Breaking Cover

[brooker]

Surprised to see this not being mentioned or publicised elsewhere. Clarke Osborne has yesterday recorded an interview about the club.

[northlondongull]

New scout Dave Hedges - probably this chap: http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/intersocce ... management

[northlondongull]

CO speaks well and is saying the right buzz words re sustainability etc. Actions speak louder than words - keep us in this league.

[merse btpir]

This has been 'mentioned elsewhere' both on TFF and BTPIR before being mentioned on here and I wouldn't particularly call this Clarke Osborne 'breaking cover'.

This is a man of considerable substance, chief executive of a large sporting and leisure group, who has purchased the club through acquisition after considering for a long time whether it was worth it or not.

It does not advantage any of us to assume a 'Luddite' position over this, remain sceptical and inquisitive by all means but recognise that what he is talking about is far ahead of anything utterd by either Thea Bristow, Dave Phillips or any of the other chairs before them.

Something has to change ~ surely we all recognise that ~ standing still is not any more of an option than decline and inevitable demise.

[Yorkieandy]

Agree totally with Merse.

However, I just don't believe CO nor trust his motives.

The club needs investement now on the field and also the club need an agreement that it won't leave it's current ground without there already being a new one built and ready to move into. Then i'll believe him. All this academy obsession is ridiculous. The club could be in the NL South in a few months and it has enough on trying to run a first team.

Fans have been done over time after time and if you are gullible enough to take a bloke at face value until tangible evidence of anything of any substance is seen then maybe ask if this is why the club find itself in this mess in the first instance.

[northlondongull]

It is a highly accomplished interview and he eloquently sets out essentially everything which you would want a new owner of Torquay to say: new youth system, sustainable, infrastructure, climb up the leagues etc.. I hope that this all happens but first and foremost he (and his colleagues) need to keep Torquay in this league as a minimum. This requires a quick but serious cash injection and some action!

[brooker]

Now seen it mentioned on BTPIR, but as it wasn't on here I thought I'd post. I'm sceptical of GI, but as we have s**t all choice now that they own the club, am hoping that they'll come good and bring the business nouse that's long been missing from Plainmoor. This is the first I've heard from him, apart from snippets in press articles anyway.

[wivelgull]

Mr. Osborne was given an easy ride by the interviewer. The key question, of course, was not asked: when is he going to put money up for new players? And, as a secondary question, how much is going to be spent?

[merse btpir]

All this academy obsession is ridiculous. The club could be in the NL South in a few months and it has enough on trying to run a first team.

With respect; I don't think the two are connected at all and the very necessary work that needs doing to achieve one does not impact on the other.

Clubs way down the pyramid embrace PASE academies and run them very well integrating them into the all-round project of encompassing more community involvement and producing football talent. This is a no brainer concept for any club and Torquay United almost stand alone with having absolutely nothing at present ~ thanks to the stupidity of Thea Bristow and the negligence of Bill Phillips ~ apart from a first team which is totally unacceptable.

[6667GULL]

Says all the right things using all the right buzz words but I don't believe a word of it.

[eddyh]

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.

[Gullscorer]

Hey, leave our Andy alone. It's always great to read his posts!

OK Andy?

[SteveDeckchair]

Well, he certainly talks a good game. Very measured interview although the questions were clearly not particularly probing (not that you would expect them to be in a staged interview like this).

I found his facial mannerisms when he was being asked the question about cynical supporters to be quite telling though. I think it was the only time his composure wavered. See 15:12 into the vid.

[taxilady]

Actually, Eddieh, YorkieAndy cares a lot about our club. He's followed them extensively across the country, home & away in the past; whilst going through a very difficult time in his life, he tried to walk away. He's found, like many of us, that it's very difficult to walk away once bitten by the TUFC bug; for some, that's a lifelong affliction ! We need all the supporters that we can get at the moment to survive the lowest ebb in the club's history, so don't be so quick to discard people; just carry on scrolling (tl;dr) if his posts don't suit your taste, but don't tell people to bugger off if you don't mind. COYYs !

[Gullscorer]

The Clark Osborne interview was a good one, and, for me at least, encouraging that he should seek to maximise the club's potential. Yes there's cynicism aplenty among the club's supporters. But it's a good start (some would say, not before time) and whether one is sceptical or optimistic, I feel we should now give the guy a chance. But actions speak louder than words, and the best thing he could do right now would be to make an immediate cash injection into the manager's playing budget and save the club from the dreaded drop.

Years ago we used to play the likes of Swindon and Bournemouth in the old third and fourth divisions. Many of those clubs went on to achieve success at a higher level, if only temporarily, whereas we progressed steadily downhill (the Paul Buckle era excepted; that now seems like a golden age). Our biggest problem is that our club is out on a limb, far from where all the football action is, so for us to emulate Swindon and Bournemouth is not going to be at all easy. Plymouth Argyle are in the same boat, Plymouth, I'm told, being the only major city never to have had their club in the Premier League.

As Osborne has indicated, his immediate predecessors kept the club alive. They may not have made all the right decisions, but they, and he, have now given the club an opportunity to turn the tide. If he now puts his money where his mouth is, and shows he is serious about achieving sustainability and success for the club, then I've no doubt that supporters will respond accordingly. We can do this at the next home game by turning up to support the team.

Then, of course, it will be up to the manager and players. They are not without ability. Their current situation is a mental thing. Positive thinking, self-belief, and determination are required. The star of a new era. They can do it. We can do it. And the club can do it. So let's all go for it.