Torquay United Fans Forum

I'm afraid it looks very much like we have been shafted good and proper with this deal. I would hedge my bets that Bournemouth & Leeds renegotiated the total fee (Installments) which Bournemouth would be due to pay Leeds for Lewis Cook who they signed in the summer. This then allowing Eunan to move either for free or £175000 which would mean we would not get any sell on fee. If this is the case Bournemouth especially should hang their heads in shame given the financial position they were in only a few years ago. Hopefully not the case but the only logical one I can think of.

February is a very important month even if we set ourselves a target of 12 pts from 15 (personally I don't think we have a cat in yells chance of that sort of return) we may still find ourselves around 6 pts adrift of safety!

I'm sorry to say it's all over this season we will be relegated. Do the board have a plan in place for next season or are they hoping for the miracle that will never come?

Sad sad times.

Added in 4 seconds:
February is a very important month even if we set ourselves a target of 12 pts from 15 (personally I don't think we have a cat in yells chance of that sort of return) we may still find ourselves around 6 pts adrift of safety!

I'm sorry to say it's all over this season we will be relegated. Do the board have a plan in place for next season or are they hoping for the miracle that will never come?

Sad sad times.

Jesus can we please just get a manager with a bit of know how. This was our only chance of any points over Christmas and were 3-0 down after 40 mins.

Every week I hope for something to click and a performance to happen, unfortunately I've come to the conclusion that this is not going to happen and unless a miracle happens the club really is doomed. Unfortunately we are not a club that will come back from the abyss. We will be no more, so if there is some one out there who has the finance please do not wait any longer as relegation really will be the end.

Whilst I commend the current board for stepping up to the plate they are not the people to save us this season, we need to beg, borrow and steal from any person / club that can help us get out of this mess. Relegation = The end, simple!

The game should have been called off yesterday given weather and forecast! Why delay at 11.30 the decision? Weather has been ok since then but pitch obviously not playable!

Added in 2 seconds:
The game should have been called off yesterday given weather and forecast! Why delay at 11.30 the decision? Weather has been ok since then but pitch obviously not playable!

Good performance today, actually enjoyed the game! Maintain this level of enthusiasm, effort and desire and we will be alright this season! Some encouraging foundations being laid

Ok so quick calculation says if 1000 die hard fans can raise 2000 each that's 2 mil not such a big challenge if we really do care?

Not good enough tonight, first half awful second half we tried that is all! Let's put this in to context we lost at home to BW a Part time team!

The argyle fans were awesome but unfortunately out so called fans failed to turn up leaving us with another crowd under 1800.

I met a argyle fan outside the ground and shook his had, I an not in any way an emotional man but I shed a tear as tonight I feel my club TUFC died.

Jesus

This really is getting beyond a joke all these idiots joining the forum trying to cause problems, the club has enough of it own at the moment. I read PCs statement and I have to say that if it is 100% true we should be embarrassed that we even contacted his asking him to come back!! Why on earth would we open ourselves up to more humiliation.

I have a couple of issues with what is going on and the main one is that as fans of the club we need transparency at this time, if things are so bad that we may not finish the season why not just tell us and enable us to all rally together? I don't understand why when we are down to the hardcore of 1500 fans we would risk loosing more? For an hour this afternoon I had to question whether I would go tonight, why cant we just have an open statement that clarifies the situation the club is in and what we can and can't afford?

I run a national business from my office in Torquay and whilst I don't have the funds to invest in the club, like most of us I would not mind diverting a small percentage of my profits to a cause if I felt I could trust where that money was going. Personally I don't feel that the player fund is covering the cost of just players. I also don't see the point in contributing to a player fund if we don't have a manager. Surely the club would have been better coming clean in the beginning explaining the circumstances that PC was recruited under and setting up a Manager fund instead?

I really am at my witts end but Ill be their tonight because I care and want my children and grandchildren to grow up having a local team to support.

Finally if there are any recently joined members who are trying to stir up trouble can they kindly F off.

As terrible as it sounds I see no way of us having a football club in the future unless......

A - Someone comes in with the financial resources to run the club and the business acumen to be able to run the club within its means and build solid foundations in the community.

B - We survive this season financially by the skin of our teeth and then, begin to grow the club again starting with links to all the schools and employing a commercial / marketing manager that can really get the fun back into match days and drive attendances up.

Unfortunately I don't see either of these happening and I really do fear the worst, not enough people care about having a professional football club in Torbay to cover the cost of running it. And the main issue is finance.

20 - 25 Years ago we didn't have so many options of where to spend our money, Holidays were not so common, cars were cheaper to run and a great deal of our disposable income is now spent on technology like mobile phone contracts. Unfortunately given the area and the economy £16 - £20 is to much of a strain on the majority of the community, add to that a few beers, chips and transport that's £40+ to watch lower end conference football. I love the club but I still find myself deliberating whether to go to a game or spend the money on taking the children out for the day. (Before anyone says take them to the game I have done and there is nothing to entertain them and they get bored, at least when I was a kid we could kick a ball around beside the old mini stand when our concentration strayed)

Unfortunately the situation we find ourselves in means that there is no way of lowering the cost of attending a game as it is to much of a risk and unlikely to see an immediate increase in attendances. Therefore I don't see a positive outcome from all of this, Ill continue to go to games whatever league and situation we are in but totally understand why many now stay away.

Unfortunately just having a board that cares is not enough this time, we need £££ and lots of it.

Can someone just win the lottery and save the club!

I have so much admiration for those who will continue to buy a season ticket even if we were in the southern league with the likes of Dorchester, Im sure that I will still attend as I have supported the club for 30+ years. I have just hit a point where I feel that the club has become complacent and made some catastrophic decisions. I love watching football but I can go and watch Devon League games that quite honestly are better than the absolute rubbish that I have witnessed this season.

I just don't feel that the club and players have shown me enough for me to give the loyalty of buying a season ticket, also the opinions of my children say it all, they are at an age where they don't fully understand rugby or football as a spectator, but if I ask where they would like to go it would be rugby every time because they love the atmosphere nothing to do with the game. I think back to my early days as a child when my dad took me to games and I would meet up with friends from school and kick a ball around in the area next to the old mini stand whilst taking in some of the game, having chips and a Bovril and getting excited about maybe being in the programme as face in the crowd. Its just not the same and that's totally down to how the club is run and promoted, The club would be better spending a decent salary on a good commercial manager who can build a new fan base for the future and work on improving the all round match day experience without this I can guarantee their will be no TUFC as we know and love.

I hope to god I am wrong but I see no positives at the moment for next season and fully expect us to be mid table to bottom half of the conference and quite possibly facing administration by this time next year. We need to find a leader to take this mess by the scruff of the neck and sort it out! Any volunteers????

I can understand the frustration at the officials however they can't be blamed for the situation the club are in. The problems are deep and in my opinion the days of TUFC are numbered unless some drastic changes are made at all levels.

For a must win game I expect to see players roll their sleeves up and fight for their lives which just wasn't evident on Saturday, biggest culprit is Bodin who bottled at least 7 tackles. These guys are paid to play football something I would have given anything just to have the opportunity they have, in any other job they would be sacked for consistently under performing.

I have no issue watching the team lose if they have a go but against a not very good team in Newport we hardly had an effort on goal, lost out in midfield and made numerous mistakes at the back in what was supposed to be a win or bust game.

It's not just on the pitch where the problems lie, the club has stood still or even gone backwards over the past 3 years football is not just about what happens on the pitch it is a business and im afraid to say this business is failing in so many areas.

Ticket Prices - We live in a low income area, the football is poor and worst of all the entrance fee does not equal good value, Even the kids for free day was a shambles with a few balloons and a juggling uni cyclist the only evident difference from a normal match day. I am luckily to be in a position where If I wanted to take my children to the game I can, however I refuse to pay £17 for myself and £5/£6 for the children when the match day experience is so pitiful. I don't particularly like rugby but the kids love going to watch Exeter Chiefs because of the atmosphere and entertainment before and after the game. Don't even get me started on the terrible decision to announce season ticket prices next year before knowing which league the club would be in.

The Board I have no doubt that the board love the club but look at the members, where is the experience of running a club? Thea has been instrumental in financing the club but chairwoman??? Enough said really.

Management Team We all know Chris Hargreaves is a decent bloke but as a manager I think this has been a step to far, I don't blame him for the situation we are in I just hope that once this all goes wrong he can learn from the experience and get back into coaching and get more experience. If we were going to go with an untested rookie the board should have put a more experienced assistant / mentor in place rather than Hodges. A short term 3 month contract just to ease Chris into the role and advise.

Playing staffUp until a few weeks ago I did actually think that we had a decent squad that was just under performing or being miss managed however I have now changed that opinion at the end of this season we need a major clear out of dead wood, I can only think of a handful that I would keep for conference standard football. Pearce, Downes, Rice (Yes I know), Cameron (based on recent performances), Lathrope. The rest just either don't have the ability or are not of the right mindset to use their talent to its potential. One im not sure about is Chappell bags of potential but there must be a reason he is not in the starting line up and I can only presume that he is not showing the right attitude.

Commercial Things have got to change and move with the times, a football club is not a good investment for businesses especially a failing one so other revenue streams and partnerships need to be explored. I am of the opinion that this club is more than capable of getting a gate of 3000 week in week out if they focused more on local schools and getting the match day experience right. the extra revenue that 1200 extra supporters per game would generate would mean a huge amount to the club. TUFC just isn't cool at the moment in fact when I bring my children to Plainmoor I receive all sorts of jokes from friends about social services needing to be informed! Jesus the kids are the future entertain them and capture their imagination.

Anyway rant over Im sure some will agree and some will disagree but hey thats what a forum is for and I am so disillusioned with the club right now I had to get it off my chest.

I'm not really into the forum thing usually however watching this seasons demise really has angered me at the way things have been run, yes we have a small budget, yes we don't have big attendances, yes we need to safeguard our financial future but at the same time we must maintain our league status at all cost as relegation would make the situation at the club even worse in the long term and realistically I'm not sure we would ever return to a Football League status club if relegated, there are to many bigger more financially backed clubs in non league now.

The whole Joss Labadie thing really summed this season up, we have been naive going along believing we are to good to go down and that our loan players will be here until the end of the season! The players we have are mediocre at best and have shown no real passion look at the players twitter accounts in particular the likes of Lloyd Macklin & Niall Thompson to busy tweeting about their cars or women! Surely the club should monitor these accounts and understand that when the team have just been beaten in a big game supporters don't want to see players posting pics of their new Mercedes or that they have not slept all weekend! The likes of Manse and Nicholson may be getting to the end of their careers but at least they care about the club we just need a squad full of people with the right attitude and unfortunately the attitude that has developed especially in the younger players is down to the manager. These guys should be released at the end of the season we don't want them giving 50% effort and taking the cash there are kids out there who would give anything for a shot at league football.

The game against Barnet on Saturday is the biggest this season and will ultimately influence our fate, win and I do believe we will stay up, Lose and we are gone. We may not have a large loyal base of supporters but we do have a community which on its day can come together and come good! I remember games such as Barnet Away when we needed a win to stay up! how many travelled 3000? Southend away for promotion 1800? FA Cup games against not very fashionable teams like coventry & crawley. The support when needed is out there the club just need to learn how to get bums on seats, 2-4-1 in the family stand just isn't going to work. If the build up to this game is really pushed we can get a gate over 4000 without any discounts apart from maybe kids for a quid but that needed to start last week. How many kids do the football in the community team see each week especially during school hols this week? Get these kids in for free on Saturday they are the future of the club and the younger ones will bring an adult at full price! I don't believe that people in the area don't care I believe that they feel that the club doesn't care so why should they spend their hard earned money and give up time with family! Why last week was it not looked into to move all South Devon league fixtures this saturday to 12pm Kick off so as local players could attend the game?

Id love to see Torquay represented at Local supermarkets this week with flyers promoting the game and the significance of the match, this is how you generate interest not in the useless herald express.

Anyway rant over I needed to get it off my chest! I just pray that Alan Knill kicks some ass this week gets the 11 starting fired up and willing to take to the pitch and give everything to get the 3 points. COYY