Spalding provide Plainmoor relief for Torquay United finances

The powers that be at Torquay United must have delivered a considerable collective sigh of relief after one particular result at the weekend.

It wasn’t the news that National League South leaders Hornchurch were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Dover Athletic in a rearranged game (writes Dave Thomas).

The Urchins may still be unbeaten in the NSL, but they are seven points ahead of Torquay (3rd), instead of nine, and United have a game in hand.

It wasn’t even at Salisbury, where United travel in the league this Saturday.

They drew 1-1 with Dorking Wanderers in the Cup, forcing them into a replay in Surrey last night. Surely, more good news for the Gulls.

But no, neither of those results came remotely close in importance for Torquay as a cup-tie nearly 280 miles away from Plainmoor.

In deepest Lincolnshire, Spalding United of the Southern League Premier Division Central beat Dagenham & Redbridge, one of the pre-season NLS favourites, 2-1 and knocked them out of the Cup.

If Dagenham, who are due at Plainmoor on October 11, had beaten Spalding, they would have been committed to a Fourth Qualifying Round tie on that day.

It would have left Torquay without a home match from their recent 1-0 win over Ebbsfleet United on September 20 until a Tuesday night visit from Chippenham Town on October 21 – a gap of a month and three days.

The Gulls have made extraordinary progress over the past 18 months, from the depths of administration and possible relegation to the Southern League, to where they are now.

On the field and off it, everything has looked pretty rosy. But behind the scenes, the pressures are relentless.

Manager Paul Wotton is charged with winning promotion in an increasingly competitive division, against several budgets bigger than his own.

The Bryn Consortium are not packed with people with open cheque books.

They have repeatedly stressed their commitment to a financially ‘sustainable’ model, and they’ve only just come through an expensive year of paying off past creditors and setting the club on a new, upward direction.

United, who appointed a new chief executive officer (Mark Thomas) in June, have an infrastructure which would do credit to an EFL club.

Rightly so, for a team pulling in League Two gates and trying to offer their fans a service to match.

But that infrastructure is not cheap, especially when you add capital projects like Plainmoor’s much-needed new big screen and urgent floodlight upgrade, both on the way in the next few weeks.

Only a handful of Plainmoor insiders know the exact figures, but 31 days without any home game revenue would have placed a real strain on the club’s cash flow.

But Dagenham, including their former Newcastle, Liverpool and England centre-forward Andy Carroll, WILL now head for Plainmoor on October 11.

United WILL hope for another 3,500+ gate, with bar, hospitality and club shop tills ringing. For all that, they must be quietly saying: ‘Well done, Spalding – and Thanks!'