2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season

Torquay United

2008–09 season
Chairman	Alex Rowe
Manager	Paul Buckle
Conference National	4th Promoted via Play-offs
FA Cup	Fourth Round
FA Trophy	Third Round
Conference League Cup	Fourth Round
Top goalscorer	League: Tim Sills (13) All: Tim Sills (17)
Highest home attendance	6,018 v Coventry City, 24 January 2009 (FA Cup)
Lowest home attendance	1,176 v Bath City, 13 December 2008 (FA Trophy)
Average home league attendance	3,278
Home colours Away colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's second consecutive season in the Conference National. The season runs from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009.

Overview

Despite gaining just five points from their first seven games, which saw the Gulls languishing in 18th place in the Conference, manager Paul Buckle soon set Torquay on a run of form which saw the team achieve a club record of seventeen games unbeaten.

Torquay also enjoyed their most successful FA Cup run since 1990. After easing through a qualifying round against Chipstead, the Gulls then had to see off Evesham and Oxford to set up a Third Round clash with Championship side Blackpool. In one of the major upsets of the Third Round, the Gulls won the match 1-0 against a side placed three leagues above them. However, they were to narrowly lose their Fourth Round tie to Coventry, also of the Championship, thanks to an 87th-minute header from Elliott Ward.

The 2008-09 season was also notable for the departure of two of Torquay's longest serving players. After a brief appearance in the 2008 FA Trophy Final defeat, Torquay's all-time leading appearance maker Kevin Hill made his official departure in July. Later in the season the Gulls also said farewell to another stalwart as defender Steve Woods left the club in April after an eight-year spell encompassing 281 appearances.

The season ultimately finished in thrilling style when, after beating Conference Champions Burton Albion on the final day of the season, Torquay qualified for the Play-off Semi-finals in which they beat Histon 2-1 on aggregate over two legs. The result meant the Gulls would make their second visit to Wembley in two seasons. However, unlike the previous season, the Torquay fans were treated to a 2-0 victory over Cambridge United thanks to goals from Chris Hargreaves and leading scorer Tim Sills. The win secured Torquay United's return to the Football League after a two-year absence.

League statistics

Conference National

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Burton Albion !Burton Albion (C) (P)	46	27	7	12	81	52	+29	88	Promotion to League Two
2	Cambridge United !Cambridge United	46	24	14	8	65	39	+26	86	Qualification to Conference National playoffs
3	Histon !Histon	46	23	14	9	78	48	+30	83
4	Torquay United !Torquay United (P)	46	23	14	9	72	47	+25	83
5	Stevenage Borough !Stevenage Borough	46	23	12	11	73	54	+19	81
6	Kidderminster Harriers !Kidderminster Harriers	46	23	10	13	69	48	+21	79
7	Oxford United !Oxford United	46	24	10	12	72	51	+21	077*
8	Kettering Town !Kettering Town	46	21	13	12	50	37	+13	76
9	Crawley Town !Crawley Town	46	19	14	13	77	55	+22	070**
10	Wrexham !Wrexham	46	18	12	16	64	48	+16	66
11	Rushden & Diamonds !Rushden & Diamonds	46	16	15	15	61	49	+12	63
12	Mansfield Town !Mansfield Town	46	19	9	18	57	55	+2	062‡
13	Eastbourne Borough !Eastbourne Borough	46	18	6	22	58	70	−12	60
14	Ebbsfleet United !Ebbsfleet United	46	16	10	20	52	60	−8	58
15	Altrincham !Altrincham	46	15	11	20	49	66	−17	56
16	Salisbury City !Salisbury City	46	14	13	19	54	64	−10	55
17	York City !York City	46	11	19	16	47	51	−4	52
18	Forest Green Rovers !Forest Green Rovers	46	12	16	18	70	76	−6	52
19	Grays Athletic !Grays Athletic	46	14	10	22	44	64	−20	52
20	Barrow !Barrow	46	12	15	19	51	65	−14	51
21	Woking !Woking (R)	46	10	14	22	37	60	−23	44	Relegation to Conference North/Conference South
22	Northwich Victoria !Northwich Victoria (R)	46	11	10	25	56	75	−19	43
23	Weymouth !Weymouth (R)	46	11	10	25	45	86	−41	43
24	Lewes !Lewes (R)	46	6	6	34	28	89	−61	24

Source: English Football
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	23	14	9	72	47	+25	83	11	7	5	38	23	+15	12	7	4	34	24	+10

Source: Torquay United

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H
Result	D	W	L	L	L	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	D	L	W	W	L	D	W	L	W	L	D	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	L	D	D	D	W
Position	11	5	14	17	20	18	18	18	17	15	11	11	8	8	7	5	2	2	1	3	3	4	3	2	5	3	4	6	5	6	5	5	5	5	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	3	4	5	4

Source: Torquay United
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Season diary

• 1 July: Club record appearance holder Kevin Hill leaves to join Dorchester Town on a free transfer^[4]
• 14 July: Mustapha Carayol joins from Milton Keynes Dons on a two-year contract^[5]
• 18 July: Michael Poke re-joins on loan from Southampton^[6]
• 13 August: Martin Rice joins Truro City on loan until the end of the season^[7]
• 9 September: Roscoe Dsane and Michael Brough are made available for loan^[8]
• 25 September: Goalkeeper Scott Bevan joins on loan from Shrewsbury Town as cover for the injured Michael Poke (himself a loanee).^[9]
• 19 November: Torquay defender Chris Todd announces that he has been diagnosed with leukaemia^[10]
• 19 November: Torquay set a new club record number of games without defeat^[11]
• 3 December: Torquay's club record unbeaten run of 17 games ends with defeat away to Forest Green Rovers in the Conference League Cup^[12]
• 1 January: Scott Bevan joins on an 18-month contract from Shrewsbury Town^[13]
• 2 January: Tristan Plummer joins on loan from Bristol City until the end of the season^[14]
• 3 January: Torquay defeat Championship side Blackpool in the FA Cup 3rd Round^[15]
• 14 January: Striker Tim Sills signs a new contract until the end of the 2009-10 season^[16]
• 20 January: Former striker Jamie Ward moves from Chesterfield to Sheffield United for an initial fee of £330,000, triggering a 25% sell-on clause^[17]
• 24 January: Torquay exit FA Cup after 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry City^[18]
• 31 January: Tristan Plummer ends his loan spell early and returns to Bristol City^[19]
• 31 January: Torquay exit FA Trophy after 3-0 defeat Away to Southport^[20]
• 2 February: Striker Iyseden Christie joins on a free transfer from Stevenage Borough, signing a contract until the end of the season^[21]
• 2 February: Defenders Chris Todd and Michael Brough join Salisbury City on a month's loan^[22]
• 4 March: Trainee Jordan Charran leaves the club^[23]
• 20 March: Chris Todd returns to the club after his loan spell at Salisbury City^[24]
• 27 March: Swindon Town Striker Blair Sturrock joins the club on loan until the end of the season^[25]
• 2 April: Defender Steve Woods leaves Torquay United after eight years and 281 appearances^[26]
• 9 April: Michael Brough returns after his loan deal with Salisbury City ends^[27]
• 26 April: In a tense final game of the season, Torquay beat Burton Albion 2-1 to finish fourth and secure a place in the Conference National play-offs. Despite Burton losing, the result is enough to crown them the Conference champions^[28]
• 27 April: Striker Roscoe Dsane leaves the club^[29]
• 4 May: Despite a 1-0 second leg defeat to Histon, Torquay win the Conference Play-offs 2-1 on aggregate to book a place in the Conference National play-off final at Wembley against Cambridge United.^[30]
• 17 May: Torquay Utd are promoted back to the Football League after beating Cambridge United 2-0 in front of a crowd of over 35,000 at Wembley^[31]
• 21 May: United celebrate their return to the Football League with a victory parade through the streets of Torquay.^[32]
• 22 May: Defender Kevin Nicholson signs a new one-year deal with the club.^[33]
• 1 Jun: Striker Iyseden Christie is released by the club.^[34]
• 2 Jun: Goalkeeper Martin Rice signs a new one-year contract after having spent the majority of the season on loan to Truro City.^[35]
• 16 Jun: Skipper Chris Hargreaves agrees a new one-year deal in a role involving both playing and coaching.^[36]
• 23 Jun: Striker Matt Green agrees a season long loan to Oxford Utd.^[37]

Match of the season

CAMBRIDGE UNITED 0–2 TORQUAY UNITED
Conference National Play-off Final
Wembley Stadium, 17 May 2009

Torquay United's second trip to Wembley in two seasons was only made possible by the slenderest of margins. After having sneaked into the play-offs by beating Conference champions Burton Albion on the final day of the season, the Gulls only just managed to beat third placed Histon 2-1 on aggregate in the play-off semi-finals. They now faced the final hurdle preventing them from returning to the Football League after a two-year absence: a play-off final with the team who had finished second in the Conference, Cambridge United.

Cambridge had been defeated in the previous year's play-off final by Torquay's arch-rivals Exeter City (who had also knocked the Gulls out in the same year's semi final). As such, they were eager to make it second time lucky, although, having experienced defeat themselves in the previous year's FA Trophy Final at Wembley, the Gulls were also keen not to repeat the disappointment of the previous season. Although Cambridge began the brighter of the two sides, it was Torquay (wearing their white and blue away strip) who took the lead through captain Chris Hargreaves after 35 minutes. Cambridge had more chances in the second half, but their cause was hindered when defender Phil Bolland was sent off after a second yellow card for a tackle on Elliot Benyon in the 70th minute. Striker Tim Sills effectively sealed the victory five minutes later after he headed home a pin-point cross from winger Wayne Carlisle.

The score remained 2-0 until the final whistle, and Torquay United could finally celebrate their return to the Football League after two years in the Conference.

Results

Conference National

Conference National play-offs

FA Cup

FA Trophy

Conference League Cup

Friendlies

South West Challenge Cup

Devon St Luke's Bowl

Club statistics

First team appearances

No.	Pos.	Name	Conference National		Conference National play-offs		FA Cup		FA Trophy		Conference League Cup		Total [4]		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Michael Poke	12 (1)	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	15 (1)	0	0	0
2	DF	Michael Brough	2 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2 (1)	0	2	1
3	DF	Kevin Nicholson	38 (2)	3	3	0	5	0	3	0	2	0	48 (2)	3	0	0
4	DF	Steve Woods	27	1	0	0	5	0	3	0	1	0	34	1	2	0
5	DF	Chris Robertson	27 (3)	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	30 (3)	3	2	0
6	DF	Chris Todd	16	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	20	1	0	0
7	MF	Lee Mansell	41 (1)	0	3	0	5	0	3	1	2	0	51 (1)	1	4	1
8	FW	Tim Sills	43 (2)	13	3	2	5	4	2	0	1	2	52 (2)	17	8	0
9	FW	Elliot Benyon	17 (17)	10	1 (1)	0	0 (5)	2	0 (2)	0	1 (1)	1	18 (24)	12	3	0
10	FW	Roscoe D'Sane	22 (5)	9	0	0	5	0	3	1	1	0	29 (5)	10	2	2
11	MF	Nicky Wroe	40	6	3	1	5	0	3	0	1 (1)	0	50	7	6	0
12	MF	Tyrone Thompson	17 (6)	1	0 (1)	0	3 (1)	2	1 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	20 (9)	1	4	0
14	MF	Chris Hargreaves	44	4	3	1	5	0	3	1	1	0	54	6	10	0
15	MF	Wayne Carlisle	34 (3)	8	3	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	44 (3)	8	2	0
16	DF	Lee Hodges	31 (4)	0	0 (2)	0	5	0	3	0	1	0	38 (6)	0	1	0
17	FW	Matt Green	15 (14)	4	0	0	2 (1)	1	2 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	20 (17)	5	2	1
18	MF	Mustapha Carayol	14 (16)	0	0 (1)	0	3 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	2	0	16 (19)	0	1	0
19	MF	Danny Stevens	15 (14)	5	3	0	0 (2)	0	0 (2)	0	1 (1)	0	18 (18)	5	1	0
20	GK	Scott Bevan	34	0	0	0	5	0	3	0	1	0	41	0	0	0
21	FW	Iyseden Christie	2 (4)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2 (4)	1	0	0
22	FW	Ashley Yeoman	0 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
23	GK	Martin Rice	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF	Steve Adams	1 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2 (2)	0	0	0
25	DF	Mark Ellis	8 (1)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8 (1)	1	2	0
28	FW	Jordan Charran	0 (1)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0 (1)	0	0	0
32	FW	Tristan Plummer	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
33	FW	Blair Sturrock	6 (1)	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8 (1)	2	1	0

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
14 July 2008	MF	Mustapha Carayol	Milton Keynes Dons	Undisclosed
1 January 2009	GK	Scott Bevan	Shrewsbury Town	Free
2 February 2009	FW	Iyseden Christie	Stevenage Borough	Free

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
1 July 2009	MF	Kevin Hill	Dorchester Town	Free
4 March 2009	FW	Jordan Charran	Released	Free
2 April 2009	DF	Steve Woods	Stalybridge Celtic	Free
27 April 2009	FW	Roscoe D'Sane	Released	Free
1 June 2009	FW	Iyseden Christie	Tamworth	Free

Loans In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Expiry date
18 July 2008	GK	Michael Poke	Southampton	May 2009
25 September 2008	GK	Scott Bevan	Shrewsbury Town	1 January 2009
2 January 2009	FW	Tristan Plummer	Bristol City	31 January 2009
27 March 2009	FW	Blair Sturrock	Swindon Town	May 2009

Loans out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Expiry date
13 August 2008	GK	Martin Rice	Truro City	May 2009
2 February 2009	DF	Chris Todd	Salisbury City	20 March 2009
2 February 2009	DF	Michael Brough	Salisbury City	9 April 2009
23 June 2009	FW	Matt Green	Oxford United	May 2010

References