In the end

hector · Post by **hector** » 24 Feb 2014, 08:07

Yes, agree with those who suggest it won't be the adventure it was last time. Last time everything was fresh and new. A new consortium, bankrolled by a lottery winner, a brand new team, games almost every other week on Setanta and a new young, ruthless manager.

With the funding we would receive lost (as outlined in forevertufc's post, with far more and far bigger ex-league clubs, if we struggle to attract the players now, what sort of players would we attract as a penniless Conference club?

I think our Conference future would be more like the one I feared it would be when we were relegated last time when Bateson still owned the club and Mervyn Benney was briefly reinstalled as chairman, before the Consortium took over. At that time, the future looked especially bleak.

It wouldn't take long before we started feeling that being in the Conference national was too big an ask and we slipped, like Stockport to the regional division, in our case, Conference South, having Exeter's youth players in on loan to bulk up our team.

There would of course be talk at the start of next season, that the club went up before and can do it again but it will be different this time for the reasons that have already been stated.

Behind-the-Gulls · Post by **Behind-the-Gulls** » 24 Feb 2014, 08:55

Noticed Barnet have edged themselves up to play-off position doubt many of their fans' expected a quick return.

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:05

With respect, you are mostly all discussing our chances of getting back out of the conference which is not what the thread is about. It is about the fact that even if we find ourselves in the Conference South then it would mean there is still a club to go and support. What league we are in is irrelevant. I have already stated that obviously we would lose a shedload of income by dropping but so long as people still want to want to watch football in Torquay then there is no reason why the club cannot survive.

None of this is our fault. We don't buy the players, pick the team or play the game. We just pay, watch and cheer. People make mistakes and unfortunately at Torquay it seems that each and every time we make decisions it soon turns out to be such. We can't legislate for Ling's illness, we can't legislate for players like Olejnik and O'Kane being sold for a tube of smarties when other clubs get fortunes for inferior players, we can't legislate for dud signings, we can't legislate for Alan Knill being clueless, we can't legislate for first round cup exits stripping us of potential income, we can't legislate for postponed matches due to worst weather for a quarter of a century, we can't legislate for appointing Hargeaves thinking he would be the messiah and it turns out he is human after all and just cannot get blood from a stone, we can't legislate for the club offering long suffering fans absolutely nothing in return for their loyalty choosing to only reward 'potential' fans with offers of this and that to get them into Plainmoor thus ignoring the very fans that would keep the club afloat should they find themselves in non league oblivivon and we can't legislate for the choice of club we support.

These are just a few reasons why it is not our fault.

So long as we still have a club to go and watch then anything is possible. It is odd how many say that the club means so much to them that if we dropped into the conference then they would be horrified and really upset yet then say that they won't be renewing their season tickets. Presumably such horror and sadness is because they actually really care inside and seeing the club failing is traumatic for them? So why give up just because we drop? What will you do then if you give up? Go and support the 'OTHER' club i know some of you have? If a person you love suddenly God forbid gets struck down with a serious illness then obviously it is devastating because you love that person so much. It is the worst thing in the world at that time but then what? Do you give up on them and go and find another partner because they aren't what they used to be? They still exist, they are still the same person just that they can't do the things you want them to anymore.

What you SHOULD do is give even MORE support to that person and show them that you are there for them all the way no matter how hard it becomes and no matter how much sadness you feel inside. You keep it all in and bloody well get on with it. You are a union in sickness and in health.

You are a proud member of an exclusive club of a few thousand worldwide, you are a Torquay fan. Keep it that way please.

Think of Chester, Darlington, Scarborough, Halifax and others. They are on medication and their illnesses are gradually getting better after originally being given little chance of hope but with ups and downs, with the support of their friends and family they are recovering and one day will hope to be able to do the things they used to be able to. Like gardening, hill walking or playing a football league fixture.

In the end it doesn't really matter if enough of us stick together.

gullintwoplaces · Post by **gullintwoplaces** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:07

I have lost both my parents and other loved ones. Nothing compares to this. However, I am in a form of mourning for the club that I love. Relegation would be a total disaster, one that I can't see us recovering from.

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:10

That is my point GITP although I'm not sure I've made an appropriate analogy. Any offence or upset is not intentional I assure you. The point I was trying to get across is that there are FAR FAR FAR worse things than TUFC being relegated like you quite rightly say so we should all just bear that in mind. It's not the end of the world if we get relegated and maybe if we went to Plainmoor and just were happy and supportive regardless then the atmosphere might change overnight and the players would feel ok playing in front of the home crowd. We might even stay up then.

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:19

I'm also not criticising those who don't want to go anymore or renew their season tickets. I fully understand why.

gullintwoplaces · Post by **gullintwoplaces** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:36

AustrianAntheaGull wrote:That is my point GITP although I'm not sure I've made an appropriate analogy. Any offence or upset is not intentional I assure you. The point I was trying to get across is that there are FAR FAR FAR worse things than TUFC being relegated like you quite rightly say so we should all just bear that in mind. It's not the end of the world if we get relegated and maybe if we went to Plainmoor and just were happy and supportive regardless then the atmosphere might change overnight and the players would feel ok playing in front of the home crowd. We might even stay up then.

Don't be so daft, I wasn't offended! I just feel very down and angry about how things are at the club. Even more so because I can't see a way out of it at all. I am not saying that I am withdrawing my support, I have supported this club for fifty years this year, and will go in future if the club is still around. One of the main reasons that the home atmosphere is so bad is that the standards of play are so bloody awful. I can't go tomorrow as I just cannot put myself through it again for now.

wivelgull · Post by **wivelgull** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:56

I won't be going tonight. I agree with hector.

Sunnysideup · Post by **Sunnysideup** » 24 Feb 2014, 09:58

wivelgull wrote:I won't be going tonight.

Wise choice, we're playing tomorrow night

wivelgull · Post by **wivelgull** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:01

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:13

Anyway, we aren't down yet. Plenty of points left to play for starting tomorrow.

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:28

I'll certainly stop going to games if we end up in the conference south.

Because I won't be able to get to any!

Where would be the most northerly away game in that league then?

brucie · Post by **brucie** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:38

We are going down. It is now a formality. Its an eye opener how many fans on here are not going tomorrow night (me included). Enough is enough and saturday was the final straw.
We have spent a fortune on the ground improvements and bugger all on the team. No lessons are ever learnt.
The league is full of dire teams this year and not being able to compete with the teams like Accrington (who get half the gates we do) is a disgrace.
It is Dave webb/Chris Roberts era stuff - it is that bad.
To suggest that it doesn't matter which league we are playing in is complete tripe as well. We have Bristol Rovers,Exeter,Plymouth,Oxford,Newport,Cheltenham in our league. Relegation will be a complete disaster - if you cannot see that then you must be as mad as people say you are.

AustrianAndyGull · Post by **AustrianAndyGull** » 24 Feb 2014, 10:58

Well I've just booked my hotel and ticket in the bench for the Newport game on 22nd of March because I just love going to watch Torquay. I just hope we aren't out of it by then. I'm sure we won't be but we might be if we need a win against Newport which we won't get with me in attendance. Yeah we're a bag of sh*te but what the hell. Brucie, maybe I'm actually normal and the rest of you are mad? Ever considered that?

COYY!!!!!

taunton_gull · Post by **taunton_gull** » 24 Feb 2014, 11:15

Have to agree with brucie. I think you can argue that unlike some the previous incumbents mentioned the majority of the hierarchy do have the welfare of the club at heart but unfortunately strategy seemed to go completely out of the window once the playoffs were reached two years in succession and there was an assumption that league football would be a guarantee. Investment in the squad took a back seat whilst the off field spending went on, good players were sold and not replaced. Sadly although the current board may have had better intentions than the likes of Chris Roberts their legacy is in danger of becoming far worse, poor decision making has led to a situation where there is not enough time or money to salvage things.

I think we'll probably be lucky to hang on to 1,500 gates next year and I dread to think what sort of sight Bristow's Bench and the ground in general will look like next season. The fact that there are teams such as Accrington and Morecambe (who moved to a new ground but didn't suffer the same struggles) with smaller infrastructures who make it work means it is even harder to bear. Like others there is the fear that the drop won't stop at conference premier and we might have a real fight on our hands to prevent slipping further down the pyramid. When all is said and done at the end of the season I just hope there might be a possibility for someone to come in who has the sense of direction and leadership we need but unfortunately I sincerely doubt it.

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