Torquay’s revival: A tale of mockery, ‘Gary Time’ and that ‘stupid f*****g dog’

When an Alsatian ran on the field of play and bit Jim McNichol in the leg, he could have been forgiven for thinking that forces of all kinds were working against him.

It was the final day of the 1986-87 season and McNichol’s Torquay United side were, to excuse the pun, in a dog fight for their Football League survival. They only needed a point to stay up but going into the second half, they were losing 2-0 at home to Crewe Alexandra (a young David Platt scored one of the goals) and on course to become the first team ever to be relegated from the old Division Four into non-League.

McNichol scored a deflected free kick to give Torquay a lifeline just after the break but it was the event in the 88th minute which proved to be decisive — according to folklore, anyway — when the Alsatian, a police dog on duty at the match, ran onto the pitch and went for McNichol.