SIXTEEN YEARS ago, when current Gulls boss Paul Buckle was a young pro making his way in the game, he was persuaded to move from Brentford's Griffin Park to Plainmoor.
The man who talked Buckle into the transfer, became one of the biggest influences on him and has since set hundreds of other promising players on the path to professional careers, is Don O'Riordan.
Today O'Riordan, 52, is still dedicated to giving would-be footballers the tools of their trade.
But for the last five years he's been doing it on the other side of the world, in China.
tag heuer replica It was near the end of a 600-game career with Derby County, Tulsa Roughnecks in the US, Preston, Carlisle, Middlesbrough, Grimsby and Notts County that then ex-County manager Neil Warnock brought him to Plainmoor to help in a Football League rescue mission in January 1993.
With the tall Dubliner bringing some much-needed calm and class to United's defence and, occasionally, midfield, Warnock and O'Riordan defied all the odds to haul the Gulls out of trouble.
With safety clinched by a 1-0 upset win at Carlisle seven days before, nearly 5,000 fans gathered at Plainmoor to watch a 2-1 last day 'celebration' victory over fellow escapees Gillingham.
In his later autobiography Warnock, who had been devastated by his sacking at Notts, credited his eventful six months at Torquay for restoring his faith and appetite for the game.
In the summer of 1993 Warnock handed the United reins on to O'Riordan, who became player-manger.
Showing an obvious talent for developing young players, which suited chairman Mike Bateson perfectly, O'Riordan led United to the Play-Offs in his first season.
They might well have beaten his old club Preston in the semi- finals if, after winning the first leg 2-0, they hadn't been the victim of a controversial refereeing decision to send off young centre-half Darren Moore after a first-half incident with North End forward Paul Raynor.
Ten United players fought on until extra-time, when they finally went down 4-3 on aggregate.
Among the players who passed through O'Riordan's hands during that period were Moore, Chris Curran, Paul Trollope, Adrian Foster, Duane Darby, Scott Stamps, Ian Hathaway, Chris Myers, Buckle and two overseas-born forwards, Chima Okorie and Gregory Goodridge.
As United gradually sold their best talent, United finished 13th in 1994-95.
Dismissed Then, after a poor start was compounded by an 8-1 home defeat to Scunthorpe, O'Riordan was sacked in late-October 1995.
By then he'd also helped to sign a raw, gifted and extra-quick forward from the island of St. Vincent, Rodney Jack.
O'Riordan worked for a while with future United manager Leroy Rosenior at Gloucester City before, in 1997, returning to Eire to take charge of Galway United and then Sligo Rovers.
In 2004 he rejoined Warnock at Sheffield United, taking on the job of coaching the Yorkshire club's Chinese 'feeder' club Chengdu Blades.
Chanel Replica Handbags The Chinese FA invited him to prepare their women's team for the 2008 Olympic Games, and during the tournament itself, where they reached the quarter-finals.
"I've been in the game for 38 years, and obviously seen a lot of players from a lot of countries," said Don.
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