# 2009–10 Torquay United F.C. season

The 2009–10 Torquay United F.C. season was Torquay United's 74th season in the Football League and their first season in League Two after being promoted from the Conference National. The season runs from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010.

## Overview

Despite a 2–0 win over Chesterfield providing an encouraging start to the season, the Gulls soon stumbled upon a run of bad form which saw them play eleven games in League Two without a win. They had slightly more success in the early rounds of the cup competitions; aside from an early exit to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup, Torquay enjoyed emphatic 3–1 victories over Cheltenham Town in the first rounds of both the FA Cup and Johnstone Paints Trophy. But, while they were beaten on penalties in the second round of the latter competition by eventual winners Southampton, the Gulls were finally knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup by Brighton after achieving a convincing 4–0 win against Stockport County in the second round.
With relegation from League Two still a real threat in late March, Torquay finally found the winning formula at just the right time, winning six and drawing two of their last eight games. The most impressive display during this run was a 5–0 thrashing of league leaders Rochdale at Plainmoor, a result which earned Torquay the F&C Investments Performance Of The Week Award from the League Managers Association. The dramatic upturn in the Gulls' on-field performances meant that their league survival was assured with three games to spare following a 3–0 victory away to relegation rivals Grimsby Town. Remarkably, Torquay managed to keep a clean sheet in all of their last seven games of the season and, in the process, set a new club record of 691 minutes played without conceding a goal.

## League statistics
### League Two

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 15 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 62 | 74 | −12 | 61 |
| 16 | Hereford United | 46 | 17 | 8 | 21 | 54 | 65 | −11 | 59 |
| 17 | Torquay United | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 64 | 55 | +9 | 57 |
| 18 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 68 | 73 | −5 | 55 |
| 19 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 54 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Torquay United

#### 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 | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | D | D | D | D | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | D | D | W | D | W | D | L | L | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | D |
| Position | 5 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 |

## Club statistics
### First team appearances

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Scott Bevan | 23 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Michael Brough | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Kevin Nicholson | 33 | 0 | 23+4 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Mark Ellis | 29 | 3 | 25+2 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Chris Robertson | 50 | 2 | 45+0 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | WAL | Chris Todd | 11 | 1 | 9+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Lee Mansell | 43 | 2 | 35+4 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Tim Sills | 24 | 4 | 12+6 | 2 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | AUT | Ashley Barnes | 6 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Elliot Benyon | 51 | 15 | 31+14 | 11 | 3+0 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Scott Rendell | 41 | 13 | 28+7 | 12 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Nicky Wroe | 50 | 13 | 45+0 | 9 | 2+0 | 3 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Tyrone Thompson | 29 | 0 | 17+7 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Martin Rice | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Chris Hargreaves | 25 | 3 | 21+2 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | NIR | Wayne Carlisle | 30 | 2 | 20+4 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Lee Hodges | 6 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Matt Green | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | GAM | Mustapha Carayol | 21 | 5 | 11+9 | 5 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Danny Stevens | 33 | 3 | 16+11 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 2 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Ben Joyce | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Saul Halpin | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Adam Smith | 18 | 0 | 16+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Kieran Charnock | 30 | 0 | 22+2 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Steve Adams | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | ENG | Ashley Yeoman | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Ryan Beattie | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Scott Taylor | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Chris Zebroski | 30 | 6 | 30+0 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Michael Poke | 30 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Danny Mills | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Marvin Williams | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | NIR | Eunan O'Kane | 16 | 1 | 5+11 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | TRI | Jake Thomson | 18 | 1 | 13+2 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Guy Branston | 16 | 0 | 16+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 35 | GK | ENG | Grant Fisher | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Lathaniel Rowe-Turner | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | GUI | Mo Camara | 2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 39 | GK | ENG | Steve Collis | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Macklin | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 50 | MF | ENG | Sam Cox | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
Source: Torquay United

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | League Two | FA Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Elliot Benyon | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 2 | FW | 10 | Scott Rendell | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| = | MF | 11 | Nicky Wroe | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | FW | 29 | Chris Zebroski | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| = | MF | 18 | Mustapha Carayol | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | FW | 8 | Tim Sills | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | DF | 4 | Mark Ellis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| = | MF | 14 | Chris Hargreaves | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| = | MF | 19 | Danny Stevens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | MF | 15 | Wayne Carlisle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| = | MF | 7 | Lee Mansell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| = | DF | 5 | Chris Robertson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | 32 | Eunan O'Kane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| = | MF | 33 | Jake Thomson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| = | DF | 6 | Chris Todd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| | | | TOTALS | 64 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 77 |
Source: Torquay United

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | Total | Total |
| 7 | MF | Lee Mansell | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Nicky Wroe | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Mark Ellis | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Chris Hargreaves | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Chris Robertson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Adam Smith | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Kieran Charnock | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Wayne Carlisle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Guy Branston | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Elliot Benyon | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Chris Todd | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Chris Zebroski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Tim Sills | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | Ashley Barnes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Mustapha Carayol | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Scott Rendell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Tyrone Thompson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Jake Thomson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Eunan O'Kane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Danny Stevens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 67 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 3 |
Source: Torquay United

### Transfers
#### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 10 July 2009 | FW | Ben Joyce | Swindon Town | Free |
| 5 August 2009 | DF | Kieran Charnock | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2009 | MF | Marvin Williams | Brentford | Undisclosed |
| 6 January 2010 | FW | Chris Zebroski | Wycombe Wanderers | £25,000 |
| 11 January 2010 | MF | Eunan O'Kane | Coleraine | Free |
| 1 February 2010 | DF | Lathaniel Rowe-Turner | Leicester City | Undisclosed |
| 11 February 2010 | DF | Mo Camara | St Mirren | Free |
| 24 May 2010 | DF | Ed Palmer | Trainee | n/a |
| 24 May 2010 | FW | Ashley Yeoman | Trainee | n/a |
| 27 May 2010 | GK | Danny Potter | Unattached | n/a |
| 3 June 2010 | FW | Billy Kee | Unattached | n/a |
| 30 June 2010 | MF | Lloyd Macklin | Unattached | n/a |

#### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 29 September 2009 | GK | Martin Rice | Truro City | Free |
| 4 December 2009 | MF | Marvin Williams | Released | n/a |
| 15 January 2010 | FW | Tim Sills | Stevenage Borough | Undisclosed |
| 28 January 2010 | MF | Chris Hargreaves | Oxford United | Free |
| 14 May 2010 | MF | Steve Adams | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | DF | Michael Brough | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | DF | Mo Camara | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | DF | Lee Hodges | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | FW | Ben Joyce | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | MF | Tyrone Thompson | Released | n/a |
| 14 May 2010 | DF | Chris Todd | Released | n/a |
| 20 May 2010 | MF | Mustapha Carayol | Lincoln City | £35,000 |
| 2 June 2010 | FW | Matt Green | Oxford City | Undisclosed |

#### Loans in

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 28 July 2009 | FW | Scott Rendell | Peterborough United | End of season |
| 1 September 2009 | GK | Michael Poke | Southampton | End of season |
| 17 September 2009 | FW | Danny Mills | Peterborough United | 21 October 2009 |
| 27 October 2009 | MF | Jake Thomson | Southampton | End of season |
| 20 November 2009 | DF | Adam Smith | Tottenham Hotspur | End of season |
| 20 November 2009 | FW | Chris Zebroski | Wycombe Wanderers | 6 January 2010 |
| 22 January 2010 | MF | Sam Cox | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 February 2010 |
| 29 January 2010 | DF | Guy Branston | Burton Albion | End of season |
| 9 February 2010 | FW | Ashley Barnes | Plymouth Argyle | 11 March 2010 |
| 19 February 2010 | MF | Lloyd Macklin | Swindon Town | 21 March 2010 |
| 6 May 2010 | GK | Steve Collis | Bristol City | 13 May 2010 |

#### Loans out

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 18 August 2009 | DF | Mark Ellis | Forest Green Rovers | 15 September 2009 |
| 18 August 2009 | MF | Steve Adams | Forest Green Rovers | 15 September 2009 |
| 29 August 2009 | GK | Martin Rice | Truro City | 29 September 2009 |
| 17 September 2009 | MF | Mustapha Carayol | Kettering Town | 10 December 2009 |
| 25 September 2009 | DF | Michael Brough | Stevenage Borough | 25 October 2009 |
| 1 October 2009 | FW | Ben Joyce | Weston-super-Mare | End of season |
| 9 October 2009 | DF | Lee Hodges | Truro City | End of season |
| 12 October 2009 | MF | Steve Adams | Truro City | End of season |
| 4 November 2009 | DF | Michael Brough | Mansfield Town | End of season |
| 26 November 2009 | DF | Chris Todd | Salisbury City | 1 January 2010 |
| 9 January 2010 | DF | Chris Todd | Newport County | End of season |