Brucie V Dave - This time its personal!! ;)

[sgf]

Any chance this thread can be renamed or something. It still makes my teeth itch and it has gone way off topic!

[Southampton Gull]

Yes, not my favourite title I must admit. Suggestions?

[brucie]

I'm not arguing with anything you say though - except perhaps that on the pitch they have been very poor this season. I am not sure what activities you would actually want to see in the morning at Plainmoor though. You state that Eastleigh have a lot of land around their pitch for five a side etc. Those sort of options are not available around Plainmoor obviously given that that the stadium is seated in a residential area so that's not an option.

I've never been to Eastleigh but I guess Torquay is a far better place to watch a game given the comparison between the two grounds. I appreciate that isn't a lot of use when the owners won't support the footballing side of things. Until that changes I'm not sure that there is anything we can do to increase attendances - we need success on the pitch and that doesn't appear likely.

[sgf]

How about Brucie V Dave - This time its personal!!

[frenchgull]

I think there are merits for both points of view,Eastleigh are lucky to be situated where they are,in at a place which is surrounded by green fields so they can utilise this facility along with a more professional approach. Their nearest neighbour ,football wise ,is Southampton which being a premier club is not the cheapest place to visit so the right pitch to the locals would not fall on deaf ears,also either way along the coast you get to Brighton and the other way you are in Bournemouth so a lot of chimney pots in between to have a go at.If you are successful by climbing the leagues over a period of time your profile becomes bigger especially if you can have someone with a Bob or two to keep the kettle boiling, which is where the other point of view comes in.To keep the new punters onside is easier if you can spend the money with high profile signings and new initiatives,people like success and will follow a club that has grown from nothing , it remaines to be seen if the day dawns and Eastligh is left to fend for itself,do they have enough in place to keep progressing without its benifactor. Torquay is a very different kettle of fish altogether,stuck in South Devon with two clubs not thirty miles away and run into the ground by people who should never own a chip shop let alone a football club.There must be dozens of up and coming clubs all around the country that have the potential to overtake Torquay ,I M o league football is unsustainable in the bay ,we are what we are but they are my club and will always be,sorry too much red wine at lunch.

[Southampton Gull]

You should drink more often

[lucy6lucy]

Firstly I don't see it personal regarding brucie or dave. It's a forum and anyone has their opinion rightly or wrongly, at no point have there posts been personal. My view is that Eastleigh have massively underperformed this season with what I can presume a big budget. Equally Torquay under recent managers made that same mistake. Eastleigh sacking managers, well we're not alone on that. Going forward, a successful Torquay side will generate bigger crowds than Eastleigh. Which in theory will make us a bigger club. Our beloved ground is the envy of most non-league clubs. So with this in mind, and being located in one of the most beautiful locations in the country, all we have to do is find the right ownership. That's maybe why Eastleigh have at the moment a brighter future.

[Gullscorer]

All we need is a LOCAL HERO... In fact I believe we might have one already; what's 'is name? George somebody.. George Osborne? George Clarke? When he sees enough games and falls in love with the club then hears the (fake) news that Donald Trump is going to offer big money to buy Plainmoor and turn it into a putting green, young Clarkey will be hailed as a saviour..

[tomogull]

All we need is a LOCAL HERO... In fact I believe we might have one already; what's 'is name? George somebody.. George Osborne? George Clarke? When he sees enough games and falls in love with the club then hears the (fake) news that Donald Trump is going to offer big money to buy Plainmoor and turn it into a putting green, young Clarkey will be hailed as a saviour..

It seems that it isn't only Frenchgull who has been over-indulging on the red wine ....... Either that, or the sun has got to Gullscorer.

Spot on post from Lucy. In a nutshell, off the field, Eastleigh are over-performing/doing very well but on the field last season, they most definitely under-performed. It will be intersting to see how they do next season.

[sgf]

Lucy, the change of title of this thread was suggested - by me - as the "Exeter Play-Off" title was both irritating and irrelevant to where the topic headed. At the moment of the suggestion Dave and Brucie were in the midst of an "Alas Smith and Jones" debate so it seemed more relevant than "Exeter Play Off".

The suggestion was not that their debate had become personal.

I'll get my coat.

[SuperNickyWroe]

Lucy, the change of title of this thread was suggested - by me - as the "Exeter Play-Off" title was both irritating and irrelevant to where the topic headed. At the moment of the suggestion Dave and Brucie were in the midst of an "Alas Smith and Jones" debate so it seemed more relevant than "Exeter Play Off".

The suggestion was not that their debate had become personal.

[highlight=yellow]I'll get my coat.[/highlight]

you wont need that pal.

its boiling outside.....

[Plainmoor78]

In a nutshell, off the field, Eastleigh are over-performing/doing very well but on the field last season, they most definitely under-performed.

I think the point about Eastleigh is that through their investment in non football related activities they have underpinned the club's financial performance by not being totally reliant on the team's success on the field. TUFC are completely reliant on the team's on field performance to generate income. That means if the team don't perform there is no money coming in for future investment and the club will continue to go into a downward spiral.

Some posters on here seem to be resting on our laurels of being a former league club. Well that is all in the past now, in fact we are like a dinosaur waiting for the asteroid to hit. In order to survive and prosper we need to look to other clubs who are successful and try to learn and adapt to the modern world of non league football.

[merse btpir]

I think the point about Eastleigh is that through their investment in non football related activities they have underpinned the club's financial performance by not being totally reliant on the team's success on the field. TUFC are completely reliant on the team's on field performance to generate income. That means if the team don't perform there is no money coming in for future investment and the club will continue to go into a downward spiral.
Some posters on here seem to be resting on our laurels of being a former league club. Well that is all in the past now, in fact we are like a dinosaur waiting for the asteroid to hit. In order to survive and prosper we need to look to other clubs who are successful and try to learn and adapt to the modern world of non league football.

An excellent summing up of the alarming manner in which Torquay United have been run since the departure of Mike Bateson from the scene and continue to do so under Clarke Osborne..........and as for being a 'former league club'; well so are Workington, Bradford Park Avenue and Gainsborough Trinity........

By now every Torquay United supporter should have smelled the coffee, woken up and recognised the situation with alacrity; the club is STILL being run unsustainably and with no regard whatsoever that football revenue streams alone will not sustain it and it would be my submission that when a group of companies like Gaming International presides over this then the intention must be malevolent.

Why on earth would Clarke Osborne want to own a football club and not envelope it with the type of corporate/supporter infrastructure in it's present home that he proposes it would have in one that he would build given the freehold of Plainmoor?

There is only one conclusion to come to in my opinion and that is that he appears to be running the business into the ground as a lever with which to exact emotional pressure over the Mayor.

Being at Plainmoor does not prevent Torquay United from marketing itself properly, provide attached attractions to a match day experience or creating retail products with which to entice the support base to part with their money.

[Gullscorer]

Money? What money? :-|

[tomogull]

I think the point about Eastleigh is that through their investment in non football related activities they have underpinned the club's financial performance by not being totally reliant on the team's success on the field. TUFC are completely reliant on the team's on field performance to generate income. That means if the team don't perform there is no money coming in for future investment and the club will continue to go into a downward spiral.

Some posters on here seem to be resting on our laurels of being a former league club. Well that is all in the past now, in fact we are like a dinosaur waiting for the asteroid to hit. In order to survive and prosper we need to look to other clubs who are successful and try to learn and adapt to the modern world of non league football.

Yes - I fully agree. The 'Eastleigh model' that Dave has outlined on here is exactly the example we should be looking at. However, I don't know Eastleigh at all but from what has been posted, there seems to be ample land around the ground for other activitles such as the astroturf pitches at Paignton Community College which are in constant demand. IF we ever move to a new venue, and IF G.I. don't cream off any income streams (if they are still the owners), something similar could happen in Torquay.

I know virtually nothing about what happens at other clubs, but I suspect Eastleigh are the exception rather than the rule. Just to take a few names from the hat - I wonder what other income streams are in place at other provincial clubs - e.g. Morecambe, Barrow, Accrington, Chester, Cheltenham ? I suspect they are run on similar lines to TUFC, but I may well be wrong.

The flip side is that you try something different and end up with a horrendous loss - e.g. last year's disastrous Yellowfest which was a total flop and left the club with a reported £30,000 debt. And at the same time managed to upset the neighbours !!