finish, as the Gulls finished 13th which saw them part company with Hargreaves.

The club had reached the semi-final of the FA Trophy that season but were comfortably beaten by Wrexham over two legs.

Paul Cox was the man Torquay decided would lead the club into the 2015/16 season, but the former Mansfield Town manager’s reign was over before it really began with just two wins in his opening 10 games seeing him replaced by Kevin Nicholson.

The league season was disastrous for Torquay, who finished in 18th place. The Devon side did reach the last-eight in the FA Trophy but were knocked out by Bognor Regis Town, from two divisions below.

Nicholson remained as manager despite Torquay’s poor league position, and 2016/17 did not go much better. The Gulls finished just one place higher than the previous campaign and were knocked out of the Trophy in the first round.

With the best part of two seasons under his belt as a manager, Nicholson remained in charge of Torquay ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, but he was sacked shortly after the season began. Robbie Herrera spent six unsuccessful games as caretaker manager where he failed to register a victory before former Plymouth Argyle coach Gary Owers took over.

The Gulls again ended up going out in the first round of the Trophy, and in April 2018, Torquay found themselves relegated from the National League after drawing 1-1 at Hartlepool United.

The club finished the season in 22nd place, seven points behind Barrow who stayed up in 20th.

Torquay again decided to stick with the manager who saw them relegated, but by September 2018, the board made the decision to part company with Owers. The replacement was Gary Johnson, who was quite a coup for a club in the sixth tier of English football.

Johnson helped transform Torquay’s fortunes and the club who were mid-table when he arrived ended up convincingly winning the National League South title, finishing 10 points clear of Woking, who had been relegated alongside them the season before.

The 2019/20 National League season was cut short due to Covid-19, but the final standings were decided by points per game. Torquay had only been six points clear of Ebbsfleet United, who ended up being relegated, but the Gulls had played three games fewer and ended up finishing the season in 14th place.

This season, Johnson made some impressive additions in the summer, which saw Torquay start the campaign in excellent form, leading the way at the top of the league for large parts of the season. Sutton United and Hartlepool United clawed their way back into the title challenge after a poor run from Torquay, but the race for the title would continue until the final couple of games of the season.

Sutton United ended up victorious, claiming the top spot in the league, but Torquay managed to secure themselves a home advantage in the play-offs while Hartlepool finished in a play-off eliminator spot.

The side who sent the Gulls down to the National League South in 2018 are the only club that stand in the way of them returning to the EFL this weekend.

Promotion would be massive for either side, but for Torquay, it would also see the return of a competitive Devon Derby with Exeter City in League Two next campaign.

Plymouth Argyle and Exeter have both played Torquay in pre-season in recent years, but it’s not the same as playing each other in competitive matches. There would also be an increased chance of facing Argyle in a competitive match, with the Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy both providing opportunities to face higher division rivals.

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