Would you go and watch Torquay United in the Conference South?

merse btpir · Post by **merse btpir** » 02 Mar 2017, 23:58

Bloggy wrote: ↑02 Mar 2017, 22:48 Hmmm... Chippenham (3 miles from my home) are currently top of the Southern League Premier Division! We could be playing them next season... how depressing is that!

If United go down and my local club Wingate & Finchley go up; then the Gulls will 'be coming to see me' whilst playing a club currently averaging 141 at their home games!

kevgull · Post by **kevgull** » 03 Mar 2017, 08:11

Curious to know how much would you pay on the gate to see Chippenham at home?

Tenner tops?

Plainmoor78 · Post by **Plainmoor78** » 03 Mar 2017, 09:17

It would depend on how much it will cost to get in, whether the club is showing signs of overall improvement, whether there will still be over the top stewarding.

Plainmoor78 · Post by **Plainmoor78** » 03 Mar 2017, 09:23

kevgull wrote: ↑03 Mar 2017, 08:11 Curious to know how much would you pay on the gate to see Chippenham at home?

Tenner tops?

Adult prices are £10 and £11. I would expect that to rise on promotion, but I wouldn't fancy paying more than a tenner to watch united in the south. That said I doubt the club could turn itself around if that was all they were charging.

Neal · Post by **Neal** » 03 Mar 2017, 12:22

wont renew ST.

If GI put in substantial money to really try and get us promoted, I would attend 5 to 10 home games.

if they don't I would attend 0 home games and probably 5+ away games.

kevgull · Post by **kevgull** » 03 Mar 2017, 12:33

"Sometimes footballers can be stuck in a bit of a Peter Pan bubble. Well, it's time to grow up.

"There is no tomorrow now.

"That's been my mantra all season, but sometimes it has fallen on deaf ears.

"We have underachieved, despite a lot of adversity, but we have to try and put that behind us.

"I ask our fans to come down on Saturday for what will be a huge game for this football club and get behind the players.

"It doesn't have to be fantastic football – it will be blood-and-guts football, but I know our fans won't have a problem with that."

Read more at http://www.devonlive.com/torquay-united ... q0ODOyP.99

desperado · Post by **desperado** » 03 Mar 2017, 13:21

I have missed on average one home game every two seasons and its been like that since 1963
If we were in the play off picture in the Nat South I would go but if we were struggling below halfway I think
that would be it even for a diehard like me
Apologies to younger members but it makes me weep to watch this current lot, when I have watched such class players as Robin, Alan Welsh, Mickey Cave, Bill Kitchener, Jimmy Dunne, Doug Clarke, John Smith, Tommy
Mitchinson....I could go on

notnow · Post by **notnow** » 03 Mar 2017, 16:54

If we dropped a division the quality might improve! we might end up with some decent part time players and not one direction lookalikes or snowflakes.

Rjc70 · Post by **Rjc70** » 03 Mar 2017, 17:02

I'd switch to away matches only. Those owning the club when we went down to such a historically low level would need to show they are interested in getting us out of it before my then next home attendance, as going down to Conference South will have happened on their watch and despite well stage managed press interviews and promises they had the resources to likely have prevented it.

northlondongull · Post by **northlondongull** » 03 Mar 2017, 18:06

Using the figures above as a very crude base (and I stress that this is an indication only) - we could expect (on the basis of a Conference 1800 average).

Circa 325 season ticket holders
Circa 750 floating fans coming when they fancy
Circa270 floating fans who would come back if the club was in the right hands
Circa 450 fans gone.

We could therefore consider 800 - 1000 to be a fantastic gate if in the Conference South.

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » 03 Mar 2017, 18:51

northlondongull wrote: ↑03 Mar 2017, 18:06 Using the figures above as a very crude base (and I stress that this is an indication only) - we could expect (on the basis of a Conference 1800 average).

Circa 325 season ticket holders
Circa 750 floating fans coming when they fancy
Circa270 floating fans who would come back if the club was in the right hands
Circa 450 fans gone.

We could therefore consider 800 - 1000 to be a fantastic gate if in the Conference South.

This site shows the average attendances in steps 1-4 of the non-league pyramid, just to show where we would fit in.

http://www.thelinnets.co.uk/turnstile.php?s=2013

MellowYellow · Post by **MellowYellow** » 03 Mar 2017, 19:35

The overall average attendance for clubs in the Conference South is 500 (link below) and provides each clubs average attendance which gives a good indication as to what gates to expect at Torquay. In my estimation, attendance would be approx. chasing promotion 1,000 plus - mid-table 500 plus - relegation 300 or below.

http://www.thelinnets.co.uk/homeattendances.php?l=8

As clubs in the Conference South will be more local and we wont be able to afford transport for the players for away matches, I assume GI are now in negotiations for the players to sign up to a 'Cycle to Work' scheme.

kevgull · Post by **kevgull** » 03 Mar 2017, 20:04

500 people pay £150 for a season ticket
£75,000

Average £12 a ticket
400 sold per game
25 games per season
£120,000

Plus sponsorship would see an estimated £250,000 budget

Just enough for a part time squad.

Neal · Post by **Neal** » 04 Mar 2017, 07:46

I just wanted to say why I would attend away games and not home games.

Its because I would still be a fan of TUFC and would want to "SUPPORT" the players as much as I could.

BUT! I would not "support" GI, so no home attendance for me.

In fact IF there was enough of us who felt the same it would b e a strong message to ALL how we feel.

merse btpir · Post by **merse btpir** » 04 Mar 2017, 08:17

Neal wrote: ↑04 Mar 2017, 07:46BUT! I would not "support" GI, so no home attendance for me.

I understand why you are feeling like that; but what (in essence) would that achieve if more people did that?

Would it help the club?
Would it persuade GI to put the club back on the market?
If it did; what then?
If it didn't and they reduce expenditure on the team as a counter balance to reduced income; what do you think the end result would be?

There is many a football club where the ownership are virtually invisible and therefore go almost unnoticed by the supporters. This is not possible at Torquay United due to the extremely precarious position the club has got itself into, and almost unique lack of a footballing infrastructure it has declined to. Therefore a considerable financial commitment has to be made to restore this rather than commit all the capital available to the first team. Rather a similar situation that Aldershot Town faced and they have reaped huge benefits from taking a conservative approach to first team expenditure and regenerating their once closed academy so that they now have a re-constituted academy, a satellite academy in London and the ability to both produce players of their own and take on and work with released young players from bigger clubs to the mutual benefit of both player and club.

Don't you think that is a more sustainable and sensible approach to rebuilding a football club?

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