Torquay United Football Club is an English professionalassociation football club based inTorquay,Devon. This is a chronological list of all Torquay United managers from 1921 until thecurrent season.

When the second incarnation of Torquay United was formed by the merger ofTorquay Town andBabbacombe in 1921, Torquay Town strikerCrad Evans was installed as the club's first player-manager. After three seasons atPlainmoor, he was succeeded byHarry Raymond beforePercy Mackrill took over the reins in 1925. Under Mackrill, United won theSouthern League Western Section in 1927 and were elected to theFootball League later that same year. Despite requiring re-election after the club's first League season, Torquay managed to establish a place in theThird Division South, albeit without ever finishing any higher than 10th position in all the seasons leading up toWorld War II. The club's most successful pre-War manager wasFrank Brown who achieved three top 10 finishes in six seasons until 1938. After the War,Johnny McNeil brought greater success to the club and had led Torquay to second place in the Third Division South before suddenly leaving in March 1950. Unable to maintain the momentum following McNeil's departure, United eventually had to settle for a 5th-place finish.

Torquay's longest serving manager,Eric Webber, joined the club in October 1951 and remained in charge for nearly fourteen years. During this period, Torquay achieved their best ever finish to a season after narrowly missing out on promotion to theSecond Division in 1957. When the League was divided into four nationwide divisions, Webber oversaw Torquay's first ever promotion after finishing third inDivision Four in 1960. Torquay only lasted two seasons inDivision Three and Webber eventually parted company with the club in 1965. Webber's successor,Frank O'Farrell, achieved promotion back to Division Three in 1966 after only his first season in charge. This marked the beginning of Torquay's most successful period to date, enjoying six consecutive seasons in the Third Division. However, O'Farrell himself left the club in December 1968 to take over the manager's job atLeicester City before eventually becoming manager ofManchester United in the summer of 1971.

O'Farrell's departure triggered a slow decline in Torquay's fortunes. His successorAllan Brown managed to keep Torquay in Division Three before being sacked in October 1971. However, Brown's replacement,Jack Edwards, failed to maintain the club's Third Division status and they were relegated in 1972. With Edwards unable to return Torquay to Division Three, the rest of the 1970s sawMalcolm Musgrove and thenMike Green preside over a period which was largely characterised by falling attendances and (at best) mid-table finishes. This was despite Frank O'Farrell returning to take temporary charge of first team affairs before the appointment of Green in 1977. O'Farrell would take over for one more season after Green's departure in 1981 while at the same time grooming his successorBruce Rioch. After Rioch left the club under unfortunate circumstances in 1984, things got even worse for Torquay with the arrival ofDavid Webb, whose reign coincided with two rock bottom League finishes and a fire which destroyed part of the grandstand at Plainmoor. Later preferring to concentrate on his role as the club's Managing Director, Webb eventually appointedStuart Morgan as first-team manager in 1985. Morgan was the man in charge in 1987 when a last minute equaliser againstCrewe Alexandra on the final day of the season saved Torquay from relegation to theFootball Conference.

Arriving in the summer of 1987,Cyril Knowles managed to revitalise Torquay United and led the club to theDivision Four play-offs in 1988. The following year, Knowles was responsible for Torquay's first everWembley appearance after reaching the1989 Sherpa Van Trophy Final. The formerTottenham man was also notable for introducing a youngLee Sharpe to the Torquay first-team, attracting the attention of Manchester United who were prepared to pay a club record £185,000 for the teenager in 1988.Dave Smith replaced Knowles in 1989 and helped build the squad which eventually beatBlackpool in the1991 Division Four play-off final, althoughJohn Impey was the man in charge for Torquay's second appearance at Wembley after Smith had left the club just weeks before the final. However, Impey would not survive as manager for long and Torquay were relegated after only one season in Division Three.

The next two decades would see a succession of managers experience a wide variety of fortunes at Plainmoor.YugoslavianIvan Golac lasted barely a few months in 1992, whilePaul Compton needed the experiencedNeil Warnock to take over and save Torquay from the threat of relegation to the Conference in 1993.Don O'Riordan performed well enough to get United to the1994 Division Three play-offs before being sacked in 1995 with the club again in danger of losing its League status.Kevin Hodges guided Torquay to another Wembleyplay-off final in 1998, but were second best toColchester United on that occasion. Just three years later, the club had to call upon the experience of ex-Torquay strikerColin Lee to replaceWes Saunders when the club were again veering perilously close to non-League football in 2001. Nevertheless, by 2004 the club's fortunes had changed yet again withLeroy Rosenior becoming the first Torquay manager since Frank O'Farrell in 1966 to achieve automatic promotion. However, Torquay would again only enjoy one season in the newly namedLeague One, and by 2006, it was the turn ofIan Atkins to pull off the 'great escape' and keep United in the Football League. While he was successful on that occasion, with turmoil on and off the pitch throughout the following season, neither Atkins norLuboš Kubík norKeith Curle could prevent Torquay from finally dropping out of League football in 2007.

It had been announced that Rosenior would have a second term as manager, but the club changed hands before that came to pass;^[1] the job of returning Torquay to the Football League was given to former United midfielderPaul Buckle. Despite a largely successful first campaign in the Conference, United would lose in theplay-off semi-finals to local rivalsExeter City, while a week later, a first appearance at thenew Wembley Stadium would result in more disappointment with a defeat byEbbsfleet United in the2008 FA Trophy Final. However, Torquay would make another return to Wembley the following season and were this time victorious after beatingCambridge United in theConference play-off final, ensuring United's return toLeague Two after only a two-year absence. In 2011, at the end of Paul Buckle's fourth season in charge, Torquay reached theLeague Two play-off final atOld Trafford but were beaten byStevenage. Immediately after the defeat, Buckle accepted an offer to become the newBristol Rovers manager which led to the appointment of the current Torquay manager, formerLeyton Orient and Cambridge boss,Martin Ling. With Ling currently on long-term sick leave, after Alan Knill successfully kept Torquay afloat, Martin Ling was sacked immediately and Knill was appointed permanently 2 weeks later.

Statistics include all first team competitive matches from 1921 until 22nd Nov 2025.
It does not include statistics for anyWartime Leagues orcounty tournaments such as the Devon Senior Cup or Devon Bowl.

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D[A]	L	Win%[B]	Honours and achievements	Refs
Crad Evans	Wales	1921July 1921	May 1924	104	54	21	29	051.92		[2]
Harry Raymond	England	1924July 1924	December 1924	16	5	5	6	031.25		[3]
MortimerF.G.B. Mortimer	England	1924December 1924	May 1925	25	5	7	13	020.00		[3]
Percy Mackrill	South Africa	1925July 1925	March 1929	176	76	37	63	043.18	1926–27 Southern League Winners 1926–27 Western League Runners-up Election to1927–28 Football League	[4][5]
unknown[C]		1929March 1929	May 1929	14	4	4	6	028.57		[5]
Frank Womack	England	1929July 1929	May 1932	132	41	30	61	031.06		[6][7]
Frank Brown	England	1932May 1932	May 1938	279	93	62	124	033.33	1933–34 Third Division South Cup Runners-up	[7][8]
Alf Steward[D]	England	1938May 1938	May 1940	48	18	10	20	037.50	1938–39 Third Division South Cup Finalists[E]	[9][10]
Billy Butler[F]	England	1945August 1945	May 1946	2	0	1	1	000.00		[10][11]
Jack Butler	England	1946June 1946	May 1947	43	15	12	16	034.88		[11][12]
Johnny McNeil	Scotland	1947June 1947	March 1950	130	53	33	44	040.77		[12][13]
Bob John	Wales	1950March 1950	November 1950	27	6	7	14	022.22		[13][14]
Alex Massie	Scotland	1950November 1950	October 1951	42	10	9	23	023.81		[14][15]
Eric Webber	England	195125 October 1951	3 May 1965	680	275	164	241	040.44	1956–57 Third Division South Runners-up Promotion to1960–61 Division Three	[15][16]
Frank O'Farrell	Ireland	1965May 1965	14 December 1968	177	79	40	58	044.63	Promotion to1966–67 Division Three	[16][17]
Jack Edwards(caretaker)	Wales	196814 December 1968	8 January 1969	2	0	1	1	000.00		[17]
Allan Brown	Scotland	19698 January 1969	11 October 1971	140	50	43	47	035.71		[17][18]
Jack Edwards	Wales	197111 October 1971	January 1973	68	18	16	34	026.47		[18][19]
Malcolm Musgrove	England	1973January 1973	22 November 1976	188	61	58	69	032.45		[19][20]
Lew Chatterley(caretaker)	England	197622 November 1976	November 1976	1	0	0	1	000.00		[20]
Frank O'Farrell(caretaker)	Ireland	1976November 1976	March 1977	14	4	2	8	028.57		[20]
Mike Green	England	1977March 1977	May 1981	221	82	54	85	037.10		[20][21]
Frank O'Farrell	Ireland	1981June 1981	June 1982	53	14	18	21	026.42		[21][22]
Bruce Rioch	Scotland	1982July 1982	14 January 1984	86	32	18	36	037.21		[22][23]
HargreavesJimmy Hargreaves(caretaker)	England	198416 January 1984	4 February 1984	2	1	0	1	050.00		[24]
David Webb	England	19844 February 1984	21 August 1985	75	20	20	35	026.67		[24][25]
John Sims	England	198521 August 1985	21 September 1985	8	1	1	6	012.50		[25]
Stuart Morgan	Wales	198523 September 1985	21 May 1987	96	20	32	44	020.83		[25][26]
Cyril Knowles	England	198722 June 1987	30 September 1989	133	55	28	50	041.35	1988 Division Four play-off Runners-up 1989 League Trophy Runners-up	[26][27]
Dave Smith	Scotland	19897 October 1989	2 April 1991	90	34	31	25	037.78		[27][28]
John Impey	England	19916 April 1991	8 October 1991	28	10	4	14	035.71	1991 Division Four play-off Winners	[28][29]
Wes Saunders(caretaker)	England	19919 October 1991	February 1992	23	7	5	11	030.43		[30]
Ivan Golac	Yugoslavia	1992February 1992	May 1992	19	5	4	10	026.32		[29]
Paul Compton	England	1992May 1992	February 1993	35	9	3	23	025.71		[29][31]
Neil Warnock	England	199315 February 1993	2 June 1993	15	5	5	5	033.33		[31]
Don O'Riordan	Ireland	1993June 1993	29 October 1995	122	38	39	45	031.15	1994 Division Three play-off Semi-finals	[31][32]
Paul Compton Kevin Hodges(caretakers)	England  England	199529 October 1995	November 1995	2	0	0	2	000.00
Mick Buxton(caretaker)	England	1995November 1995	17 November 1995	1	0	0	1	000.00		[32]
Eddie May	England	199517 November 1995	May 1996	32	3	11	18	009.38		[32]
Kevin Hodges	England	1996May 1996	June 1998	107	38	26	43	035.51	1998 Division Three play-off Runners-up	[30][32]
Wes Saunders	England	1998June 1998	28 March 2001	149	47	42	60	031.54		[30][33]
Colin Lee	England	200128 March 2001	2 July 2001	9	3	4	2	033.33		[33][34]
Roy McFarland	England	200120 July 2001	23 April 2002	50	13	15	22	026.00		[35][36]
Leroy Rosenior	Sierra Leone	20029 May 2002	25 January 2006	184	59	59	66	032.07	Promotion to2004–05 League One	[37][38]
John Cornforth	Wales	200626 January 2006	13 April 2006	12	4	3	5	033.33		[39][40]
Ian Atkins	England	200626 January 2006	27 November 2006	28	9	7	12	032.14		[40][41]
Luboš Kubík	Czech Republic	200627 November 2006	5 February 2007	15	2	5	8	013.33		[42][43]
Keith Curle	England	20078 February 2007	17 May 2007	15	2	4	9	013.33		[44][45]
Paul Buckle	England	20072 June 2007	30 May 2011	226	104	58	64	046.02	2008 Conference National play-off Semi-finals 2008 FA Trophy Runners-up 2009 Conference National play-off Winners 2011 League Two play-off Runners-up	[46][47]
Martin Ling	England	201113 June 2011	15 January 2013[H]	81	32	23	26	039.51	2012 League Two play-off Semi-finals	[48]
Shaun Taylor(caretaker)	England	201328 January 2013	19 February 2013	6	1	0	5	016.67		[49]
Alan Knill	Wales	201320 February 2013	2 January 2014	41	9	12	20	021.95		[50]
Chris Hargreaves	England	6 January 2014	15 June 2015	75	27	15	33	036.00		[51]
Paul Cox	England	17 June 2015	18 September 2015	10	2	4	4	020.00
Kevin Nicholson	England	28 September 2015	17 August 2017	93	28	23	42	030.11
Robbie Herrera(caretaker)	England	17 August 2017	12 September 2017	6	0	2	4	000.00
Gary Owers	England	12 September 2017	12 September 2018	45	12	12	21	026.67
Gary Johnson	England	13 September 2018	22 February 2024	229	104	50	75	045.41
Aaron Downes(caretaker)	Australia	22 February 2024	14 May 2024	13	5	3	5	038.46
Paul Wotton	England	14 May 2024	Present	71	37	17	17	052.11	2024-25 National League South play-off Semi-finals	[52]

General

• Edwards, Leigh; Jon Gibbes; John Lovis (1999).Torquay United, The Official Centenary History, 1899–1999. Yore Publications.ISBN 1-874427-38-0.
• Edwards, Leigh (1997).The Definitive Torquay United F.C. The Association of Football Statisticians.ISBN 1-899468-08-0.
• Holgate, Mike (1999).Torquay United Football Club 1899–1999. Tempus Publishing.ISBN 0-7524-1814-9.

Specific

• "Torquayunited.com". Archived fromthe original on 27 December 2009.
• "TFF History Room". Archived fromthe original on 26 February 2011.
• "TUFC History". Archived fromthe original on 12 May 2008.

• Torquay United F.C.
• Torquay United F.C. managers
• Lists of football managers in England by club

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles with hCards
• Pages using div col with small parameter