Will you be boycotting on Saturday?

[toastkid]

I'm going to the match. And I will cheers the gulls on. All I'll do, all over ever done.

[toastkid]

After my typing lessons of crorse!

[Burnhamgull]

After my typing lessons of crorse!

[DevonYellow]

What's the betting that if we were to win our next three games (unlikely as that may be) most of the "boycotters" would be back, thus proving that they aren't protesting about GI but are just pissed off with the results?

GI aren't any more malevolent now than they were when they arrived. If you truly objected to them that was the time to boycott, any drop in attendance now will just be seen by the outside world as fans deserting a losing team.

Yep. GI were in charge on the last game of last season. Look at the attendance then.

[westyorkshiregull]

Agreed but hasn't the milk turned sour since then

Broken promises

Farcical of getting a manager and there is more beneath the bedsheets than they letting on

[Yorkieandy]

Couldnt agree more !
Watching your club go to sh't is as you say a load of absolute boll*cks .

Except I'm not the one watching it go to shit am I? YOU are.

It's going to shit whether you go or not so neither of us is right really. Just that I'm saving myself money and not watching it unfold in front of my very eyes whilst you continue to give money to those who are trying to fold the football club AND want to go along and watch it happen too.

Talk about masochism.

[Mattpuma]

I have a season ticket so I am not giving them any more money am I. So in effect I am supporting the TEAM.

[kevgull]

A better poll would be:

"From your experiences gained as a supporter of TUFC in recent months, do you trust and have the confidence that the current owner is a good custodian of our club"

[Yorkieandy]

Dale Vince at Forest Green is a relatively new owner at a football club. Comes in, gets involved, changes things, invests, has clear plans and visions which are tangible and not just words, he communicates with fans, gets involved at games and doesn't just not turn up. He epitomises what you want from a new club owner.

Now take Mr Osborne and his group of 'investors'. Compare and contrast.

I know not of how much money Vince has compared to Osborne but the relative principal is the same.

Vince has shown he genuinely wants to be involved in running a successful professional football club for the local community whilst Osborne is proving the opposite.

Vince always has something to say yes but his actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately so do Osbornes.

[westyorkshiregull]

Great post yorkie....

Even if you get things wrong , if your there at most games , open dialogue with your customers then we would feel we are in same ship even if the mast has holes in it.
This atmosphere is us and them and quite frankly it stinks. We just watching the club be used as tool for land that has nothing to do with football and we are supposed to follow the vision of having this multi purpose stadium which the club owns ( who owns the club ; osborne ) that would end up being we rent for match days at the cost to the club which in turn fills gi pockets.
This is a football club which should always serve the community first and foremost I know the support should be Better but it will only get worse like this. My dear old dad who has been going since 1955 regular as well isn't even going any more , what chance have we for the new generation ??? None
I wouldn't go today , way i feel I don't want to go until I know this club is running for the good of the fans and nor for the good of a bunch of dodgy sharks

Actually if I was back in my dear old native TORBAY today i would prob go so I can whistle at the directors box but even then I'd feel conned when no one is in it

[Dave]

I am no fan of G.I or Clarke Osbourne, but Andy, there are some clear differences between the two here. firstly compare Ecotricity to Gaming International, whilst Gaming International is along established business, I am not sure it's in the same business league as Ecotricity, although could be wrong.

Dale Vince has run up a reported £5.4 million pound debt on FGR, debt he can, and is quite prepared to service from his own fortune, so from that point of view it's quite easy to communicate with fans who think he's a hero, after all he's bank rolled a village club and put them in the football league, Dale Vince is there, because he wants to be, he's there for the long haul, and has ambitious plans going forward, whether he'll ever succeed, who knows.

Clarke Osbourne, clearly doesn't want to be here, not entirely sure he ever wanted ownership of TUFC either, I doubt, but don't know that Clarke Osbourne, quite has the same personal fortune of a Dale Vince, which would be required to put this club back on the perch it fell from, with out extra revenue streams, and serious sponsorship.

EDIT; In Clarke Osbourne's shoes I wouldn't be too quick to communicate with a fanbase, I knew hated me either, would be a bit like Corbyn trying to make a speech at Britain First rally. Forgot to add, I'm not boycotting the game either.

[Yorkieandy]

I would hazard a guess that Vince has considerably more money than GI but i don't know that for sure. That said, Vince took over FGR about 6 years ago and in that space of time has made a village team successful on the pitch and off it and the upward trajectory continues. He has invested heavily in the infrastructure of the club such as the ground and the staff / catering / off field events / communication and media improvements / community based involvement and he has also invested on the pitch with players and managers.

In December it will be 2 years since GI took over and they have invested peanuts on the management and playing side, they don't turn up to games nor communicate with the clubs fans. The infrastructure at the club is as shoddy and unprofessional as it's ever been barring a new club crest and website. In a nutshell they have kept the club ticking over rather than making any great and sustained efforts to revitalise the club. The stadium already is one of if not THE best in the NL and as such needs no investment there so savings aplenty. The club have lurched from one disaster to another and year on year the precarious position of the club in the NL table is getting more and more so.

Th evidence is there for all to see with other clubs that when a club is in disarray behind the scenes and on the terraces then on the field the club is usually faced with an annual struggle against relegation. Without addressing this then by and large the clubs eventually go down. TUFC will go down It's a certainty. It's been staring everyone in the face for a few years now and nobody at GI appears to want to address this.

Appointing Westley isn't the answer.

The sad thing is, the NL is pretty pants. With a decent manager and a decent but not huge budget it should be possible for TUFC to at least hit the play offs each year. We're not talking about the sums of money Vince has dished out but just enough to show that GI have the ambition and drive to want the club to progress. We haven't seen any of that. As others keep saying. How can the club be one of the best supported in the league and still not be competitive?

Dale Vince PUTS IN to FGR because he has the money and wants them to succeed and he wants to see his vision succeed. All the evidence is there to suggest he is doing that.

Clarke Osborne has the money but doesn't put the money in. Well nothing you would say is worthy of speaking about other than the money required to basically keep a football club running. There has been no evidence to suggest he wants TUFC to succeed.

FGR i'm sure would have the wherewithal to form a phoenix club if the current club went under due to Vince pulling out. After all, most of their fans used to go and watch them as a village team so they know what to expect and how it works.

TUFC have no chance of forming a phoenix club because most of the fans just keep placing their blind trust and faith in one bloke after another who rocks up at the football club. One day the owner of TUFC, whether it be GI or whoever will take the club over the edge of the cliff. Along with most of the fanbase.

[Yorkieandy]

Osborne HAS to communicate with the fanbase whether he hates them or not. It's good business sense IF you are wanting to grow and establish your business. Does CO want to do this with TUFC?

It's also common courtesy.

He HAS to respond to the fans and their concerns whether he likes them or not.

[gateman49]

YorkieAndy, I think that you ought to look up the meaning of memorandum and articles of association of any company.

There is a relationship with the shareholders but nothing formal in this case, as far as I know, with the customers. He doesn't HAVE to respond at all.

[gullintwoplaces]

YorkieAndy, I think that you ought to look up the meaning of memorandum and articles of association of any company.

There is a relationship with the shareholders but nothing formal in this case, as far as I know, with the customers. He doesn't HAVE to respond at all.

Correct. Most rational businesses communicate (or pretend to) with customers to understand their requirements and to deter them from becoming customers of competing businesses. Most businesses therefore try to generate customer loyalty, for obvious reasons. Football has some differences, customer loyalty is less fickle, but can still be lost. Whether GI actually care about fan loyalty at TUFC is still unclear to me, their core business is property development not football, so their customers aren't necessarily football related.