11th - Torquay

After all, last season would suggest that they are a worse team than Burton Albion, and look where we have them down as finishing. And its not like they were the second best team in the Conference last season, or even the third. They were fourth best, promoted via the Play Offs so we're not exactly getting the crème de la crème of Conference football, no disrespect to our Gully friends.

But there's just been something about the Conference Play Off winners over the years that we just can't figure out. We've used the above arguments, season in season out and ended up with egg on our face. Torquay are the seventh winners of the Conference Play Offs, and based on past form, they're due to be in for a very good season.

Doncaster were the first winners via the Play Offs, backing it up by winning the League Two title. Carlisle did the same two years later. Exeter managed to win promotion the season after winning the Play Offs. Overall, the Play Off winners have finished above the Conference five times out of six so far, with only Shrewsbury out of those six being close to what you would call a struggling season.

This has gone on too many times now for this just to be dismissed as a coincidence, but what the reasons are behind it, I don't know. All I can think of is that on many occasions, the Conference winners have run away with it having had an "easy" season down below.

The Play Off winners have had more of a battle to make it up, and are therefore under no illusions about the task they have facing them. There's no assumption that their squad will be good enough, and going with what they have that you might take having secured the title. The Play Off winners realise that changes need to be made to compete.

But you would think that would apply to any Play Off winners, but this is peculiar only to the Conference Play Off winners, so we are stumped for any reasons that might lurk behind it that we can confidently lay the blame at.

As for Torquay themselves, we'll confess from the start that given our lack of reading of the Non League Paper or never having viewed the Blue Square Bonanza programme or whatever it was called on Setanta before it went pop, we don't know a great deal about Gulls manager Paul Buckle other than what we can see from a quick scour round the web.

Two seasons in charge at Plainmoor, with finishes of 3rd in his first season and 4th last time round before securing promotion back to the Football League via the Play Offs last season. You can't really argue with any of that so far, so will have the full backing of his supporters going into their first season back.

A quick google reveals very little on Buckle to be concerned about, and no reputation from the NL circles suggesting that he's from the John Beck school of football, and there seems to be a realisation on his part that to be any sort of success in the Football League, they're going to have to improve on what they've got. Good track record, well thought of at his club and no illusions about the task ahead. All looks good for Buckle.

His squad does carry with it some familiar names. Captain for the Gulls is Chris Hargreaves, the midfielder with the long main who had many a battle in his Northampton days with our own Gary Jones. Excellent player at one stage, you have to be more than a touch wary tho as he approaches his 38th birthday.

Lee Hodges is another well known name, though its not the diminutive one who didn't play for us under Paul Simpson. The Plymouth stalwart is another who is not blessed with youth, as he'll be having 36 candles on his cake in a month's time.

One name which does stand out is the loan signing of Scott Rendell. There was talk at times that we were interested in the former Cambridge striker, but when the money men from Peterboro came calling, we didn't stand a chance.

He has joined the Gulls on a season long loan, which will no doubt have cost Torquay a few bob to secure knowing the way Peterborough operate. It's perhaps a touch tricky to truly judge Rendell. He's scored goals for fun at Conference levels, yet not really had a chance within the Football League, especially when he's had a Man City style abundance of strikers to compete with at London Road.

But perhaps Torquay are in the best position to know what Rendell is like, having seen him first hand in the Blue Square last season, and if they liked him enough to pay Peterborough for his services for a year, then it's only right that we take their word for it and assume they've got themselves a good 'un for the year.

Overall it's perhaps a bit of a strange prediction this for us, basing things on what has gone on in previous years involving other sides rather than on what Torquay actually have about them. It's that sort of thinking which led to people having human sacrifices to the Harvest Gods. After all, what relevance does Exeter City of last season have on Torquay United of this season?

But there's enough gone on previously for us to think that there must be something behind it all, and that's why we're prepared to put Torquay significantly higher than what we ordinarily might do. We have concerns about the size of their squad and the age of some of them, but they do at least have someone who will score goals and looks a cracking bet for League Two top scorer at 40-1.

Eleventh place for the Gulls, but we won't be surprised where they end up this next season.

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