Jeff wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 21:23
Giving up implies the current club dies though? It's not dead yet, it's just on deaths door thanks to a failed Summer of recruitment by KN. Getting behind whoever the new manager is would be a better start.
If the fear is that GI will drop the club like a hot potato if they don't get their way, wouldn't efforts be better spent in ensuring there is a fan-based structure to take over running of whatever is left?
Yes I think would be better if fans could take control of the club.
But given the apparent intentions GI have, will they drop the club, it's their ticket to making profit from the land, if they get it.
Nothing's clear cut, but if some of us got together and put a serious contingency plan(s) in place for a number of potential scenarios, now, rather than waiting, then we at least have a head start and perhaps some cash in the pot with a plan going forward.
Best scenario is GI leave and either fans or a new investor with the right intentions takes control.
One thing I just cannot fathom at the moment is how is it, that with the gates we get at this level, we are so incapable of competing at this level.
I will give you the reason we cannot compete. Nicholson has blown the budget on signing a half crocked bunch of wasters - will that do for starters?
If Gi are so intent on running the club down then why not keep Nicholson or better still Numpty Dumpty in charge. Simple we won't win a game all season and mission accomplished without further outlay.
A phoenix club is a completely ludicrous idea. How many people do you think would turn up to watch a Torquay United side in the Peninsula league - 25 if your lucky. Its basically a bunch of amateur blokes kicking a ball about on a Saturday afternoon.
Who cares if Steve Breed comes back either. Whats he doing now? Oh yes he is playing at being a "manager" at Watcombe (after being turned down for the Torquay job which he allegedly applied for)
Andy keeps banging on about "how it all went down hill as soon as Ling went"
Utter nonsense. Lings side had completely gone in six months before he went wibble.
Jeff has it completely right. Nicholson signed a bunch of his mates and had those dining out on being good six years ago.
forevertufc wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 20:28
Buckland spent a small fortune in upgrading their pitch to meet Southern league standards, as far as I know, may have changed now, they don't even allow their 3rd team to play at Homers Heath ( there are posters who know more about Buckland than me, who could post a view point on this )Buckland are very protective of their pitch, unlikely to allow another club to share it, regardless of extra income.
Coach Road comes under the control of Devon FA, they've said many times, that pitch is for use of local high profile games, and local cup finals only, also very unlikely to allow a club to use it, I believe but could be wrong, some have tried and failed before.
As for the other ground mentioned, I don't know, but there has to be a long term view taken on a phoenix club, it would eventually need a permanent ground, where ? I don't know that there is one with out Plainmoor.
Not adverse to idea, needs a lot of thought, as said there are more pitfalls around here than in other places.
Argyle use it for their reserve fixtures. I don't think a phoenix club would have the finances to outdo PAFC, nor do I think it would aid DCFA as financially as the current PAFC deal does - they seem to have a few hundred in attendance every game.
brucie wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 22:03
I will give you the reason we cannot compete. Nicholson has blown the budget on signing a half crocked bunch of wasters - will that do for starters?
If Gi are so intent on running the club down then why not keep Nicholson or better still Numpty Dumpty in charge. Simple we won't win a game all season and mission accomplished without further outlay.
A phoenix club is a completely ludicrous idea. How many people do you think would turn up to watch a Torquay United side in the Peninsula league - 25 if your lucky. Its basically a bunch of amateur blokes kicking a ball about on a Saturday afternoon.
Who cares if Steve Breed comes back either. Whats he doing now? Oh yes he is playing at being a "manager" at Watcombe (after being turned down for the Torquay job which he allegedly applied for)
Andy keeps banging on about "how it all went down hill as soon as Ling went"
Utter nonsense. Lings side had completely gone in six months before he went wibble.
Jeff has it completely right. Nicholson signed a bunch of his mates and had those dining out on being good six years ago.
You are in a dream world.
Never forget to sign off a post without leaving a final insult
Last edited by WestLondonYellow on 28 Aug 2017, 22:17, edited 1 time in total.
brucie wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 22:03
I will give you the reason we cannot compete. Nicholson has blown the budget on signing a half crocked bunch of wasters - will that do for starters?
If Gi are so intent on running the club down then why not keep Nicholson or better still Numpty Dumpty in charge. Simple we won't win a game all season and mission accomplished without further outlay.
A phoenix club is a completely ludicrous idea. How many people do you think would turn up to watch a Torquay United side in the Peninsula league - 25 if your lucky. Its basically a bunch of amateur blokes kicking a ball about on a Saturday afternoon.
Who cares if Steve Breed comes back either. Whats he doing now? Oh yes he is playing at being a "manager" at Watcombe (after being turned down for the Torquay job which he allegedly applied for)
Andy keeps banging on about "how it all went down hill as soon as Ling went"
Utter nonsense. Lings side had completely gone in six months before he went wibble.
Jeff has it completely right. Nicholson signed a bunch of his mates and had those dining out on being good six years ago.
You are in a dream world.
Totally agree. The alarming slide down the table that Ling took a previously successful side on did happen. i can't lie. Maybe it had something to do with the fact he was battling a serious mental f*cking illness you melt and the only support he could get was ultimately the sack........ by text.
Gosh there's some tosh on here tonight from idealistic fools who haven't got a Scooby.
This airy-fairy notion doesn't even warrant debate for all the reasons pointed out. Nowhere to play; no way for raising the necessary revenue and very few people can be arse to support the professional club they currently have ~ let along an amateur one!
Ling got the sack because his team was bloody awful and had gone down the pan. Coming back would not have been any good for him so the correct decision was made at the time.
His dismissal was NOT the cause of the downward slide - it had started way before that (with him at the healm)
He didn't get the sack because he was ill. It was because he wasn't a good enough manager. Get over it. Text, email, Fax, carrier pigeon, Bunch of flowers. what does it matter?
Agree with last post. Too many at club were happy to point the finger while riding the gravey train to give support to a proper manager needing some help. understand at the time we us supporters were in the dark and naturally put club before welfare of a man in help but I'm sure we would have given lots of support to him if we knew. If he had stayed then I'm sure the short term rot would have stopped...but since then it's been just a shitty slide downwards towards now possible oblivion in the non league scene.
The rot is off and on pitch and I prey we get a manager soon and start too improve. But we still have owners we all but question marks about.
I can't understand where we go from here. It's a terrible start to season and i can't see a way out.
brucie wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 22:37
Ling got the sack because his team was bloody awful and had gone down the pan. Coming back would not have been any good for him so the correct decision was made at the time.
His dismissal was NOT the cause of the downward slide - it had started way before that (with him at the healm)
He didn't get the sack because he was ill. It was because he wasn't a good enough manager. Get over it. Text, email, Fax, carrier pigeon, Bunch of flowers. what does it matter?
Ling got the sack because the results and performances were terrible for a longish period of time. The poor form coincided with his illness being at a more advanced stage before he was put on gardening leave for a while after which he was just shown the door. He was sacked because he was ill and those in charge, like most spineless people were scared of mental illness and unlike mature adults didn't know how to respond appropriately. So sacked him by text rather than offer support and empathy. That's the way i see it and with no evidence to the contrary then that is what i choose to believe.
I wasn't a fan of Ling due to his predictable, negative style of football but he achieved success (relatively) by getting to the play offs and he just lost his way probably due to his illness.
If a decent manager other than Knill had been brought in then the club would still be in the football league. Hargeaves just killed the club.
It doesn't matter. I'm purely responding to your posts.
Back to the main thread - I for one will not support a phoenix club - I have supported TUFC for 45 years and I will continue to do so until they fold or get relegated out of a national league. I will not support them or any successor club through the depths of Devon, South West or Conference South football.
Those who want to boycott the Club to precipitate such an eventuality are, IMHO, totally misguided fools.
We should be doing all we can to support the Club, new manager (when appointed) and team to get this season back on the rails.
Whether or not the teams decline was down to his illness or not I have no idea of knowing.
Unfortunately being a football manager is probably one of the more stressful jobs you can have as you are constantly under pressure. Didn't he try to return to club management at Swindon and left shortly afterwards?
The club was on the downslide when Baker was in charge and once Thea Bristow was made chairperson it went downhill from thereon in descending into farce when Phillips, Edwards and co got involved.
Harrop looks another disaster running the club and GI have no interest whatsoever (or so it seems)
We seem to have little more choice as fans at the moment to hope that the owners come up with a decent manager. Will that happen? I've got my doubts.
I would say that we need half a dozen players minimum which is going to cost a shedload of money so I am not holding my breath at all.
brucie wrote: ↑28 Aug 2017, 23:04
No your right it doesn't matter.
Whether or not the teams decline was down to his illness or not I have no idea of knowing.
Unfortunately being a football manager is probably one of the more stressful jobs you can have as you are constantly under pressure. Didn't he try to return to club management at Swindon and left shortly afterwards?
The club was on the downslide when Baker was in charge and once Thea Bristow was made chairperson it went downhill from thereon in descending into farce when Phillips, Edwards and co got involved.
Harrop looks another disaster running the club and GI have no interest whatsoever (or so it seems)
We seem to have little more choice as fans at the moment to hope that the owners come up with a decent manager. Will that happen? I've got my doubts.
I would say that we need half a dozen players minimum which is going to cost a shedload of money so I am not holding my breath at all.
Not wishing to take you Phoenix fans off topic, but I'm sticking with Lingy's version that Thea told him he was sacked while speaking to him on the telephone. This 'text' story sounds a bit dodgy.
"I was amazed to receive a phone call from Thea Bristow [the Torquay chairwoman] at 7.30 on Sunday night to say that my contract with the club was being terminated after all the assurances during my illness and full recovery that I would be returning as manager of Torquay," he said.
I'm self-employed and would get behind this for sure with some sort of sponsorship. I was tempted by a couple of programme sponsors this season but would not invest more than a match ticket in the current regime.
If you take a look at Chester FC and how far they've come in a small period of time it shows it can be done. We are very similarly sized clubs and the only hurdle would be the stadium. My dad is a big Chester fan and I can recall the whole reforming process. I remember a regular poster of Devachat.com called 'Bear in the big blue house' having a lot to do with the planning process - I believe he was on/is still on the board. Chester formed a group called City Fans United and that is where the reforming stemmed from, members would donate a figure of their choice BEFORE the club was eventually liquidized. This group was separate from Vaughan's regime at Chester and gave them the springboard to start competing from the go as soon as Chester went bust. I believe Chester were originally placed in the Northern Counties League but appealed successfully and started life in the Northern Div 1. 3 consecutive promotions and they were back in the Conference.
I'm not saying it's easy but it CAN be done. Even Darlington have managed to get back to where they would have been WITHOUT their stadium and I believe they have just relocated back to where it all started.
