Two minute guide to: Torquay Utd
With Vale travelling down to Devon for the weekend, we take a brief look at our opponents for whom it has been a hectic recent few days.
The man in charge
Technically, Martin Ling remains the manager but a serious and mystery illness has sidelined him since the end of January and he will remain out of action until the end of the season. We wish Martin a speedy and full recovery.
Assistant-manager Shaun Taylor has been in charge recently, but this week the club moved to bring in more experience and have appointed Alan Knill as their interim manager. Knill, who has previously been in charge at Bury and Scunthorpe will be in charge until the end of the season. His first game in charge will be the match against the Valiants.
Match Facts
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Plainmoor
Vale form: D-W-W-D-L
Torquay form: L-L-L-L-L
Last time we met
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Vale Park back in September. Ian Morris gave the visitors the lead before a Brian Saah own-goal drew Vale level.
Overall record
It is dead level. Both sides have won 17 games and there have been 18 draws.
Vale’s last win at Plainmoor was back in 2010 when goals from Lewis Haldane and Marc Richards gave Vale a 2-1 win.
Featured connection
Leon Constantine still provokes intense debate amongst Vale fans to this day. To some, he was a lazy goal hanger, only too keen to abandon the club as soon as a better offer came along. To others, he was a misunderstood prolific goal scorer. Constantine’s Vale stats certainly stack up – after signing for £20,000 from Torquay, he scored an impressive 38 goals in 85 games. He left the club in 2007 after turning down a new contract and after brief spells with Leeds, Oldham, Northampton, Cheltenham and Hereford, his last known club was Boston United.
He played 42 games for Torquay from 2004 to 2005, scoring 10 times.
Other connections
John McCombe spent a spell on loan at Torquay in 2006. Gareth Owen, Clinton Boulton, Daryl McMahon, Arjan van Heusden, Neville Southall, Cliff Birks and Les Lawrence have all played for both sides.
Team news
Micky Adams has hinted at changes following the home defeat to Morecambe. Central defence could be one area that sees a change in personnel. Richard Duffy filled in on Saturday but John McCombe or Liam Chilvers are both in contention to partner Darren Purse.
Meanwhile, the likes of Louis Dodds, Ben Williamson and Chris Shuker could all be possible starters if Adams does decide to make changes.
Torquay could give Ian Morris a start, the midfielder having recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon
Pre-match quotes
“There is enough will and determination in our squad to bounce back and we will have a look at certain things and we will look at the personnel for Saturday and pick a side to beat Torquay. We have got no thoughts about going down there and trying to nick a point, that’s not the way we do things, we will try and win the game.”
– Micky Adams
“”We all know that football quickly changes and that one win, or just something that sparks a change, helps everybody and it can quickly turn around.”
– interim Torquay manager Alan Knill