Hall enjoys his role as a leader with Torquay
ASA Hall is enjoying the responsibility given to him by manager Gary Johnson as Torquay United work hard to win promotion back to the Football League this season.
Despite all the National League’s off-field problems, the management and team at Plainmoor continue to have their eyes fixed firmly on the title – and Hall, 34, is a key man in a squad of many talented young players.
A ‘niggling injury’ has kept him out of the team a few times this season and when he isn’t available he is missed. However, as he says, every team that is selected has to go out and perform to the level the manager demands, and that is what has happened for the majority of the season.
Hall, explaining his absences, said: “I just had a little bit of a niggle, that’s all. I just had to be careful that I didn’t aggravate it to a point where I missed four or five games.
“I just had to rest up to be ready for an important part of the season coming up. We are unlucky to have so many injuries at the same time – it is frustrating but it is part of football. But there is nothing we can do about that on a Saturday afternoon.
“The team that is selected has to go and perform to the level that we have shown we can the whole season.”
Injuries have been a concern this side of Christmas and especially in the last couple of weeks.
The squad was missing 12 players when Wealdstone came to Plainmoor for the 1-1 draw last week.
One, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, was suspended after picking up five yellow cards, while Matt Buse was also unavailable as he is still out on loan at National South side Chippenham Town, but the rest of the missing players were injured.
Hall played in midfield with young Hull City loanee, and on the bench was loan goalkeeper James Hamon, with teenagers Olaf Koszela, Louie Slough, Owen Price and Rob Street, the striker on loan from Crystal Palace.
But those performing week in, week out are not so much older, with Lemonheigh-Evans, Ben Whitfield and Kyle Cameron still only 24, and Aaron Nemane, Josh Umerah, Armani Little and Jake Andrews 23. On loan from Plymouth Argyle, Adam Randell is 20.
Koszela, the Torquay-born striker who came on and played on the right wing against Wealdstone, is only 18 and he did really well in that position – perhaps well enough to deserve a chance there against Halifax.
Hall said: “All the young players benefitted from last season – even though it was disrupted.
“The players have worked hard and we knew they all had the talent and attributes to be really good footballers and they have taken it on themselves to work hard to off season and everyone has come back flying. A major part of our game is having young players who are in really good form.”
Hall was quick to praise the defence too, with Cameron his deputy captain, and Bournemouth loanee Sam Sherring, only 20 himself, both having excellent seasons.
Joe Lewis, 21, has been added to the mix after signing full time from Swansea City – with Dean Moxey and Gary Warren, both 36, the experienced ‘old heads’ at the back.
Also out is Fraser Kerr, who is 28, while 23-year-old Ben Wynter, who won the Young Player of the Season, is expected back soon, maybe even on Saturday. “The defence has been excellent,” said Hall. “To win a league you have to have a solid foundation to build from.
“You need clean sheets and to be solid at the back so you can go and win games up front by being solid and making chances.”
Last week, on the official website, Johnson praised Hall in response to a question from a fan. The manager was asked who in the current squad might be manager material and the boss was quick to talk up his captain’s attributes.
Hall said: “Football is all I have ever known and loved and I am doing my UEFA B-Licence at the moment, so a natural progression for me would be coaching and eventually management. That would be great but I still feel I have got a lot of years playing.
“It’s nice having the responsibility at times – the Gaffer includes me in a lot of things that are going on, so it’s all a learning process and all part of the armour, I suppose.”
Hall is looking forward to Saturday’s TV game with the home game against FC Halifax Town broadcast on BT Sport.
He said:“That’s always nice, everyone looks forward to playing on the tele and we have to embrace that.”
But of course nearly all the hard work is done away from the cameras – BT or live streaming – with the games coming thick and fast again after this impromptu break.
On Tuesday night, the Gulls are away at Solihull Moors, before they go to Woking for their FA Trophy quarter-final tie. Still fighting on two fronts, it could be quite a season for Hall & Co.