TUST Updates

[Yorkieandy]

Hope tonight's meet went well. Any info about it would be great if possible in due course. Thanks.

[Gulliball]

That is a superb idea Soupdragon and I will think about this. Someone will need to be on hand to dish them out on matchdays so a bit of a process has to be formulated. What I am hoping is that in the future there will be a dedicated person who looks after the interest of the disabled supporters on matchdays, getting tea, handing out the blankets, putting them away afterwards etc. Is there more to this, being an intellectual bankrupt as far as knitting is concerned. For instance, should there not be a standardised type of stitch and thickness so that when they are all put together they knit in well. And what about standardised colours. This is a really kind gesture . Let me make a few enquiries to see how a person could have access to them before and after the match and then we could put out an appeal for knitted squares of a certain standard. Thank you Soupdragon.

The TUST social media team have been sent a contribution towards this effort.

If you missed the original appeal or know someone who might like to contribute, full details are below.

A call to all Knitters to participate in this worthy cause - Blankets for our Disabled Supporters.

Sam Balsdon is calling out to all Knitters to offer their services in knitting blue and yellow 8” squares, he says:

“Our club may be having bit of a tricky time but some of our most loyal supporters are those who week after week make their way to the disabled section accompanied in most cases by their helpers. Soupdragon has come up with a great idea. She is willing to knit blue and yellow blankets for the disabled supporters if people can donate the squares. The squares need to be 8" and any blue or yellow shade will do but preferably the historical blue and yellow (like Brazil). The idea is that these blankets will be given out on match days. They can be stored in the first aid room in bedding bags. Ask you mums, aunties, grandma's to search their knitting baskets for any odd bundles of blue or yellow wool that may come in handy. Handing out blankets to our most precious supporters will give them parity with the directors on cold days. It may be late in the season but this is a superb and kind gesture, and will be of great enduring benefit to these supporters. I will be at the Fylde game and will be in front of the disabled area between 2.30pm and 2.45p. I wear a home made blue and yellow scarf and matching bobble hat where I can receive squares. Alternatively you can take them in to the reception 9 to 5 in the week and from 12 to 5 on matchdays."

[Gulliball]

Hope tonight's meet went well. Any info about it would be great if possible in due course. Thanks.

Andy, if you haven't seen the Leyton Orient article, there was a review posted on the social media feeds last Thursday.

I would recommend following the social media accounts if you're looking to keep abreast of stories coming out of TUST. Major updates will also be emailed to members and I'll try to copy most of them here as well for anyone who isn't on Facebook/Twitter.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TorquayUnitedSupportersTrust
Twitter: www.x.com/TUSTCOYY

A note from TUST Chairman, Michel Thomas, on Tuesday:

It was great to meet up with a number of exiled fans, members of TUST and other supporters, for a catch up before Tuesday night's game against the O's. In fact, I am slightly concerned that, being on my own, I may not have had time to chat to everyone as much as I would have liked to. So, if any of you do have questions that remain unanswered or suggestions and views that I didn't have an opportunity to listen to, please feel free to contact me, or any member of our board, via our dedicated email address:

[email protected]

It was a great day out, Torquay United Travel Club looked after us well, delivering us safely and in plenty of time right outside the ground. Just disappointed I didn't get the 'golden goal' time yet again, on the way back!

The Technical (formerly, I think, part of the Technical Institute College) was an entirely one off drinking hole, full of conviviality and providing some reminiscences of the distant past for me as an older supporter. It was great to see younger and older supporters from both sides mingle cordially.

I was greeted with a friendly shout from Alan Merson as soon as I entered the bar, with my homemade yellow daffodil buttonhole proudly on display, to meet a circle of friendly exiles, some familiar and others not. Some of our 'major' away fans were amongst them, such as Mr. Paul Bastard and Mr. Roger Lester to name but a few.

There were a variety of questions and comments, but most importantly it was an opportunity to connect with those who don't get to Plainmoor too easily and those who loyally travel to away games, even when the results are less than encouraging! I can confirm that there is a recurring theme of 'what is going to happen next, whether we survive or are relegated?', and all of the already well documented issues attached to the long term plan, a concern, I think, the majority of us share.

I should also like to thank all those who continued to offer their support, enthusiasm and encouragement to us in our aims and initiatives to support our beloved club.

The result was the icing on the cake, with circa 150 Gulls fans and a drum making all the noise , the 'large looking' 2600ish O's fans mainly seated in silence! Our supporters are just a class act...The team turned up and brought home the points, but it was a nail biting last 30 minutes.

COYY
Michel Thomas

[Yorkieandy]

Thanks Chris.

I did get the same email afterwards as a TUST member but thanks for posting it up.

[Gulliball]

Not directly TUST related, but some people may be interested in the goings on at Blackpool recently and the issues with their ownership:

Hi all,

Recently you may have seen us sharing a petition from Tangerine Knights Support Page in regards to the government introducing an independent regulator for English football, charged with ensuring the highest possible standards of governance for all clubs.

This petition has received over 10,000 signatures, from fans from clubs all over the country from non-league to Premier League meaning that a response from the government is needed. The next step is 100,000 signatures, where the petition will be debated in parliament.

Please sign the petition and share if possible. Not only to help Blackpool Supporters Trust achieve their aims, but also all other ST's (including ours!) to introduce proper governance when it comes to owning a football club.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/213108

As fans we are looking for a new framework where security is assured.

“All football clubs are only one bad owner away from disaster.

Just a couple of quotes from last nights meeting between the EFL and Blackpool fans and Trust members. The article from the Blackpool Gazette is posted below which is a very informative read.

There is currently a petition which we at TUST have been supporting and promoting. We would love it if you could click the link on our posts and sign the petition so we can reach the milestone of 100 signatures from our area. The overall number is currently over 11,000 and rising so please show your support.

https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/spor ... ssion=true

In other news - A notice for regular attendees of Boots & Laces:

The long serving manager, Kat, will be leaving to become the new manager of The Ferry Boat Inn in Shaldon. Her leaving party is set to commence after our last home game of the season against Ebbsfleet United. There will be a live band - The Buzz from 2:45pm (the Ebbsfleet game is an early kick off) followed by a DJ in the evening.
Please come along and raise a glass or two for Kat!

[SuperNickyWroe]

hi all,
Just to let you know Michael Thomas, TUST Chairman, will be in "The Blue Bar" at Chester's ground on Friday from approx. 2pm, traffic permitting as he is travelling on the Big TUFC Travel Club Fun Bus!!
I will be there!
cheers

[Tired Old Gull]

Live on BBC Radio Devon - Chris Fleet, one of the TUST board members states that the TUST have been trying to get a meeting with Osborne for most of the season .. and they have just found out that none of their requests have even been passed on to him!

So who is to blame for that? Harrop??

[merse btpir]

Further evidence of the owner's real intent and phoney pretence..........and there are still fools who see the Emperor's new clothes!

[Goose9]

Osborne turns down requests for meetings by everybody, Harrop's probably sick of hearing 'no, you talk to them' so he doesn't pass requests on because he doesn't want to talk to them either.

Osborne is secretive and untrustworthy, Harrop is lazy and incompetent.

[Goose9]

In case people haven't yet seen it, the following statement was issued by Michel Thomas earlier this afternoon;

We have been aware for some time of the growing desire of our members, and many supporters, to obtain more clarity as to our owner's long term plans, which could move the club in many directions. We also believe that now, in the interests of our club and Mr Osborne himself that transparency and communication from the owner are vitally important. This is critical in not only maintaining the confidence and support of the fan base and community as a whole, but whichever league we find ourselves in next season there will be a need for him to assess the viability of whichever plan he intends to follow for TUFC in the short, medium and longer term. We are willing to work with Mr Osborne and help him accordingly if we believe these plans are aligned to our own mission statement of “ensuring the long term sustainability of Torquay United Football Club”

 

To this end we have already, through emails, letters and via our monthly structured meetings with senior representatives at TUFC requested face to face meetings. So far, we have only had written communication which has previously been published to members. All contact has been through our local meetings with senior club representatives.

 

We have acknowledged that Mr Osborne has committed to funding full time football next season, whichever league we find ourselves in. Also, that he is supporting improvements to the training ground at Seale Hayne, whilst searching for a new location. We feel there is a good line of communication with the club locally and an increasing willingness to work together with all bodies associated with the club. The Premier League Fans Grant being an example and a catalyst for some of this work.

 

However, we feel this alone is no longer sufficient.

 

At our latest meeting last week we made it clear that we thought, at this juncture, a face to face meeting was now imperative in the interest of the 'stakeholders', the supporters and in sustaining support and regaining positivity for the future.  A further request has therefore been made through the club to arrange this.

 

If there proves to be any further problems in arranging this face to face meeting we will approach Mr Osborne directly and will also offer to travel and meet him at a more preferable location if this is more convenient in view of his other business commitments. We are keen to remove any such barriers to a meeting.
 

We acknowledge that Mr Osborne is first and foremost a businessman, but whatever your objectives are it is always productive to engage with stakeholders, interested parties and customers alike.

 

As a significant proportion of the supporter base are now members of TUST and with numbers increasing, we feel it is only right for all parties that we should engage with Mr Osborne. Whilst we appreciate his approach to ownership may be different to others and his privacy in respect of business interests there exists no “normal” board structure for us to engage with and hence we believe there is no alternative to such a direct approach.

 

We are keen to stress at this point that nothing should detract from matters on the pitch. Unless we are mathematically relegated to the National League South, all efforts should be directed towards supporting the team. But, as the TUST board we are aware of our commitments to members and our independence. To be clear the overriding point is that we remain the “Critical” friend of the club. We must keep our focus on the long term picture as well as the short term on-pitch issues. Please rest assured, this continues to be the case.

 

When a meeting has been arranged, we will inform you, and of course of the outcome. We will also encourage our members to send us specific questions they would like us to include.


 

Michel Thomas

pp. TUST board

[TUST_Official]

TUST UPDATE - MEETING NOW ARRANGED WITH CLARKE OSBORNE


We can confirm a face to face meeting has now been arranged with Clarke Osborne for Thursday 10th May.

It has been agreed that 3 members of your Trust Board will meet with Mr Osborne to outline in more detail the objectives of TUST and to raise issues highlighted by our members and the wider fan base. With that in mind, we are now in a position to receive any questions you would like to us to raise on your behalf at the meeting. Please pose these questions to us below or via e-mail at the normal e-mail address of [email protected].

As you will appreciate, there will be a limited window of time for us to meet with Mr Osborne and therefore it may not be possible to raise every single question, but we will ask as many as possible within the time frame we have and will publish the outcome of the meeting in due course.

We will accept questions from members and non members, however please note that this is a valuable opportunity for the fanbase made possible by everyone involved with TUST. Please consider joining the effort or making a one-off donation. #tufc

Regards,
TUST Board.

[Gulliball]

New TUST Website

Dear Members

The TUST digital team is delighted to unveil their new website – www.tust.co.uk

Upon formation, the digital volunteers identified the website as a key area to improve and something that we could potentially deliver significant enhancements. In line with that, we decided a new site was the best approach.

Luke Hunter from the TUST digital team explains below:

"The TUST has grown into a fast-moving and constantly evolving body and we needed a website that could deal with that. In many cases, the website is the first point of contact for existing and potential members, we wanted a space that gave us the platform to increase our reactivity and ultimately, the level of information we could provide to members/non-members"

"The new site is ‘in-house’ and works with a content management system that allows the TUST digital team to make changes to the live site ourselves – this can be anything from adding a new membership category, promoting paid-for sponsors, or pushing a news story live – we have full control of our own site now"

"It's been a *really* challenging process but we’ve got there and I think it’s a platform that now affirms our commitment to a digital first approach"

"This has all been delivered with a significant saving to TUST and we’re especially proud of that"

"It’s important to reiterate that there are still pages we’re working on, as you’ll notice. I invite everyone to feedback on their experiences with it – we’re finally in a position where we can action those changes; so this really is as good as we make it now"

If you have any recommendations, please feel free to email them through to [email protected].

It’s a good time to be a part of TUST – join today at www.tust.co.uk

[budegull1954]

The new website looks great and will potentially look even better - I've just joined and would encourage others to do the same, particularly as our future looks so uncertain at the present time.

[TorquayDNA]

All the best at your meeting with CO today guys. We're anxious to know both the facts from the meeting and also your gut feelings after meeting the owner...

[TUST_Official]

Hi All,

With the updates to TUST's digital and social media platforms we have created official TUST accounts on all three main forums:

BTPIR - TUSTOfficial

Torquayfans.com - TUST_Official

TFF - TUSTOfficial

You can now also take a look at our new website at www.tust.co.uk with various membership packages now available.