Club Ownership

[Southampton Gull]

If Bill Phillips takes over as Chairman we're truly up shit creek. I wouldn't put a penny into a club with him at the helm.

[Rjc70]

As suggested elsewhere it appears there's no one waiting to ride into town and save the club, and I'm unsure whether the TUST are in a position right now to do so.

I'm guessing there has been a surge in TUST membership in the last couple of weeks in particular. I think you're assessment of the AFC Torquay thing might be seen to be right if people are not joining in droves right now, Dave. I know there is a meeting with Kelvin Thomas scheduled soon together with the public meeting mentioned elsewhere. Let's hope any new Board that people don't approve of has a healthy TUST to bring it to account on our behalf as, like you, I can't see a benevolent billionaire riding over the horizon any time soon. I'd rather not have a Hereford style owner show up, thinking our Club doesn't have the type of strong trust that makes things difficult for such charlatans, that's for sure.

Does anyone know if Thea Bristow is still underwriting up to 30/6 as earlier announced? I know TUST will uncover this at the Kelvin Thomas meeting, but just wondered if anyone had read anything - DT in the Herald seemed unsure.

[Neal]

I don't like all this vitriol against some of the directors. No one on here REALLY knows what has gone on in the boardroom, its all guess work.

I don't believe anyone intentionally tries to f8ck it up as they ALL have some money involved.

If there is no new blood there is no new blood, that's life!

And if some of the current directors want to take it over, then good on them. Will have to be a club that lives within our means, good, I would be proud of that. In contrast to the Crawleys who have got where they are due to a benefactor, well that was easy for then. I can tell you, if I won the lottery I would probably NOT want to be the owner or a director. WHY because of the hassle, the fans who just moan at every decision without knowing the facts etc etc. I would probably give them some money but I wouldn't want any part of running it, it just isn't worth all this crap you have to deal with. These guys (and I don't know them or met them) are really putting their heads on the line if this rumour is true. Well its because its probably that or folding the club. Football has changed, there will be more Crawleys, Eastliegh's, Forest Green Rovers. Some rich benefactor will take a liking to some small southern/northern league club and enjoy the process of taking them into the league. And there are plenty to choose from.

We will struggle to compete with these, but sport is about trying to do your best. And yes this might be our level now due to a new lower budget, so the choice of manager and the contracts given will be all important.

[SWgull]

My knowledge of Bill Phillips and the rest of the board is not good. At the risk of appearing stupid, why does he evoke such strong vitriol? Obviously it was not good how the rest of the board appeared to push a reluctant Thea into the firing line, but is there anything else in particular he and the others have/have not done?

[Rjc70]

I don't like all this vitriol against some of the directors. No one on here REALLY knows what has gone on in the boardroom, its all guess work......
If there is no new blood there is no new blood, that's life!

That seems pretty much spot on to me. I never did read a reason given for the Baker and Phillips dislike among some on here as the question was always sidestepped. If it is just remaining Directors left, then TUST alongside would be my preferred option as we would soon find that other additional revenue streams could well be opened up as a result.

A billionaire chucking money at us seems unlikely, so living within more limited means it will likely be. How much those means are is clearly going to be in part (not wholly, of course) dependent on how much the Board, however constituted, puts in as we start afresh debt free on 30th June, if that is still when Thea Bristow is committed to cover expenditure until. Anyone know if that changed with the immediate resignation or do we wait for TUST to uncover next week barring official mention????

Hector has written an interesting post on another forum on this subject and our potential to compete at this level (compared to eg: Chester/Dover/Woking now and Accrington/Dagenham/Aldershot/Newport etc.when they went up) with present Board member and/or TUST involvement - i.e. no huge benefactor on scene - but I'll leave it to him to share.

[Rjc70]

There's a further article in WMN just up. Having a stake in the Club discussed. i.e. TUST plus other owners in partnership, which may be of interest.

http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Tor ... story.html

TUST are holding a meeting next Wednesday, April 8th, to both gauge interest from fans and answer questions about the possible way forward. A representative of Supporters’ Direct will be at the meeting to highlight the path to Trust ownership which other clubs have followed, while the trust chair and vice-chair have an informal meeting with executive chairman Kelvin Thomas on Thursday as part of an ongoing dialogue with the club.

While it may seem a pipe dream at this stage, spokesman Alan Robinson said the organisation felt it was imperative to act, as the club could otherwise be left in trouble if other financial backing disappears. "From our perspective we realise this is a significant challenge,” he said.

"But what you often find with something like a Supporters’ Trust is that you gain membership when there’s a crisis or something particular to rally support around. If you remember seven years ago, following the Chris Roberts situation, we attracted a significant membership because there was a crisis. I think there’s a sense that for many supporters, and many sleeping supporters, that the club has been in safe hands. I think probably six or seven weeks ago some like myself would have felt very comfortable, but what’s triggered this is Thea’s announcement about stepping down. From our perspective we’re keen to give people the opportunity to get involved, and the only way we can do that is to engage with supporters and the wider community. We’ve got an event planned for April 8th where we will talk to supporters about the experience of other clubs. We’ve got a representative of Supporters’ Direct coming down to help in that discussion ~ clearly we recognise that supporters will have a whole series of questions to ask, and we hope to be able to answer a few of those as we have got an informal meeting with Kelvin Thomas on Thursday. We realise then that if we get support from people who turn up at that meeting, we’re going to have to take an appropriate financial assessment and build a partnership with the club to take it forward.”

He added: "At this stage the blunt truth is that if there is not an appetite locally to get involved then we just have to accept that that is the case. I guess for many supporters the real fear is that while there may be someone out there with deep pockets who is anxiously ready to take over the club and have the club’s interests at heart, in the current financial situation there may not be someone who is prepared to come in and save the day. It would be terrible if the club was to get into further difficulties and we hadn’t made an attempt to try and get involved and put the club on a sustainable financial footing in the longer term.”

Robinson said that partnership with any new consortium or board would be equally attractive from TUST’s perspective, but they could not simply sit back and wait for another benefactor to arrive.

He added: “My personal view is that some kind of partnership with whoever is involved is always likely to be in the best interests of the club. At this stage, everybody is playing their cards close to their chests, so we don’t know if there is a significant amount of interest. What we want to do is to ensure that we’re building a business case so at least the current board ~ and in particular Thea ~ has the chance to assess what we might be able to offer as a community, compared to what other offers come forward. If someone with deep pockets comes forward who is a true fan ~ such as the board we’ve got now ~ I guess there would be more confidence. The issue is that we don’t know who will come forward and we do have a bitter experience from just a few years ago. It might be that community ownership is an ambitious plan that may take some time to put together, but even if we could have some kind of stake so that we could influence the club in due course, in my mind that would be a significant achievement given that we’re having to go from nothing and do 0-60 pretty quickly. I’m not making any criticism of the club, but all we want to do is to make sure we’ve got a proposal that ensures the long-term survival of the club. It would be awful if we’re sitting here in nine months’ time and the club has gone into administration and we as a community haven’t made any attempt. If we get a mandate on April 8th and there’s support for what we’re trying to do then clearly we will have to develop an appropriate communications strategy, as well as a financial strategy that can turn this into a reality.”

http://www.torquaysupporters.co.uk/Join.aspx

[Glostergull]

Don't you mean f*****...??

No. I think he really did mean fish

[hector]

There is not going to be a billionaire or even millionaire, waiting in the wings to fund a promotion campaign. The likelihood is that if any hitherto unknown persons purchase the club, they are doing so because they sense an opportunity for their own interests. Why else would someone unconnected to the area or club buy TUFC?

The TUST is emerging, and being re-energised in such a dynamic way, and just the right time, with the club in this limbo it is existing in. It may be that an opportunity to own the club has come a little early in the life of renewed TUST but I cannot see a reason not to join it, if you are a supporter of TUFC.

There is unlikely to be anyone with any money coming along. The club could be at risk of administration. A strong TUST may help us avoid that scenario.

People complain about Baker/Phillips (still without producing any evidence to say why...but that is beside the point) therefore, if supporters want a say in running the club, including who is involved, then the best chance we have of doing this is being part of a TUST that may have some ownership rights, and therefore a say, in who is involved. No TUST involvement, then no say...other than whinging on forums.

We want ownership with the best interests of TUFC at the heart of every decision. Not an owners building project or secret agenda. To ensure supporters decide what happens to our club, the best chance of that is TUST involvement.

It is a no-brainer, in my view. Join the TUST.

[Gullscorer]

There is not going to be a billionaire or even millionaire, waiting in the wings to fund a promotion campaign. The likelihood is that if any hitherto unknown persons purchase the club, they are doing so because they sense an opportunity for their own interests. Why else would someone unconnected to the area or club buy TUFC?

Why? Because it's an opportunity for some such person who's passionate about football to do something positive for the game..??

[Rjc70]

Why? Because it's an opportunity for some such person who's passionate about football to do something positive for the game..??

Fair point. That would be admirable and ideal, and that altruistic a person would ultimately engage with the fan base and wider community where not hamstrung from doing so and always see the benefit of a supporters trust for that purpose and draw upon it in many different ways to aid that engagement.

Thea made it clear the Club were looking for new investment almost a year ago. That type of person had not come to the fore in the time since and now Thea has made her decision to leave.

It is good to read that article in WMN reference by TUST to what Thea wants to see, not least because it slightly reaffirms that she is covering expenditure holes between now and 30th June and it accords with the statement that she wants to see the best for TUFC. Most on here, if not all, might expect nothing less of such a benevolent influence that the Bristows' have been, regardless of the change in date of departure as Chairman. That reference also highlighted to me that TUST and her have talked (TUST members will know of the formal meetings and minutes, of course) and we know that, perhaps more importantly as things gather pace, that her advisor Kelvin Thomas has and is scheduled to do further.

It would frankly surprise me if she wanted anything other than supporters in partnership with TUST as her preferred outcome as she has stated she wants to leave us debt free and, importantly, wanted something that she sees as right for TUFC. Given that her family went in with the best placed supporters to buy the Club in the first place, I again would expect that of such a benevolent influence on the Club over the last few years. It wouldn't be right for her to voice this publically at such a critical time and as an outgoing owner, but privately I would be astonished if that is not the model she would want to see work.

I'm fully up for the show of appreciation being discussed at the next game and packing Bristow's Bench at the end of the season. Add joining TUST into that equation so she can also be as pleased as she can be of her legacy with the best available set of options for the Club she and we support - At the very least that means as many options as possible where there are so few.

I don't know if TUST are the only show in town, but they might be. In partnership with existing Board members is the only other one any of us on here can come up with at this time, barring the mystery billionaire dream.

Anyway, I digress. Massively, in fact, so I'm
going bullet point at this late hour:-

- The billionaire ain't there. We all know that, really;
- Hector is correct in all he says a few posts above;
- TUST doesn't have to be the sole owner. It can work in partnership as mentioned in that article; http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Tor ... story.html
- That won't be one of very few options if the will isn't there from supporters;
- The benefits to the Club and supporters of having a strong trust seems obvious at this time, but if unsure, try and get to the meeting if you can;
- It costs £2 a month to join;
- the public meeting is on 8th April, TUST and non-members invited;
- Time is increasingly of the essence. That's obvious now, right?;
- if we all wait to see how it turns out, we will be too late to affect how it turns out;
- here's a useful link if you have decided already to join or might decide to and soon.
http://www.torquaysupporters.co.uk/Join.aspx

[hector]

Why? Because it's an opportunity for some such person who's passionate about football to do something positive for the game..??

Who, exactly? There is not a sign of anyone. People can bury their heads in the sand, waiting for this passionate person who, for some reason, has chosen TUFC to use to do something positive for the game - probably as likely as you being chosen to go to the moon - whilst letting an opportunity to strengthen the case for fan ownership slip through their fingers.

There is a stark choice at the moment. TUST is the best bet - £2 per month, that is all it is, affordable for all of us - less than the price of a kit-kat per week.

[Kernowgull]

I joined a few weeks ago and have to say been very impressed with their communications, both in terms of quantity and content.

Anybody any ideas on numbers? A friend of mine joined jst after me and was number 155. Is the fanbase really this apathetic? Or has there been a huge uptake recently?

[taxilady]

I doubt it Kernowgull; a few on here didn't even get round to voting for their favourite players on here, & are now puzzled why the 'obvious' people aren't top of the list !!! However, if everybody's waiting to see how TUST turns out before they join..you may be too late. If us ain't got a club, us won' need a Trust, will us ?

[Jerry]

I doubt it Kernowgull; a few on here didn't even get round to voting for their favourite players on here, & are now puzzled why the 'obvious' people aren't top of the list !!! However, if everybody's waiting to see how TUST turns out before they join..you may be too late. If us ain't got a club, us won' need a Trust, will us ?

Taxilady is quite correct.

Decision time is fast approaching, if you haven't joined the trust yet (although I can't imagine why not as I have yet to see or hear any reason not to) then come to the meeting next week at the museum and see what they have to say.

It's open to everyone whether you are a member or not.

No matter what your views on the trust can you afford not to hear their proposals?

This is the most important decision in YOUR clubs future.

Be a part of it!

[brucie]

Havn't joined the TUST - its a complete waste of time. The club is dying, lets face facts. We have still got a manager who would have been sacked if had been at any other club.
Bail out and do something else on a saturday (or if you want to watch pro football go to Exeter or Plymouth)
Sad but thats the reality of it I'm afraid.
And before anyone says it - I am not forking out seventy quid a game to watch Conference South football or lower - which is weher we will be in a couple of years.