Patience & Calm

[mlw]

Picking up on several postings on other threads, has the time arrived for a calmer and more patient approach. Perhaps it is time to stop berating the board and instead try giving them our support. Hopefully much more is going on behind the scenes than some on here will give them credit for. Although there has been silence on the subject of new player contracts perhaps the board is not in a position to go public at this stage. Basically none of know so we take silence to mean inaction and human nature dictates that this translates into negative comment & criticism.
Has not the time come to show a little more faith - we are talking about people who have put a lot of time and money into saving our club when it was at its lowest ebb. They certainly didn't do it for any financial benefit (quite the opposite in fact) and they seem to be getting precious little thanks either. We need to realise that without the current board we probably wouldn't have a team in the football league or indeed any league. They must despair about some of the comments they read on this site and wonder whether it is all worthwhile - basically they are on a hiding to nothing.
Let us once and for all accept a few realities about our club:

1) We are small club with limited finances and this is not going to change - no multi millionaire benefactor is going to be coming in our direction
2) We are intent on living within our means or as best any football team can and rightly so
3) Our supporter base is small - probably one of the bottom five in the league and there has traditionally been a high degree of apathy towards the club even when we are doing well.
4) We have to replace an ageing Grandstand which is well past its sell by date and this will be a drain on our finances for several years to come.
5) We are out on a limb and it has never been easy to attract players to an area of higher than average house prices and lower than average wages.

We are always going to be a small fish in the footballing pond but we are a proud and honourable club and we try to play and act in the right way.

The unsettling events and disapointments of the past couple of weeks have been hard to take and future is a cause for genuine concern to many supporters. Taking it out on the board is not going to help in the slightest and is it not time to show some understanding and support rather than constant criticism. It is worth pointing out to those advocating new contracts for whoever that they do not have to find the money to pay them.
It is far easier to criticise than to complement and I fully understand thast the vast majority of people on this site only want success for the team but I wonder if we need to be a little more accepting of the realities of life.
Lets try and show some patience and calm over the next few days and give whoever is appointed our full and total support and show a little more appreciation of the Board.

[Fonda]

I think that sums it all up rather well. People are clearly a bit sore about the Buckle situation, and are hitting out in all directions. Let's just trust that the board aren't completely incompetent - because that seems to be the insinuation of some. They deserve better from us, show a little patience and our faith will be repaid. I would say, i do hope they are further along the line in terms of a managerial recruitment than the public utterances would suggest, but again it's a case of keeping the faith. They've done pretty well by us up to now, why are some so keen to suggest they aren't acting in our best interests now...?

[taunton_gull]

Totally agree mlw, a good post.

It strikes me that a lot of the frustration expressed by some people is borne out of the disappointment of the last few weeks rather than a belief that the board aren't or haven't done a very good job. I don't think you will find many gulls fans who aren't extremely grateful for what the board have done over the last few years in saving the club and reinstating us as a league 2 team. I hope they know that most if not all fans hold them in very high regard. The fact is we now find ourselves in a period of transition, I think that coupled with the financial worry (cost of the grandstand, playing budget etc) has created a sense of anxiety and possibly panic.

My main disappointment like many others is the time and money I spent to get to Old Trafford to watch a side who looked a shadow of themselves from the previous games. Clearly everyone knew something was up and this was reflected in a very poor performance against an average side who will find themselves in league 1 next season instead of us. Looking back perhaps something should have been done with the managerial issue as PB already knew he was on his way to Rovers but unfortunately that's football and it happens. Looking at the positive side of things it has to be the best time of year to get a new manager in and I would rather he is given the freedom to decide his own playing squad instead of the board making decisions for him by signing our previous loanees. I don't think anyone is under any illusions about the difficulty of the season ahead and the fact that we may not be as successful as last year, but at the end of the day we're Torquay United so what's new?

I fully back the board an trust them to make the right decision. (hopefully Nicky Forster!) We're written off every year but that's not to say under the right gaffer we can't give it a right go. I can't imagine anything sweeter than sticking it up Bristol Rovers next season amongst others. If football was dictated by status and fan base we would have been out of the races a long time ago. Come August I'm hopeful we will have a competitive team in place - success, in my opinion does not depend upon whether or not we sign Guy Branston.

[jonesy33tufc]

I hear we're losing Bevan to Bristol Rovers. I have followed TUFC for 10 years and I can honestly say he's one of the best keepers with have had!!!

[wodger of awabia]

Totally agree mlw, a good post.

It strikes me that a lot of the frustration expressed by some people is borne out of the disappointment of the last few weeks rather than a belief that the board aren't or haven't done a very good job. I don't think you will find many gulls fans who aren't extremely grateful for what the board have done over the last few years in saving the club and reinstating us as a league 2 team. I hope they know that most if not all fans hold them in very high regard. The fact is we now find ourselves in a period of transition, I think that coupled with the financial worry (cost of the grandstand, playing budget etc) has created a sense of anxiety and possibly panic.

My main disappointment like many others is the time and money I spent to get to Old Trafford to watch a side who looked a shadow of themselves from the previous games. Clearly everyone knew something was up and this was reflected in a very poor performance against an average side who will find themselves in league 1 next season instead of us. Looking back perhaps something should have been done with the managerial issue as PB already knew he was on his way to Rovers but unfortunately that's football and it happens. Looking at the positive side of things it has to be the best time of year to get a new manager in and I would rather he is given the freedom to decide his own playing squad instead of the board making decisions for him by signing our previous loanees. I don't think anyone is under any illusions about the difficulty of the season ahead and the fact that we may not be as successful as last year, but at the end of the day we're Torquay United so what's new?

I fully back the board an trust them to make the right decision. (hopefully Nicky Forster!) We're written off every year but that's not to say under the right gaffer we can't give it a right go. I can't imagine anything sweeter than sticking it up Bristol Rovers next season amongst others. If football was dictated by status and fan base we would have been out of the races a long time ago. Come August I'm hopeful we will have a competitive team in place - success, in my opinion does not depend upon whether or not we sign Guy Branston.

Last time they took advice from Colin Lee, & appointed P.B. Have they got the knowledge to go it alone?
Will thay have the b##ls to appoint Kevin Phillips who would (perhaps) score 20+ goals a season, sell a fair few more season tickets, & put a couple of hundred more on the gate?

[Glostergull]

Sorry Wodger.
what information or proof have you got suggesting we would get fair few more season ticket holders have a couple of hundred added to the gate and what sums did you come up with to justify this. I suggest that it would raise about £100.000 extra. assuming that is accurate I wonder how far it would really go if his name is to atract anyone decent to plainmoor. I doubt 100K would go far enough to justify that statement. I suggest that there is more than enough apathy in this region to suggest that only a handfull would turn out and we would end up in financial trouble pretty quickly

[taunton_gull]

Don't think that was ever on the cards Wodger and while his appointment may have generated a bit of interest can you actually say that the way things seem to be going off the field he would be the right man to put in charge? Don't get me wrong, when he appears on sky he comes across as fairly articulate for a modern day football and knows a lot about the game - although how familiar he is with our level I'm not sure. In my opinion Forster is the best option of the names we aware of so far. Plenty of experience of the lower leagues as a player and has already cut his teeth albeit with a short but successful spell at Brentford. I also think there would be too much baggage taking on someone with previous links to the club, we need to start afresh and move forward.