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A message to the supporters...
I WOULD like to thank all of the supporters who made the trip to Basingstoke Town on Saturday to give the team your usual fantastic backing.
I am as hurt and upset as you about the performance; it fell well below the standards that we expect and I can assure you that the staff and players will be working extremely hard so that it won't happen again.
By everyone working together and pulling in the same direction, we can take this club forward.
Thank you for your valued support,

David Phillips

Torquay United FC Chairman

Read more at http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 4X5rxRR.99

Err I think we have heard this before-Many times!!

The players have to take responsibility here. It's no go the manager taking the blame by saying the preparation may have been responsible and the board half apologising. Torquay should have won this had they been sleepwalking. The score line is ridiculous . The players have to grow up fast or they have no place full time in football. Alteringham are on reasonable form and next Saturday's game is simply massive.

That's ok then feeling a lot better now. Problem is that about 95% of our performances having fallen below the required standards this season.

We want performances not platitudes.

How many times have the club been slated for not saying anything?

Now, they come out with a statement and get ridiculed. **** me, we've got some fickle fans.

I appreciate your view Scott, but what of any real substance has been said?

"We are sorry, hurt, disappointed", "we will make sure the players work hard to stop it happening again" " I can assure you that the staff and players will be working extremely hard so that it won't happen again."- no real substance to the comments and do they not work hard every bloody day !!. All very corporate speak that has only been issued because of the very adverse comments made on the dismal performance of the entire team (including management).

Follows on from Nicholson's hollow comment after the game "it is my fault I did not prepare the team properly" - no real substance.

Before anyone gets excited I am not suggesting sackings or anything as drastic, but I would have liked the comments to include some definitive positive action that is being considered/in pipeline. That was an opportunity to calm the disquiet.

For God's sake - we are all "sorry, hurt, disappointed" but the fans are not in a position to be able to directly influence the situation, with the minimal exception of the Player's Fund. NOW must be the time to look to use it to improve the squad in some way.

Altringham is really now vital but however it goes the club do seem to have to make some big decisions in the coming couple of weeks. The squad is noticeably becoming thinner and thinner by the week and yesterday's bench was frankly not Nationside standard ( certainly main league and probably not South).

I do think fans deserve answers to some questions that seem significant to the situation.

Is Exodus leaving ? ( it seems to have been hinted at by some ). -Presumably he is,in relative terms, one of the better paid.

Has the club settled with Hargreaves or does he remain on costly gardening leave?

What is the Hodges situation- is he too still remaining on the staffing bill. ?

Being a Torquay fan is currently the most difficult challenge handed to any fan of any club anywhere in the country. The club have to keep fans supportive and that will only happen if they continue to feel they are being involved.

It seems whenever we reach rock bottom we just carry on digging.

I think the fans, the board and the management are doing their best, now it is time for the players. A lack of talent or skill I can forgive, a lack of effort I can't. Some of these players need to grow a pair and put a shift in.

I think we should take the Chairman's statement in the spirit intended. He is clearly shocked at our Cup exit, and no doubt very pi$$ed off. What else can he say? He has put his money into the club, has the best intentions and I am not going to criticise him for this statement.

gullintwoplaces wrote:I think we should take the Chairman's statement in the spirit intended. He is clearly shocked at our Cup exit, and no doubt very pi$$ed off. What else can he say? He has put his money into the club, has the best intentions and I am not going to criticise him for this statement.

Scott Brehaut wrote:How many times have the club been slated for not saying anything?

Now, they come out with a statement and get ridiculed. f*** me, we've got some fickle fans.

My thoughts entirely. I know football fans are fickle but our club, considering the size of our following, does seem to have a large number of moaners.

Yes its obviously the fans fault. It always is. We have possibly the easiest cup draw we could have imagined yet lose three nil to a band of no hopers.

What has become of our Chief Executive Mr Breed when we need some 'openess'?
He used to be open and available on the forum but seems to have gone to ground. Please someone don't say it's because of the criticism he has received on here - he has very broad shoulders and must expect that.

As someone also mentioned too - what has become of Hargreaves and Hodges too?
Again, some transparency would be nice here and keep the fans informed.

We are currently forking out to watch total dross - how much longer can fans be expected to pay out each week with so little in return?

An intermittent carbon copy apology from the Chairman will not suffice, nor will KH stating it was his fault.

I suppose there is a positive side though, the players are enjoying themselves and smiling!

We were awful on Saturday. The chairman has expressed that he concurs with this assessment. He probably felt that he had to say something (and don't forget we have a newly appointed communicatios supremo itching to get something out in cyberspace) and so echoed the opinions of anyone who was witness to Saturday's debacle. That is all. Nothing expressed on the club website has been unexpected or surprising. It has merely been an occasion when "somebody had to say something". Our chairman has been attributed with coming up with the goods. End of a non-story.