2010–11 Torquay United F.C. season

Torquay United

2010–11 season
Chairman	Simon Baker
Manager	Paul Buckle (until 30 May 2011) Martin Ling (from 13 June 2011)
League Two	7th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	First Round
League Trophy	Second Round
Top goalscorer	League: Chris Zebroski (14) All: Chris Zebroski (15)
Highest home attendance	5,065 v Crawley Town, 29 January 2011 (FA Cup)
Lowest home attendance	1,514 v Rotherham United, 1 March 2011 (League Two)
Average home league attendance	2,630
Home colours Away colours

The 2010–11 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's 75th season in the Football League and their second consecutive season in League Two. The season runs from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011.

Overview

Carrying on their good form from the end of the 2009–10 season, which saw Torquay set a new club record of 691 minutes without conceding a goal, the Gulls won their first four games of the new League Two campaign making it the best ever start to a season in the club's history. Unfortunately, Torquay were finally to concede a goal in the last of those four matches which meant the club record for clean sheets was now established at 998 minutes. Despite making a strong start to the season and spending the whole of August at the top of the table, Torquay's form was soon to dip to the extent that they were only to win another three League matches by the end of the year. Nevertheless, some respite was offered by the cup competitions. Despite the Gulls experiencing early exits in the First Round of the Carling Cup (to Reading) and the Second Round of the Johnstone Paint's Trophy (losing to Swindon Town after first defeating Bournemouth), Torquay again made a strong showing in the FA Cup. Having beaten Mansfield Town, Walsall and Carlisle United in the earlier rounds, Torquay reached the fourth round of the FA Cup where they were eventually beaten 1–0 in an ill-tempered tie with Conference side Crawley Town.

Following the defeat by Crawley, Torquay's League form finally began to improve and a run of just three defeats in their last 21 matches was enough to seal a place in the play-off semi-finals. This was despite the sale of leading goalscorer Elliot Benyon to Swindon and the fact that the Gulls were docked one point by the Football League for fielding loan signing Jake Robinson while still ineligible to play. Torquay saw off their semi-final opponents Shrewsbury Town with relative ease to set up a League Two play-off final clash with Stevenage. However, the Gulls' season was ultimately to end in disappointment with a 1–0 defeat in the final and the departure of manager Paul Buckle for Bristol Rovers just two days afterwards.

League statistics

League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
5	Accrington Stanley	46	18	19	9	73	55	+18	73	Qualification to League Two play-offs
6	Stevenage (O, P)	46	18	15	13	62	45	+17	69
7	Torquay United	46	17	18	11	74	53	+21	68
8	Gillingham	46	17	17	12	67	57	+10	68
9	Rotherham United	46	17	15	14	75	60	+15	66

Updated to match(es) played on 28 May 2011. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:

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	17	18	11	74	53	+21	68*	10	8	5	36	22	+14	7	10	6	38	31	+7

Source: Torquay United

*Deducted 1 point for fielding an unregistered player.

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	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A
Result	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	L	L	D	D	L	D	W	W	D	D	W	L	D	L	W	L	D	L	W	W	W	D	D	L	D	W	L	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	D	D	D	D	L
Position	1	1	1	1	2	1	4	5	6	8	8	11	13	8	7	7	7	6	7	10	11	10	11	11	14	12	10	10	9	10	11	11	8	8	8	8	7	4	4	6	5	5	5	8	6	7

Source: Torquay United
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Season diary

July

A busy pre-season fixture list saw Torquay take on a wide variety of teams and, apart from a 3–1 defeat to Championship side QPR (now with ex-Gulls manager Neil Warnock in charge), Torquay managed to win all of their other pre-season matches. These included encouraging displays against another Championship side Bristol City as well as defeats of local rivals Plymouth Argyle and Yeovil Town, both of League One. Among the close season signings, perhaps the most impressive was the ex-Leicester City forward Billy Kee. The young striker scored a total of nine pre-season goals, including a hat trick against Weymouth on his debut and an astonishing four first half goals against Tiverton Town.

Of the trialists on show during these games, midfielder Damon Lathrope (formerly of Norwich City) caught the eye of manager Paul Buckle and was offered a two-year deal. Meanwhile, a familiar face returned to Plainmoor in the form of striker Martin Gritton, who had enjoyed a successful spell with the Gulls between 2002 and 2004. Although still under contract to League Two rivals Chesterfield, Gritton was allowed to join Torquay on loan until January 2011. Another (more recent) fan favourite, Guy Branston also re-joined the Gulls, with the combative defender agreeing a permanent one-year deal having been on loan from Burton Albion for the latter half of the 2009–10 season. However, another Plainmoor hero, Wayne Carlisle, was deemed a free agent after the winger failed to agree a new contract due, in part, to his ongoing struggle with injury.

August

Having finished last season with a club record of 691 minutes without conceding a goal, Torquay were keen to begin the new season in a similar fashion. The Gulls got off to a perfect start in their season opener with a 3–0 win against Northampton at Plainmoor, a win which put the Devon side at the top of the new League Two table. After consecutive 2–0 victories against Lincoln and Bradford, Torquay went into their match away to Port Vale aiming to become only the fourth team in Football League history to post eleven consecutive clean sheets. Unfortunately, Port Vale managed to breach the Torquay defence in the first half, although the Gulls still went on to win the game 2–1. Nevertheless, a new club record of 998 minutes without conceding a goal had been set, and victories in the first four games had ensured the best start to a season in Torquay's history. Those wins made sure that the Gulls spent the whole of August at the top of the League Two table.

With the news that Wayne Carlisle had agreed to rejoin the Gulls, Torquay went into their Carling Cup First Round fixture against Reading full of confidence. The Torquay defence proved as resilient against the Championship side as it had been against every other team it had encountered since the beginning of April, and it was not until the very last minute of extra time that Royals striker Grzegorz Rasiak finally found a way past keeper Scott Bevan. A similar problem was encountered by Bournemouth in their Johnstone Paints Trophy First Round clash with the Gulls. However, this time, with the match going straight to penalties with a 0–0 stalemate after 90 minutes, the Cherries still could not find a way past Bevan and Torquay went on to win the tie 3–0 in the penalty shoot out.

With the side currently enjoying so much success, it was perhaps no surprise that other clubs began to take an interest in the Torquay players. After turning down an offer from an unnamed League One side for defender Mark Ellis, manager Paul Buckle was relieved to reach the end of the summer transfer window without losing any of his squad.

September

In recognition of Torquay's impressive start to the season, Paul Buckle was named League Two Manager of the Month for August. However, after a near perfect August, September was to prove something of a reality check for the Gulls. With Torquay's clean sheet record ending against Port Vale in their previous match, a 2–1 defeat away to Southend in their first game of the month put to an end a twelve match unbeaten run in the League which had stretched back to March. This was then followed up by two successive 0–0 draws at home to Accrington Stanley and away to Stevenage. Although these results seemed to suggest the Gulls had got their defensive house back in the order, they were now struggling to find the back of the net. With summer signings Billy Kee and Martin Gritton yet to register on the goalscorer charts, and Elliot Benyon out injured for the Accrington game and on the bench for most of the Stevenage match, the Gulls were starting to look a little light up front, despite the best efforts of the versatile Chris Zebroski who was being employed as both winger and striker.

One new face who appeared during the month was full back Danny Senda. The ex-Millwall and Wycombe defender had impressed Paul Buckle after recently playing in reserve team games against Exeter City and Forest Green. Unfortunately, his debut match, at home to Macclesfield, coincided with a further downturn in the Gulls fortunes when they were beaten 3–1. A chance to make amends came three days later with another home match, this time against former Conference rivals Aldershot. However, with midfielder Damon Lathrope leaving the field injured after only 14 minutes on his first League start, Torquay could not find a way past a resolute Shots defence and were eventually sunk by a Marvin Morgan goal in the 86th minute.

With just 2 points taken from a possible 15, Torquay were fortunate to still find themselves in the play-off positions at the end of September having begun the month at the top of the table.

October

After being informed by chairman Simon Baker that the club's playing budget had been cut, Paul Buckle now found his options limited as he attempted to revive Torquay's flagging league campaign. In his efforts to "shuffle the pack", Buckle would now have to delve into the loan market and also make some tough decisions with the current squad members. Most significantly, after first being dropped for September's match against Aldershot and then again for the trip to Crewe Alexandra, club captain Nicky Wroe was placed on the transfer list. It was also made known that the club would be open to offers for defender Kieran Charnock who had struggled to break up the central defensive partnership forged by Mark Ellis and Guy Branston.

With Wroe and Charnock on the transfer list, new faces began to appear with the aim of freshening up the side. First through the door was Joe Oastler on loan from Queens Park Rangers. Capable of playing as both a midfielder and defender, Oastler joined Torquay on a one-month deal. Later in the month, two more loan signings arrived at Plainmoor within twenty four hours of each other. Winger Romone Rose became the second loanee from Neil Warnock's QPR, signing a three-month deal, while the young Wolves striker Ashley Hemmings joined Torquay, like Oastler, on a one-month contract.

On the pitch, Torquay struggled to get back to the early season form which saw them spend the whole of August at the top of the League Two table. Although a creditable 1–1 draw away to in-form Shrewsbury Town seemed to point to an improvement in the team's performances, the Gulls were then to crash out three days later to Swindon Town in the Second Round of the Johnstone Paints Trophy (although, the fact that several of Torquay's first choice regulars were rested for the match indicated that the League Trophy was not high on Paul Buckle's list of priorities). Astonishingly, Torquay then managed to scrape only a 3–3 draw away to Crewe and then lose 4–3 at home to Bury, despite going 2–0 ahead in both matches. However, a corner of sorts appeared to have been turned in their match away to Gillingham when, at 1–0 down with 94 minutes of the match played and with newly installed club captain Lee Mansell sent off four minutes previously, a Kevin Nicholson free kick somehow managed to sneak past Gills keeper Alan Julian and salvage a 1–1 draw with the final kick of the game. The Gulls took their good fortune with them into their final game of the month at home to Morecambe, where they ran out 3–1 winners and achieved only their first victory in ten league games. With an upturn in their on-field performances, Torquay were now able to look forward to November with renewed optimism.

November

The revival which seemed to have been sparked by Kevin Nicholson's last gasp equaliser at Gillingham began to gather momentum during November. In contrast to the previous season, the Gulls were quickly developing into a formidable outfit on the road and this proved crucial during a month in which three of Torquay's four League Two fixtures were away from Plainmoor. After a convincing 2–0 victory over former Conference rivals Oxford United, the Gulls were disappointed to only pick up one point in a 1–1 draw away to Stockport. However, the performance of the month was probably the impressive 3–1 win over promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park, a result which saw Torquay move above the Chairboys into sixth place in the League Two table. Conversely, the only home league fixture of the month resulted in a lacklustre 1–1 draw with relegation-threatened Barnet.

As per tradition, November saw the entry into the FA Cup of the League One and Two teams. The first two rounds were played during this month and Torquay found themselves involved in both after first easing past Conference side Mansfield Town and then seeing off Walsall of League One. The two 1–0 victories ensured the Gulls participation in the Third Round for the fifth time in six seasons. The Third Round draw saw Torquay receive a home fixture against another League One side Carlisle United. While possibly not the money-spinning draw that either team was hoping for, it was at least a game which, on recent form, gave the Gulls a very realistic chance of progressing to the FA Cup fourth round.

No new additions were made to the squad during the month, although the loan deal for Joe Oastler was extended until January while Wolves agreed to allow Ashley Hemmings to extend his stay at Plainmoor. With the loan window about to close, leading striker Elliot Benyon appeared to be on the verge of leaving Torquay, with Swindon, Dagenham & Redbridge and Southend among the clubs reported to have been interested in making a move for the young forward. However, Gulls fans were relieved when the window closed with Benyon still part of the United squad - at least until the January transfer window. Of the two players placed on the transfer list in October, Kieran Charnock moved on loan to Morecambe, with a view to making the deal a permanent one in January. However, former captain Nicky Wroe now seemed happy to remain at Plainmoor after Paul Buckle revealed the midfielder had rejected a move to Aldershot.

In recognition of the Gulls remaining unbeaten in all competitions throughout November, Paul Buckle was once again short listed for the League Two Manager of the Month award.

December

With November's League Two Manager of the Month award going to Port Vale's Micky Adams, Gulls fans would have been relieved to have avoided the 'curse' often associated with the award, and which certainly appeared to affect Torquay's form after Paul Buckle won the award for August. However, the December curse seemed to have been applied to the entire Football League, with a large number of matches being postponed due to the freezing weather conditions which hit the UK throughout most of the month. As a result, the Gulls only managed to fulfil one of five fixtures scheduled for the final month of 2010, that being a disappointing 1–0 defeat away to league leaders Chesterfield.

Off the field, December saw the departure of two players. Danny Senda left the Gulls after making only three appearances since joining in September, while Wayne Carlisle was released after making 76 appearances for Torquay and being a key member of the squad which gained promotion from the Conference. Of the recent loan signings, Romone Rose was allowed to return to QPR while Ashley Hemmings had his loan deal from Wolves extended until the end of the season.

There was a sense that Paul Buckle was clearing the decks in time for the January transfer window. However, whether he himself would still be at Torquay by the end of January was in serious doubt as he was being heavily tipped to take over from the recently sacked Paul Trollope at League One side Bristol Rovers.

January

Another year, another transfer window and another FA Cup run for Torquay United. Despite being the favourite with many bookmakers to take over at Bristol Rovers, Paul Buckle was left to focus on his job at Plainmoor after Dave Penney was installed as the new manager at the Memorial Stadium. As is often the case, most of the transfer activity was left until the last day of January, although two predictable changes did take place early in the month with Kieran Charnock making his loan move to Morecambe a permanent one and Martin Gritton returning to parent club Chesterfield after the striker had failed to make an impression during his second spell at the club. Meanwhile, Joe Oastler had his loan from QPR extended until the end of the season.

With weather conditions more favourable than they had been throughout December, Torquay were keen to get themselves back into contention for a play-off spot. However, two draws, two defeats and only one win saw the side slip from 7th position at the end of 2010 to a disappointing 13th place in the League Two table by the end of January. With their unprecedented clean sheet record of earlier in the season a dim and distant memory, the Gulls were now too often succumbing to late goals with a total of seven points being dropped in the dying moments of the games against Oxford, Morecambe and Gillingham. The most encouraging display of the month was reserved for the fewer than 2,000 spectators who turned out at Plainmoor for the 2–1 win over in-form Crewe Alexandra with Torquay claiming their first home victory in the league since October.

Despite their indifferent league form, the FA Cup was once again providing a welcome distraction with Torquay being involved in the Third Round for the third consecutive season. One goal from Eunan O'Kane was to prove enough to edge past Carlisle in this season's Third Round tie and anticipation was high yet again for the following day's fourth-round draw. Unfortunately, despite being the first ball pulled out of the drum, the Gulls yet again missed out on the chance of meeting one of the so-called "big boys", instead having to entertain the winners of the yet to be played match between Crawley Town (the only non-league team left in the competition) and Derby County of the Championship. After having beaten League One side Swindon in the Second Round, Crawley pulled off another shock win over the Rams to set up a reunion of the two former Conference rivals. Although, many Gulls fans were disappointed by the draw, there was now a fantastic opportunity for Torquay to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history.

With over 5,000 supporters struggling to get through the Plainmoor turnstiles for the match with Crawley, there was a fifteen-minute delay to the kick off to what turned out to be an ill-tempered Fourth round tie. Torquay found it hard to get a foothold in the first half of the game and eventually fell behind in the 39th minute to a Matt Tubbs strike. However, worse was to follow in the second period when Chris Zebroski was sent off in the 61st minute for a second bookable offence after a handball in the six yard box. However, when keeper Scott Bevan managed to save the resulting penalty from Tubbs, the Gulls spirits were raised again until another penalty was awarded to Crawley just minutes later. Astonishingly, Bevan pulled off his second penalty save of the match, this time from Craig McAllister, to give Torquay another lifeline. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalise on Bevan's heroics and, despite the sending off of Dean Howell for Crawley in the 83rd minute, the score remained 1–0 until the final whistle. In a match which saw seven bookings in addition to the two dismissals, many Torquay supporters were angered by the tactics employed by Crawley manager Steve Evans (two of Crawley's yellow cards were for time wasting) and their misery was compounded the following day when Evans’ men were rewarded with a trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United in the fifth-round draw.

Just two days after the huge disappointment of the Crawley game, the last day of the January transfer window finally saw the departure of top striker Elliot Benyon to Swindon. Benyon had been one of Paul Buckle's first signings when he took over at Plainmoor in 2007, and had now developed into Torquay's main goal threat. As such he had been tracked by several clubs over a number of months and his eventual move had been seen as inevitable by the majority of Gulls fans. The last day of the window also saw the transfer of Nicky Wroe to Shrewsbury and the cancellation of Ashley Hemmings’ loan deal with Wolves. In their place came striker Jake Robinson and midfielder Craig Stanley on loan deals from Shrewsbury and Morecambe respectively. With a new-look squad and just the league to concentrate on, Torquay had to now put an ultimately disheartening month behind them and look to the future.

February

When new loan signing Jake Robinson scored after ten minutes of his debut against Hereford on the first day of the month, Torquay United looked set to put the misery of their FA Cup exit behind them. However, even before the game had reached half time, it was made known to Paul Buckle that Robinson's registration had not been completed before the required deadline and was actually ineligible to play in the fixture. With the possibility of any points won from the match being deducted by the FA, Buckle was unable to prevent the demoralised Gulls from slipping to a 3–1 defeat. Incredibly, it emerged days later that Hereford had also fielded an ineligible player in the same game, with midfielder Rob Purdie’s registration also not being completed in time for the match.

With Torquay now having to wait for a decision on any punishment from the FA, the club had to make the most of a busy February schedule which included a further six League Two encounters following the disastrous Hereford game. The first three were against teams battling relegation and the Gulls took full advantage, grabbing maximum points against struggling Stockport, Barnet and Burton Albion. These matches saw Paul Buckle begin to experiment with his squad selection with second choice keeper Danny Potter being brought in to give Scott Bevan a well-deserved break and left back Lathaniel Rowe-Turner deputising for the ever-present Kevin Nicholson. Both players rewarded the manager's faith with Potter keeping clean sheets in his first three games and Rowe-Turner scoring on his first league start of the season against Barnet. With loan players Jake Robinson and Craig Stanley fitting seamlessly into the new-look squad, Torquay were further enhanced by another loan signing in Northampton midfielder Ryan Gilligan.

Although the next three matches against Southend, Cheltenham and Accrington Stanley only secured a total of two points, the Gulls could be relatively satisfied with the returns of a busy month which left them just four points outside of the play-offs and with games in hand on most of the teams around them.

March

In a month with a punishing eight matches to be played, Torquay had to be at full strength if they were to make any kind of push for promotion. With that in mind, Paul Buckle once again dipped into the loan market. Although current loanee Ryan Gilligan unfortunately had to make an early return to Northampton following a family bereavement, Buckle was able to make an immediate replacement in the form of young Derby midfielder Ben Pringle. Shortly afterwards, Plainmoor also saw the arrival of two loan strikers in Ronan Murray from Ipswich Town and Gavin Tomlin of Dagenham & Redbridge. With Buckle eventually negotiating for both forwards to remain with Torquay until the end of the season, the Gulls now had a variety of attacking options with the likes of Jake Robinson, Chris Zebroski, Eunan O’Kane and Billy Kee already causing problems to opposition defences.

Gavin Tomlin was to make an instant impact, scoring just five minutes into his debut in the home match against Shrewsbury. It was a game in which the Gulls went on to win 5–0, a particularly impressive performance considering the Shrews were currently 4th in the table and had spent the majority of the season in the play-off positions. Even that result was arguably bettered by Torquay's trip to Gigg Lane three days later where they beat 2nd placed Bury 2–1 after coming back from a goal down. Earlier in the month, Torquay had already claimed four points from two other play-off challengers, grabbing a 1–1 draw with Rotherham and a 2–0 victory against Stevenage. In fact, Torquay seemed to be experiencing more problems against teams lower down in the division; the only defeat of the month came away to Aldershot and the Gulls only just managed to sneak a point with a 91st minute Guy Branston header to secure a 3–3 draw away at Macclesfield.

Shortly before the home game against Cheltenham, Ben Pringle had made it known to Paul Buckle that he wanted to go back to Derby to fight for a first team place there. Despite some encouraging performances during his short spell at Plainmoor, Buckle allowed the midfielder to make an immediate return to the Championship club. That match against Cheltenham resulted in a relatively comfortable three points for Torquay and the Gulls went into their final fixture of the month, a Friday night trip to Northampton, full of confidence. However, traffic problems on the M5 motorway resulted in the team arriving two hours late at the Sixfields Stadium. Even with the kick off being delayed by half an hour, the Gulls had little time to prepare for the match once they had arrived. Nevertheless, with the score at 1–1 going into injury time, Billy Kee seemed to have snatched a late win for Torquay with a stunning strike in the 92nd minute. However, a controversial 96th minute free kick for the Cobblers resulted in a goal from Guillem Bauzà and the Gulls had to settle for a 2–2 draw.

That draw left Torquay in 4th place in the League Two table, although with most other teams playing on the following day and a few more midweek matches at the end of the month, the Gulls eventually ended March in 8th position, one point outside the play-off zone and just four points away from automatic promotion with seven games left to play. With four of those matches against teams in or around the play-offs, Torquay Utd went into April with their destiny very much in their own hands.

April

The saga regarding the fielding of the unregistered Jake Robinson in the February match against Hereford was finally resolved with Torquay receiving a one-point deduction and a £10,000 fine. With Hereford playing the equally ineligible Rob Purdie in the same match, they were also fined £10,000 and deducted the three points they had gained from the match. While it could be argued that, having lost a point they had never gained in the first place, the Gulls were more harshly treated than the Bulls, Torquay decided not to appeal against the Football League's ruling.

All of the off-field politics meant that Torquay had to make the most of their remaining games in order to make a push for promotion to League One. The month got off to a great start with a 2–0 home win against Lincoln, followed up by an impressive 3–0 away victory over sleeping giants Bradford City. However, despite having not participated in a goalless draw since September's trip to Stevenage, the Gulls managed to produce two consecutive 0–0 results at home against Port Vale and Wycombe. The latter game was particularly frustrating for Torquay as only some wayward finishing and the heroics of Wycombe keeper Nikki Bull kept the Gulls from gaining all three points. That match effectively ended Torquay's hopes of clinching an automatic promotion place and was also Ronan Murray's final game for the club as he was recalled by Ipswich a few days later.

Easter Monday's trip to Burton saw Torquay find their shooting boots again with Chris Zebroski and Gavin Tomlin putting the Gulls 2–0 up within the first 15 minutes. However, not for the first time this season, Torquay managed to surrender a two-goal lead and had to rely on a stunning 78th-minute strike from Billy Kee to rescue a point in a thrilling 3–3 draw. This was a result which left Torquay just outside the play-offs with two games remaining. The penultimate game of the league campaign was a Friday night encounter at home to champions-elect Chesterfield. Over 5,000 supporters witnessed yet another 0–0 draw which was also Craig Stanley's last game before having to return to parent club Morecambe. Stanley was perhaps one of Paul Buckle's most successful loan signings and many Gulls fans were hopeful that the midfielder would make a return to Plainmoor next season. The significance of the Chesterfield draw was only fully felt the following day with Gillingham and Stevenage both losing their matches. This meant all three teams would go into the final day of the season tied on 68 points with just two play-off spots remaining, although Torquay's superior goal difference left them in pole position. The Gulls now had to travel to Rotherham knowing they only had to equal or better the Gillingham and Stevenage results in order to guarantee a place in the play-offs.

As had so often been the case throughout the years, Torquay's destiny would ultimately be decided on the final day of the season.

May

As the last day of the regular season arrived, and with Torquay, Stevenage and Gillingham separated only by goal difference, it was vital for the Gulls to do everything they could in their match with Rotherham to ensure they secured one of the two remaining play-off berths. However, it was to prove a challenging afternoon at the Don Valley Stadium. Nerves began to jangle as soon as Ryan Taylor put the Millers 1–0 ahead after just ten minutes and, despite Chris Zebroski equalising in the 31st minute, Rotherham restored their lead just two minutes later thanks to a Danny Harrison strike. Meanwhile, with goals going in at the Stevenage and Gillingham games, Torquay found themselves in 6th, 7th and 8th position at various times during the afternoon and, when Oliver Banks put Rotherham 3–1 ahead in the 80th minute, they were now relying on scores from elsewhere if they were to book a place in the play-offs. While Stevenage secured their place with an enthralling 3–3 draw against Bury, the Gulls were ultimately indebted to Chesterfield who, by beating Gillingham 3–1, not only clinched the League Two title for themselves, but also made sure that Torquay would finish the season in the final play-off spot, ahead of the unfortunate Gills on goal difference alone.

Torquay's play-off semi-final opponents turned out to be Shrewsbury who missed out on automatic promotion by just one point. With the first leg at Plainmoor in front of the Sky Sports cameras, the Shrews were no doubt mindful of the 5–0 thrashing they had received at the Gulls’ home ground just two months previously. The fact that two of those goals came from Jake Robinson (on loan from Shrewsbury) added extra spice to the tie, particularly as there was no clause preventing Robinson from playing against his parent club in the play-offs. Despite Robinson not getting on the score sheet, Torquay produced an assured performance which saw them comfortably win the first leg 2–0 thanks to goals from Chris Zebroski and Eunan O’Kane. The Gulls had to make sure they finished off the job in the return leg and that is exactly what they did with a 0–0 draw at the New Meadow. The draw meant that Torquay United had done enough to ensure their place in the play-off final where the opponents would be their old Conference rivals Stevenage, who secured their own spot thanks to a 3–0 aggregate win over Accrington Stanley.

With the Champions League Final scheduled to take place at Wembley Stadium on the same weekend as the League play-off finals, Torquay instead had to make the trip to Old Trafford for their showdown with Stevenage. The omens were not good for the Gulls when it was announced that the referee for the final would be Darren Deadman. This was the same man who had overseen the disastrous FA Cup fourth-round match with Crawley Town, the team who, ironically, had prevented Torquay from making an earlier trip to Old Trafford. Like the Crawley match, the kick off was delayed by fifteen minutes (due to traffic congestion on the M6 motorway) and like the Crawley match, Torquay fell behind to a goal late in the first half, this time a 41st-minute strike from Stevenage midfielder John Mousinho. And just like the Crawley match, the Gulls failed to find a reply which meant that Mousinho's goal was enough to see the Hertfordshire side promoted to League One while ensuring Torquay would remain in League Two for another season.

Just two days after the play-off defeat, it was announced, following much speculation, that Paul Buckle would be leaving Torquay after four seasons to become the new manager of Bristol Rovers. It was a position he had been linked with since the previous December after the sacking of Paul Trollope and, when his successor Dave Penney was also sacked after just two months, there was a certain inevitability to Buckle's eventual move to the Memorial Stadium. With Buckle also taking first team coach Shaun North with him to Rovers, there was now a huge rebuilding job to be done at Plainmoor. With uncertainty hanging over those players whose contracts were soon to expire as well as the loan players which had performed admirably over the final few months of the season, it was looking like the end of an era for Torquay United and the beginning of a new one.

June

With the original shortlist of candidates containing names such as Paul Trollope and former Torquay favourites Alex Russell and Chris Hargreaves, speculation was growing amongst Gulls fans as to who would replace Paul Buckle. One name which had not been mentioned in the local press was Martin Ling, so it was something of a surprise when the former Leyton Orient and Cambridge United boss was announced as the new man in charge at Plainmoor.

Top of Ling's list of priorities was to start building a new team. With players reaching the end of their contracts and loan players returning to their parent clubs, the squad was now starting to look rather threadbare. Several key players who had got Torquay to the play-off final would definitely not be at the club for the new season. Player of the year, Guy Branston made a move to Bradford City while Scott Bevan decided to join Paul Buckle at Bristol Rovers. Torquay fans were also disappointed to see midfielder Craig Stanley, who had been particularly impressive for the Gulls on his loan spell from Morecambe, also follow Buckle to the Memorial Stadium. Meanwhile, another loan player who would not be returning to Plainmoor was Jake Robinson who agreed to join Northampton Town instead.

The first new face at Plainmoor was Shaun Taylor, who was appointed as Ling's assistant manager. Taylor was previously the youth coach at Exeter City and was also brother to former Torquay defender Craig Taylor. With Taylor on board, Ling now looked to bring new players to Torquay. Firstly, Joe Oastler signed a permanent two-year deal with Torquay after being released by QPR, while Danny Stevens also agreed in principle to renew his contract. Another familiar face who returned to Torquay was Chris McPhee. He had played for the Gulls during their disastrous 2006–07 season and was looking to make amends on his return to the club. Joining on the same day as McPhee was Daniel Leadbitter, a promising young defender who had just been released by Newcastle United.

While the new signings did much to assure Torquay's fans, more disappointment came with the news that top goalscorer Chris Zebroski had handed in a transfer request. With still no goalkeeper and pre-season friendlies just around the corner, it was clear that Martin Ling and Torquay United still had much work to do before the arrival of the new season.

Results

League Two

Main article: 2010–11 Football League Two

Torquay United v Northampton Town

7 Aug 2010	Torquay United	3 – 0	Northampton Town	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Robertson  28' Nicholson 44' Zebroski 47' Benyon 50'	Report		Attendance: 3,567 Referee: Oliver Langford

Lincoln City v Torquay United

14 Aug 2010	Lincoln City	0 – 2	Torquay United	Sincil Bank
15:00 BST		Report	Benyon 26' 71'	Attendance: 3,033 Referee: Michael Naylor

Torquay United v Bradford City

21 Aug 2010	Torquay United	2 – 0	Bradford City	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Stevens 2' Zebroski 66' Branston  72' Wroe  74' Mansell  80'	Report	Threlfall  12' Doherty  42'	Attendance: 2,941 Referee: Steve Tanner

Port Vale v Torquay United

28 Aug 2010	Port Vale	1 – 2	Torquay United	Vale Park
15:00 BST	Tomlinson  5' Griffith 37' Collins  70' Roberts  83'	Report	Wroe 5' (pen.)  77' Nicholson  21' Zebroski 28' Benyon  68' Mansell  90'	Attendance: 5,750 Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Southend United v Torquay United

4 Sep 2010	Southend United	2 – 1	Torquay United	Roots Hall
15:00 BST	Grant 15' Simpson 43'	Report	Zebroski  62' 78' Mansell  90'	Attendance: 5,505 Referee: Dean Whitestone

Torquay United v Accrington Stanley

11 Sep 2010	Torquay United	0 – 0	Accrington Stanley	Plainmoor
15:00 BST		Report	Edwards  83' McConville  84' Ryan  90'	Attendance: 2,598 Referee: Simon Hooper

Stevenage v Torquay United

18 Sep 2010	Stevenage	0 – 0	Torquay United	Broadhall Way
15:00 BST	Mousinho  29' Roberts  53'	Report	Mansell  6' Ellis  29' Branston  42' Stevens  64'	Attendance: 3,049 Referee: David Coote

Torquay United v Macclesfield Town

25 Sep 2010	Torquay United	1 – 3	Macclesfield Town	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Benyon 40'  86'	Report	Bencherif 12' Draper 76' Sinclair 78'	Attendance: 2,551 Referee: Gary Sutton

Torquay United v Aldershot Town

28 Sep 2010	Torquay United	0 – 1	Aldershot Town	Plainmoor
19:45 BST	Robertson  35'	Report	Morgan 86'	Attendance: 2,167 Referee: Roger East

Shrewsbury Town v Torquay United

2 Oct 2010	Shrewsbury Town	1 – 1	Torquay United	New Meadow
15:00 BST	Robinson 5'  6' Neal  22'	Report	Benyon 34' (pen.)  69' Robertson  69' Zebroski  83'	Attendance: 6,034 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Crewe Alexandra v Torquay United

9 Oct 2010	Crewe Alexandra	3 – 3	Torquay United	Alexandra Stadium
15:00 BST	Donaldson 45+2' Bell  66' Westwood 73' 78' (pen.)	Report	Ellis 8' 16' O'Kane  63' 67' Branston  77'	Attendance: 4,445 Referee: Russell Booth

Torquay United v Bury

16 Oct 2010	Torquay United	3 – 4	Bury	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Robertson 18' Zebroski 20' 56' Benyon  87'	Report	Lowe 27' (pen.) Sodje  31' Ajose 33' Schumacher 51' Jones 71' Lees  78'	Attendance: 2,553 Referee: Iain Williamson

Gillingham v Torquay United

23 Oct 2010	Gillingham	1 – 1	Torquay United	Priestfield Stadium
15:00 BST	McDonald 80'	Report	Oastler  70' Robertson  84' Kee  86' Mansell  90'  90+2'    Nicholson 90+5'	Attendance: 5,345 Referee: Pat Miller

Torquay United v Morecambe

30 Oct 2010	Torquay United	3 – 1	Morecambe	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Benyon 11' 75' Rose 69' Zebroski  84'	Report	Parrish  9' McCready 30' Shuker  82'	Attendance: 2,172 Referee: Phil Gibbs

Oxford United v Torquay United

2 Nov 2010	Oxford United	0 – 2	Torquay United	Kassam Stadium
19:45 GMT		Report	Batt 5' (o.g.) Macklin  17' Kee 89'	Attendance: 6,401 Referee: Darren Sheldrake

Torquay United v Barnet

13 Nov 2010	Torquay United	1 – 1	Barnet	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Benyon 11' O'Kane  37' Gritton  78' Nicholson  87'	Report	Uddin  8' Byrne 20' Marshall  59' Parkes  82'	Attendance: 2,257 Referee: Keith Stroud

Stockport County v Torquay United

20 Nov 2010	Stockport County	1 – 1	Torquay United	Edgeley Park
15:00 GMT	Tansey 75'	Report	Oastler  35' O'Kane 61' Rose  87'	Attendance: 3,772 Referee: Gary Sutton

Wycombe Wanderers v Torquay United

23 Nov 2010	Wycombe Wanderers	1 – 3	Torquay United	Adams Park
19:45 GMT	Beavon 7' Winfield  68' Lewis  76'	Report	Wroe 27' 49' Branston  61' Benyon 88' Oastler  90+3'	Attendance: 2,273 Referee: Gavin Ward

Chesterfield v Torquay United

11 Dec 2010	Chesterfield	1 – 0	Torquay United	B2net Stadium
15:00 GMT	Lester 28'	Report		Attendance: 4,801 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Hereford United v Torquay United

1 Jan 2011	Hereford United	2 – 2	Torquay United	Edgar Street
15:00 GMT	Fleetwood 32' Manset 66' Heath  78' Townsend  89'	Report	O'Kane 25' Benyon 45'	Attendance: 2,373 Referee: Steve Rushton

Torquay United v Oxford United

3 Jan 2011	Torquay United	3 – 4	Oxford United	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Benyon 43' 73' Zebroski  66' Kee 79' Ellis  86'	Report	Hall  9' Craddock 35' Midson 42' 64' 90+1' McLaren  50'	Attendance: 3,021 Referee: Roger East

Torquay United v Crewe Alexandra

11 Jan 2011	Torquay United	2 – 1	Crewe Alexandra	Plainmoor
19:45 GMT	O'Kane 7' Zebroski 16' Ellis  58'	Report	Ada  33' Miller  53' Shelley 59'	Attendance: 1,955 Referee: James Linington

Morecambe v Torquay United

15 Jan 2011	Morecambe	2 – 1	Torquay United	Globe Arena
15:00 GMT	Wilson 87' (pen.) 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Robertson  32' Kee 78'	Attendance: 1,643 Referee: Andy Woolmer

Torquay United v Gillingham

22 Jan 2011	Torquay United	1 – 1	Gillingham	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Benyon 6'	Report	Rooney 87'	Attendance: 2,368 Referee: Graham Scott

Torquay United v Hereford United

1 Feb 2011	Torquay United	1 – 3	Hereford United	Plainmoor
19:45 GMT	Robinson 10' Lathrope  78'	Report	Fleetwood 14' 46' Townsend  72' Featherstone 80'	Attendance: 1,680 Referee: Brendan Malone

Torquay United v Stockport County

5 Feb 2011	Torquay United	2 – 0	Stockport County	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Zebroski 13' Kee 73'	Report		Attendance: 1,954 Referee: Simon Hooper

Barnet v Torquay United

12 Feb 2011	Barnet	0 – 3	Torquay United	Underhill Stadium
15:00 GMT	Pulis  29' Fraser  29' Parkes  39' McLeod  70'	Report	Rowe-Turner 25' Stanley  53' Kee 75' Zebroski 90'	Attendance: 2,168 Referee: Peter Quinn

Torquay United v Burton Albion

15 Feb 2011	Torquay United	1 – 0	Burton Albion	Plainmoor
19:45 GMT	Robertson 56'	Report		Attendance: 1,602 Referee: Karl Evans

Torquay United v Southend United

19 Feb 2011	Torquay United	1 – 1	Southend United	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Oastler  34' Branston  37' Kee 73'	Report	Gilbert  12' Corr 81'	Attendance: 2,880 Referee: David Coote

Cheltenham Town v Torquay United

22 Feb 2011	Cheltenham Town	2 – 2	Torquay United	Whaddon Road
19:45 GMT	Goulding 79' Thomas 90+4'	Report	Robinson 14'  50' Zebroski  31' O'Kane  63' Stevens 65' Oastler  79'	Attendance: 2,977 Referee: Anthony Bates

Accrington Stanley v Torquay United

26 Feb 2011	Accrington Stanley	1 – 0	Torquay United	Crown Ground
15:00 GMT	Joyce  42' Craney 78'	Report	Ellis  45'	Attendance: 1,543 Referee: Mick Russell

Torquay United v Rotherham United

1 Mar 2011	Torquay United	1 – 1	Rotherham United	Plainmoor
19:45 GMT	O'Kane 17' Robertson  60' Branston  82' Stevens  90+2'	Report	Taylor 73'	Attendance: 1,514 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Torquay United v Stevenage

5 Mar 2011	Torquay United	2 – 0	Stevenage	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Zebroski  16' Stevens 46' Robinson 85'	Report	Roberts  68' Laird  90+3'	Attendance: 2,197 Referee: Robert Madley

Aldershot Town v Torquay United

8 Mar 2011	Aldershot Town	1 – 0	Torquay United	Recreation Ground
19:45 GMT	Guttridge 53' Mekki  85'	Report	Zebroski  26' Halpin  77'	Attendance: 1,939 Referee: Carl Berry

Torquay United v Shrewsbury Town

12 Mar 2011	Torquay United	5 – 0	Shrewsbury Town	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Tomlin 5' Robinson 54' (pen.) 56' Zebroski 70' Sharps 85' (o.g.)	Report	Grandison  42' Cansdell-Sherriff  87'	Attendance: 2,861 Referee: Andy D'Urso

Bury v Torquay United

15 Mar 2011	Bury	1 – 2	Torquay United	Gigg Lane
19:45 GMT	Holroyd 4'	Report	Stanley 61' Zebroski 70'	Attendance: 2,747 Referee: Mike Dean

Macclesfield Town v Torquay United

19 Mar 2011	Macclesfield Town	3 – 3	Torquay United	Moss Rose
15:00 GMT	Barnett 29' Daniel 35' Bencherif 57' Wedgbury  89'	Report	Robinson 52' 74' (pen.) Stanley  78' Branston 90+1'	Attendance: 1,556 Referee: Graham Salisbury

Torquay United v Cheltenham Town

22 Mar 2011	Torquay United	2 – 1	Cheltenham Town	Plainmoor
19:45 GMT	Branston 28' Murray 71'	Report	Andrew 89'	Attendance: 2,186 Referee: Steve Tanner

Northampton Town v Torquay United

25 Mar 2011	Northampton Town	2 – 2	Torquay United	Sixfields Stadium
19:45 GMT	Johnson 30' Bauzà 90+6'	Report	O'Kane 14'  37' Branston  65' Stanley  90' Kee 90+2'	Attendance: 4,553 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Torquay United v Lincoln City

2 Apr 2011	Torquay United	2 – 0	Lincoln City	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Stanley  17' Robertson  31' Zebroski 74' Tomlin 84'	Report	Kilbey  40' Watts  55' Fuseini  88' O'Keefe  90'	Attendance: 2,751 Referee: Iain Williamson

Bradford City v Torquay United

9 Apr 2011	Bradford City	0 – 3	Torquay United	Valley Parade
15:00 BST		Report	Nicholson 31' Tomlin 59' Kee 78'	Attendance: 10,894 Referee: Pat Miller

Torquay United v Port Vale

16 Apr 2011	Torquay United	0 – 0	Port Vale	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Zebroski  56' Mansell  75' Branston  90'	Report	Griffith  16' Yates  71' McCombe  78'	Attendance: 3,726 Referee: David Phillips

Torquay United v Wycombe Wanderers

22 Apr 2011	Torquay United	0 – 0	Wycombe Wanderers	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Stanley  71'	Report	Winfield  66' Bloomfield  83' Johnson  90'	Attendance: 4,009 Referee: Dean Whitestone

Burton Albion v Torquay United

25 Apr 2011	Burton Albion	3 – 3	Torquay United	Pirelli Stadium
15:00 BST	McGrath 26' Pearson 41'  59' Zola 56' Moore  90+1'	Report	Zebroski 10' Tomlin 14' Oastler  51' Kee 78' Branston  76' Rowe-Turner  83'	Attendance: 3,280 Referee: David Webb

Torquay United v Chesterfield

29 Apr 2011	Torquay United	0 – 0	Chesterfield	Plainmoor
19:45 BST		Report		Attendance: 5,002 Referee: David Coote

Rotherham United v Torquay United

7 May 2011	Rotherham United	3 – 1	Torquay United	Don Valley Stadium
15:00 BST	Taylor 10' Harrison 33' Cresswell  47' Banks 80'	Report	Oastler  17' Zebroski 31'	Attendance: 3,379 Referee: Andy Woolmer

League Two play-offs

Main article: 2011 Football League play-offs

Torquay United v Shrewsbury Town

14 May 2011 Semi-final 1st Leg	Torquay United	2 – 0	Shrewsbury Town	Plainmoor
17:45 BST	Zebroski 29' O'Kane 45+3'	Report		Attendance: 4,130 Referee: Scott Mathieson

Shrewsbury Town v Torquay United

20 May 2011 Semi-final 2nd Leg	Shrewsbury Town	0 – 0	Torquay United	New Meadow
19:45 BST	Sharps  28'	Report	Tomlin  29' Lathrope  67' Branston  86'	Attendance: 8,452 Referee: Kevin Wright

Stevenage v Torquay United

28 May 2011 Final	Stevenage	1 – 0	Torquay United	Old Trafford
15:00 BST	Mousinho 41'  59' Harrison  90+4'	Report	Zebroski  55' Oastler  80'	Attendance: 11,484 Referee: Darren Deadman

FA Cup

Main article: 2010–11 FA Cup

Mansfield Town v Torquay United

6 Nov 2010 First Round	Mansfield Town	0 – 1	Torquay United	Field Mill
15:00 GMT	Nix  23' Cook  82' Grand  90'	Report	Zebroski  28' Benyon 87'	Attendance: 2,179 Referee: Michael Naylor

Torquay United v Walsall

27 Nov 2010 Second Round	Torquay United	1 – 0	Walsall	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Kee 41' (pen.) Branston  90'	Report	Westlake  38'	Attendance: 2,334 Referee: Danny McDermid

Torquay United v Carlisle United

8 Jan 2011 Third Round	Torquay United	1 – 0	Carlisle United	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	O'Kane 6' Wroe  28' Branston  38'	Report	Taiwo  37' Simek  45'	Attendance: 3,005 Referee: Phil Gibbs

Torquay United v Crawley Town

29 Jan 2011 Fourth round	Torquay United	0 – 1	Crawley Town	Plainmoor
15:00 GMT	Zebroski  59'  61' Ellis  59' Kee  83' Branston  86'	Report	Tubbs 39'  90+3' McFadzean  42' Howell  45'  83'     Kuipers  55'     Mills  71'	Attendance: 5,065 Referee: Darren Deadman

League Cup

Main article: 2010–11 Football League Cup

Torquay United v Reading

11 Aug 2010 First Round	Torquay United	0 – 1 (a.e.t.)	Reading	Plainmoor
19:45 BST	Zebroski  70' Benyon  115'	Report	Gunnarsson  114' Rasiak 120+1'	Attendance: 2,832 Referee: Jonathan Moss

League Trophy

Main article: 2010–11 Football League Trophy

Bournemouth v Torquay United

31 Aug 2010 First Round	Bournemouth	0 – 0 (0 – 3 p)	Torquay United	Dean Court
19:45 BST	Bradbury  90'	Report	Gritton  90'	Attendance: 3,140 Referee: Graham Scott
	Penalties
	Cummings Bradbury Pugh		Robertson Wroe Nicholson

Swindon Town v Torquay United

5 Oct 2010 Second Round	Swindon Town	2 – 0	Torquay United	County Ground
19:00 BST	Ball 10' Péricard 45+2'	Report	Charnock  43'	Attendance: 3,625 Referee: Fred Graham

Friendlies

Weymouth v Torquay United

10 Jul 2010	Weymouth	1 – 5	Torquay United	The Wessex Stadium
15:00 BST	Halloran 80'	Report	O'Kane 29' Kee 57' 72' 83' Benyon 76'	Attendance: 357 Referee: Mark Pottage

Torquay United v Plymouth Argyle

13 Jul 2010	Torquay United	3 – 1	Plymouth Argyle	Plainmoor
19:45 BST	Mackln 35' Benyon 56' Wroe 90' (pen.)	Report	Noone 1'	Attendance: 1,794 Referee: Brian Malone

Bovey Tracey v Torquay United

14 Jul 2010	Bovey Tracey	0 – 6	Torquay United	Western Counties Roofing Ground
19:30 BST		Report	Yeoman Charnock Benyon Kee (pen.) Stevens

Torquay United v Queens Park Rangers

16 Jul 2010	Torquay United	1 – 3	Queens Park Rangers	Plainmoor
19:30 BST	Robertson 60'	Report	Helguson 9' Parker 72' Ephraim 87'	Attendance: 1,429

Tiverton Town v Torquay United

19 Jul 2010	Tiverton Town	0 – 8	Torquay United	Ladysmead
19:00 BST		Report	Kee 7' 17' 18' 35' Zebroski 24' Yeoman 51' Stevens 72' Benyon 39'	Attendance: 280

Torquay United v Bristol City

21 Jul 2010	Torquay United	2 – 1	Bristol City	Plainmoor
19:45 BST	Mansell 63' Ellis 75'	Report	Clarkson 55'	Attendance: 1,081

Weston-super-Mare v Torquay United

28 Jul 2010	Weston-super-Mare	0 – 3	Torquay United	Woodspring Stadium
19:45 BST		Report	Zebroski 31' Benyon 63' Gritton 75'

Torquay United v Yeovil Town

31 Jul 2010	Torquay United	1 – 0	Yeovil Town	Plainmoor
15:00 BST	Nicholson 48'	Report		Attendance: 914

Devon St Luke's Bowl

Tavistock v Torquay United

26 Jan 2011 Second Round	Tavistock	1 – 6	Torquay United	Langsford Park
			Yeoman Palmer Parish Kudi	Referee: Adam Hopkins

Buckland Athletic v Torquay United

2 Mar 2011 Quarter Final	Buckland Athletic	2 – 1	Torquay United	Homers Heath
19:15 GMT	(pen.)	Report	Halpin Lathrope	Referee: Brett Huxtable

Reserves

Football Combination Wales & West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Torquay United (C)	12	9	2	1	31	15	+16	29
2	Swansea City	12	5	3	4	12	13	−1	18
3	Exeter City	12	5	2	5	23	21	+2	17
4	Swindon Town	12	5	2	5	19	17	+2	17
5	Forest Green Rovers	12	4	4	4	19	15	+4	16
6	Bournemouth	12	4	2	6	16	20	−4	14
7	Plymouth Argyle	12	2	1	9	12	31	−19	7

Source: The Football Combination
(C) Champions

Torquay United Reserves v Swansea City Reserves

17 Aug 2010	Torquay United Reserves	3 – 0	Swansea City Reserves	Plainmoor
14:00 BST	Halpin 47' Rowe-Turner 56' Yeoman 84'	Report		Referee: K. Johnson

Exeter City Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

7 Sep 2010	Exeter City Reserves	2 – 4	Torquay United Reserves	St James Park
19:00 BST	Watson (pen.) Phillips	Report	Kee Halpin Yeoman Macklin	Attendance: 388

Torquay United Reserves v Forest Green Rovers Reserves

Torquay United Reserves v Swindon Town Reserves

Bournemouth Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

Torquay United Reserves v Plymouth Argyle Reserves

19 Oct 2010	Torquay United Reserves	3 – 2	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Plainmoor
14:00 BST	Oastler 35' Yeoman 52' Gritton 82' (pen.)	Report	Sawyer 52' Leonard 75'	Referee: Richard Martin

Torquay United Reserves v Bournemouth Reserves

30 Nov 2010	Torquay United Reserves	1 – 0	Bournemouth Reserves	Plainmoor
14:00 GMT

Swindon Town Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

14 Dec 2010	Swindon Town Reserves	5 – 5	Torquay United Reserves	County Ground
14:00 GMT	Campbell 14' 22' 36' Ball 26' Sheehan 39' (pen.)	Report	Kee 52' (pen) 57' 89' Macklin 71' Gritton 83'

Torquay United Reserves v Exeter City Reserves

8 Feb 2011	Torquay United Reserves	2 – 0	Exeter City Reserves	Plainmoor
14:00 GMT	Spear Palmer

Plymouth Argyle Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

29 Mar 2011	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	1 – 5	Torquay United Reserves	Home Park
14:00 GMT	Head 21'	Report	Macklin 39' Yeoman 58' Spear 70' Kee 86'

Forest Green Rovers Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

Swansea City Reserves v Torquay United Reserves

Play-off Final

Torquay United Reserves v Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves

6 Sep 2011	Torquay United Reserves	1 – 3	Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves	Plainmoor
14:00 GMT	Thompson 17'	Report	Barker 41' Simmonds 51' Agdestein 56'	Referee: Chris Powell

Club statistics

First team appearances

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League Two [1]		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Scott Bevan	46	0	40+0	0	4+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
2	DF	ENG	Lathaniel Rowe-Turner	11	1	4+6	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
3	DF	ENG	Kevin Nicholson	53	3	45+2	3	4+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
4	DF	ENG	Mark Ellis	34	2	24+3	2	4+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
5	DF	SCO	Chris Robertson	53	2	43+3	2	3+1	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
6	DF	ENG	Kieran Charnock	6	0	1+3	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
6	MF	ENG	Craig Stanley	19	1	19+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	MF	ENG	Lee Mansell	55	0	48+0	0	4+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
8	FW	NIR	Billy Kee	50	10	20+23	9	1+3	1	1+0	0	1+1	0
9	FW	ENG	Elliot Benyon	29	14	22+1	13	3+0	1	1+0	0	2+0	0
9	FW	ENG	Jake Robinson	25	7	25+0	7	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
10	MF	NIR	Eunan O'Kane	55	8	34+14	7	3+1	1	0+1	0	2+0	0
11	MF	ENG	Nicky Wroe	27	3	20+0	3	4+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
11	MF	ENG	Ryan Gilligan	5	0	0+5	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
11	FW	EIR	Ronan Murray	7	1	4+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	MF	ENG	Lloyd Macklin	12	0	3+8	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
15	MF	NIR	Wayne Carlisle	11	0	3+7	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
15	FW	ENG	Gavin Tomlin	16	4	15+0	4	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
16	GK	ENG	Danny Potter	10	0	9+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
17	MF	ENG	Saul Halpin	5	0	0+4	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
18	DF	ENG	Joe Oastler	31	0	17+11	0	2+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	MF	ENG	Danny Stevens	45	3	19+20	3	2+2	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
20	FW	SCO	Martin Gritton	15	0	3+9	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+2	0
21	MF	ENG	Romone Rose	6	1	2+3	1	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	MF	ENG	Damon Lathrope	24	0	13+8	0	0+1	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
23	DF	ENG	Guy Branston	53	2	48+0	2	3+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
24	FW	ENG	Ashley Yeoman	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
25	DF	ENG	Ed Palmer	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	FW	ENG	Chris Zebroski	53	15	47+0	15	4+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
27	FW	ENG	Ashley Hemmings	11	0	4+5	0	1+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
29	DF	ENG	Danny Senda	3	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
29	MF	ENG	Ben Pringle	5	0	5+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Source: Torquay United

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Number	Name	League Two [1]	FA Cup	League Cup	League Trophy	Total
1	FW		26	Chris Zebroski	15	0	0	0	15
2	FW		9	Elliot Benyon	13	1	0	0	14
3	FW		8	Billy Kee	9	1	0	0	10
4	MF		10	Eunan O'Kane	7	1	0	0	8
5	FW		9	Jake Robinson	7	0	0	0	7
6	FW		15	Gavin Tomlin	4	0	0	0	4
7	DF		3	Kevin Nicholson	3	0	0	0	3
=	MF		19	Danny Stevens	3	0	0	0	3
=	MF		11	Nicky Wroe	3	0	0	0	3
10	DF		23	Guy Branston	2	0	0	0	2
=	DF		4	Mark Ellis	2	0	0	0	2
=	DF		5	Chris Robertson	2	0	0	0	2
13	FW		11	Ronan Murray	1	0	0	0	1
=	MF		21	Romone Rose	1	0	0	0	1
=	DF		2	Lathaniel Rowe-Turner	1	0	0	0	1
=	MF		6	Craig Stanley	1	0	0	0	1
				Own goals	2	0	0	0	2
				TOTALS	76	3	0	0	79

Source: Torquay United

Disciplinary record

Number	Nation	Position	Name	League Two [1]		FA Cup		League Cup		League Trophy		Total
26		FW	Chris Zebroski	9	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	12	1
23		DF	Guy Branston	10	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
18		MF	Joe Oastler	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
7		MF	Lee Mansell	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	1
5		DF	Chris Robertson	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
4		MF	Mark Ellis	3	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
6		MF	Craig Stanley	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
9		FW	Elliot Benyon	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
10		MF	Eunan O'Kane	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
20		FW	Martin Gritton	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
11		MF	Nicky Wroe	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
8		FW	Billy Kee	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
22		MF	Damon Lathrope	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
3		DF	Kevin Nicholson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
19		MF	Danny Stevens	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
14		MF	Lloyd Macklin	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
6		DF	Kieran Charnock	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
15		FW	Gavin Tomlin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
17		MF	Saul Halpin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
21		MF	Romone Rose	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
15		FW	Gavin Tomlin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
			TOTALS	71	3	8	1	2	0	2	0	83	4

Source: Torquay United

¹ . League Two statistics include the League Two play-offs.

Transfers

In

Date	Nat.	Pos.	Name	From	Fee	References
19 July 2010		MF	Damon Lathrope	Norwich City	Free
21 July 2010		DF	Guy Branston	Burton Albion	Free
16 September 2010		DF	Danny Senda	Millwall	Free
14 March 2011		FW	Ray Spear	Trainee	n/a
28 June 2011		MF	Joe Oastler	Queens Park Rangers	Free
28 June 2011		FW	Chris McPhee	Kidderminster Harriers	Free
28 June 2011		DF	Daniel Leadbitter	Newcastle United	Free

Loans in

Date	Nat.	Pos.	Name	From	Expiry date	References
28 July 2010		FW	Martin Gritton	Chesterfield	10 January 2011
8 October 2010		MF	Joe Oastler	Queens Park Rangers	End of season
22 October 2010		MF	Romone Rose	Queens Park Rangers	31 December 2010
22 October 2010		FW	Ashley Hemmings	Wolverhampton Wanderers	31 January 2011
31 January 2011		FW	Jake Robinson	Shrewsbury Town	End of season
31 January 2011		MF	Craig Stanley	Morecambe	3 May 2011
10 February 2011		MF	Ryan Gilligan	Northampton Town	3 March 2011
4 March 2011		MF	Ben Pringle	Derby County	22 March 2011
9 March 2011		FW	Ronan Murray	Ipswich Town	25 April 2011
10 March 2011		FW	Gavin Tomlin	Dagenham & Redbridge	End of season

Out

Date	Nat.	Pos.	Name	To	Fee	References
16 December 2010		MF	Wayne Carlisle	Released	n/a
16 December 2010		DF	Danny Senda	Released	n/a
5 January 2011		DF	Kieran Charnock	Morecambe	Undisclosed
31 January 2011		FW	Elliot Benyon	Swindon Town	Undisclosed
31 January 2011		MF	Nicky Wroe	Shrewsbury Town	Undisclosed
31 May 2011		GK	Danny Potter	Newport County	Free
30 June 2011		GK	Scott Bevan	Bristol Rovers	Free
30 June 2011		DF	Guy Branston	Bradford City	Free

Loans out

Date	Nat.	Pos.	Name	To	Expiry date	References
25 November 2010		DF	Kieran Charnock	Morecambe	5 January 2011
February 2011		DF	Ed Palmer	Weymouth	April 2011