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Good points Soupdragon; let's hear the critical aspects by all means ~ this is FORUM after all.....well it is isn't it?

Soupdragon/Merse

I am happy to start off by saying -:

"Did the TUST ask why other planned stadiums around the country had never materialised" ?
"Did they ask WHY there was no "local board" yet ?
"Did they ask WHY there has not been a forum as promised (though I think they are counter-productive) ?

I am also happy to try and answer these questions

The TUST wouldnt have asked any "gritty" questions about Osborne and GI because it wouldnt have been allowed
There is no local board because those that were approached wanted nothing to do with it
A forum would have been all Anti GI/CO/GO and that wouldnt do.

Beware - a leopard never changes his spots

I would say you're 'on the money' with that observation, MF68

Sadly gents, I'm inclined to agree too. I hate negativity with a passion but there is something called reality and historical evidence which is at the forefront of fans' minds.

The proof is in the pudding, so whilst this is a positive step forward in terms of dialogue and discussion with the owner who has remained silent for a year or more, it is also nothing more than hot air if nothing gets done.

However, if as a result of the TUST contact CO feels compelled to turn more of his words into action then all well and good. Leopards do sometimes change their spots, MF68! It just depends on whether said leopard can see the benefit of changing

This discussion is the start of something that will be judged based on its results, so we shall wait and see. Well, there's nowt else we can do is there?!

Well done to TUST for persevering to get the meeting though. At least it's something.

It's good they've got their foot in the door indeed DNA.

I did chuckle at the reference to stadium blueprints though...that's ALL you've ever delivered isn't it Clark, just plans!!

He mentions the local board...again...still no progress there. Repeats his intention to he here for the long term...nothing changed there.

Actions will speak louder than words.

Dear Supporters,

If anyone wishes to ask any questions regarding the meeting with Clarke Osborne, please email your name and phone number to [email protected] and Robin, Michel or Matt will be happy to reply and have a chat.

Kind regards,
TUST Board

#TUST #TUFC

It still worries me as to why CO purchased TUFC in the first place?

CO is a business man and business men like to make money.
Small football clubs like TUFC don't make money, they hemorrhage it.
CO is too clever to lose money, at least long term.

So - hidden agenda?
There must be one somewhere along the line.

Roberts had dreams for a new all purpose stadium with a 'pop-up' stage for concerts and the like, plus hotels and other outlets.
Sure, he didn't have money but he did have financial backing - CO seems to have the same thoughts but without any plans as yet.

He makes the right noises that will appease many fans - but there are the real 'pro-probers' on here that seem to be able to see through a lot of his guff.
Let's hope they can continue to do so - you know who you are so 'thank-you'.

Dear Supporters,

If anyone wishes to ask any questions regarding the meeting with Clarke Osborne, please email your name and phone number to [email protected] and Robin, Michel or Matt will be happy to reply and have a chat.

Kind regards,
TUST Board

#TUST #TUFC

Tired Old Gull wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 19:01It still worries me as to why CO purchased TUFC in the first place?

To be pedantic he loaned the previous board money; was made aware that they couldn't pay it back and acquired the club by that default.....

Did he play the loan shark's card of offering more than he knew could be repaid and thus called in his guaranty which was their shareholding?

He certainly carried out due diligence and decided that supporting the failed venture was preferrable to liquidating it himself and he has made no secret of his reasons for doing so. Had he not done so there is no doubt that the business faced liquidation because messrs Phillips, Balson and Kerswell had neither the means nor the intellectual grasp to carry on and had failed to sell the business on as they were hopelessly aligned to doing.

Because of his appalling record over thirty years of never producing what he is promising in Torquay; a growing army of grass roots supporters have made it their business to alert one and all of the very real dangers of him getting his hands on the Plainmoor freehold and indeed the very real danger of playing in a stadium of which he is the freeholder.

The freehold of the ground must remain in public ownership or alternatively in the hands of the supporters' trust; not in Mr Osborne's hands nor indeed those of the football club because he is the owner of that football club!

merse btpir wrote: ↑15 May 2018, 19:20 To be pedantic he loaned the previous board money; was made aware that they couldn't pay it back and acquired the club by that default.....
Did he play the loan shark's card of offering more than he knew could be repaid and thus called in his guaranty which was their shareholding?

Thanks Merse, that's not being pedantic at all!

So would you think he saw a quick buck profit by acquiring the club so easily - and it has now turned out to be rather more of a millstone than he could ever have anticipated?
He's going to have to pump a lot more cash in now before he ever sees any kind of return on his 'investment'.

Asking the difficult questions whilst hoping to setup regular contact is very difficult line to tread for the TUST so I suspect this is why they have taken a softly softly approach at this stage. Not for one second do I think they were totally sold by what they were hearing but perhaps a push for real detail behind the 'sunshine' message will come over future meetings. Unfortunately the overview of the experience does come across as a Clarke Osborne press release (which will bring much scepticism with it) but let's not be too harsh on the guys working extremely hard to put themselves in a position to have some power in their role as a critical friend of the club.

You have captured my feelings exactly Richinns, just written it better than I could

There is an excellent posting by Jon Gibbes on another TUFC fans forum (the other one that you do not need a password to read) on the position of TUST.

To be clear, my criticisms of TUST are really around communication and presentation, not around its objectives. We were promised "frank and open" so-called 'minutes' of the first formal meeting with Clarke Osborne, but what we got could easily have been written by Osborne's own pr people, and raised more questions than answers. The latter is evidenced by the fact that TUST felt compelled to put out a further statement to encourage people to get in touch with them if they had any questions about the meeting.

This may sound a little harsh, but if these 'minutes' accurately reflected the meeting, then Osborne will think that he is dealing with pussies. He needs to be aware that the vast majority of TUFC fans/TUST members are not so obsequious, not so easily fobbed off, not so compliant. I am not - of course - suggesting any sort of action or demonstration, but I would like to see my TUST acting in a more businesslike and determined manner, and to see that reflected in meeting reports.

Tired Old Gull wrote: ↑16 May 2018, 13:32So would you think he saw a quick buck profit by acquiring the club so easily - and it has now turned out to be rather more of a millstone than he could ever have anticipated?

Developers and speculators habitually engage in 'slow burn' projects to realise a return on their investment and Osborn's ownership of Torquay United has to be precisely that.....and yes; it is costing him and will continue to cost him iin order to do that.

If Osborne is doing so in order to garner trust within the local community and approval/ acquiescence within the political arena, then there must be a potentially massive fortune to be made ~ both for him and them ~ from his endeavours and good luck to him if is successsful.

But not at the expense of the club being exposed to playing within a freehold that is either his or the future owners of the club because that renders them naked in the face of a future insecurity of tenure of the type that they currently enjoy. There are (I believe) almost seventy years left to run on the Plainmoor lease, but one day in the future that too will need to be addressed by a generation yet to come who would not forgive us if we allowed the current status quo to be lost.

Vigilance and diligence remain at the top of the agenda!

Soupdragon wrote: ↑17 May 2018, 12:01 There is an excellent posting by Jon Gibbes on another TUFC fans forum (the other one that you do not need a password to read) on the position of TUST.

Here is the link to Jon's post referenced above. Well worth a read.

http://torquayfansforum.co.uk/thread/96 ... lTo=129124