Following victory at Barnet on Saturday, United return home to take on Altrincham at Plainmoor tomorrow evening.
The side from Greater Manchester have – like The Gulls – enjoyed a marvellous 2020/21 so far, upsetting a number of the division’s most-fancied sides, on their way to establishing themselves in amongst the mid-season play-off pack.
Who’s The Boss?
After a turbulent 2016-17 season saw Altrincham relegated to the Northern Premier League, Phil Parkinson was named as the man to rebuild The Robins, just days after his former club, Nantwich Town, had lost in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League promotion play-off semi-final at Spennymoor Town.
As a player, Phil had fruitful spells in his youth at both Crewe Alexandra and Reading, prior to a spell at Port Vale. It was at Nantwich that he really made his mark though, making a double-century of appearances for the club, during which time he savoured FA Vase glory in 2006, as well as enjoying promotion success from the North West Counties League and UniBond League First Division.
With that admirable track record, it was little surprise that Phil crowned his first season in charge with promotion from the NPL as champions in his first season, before making up for play-off heartache in 2018/19 with another promotion, this time from National League North, last summer.
How have they been doing?
You may not have found Alty among many pundits’ tips for a concerted promotion push during pre-season, however the start made by Parkinson’s side to their new surroundings clearly caught some of the division’s big-hitters cold, with the side currently occupying the final play-off berth of 7th position, having chalked up 30 points from their previous 20 outings.
No wins in their opening four fixtures may have seen the side penciled for a season of struggle, however the 1-0 victory at Dover at the end of October saw those worries put to bed, with the following weeks seeing Altrincham downing the colours of Chesterfield, Boreham Wood, Maidenhead and Wrexham, whilst title-chasing Sutton United and Stockport had to make do with a share of the spoils in their clashes with The Robins.
Player To Watch
Having initially joined on loan back in 2012, long-serving midfielder Jake Moult could not have anticipated that nine years later, he would still be playing a major role in the centre of Altrincham’s engine room.
Having previously represented the likes of Kidsgrove and Alfreton prior to his arrival at Moss Lane, Mount is nearing his 400th appearance in for the club, and holds the notable distinction of having held the position of caretaker manager during a brief period of transition at Alty earlier in his career.
Played For Both
Midfielder Jody Banim represented both Altrincham and Torquay during a nomadic 20-year career that took in spells at Radcliffe Borough, Shrewsbury, Accrington and Droylsden amongst others. Having failed to make the grade as a trainee at Manchester United, an impressive spell at Radcliffe prompted Shrewsbury Town to pay £20,000 for his services, as they sought to make a swift return to the Football League following relegation from the old Division 3.
It was a similar challenge that saw Banim arrive at Plainmoor in the spring of 2008, as Paul Buckle brought him in to bolster a United side competing for both Blue Square Premier promotion & the FA Trophy. Narrow failure on both fronts saw him depart the club during the summer, ahead of a move to Nigel Clough’s League 2-bound Burton Albion. The briefest of stints at Moss Lane followed as 2008/09 headed towards its climax, before Jody finally settled into a long-term return at Droylsden.
Previous Encounter
With both sides desperately fighting it out for fifth-tier survival in April 2016, a tense evening at Plainmoor contained all the ingredients for a relegation six-pointer. Luke Young’s 17th-minute steadied a few home nerves, however it wasn’t until just before the hour-mark that the Yellow Army could really begin to breathe easily, as Shaun Harrad’s strike clinched a vital 2-0 victory for Kevin Nicholson’s men.
In association with LV BET
Torquay United AFC will once again be providing full Livestream access for this fixture, including an hour-long pre-match show here.
The club will also be providing commentary of the encounter via Official TUFC Radio here.