Torquay United Fans Forum

kevgull wrote: ↑25 Mar 2017, 09:52 Our underlying problem is that we have not been able to run TUFC on a sound financial footing.

Between 1500 - 2500 paying supporters have seen their well earnt matchday contributions thrown down the drain week in, week out.

We have enough history to have a good idea of our total running costs. We've been in existence for over 100 years FFS!

I know the TUST needs our support in order to raise enough funds to make a viable take over bid. Possibly between 150,000 - 200,000

However

As yet, I have no confidence that the TUST's present leaders have any business acumen and therefore I will
not commit my money to it.

If a business framework were established, indicating TUFCs estimated running costs and required budgets I would then contribute.
They might seek advice from ex directors who would know the exact running costs and the number of personnel required to run the club.

The TUST needs a vision and this should ultimately be the take over of the club. So give me a well thought out, costed plan, with the right people at the helm and then I would contribute.

My experience with TUFC over recent years is that is has constantly fattened the Handle and consistently reduced the size of the Blade!
And that my friends is why we are, where we are.

Well put, this problem goes a long way back though the last 4 regimes.

My God there's a lot of emotional claptrap on here from the usual protagonists. Talk of packing it in now and starting again is just plain stupid. We are where we are at the moment. Let's see if the current owners do something to try to keep us in this league. After that, it's all just conjecture at the moment.

i suppose we could just go and support another team. That'll help.

Southampton Gull wrote: ↑04 Mar 2017, 21:20 Begin? The reasons haven't changed, the scenario is playing itself out nicely for someone...........

Your dislike of Harrop for whatever reason is fine , you have your reasons but there can simply be no defence of Nico. The shambolic defending has been a feature since day one. I've said all season that it's the worst back four I've ever seen at Plainmoor and all of them were signed and played by this manager. His complete blind spot to this is inexcusable. Signing Harrad was crazy when in all honesty one horrible dominant centre back in the Branston mode would probably have been enough to keep us up. We are bloody a embarrassment and as bad as Guisely were today, it came as no surprise when they beat us with ten men. A pub team would score goals against us. We are shocking and enough is enough

knightmaregull wrote: ↑03 Mar 2017, 16:53 This money wasn't paid over to keep us up - it was paid as part of their grand plan to put a noose around the club's neck.

This interview, just like the very clever period of silence that preceded it, to allow emotions to calm down, is all part of the same plan.

I entirely see why many of us are choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt but look at the history of C.O. & Co. that has been so well publicised before - history doesn't lie and we are next in line unfortunately.

I fully understand the worry about CO's motives but we simply must face facts. Without the money invested (regardless of motives) and the current covering of the day to day expenses, then Torquay United would be dead. They are all we have, like it or not. If they get zero support in any plans they may have (or say they have) then it really is doomed to failure and we fold when they pull out.

Playing devils advocate, you could make the argument that they have previously made the cash injection. £100K plus of their money was used to keep us up last season. Unfortunately our clueless manager has since assembled a relegation squad and now we want them to fund another escape.

I am by no means seeing GI as our saviours but they are all we have and the alternative was insolvency under the last inept but well meaning board. We can bitch and moan or we can keep our fingers crossed and hope. One will make you depressed the other keeps a smile on the face. I'm not naive but I'll choose blind faith for now and get on with my life.

I think he came across well to be honest. There will be lots that will never trust him and a level of scepticism is healthy but we have little choice other than hope he can deliver on his words. As I see it, the club was basically dead without this takeover. It may all end in tears but that would have happened anyway. For the first time in years there is at least talk of a vision that is so clearly what the club needs. That is a positive for me.
YorkieAndy, nothing personal but will you bugger off again please. You don't give two hoots about TUFC so your opinions are not valid. It's annoying to have to scroll past your posts again.

In terms of retaining our place in this league, I suspect the same people who want a cash injection would be up in arms if Nico was sacked and replaced which is probably our best hope. Him signing more of his dross won't help.

To be fair, if I was the general manager and Nico had blown £850 per week on Shaun bloody Harrad, I wouldn't let him sign anyone else either. If we really have wasted that sort of money then it's just another reason why this manager needs to go. We are a club that needs to get by on a low budget, that is a fact. Let's get a manager in who can do that.
The squad is horribly imbalanced and we are heading for relegation and the death of the club unless something changes quickly.

Nicholson's bare faced cheek to lay that disgrace at the hands of the players is nothing short of embarrassing. He is so far out of his depth it's ridiculous, and needs to be replaced before he takes us down and the club basically dies. Today was a joke tactically but his squad has absolutely no balance or shape. We simply don't have the players to play any sort of useful tactic. No target man meaning we can't go long. No pace so we can't go in behind teams and frankly, piss poor technical ability in the most part meaning we can't pass from one end of the pitch to the other.
His statement about the players not shooting is true BUT it's because we actually couldn't keep the ball to find space in the last 40 yards of the pitch. That is shameful and down simply to the manager. I felt sorry for Luke Young and Brett Williams at the end as they did all they could but along with Sparks (who had a mare today) there is nobody who can actually control and pass a football. The recruitment has been dreadful and although we all understand the budget restrictions, there are surely better technically able players around than the complete dross we have. People like Richards,Verna,LRT, Gerring etc etc etc just are not good enough yet have been constants for most of this dreadful season.

Today was inexcusable and indefensible. It's time for a change, and today I think most fans finally had to admit it. Why anybody would clap the team at the end is beyond me. If you don't feel comfortable booing, that's fine but clapping that rubbish is insane.

Surely a play on an Eminem song fits one player perfectly

He's Sam Chaney
He's the real Sam Chaney
All the other Sam Chaneys are just imitating
Will the real Sam Chaney please stand up
Please stand up, please stand up

:~D :~D :~D

I think the current squad is the basis of a decent one but it should be improved over the summer and that means being pretty ruthless. For me I would let the following go as there are simply better out there

Harrod - too slow and a better quicker player would have a field day playing with Blissett
Hancox - couldn't get in this seasons team at its worst. No point in keeping him
Gerring - great spirit but about as talented as I am with the ball at his feet
Ajala- massive disappointment and contributes next to nothing
Exodus -obviously


Question marks over the following and I'd be happy either way

Richards- again, great spirit but passes to the wrong colour shirt more often than not
Verma- as a midfielder I'd get rid immediately but he's been sensational at right back so probably worth keeping as really good cover or possibly first choice there


As for the obvious departures then local league players and failed kids can go with no loss

I think that the current squad deserve great credit for getting us where we are now and obviously Nico has proved me massively wrong which I am delighted about. However with the momentum from the end of this season and the hope of the new ownership I actually see next season as a real opportunity for us to challenge nearer the top end and to do that will mean adding more quality in the summer. We've proved in the last couple of months we can more than hold our own against teams in the bottom half but have fallen a bit short against the teams around the playoffs. That indicates that we still need a bit more in some areas.

I'm all for giving people a chance and of course will do. What worries me is that when it's obvious someone needs to sell a club it attracts all sorts and unfortunately they are often not great for the club. Harrop as manager just seems plain daft to me and yet another stupid gamble. I was against Nico's appointment for the same reason but to be fair he's doing the best with what he has and probably deserves more time.
I think what bothers me the most is that on 'break even' crowds we have got to a position where we are so desperate to sell that not only are we having to keep our fingers crossed that The only interested party have got good motives but we need to do it so urgently because we basically can't pay the wages without it.

I know people have taken umbridge at times for my pretty forthright views on how the club has been run but we were told that crowds of 1800 would keep us competitive. That now appears to be garbage. All of the mistakes this board have made appears to have not only possibly cost us our place in this awful league but seemingly to the brink of bankruptcy. Not bad in nine months!!

Did you support Roberts? I hope you are correct but it makes total sense for the new owners to be questioned as much as the current and previous regimes. Football is riddled with history of asset stripping owners ruining clubs. I hope it doesn't happen here but just because this lot can't make ends meet despite the attendance pretty much meeting their own break even figure, it doesn't make it good news. It does of course mean the current board get their investment back though so that's alright isn't it.

To be honest I'm less worried about the manager than the thought of there not being a club in a couple of years. This looks like nothing more than a property deal and a defunct football club wouldn't need Plainmoor would it! That said, surely our board of die hard fans wouldn't sell to any old Tom Dick or Harry who might not have the long term good of the club at heart would they........?

Good first half performance but then out-thought at half time and tactically we didn't know how to get a grip of the game again. However we kept going and Andre Wright came off the bench to give us some impetus again. A massive 3 points for sure but there's still a long way to go and if people like Madgull think we are home and hosed then they are deluded. It is encouraging and with a lot of luck regarding injuries then we could yet survive. Credit to Nico for his recruitment especially Blissett who may be unauthodox but is a real handful.
I enjoyed it at Plainmoor today and I haven't been able to say at for a long time. I don't expect us to win every week but I do expect us to compete, which we did. Long may it continue but our fixture pile up is a massive worry with our wafer thin squad.

I don't care that we are out of the trophy as we'd have lost to any half decent opposition in the semis, but let's not forget that we have just been beaten by Bognor bloody Regis in a competitive fixture and by all accounts quite deservedly so. I know we have some cup tied players but it really does give an indication how dreadful we are.