Darlo head for the long trip to the
seaside again - to the English Riviera, the home of palm trees, Basil
Fawlty and Helen Chamberlain (apparently she sits in the main stand,
if you spot her!).
This could be our last trip for a
while, unless you believe in miracles happening twice. The Gulls had an
amazing escape after their defeat to Darlo last season seemed to be a nail
in the coffin. Ian Atkins took full control and they survived. This time
around, it seems to be chaotic off the pitch.
New chairman Chris Roberts quit this week "in the best interests"
of the club, after recently facing falling gates, fans' no confidence
and a boardroom revolt. He had been buying the club from his predecessor
and still majority shareholder, Mike Bateson. The new chairman is a local
hotel owner and accountant.
Weeks before, the management team Lubos Kubik - the former Czech international
and with no previous managerial experience - and Colin Lee hit the buffers.
Kubik left the club abrubtly in February after only 12 matches in charge,
with the Gulls marooned at the bottom.
Lee took over as director of football, bringing in Keith Curle as head
coach, with a lot of new faces and a familiar mountain to climb. Sheffield
United midfielder Lloyd Kerry made a good impression on his debut in a
battling defeat against Hartlepool last week, but the boggy pitch was
a factor.
Man
to watch Lee Thorpe, the former Swansea striker.
Ticket prices:
£14 (£11 OAPs; £5 under 16) - in the Sparkworld away end. Pegged
to last season's prices. The club has long term plans to move to a new
10,000 capacity stadium and sports centre at Torbay, to be shared with
Torquay RFC and local cricket club and be ready by 2010.
History:
Formed in 1899 as Torquay Town, but merged with Babbacombe in 1921
to become United; elected to Div Three South from Western League in
1927. Torquay beat Leeds 4-0 in FA Cup replay in 1955, before losing
to Div One club Huddersfield before club record crowd in 4th Round.
Won first promotion in 1960 out of Division Four.
Lost in Sherpa Vans
Trophy final at Wembley in 1989. Survived relegation to Conference
in 1996 due to Stevenage's unfit ground. Promoted again in 2003-2004 season but relegated after one season. Record Attendance: 21,908 v Huddersfield T, FA Cup, 29 Jan 1955 Capacity: 6,104
Last season: Relegated from League One
Honours: Div 4 play-off winners (1991) Record victory:
9-0 v Swindon Town, Div 3S, 8 March 1952 Defeat: 2-10 v Fulham, Div 3S, 7 Sept 1931 Nickname: The Gulls Colours: Yellow and blue Director of football: Colin Lee; head coach: Keith Curle Chairman: Keith Richardson Players in: January: Dean Gordon, Lloyd Kerry (Sheff
Utd - loan), Jamal Easter and Nick McKoy (both Cardiff City - loans),
Stephen Cooke (Bournemouth - loan), Nathan Simpson (St Albans),
Ryan Dickson (Plymouth - loan), Matthew Halliday and Rossi Jarvis
(Norwich - loans); Darren Baxter and Leon Hapgood, Kevin Miller
(Southampton - loan); Summer: Lee Andrews (Carlisle), Lee
Mansell (Oxford Utd), Stephen Reed (Yeovil), Micky Evans (Plymouth),
Lee Thorpe (Swansea), Jamie Ward (Aston Villa), Steve Angus (Barnet),
Adam Murray (Carlisle, £10,000), Chris McPhee (Brighton), Carl Motteram
(Birmingham). Players out:January: Adam Murray (Macclesfield), Jamie Ward (Chesterfield), Carl Motteram (released), Stephen Reed (Tiverton); Summer: Tony Bedeau (Walsall), Jo Kuffour (Brentford), Andy Marriott, James
Sharp, Alan Connell, Anthony Lloyd, Morike Sako, Alex Lawless, Richard Hancox,
Paul Robinson, Brian McGlinchey, James Bitner, Liam Coleman. Famous fans/players/connections: Helen Chamberlain (fan),
Jim Proudfoot (TalkSport commentator - fan), Lee Sharpe and
John Bond (players), Bruce Rioch and Colin Lee (player & manager),
Frank O'Farrell, Cyril Knowles, Dave Webb and Neil Warnock (managers).
M5 and A38 until you get to the A380, sign-posted to the town, keeping following the signs onto the A3022 into Riviera Way, then it's left at the Texaco garage, down into Hele Rd and across the crossroads. The ground is sign-posted. There are match-day parking restrictions in Warboro Road, by the stadium, but some parking in nearby streets.
Trains: Plainmoor's a bit of a hike from the station - just over two miles on foot up the hill from the town. There are plenty of taxis though and the No34 bus goes to the ground from the town centre.
Suggested trains (UPDATED JAN '07):
Not viable unless a weekend stopover from Darlington 07:14-Torquay
(13.33), via Birmingham and Exeter. Duration: 6hrs 19mins.
NO TRAIN BACK ON SATURDAY. Advance returns from £69,
saver returns at least £124.
Bristol Temple Meads: 08.44-Exeter St Davids (09.43) 09.50-arr
10.33 (or same trains an hour later). Return: 17.57-Exeter St Davids
(18.42) 19.23 arr 20.25. Advance returns from £21.
A bit of an awkward outward journey from Cardiff Central 06.55-Newport
(07.07) 07.12 bus to Bristol Parkway (07.52) 08.25-Exeter St Davids
(09.43) 09.50-arr 10.33. Return: 17.57-Exeter St Davids (18.42)
19.23-Bristol Termple Meads (20.25) 20.54 arr 21.42. Fares: Advance
returns from £29.
London Paddington 07.30-Newton Abbott (10.45) 11.23 arr
11.33. Return: 17.57-Newton Abbott (18.08) 18,34-arr 21.24. Fares:
Advance returns from £25-£51
Birmingham New Street: 07.10 via Exeter St Davids (09.43)
09.50 arr 10.33. Rtn: 17.57 via Exeter (19.15) 19.23 arr 21.57.
Fares: Advance returns from £38.
Torbay Cab Co 01803 292 292
Babbacombe Cabs 01803 326450
A Less Taxing Taxi 01803 211611
Price First 01803 322322
Cab rides cost about £4-5 from the station, but quite a hike. Can
order pick-ups after the match.
Darlington
FC Supporters Club Coach time 6am,
£25. Contact: 01325 243911. See Darlington
Supporters' Club for more details.
There are dozens of places to suit all
pockets, from £17 a night B&Bs to five-star hotels. Grey wigs and zimmer
frames can be supplied. We last stayed at the Hotel de la Mer (16 Babbacombe
Rd, 01803 324014, £25 each per night B&B), less than 10 minutes walk from
the ground and close to Babbacombe village centre and the sea.
We also had an email from the Hillsborough
guest house(18 Morgan Avenue, TQ2 5RS, Tel 01803 283286,
£15-17 per person.) The family hotel says it welcomes football
fans, offering single, twin, treble and family rooms - also mixed
and single sex parties catered for, "at competitive rates".
A short drive from Plainmoor, five minutes walk from the shops and
15 minutes from the beach. See also the Ashley
Rise Hotel (01803 327282), which was £20.
TOURIST INFORMATION/ACCOMMODATION: Go to the accommodation page
on the English Riviera tourism
site.. Torquay Tourist Information Centre, Vaughan Parade Torquay Devon
TQ2 5JG, Visitor line: 0870 70 70 010
By the way, Fawlty Towers was inspired by John Cleese staying years ago with the Monty Python team in Torquay at the Gleneagles Hotel, where the then-owner Donald Sinclair's eccentricities caused a fascinated Cleese to stay, while the others left. Sadly, the modern-day hotel has no connection and doesn't even mark it in any way...
Recommended near ground
The
Union Inn. St Marychurch Rd/St Paul's Road
A very football-friendly
bar, run by a Bristol Rovers fan Geoff and wife Sue, so take pity on him
and buy his Courage Best/Tetley! Sky Sports on screen, pool table
and five minutes from away end. Well behaved fans of all clubs welcomed - always footie chat at the bar and souvenirs from other clubs, including Darlo, on the walls. DAFTS recommended
At the ground
The Boots and Laces
Torquay Utd, Plainmoor Away fans are welcome in the
club bar - friendly and right by the ground of course. As you'd
expect, it can get quite full on match days. Sky Sports screens.
Free entry.
Real ale/near ground
The Buccaneer,
43, Babbacombe Downs Road,
TQ1 3LN
St Austell brewery real ale pub with good food, close to the cliff-top
gardens and model village. There were two ales on, during our visit
- one the regular beer, which is quite creamy but goes down easily.
Sea views from the beer garden at the front and the upstairs bar.
A straightforward 15 minute walk to the ground. Click
for streetmapDAFTS recommended.
The Crown and Sceptre, 2 Petitor Road St.Marychurch
Friendly real ale bar, usually with four beers on,
local characters and the landlord's Jack Russell dogs. They also
serve good food, 12.30pm-2.30pm. A nice old fashioned pub, with
a collection of chamber pots hanging from the ceiling. Ten minutes
walk from the ground. Down St Marychurch Road through St Marychurch
village, around the corner from Snooty's Bar. Click for
street mapDAFTS recommended
Real ale/town centre
The Hole on the Wall,
6, Park Lane,
TQ1 2AU
Reputedly the town's oldest inn, this 16th century pub close to
the harbour - off Torwood Street - and a mile from the railway station.
Greene King real ales. DAFTS recommendedClick
for streetmap
Molloys and Snooty's. Both in Fore Street
Molloys is an Irish-style bar in St Marychurch village, with Courage beers and cider; Snooty's a bit further up across the street is a no-frills large pub, 5-10 mins walk from ground.
Fortunes Sports Bar 187 St Marychurch Rd A Sports Bar close to ground, in the sense it's got Sky screens and a pool table. Just an old man and a cat in when I was last in a couple of seasons ago - although this was five hours before kick off. Five minutes from the ground and OK for a cheap pint.
There are plenty of takeways
and a few pubs too in St Marychurch Road. The ground sells excellent
pasties (c£2) and sausage rolls, coffee and chocolate. The pies
(£2.50) were a little salty and disappointing. The toilet
facilities are a little prehistotric, with caveman graffiti as well
as slogans from visitors who must have done well to write in that
light.
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you'd like to be e-mailed a regular bulletin with the latest updates on
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then
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A vital, late 1-0 win at Torquay, which
takes Darlo to within touching distance of the play-offs.
Can we be genuine contenders? Hard to tell on today's performance
as the pitch evened things up. But we're grinding out results rather than
looking convincing at the moment - perhaps we just have the luck to go with
the hard work? We seem to work well in 20 minute phases before going to sleep,
like we did again today.
The pitch was a bog in the middle but the bright
morning weather helped and it passed a 12.30pm inspection after local fans
helped jab it with a fork for most of the morning. We started well, putting
them under pressure. Martin Smith joined Tommy Wright up front and we made
the best of the sticky conditions.
Torquay were frankly awful in the first half and we seemed to be making heavy
weather - and pitch - of it.
Second half, the home side had far more of the possession but created little
threat, although Lee Jones had one save to make. Eventually, Armstrong and
Joachim came on. Our man-of-the match Neil Wainwright - another tireless performance
- hit a long ball along the right hand touchline for Blundell to chase. He
somehow kept it in, squared a good ball to Joachim, who was unmarked and had
time to control it and find his spot.
A fairly decent turn-out of 130 visiting
fans (not many DAFTS though!), given the doubt over the match and weekend
engineering works on the railways. An easy run on the M5 at least and sadly
only one pint in the Crown and Sceptre. The result was all that mattered and
with 10 games unbeaten, leaving us two points behind Wycombe (who lost to
a last minute goal), we seem to have some momentum and a squad at least with
some depth.
Lost in Sherpa Vans
Trophy final at Wembley in 1989. Survived relegation to Conference
in 1996 due to Stevenage's unfit ground. Promoted again in 2003-2004 season but relegated after one season.
The
Union Inn. St Marychurch Rd/St Paul's Road
Darlo grind out vital points
Second half, the home side had far more of the possession but created little
threat, although Lee Jones had one save to make. Eventually, Armstrong and
Joachim came on. Our man-of-the match Neil Wainwright - another tireless performance
- hit a long ball along the right hand touchline for Blundell to chase. He
somehow kept it in, squared a good ball to Joachim, who was unmarked and had
time to control it and find his spot.