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2007–08 Torquay United F.C. season

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Torquay United
2007–08 season
ChairmanAlex Rowe
ManagerPaul Buckle
Conference National3rd
FA CupSecond round
FA TrophyRunners-up
Conference League CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Tim Sills (19)
All:
Tim Sills (23)
Highest home attendance6,015 v Exeter City, 1 May 2008
(Conference National play-off)
Lowest home attendance1,277 v Bashley, 15 Dec 2007
(FA Trophy)
Average home league attendance3,864

The 2007–08 season was Torquay United's first season in the Conference National after being relegated from League Two. The season runs from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008.

Overview

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Having been a Football League team for 80 years, Torquay United were finally relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season. After the most chaotic and disastrous season in Torquay's history, chairman Mike Bateson eventually sold the club to an eight-man consortium with Alex Rowe appointed as the new chairman and former-Gull Colin Lee returning as chief executive.[1][2] Although Leroy Rosenior had previously been announced as the new manager, the consortium decided to go in a different direction and install ex-Torquay midfielder and current Exeter City assistant manager Paul Buckle as the new boss.[3][4] With only a handful of players still on the club's books, Buckle had to work fast to build a new team in time for Torquay's first season in the Conference.

Despite a slightly nervous 0–0 draw with Grays Athletic in their first ever Conference match, the Gulls soon established themselves within the division and quickly became the team to beat. Buckle had managed to create a particularly potent strike force with new signings Tim Sills, Chris Zebroski and Lee Phillips combining to score nearly 50 league goals between them and Torquay were never out of the play-off spots all season. United were also enjoying more TV coverage than ever before with Setanta Sports now televising live Conference games and the BBC even coming to Plainmoor to broadcast the 4–1 FA Cup first-round victory over League One side Yeovil Town. Yeovil had themselves previously inflicted a cup 'upset' over Torquay in 1992 when they were a non-League side, so it was sweet revenge for the Gulls now that the two team's fortunes had been reversed.

After eventually finishing 3rd in the Conference, Torquay met their local rivals Exeter City in the play-off semi-final. Despite coming away from St James Park with a 2–1 lead in the first leg and going 1–0 up in the return match at Plainmoor, Exeter managed to score four goals in the final 18 minutes of the match to condemn Torquay to a 5–3 aggregate defeat and another season in the Conference. There was the possibility of a consolation for Torquay just a few days later as they had reached the final of the FA Trophy which entailed a trip to the new Wembley Stadium. However, a 1–0 defeat by Ebbsfleet United resulted in another disappointing day for the Gulls. Maybe the only highlight of the day was a late substitute appearance from Kevin Hill who made his 474th and final appearance for Torquay United, breaking the all-time appearance record which had been set by Dennis Lewis back in 1958.[5]

Although Torquay United were perhaps a club who were fortunate to even still be in existence after the débâcle of the previous season, this was a campaign which had promised to deliver so much but had ultimately ended in disappointment. Having failed to return to the Football League at the first attempt, Torquay would now have to make sure they achieved it at the second time of asking.

League statistics

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Conference National

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Main article: 2007–08 Football Conference § Conference Premier

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Aldershot Town (C, P) 46 31 8 7 82 48 +34 101 Promoted to League Two
2 Cambridge United 46 25 11 10 68 41 +27 86 Qualified for play-offs
3 Torquay United 46 26 8 12 83 57 +26 86
4 Exeter City (O, P) 46 22 17 7 83 58 +25 83
5 Burton Albion 46 23 12 11 79 56 +23 81
Source: [6][7]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted

Results summary

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Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 26 8 12 83 57  +26 86 15 3 5 39 21  +18 11 5 7 44 36  +8

Source: Torquay United

Results by round

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Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
GroundHAAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAAAHHAHHAHHAHAAHAAHHAHAHAH
ResultDWWWDWWLWWWWWLDWWLWWWLWWLDWWDWDLLLWWDWLWWWLDLL
Position13211111311111121122222222322222223422222222223
Source: Torquay United
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Season diary

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Match results

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All friendly matches and first team games in Conference National, FA Cup, FA Trophy and Conference League Cup are listed below. Reserve matches and regional cup competitions are not included.

Conference National

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Further information: Conference National 2007–08
Win Draw Loss
Date Opponent Venue Result[a] Scorers Attendance Position
12 August 2007 Grays Athletic Home 0–0 4,012 13
15 August 2007 Aldershot Town Away 3–0 Sills, Stevens, Zebroski 3,139 2
18 August 2007 Northwich Victoria Away 3–1 Sills, Phillips (2) 1,117 1
25 August 2007 Rushden & Diamonds Home 3–2 Sills, Phillips, Zebroski 3,107 1
27 August 2007 Forest Green Rovers Away 2–2 Hargreaves, Robertson 2,382 1
1 September 2007 Stafford Rangers Home 2–0 Todd, Benyon 2,980 1
4 September 2007 Salisbury City Home 4–0 Todd, Phillips, Sills (2) 3,215 1
10 September 2007 Burton Albion Away 1–3 Benyon 2,086 3
14 September 2007 Halifax Town Home 3–1 Robertson, Sills, Hockley 2,727 1
18 September 2007 Histon Town Away 5–4 Sills, Mullings, Zebroski (2), Todd 763 1
22 September 2007 Kidderminster Harriers Away 5–2 Hinshelwood, Sills, Zebroski (2), Phillips 2,027 1
25 September 2007 Weymouth Home 3–2 Zebroski, Phillips, Hill 3,548 1
29 September 2007 Droylsden Home 2–1 Sills, Phillips 3,321 1
6 October 2007 Ebbsfleet United Away 1–2 Ellis 1,386 1
11 October 2007 Oxford United Away 3–3 Welsh, Zebroski, Sills 4,633 2
14 October 2007 Stevenage Borough Home 4–2 Zebroski (2), Julian (og), Phillips 3,744 1
21 October 2007 York City Away 1–0 Todd 2,483 1
3 November 2007 Cambridge United Home 1–2 Benyon 3,368 2
17 November 2007 Crawley Town Away 3–2 Mansell, Ellis, Sills 1,848 2
24 November 2007 Woking Home 2–0 Benyon, Hargreaves 3,275 2
12 December 2007 Farsley Celtic Away 2–1 Zebroski, Stevens 717 2
26 December 2007 Exeter City Away 3–4 Todd, Phillips, Nicholson 7,839 2
29 December 2007 Woking Away 1–0 Sills 2,181 2
1 January 2008 Exeter City Home 1–0 Sills 6,021 2
7 January 2008 Burton Albion Home 1–2 Zebroski 2,359 2
19 January 2008 Salisbury City Away 0–0 2,633 3
28 January 2008 Histon Home 1–0 Sills 2,482 2
9 February 2008 Kidderminster Harriers Home 1–0 Ellis 3,012 2
12 February 2008 Weymouth Away 0–0 1,970 2
16 February 2008 Ebbsfleet United Home 3–1 Mohamed (2), Zebroski 2,704 2
26 February 2008 Altrincham Home 1–1 Zebroski 2,310 2
1 March 2008 Grays Athletic Away 0–2 1,018 2
3 March 2008 Aldershot Town Home 1–2 Phillips 4,510 2
11 March 2008 Halifax Town Away 2–3 Phillips (2) 894 3
22 March 2008 Stafford Rangers Away 2–0 Sills, Dsane 905 4
24 March 2008 Forest Green Rovers Home 1–0 Dsane 3,071 2
29 March 2008 Altrincham Away 1–1 Hill 1,163 2
1 April 2008 Droylsden Away 2–1 Sills, Dsane 476 2
5 April 2008 Farsley Celtic Home 0–1 2,406 2
8 April 2008 Oxford United Home 3–2 Zebroski (2), Sills 2,241 2
12 April 2008 Stevenage Borough Away 3–1 Hargreaves, Zebroski, Sills 2,673 2
15 April 2008 Northwich Victoria Home 1–0 Zebroski 2,270 2
17 April 2008 Rushden & Diamonds Away 1–2 Benyon 1,276 2
19 April 2008 York City Home 0–0 2,165 2
22 April 2008 Cambridge United Away 0–2 4,100 2
26 April 2008 Crawley Town Home 1–2 Sills 3,121 3


Conference National play-offs

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Win Draw Loss
Round Date Opponent Venue Result[a] Scorers Attendance
Semi-Final(first leg) 1 May 2008 Exeter City Away 2–1 Sills, Zebroski 8,276
Semi-Final(second leg) 5 May 2008 Exeter City Home 1–4 Hill 6,015
Exeter City won 5–3 on aggregate

FA Cup

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Further information: 2007–08 FA Cup
Win Draw Loss
Round Date Opponent Venue Result[a] Scorers Attendance
4th Qualifying Round 27 October 2007 Bath City Away 2–0 Phillips, Stevens 2,149
1st Round 11 November 2007 Yeovil Town Home 4–1 Todd (2), Stevens (2) 3,718
2nd Round 1 December 2007 Brighton & Hove Albion Home 0–2 — 4,010

FA Trophy

[edit]
Further information: 2007–08 FA Trophy
Win Draw Loss
Round Date Opponent Venue Result[a] Scorers Attendance
1st Round 15 December 2007 Bashley Home 1–0 Sills 1,277
2nd Round 12 January 2008 Newport County Away 2–1 Hargreaves (2) 1,510
3rd Round 4 February 2008 AFC Wimbledon Away 2–0 D'Sane, Phillips 4,085
4th Round 23 February 2008 Crawley Town Home 4–1 D'Sane, Mohamed (2), Phillips 2,301
Semi-final (first leg) 7 March 2008 York City Home 2–0 Sills, Phillips 2,286
Semi-final (second leg) 15 March 2008 York City Away 0–1[b] — 3,625
Final 10 May 2008 Ebbsfleet United Wembley 0–1 — 40,186

Conference League Cup

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Further information: 2007–08 Conference League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance
4th Round 22 December 2007 St Albans City Away 0–1 454

Player statistics

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As of final game of the season on 10 May 2008[42]

No. Player League Apps League Goals Cup Apps Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals YC RC
24 England Steve Adams 12 0 7 0 19 0 1 0
36 Denmark Mikkel Andersen 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
12 England Jody Banim 8 0 0 0 8 0 1 0
15 Grenada Tony Bedeau 23 0 4 0 27 0 4 0
9 England Elliot Benyon 22 5 8 0 30 5 1 0
20 England Roscoe D'Sane 19 3 6 2 25 5 3 0
25 England Mark Ellis 22 3 7 0 29 3 3 0
14 England Chris Hargreaves 38 3 14 2 52 5 8 0
11 England Kevin Hill 13 2 7 1 20 3 0 0
2 England Paul Hinshelwood 7 1 1 0 8 1 1 0
16 England Matthew Hockley 29 1 4 0 33 1 5 0
20 England Scott Laird 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
10 England Lee Phillips 41 12 13 5 54 17 6 0
7 England Lee Mansell 34 1 14 0 48 1 7 1
23 Wales Kaid Mohamed 10 2 4 2 14 4 0 0
17 England Darren Mullings 6 1 1 0 7 1 1 1
3 England Kevin Nicholson 46 1 16 0 62 1 0 0
27 England Michael Poke 4 0 2 0 6 0 0 0
1 Canada Simon Rayner 30 0 3 0 33 0 0 0
21 England Martin Rice 9 0 11 0 20 0 1 0
5 Scotland Chris Robertson 23 2 8 0 31 2 3 0
8 England Tim Sills 44 19 15 4 59 23 5 0
19 England Danny Stevens 29 2 10 3 39 5 2 0
24 England Leslie Thompson 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
6 Wales Chris Todd 42 5 15 2 57 7 8 0
18 England Ishmael Welsh 18 1 4 0 22 4 0 0
4 England Steve Woods 21 0 8 0 29 0 5 0
12 England Danny Wring 6 0 1 0 7 0 0 0
26 England Chris Zebroski 46 18 15 1 61 19 7 0

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Torquay United's score shown first
  2. ^ Torquay United won 2–1 on aggregate

References

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  1. ^ "Takeover is completed at Torquay". BBC Sport. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Lee back in new role at Torquay". BBC Sport. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  3. ^ "Gulls set to reveal Rosenior exit". BBC Sport. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Buckle named as new Torquay boss". BBC Sport. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Hill's bitter sweet Wembley day". BBC Sport. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  6. ^ Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2007–2008. Glenda Rollin & Jack Rollin (eds.). Headline, 2008.
  7. ^ "England 2007–08". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Torquay sign ex-Pirates youngster". BBC Sport. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Torquay swoop for Lions striker". BBC Sport. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  10. ^ "Torquay 0-0 Grays". BBC Sport. 12 August 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  11. ^ "Man Utd youngster joins Glovers". BBC Sport. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  12. ^ "Plymouth loan out Laird to Gulls". BBC Sport. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  13. ^ "Second loanee for Buckle". NonLeagueDaily. 21 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  14. ^ "Boss hails Torquay's cup success". BBC Sport. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  15. ^ "BBC to show Torquay-Yeovil game". BBC Sport. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  16. ^ "Torquay 0-2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  17. ^ "Torquay extend Ellis loan stay". BBC Sport. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  18. ^ "Setanta Shield results 2007-08". BBC Sport. 4 April 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  19. ^ "Torquay get Bolton winger on loan". BBC Sport. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  20. ^ "Gulls boss Buckle agrees new deal". BBC Sport. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  21. ^ "Torquay sign Southampton goalkeeper". BBC Sport. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  22. ^ "Torquay's Rayner loaned to Boston". BBC Sport. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  23. ^ "Thompson heads back to Bolton". BBC News. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  24. ^ a b c "Torquay complete triple signing". BBC Sport. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  25. ^ a b "Stevens pens new Torquay contract". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  26. ^ "Gulls sign Dane Andersen on loan". BBC Sport. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  27. ^ a b "Gulls sign Banim as Bedeau leaves". BBC Sport. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  28. ^ "Gull's heartbroken by loss - Todd". BBC Sport. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  29. ^ "Ebbsfleet 1-0 Torquay". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  30. ^ "Bedeau among four leaving Torquay". BBC Sport. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  31. ^ "Torquay striker moves to Rushden". BBC Sport. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
  32. ^ "Torquay sign Forest Green skipper". BBC Sport. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  33. ^ "Torquay sign Crawley midfielder". BBC Sport. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  34. ^ a b "Midfield pair sign Torquay deals". BBC Sport. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  35. ^ "D'Sane signs new Plainmoor deal". BBC Sport. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  36. ^ "Torquay sign Wroe from York City". BBC Sport. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  37. ^ "Green switches to Devon". NonLeagueDaily. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  38. ^ "Former boss returns to Plainmoor". BBC Sport. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  39. ^ "Torquay pair put on transfer list". BBC Sport. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  40. ^ "Torquay bag ex-Argyle man Hodges". BBC Sport. 13 June 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  41. ^ "Crawley bag Torquay keeper Rayner". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  42. ^ Cup games include the FA Cup (including the FA Cup 4th round qualifying match not reported by Soccerbase), the FA Trophy and the Conference League Cup but not any other competition. Conference play-off appearances are included within Cup Apps
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