State of Torquay United Index

Thanks for the reminder about 800x600, Dave.

I'd imagine my line would start with a number of highpoints in the 1920s. Joining the Western League (1921) must have been exciting but - once it arrived - there was probably an immediate anti-climax ("it's a bloody pub league and we're not bloody good enough to win it"). The key move - which would have caused the line to rise again - was maintaining the momentum by entering the Southern League at the second time of asking in 1922. That must have led to a feeling that the town was catching up the rest of the country in having a proper professional club.

The drawback was the Southern League wasn't as strong as it had been now many of its members had left to form Division 3 (S). I wonder if anticipation remained high at Plainmoor or if the novelty soon wore off as the first four seasons in the Southern League proved pretty unspectacular?

The 1926-28 period must have been a time of excitement and expectation with the club winning the Southern League and gaining entry to the Football League in 1927. What was the mood during that first League season which, of course, soon became a time of struggle as the club finished in last place? Was the club on the floor in 1928 with talk of doom and not being able to sustain league football? Or was it still a big adventure?

Then what? It's always struck me that the period from the late 1920s to the mid 1950s must have been an incredibly dull time to be a Torquay United supporter (not unlike the period between 1972 and 1984, perhaps, when very little seemed to happen). This is mainly because there was only one promotion place and no relegation (although clubs at the bottom were required to apply for re-election). For years the club seems to have pottered along never getting anywhere near challenging for promotion nor being in desperate, desperate trouble (or was it?). There were some poor finishes and some comfortable ones.

How did this feel at the time? Perhaps it was just normal to be in Division 3(S). That was the league we were in and we just got on with it. Humdrum but enough in itself? Or were there more optimistic and pessimistic highs and lows than the league tables suggest?

Actually it took a re-reading of the centenary history to appreciate that there was finally a promotion challenge after the club had been in the League for 23 years! Of course the six seasons lost to WW2 meant that people were grateful to be watching football again as the attendance figues (everywhere) for those years illustrate. This should have meant that Torquay United's years of non-achievement were quietly forgotten as the club mounted a serious attempt at betttering itself in 1949/50.

Look at the final league table and you'll see we finished 5th; glance at the results and you'll notice we drew three and lost six of the final nine games. If Timbo - or anybody else - has the programmes for the Watford or Bournemouth games in March 1950 it would be interesting to see the league table. How did supporters react to the ultimate failure? Were they pleased that, for once, there had been a dramatic season - or did they moan like buggery that promotion had been blown?

Turn to the centenary history and there's a revealing little paragraph about that season. After discussing the recall to QPR of the on-loan Don Mills we read that:

...another factor was the unsettling decision of manager John McNeil to leave Torquay to take over at Second Division Bury - citing the apathetic response of the South Devon public and failing to see how United could hope to fulfill their ambitions on average home gares of 8,500.

And guess what? 1949/50 ended with a 1-4 home defeat against Exeter City......

What would Jon say? Plus ça change....

I would if I could work out how to type a cedilla!