Torquay's Struggles: Jimmy Ball Calls for Necessary Change
Torquay boss Jimmy Ball insists “difficult” change is the only way the club will finally drag itself back into the English Football League after a 12-year exile.
Right now, that ambition feels a long way off.
Torquay sit 19th in National League South, with just one win from their opening six games, and a flat 2-0 defeat at Farnham Town on Bank Holiday Monday has darkened the mood around Plainmoor. A club that has spent the last two seasons knocking on the promotion door now finds itself staring uneasily over its shoulder.
Ball, who replaced Paul Wotton in March, is not hiding from the scale of the problem. But he is clear where he thinks the roots of it lie.
“Change is difficult – but it’s necessary”
“The truth is it has been a long time since Torquay have played league football, and yes, the last two seasons have been close, but it's ultimately failed,” he told BBC Radio Devon.
“That’s not to blame anyone, but I was brought in to change that and sometimes change is difficult and slower than we would like – but it is absolutely necessary.”
Torquay have come agonisingly close in the last two campaigns. They finished second, then third, only to fall short in the play-offs – a semi-final exit followed by a 3-2 defeat to Hornchurch in last season’s final. Those near-misses have hardened expectation. This season was supposed to be the next step.
Instead, it has started with a stumble.
Ball points to a turbulent summer as a key factor. He talks about “a lot of disruption” during the transfer window, driven by players looking elsewhere and entertaining offers away from Devon.
From his perspective, that uncertainty has seeped into performances.
Heads turned, standards questioned
“I’m not playing down the start, because it is not acceptable, but I believe there has been a lot of disruption,” Ball said.
“I can't tell you what's going on behind the scenes, which has been caused through players having their heads turned since day one of pre-season and players not quite being at it.”
That phrase – “heads turned” – cuts to the heart of his frustration. Torquay’s manager wants clarity, commitment, and a group fully locked into the club’s push to escape the sixth tier.
He has been explicit about what he expects.
He wants players who are “100% committed” to Torquay United, who are prepared to “sacrifice and give everything” for the shirt. Anything less, in his view, is not compatible with promotion.
He also knows the supporters can sense when standards slip. They have watched this team go from contenders to strugglers in a matter of months. Concern is inevitable.
Are fans right to worry about the slow start? Ball understands the question but rejects the idea of panic.
“I don't know of any scenario when panicking is beneficial,” he said.
He accepts the criticism. He rejects the hysteria.
A manager asking for trust
Ball admits there is more going on than he can publicly reveal. That, too, is a source of tension.
“I would love to tell the fans everything but you simply can't,” he said. “You have to deal with it the best you can and hope the men you're putting out on to the pitch are 100% committed to Torquay United Football Club.”
It is a delicate balance: asking for patience from a fanbase that has waited over a decade for a way back to the EFL, while demanding more from a squad he feels has been distracted and unsettled since the first day of pre-season.
The margin for error is shrinking.
Folkestone test looms
There is no gentle reset on the horizon. On Saturday, Torquay welcome third-placed Folkestone Invicta to Plainmoor. The visitors are unbeaten in their first five matches and arrive with confidence and rhythm – everything Torquay currently lack.
For Ball, it is both a threat and an opportunity.
Beat an in-form side and the table looks different, the narrative shifts, and his call for calm gains weight. Fall short again, at home, and the murmur of concern around Plainmoor will grow louder.
Torquay have been close before. This time, Ball insists, they must be different. The question now is whether his “difficult” change arrives in time to rescue a season that was meant to be about promotion, not problems.
