Torquay United vs Plymouth Argyle tickets sell out as fans relish new start

Wayne Rooney will bring his Championship side to Plainmoor on Saturday

Born-again Torquay United will play at home for the first time since being saved from administration on Saturday in front of a sell-out Plainmoor crowd.

United put up the ‘full’ signs on the official club ticket site this morning after fans snapped up the last few standing tickets for the pre-season friendly at home to Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle.

Plainmoor’s official capacity is 6,500, and ticket sales had soared above 5,000 by Monday morning.

So far, Torquay have played both of their friendlies away from home, drawing 0-0 at Buckland Athletic before winning 4-0 at Tavistock.

They will come up against an Argyle side which is also under new management. Former Manchester United and England hero Wayne Rooney is the new man in charge at Home Park as the Championship side prepares for the new season.

The Greens beat Cheltenham in a friendly at the weekend, having returned from a brief training camp in Spain.

New Torquay manager Paul Wotton, who played more than 450 games for Argyle during his playing career, has assembled a 19-strong squad including just six players who were part of the Plainmoor set-up last season.

Striker Cody Cooke became his latest acquisition yesterday, becoming the third player to join the Gulls from West Country rivals Bath City during the close season. The others are defender Jordan Dyer and midfield player Dan Hayfield.

A group of volunteer Torquay supporters has spent the summer painting and decorating around the ground to make it ready for the Argyle game and a friendly against Exeter City next Tuesday evening. The first league match will be at home to Enfield Town on Saturday 10 August.

The Saturday will be the first chance for the Bryn Consortium which now owns the club to welcome fans into the stadium. Argyle and Exeter fans should also expect a warm welcome, with supporters of both clubs having turned up in numbers for a 'Devon Day' match at Plainmoor when Torquay were struggling for funds last season.

Administrators were called in at Plainmoor in April after previous owner Clarke Osborne announced that he could no longer fund the club and walked away.

The new consortium completed its takeover at the end of May.