Torquay United's Jimmy Ball Emphasizes Necessary Change for EFL Return

Torquay United boss Jimmy Ball says the club must embrace “difficult” change if it is ever going to end its 12-year exile from the English Football League.

Right now, it feels a long way off.

Nineteenth in National League South. One win from six. And a flat, 2-0 Bank Holiday defeat at Farnham Town that sucked the air out of early-season optimism.

“Change is difficult – but it’s necessary”

Ball, who took over from Paul Wotton in March, has walked into a club that has been close, but not close enough. Third last season, beaten 3-2 by Hornchurch in the play-off final. Second the year before, only to fall at the semi-final stage. Near misses that still sting around Plainmoor.

“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.”

The message is clear: the old pattern of coming up short has to be broken, even if the process is uncomfortable and the early numbers in the table make for grim reading.

Disruption, heads turned and a fractured summer

Ball did not hide behind clichés about “gelling” or “needing time”. He pointed straight at a turbulent summer.

He spoke of “a lot of disruption” during the transfer window, and he laid the blame on “players having their heads turned” by offers and opportunities elsewhere from the very first day of pre-season.

That, he suggested, has seeped into performances.

“I’m not playing down the start, because it is not acceptable, but I believe there has been a lot of disruption,” he 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.”

He stopped short of naming names. The frustration, though, sat just beneath the surface.

No panic, but no excuses

Supporters have watched a sluggish opening and a slide to 19th and understandably started to worry. Ball understands the concern but refuses to join the anxiety.

When asked if fans were right to be alarmed by the slow start, he cut in: “I don't know of any scenario when panicking is beneficial.”

That doesn’t mean he is sugar-coating it.

The start, he admitted, “is not acceptable”. But he keeps coming back to one non-negotiable: commitment.

He wants players who are “100% committed” to Torquay United and willing to “sacrifice and give everything”. Anything less, in his eyes, simply does not survive what this division demands.

“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,” he said.

He added that he “would love to tell the fans everything but you simply can't” – a line that hints at internal battles still being fought away from the cameras.

Folkestone test comes early in the storm

There is no gentle reset on the horizon. On Saturday, third-placed Folkestone Invicta arrive at Plainmoor, unbeaten in their first five matches and carrying the kind of momentum Torquay crave.

For Ball, it is another early litmus test. For the supporters, it is a chance to see if the talk of difficult but necessary change can start to translate into points.

Twelve years outside the EFL has weighed heavily on this club. The last two seasons have ended with heartbreak at the final hurdle. Now Torquay are staring up the table from the wrong end, already under pressure to turn.

Change has begun. The question is whether this squad will truly buy into it before the season runs away from them yet again.