Cox Resigns

[CP Gull]

Certainly not prepared to discount what pinitgull says simply because they have only just joined the forum today. There could quite easily be some truth in this rumour, indeed a quick Google search even led me to a possible name, someone who is both wealthy and knows Paul Cox very well. I'm not saying for one minute that it is this particular individual but what it does prove is that Paul Cox does know wealthy people with an interest in football! Of course there is a big jump from being that to wanting to be owner of TUFC but you never know....

Logically it would also follow that if the Board had of been approached by Cox and his contact and been rebuffed it would indeed make Paul Cox position pretty untenable I would imagine!

It will certainly be interesting to see what Paul Cox has to say on Monday! At the moment the Board have pretty much come out and said that Paul Cox has resigned for personal reasons - well if what pinitgull tells us is true I would find it difficult to see how they could describe this scenario in this way!

[Southampton Gull]

Well the money man has a history with Port Vale and isn't new to a few boardroom shenanigans so the jury is out on that one but I have to say I'm none too happy with the way Paul Cox has orchestrated all this. Sending a message to the local rag instead of being up front with his 'employers' is no way to conduct yourself.

[CraigUnder]

Very interesting and very honest interview with Steve breed then on the radio.. Few points:

- Paul Cox was NOT under a contract from the club, come in with only expenses paid and a gentlemens handshake of staying with the club with no contract.

- The decision to be NOT on a contract was one made by Paul Cox himself. PC went to the club with those terms.

- PC requested an interview with the club about being
put onto a contract by the club after he has received 3 contract offers from other clubs.

- Managerial search will begin after Tuesday's game. With Steve Breed 'very surprised' about the profile of the managers already inquiring to the club about the vacancy.

[Burnhamgull]

If PC wasn't being paid, he's free to do what he wants. If the board want loyalty,they should pay for it.

[CraigUnder]

Let me re-phrase.. Steve Breed has been pleasantly surprised about the High Calibre of people wanting to take over here

[Smithy1899]

Shocked to hear, if only we'd known this 2 months ago... Oh wait

[Yorkieandy]

Let me re-phrase.. Steve Breed has been pleasantly surprised about the High Calibre of people wanting to take over here

With all due respect, he kind of HAS to say that doesn't he? He's not going to come out and say he's seriously concerned about the standard of interested individuals.

The club has no money, can't pay anybody let alone a new manager a decent enough wage and can't sign players. The best option is to look at local ambitious experienced non league managers who already live and work in the Devon/Dorset/Cornwall area so they don't have to worry about moving and who could maybe do the job for the money on offer. Either that or someone with the same profile who can do the job part time alongside their current commitments.

The money isn't there to get someone in with league experience and the location is definitely against you too. Employing someone from out of the area on peanuts and asking them to work miracles with nothing whilst commuting daily or temporarily living in digs will only end up in another Ling scenario. The club needs stability at the helm and the next manager has to be a sensible and realistic appointment reflecting the financial position the club finds itself in and also the level of football the club is playing. I've always been one for aiming higher but on this one, the club needs to aim lower and take a step back to take a step forward.

Hoping you get the points on the board today anyway.

[Southampton Gull]

Andy, we've just signed a player from Yeovil. A few of the names already put forward are quite impressive so let's just hang on a minute before saying we can't sign anyone and must look locally for management material. We aren't dead yet..........................

[Burnhamgull]

Very interesting and very honest interview with Steve breed then on the radio.. Few points:

- Paul Cox was NOT under a contract from the club, come in with only expenses paid and a gentlemens handshake of staying with the club with no contract.

- The decision to be NOT on a contract was one made by Paul Cox himself. PC went to the club with those terms.

- PC requested an interview with the club about being
put onto a contract by the club after he has received 3 contract offers from other clubs.

- Managerial search will begin after Tuesday's game. With Steve Breed 'very surprised' about the profile of the managers already inquiring to the club about the vacancy.

PC was in a win win situation then

The board have been done and now we start again.

Define "profile"...... You can be shit and have a profile

[Gulliball]

Quotes below from the chairman in the Herald just now. It gives the impression that he has been offered something somewhere else, and has effectively said 'pay me or I'll take the job that will pay me'. You can't really blame Paul Cox for this, as you can't expect someone to stay on an expenses only deal if he's had a better offer there.

We'll have to wait for the other side on Monday, but this does actually ease some fears. If this wasn't a result of anything disastrous from our end, just a change of heart from Cox, then saying this yesterday instead of the empty statement might have prevented a few of the rumours starting and kept the mood more positive ahead of the game today.

Losing Cox is a blow but there will be a new manager and our financial situation hasn't changed.


http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co....tory-27829664-detail/story.html#ixzz3mBzI9RIj

CHAIRMAN David Phillips has revealed to Herald Express Sport that Torquay United were given an 'ultimatum' by the former manager Paul Cox, who left the club yesterday.

Appointed during the summer after ex-boss Chris Hargreaves was placed on gardening leave, Cox had been working on a mutually-agreed unsalaried expenses-deal.

But Phillips and the chief executive Stephen Breed revealed exclusively to the Herald Express this morning that the manager had a change of heart this week, and during a meeting with the board on Thursday, he asked for the situation to change – telling the directors they had 48 hours to make up their minds.

Phillips said: "Paul Cox was brought in to the club by Dean Edwards on the basis that he had been out of the game for maybe six or seven months – and if you are out of this football game for a long period you are forgotten.

"He agreed to come in on an expenses-only scheme and he was very happy with that.

"He had a new car to drive around in and we were happy for him to go home to Nottingham whenever he wanted to see his family.

"He had free accommodation and all food paid for– so that was his deal.

"We discussed not talking about a contract until October – and obviously we are still in September.

"To be honest, the whole thing has been a shock.

"When Steve (Breed) said Paul wanted to see us on Thursday afternoon, we couldn't work out what it would be about. But if someone says 'I need to talk to you', you know it is something serious."

According to Phillips and Breed, it transpired that Cox wanted to talk about money and a contract. Phillips said the board told the manager they needed 'some time to think about it'.

"We were told 'you have got 48 hours," said Phillips. "Paul told us if we didn't come up with the good in those 48 hours then he would be gone.

"On that basis, we told him he was leaving us in a very invidious position."

This conversation was taking place to the backdrop of a series of stories coming out of the club recently – about 'low gates' and former employees possibly taking the club to court.

Phillips said: "Bearing in mind all the publicity about our financial restraints – it seemed to me a very inappropriate time to come in and start asking for X-amount of pounds.

"The timing was unbelievable."

"We rate Paul Cox," said Phillips. "He is a good man and a good manager.

"This has all come as a complete shock to us."

Cox had been in charge of the club for just 92 days and 10 games – only two of the team had won, with four games drawn and four games lost.

Both the board and Cox had talked about this being a 'long-term project' and that Torquay were undergoing a rebuilding process.

Breed added: "Paul went from talking about youth systems, being as happy as happy can be, to completely changing after the game on Tuesday night.

"We did our very best to keep Paul Cox at this football club, we would have gone a long way to keep him.

"But we cannot make decisions that will bankrupt this football club.

"We chose to ask Paul for some time to look at the situation and put something together – and Paul didn't give us that time.

"We are passionate about this football club and we will do everything we can to turn things around here – and we need the fans to get behind us and support our efforts."

In the absence of the former manager this afternoon, the director of football Dean Edwards and John Ramshaw, appointed by Cox as his assistant, will be in charge for the home game against Bromley.

[Yorkieandy]

Andy, we've just signed a player from Yeovil. A few of the names already put forward are quite impressive so let's just hang on a minute before saying we can't sign anyone and must look locally for management material. We aren't dead yet..........................

I'm not sure why you would imply that I would be happy to see the club go under. First of all that is a complete untruth and as my positive posts on here and praise for most down there would attest, I want the best for those people that I was fortunate enough to meet and enjoy some really unforgettable days out in my life.

I'm not saying that there aren't impressive experienced managers looking to get an angle in at Torquay, i'm saying that is it necessarily a GOOD thing? Surely the most important thing is getting someone in who is local and perfectly happy to work under restrictions and isn't always 'looking for another opportunity'? The Torquay managers job is a great one to have in the conference but not for those only wanting to use the club as a stop gap and not committing 100% to the area, the club and the 'project' long term. It has to be somebody's 'project' and stability needs to be found.

I'm sure the current board will not wish to see a repeat of the Cox scenario again and take everything into account when appointing the new man.

[Southampton Gull]

Get a grip you bellend, I never inferred anything of the sort. I made the point in reference to your statement that we couldn't sign players and should look for local talent. Newsflash, Argyle and Exeter are light years ahead of us in that department.

If you're going to come on here making those kind of ignorant statements then be prepared for them to be debated............

[brucie]

But the club is going to go under. How many people do you think will attend Tuesdays game? I never thought the club could be worse than it was under Roberts but unfortunately Steve Breed and Dean Edwards have achieved that.
Personally I don't care whether Cox goes or not. We play five at the back and concede about a thousand goals. Its obvious that the problem is Exodus, he is the worst centre half I have ever seen. We might as well play a traffic cone there - it would be quicker and cheaper.

[gulls63]

Let's hope that the Board has learned the lesson that very poor communication and a lack of transparency leads to a breakdown in trust and support.
Poor decisions appear to have been made for the best of reasons. As mentioned in a previous post the buck stops at the top and that is where responsibility lies for the shambles of the last few days.

[MF68]

Can anyone tell us who this "oligarch" is that Pc is "meeting?