She is wiping the debt and we will be debt free when she leaves. I don't think anybody can ever thank her enough for this. I cannot comprehend how generous that is and how much it should be appreciated. The word legend is used too much these days but her and Paul are exactly that:
As a fan I am humbled at the decision to take such a big (and further) financial hit in the process of leaving the club and in doing this she could very well have saved us from slipping into non-existence.
Thank you Thea - you are truly a TUFC great.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 16:31
by tomogull
OnTheContrary wrote:Thea stepping down might be a blessing in disguise for the club. We have been far to reliant of one person. She had the money, but she has been blatantly incompetent as a chairman - a fact she did point out herself when she took charge.
It is ridiculous to say Thea is not to blame for the situation we are. A professional football club is not a toy with ehich to learn how to run a business, and I blame Thea for not recognising that. During her "learning process" the club has gone from bad to utter crap, on and off the pitch.
I have nothing against Thea as a person, she is a lovely lady, but she has been way out of her depth and should have taken the consequences of that years ago.
I would gladly take someone like Mike Bateson back - someone with proven business knowhow and balls to make tough decisions to keep the club afloat. I'll be happy to be frustrated with the chairman and board as long as the club is safe.
That is a mean-minded posting. You forget that Thea didn't want the chairman's post. When the previous failure of a chairman (forget his name - i'm getting old !!) suddenly stood down, nobody else had the balls to step in. She has always said she didn't want to be chairman and I believe that when Alex Rowe resigned from the Board (for whatever reason) she was left with no support, hence her plea to Kelvin Thomas for help. She has pledged to leave the club debt-free as Richinns has posted (great post, by the way - we should all be saying Amen to that) and I suspect we would now be in the same league as Bideford if Paul & Thea hadn't bankrolled the consortium that saved us from Roberts clutches. What Torquay United owes Paul and Thea Bristow can never be over stated and as Richinns posted - Thea, you are truly a TUFC great.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 16:43
by nickbrod
Interesting and comforting interview with Kelvin Thomas on the OS. He's already had a call from somebody showing interest. Whilst he's still with us I feel confident he will ensure the club transfers into the right hands. Maybe even his?
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 18:44
by Jerry
Thea is leaving but will continue to fund the club until June 30th.
So any money taken by the club between now and then will reduce her eventual losses.
So I fully expect all the "missing" fans to be back at Plainmoor for the rest of the season.
If she can donate 3 million quid surely you can stump up £20 a game to reduce her outlay.
Time to put your money where your mouth is, from the comments on here I expect 3,000 there next Tuesday.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 18:47
by Dave
I'd like to wish Thea and her family all the best for the future.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 19:22
by wivelgull
I'm afraid the days of 3000 crowds are long gone. Incidentally, when I started supporting United in 1963 the herald always referred to 'the faithful four thousand.'
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 20:43
by goodluckgull
It would be good if all our fans made some vocal noise of thanks to Thea in all our remaining home games. "There's only one Thea Bristow......"
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 20:56
by KeithMalone
Surely 25th April home to Macclesfield has to be Thea Bristow day whereby she is presented with a gift on the pitch so everyone can say Thank You. The debt of gratitude we owe this woman as fans of this club is so great that it must not be ignored
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 21:00
by portugull
A huge thank you as a fan to Thea Bristow and her Family for such amazing generosity.
£3 million is a huge amount to effectively write off and demonstrates her love for the Club.
The very fact that the new owner will start with a clean slate is very positive and should help Kelvin Thomas to find the right people to take over.
Coming from a finance background I think Thea has been badly let down by whoever was supposed to be controlling the purse strings.
Football is a business and any successful business needs strict financial control at all times. I have long suspected financial control was something
many of the Directors knew nothing about.
£3 million just proves things have got to change and quickly.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 21:26
by brucie
I'm not so sure that the message from OntheContrary is actual mean minded at all, There is actually some truth in what he says. Thea has indeed left the club in probably its worst ever position. If she has spent 3 million you have got to wonder why we are currently 15th in the Conference. It has been a cock up of monumental proportions. Thea was never fit to be chairperson in the first place.
Of course none of that means that she has not been astonishinly generous. However with a fortune of 15 million invested wisely the notion that she has been left penniless because of her association with Torquay United is nowhere near the truth.
Jerry suggesting that fans should just turn up for the rest of the season is just ridiculous. The management and playing staff do not deserve ANY support whatsoever. They are a complete and utter embarassment.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 21:33
by SteveDeckchair
A sad day indeed for Torquay United. Sections of the board should hang their heads in shame at their actions or lack of them during Thea's tenure as Chairman. If any of them come out now and put money in, I hope everyone lets them know exactly what we think of them. Grrrr.
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 21:37
by tomogull
brucie wrote:I'm not so sure that the message from OntheContrary is actual mean minded at all, There is actually some truth in what he says. Thea has indeed left the club in probably its worst ever position. If she has spent 3 million you have got to wonder why we are currently 15th in the Conference. It has been a cock up of monumental proportions. Thea was never fit to be chairperson in the first place.
Of course none of that means that she has not been astonishinly generous. However with a fortune of 15 million invested wisely the notion that she has been left penniless because of her association with Torquay United is nowhere near the truth.
Jerry suggesting that fans should just turn up for the rest of the season is just ridiculous. The management and playing staff do not deserve ANY support whatsoever. They are a complete and utter embarassment.
The point is - she never wanted the chairman's job. She said herself she had no idea how to run a football club. She was forced into it when Simon Baker who is an ardent United fan but a disaster as chairman stood down and nobody was prepared to step in to take on the job. We may be currently 15th in the Conference but without what the Bristows have done for this club, you'd probably have been able to watch local derbies between Bideford and Torquay this season, Brucie !
Thea Bristow to resign
Posted: 11 Mar 2015, 23:33
by Burnhamgull
I feel almost relieved that Thea is stepping down because she deserves so much better than this and I hope she can walk away from TUFC and enjoy time with her family at long last.
We are extremely lucky that she continued to fund the club after Paul passed away. Others wouldn't have got involved.
I hope that tosspot Baker buggers off now and takes his cringeworthy baseball cap with him......he looked a right prick on Tuesday.
Thanks for everything Thea, you're a wonderful woman and are welcome on the Popside anytime
BBC Sport reporting this morning quoting Kelvin Thomas who says there are parties interested in investing into the club. Perhaps some good news to come?
