TUST Not An Option

[Rjc70]

Buckle in charge wasn't 20 years ago, Burnham.

Nice example of how match funding can get £100k, kitrobin. Another way, of course, is to get an interest bearing loan from a property developer with the Club reverting to them on default and then wonder why the original takeover talks fell through. Good work Dave Phillips. Hope you enjoy the forum tomorrow.

[Southampton Gull]

Only TUST ie the supporters as owners, would have the club's best interests in mind.

GI and Peter Masters would want to line their pockets with silver, perhaps even at the expense of the club's survival.

It isn't hard to see why Steve Breed was shafted now. He would never have entertained GI being involved and that is why they got him out of the way. A die-hard fan as CEO, GI's worst nightmare.

A finance manager drawing a similar salary to him but hardly ever showing her face didn't help either. Missed meeting after missed meeting and guess who will be back if GI complete their "takeover".

[tomogull]

It isn't hard to see why Steve Breed was shafted now. He would never have entertained GI being involved and that is why they got him out of the way. A die-hard fan as CEO, GI's worst nightmare.

A finance manager drawing a similar salary to him but hardly ever showing her face didn't help either. Missed meeting after missed meeting and guess who will be back if GI complete their "takeover".

I, and I expect many supporters, have long thought this was behind Steve's departure, but this is the first time as far as I am aware that anyone has actually come out and said so. His departure was yet another shabby episode at the club over the past three or four years. I've a great respect for Steve because he just walked away and has not resorted to slagging off the club nor anyone connected with it. All he has said that he was hurt the way his role as CEO was terminated.

I didn't even know we had a finance manager at the club until it was announced that she was leaving ! Like most fans, I have no knowledge about what goes on away from the pitch - e.g. she missed meeting after meeting or that she is in some way in cahoots with GI. As I'm sure you will remember, her father, Ian Hayman, was a director for many years with finance as his remit and in my view, he served the club well. So I'm surprised daughter appears not to be following in dad's footsteps ....

[SenorDingDong]

And sadly, that's where a previous poster comes in.......

The public in Torbay do not care about the football club. If you don't back a club, you won't survive. This hasnt happened over the past 12 months. This club has always been on the edge. Right back to the days when we always had to seek re-election to the football league.

Bollocks, the fanbase may be apathetic at times and nothing like the fanbases of clubs in major cities, the Midlands and North but to have averaged over 1.8k last season with the shower of crap we were given shows that a core population of the Bay does care about the club. Given development we could support League One football, just like Yeovil did but it would require an ownership that knew what they were doing...and hopefully an uptick in the local economy thanks to the Link Road. We averaged over 3k in our first season in the Conference. It's not something that could happen overnight but it's possible, Burton, Yeovil etc have shown that a well run team can be successfully despite moderate history and catchment areas.

Our 2(!) re-election bids during the 4th division era reflect fairly well compared to Hartlepool's 11, Crewe's 7, Barrow's/Halifax/Rochdale/Southport's 6, Chester/Darlington/Stockport/Lincoln's 5 etc etc. Hell even our neighbours up the road in Exeter also had 2 re-elections. We may be small but we haven't historically been a basketcase for the majority of our history. Indeed there's only really been 3 periods when we have been, the Webb era, the Roberts era and now. Bateson's was an up and down rollercoaster.

Don't try and blame the fans for the mess that Phillips et al have made, last season we delivered everything they asked for as part of their 'turnaround plan' and somehow they've created a situation where the club is just as indebted as when they took it over, despite cutting practically all the staff, putting out a team on one of the lowest budgets in the league and receiving thousands through the fan's fund.

[Burnhamgull]

Of the clubs listed, only Crewe and Rochdale can claim to be doing "ok". Every other club is either in with us or went bust and reformed. Hence why TUFC will probably head the same way.

I'm not blaming the fans for the current mess, I'm simply saying that Torbay is not a football hotbed and will always struggle to support a football team because the majority of the population don't care. Since Ling left, it's been dire.

Even when we've done well, we've only scratched 3,500 as a rough average home gate.

[Glostergull]

I think the public share issue is where the bulk of the money will come from to fund things in the immediate future. I would hope that the current owners - being the fans that they are - would hand the club over at cost (£30000 each?) if not for free.

if thats the thought then you should be afraid. very afraid because the way the public has responded so far is way short of what it would take.
and just why should the directors if they have put in money not get it back. if I had put money into the club which kept it going and was then told I should give it all away then i would be backing off

[PhilGull]

if thats the thought then you should be afraid. very afraid because the way the public has responded so far is way short of what it would take.
and just why should the directors if they have put in money not get it back. if I had put money into the club which kept it going and was then told I should give it all away then i would be backing off

The current board have actively discouraged the local community from getting involved with the club.