Ten years ago, in 2023, the city of Truro was only really known for its traditional tin mining. Fast-forward to 2033 and the city’s football team, Truro City FC, was one of the big talking points amongst national commentators and supporters. People across the UK were adopting the club as their second team as The Tinners continued to defy the odds.
Manager Perran Trevelyan was widely regarded as the pivotal factor in Truro’s rise, having led the club to nine consecutive record-high league finishes. Trevelyan took control in the seventh-tier National League South, won it at the first time of asking, then survived in the National League for two seasons before winning that as well. They established themselves in League Two for a season before getting promoted in 2nd then two top-half finishes in League One preceded a promotion push in 2032.
That meant Cornwall’s first-ever Football League representative found itself in the second tier, where an exciting young side again defied the odds to survive with relative ease – while sending the mighty Leeds United down into League One. On top of two league titles, Trevelyan also led Truro to the FA Trophy in 2026 and the EFL Trophy in 2031. Central to this had been Truro-born right back, captain and club supporter Sammy Raybould, who came through Trevelyan’s first-ever youth intake, made his debut in the final game of the first season, and has gone on to make 357 league appearances for Truro.
Another key factor in Truro’s rise was owner Richard Mukherjee, who came in as a tycoon investor in January 2025, during the club’s first season in the National League. Mukherjee funded multiple club improvements, including expanding Truro Sports Hub to a capacity of 8,712, before withdrawing his funding last season with the club now looking more stable financially. However, Mukherjee continued to back Trevelyan, including announcing plans to imminently build a new stadium and spending £1.6m on improving the youth facilities.
Trevelyan came into his 11th season at Truro with £12m in the bank, a £10.5m transfer budget and a £155k weekly wage budget, of which they were spending £70k. That was boosted by selling backup midfielder Dylan McDonnell and right back Charles Felix to Fulham and Middlesbrough for £4m and £1.2m, before loaning out a mass of youngsters. Trevelyan chose to continue developing his best youngsters, but brought homegrown Antonio Vincent back to the club on loan from Bristol City along with fellow midfielder Dafydd Jones from Everton, while Newcastle winger Andy Watkins and Middlesbrough full back John Fry arrived on free transfers. He also promoted 6ft 4in striker Keith Cole, winger Gary Docherty, midfielder Colin Sinclair, centre back Gordon Gray and left back Súni Ellefsen.
Bristol want Vincent to play as a deep-lying playmaker, so Trevelyan tweaked his midfield roles slightly while sticking with the 4-3-3 approach.
Second Season In The Championship
The bookies still didn’t fancy Truro’s chances, predicting them to finish last at 300/1 for the title along with promoted Oldham. West Brom remain 7/5 favourites alongside Wolves (2/1), relegated Ipswich and Everton (12/5 and 11/4), Sheff United (9/2) and Birmingham (13/2). But the big talking point ahead of the season was Truro’s former affiliate West Ham going into administration and being docked 12 points. Truro’s £66k weekly wage spend was still spending three less than next-lowest Oldham and a huge 32-times less than West Brom’s colossal £2.1m per week.
For the 10th time in 11 seasons, Truro began the season away from home with a trip to Derby. Injuries forced Cole, Sinclair and Fry into debuts as they slipped to an unlucky 1-0 defeat. That began a tough start to the campaign as Cole earned a hard-fought draw at home to Coventry, on an odd weekend that saw all but two Championship games drawn, before doing well to only lose 1-0 at Ipswich. They backed that up with two superb performances, dominating league favourites West Brom by 16 shots to 9 and nicking a 2-1 win through two headers from corners by centre back Ben Hall and then winning 3-1 at Luton with goals by winger Jack Bartle, homegrown midfielder George Bartley and Watkins’ first for the club. They were then a little unlucky to lose 2-1 at home to Everton, but did well to come through a challenging start firmly in mid-table.
They backed that up with Cole scoring twice in a 3-1 win at Preston before vice-captain Drew Meyler and Charlie Barton earned a 2-1 victory at home to Wolves. Two narrow defeats followed at Plymouth and Sheff U, but Truro looked strong on home turf as they defeated Stoke 2-1, Reading 3-1 led by veteran striker Tyrese Campbell’s opener and 2nd-place Birmingham 2-0 with Campbell laying on goals for midfield duo Bartley and Jones.
Truro’s solid form continued, including Vincent scoring one and creating another in a 4-1 hammering of promoted Oldham and Barton scoring two penalties to earn a surprise 3-1 win at Middlesbrough. And they found themselves well clear of any relegation concerns, sitting in a very solid 10th place heading into the new year. Indeed, the playoff places were an outside shot with a 7-point gap to the top six.
A New Carabao Cup High
Truro seemed doomed to poor cup draws, as they got Ipswich in the Carabao Cup first round. But a Barton penalty earned a 1-1 and Wakefield saved two penalties to win the shootout. They then won 3-1 at Kidderminster and beat another League Two side Crewe 1-0 at home before nicking a 1-0 win over Premier League Norwich to reach the quarter finals for the first time. And, from a financial perspective, Truro got the plum draw away to Tottenham as, despite an impressive effort to only lose 1-0, they bagged close to £1m in gate receipts. In the FA Cup, Truro got Luton away in the third round and drew 1-1 to get a replay, which was a dreadful match that Cole nicked 1-0 in the 120th minute. They then drew Bournemouth for the third time and lost 2-1.
Unlikely Playoff Hopes Fade Away
Any faint hopes of the playoffs were ended by a tricky run of games in January and February, including getting thumped 5-0 at Everton, which coincided with hot prospect Bartle being sidelined for five months with a broken leg. But two improving stars got them back on track as winger Kieran Joseph and Cole earned a 2-1 win at home to Charlton.
Their form was a little up and down through the remainder of the season but they pulled off a few more scalps, including Barton nicking a 1-0 at home to 2nd-place Derby and Bartley laying on goals for Cole and Meyler to defeat Ipswich 2-1. A big day for the club saw homegrown captain Raybould become the first player to make 400 league appearances for the club in a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn. And next time out, in the penultimate game of the season, Truro relegated their former senior affiliate West Ham with Meyler’s brace securing a 2-0 victory.
Truro went on to record their 11th successive highest-ever league finish under Trevelyan, finishing in 9th place. They got an impressive 71 points to finish 9 points off the playoffs after 20 wins, 11 draws and 14 defeats, scoring 63 and conceding just 55, which was the third fewest in the entire league! Wakefield racked up the second-most clean sheets with 14 and, unsurprisingly, was the only Truro player among the top performers.
Exciting Times At Truro City
Truro’s playoff hopes may have faded, but there were definitely positive signs at the club after ann 11th successive club record high finish. They had a mass of youngsters coming through the ranks led by Cole, who scored 10 in 42. Only Barton bettered that with 11 goals and 9 assists, but centre back Meyler was their top league goalscorer with 9 and a club-high 7.02 average rating, Joseph got 8 goals and 3 assists and Bartle scored 9 despite missing most of the season. Campbell, who’ll retire in the summer, scored 6 with 8 assists and Bartley chipped in with 4 goals and 8 assists.
Truro’s youth development continued to deliver with three 5-star prospects in the latest intake. The pick of them was Falmouth-born centre back Euan Whyte along with intriguing Icelandic winger Daníel Ingi Hallgrímsson and half Danish goalkeeper Kenneth Clemmensen. A few more prospects included Pakistani winger/full back Muhammad Tahir, Ivorian striker Moussa Diaby, midfielder Adam Clement and winger Elliott Blake, along with centre back Archie James and brilliantly named striker Neemo Ings.
Despite the positives, Trevelyan knew he had his work cut out to keep strengthening his squad while integrating more youngsters. For context, his best player Bartley is only considered a “decent Championship player” and, while he still has plenty of improvement to come, he’s the only first-teamer the coaches believe is a Championship player! So there was no doubt this young squad was massively overperforming. However, the fact that Meyler was their top league goalscorer showed they desperately needed more firepower up top.
Could Trevelyan strengthen his side with a view to pushing for the Championship playoffs? Join us next Wednesday to find out!
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