TIME FOR ACTION BUT IT MUST BE LAWFUL.

[Scott Brehaut]

NO NO NO NO far too harsh on Owers. Need to give the man another 15 games minimum to prove himself. I also can't help but see a lot of Stubsy in Reidy, top player can't let him go.
YorkshireGully

[Burnhamgull]

Sadly Neal you might be right. If only 800 turn up on Saturday Harrop and Osborne might get the message and act.

I haven't been all season and chose not to renew my ST that I'd held for many years. Alas, I'm very much in a tiny minority of people who are voting with their feet and there's the problem. CO and GH both know that the supporters will continue to go to games and clap and cheer the bollocks served up by the 11 men in the shirt each week. Everybody is complaining about the fact we lost 0-2 to the Three Feathers yesterday but still they'll go to the next home game..............

[Southampton Gull]

I know where you're coming from but for even the most ardent critic of the current regime it's hard to abandon a club that's been part of your whole life growing up. I wouldn't criticise anyone for going. I've made the same decision as you, I normally buy three season tickets a year and allow my family from down there to use them but even they didn't want me to buy them in our current position.

[Road2League2]

Davey’s right. Absolute shambles in the English riviera, I mean look at the state of our team, manager, owner and stadium situation. Fans are only thing this club has left COYY

[__quiet__gull]

let us see what happens tomorrow against Gloucester, I support the idea of a peaceful protest next Saturday...

[midtable]

If you really want to annoy Clarke Osborne then politely complain at his front door, at his favourite bar and even sit at a nearby table in a restaurant because otherwise why would he care? If fans do or don't turn up at Plainmoor then it is small change compared to a multi-million pound housing development. As for moaning about Harrop why bother as he is just an employee and it suits Osborne for people's anger to be be directed elsewhere. He could leave tomorrow and somebody else with the same instructions will arrive the next day. You don't go into Wetherspoons and berate the manager about the price of beer because he has no control over it. I reckon Harrop for all his faults is just a paid employee and consequently does what he is told.
So how to complain? Visit Mr Osborne but if that does not suit your lifestyle then maybe join Torquay United Supporters Trust, so if their membership is really high it will demonstrate that people are unhappy.

[tauntongull]

Whether you like it or not, if CO had not injected cash last season and this year we would not have a team to support. I am struggling to understand CO's strategy really. I can only assume that the idea is to diminish the support and interest in the club by supporters to a point where there will be little or no objection to redevelopment plans by councillors, primarily by driving the club into the ground. Hoodwinking councillors into thinking that they tried their best but ultimately it did not work out.

Then I stop for a minute and consider why have work done on the pitch pre-season? Then, of course, I considered the Truro ground share and the fact that they probably contributed significantly to the cost of this work.

It is this policy of selling an interest in the club to fans and justifying this with stories of development and investment in the club that ultimately I object to. Any investment will be recouped if their intentions come to fruition and I agree we have a responsibility as fans to not stand by and let our club enter administration or end up homeless. That said, it is clear almost all avenues of investment have been exhausted which is why we have ended up where we are. Any responsible and ethical business owner would not stand by and allow full-time employees commanding reasonable wages to continue to perform badly - unless you want them to of course.

Given the £150k and now more recent £300k investment, CO is not going to step down and lose this investment. The bigger question is why would you invest money in something that is clearly failing and why would you continue to allow this to happen, without taking any action or stepping in and trying to turn things around. Why? it is obvious I believe - this was the intention all along.

How as a fan base do we resolve this issue? I really don't know. Even a buyout of OC at this stage is going to cost nearly 500k and that is without the ongoing running of the club. We had the opportunity a few years ago to run this club properly and cut our cloth accordingly. We failed and the vultures saw an opportunity and started circling. It does feel like horse, stable door and bolted spring to mind.

I'm still up for a fight but the reality is that we are way out of our depth here. Generally, the way to directly impact people like CO is to hit them in the pocket. His safety net is the freehold of Plainmoor for redevelopment and we would be well served to concentrate all our efforts as fans to ensure that he does not obtain this.

[merse btpir]

I'm still up for a fight but the reality is that we are way out of our depth here. Generally, the way to directly impact people like CO is to hit them in the pocket. His safety net is the freehold of Plainmoor for redevelopment and we would be well served to concentrate all our efforts as fans to ensure that he does not obtain this.

I've not been on this site for so long due to the mind-numbing and puerile responses of too many regarding serious issues ~ I even forgot my password!

I came on here in the first place to raise awareness of the issue of Clarke Osborne and the manner in which the Club had been handed to him on a plate and once again I want to draw attention to the passage I've quoted above as being the most succinct and appropriate observation of recent events so that anyone with even half a brain should realise that it is this issue that it is enveloping the Club that must take priority above all else and that events of this week are creating a diversion from.

Make no mistake; the Club is wholly and solely reliant on Clarke Osborne as to whether or not it continues to exist or not. That he chooses to continue his absence from match days does not in any way diminish his interest or total; control over present and future events.

Events on the field and over the manager seem to ignite far more collective awareness and anger from the average supporter than the wholly decisive issue as to what the final cost could be if the freehold of Plainmoor or the vacating of a local authority owned stadium for a private one were to become reality.

Think on that; and whilst we're at it think on the destructive effect events such as last week's assault on the image of the club and the self respect of the manager had whilst on the road and in front of many youngsters attending their first ever professional football match and their bewildered parents.

Andy Full's appalling misbehaviour from a so called adult was a shameful example of our club to set before the Slough supporters and shamed every one of the Yellow Army present and yet I see little if any condemnation of that on here.

Ask questions too as to why former characters who had a direct bearing on the decline of this club into the hostage it is today of a property developer continue to accept hospitality from him ~ and in the case of Ian Hayman, allowed him to obtain the necessary extra share holding to take the club further into the classification of private company that now enables him to further prevent the supporter and remaining small shareholders from obtaining clarity as to what exactly he is up to regards OUR football club.

You see Ian Hayman and Thea Bristow sitting there at most matches; go up and ask them what the hell they've been up to leading to all this and if they are the supporters that their 'Presidents for Life' suggest they should be; then precisely what their objectives are in continuing to associate themselves with Clarke Osborne.

There might be a perfectly acceptable and plausible reason to all this; but who would know given the degree of disdain they clearly show towards the rapidly declining rank and file of the support that is left of this club?

Never mind protesting over the manager; get off your arses and put these people on the spot!

I'll go back to BTPIR now and if anyone wants to learn what else I have to say on this subject then feel free to log on and read it and if you are not a member of that members only accessible forum then join today
http://thelondonlabia.proboards.com/
...that's not an attempt to usurp this site and it's much larger readership; merely me focussing concentrating my energy on one front whilst Louis and Dave fight on his one.

Best wishes to all!

[frenchgull]

For me it would be a total boycott of all games untill Owers leaves .Money people understand money and with lack of it through the gate it might make the point.I have posted on here a few years ago that National league south was the right full home for Torquay United,with the present set up I am now not so sure so I would back a new club (AFC Torbay ? ).We have a good couple of thousand supporters and enough people with knowledge to start again lower down.
I see no hope for Torquay United as we know it unless an Elton John type person comes along and that is just pie in the sky,the cancer is too far gone so let's start again,for me our club is dead,so that's sixty one years of support down the drain,,except for some wonderful memories.

[HockeyGull]

Be fantastic to go back to the ' Pre Madonna' era. Thinking prior to 1984 hits Holiday and Like A Virgin.

Saturday night football in Division 4. What we wouldn't give for that now. As soon as Miss Ciccone came on the scene it's been downhill for TUFC.....bottom of the Football League, brief resurgence under Cyril and John Impey. Down, down....brief Golden Years of Leroy, down, down, trapdoor down. Bucked up under Buckle. Levelled under Ling and then knackered with Knill, Harrumphed under Hargreaves. no joy with Nicho and 'orribly 'orrible with Owers and Osborne.

Do past players go to Plainmoor and think 'This Used To Be My Playground'? Will the club sink 'Deeper and Deeper'?.
All we need is a 'Ray of Light' and someone to tell Osborne, Owers and Harrop 'The Power of Goodbye'.

Hope I Live To Tell of a time when the Gulls fly high again but for now I'll Remember the good days and Cherish the memory of the time Mrs Hockeygull went over the Borderline (ok byline) at Southend.

[Burnhamgull]

If you really want to annoy Clarke Osborne then politely complain at his front door, at his favourite bar and even sit at a nearby table in a restaurant because otherwise why would he care? If fans do or don't turn up at Plainmoor then it is small change compared to a multi-million pound housing development. As for moaning about Harrop why bother as he is just an employee and it suits Osborne for people's anger to be be directed elsewhere. He could leave tomorrow and somebody else with the same instructions will arrive the next day. You don't go into Wetherspoons and berate the manager about the price of beer because he has no control over it. I reckon Harrop for all his faults is just a paid employee and consequently does what he is told.
So how to complain? Visit Mr Osborne but if that does not suit your lifestyle then maybe join Torquay United Supporters Trust, so if their membership is really high it will demonstrate that people are unhappy.

I suggested a trip to Chew Magna ( I think that's where he lives) a few months ago but nobody was interested because it means leaving Devon. I agree with what you're saying, knock on his door at 11pm, fill his local pub but don't buy drinks, piss off his neighbours, make him feel uncomfortable.

Boosting membership of the Trust will do nothing because Osborne will not feel threatened by another 50 people paying £2 per month to a fan club.

[Neal]

Boycott all home ganes and turn put in force to away games

[Neal]

For me it would be a total boycott of all games untill Owers leaves .Money people understand money and with lack of it through the gate it might make the point.I have posted on here a few years ago that National league south was the right full home for Torquay United,with the present set up I am now not so sure so I would back a new club (AFC Torbay ? ).We have a good couple of thousand supporters and enough people with knowledge to start again lower down.
I see no hope for Torquay United as we know it unless an Elton John type person comes along and that is just pie in the sky,the cancer is too far gone so let's start again,for me our club is dead,so that's sixty one years of support down the drain,,except for some wonderful memories.

[portugull]

Well after the 4th consecutive match when we have failed to score the dilemma is this.

Boycott the Match next Saturday or attend but refuse to vacate Bristows Bench at the end of the game unless or until we get a Statement from Mr. Harrop on the Managers future at TUFC.

If 1,000 fans refuse to leave the Ground this would make for a big story in the media and draw National attention to what is going on at Plainmoor.

Cannot decide what to do. Been going to Plainmoor since 1954.

We the fans have to do something. Things have to change. We cannot and will not sit on our hands.

[culmstockgull]

Who ever the moron was that chucked a cup of coffee in Owers face at the end of the game then I hope they lock you up and throw away the key, what ever your opinion of the manager, to assault him, where if the coffee had been better aimed he could have lost his eyesight is so totally unacceptable, This is the manager of a football club, doing what he considers is the best of his ability, that the majority of us considers he may not be up to the job is no excuse for todays behaviour. We slaughtered Nicholson and eventually he was replaced, we are slaughtering Owers but at a level that frightens me, so who amongst you actually believes the next victim in charge is going to be any better, For what we pay and what he has to work with you don't need a manager you need a miracle worker.