MellowYellow wrote: ↑07 Apr 2017, 00:37 It is still the case that buying a non-league football club is unlikely to yield a return unless you have an ulterior motive that is non-football related.
Oh not at all!
I know of several owners of clubs below National League South level who hold very genuine and realistic ambitions to generically grow their clubs. One or two are pouring a whole lot of investment in; but most are content to patiently grow their club in a sustainable way, build their footballing infrastructure accordingly and develop their grounds in a fit for purpose manner.
ALL that needs doing at Torquay United, ALL of that has been severely neglected in the past and ALL of that is necessary if the club is even to survive let alone prosper.
merse btpir wrote: ↑07 Apr 2017, 07:43
If you want a proper debate that balances all sides of an issue then you can't expect to have a cheerleading exercise which is what you appear to want Lucy.
A debate won is not one at all if it has not been carried out with pros and cons from two sides of the room. I thought we'd had enough Bristow inspired cheerleading taking place to the all round ignorance of the waste, profligacy and all round neglect of good business practice to last a lifetime; but it seems not.
I believe that was aimed at the thread opened alongside that I have now merged with this one, the opening post saying there has been no discussion on the Clarke video on social media.
Any ideas what he's referring to when he says skeletons in a cupboard?? He cant be talking about Harrop, he cant fit inside one. Maybe he's talking about some of our players who go missing during games.
merse btpir wrote: ↑07 Apr 2017, 07:50
I know of several owners of clubs below National League South level who hold very genuine and realistic ambitions to generically grow their clubs.
Really I don't know what to make of Clarke Osborne. He isn't comfortable on camera that's for sure. Is that perhaps why he doesn't want to face the tv media?
Ok he might look like Jeremy Paxman compared to Old Mother Hubbard and her clackers in front of the cameras but he aint to easy on the eye and doesn't make for comfortable viewing.
He just looks like he is permanently squirming. He is either the worlds worst liar or perhaps what he says has some semblance of the truth. Clearly he was never going to answer the question about Nicholsons contract so I wouldn't hold that against him.
Nathan Blissett for example presumably wouldn't have come cheap. Having done well at the end of last season I was quite surprised that we managed to resign him. Sparkes went full time and relocated from London, the theres Luke Young and Brett Williams.
So I doubt that we were actually paying the lowest wages in the National League.
One thing seems for sure though - if and when we get relegated I very much doubt that Nico will be the manager next season.
So presumably in the close season we will find out the anwers ie we will either make a fist of getting back into the National League or continue to downsize and find that that Clarke is talking more bullshit than you will find on a mushroom farm.
We have no choice but to accept him as the club owner whether he is 'genuine' or not. In the immediate future we HAVE to accept him as genuine because he is genuinely the owner.
Priorites are that the club avoids relegation first of all and if it does then gets re-organised into a fit for purpose operation for next season. The same applies if relegation occurs and in the current climate I do not expect the current team management to survive beyond the end of April whatever the outcome.
If that is the case then the selection of a fit for purpose management for whatever league we are in next season is of paramount importance and I believe a management that might be fit for purpose for the National League might not necessarily be fit for purpose for NLS and vice versa.
The next watershed will be the announcement of the mayor's decision as to policy regarding the club's wish to obtain the ownership of the freehold of the ground because that very definitely will determine where they intend to take the club from there but if it is declined then we have to be prepared for Osborne trying to move it on as a capital venture.
Hoping by the end of the season I have lost complete interest, like so many that have voted with their feet already, probably the sensible ones to be honest.
That wasn't even a "good" attempt at trying to win over the fans. Some of you are so naïve it beggars belief!
There are so many comments I could make to CO and some of the posts on here, but just cant be bothered.
But I tell you one thing, it would have been cheaper to have signed a few players to avoid relegation than it will be to get promoted from Conf south. Promotion from Conf south with this lot in charge, you are having a laugh!!!!
merse btpir wrote: ↑07 Apr 2017, 12:00
We have no choice but to accept him as the club owner whether he is 'genuine' or not. In the immediate future we HAVE to accept him as genuine because he is genuinely the owner.
Whilst I agree with the facts that he is the owner and we are stuck with him for the timebeing he was so evasive in that interview that he does nothing but confirm my suspicions.
He might talk of investment close to half a million, the thing is he doesn't mention that 25% of that was the original loan, by the time you add in the playing budget and the costs of their plans that would easily account for his "investment". What he hasn't mentioned is against that "investment" are the proceeds from the sale of Blissett and the gate revenue along with other revenues. No way is he half a mill out of pocket and it also includes the "purchase" of a professional football club.
How to confuse people with the financials..............he couldn't find £20k to fund 3 signings without sending in his hatchet man to try and con the manager out of his contract.
Nicholson knows he isn't part of their plans, the only problem seems to be the number of managers who don't want to be either.
I agree Dave and if the original Torquay United figure of £440K per annum is separated as 'the playing budget' then that is clearly not 'top half'. That statement can only be justified by adding all the other bits and pieces to it such as travel which of course is the most expensive in the league; and other investments which you have detailed.
When you consider that another isolated club Barrow, have a playing budget of £630K per annum you can see that Paul Cox has fifty per cent more to expend on running his squad than Kevin Nicholson does.
Based on the comments above I am not going to waste half an hour of my life watching the whole interview as it only confirms what I have thought all along.
Cut this "give him a chance crap" from the few and accept that the downward spiral is going to continue until he gets what he wants.
RIP TUFC and please don't drag it out too long so that supporters don't have to continue wasting their time posting on a forum when the inevitable is always going to happen.
Sorry but the town just doesn't care enough to keep it's football team.
The thing is, if a natural sceptic like "brucie" is almost prepared to believe him the less critical fan is going to be hoodwinked and that is what we have to try and prevent. I would rather be wrong about them and take all the flak that goes with it than be proved right and have no viable club to support.
That figure for the budget is exactly the figure I was made aware of some time ago.
Right now I would love an in-depth comment from Steve Breed to dispute what Osborne has said.
I will think on that dave anger evening last night watching that utter utter noncence top half budget you lying ........ ask yourself this if its a top half budget how are we bottom 4 it must be down to the manager hay ....
Top half budget....we have 16 players (1 on loan) the manager and 1 goalkeeper. If this is a top half budget then we have the worst value for money squad in professional football.
More likely is osborne is full of sh*t, the squirming and saying nothing to two very easy opening questions says it all.
bang on royal bang on I just wander how nicos feeling today having watched that crap to be fair though its not like the game tomorrow is that important is it
You just have to look at the players on our books their lack of quality, where they've come from and the fact we only have 16 of them. It's an embarrassing comment to say we have a top half budget, i'd be amazed if there are 4 or 5 lower than us.
