WONDERS OF THE PYRAMID: Reality bites at the crisis club that was once saved by a dog… and Torquay United will need a similar miracle to save them from oblivion

Torquay United is the club that was once saved by a dog. On the final day of the 1986–87 season, the Gulls were facing relegation, 2–1 down to Crewe Alexandra deep into the second half, when a police dog, Bryn, ran onto the pitch and took a piece from Torquay defender Jim McNichol . thigh.

The German Shepherd episode, featured in the Netflix series Losers, led to an extended period of extra time during which it became clear that results elsewhere meant Torquay only needed a point or one goal to stay alive. They deservedly scored, sending Lincoln down.

McNichol, who later became a publican, required seventeen stitches and was perhaps lucky that the bite narrowly missed a major artery in his leg. As for Bryn, his clever police work – he thought McNichol was a field invader – has been celebrated in Torquay ever since. A local brewery even named a beer after the deceased dog.

But forty years later it feels like Torquay needs a similar miracle to be saved from oblivion. Now in the National League South, the Devonshire club need help to avoid going bankrupt.

It’s not hard to guess how they got into this huge mess. As fans of Southend, West Bromwich Albion, Reading, Bury and Rochdale know only too well, the story begins with negligent management at board level, more specifically an owner living beyond his means.

In the case of Torquay, these are Clarke Osborne and Gaming International, the investment company that have previously attempted – and, it must be said, failed – to acquire sports ownership. Three of their projects with speedway teams in Reading, Poole and Swindon ended when those clubs went bankrupt.

Once saved from relegation by a dog invading the pitch, it feels like they need a similar miracle

Administrators have been appointed at Torquay and manager Gary Johnson has left the club after five and a half years at the helm. The situation has reached a nadir and fans now fear for the future of a club that has spiraled downwards in recent years.

“It’s a tough situation to be in right now,” says lifelong fan Charlie Baker, the comedian and radio host. “This is the closest I’ve come to thinking, ‘Ah, this could be the beginning of the disappearance.’ It’s all been so sad. Torquay is a place that gives me so much joy.

‘I can indicate exactly where the team stood at every stage of my life. It’s not about the ninety minutes, it’s about the community, the feeling of a club, it’s an anchor for home. I have felt adrift. Who am I, what am I without the club? It feels like part of my personality.

‘If you don’t choose to support a club, but they choose to support you, because of your place of birth or your family, then that is so inherent to who you are and how you approach situations. I’m so used to losing! I never think we will win, every goal is a miracle.

‘You take that with you into your life. When the news came that they were going into administration, I was on talkSPORT and I thought, “Ahhh”, it felt like sadness. As if a big hole had suddenly opened up in my chest.’

Accounts show that Osborne’s company Riviera Stadium Limited has loaned the club almost £4.3 million until June 2022, with the amount now expected to be almost £5 million. How on earth can a sixth tier club lose £20,000 a week?

The club spent 79 continuous years in the Football League until 2007, quickly climbing back to League Two even then. But the past decade has been the darkest days in their history, with fans pointing fingers at poor ownership.

‘League Two now seems like the golden dream!’ says Baker. ‘We are realistic. Where we are in the country we know we can’t attract top players like lower league clubs near the likes of Manchester or Liverpool, who get the overflow of stars released from top academies.

The club won the Vararama National League South in 2019, but that was one of the few joys in a difficult recent history

Torquay faces the possibility of a 10-point deduction and with it possible extinction

‘If you run a professional club you should be able to throw a million pounds a year in the bin! You either have to have deep pockets and a passion for football, or you have to have an eye for the business opportunities. This often has to do with the country and the stadium.

‘When the current owners took over, they were a kind of last chance sedan anyway. They kept the club afloat. On the face of it, their business plan was to buy some land elsewhere in the Torbay area and move stadiums and then build houses where Plainmoor is now.

“I don’t know if they haven’t done due diligence, but the land is owned by the council with a covenant that the land will always be used as a sports and community club. I thought the council would crumble over this at the first sign of a pound note, but honestly that’s not the case.’

So Osborne’s grand plan never really worked. It has left the club without money, threatening the possibility of a 10-point deduction and thus possible extinction. It’s no wonder the fans have run out of patience with the owners.

As Baker adds, “Football fans, well, people, don’t like to be mugged. Nobody wants to be cheated. The people from Devonshire especially don’t like that. Our whole history is people from big cities coming in and taking our land and our homes and turning them into vacation homes.

‘People have always tried to take our beautiful province and make something of it for them. Just because it sounds like straw in our ears doesn’t mean we won’t fight for what we have.

“Our fans feel like we’ve been robbed by the owner, but we won’t let that happen.”