Dawn of a new Torquay United era brings excitement and hope

A Torquay United future under local fan ownership, and with ex-Gulls and Plymouth Argyle manager Neil Warnock on board, is set to lift Plainmoor fans after a new decision by the club’s administrators.

Just under a month after ‘preferred bidders’ – not South Devon businessman Mike Westcott’s ‘Bryn Consortium’ – were chosen but not revealed by administrators Begbies Traynor, it’s now been announced that Westcott’s group is poised to take over.

A statement from Begbies Traynor on Wednesday said: “Over the past week the (Bryn) consortium has emerged as the party that can provide the best prospects for both the club and its creditors in the immediate and longer term.”

The administrators, appointed by former chairman Clarke Osborne on April 5 after he stopped funding United on February 22, plan to make a further announcement next week, when the new regime is expected to be formally installed.

But, by then, much further work – the process is complex and still ongoing - and plenty of speculation will have been done and said.

There is much interest, for instance, over whether the club will remain full-time or part-time, or possibly a mixture of both.

Torquay United Supporters Trust (TUST) were part of the original bid, and they remain in a support role, although they are not included in the administrators’ latest statement.

South Hams-based lifelong Gulls fan Westcott, who began his media career as a young reporter in Torquay, is backed by other local businessmen Tom Allen, Mark Bowes-Cavanagh, Rob Hawes and Simon Robinson.

They enlisted the help of Warnock, 75, early in their bid, and the veteran 16-club eight-times- promoted manager, who rescued Torquay from Football League relegation in 1993, watched several matches as United eventually secured their National League South status under interim boss Aaron Downes.

‘Bryn’ is an affectionate reference to the police dog which bit Gulls defender Jim McNichol, creating the stoppage-time for Paul Dobson’s 93rd minute relegation-beating equaliser against Crewe Alexandra (2-2) in the 1987 ‘Great Escape’.

Warnock signalled his intent by continuing to attend games even after the Westcott group were not chosen first time around.

He is expected to act as a football adviser or consultant, and he’s already believed to have done some work on both the management and player recruitment fronts.

The futures of three senior figures in the previous regime – CEO George Edwards and finance director Mel Hayman, who have been running the club on a voluntary basis, and Downes – is not yet known.