By Mark Gelder

Our visit to Plainmoor on 3 January could be the stuffing in the middle of three games where we last visited the opposition in a cup game (Southend we lost 3-0 in the FA Cup 2nd round replay in December 2007, and more recently we lost to Aldershot in the Johnstones Paint Trophy in August 2010).

We last met Torquay in November 2008 in the second round of the FA Cup, losing 2-0. A game that proved to be Darren Patterson's last in charge.

In recent years, Torquay have been up and down the divisions, most noticeably for us in 2006 when they escaped relegation from League Two under our ex-manager Ian Atkins, sending us down to the Conference. Torquay soon followed us down, but they escaped back up through a play-off final with Chris Hargreaves as their captain, who had been at Oxford after a distinguished career at Brentford.

A year later and Hargreaves was back again at Oxford, in a January transfer move, to provide some stability to the team. His last competitive appearance was the last away game of the season at Eastbourne Borough, but as a player on the bench at Wembley, he contributed to the team spirit.

On Monday there will be Chris Zebroski and Lee Mansell who have played for the Us, but that is it as far I know for current connections.

The journey to Torquay on the train is one of the best in the country, passing along the Dawlish coast and going right by the sea. On Monday engineering works at Reading may force you to take a different route.

Plainmoor is a traditional ground, a mixture of stands and terraces. There is a Pop side for the home fans, and the Boots and Laces clubhouse which is open to all. Sadly the stewards have an overzealous attitude to cameras, and will threaten to evict anyone taking snap-shots during the match. [@news]2755[/@news] [@opponent]torquay united[/@opponent] [@connection]torquay united[/@connection]