Pre Season 2015

[Dexter]

It may well be a massive longshot and I'm sure the club will find a way to justify not doing it, but wouldn't it be great if Torquay did some sort of tour next pre season? As most of you know Exeter have just completed a tour in Brazil in which 160 Grecians travelled, but maybe Torquay could do something similar next season in Northern Europe or Ireland. 3 games over a week in a not so distant country would be fantastic for the fans and the players alike.

Thoughts?

[TeenageGull]

Would be a great use of our little money we have

[Dexter]

I don't think it would be a huge expense to the club. However these things need to be planned in advance, so even if we had a major cup run or promotion season the club wouldn't dig into their pockets. It's a nice thought and if the club ever did it I'm sure plenty would travel.

[Dexter]

Sometimes the fans make things happen, and how much do you really think it'd cost? A game against Lille for example is a lesser distance than Carlisle. I'm not saying we should do a 10 day tour of New Zealand.

[Pea]

18 players, Chris, Lee and 5 other staff with flights at £150 each = £3750

13 hotel rooms for two nights at £75/room/night = £1950

Two lunches and two dinners per man at £10/meal = £1000

Transfers to and fro = £500

Share of costs with Lille FC = £2500

That's over ten grand already.

Matt (in Pea's half of the laptop).

ADMIN EDIT. PERSONAL ABUSE REMOVED.

[Gullscorer]

Matt's quite right. It's a ridiculous idea (as it was for the Grecians) and there would be absolutely no advantage in it for the Gulls. It would be money down the drain which would be better spent directly on getting us back into the Football League.

There's a thread on the Banterboard forum with similar criticisms about Exeter City's trip to Brazil. However, they at least do have historical, if somewhat tenuous, Brazilian connections. For us to do anything remotely similar, even a trip to Wales, would drag us down to their level and we'd become a laughing stock..

Mick (on my battered 20-year-old desktop)

[torq2u]

Good or bad idea, you are entitled to your opinion, but Pea's / Matt's vitriol / personal abuse towards Dexter is uncalled-for nonsense:

"A staggeringly stupid idea from start to finish. Quite simply the most baffling post on the entire internet. Stay off the sauce, or resist the temptation to post when pissed.", "f**king insanity, to even consider it should be enough to see you sectioned."

Disgraceful.

[Scott Brehaut]

Lay off the personal abuse.

It says a lot about somebody when they have to resort to abusing somebody in order to get their point of view across.

Banter is fine, but not with somebody that you don't know and certainly not calling for somebody to be sectioned, or that their posting is "**** insanity"

Thanks.

[Jeff]

What would be better if we were able to host a side who were touring.

I went many many years ago to the game against Lambada, where we discovered Rodney Jack - that was a good evening out. And I recall at the start of the Atkins survival season, we scheduled a number of midweek friendlies pre-season and during the early weeks. We were supposed to play some Latvian (or Belarussian, I can't remember) 2nd tier side, who cancelled with about a week to go and we replaced them with Newton Abbott.

There are a few Army/Navy facilities in the area which clubs have used as a pre-season training camp, imagine the money-spinning potential if a continental side used one for pre-season and we were able to bag a friendly.

As for us going overseas, I would tolerate a friendly away at Guernsey. Outside of that would be a waste of money

[Scott Brehaut]

As for us going overseas, I would tolerate a friendly away at Guernsey.

Me too

[Gullscorer]

I'd tolerate away games to coincide with German or Austrian beer festivals. Otherwise, I'll be at home with my cider..

[stefano]

What would be better if we were able to host a side who were touring.

I went many many years ago to the game against Lambada, where we discovered Rodney Jack - that was a good evening out. And I recall at the start of the Atkins survival season, we scheduled a number of midweek friendlies pre-season and during the early weeks. We were supposed to play some Latvian (or Belarussian, I can't remember) 2nd tier side, who cancelled with about a week to go and we replaced them with Newton Abbott.

There are a few Army/Navy facilities in the area which clubs have used as a pre-season training camp, imagine the money-spinning potential if a continental side used one for pre-season and we were able to bag a friendly.

As for us going overseas, I would tolerate a friendly away at Guernsey. Outside of that would be a waste of money

Yes a home game would be better for our finances. We should be suggesting to Bayer Leverkausen that they do a pre-season tour in England in 2017 and include us, which would be a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary of our 1-1 draw away to Bayer Leverkausen in our 1967 four game unbeaten pre-season tour of (West) Germany.

[hector]

I remember the pre-season of 1990/91 when we played Red Star Belgrade and Pumas - a bit different to Yeovil and Walsall. Other years we played West Ham, Chelsea and Middlesbrough.

But in that 23 years, things have changed so much that big clubs just tend to play other big clubs, mostly, and send an XI made up youht team players to play teams like us - if we are lucky!

There was a tour of Ireland in the 90s but you can see how the costs would be prohibitive. What amazes me most about the Exeter/Brazil thing, is that 100 years ago Exeter were only playing Brazil, on the way back from a tour of Argentina. How on earth did a small team from Devon manage to arrange and fund a tour to Argentina, 100 years ago? Presumably they had to travel by ship, which cannot have been quick, so how all that travel to the other side of the world actually had any meaningful use for pre-season prep is probably a difficult question to ascertain the answer to.

[torq2u]

Exeter were persuaded to step in for the Tottenham Hotspurs when they pulled out at the last minute and no other big clubs could substitute. Funded by the FA, presumably, as their representatives on a mission to show the S Americans how to play football. Yes, they travelled by ship which was fired on as the return voyage coincided with the outbreak of the war!

There is a brilliant musical/theatrical account of the whole thing at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. It is a super account of the social history of the time and clever representations of the games. It contains only a couple of dodgy references to Torquay (the Gargoyles came off worse) but was compelling enough to convert you to Grecianism if you weren't careful!

Highly recommended but it finishes tomorrow.

[SuperNickyWroe]

Me too

I woundn't.

its a sh*thole.