A Call to Arms

[standupsitdown]

We have a month to save Torquay United.

History shows that once the likes of GI get their hands on a football ground there is a very high risk that a promised new ground won’t be built. A new ground may or not be helpful in the long term but if GI get the freehold of Plainmoor we can expect to be homeless soon and the club dead soon after.

The future of our club rests with the council and mayor. We need a concerted campaign so that they can see strength of feeling to save Plainmoor. They must understand that if they sell the land they are signing the club’s death warrant – the end of more than 100 years of history.

Talk of a phoenix club is irrelevant without Plainmoor. Anything other than a regional league club wouldn’t be viable.

Relegation would play into GI’s hands. The players are putting up a fight on the pitch. Fans need to do the same off it. Forget talk of boycotts for now, we must get behind the team.

We need all fans to understand the gravity of the situation and to take action. We need the media to publicise what is going on and ensure the council understands the consequences of agreeing to sell.

So what is to be done? Some suggestions -

Turn up in numbers for the remaining home & away games and support the players with passion for 90 minutes.
A concerted campaign of publicity and action.
Get media coverage – Herald Express, Western Morning News. Local radio & TV.
Get a ‘SAVE PLAINMOOR Save Torquay United’ banner made (as a focal point for publicity).
Distribute leaflets explaining the true situation and urging people to contact councillors.
Another petition – a paper one to be signed at matches and in the town.
Demonstrate outside the Town Hall (with publicity).
Talk to the Football Supporters' Federation.

Can the Trust coordinate a campaign?
Some funds will be needed. Does the Trust’s constitution allow them to spend funds on this sort of thing?

Living in Essex I’m limited in what I can do but I’m coming down for the Chester game and am willing to pay for and help hand out say 1500 leaflets on Saturday if someone can organise printing locally.
I'm involved with the FSF and am happy to talk to them.

If we don’t organise now and fight to save Torquay United we will be accepting that this is the end of professional football in Torquay.

[WESTWARDGULL]

How about on Saturday before the game everyone congregates by the family stand entrance, with banners if people could do them, and make some noise to let them know how we feel. And let the press/tv know what is going to happen. Then carry it on inside, aswell as really getting behind the lads.

[notnow]

We have a month to save Torquay United.

History shows that once the likes of GI get their hands on a football ground there is a very high risk that a promised new ground won’t be built. A new ground may or not be helpful in the long term but if GI get the freehold of Plainmoor we can expect to be homeless soon and the club dead soon after.

The future of our club rests with the council and mayor. We need a concerted campaign so that they can see strength of feeling to save Plainmoor. They must understand that if they sell the land they are signing the club’s death warrant – the end of more than 100 years of history.

Talk of a phoenix club is irrelevant without Plainmoor. Anything other than a regional league club wouldn’t be viable.

Relegation would play into GI’s hands. The players are putting up a fight on the pitch. Fans need to do the same off it. Forget talk of boycotts for now, we must get behind the team.

We need all fans to understand the gravity of the situation and to take action. We need the media to publicise what is going on and ensure the council understands the consequences of agreeing to sell.

So what is to be done? Some suggestions -

Turn up in numbers for the remaining home & away games and support the players with passion for 90 minutes.
A concerted campaign of publicity and action.
Get media coverage – Herald Express, Western Morning News. Local radio & TV.
Get a ‘SAVE PLAINMOOR Save Torquay United’ banner made (as a focal point for publicity).
Distribute leaflets explaining the true situation and urging people to contact councillors.
Another petition – a paper one to be signed at matches and in the town.
Demonstrate outside the Town Hall (with publicity).
Talk to the Football Supporters' Federation.

Can the Trust coordinate a campaign?
Some funds will be needed. Does the Trust’s constitution allow them to spend funds on this sort of thing?

Living in Essex I’m limited in what I can do but I’m coming down for the Chester game and am willing to pay for and help hand out say 1500 leaflets on Saturday if someone can organise printing locally.
I'm involved with the FSF and am happy to talk to them.

If we don’t organise now and fight to save Torquay United we will be accepting that this is the end of professional football in Torquay.

"The future of our club rests with the council and mayor." if it wasn't such a sad state of affairs this is exactly what I would do.

God help us! the council are so desperate for money, most is wasted on bureaucracy, they are all so incompetent looking after their own selfish interests, doing as little as they have to for as much as they can! they couldn't give a monkeys about football, and even less about the people of this town, they would sell it in a heart beat, they have strict orders from government to build build build, they don't care about what the people need to keep them semi satisfied with the quality of life. They wont be happy until we are all sat in our own houses watching jeremy kyle taking drugs to keep us sedated then topping ourselves, they don't care about any of us, all they are interested in is lining their own pockets and getting a nice little retirement package and then they will get the hell out. utter shysters giving lip service. just saying it as it
is! the fans need to take back their team, take control, the FANS are the ones who have the best intentions, and from the heart which is what such situations require, it won't be driven by profit only to be wasted outside of football, any profit would be reinvested back in to the team and where it is needed. there wouldn't be any back handers or back scratching. God bless the fans we have been well and truly screwed, I agree with getting behind the team but their is definitely some mileage with regard to protesting in one way or another.

[WestLondonYellow]

I am not sure how productive it will be, but i have posted on Bristol Rovers forum, Gaschat, to try to raise awareness outside of Torquay fans and across the wider south west football supporting community.

http://gaschat.co.uk/thread/9583/clarke ... -plainmoor

Given Rovers are more than familiar with the likes of Osborne, they might want to stand alongside us and show disdain for the current GI scheme.

Fans of Argyle, Exeter, Rovers realise having Torquay in the league is a benefit to them as it provides a south west or devon derby and an away trip to the seaside (for Rovers,) would they they support our plight? how best to go about arranging a demo at a home game? Is this the right approach?