The 2011–12 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's 76th season in the Football League and their third consecutive season in League Two. The season runs from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012.
Overview Having narrowly missed out on promotion to League One after defeat by Stevenage in the previous season's League Two play-off final, the 2011–12 season represents a new era for Torquay United with the departure of manager Paul Buckle and several of the squad who had taken part in last season's promotion challenge. As well as new manager Martin Ling having to rebuild the squad on the pitch, literal rebuilding off the pitch has started with the demolition of the old grandstand at Plainmoor and the construction of a new one, to be named 'Bristow's Bench' in honour of Torquay's late vice-chairman Paul Bristow.
League statistics
League Two
Results summary
Results by round
Season diary
July Following the acquisitions in June of Joe Oastler, Chris McPhee and Daniel Leadbitter, Martin Ling further bolstered the Torquay United squad with two crucial defensive signings in goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik and centre back Brian Saah. Olejnik came with a fine pedigree having played for Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League while Saah had previously played under Ling at Leyton Orient and Cambridge United. With Chris Zebroski making the decision to follow former manager Paul Buckle to Bristol Rovers, Ling needed to improve his attacking options which led to the signings of strikers Rene Howe and Taiwo Atieno and midfielder Ian Morris. Finally, as back-up to Bobby Olejnik, former Gulls keeper Martin Rice returned to Plainmoor after two seasons with Truro City.
A series of friendlies saw the new recruits bed in well with the established squad members with Howe, Atieno, McPhee, Oastler and Morris all helping themselves to goals in a pre-season programme which saw the Gulls lose just once (to Championship side Burnley). Particularly pleasing to Torquay supporters were the defeat of another Championship side Bristol City and a 3–0 victory over bitter rivals Exeter City. The pre-season fixtures ended with a 6–2 win over Truro City, who included among their ranks the young defender Ed Palmer who had only just joined the Cornish club on loan from Torquay.
With Martin Ling seemingly satisfied with his squad, Torquay supporters now braced themselves for another season.
August The optimism of the new season was swiftly dashed when striker Justin Richards scored twice early in the second half to put Burton Albion 2–0 ahead in the opening day fixture at Plainmoor. However, Torquay were able to show enough character to respond to this setback with Rene Howe and captain Lee Mansell both scoring to salvage a 2–2 draw. Next up was a trip to St Mary's for a Carling Cup First Round fixture with Southampton. Despite a spirited performance, the Gulls were unable to overcome a strong Saints side and had to accept a 4–1 defeat as well as the fact that Torquay had now gone ten years without reaching the Second Round of the League Cup. However, the Gulls did not have to wait much longer for their first victory of the season and it was to be a particularly enjoyable one for the Torquay fans as it came at the home of Paul Buckle's new side Bristol Rovers. Goals from Taiwo Atieno and Rene Howe in the first fifteen minutes was enough to secure all three points at the Memorial Stadium, despite Byron Anthony snatching one back for Rovers in the second half. Back to back away victories were then achieved with a hard-fought 1–0 win at Aldershot, pushing the Gulls up to 4th in the League Two table. However, Torquay were soon brought back down to earth when newly promoted Crawley Town came to Plainmoor and easily outplayed the home side in a 3–1 defeat of the Gulls. The consolation goal was Lee Mansell's fourth of the campaign and left the midfielder in the unlikely position as the club's top scorer for the season so far.
Spirits were raised after that defeat with the loan signing of promising young forward Billy Bodin from Swindon Town. However, it soon became clear that he had arrived as a replacement for his namesake Billy Kee who was sold to Burton Albion the very next day. Kee had struggled to secure a place in the starting line up under Paul Buckle and, with Howe and Atieno beginning to establish an effective striking partnership under Martin Ling, Kee took the opportunity to join the Brewers and return to his native Midlands. Some pride was restored after the Crawley humiliation with a 1–1 draw at Dagenham & Redbridge, leaving the Gulls' undefeated away record intact, at least as far as the League was concerned. However, a trip to Whaddon Road in the Johnstone Paints Trophy saw another early cup exit for Torquay at the hands of Cheltenham Town.
While the cup defeats were disappointing, it was clear that Martin Ling's focus was firmly on the League campaign. Two wins, two draws and one defeat represented a solid start to the season and the overall performances of the new look Torquay squad suggested that there were perhaps more reasons for the Gulls fans to be positive than not.
September With Rene Howe suffering from a hamstring injury and Billy Bodin on international duty with the Wales under-21 squad, Martin Ling was presented with a mini striker crisis before the visit of Macclesfield Town for the first fixture of the month. Despite this, Torquay managed to register their biggest win of the campaign so far with a 3–0 defeat of the Silkmen thanks to first goals of the season from Brian Saah, Chris McPhee and Eunan O'Kane. Howe was fit enough to be restored to the starting line-up alongside Bodin for the next match which, ironically, resulted in a lacklustre 0–0 draw with Northampton Town at the Sixfields Stadium. This was then followed up by two further draws against Cheltenham Town and Rotherham United, both at Plainmoor. Although these were far more entertaining matches than the Northampton stalemate, it was concerning that Torquay had fallen behind within the first five minutes of both games. However, the Gulls did at least show the desire to fight back in both games, gaining a 2–2 result against Cheltenham and finishing the epic Rotherham encounter with a 3–3 scoreline. Nevertheless, Martin Ling was now growing concerned at the prospect of Torquay becoming the League's 'draw specialists'.
Morale was boosted before the trip to Shrewsbury Town with the news that Eunan O'Kane had signed a new contract keeping the midfielder at Plainmoor until 2014. However, it was not such good news on the pitch with the Shrews gaining revenge for last season's play-off defeat, beating the Gulls 2–0 in a match which also saw Rene Howe dismissed for a second bookable offence. It was a disappointing end to a month which left the Gulls in 13th position in the League Two table having started it in 12th. It was now becoming clear that if Torquay were to avoid a season of mid-table mediocrity (or worse), they would need to start converting some of their draws into wins.
October If Torquay United were hoping their indifferent fortunes would improve with the start of a new month, they were to be sorely disappointed. Early in the month the team received a blow with the news that midfielder Ian Morris had picked up a knee injury which threatened to rule him out for at least a couple of months. On the pitch, despite holding league leaders Morecambe to a 1–1 draw at Plainmoor in their opening fixture of the month, the Gulls would then go on to lose their next three matches against Bradford City, Gillingham and Southend United by an aggregate margin of 10–3. Perhaps the most disappointing result of the three was the 1–0 defeat by Bradford at Valley Parade. Even with the Bantams being reduced to ten men after just 24 minutes, Torquay were still unable to penetrate a defence which had not kept a clean sheet in their previous 18 league games. The following weeks's humiliating 5–2 home defeat by Gillingham prompted Martin Ling to recall out of favour defender Mark Ellis to the starting line up in the away fixture against Southend. Although that game resulted in another expensive defeat, the final two fixtures of the month suggested Ling might have finally got the formula right with back to back home victories against AFC Wimbledon and Hereford United, both without conceding a goal.
Those two victories provided boost to Torquay after eight game stretch without a win. The Gulls were hopeful they could create a platform from which the team could progress. They could at least distance themselves from any potential relegation.
November November saw Torquay continue to build upon the foundations laid in the last two matches of October. Following the wins over AFC Wimbledon and Hereford, the Gulls went to Gresty Road and recorded a convincing 3–0 win over Crewe Alexandra. This was followed up by an equally impressive FA Cup first round victory over League One side Chesterfield at the B2net Stadium. The 3–1 win earned Torquay a potentially difficult tie in the Second Round with a trip to another League One outfit, Sheffield United.
While the Chesterfield match saw the earlier than expected return from injury of Ian Morris, the Gulls' next League encounter resulted in another long-term injury with defender Brian Saah picking up a serious tear to his groin. Although there was a ready-made replacement in Chris Robertson (who had recently lost his place in the team to Mark Ellis), the possible length of Saah's absence prompted Martin Ling to bring in young Colchester United defender Tom Aldred as cover until January. However, Saah's injury was probably the only negative point to a game which saw Torquay achieve their first League win over Devon rivals Plymouth Argyle since 1972. A stunning second half brace from Eunan O'Kane helped the Gulls record a 3–1 victory over a Pilgrims side who were languishing at the bottom of League Two having only just been relegated from League One the previous season.
The final game of the month saw Torquay make a Friday night trip to Port Vale which, although only resulting in a goalless draw, did at least extend the Gulls' unbeaten run to six games in all competitions, with fifteen goals scored and just two conceded. With Torquay's bad run of form now a fading memory, there was reason again for the Plainmoor faithful to be optimistic.
December Torquay could hardly have asked for a much tougher FA Cup second-round fixture than a trip to League One high-flyers Sheffield United. However, it would take just three minutes before Rene Howe stunned the Bramall Lane crowd by firing the Gulls into an early 1–0 lead. United managed to defend stoutly against the Blades up until the 68th minute when a cruel Mark Ellis own goal levelled it for the home side before striker Ched Evans made it 2–1 within a minute of the restart. Evans then went on to score a second goal to put the tie beyond the reach of Torquay before Danny Stevens scored a late consolation goal in injury time. It was an impressive Torquay performance but the defeat meant that the Gulls would now only have the League Two campaign to concentrate on for the rest of the season.