Full time V Part Time

[bobbytanz1963]

Season 24/25 is the club be a full or part time one ??

As the accounts show a million pound loss last season why do people feel that full time must be maintained ? It’s an economic impossibility surely unless a Middle East state buys the coin or a magic money tree is found growing near a corner flag ?

I await the great financial input from various individuals who feel that part time can’t happen

[Willowgull]

Right now I would settle for a club to support in 24/25. At this time I feel full or part time is irrelevant.

If a part time club continues then so be it, we can't do anything about that. Yes, it will be difficult to get back to where we once were but I feel that's a very long way off anyway.

The club undoubtedly will have lost even more money this season. So how can we continue as we are? Any new owner would need deep pockets to do that.

[culmstockgull]

Right now I would settle for a club to support in 24/25. At this time I feel full or part time is irrelevant.

If a part time club continues then so be it, we can't do anything about that. Yes, it will be difficult to get back to where we once were but I feel that's a very long way off anyway.

The club undoubtedly will have lost even more money this season. So how can we continue as we are? Any new owner would need deep pockets to do that.

I agree it is a totally academic discussion, telling me at the start of the season we would get turned over on a regular basis by part time outfits and I would have laughed at you, if these outfits are less fit and unable to compete at this level then I have seen no sign of it, in fact the reverse, we are the team unable to compete.

[midtable]

If we go part-time there is no possibility of promotion. There simply are enough player sin the area compared to London etc.
Therefore, a mediocre part-time team would soon see crowds plummet and crowds will be below 1000 and more financial ruin around the corner. It happened in the Roberts era when a terrible team produced low crowd numbers.

[davethegull2]

Part time football will be the end of Torquay United. Only an accountant would think this is a good idea. And it's accontants that have put us in this position. Years of neglecting the product and customers have jed to this, driven by myopic bean counters.

[desperado]

A terrible team aren't resulting in low crowds now though ?
Can a part time team be any worse ?
With new players with the right mindset being coached to play like the teams who have outplayed us this season. Pass and move and understanding with sharpness and alertness to want the ball first, it's not difficult.
We need players who have played a lot of games at this level not players dropping now from higher levels who think they are better than they are mixed with green young loanees.

[bobbytanz1963]

A terrible team aren't resulting in low crowds now though ?
Can a part time team be any worse ?
With new players with the right mindset being coached to play like the teams who have outplayed us this season. Pass and move and understanding with sharpness and alertness to want the ball first, it's not difficult.
We need players who have played a lot of games at this level not players dropping now from higher levels who think they are better than they are mixed with green young loanees.

[bobbytanz1963]

The posts above regarding this topic do address various points BUT the one which is missing is the question of funding, it’s a case of income versus expenditure.

So where does the cash come from to maintain a full time playing staff ???? Answers appreciated

[Gloomy Gull]

There was an interesting comment from Michael Westcott (prospective consortium member) in his interview on Radio Devon yesterday where he said - sustainability was the key driver for the future and that may require part time to hybrid to fulltime to provide a platform to move us up the leagues. He also said, in his view, the Benefactor model (e.g. the Bristows) was not sustainable in lower league football.

I wholeheartedly agree with his comment on the Benefactor model as it has been proved that there comes a point where the Benefactor is no longer prepared to use their own resources to fund the club and we end up back where we started.

I also agree with his view re part time to avoid continual losses being made. I would be happy to see part time to ensure the club survives and becomes financially more stable, especially if it were spearheaded by an owner using that as a springboard to improve the clubs rankings and a vision to reduce the reliance on part time when funding allows.

The negative to part time is, as pointed out by a number on here, whether we would be able to attract players of sufficient quality to progress given the average income in this area is generally lower than conurbations.

[Stoneybroke]

Listening to the Radio Devon yesterday, the issue of full time v part time was discussed.

Both Hamish and Dave Thomas felt full time was essential. They felt the biggest thing to consider was how to slim down the overheads of the non playing staff.

Obviously Johnsons salary of £2,000 per week has now gone ,but but need to get rid of the back ground staff was are not need at this level .

This would free up money to retain a full time outfit.

Not a lot of the present bunch I might add

[brucie]

No a terrible team isnt reflected in the attendances but these are exceptional circumstances and the games have never been more important.

The main issue with part time is our location - its going to be impossible to attract players of an acceptable standard. As soon as the expectation levels drop then so will the crowds and they will do so big time. Thats a huge danger.

[standupsitdown]

Obviously we want to avoid part time if we can but better that than no club or an unstable club owned by someone with the wrong motivation.

[CornishGull]

A terrible team aren't resulting in low crowds now though ?
Can a part time team be any worse ?

I would argue that crowds are holding up at the moment because it is an. emotional response to the present crisis, fans feeling need to come out and show their support.
If we go part time and become also rans things might be different; savings on player wages will be off set by falling attendances which will lead to less sponsership, lower merchandise sales and other match day income. It could be a false economy.
Somewhere I read that our staffing levels have gone from 54 to 72 in the space of a year and as much as redundancies are an unpleasant occurrence that needs to be looked at.

[brucie]

Exactly right.

Also what about admission prices? Noone is going to pay north of £20 to watch a struggling team in the NLS with no expectation of promotion. So how would we move from a crowd of 1000 odd to a full time model. Its something that needs a hell of a lot of consideration.

[TommyGunn]

I'm not really sure how we should go? I'd prefer to stay full time. But If the TUST runs the club maybe we need to go part time. If we do, I hope we retain ambition to move back up the pyramid. I feel the reason we have lost so much money is because the club has been badly managed. Generous contracts being handed out to bang average players. Covid lack of income?

WSM have average attendances of 1200 and are part time. Yesterday they had quality former EFL players  Rueben Reid and Robbie Willmott playing.
We get twice their attendance so I see no reason why we couldn't attract the best part time players combined with a number of full time pros.I'm thinking the likes of Hall and Dawson could have been offered part time contracts.Maybe next season it could be considered? I assume you don't pay a part time player during the closed season?

We need a proven manager at this level with ambition.