Who will be here next season in the NLS?

[merse btpir]

So long as we still play at Plainmoor I will come down for a few games a year and attend some aways in the South East or other interesting places (fancy Bath, Weston, Bognor away next year).

Strike off one of those......Bognor Regis are back down in the Isthmian League for next season ~ confirmed yesterday and their loss at home to Hemel Hempstead was especially disappointing after the midweek win over St Albans gave everyone a lift and raised hopes of at least a more upbeat ending to a tough campaign.

They lost their manager and much of their squad to Eastbourne Borough along the coast even before they won last season's play-off final ~ we won't be going there. They've struggled all season as a consequence, with not enough in the budget to bring in suitable replacements and didn't even replace Jamie Howells as manager, but operated with vice chairman Jack Pearce overseeing First Team Coach Darin Killpartrick, a qualified Uefa A standard coach and Director of Football at Chichester College.

[United62]

Congratulations Harrop et al.... 21% of those that have voted (so far) are done with Torquay United. A disastrous season next year will see that figure double (at least) I'm sure.

I voted 'Yes'.... because despite what the team do on and off the pitch they will always be my team. Players/Managers/Owners come and go, supporters remain.

[stefano]

Congratulations Harrop et al.... 21% of those that have voted (so far) are done with Torquay United. A disastrous season next year will see that figure double (at least) I'm sure.

I voted 'Yes'.... because despite what the team do on and off the pitch they will always be my team. Players/Managers/Owners come and go, supporters remain.

I would guess that several who voted that they will not attend next season do not really mean it. You know, a protest vote - same thing that f**cked up this country at the referendum!

[Yorkieandy]

The only people f****** up this country are the politicians. Lying, cheating, greedy scum most. I am aware of a smattering of hard working, honest and brave politicians who do represent their constituencies well but the majority IMO are a total waste of oxygen.

[Yorkieandy]

I'm surprised the figures are so low though for the 'only if we get rid of the bleedin' lot' option.

Surely starting a new season without CO and a new positive and engaging owner, a new manager, a new assistant, new staff, new players then NLS or not then that's all anyone has ever wanted isn't it? Other than still being in the NL obviously.

Get rid of the whole lot - get a new owner (as if it's that easy though) and it's bums on seats and ready to go for everyone surely?

Surely the drag of being in the NLS would not be anywhere near as bad if the above happened as the cancers would have been removed and the club can then start to get better.

[Plainmoor78]

I'm surprised the figures are so low though for the 'only if we get rid of the bleedin' lot' option.

Surely starting a new season without CO and a new positive and engaging owner, a new manager, a new assistant, new staff, new players then NLS or not then that's all anyone has ever wanted isn't it? Other than still being in the NL obviously.

Get rid of the whole lot - get a new owner (as if it's that easy though) and it's bums on seats and ready to go for everyone surely?

Surely the drag of being in the NLS would not be anywhere near as bad if the above happened as the cancers would have been removed and the club can then start to get better.

Agree with the sentiment here. It's as if there are still too many people who have not woken up and smelt the coffee yet.
Only when Osborne has gone can we try and decide our own fate by footballing means alone.

[Burnhamgull]

There are two sides of the fence here and also fence sitters.

There are fans who are aware of what is happening at the club and are angry and frustrated but see no point in non attendance as they claim this will hurt the club even further and make it easier for CO to wind the club down should that be his intention. I think this is a reasonable viewpoint and just as valid as mine which differs.

There are fans who are aware of what is happening at the club and who deal with the same set of circumstances in a different way by non attendance or who WILL deal with it this way next season. This is my side of the fence.

There are fans who sit on the fence oblivious to everything and whilst i'll stop short of using the terms that Teigngull does (although i fully appreciate the frustration), i think it's best to write these fans off as a lost cause.

So these two sets of factions are what divide the club and it's fanbase primarily and no particular course of action is necessarily the right one.

However i do feel that one thing is missing from the matchday experience of both which could make all the difference. Not necessarily in terms of saving the club but bringing the fans closer together for the same cause. One thing which Torquay United fans don't really excel at tbh. The majority of times Torquay fans are at each others throats arguing and belittling, even the mild mannered amongst us.

The one clear thing is that whether we attend or stay away - the football club will continue to slide down the football pyramid. Under continued CO ownership it's a dead duck. Under new owners it's still a massive task to get back to where the club once was from where it will be next season thanks to the owners and the management entrusted to ensure this didn't happen.

As i've always said, the fact that i haven't attended a game for quite some time has had no bearing on the club's league position or the future security of the club. I think it's important to remember this going forward that ATTENDING OR NOT HAS NO BEARING OR INFLUENCE ON THE CLUB'S LEAUE POSITION.

The stay aways will have a pop at fans for continuing to attend and thus making it financially easier for CO to pass the time running the club into the ground, especially when attending games makes no difference to the outcome of results or the way the club is headed.
The stay aways may claim that by cutting off revenue then it costs CO more to run the club and that might make him reconsider his position and whether it is all really worth it and sell up.

The ones who attend will have a pop at the stay aways for helping CO to wind the club down even quicker as by their logic, less support and less interest makes it easier for CO to convince the council that football in Torquay has no future and thus playing into his hands.

It's a bleddy mess. Really it is.

So. The one thing that everyone can do as mutually agreed compromise is PROTEST.

PROTEST. STAND UP FOR YOURSELVES AND YOUR RIGHTS AS A TORQUAY UNITED SUPPORTER.

The ones who attend all the time and criticize the stay aways will say why bother as it won't change anything and yes, i agree.

The ones who stay away may criticize the ones who go every week for not showing enough fight and anger against what is happening at the club whilst at the same time they could ague that the very fact you've chosen to stay away indicates a lack of fight too. Part of the reason they stopped going i think is because the apathy and inertia of the fanbase to just accept what is with a whimper isn't acceptable to some and they feel powerless to convince them to protest so they just give up. Certainly the case for me.

What is for sure is that BOTH sides of the fence are angry and annoyed as to what is happening at the club but they have chosen different ways in which to deal with this based on their thinking patterns and specific way of looking at the particular problem.

The particular problem is Clarke Osborne and therefore is everyone going to start letting him and the world know this?

It probably won't achieve anything at all i accept that but it will prove to the footballing community that Torquay fans are just as **** off with their owners as Coventry are with SISU, as Blackpool are with the Oystons and so and so forth and will show people that they aren't just going to stand back and be treated in this way. Let alone their football club be treated in this way.

Next season should be one of persistent and co-ordinated protests at every game home and away and for those who say it won't help results on the pitch with all the negativity i say this:

Has your support helped on the pitch these past 5 years? Would the club be in a worse position if everyone had been protesting every week for 5 years? THE ANSWER IS NO.

Has protesting hindered Blackpool? What? The very same Blackpool who won the play off final last season and are now in league 1 you mean?

Has protesting hindered Coventry? What? You mean the same Coventry who will be in the league 2 play offs this season?

No matter what side of the fence you are on.


PROTEST!!!!

This.

I love being a Torquay United fan but we are such a placid easy going fan base and that’s why we’re being walked all over. It’s too late for any form of protest with only a couple of homes left. The chance has been missed.

Other fan bases would’ve gone to CO’s sleepy village and caused chaos but not us.
Other fan bases would protest at every home game but not us.
CO may not be there but Harrop attends so why doesn’t everybody go in the family stand and give him a nasty afternoon?

We’re losing our. Club and with the greatest of respect to the TUST (of which I’m a member) continuously asking politely for a meeting with CO is getting us nowhere.

[Jerry]

This.

I love being a Torquay United fan but we are such a placid easy going fan base and that’s why we’re being walked all over. It’s too late for any form of protest with only a couple of homes left. The chance has been missed.

Other fan bases would’ve gone to CO’s sleepy village and caused chaos but not us.
Other fan bases would protest at every home game but not us.
CO may not be there but Harrop attends so why doesn’t everybody go in the family stand and give him a nasty afternoon?

We’re losing our. Club and with the greatest of respect to the TUST (of which I’m a member) continuously asking politely for a meeting with CO is getting us nowhere.

So what's stopped you from doing something then? Why haven't you been on a day trip to Chew Magna? There's plenty of people who talk about various forms of protest but none of them ever seem to do anything themselves.

If you do decide to protest I would be very wary of organising anything in the family stand where people take their young children to watch the game. You can be assured that things would turn aggressive and frightening kids is not acceptable.

[Yorkieandy]

First of all Burnhamgull. I'm sure you will correct me if i'm wide of the mark but from reading your posts going back a while, they stick in my head because you seem to have a similar mindset to me. Not the same of course as you'd need some psychotherapy at the very least =D but the same sort of frustration about being taken for a mug by those running the club over the past few years and not knowing how to deal with it.

I'd guess also that although you might not admit it on here as i openly do, you are slightly pissed off with sections of the fanbase for what you (and I) perceive rightly or wrongly as being doormats for want of a better term and simply carrying on accepting the gradual death of the football club without any protestation or anyone prepared to stick their neck out and voice their anger.

Which then brings me onto Jerry's point about taking action ourselves if we are that incensed and stop talking and start doing. In principle i do believe that Jerry is correct and i myself have always been a person who looks up to people who just get on with doing something about a problem rather than talking about doing something about a problem. That's why i hate politicians. All talk and no action.

The challenges are in reality that not any one man is able to make a difference and therefore if i rocked up to Plainmoor for the next home game with Osborne OUT banners and singing and screaming about it then the chances are that like in real life, others would think i'm a weirdo and i'd end up having half the popside to myself.

Situations like this need the established fans groups that all clubs have to come to the fore and get something organised. Then others will follow. One individual incandescent with rage spitting feathers at a football match isn't likely to either have any impact on the thing he's protesting about and nor is he likely to attract others to join him.

What Jerry perhaps isn't taking into consideration also is that not everyone are born leaders or naturally confident. Just because a person is voiciferous on an online forum doesn't make them able or suitable to form a protest group, garner support, organize protests and everything else that comes with it.

In addition, even if the individual was such a person and had all the desired characteristics they might live in Carlisle and not attend many home games. If they do live closer to TQ1 they may attend games alone and not know anyone in the Torbay area or at matches. They may have quiet personalities or health problems that prohibit them from being comfortable mixing freely and confidently with others.

These aren't meant to be excuses but more to get people to consider that it's not simply the case every time that a fan who moans and does nowt about it is just a whining lazy beggar.

It's a fair and valid point though Jerry and by and large i agree.

[Jerry]

What Jerry perhaps isn't taking into consideration also is that not everyone are born leaders or naturally confident. Just because a person is voiciferous on an online forum doesn't make them able or suitable to form a protest group, garner support, organize protests and everything else that comes with it.

In addition, even if the individual was such a person and had all the desired characteristics they might live in Carlisle and not attend many home games. If they do live closer to TQ1 they may attend games alone and not know anyone in the Torbay area or at matches. They may have quiet personalities or health problems that prohibit them from being comfortable mixing freely and confidently with others.

These aren't meant to be excuses but more to get people to consider that it's not simply the case every time that a fan who moans and does nowt about it is just a whining lazy beggar.

I fully accept all of this Andy and indeed would say that I fall into the first category you mention. Which is why I wouldn't complain about others not doing what I am not prepared/able to do myself.

[Jerry]

I'd guess also that although you might not admit it on here as i openly do, you are slightly pissed off with sections of the fanbase for what you (and I) perceive rightly or wrongly as being doormats for want of a better term and simply carrying on accepting the gradual death of the football club without any protestation or anyone prepared to stick their neck out and voice their anger.

Incidentally, I think this paragraph provides the answer to your earlier question (and Scott's) about why you get criticised more than others who no longer attend. The others don't regularly come onto the forum and criticise other fans in this way, if you stuck to posting about the football club (on and off the field) and left off the derogatory comments about other fans I'm fairly sure you wouldn't get peoples backs up so much.

And no I'm not saying you can't post stuff like this, just understand why it winds people up when you do.

[Yorkieandy]

I fully accept all of this Andy and indeed would say that I fall into the first category you mention. Which is why I wouldn't complain about others not doing what I am not prepared/able to do myself.

Which i can see is probably the right thing to do Jerry when you phrase it like that. Although it doesn't quell the frustration of the inner feeling that one feels if they need to do something in some way but can't.

It's gradually becoming an eye opener for me and making me look at the situation and my staunch views again to see if they are both helpful to me still and fair to to others . Maybe they need to be revised.

[Yorkieandy]

Incidentally, this paragraph provides the answer to your earlier question (and Scott's) about why you get criticised more than others who no longer attend. The others don't regularly come onto the forum and criticise other fans in this way, if you stuck to posting about the football club (on and off the field) and left off the derogatory comments about other fans I'm fairly sure you wouldn't get peoples backs up so much.

And no I'm not saying you can't post stuff like this, just understand why it winds people up when you do.

I understand that Jerry. I have to be honest with what i post though or what's the point? If i feel it then i say it whether i know criticism is coming or not. Many times however my views are as a consequence of a maladaptive view rather than anything malicious and quite often i am unfairly misjudging fans when in fact MY biggest bugbear is being misjudged myself and i am aware of this which is the frustration

More tolerance with others i think i need.

[Jerry]

I understand that Jerry. I have to be honest with what i post though or what's the point? If i feel it then i say it whether i know criticism is coming or not. Many times however my views are as a consequence of a maladaptive view rather than anything malicious and quite often i am unfairly misjudging fans when in fact MY biggest bugbear is being misjudged myself and i am aware of this which is the frustration

More tolerance with others i think i need.

Actually I have been quite impressed with your calm response to comments recently. You don't tend to go off on one like you used to.

[Yorkieandy]

Also Jerry in an odd way i am directing my anger at other fans because of the frustration i have that they are not doing something that i myself WANT to do but can't. Neither are they doing something that i want them to do and i think they should be doing for the benefit of both them and the future of the club which is protest even though they are well within their rights to manage their situation in any way they feel suitable for them. As Dave forever said the other day, protests aren't really a viable option.

Getting angry with other fans because of this is completely unacceptable now i've thought about it in depth.

Does this make any sense? Probably not but i feel this is what is happening.