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Could you clarify the events surrounding the TUST representatives being asked to move on by Stewards and Police recently?

If what I've read is true that is a pretty damning decision by the Club!!

Morning Southampton Gull,

TUST have released a short statement overnight - LINK

So much for the club engaging positively with the Trust as promised. Presumably this decision was made by George Edwards. If that's the case then he needs to state publicly what harm he thinks TUST officials were likely to cause. Nothing these people running the club do surprises me any more.

Stewards have no authority away from the ground and the police should be acting to maintain law & order / safety, not employed by the club to try to thwart an organisation which is clearly acting within the law. I suggest that a formal complaint is made to Devon & Cornwall Police.

TUST Brochure - is now online which may be of interest to exiles and those that did not get a copy.

TUST STATEMENT

The latest TUST brochure was distributed on New Year’s Day and has gone down well. The brochure is designed to be of benefit to the club and aimed at engaging with local businesses and the wider community.

It is available here: www.tust.co.uk/2020-tust-brochure

We have received some excellent feedback and we are pleased to report that the exercise has resulted in a number of new members joining the Trust.

Despite reports to the contrary, we have received confirmation that a licence was not required from the Police, Torbay Council or the Safety Advisory Group to distribute the brochure outside the stadium on New Year's Day..

It is in all our interests to have a strong Torquay United football club and TUST looks forward to working positively with the club in 2020 to achieve this end.

Ruairi Keating

Whilst writing, following today's news of his transfer to Gateshead FC, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Ruairi for his undoubted commitment and passion for our great club. We wish him every success in his future career.

SUPPORT TUST - SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY

TUST January Newsletter

Chairman's Comments

Welcome to our monthly Newsletter. On this occasion I will be writing with my own thoughts next week but in the meantime here is a summary of this month's board meeting. As always, we would welcome any feedback via our e-mail at [email protected]

Michel Thomas
COYY


January board meeting - summary minutes

Relationship with the Club - Football Supporters’ Association (FSA)

Andy Walsh of the FSA had met with directors of the Club on 9th January with a view to brokering a better relationship between them and TUST. He had subsequently provided feedback to the board and had written again to George Edwards. As we write this at the end of the month he is still waiting for a reply. The TUST board re-iterated its desire to work positively with everyone at the Club to promote our common interests.

Walsh had been keen that TUST should promote the work of its members to improve disabled facilities at Plainmoor and said this aligned with the FSA’s Disability Charter. There was the possibility that the FSA could provide some funding for such initiatives.

He had also encouraged TUST’s policy of liaising with the trusts and other supporter bodies from visiting and other clubs. The FSA were particularly interested in the potential Devon / SW Region trust group.

It had been requested through Andy Walsh that all future concerns of fans about organisational matters should be referred to the Club through Dominic Mee, the appointed Media and Supporter Liaison Co-ordinator. Concern was expressed about his low profile as he is not seen around the ground on match days and he is not listed among other staff on the ‘Contact Us’ page of the TUFC website so there is no e-mail address for him.


Proposed TUFC Supporters Club

There is still no news on the proposal first launched in September although Andy Walsh had been advised that an announcement would be made shortly.


TUST brochure distribution

It was noted that TUST board members distributing the new brochure outside the ground at the game on New Years Day were told to move on by stewards and the police, apparently at the request of Club directors. Despite this approximately 1,000 brochures had been handed out and favourably received.

Subsequent enquiries had established that no licence was required for distributing such material in this location and a discussion with the police and the Safety Advisory Group had confirmed that they had no concerns about TUST’s actions or right to do so.


Asset of Community Value (ACV) - Plainmoor

As previously reported, the current ACV expires on 31st March and the importance of renewing it had been previously agreed. The Secretary advised on the history of the previous application and subsequent revelation that it applied to the Club’s leasehold rather than the Council’s freehold. He referred in particular to the very helpful legal advice on the matter obtained in 2017. This had concluded that, whilst the Council’s interpretation of the effect of the ACV was correct, it would still be of strategic value. It may apply in the event of the Club acquiring the freehold of Plainmoor and subsequently wishing to dispose of it to a third party (eg: for development).

Business networking

It was reported that TUFC had joined Your Partnership (Torbay and Teignbridge) business networking group and arranged a joint breakfast meeting at Plainmoor on 12th February. As TUST is an existing member of YP, it had received an invitation to attend. However, it has received a message from the Club saying that despite this, if TUST representatives attend they will not be permitted to promote TUST, only their own businesses.


Quarterly report

The Treasurer and Membership Secretary advised that the current account stood at £2,226 and the savings account at approximately £40,000.

Membership had increased to 379 with a number of new members joining since the New Year, possibly in response to the brochure.

There was some discussion about possible initiatives for increasing awareness and membership in the wider community such as through schools. Experiences of other trusts would be considered.

Evening Gulls, latest comments from our chairman now up on the website https://www.tust.co.uk/post/chairman-s- ... or-january

FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING

Summary of board meeting held on 17th February

TUST partnership with TUCST & Women’s Team
We were delighted to welcome Matt Green, joint manager of the Torquay United Women FC, to address the meeting. He presented the current circumstances of TUWFC. With a depleted squad since the Summer the team has struggled on the pitch and is likely to face relegation at the end of the season. However, there is strong support for the women and girls’ teams at all age groups and exciting and viable plans are proposed for the future of these teams next season.

The immediate problem TUWFC face is funding the remainder of this season. There are six fixtures left but only one at home. There is a small balance in the bank but Matt projects a shortfall of £850 to enable the team to complete the season. This is required to cover pitch hire for matches and training and travel costs.

After Matt left the meeting the board considered the position in respect of TUST’s net surplus for 2018/19 (£6k) and the agreed principle of contributing 50% of this to community engagement activities. To date, sponsorship had been provided for the TQ1Club shirts and training tops for the TUCST coaches. A contribution had previously been agreed towards tracksuits for TUWFC but had not been actioned and it was now agreed that this was not a priority in light of the team’s current predicament.

There was a lengthy discussion about TUWFC’s position and its need for funds to complete the season. It was unanimously agreed that TUST should provide an initial sponsorship of £450 towards the shortfall outlined by Matt. The board agreed that TUWFC should be encouraged to seek the remaining funds from other sources. The meeting noted that currently the club makes no financial contribution to the women’s team.

We will look to publicise this sponsorship as we continue to build on our partnership with the Community Sports Trust and TUWFC and draft a press release in consultation with the TUWFC management.

Relationship with the Club
Andy Walsh, Head of the National Game at the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), has been trying to broker a relationship between TUST representatives and the Club’s directors. A long e-mail giving an update from him arrived during the meeting.

In summary, he had received no further communication from George Edwards, adding it was another sign of his unwillingness to understand the role of a democratic supporters’ organisation and the positive impact that working with a forward thinking group such as TUST can have. AW was supportive of all the good work that TUST are doing on behalf of the fans and wider community.

Disabled supporters
The recent appointment by the Club of Jo Harris as Disability Liaison Officer was noted and welcomed. It was agreed to contact her with the offer to provide details of local disability groups which she could liaise with.

Public relations
A contact from one of the business networking events who runs a consultancy had offered to make a presentation to TUST about marketing.

Now that it has been clarified that there is nothing to prevent us from doing so, plans were agreed for distributing the TUST brochure outside then ground at a future home game and also at the away game at Maidenhead.

The Chairman reported on his attendance at the Sport Torbay consultation meeting last month. The aim of the initiative is to develop a new sports plan for Torbay which will reinvigorate and work with key partners and governing bodies to invest and develop sporting opportunities within Torbay. He had agreed to prepare a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis for Sport Torbay for consideration at the next TUST board meeting.

The launch of the new Torbay Weekly newspaper was noted including Dave Thomas’ joining as TUFC correspondent. Richard Hughes is now the main reporter on TUFC matters at the Herald Express / Devon Live.

Supporters’ Trusts
Arrangements have been confirmed for the next meeting of the Devon Group which will be hosted by TUST on 24th March. The inaugural meeting of SW Regional Group has been scheduled for Sunday 26th July.

Social media
Recent social media activity about the Twitchin family’s disappoinment at not being given free use of the Ian Twitchin suite for one match as previously offered by the Club was noted. The Chairman had been in discussion with the family about this and plans for this season’s Twitchin Trophy award.

Communications procedure
It was agreed to produce more frequent but shorter news items for members and on social media. The Chairman’s monthly comments and summary minutes will be released separately and bite-size pieces will be used more.

Safer Gambling Campaign
The FSA is running a campaign to promote responsible gambling on football and address addictive issues that can arise. It was agreed that this is a worthy campaign that TUST should support. The FSA have produced various promotional material in support of the cause and we will download and use appropriate items.

Any other business
Nick Brodrick raised the issue of government advice on health precautions for large gatherings in light of the Coronavirus threat. Clean washing facilities with soap / anti-bacterial gel and drying facilities were fundamental to this but were sadly lacking in the ground. It was agreed he should raise this with the Supporter Liaison Co-ordinator.

He also drew attention to recent speculation about the possible demise of BBC local radio and whether this may present an opportunity for TU Radio to expand its activities into the wider community.


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SUPPORTERS’ TRUSTS ARE HERE TO STAY

The following article written by Nick Brodrick, TUST's board member and Supporter Liaison Officer, appeared in a recent edition of the Non-League Paper.

Supporters’ trusts: a hindrance or help?

In the top four divisions there are probably few clubs without one but in non-league this isn’t the case. Supporters’ trusts should not be confused with supporters’ clubs which are generally run and overseen by the football club whereas a supporters’ trust is an independent body. What a trust is, is a democratic, not-for-profit organisation designed simply to ensure the long term sustainability of its football club. Commonly supporters’ trusts are generally founded in order to increase influence at clubs through a financial stake.

There are over 140 supporters’ trusts across England, Wales and Scotland. While the majority of these are affiliated to football clubs, some exist for Rugby Union & League.
Trusts are formed within the legalities of the Community Benefit Societies (CBS). CBS’s are registered with the Financial Conduct Authorities. The members own all assets and liabilities collectively and any profit made is either kept as reserves or reinvested to meet its objectives. They are not charities. They exist to develop and strengthen the relationship between the football club and the local community, representing the voices of supporters whether living in the local area or as exiles.

Relationships between supporters’ trusts and owners/directors of the football club clearly vary from club to club ranging from trust directors sitting on football club boards to trusts being kept at arms length.

But in some instances, trusts actually run their football club. In the National League there are 13 clubs which have a supporters’ trust. At Wrexham they own the football club; at Woking the trust is the second largest shareholder. Notts County’s have a 30% share in the club. And at Chesterfield their Community Trust is in talks to become the major shareholder of the club by mid-February.

But let’s take a look at a supporters’ trust in a little detail. At Torquay United the supporters’ trust (TUST) was established in 2006, since then there have been ups and downs with a succession of chairmen, the last but one, Michael Goulbourne, having to resurrect the trust in 2014 from almost going out of existence.

TUST, now under the leadership of Michel Thomas, a passionate, driving force, has over 370 paid up fans and corporate members. Fans pay £2 a month to be members with each one having a voting right. And corporate members pay £50 which gives their business a local platform, as they have advertising space in TUST’s annual brochure.

It acts as a critical friend of the football club with its mission statement saying, ‘ TUST promotes good governance and seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability of our club for the benefit of current and future supporters and the wider community.’ Thomas explains, “ Football clubs’ supporters and the clubs’ wider communities are there for the long term. Supporters’ trusts exist to represent people’s interests in their clubs ranging from highlighting and supporting initiatives that enable supporters to enjoy a comfortable and positive matchday experience to endeavouring to support or influence decisions that promote their club’s sustainability for a longer term future.” He continues, “ It’s important for the custodians, whoever they may be, to recognise that the clubs they run are much valued assets to their local and wider communities.”

Tellingly Thomas adds, “ Football stadiums are places for regular community gatherings and not just on match days; they are a part of our culture which is worth preserving and supporters’ trusts are there to ensure this.”

At Torquay United current owner/chairman Clarke Osborne ,who bought the club in December 2016, is rarely seen at matches leaving the day-to-day running of the club to CEO, George Edwards. Osborne, though, through his company Riviera Stadium Limited, owns 92.341% of Torquay United and one of his stated aims is to move the club to a new stadium and this is where TUST as the club’s supporters’ trust can keep an eye on proceedings. To be fair, to date, as the most recent accounts show, Osborne has ploughed in £2.1million to revive the club’s fortunes.

Supporters’ trusts are full members of the Football Supporters Association (FSA), a national body, which provides support and advice, especially to trusts and Supporters’ Associations who have concerns about poor governance of their club. Furthermore, they are represented on the FA Council and advise the Parliamentary Media, Culture and Sports Select Group on national football matters of importance to the game.

So what does a supporters’ trust involve itself in? What does a typical trust do bearing in mind trust officials, although democratically elected, are all non-paid volunteers giving freely of their time? A good example is, in 2018, through the efforts and initiative of the TUST board, Torquay United were the only non-league club to be awarded a grant from the Premier League Fans Fund (PLFF) to enable the trust , along with the Torquay United Community Sports Trust (TUCST), to purchase special equipment, such as a very popular speed goal, to use at FanZones. These have been held on regular occasions before home matches and at outreach events throughout South Devon.

At the same time for the 2018 - 2019 season TUST, with the club’s support, introduced what turned out to be a popular MatchDay Ambassador scheme where a team of volunteers, led by TUST’s supporter liaison officer (SLO) a post which is mandatory in the EFL, welcomed supporters into the ground and dealt with any issues, such as seating problems, which arose. In the National League only 9 clubs have a SLO.

Earlier this season TUST became headline sponsors of Torquay United Community Sports Trust (TUCST), purchasing training tops for the TUCST coaches as well as competition shirts for the TQ1 kids and sponsorship of the Torquay United Women’s team. As TUST chairman Michel Thomas puts it, “ We’re really pleased to show our support of TUCST as it underlines one of our core objectives - outreach and community engagement.”

What is clear is the growing importance of every club having an active supporters’ trust to not only work with their club but also to be there in times of need. “ We fell asleep” is what Bury’s supporters’ trust admitted after the sad demise of their club so there is a big lesson to be learnt.

Towards the end of last year there was an exciting initiative with the inaugural meeting of the supporters’ trusts of Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United to form a Devon Supporters Trust Group with the intention of increasing this into a bigger south-west alliance. With their growing influence in the life of a football club, supporters’ trusts are here to stay and all strength to those who run them.

SUPPORT TUST - SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Dear members and supporters,

It has taken a while to draw oneself towards writing this as recent global events have unfolded, affecting all of us in so many different ways.

Firstly, as has been overwhelmingly the concern within our society, we hope that everyone in our communities keeps well and safe during this difficult and unprecedented time. Furthermore, that our members, all TUFC supporters, the club management, staff, players and your families are able to see your ways through this and keep healthy.

Our thoughts also go towards the people who work on the front line of the NHS, the carers and many vital various key service providers who are continuing to ensure our well being and safety. We have never appreciated them so much, as was evident again on Thursday evening, on my doorstep at 8pm.

We would also like to publicly appreciate the fact that members of our club have been involved in outreaching to our community. It is really a great gesture that some of our players have been involved in helping the vulnerable with deliveries; that Gary Johnson, Aaron Downes and Asa hall have been phoning many of our senior season tickets holders for a supportive chat and that Dominic Mee has also been getting in touch with supporters. Furthermore, the TU Community Sports Trust and Women's team have also been phoning supporters to make sure that they are safe and to offer any help needed. Gary Johnson's question times on TUFCTV have also been a very welcome initiative for many of us. It has been appreciated that his responses have, with eloquence and clarity, addressed a variety of the ongoing questions he has received from supporters in some depth.

Football matters are, rightly, of secondary importance at this time, as we all have much more important concerns and challenges to come to terms with. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention some various news items of interest. We are just trying to keep some focus on issues, as is our members' remit, that might be of relevance in considering TUFC's possible future situation down the line. The following points seem to be of relevance, realising that many of you will have picked these up for consideration already...

Gary Johnson, in one of his excellent question/answer club TV interviews, positively confirmed that the players' wages were still being paid by the club at this moment in time. Moreover, he felt that Clarke Osborne is amenable to funding this expenditure at this time. Furthermore, he didn't think Mr. Osborne would be cutting his losses and was certain that he wouldn't 'pull the plug', as one supporter put it. He trusts the owner and directors to do 'the right thing by the football club'. We, of course, all hope so too.

The National League confirmed an indefinite postponement of the season's fixtures during the last week. Meanwhile the EFL and National League are understood to have had joint talks about how the future might be best planned. Some sources believe a new regionalised EFL division, encompassing National league clubs and Division 2, is one consideration to ensure our lower level professional clubs have a better chance of surviving financially. There seems to be a mixed opinion on how this season should be concluded. The FA/National Leagues are also understood to be in talks, whilst following the government's guidelines and directives. It must be hard to predict outcomes re the pandemic at the moment.

An interesting article in the Non-League Paper states that Premier League clubs have spent in the region of a total of £261 million on intermediaries(agents) this season. The Dagenham and Redbridge owner estimated that a £20 million funding package at least would be needed for all National League clubs to get through this unprecedented crisis. The article suggested that the PL could quite easily donate a significant amount, re the above figures, to help the professional teams in the lower echelons of the football pyramid to pull through.

It has since been announced that PL players are agreeing to take a 30% wage cut, if the season is not finished or is completed without attendances. This would become a deferral if the PL season is eventually ended normally. I understand that the cut is in order to donate funds towards the NHS and lower league players wages if required. However, some recent breaking news suggests that the PFA believes that footballers are concerned that agreements may benefit club ownerships more than non-playing staff and emergency services.

Meanwhile, the PL has apparently agreed to bring forward solidarity payments of £125 million to the English Football League and National League, with a further £20 million to the NHS. It will be interesting to see the developing criteria used in sharing out the funding to EFL and NL individual clubs.

An excellent supporters trust related article, written by our own TUST liaison officer, was published by the NLP online a week ago and is well worth a read. It has since been published by Supporters Direct Europe!

On a final note, when this global pandemic is eventually over, whenever that might be, the resumption of football will be welcomed by players and supporters alike. This period of absence may just allow people to appreciate a little more the live event ritual of coming together locally on a matchday to share something we all mutually enjoy. Whether playing, meeting up with friends, acquaintances, seeing familiar faces and in many cases attending as a family group or carrying fond family memories.... To be involved again, in one way or another, in the 'beautiful game' as a complete footballing community. This may also include some relief at seeing our familiar fellow clubs also re-appear intact, to re-join with us in sharing healthy competition.

If you know of any TUST member or supporter, particularly our seniors (of whom I am one!) who would benefit from a phone call and a chat, please get in touch ( [email protected] ). Self -isolating myself, it is something else I can actually do!

In the meantime, stay safe and well everyone.

Best wishes,
Michel Thomas, TUST

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The problem with regionalised football, no matter how you divide it, North/ South; East/ West, Torquay are still going to have 400 mile round trips most away days, so financial strain will still be there.

RESPONSE TO CLUB STATEMENT

George Edwards’ statement on the club’s website last night was very welcome at this really difficult time, clarifying the club’s policy during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Given these unprecedented times and with no clear guidance yet by either the FA or the National League as to how the current season will end, the decision to furlough now all the staff - management and players - is understandable.

George’s words were upbeat and positive with all Torquay United supporters relieved and reassured to hear that the club’s determination remains to take the club back to the Football League once football resumes.

We, at TUST, fully support his comments especially those regarding everyone at the club being determined to help not only the club but also the local Torbay communities which very much echos TUST’s mission statement.

SUPPORT TUST - SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY

TORBAY FOOD ALLIANCE

In these unprecedented times the Torbay Food Alliance is trying to make a difference. Made up of community and voluntary sector organisations across The Bay, the Alliance are working together in a direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

They are appealing for funds to help provide fresh meals to those unable to prepare their own as well as food parcels to others. These are delivered to those in the community who need them the most, helping the poorest and most vulnerable in the community.

Torquay United Supporters Trust (TUST) have today donated £500, as is TUST’s remit to outreach to the local community on behalf of Torquay United FC, to the Food Alliance in the knowledge that this sum will be matched by Torbay Council

TUST Chairman, Michel Thomas, said, “ These are difficult and troubling times for many in our local communities and we hope TUST’s contribution goes some way towards helping those in need.”

Further information about donating to the Torbay Food Alliance can be found at
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/torbay-food-alliance

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PLAINMOOR - ASSET of COMMUNITY VALUE

We are pleased to report that an application by TUST to renew the listing of the stadium as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) has been approved by Torbay Council and this will run for a further five years.

The effect of the listing is that if the owners of the football stadium seek to sell their interest they must give interested community organisations such as TUST a six month window in which to prepare an offer. It does not give such organisations the right of first refusal to buy the asset. What it does do is give time for them to put together the funding necessary to bid to buy the asset on the open market.

When TUST originally applied for the ACV listing in 2015 it was in response to concerns that the Council was, at the time, considering selling the freehold of Plainmoor to the Club’s owners. In 2017 it came to light that the ACV did not apply to the freehold but only the Club’s leasehold interest. TUST obtained independent legal advice confirming this to be the case.

Whilst the ACV does not apply in the above circumstances, it does offer some protection if the Club were to acquire the freehold and subsequently wish to sell the ground for development. It is for this reason that TUST believe the renewal to be strategically important.

To be clear, TUST policy does not oppose relocation of the football stadium providing such a move is fully supported by a robust business case and does not leave the Club exposed to unacceptable risk. We do believe that it is critical that the Council do not sell the freehold of Plainmoor to the Club’s owners without such guarantees in terms of Torquay United's longer term sustainability and place within the local community. We will continue to lobby resiliently to this end.

SUPPORT TUST - SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY