Potential Buyers

[Southampton Gull]

I'm speaking from the perspective of decades as a fan not as recently as 4 years BUT aside from my concerns of whether TUST can take us forward as a club I am fully supportive of an organisation that truly represents the fans. What concerns me most is whether TUST can garner the trust of what has always been a hesitant support. I would love nothing more than to be wrong on this occasion.

[brucie]

I dont doubt that Mr Westcott is a very smart chap. He came across well on Radio Devon thats more so than Mr Broderick who seems to say something different each time hes interviewed.

If there is no other option than part time football then yes there is little choice, but as has been said before the issue is with our location and the impossibility to attract any calibre of decent players. The attendances are remarkable at the moment given that the the team is terrible but these are exceptional circumstances due to the impending disaster of relegation.

Do you think that 2500 people would turn up to watch a defence of Calum Thomas, Ollie Tomlinson, Ed Palmer and Austin Booth next season. Believe when all hope and expectation disappears so will the crowd. Where are these decent players going to come from .Are they going to pop down from London and Bristol twice a week for training and then on a Saturday.

How do we just go part time for one season? if we are still in the division next year then we would most likely get relegated anyway - or if not we will be playing in front of smaller crowds.

Thats why I think if any other investor (if there are any) promises full time football then its going to be far more popular with the fanbase than the TUSTS bid.

Thats why its very difficult to get behind the TUSTS model when you dont know what else is on offer. It could well be academic anyway as it appears to be in Osbournes hands in any case.

Far from a bright yellow future it all appears to be dismal at the moment.

[exilegull]

Totally agree Brucie, I think part time will be incredibly difficult and it should be the absolute last option, but judging on everything in the public arena at the moment it seems to be the only option as there is no white knight out there prepared to inject the necessary cash to maintain a full-time club. The best hope would seem to be to ensure a takeover happens before administration, preserve national league south football on a part time basis and hope to find a white knight down the line. I don’t see any prospect for a full time club without that external support.

What surprises me though is why anyone is surprised at this situation - it was fairly obvious this would be the outcome of Osborne walking away.

[culmstockgull]

I dont doubt that Mr Westcott is a very smart chap. He came across well on Radio Devon thats more so than Mr Broderick who seems to say something different each time hes interviewed.

If there is no other option than part time football then yes there is little choice, but as has been said before the issue is with our location and the impossibility to attract any calibre of decent players. The attendances are remarkable at the moment given that the the team is terrible but these are exceptional circumstances due to the impending disaster of relegation.

Do you think that 2500 people would turn up to watch a defence of Calum Thomas, Ollie Tomlinson, Ed Palmer and Austin Booth next season. Believe when all hope and expectation disappears so will the crowd. Where are these decent players going to come from .Are they going to pop down from London and Bristol twice a week for training and then on a Saturday.

How do we just go part time for one season? if we are still in the division next year then we would most likely get relegated anyway - or if not we will be playing in front of smaller crowds.

Thats why I think if any other investor (if there are any) promises full time football then its going to be far more popular with the fanbase than the TUSTS bid.

Thats why its very difficult to get behind the TUSTS model when you dont know what else is on offer. It could well be academic anyway as it appears to be in Osbournes hands in any case.

Far from a bright yellow future it all appears to be dismal at the moment.

You raise a number of inportant points, Osborne would look to get something out of the deal as all of us would do in a similar situation although there are suggestions but no confirmation in writing from the man himself that he is willing to walk away with nothing,
TUST are hoping to buy into an intial 50 per cent ownership with the rest held by a group of business people, are these investors looking for a return on their investment and in what shape or form will that take, are they going to take interest payments on their investments at commercial rates every year out of the club. TUST are talking about some form of informal bond issue in the region of 150K, they cannot issue shares in TUFC as they do not own anything at the moment, and they cannot wait until after the deal is done to wing it for the 150K, that could go horribly wrong, why are they not investing all of the 60K they have in the forever yellow fund at least that would show intent on their part. Additionally it is my understanding that 8 per cent of TUFC shares remain in private hands, if I am correct has anyone spoken to them for their views. so it wil not be a 50/50 deal unless some one in the consortium acquires those shares.

[Nick Potkins]

Firstly let's remember Nick Broderick and TUST are just like you and I supporters. They simply want what is best for the club. However, they find themselves in a position of huge responsibility, while finding themselves talking about things that could be above their knowledge levels (this is not meant as a slight). My concern and I don't believe we know yet is how many interested parties are there. They have 'hung their hat' on their bid, is that the best bid and should they represent us, the supporters in exploring all options.

[wbw]

Interestingly, Mr Broderick tells the world that he is part of one consortium, despite having to have signed a confidentiality clause.
According to the local fish and chip holder, Mel Hayman leads another!!!! And tells us that there is a third.
Confidentiality my a**e.

[TommyGunn]

Interestingly, Mr Broderick tells the world that he is part of one consortium, despite having to have signed a confidentiality clause.
According to the local fish and chip holder, Mel Hayman leads another!!!! And tells us that there is a third.
Confidentiality my a**e.

Then I can't see the TUST bid being accepted.
https://www.devonlive.com/sport/footbal ... ek-9202414

[hector]

Regardless of what or how TUST and their partners go about things should they take over the club, the one thing we know with cast iron certainty, is that whatever they do it will be with the club’s best interests at heart.

Should a Hayman/Edwards/Masters type take it on, then we cannot be sure (and based on previous, it’s unlikely) that what they would do would be in the interests of the club.

Would they still be carrying on Uncle Clarke’s nefarious agenda and looking to move from Plainmoor? Hayman and Edwards were gleefully supporting Osborne’s assertion there would be a new stadium.

Masters has shown his colours in the past when muddying the waters previously and the mess he left Truro in.

We don’t want these charlatans anywhere near our club and if that means going part-time under TUST, I would take that any day of the week above the parasites that are currently involved in our club.

[wbw]

Then I can't see the TUST bid being accepted.
https://www.devonlive.com/sport/footbal ... ek-9202414

That's my gut feeling as well. Normally, bidders in this type of situation keep stum, as they are supposed to, having signed a confidentiality agreement. TUST are singing from the rooftops, totally unprofessionally. Trying to attract the sympathy vote? Put pressure on others? Who knows, but it's not normal behaviour.

[culmstockgull]

Regardless of what or how TUST and their partners go about things should they take over the club, the one thing we know with cast iron certainty, is that whatever they do it will be with the club’s best interests at heart.

Should a Hayman/Edwards/Masters type take it on, then we cannot be sure (and based on previous, it’s unlikely) that what they would do would be in the interests of the club.

Would they still be carrying on Uncle Clarke’s nefarious agenda and looking to move from Plainmoor? Hayman and Edwards were gleefully supporting Osborne’s assertion there would be a new stadium.

Masters has shown his colours in the past when muddying the waters previously and the mess he left Truro in.

We don’t want these charlatans anywhere near our club and if that means going part-time under TUST, I would take that any day of the week above the parasites that are currently involved in our club.

While I do not disagree with your sentiments our personal prefernces count for little, It is who comes up with the dosh, has the best business plan and the chance of experienced professionals being involved, while the TUST may have our best interests at heart they do not have the experience to run a football club even with their experienced business partners, supporters do not equate to knowledge.

[Dazza]

And the before named have the experience and nouse to run the club,,,!!! Come on… you must be one of them culmstock - either that or you were a breach birth and have been totally perverse ever since…..

[JimNichol'sdog]

Selling the club to Hayman together with any of her associates will be the death knell for Torquay United.

My understanding is that TUST might be able to call on Neil Warnock in some capacity. Whatever one's opinion of him, it is undeniable that he has invaluable knowledge of football.

[merse btpir]

It has been said tonight that:
"Masters has shown his colours in the past when muddying the waters previously and the mess he left Truro in."

What was the 'mess he left Truro in' considering that he took the club over from the administrator when they were already legally committed to the sale of their ground which had been the legacy of previous owner Kevin Heany and then sold it on after five years?

He DID broker the loan that the Dave Phillips board had no choice but to enter into with Gaming International as they had exhausted their capital; had they not then TUFC would have gone into liquidation.

Peter Masters with his partner Philip Perryman funded the Truro club for the five years of Perryman's agreement to remain involved then the club was taken on by Dicky Evans the man who payrolls Cornish Pirates in a deal that brought the two intended tenants of the proposed Stadium 4 Cornwall that never got built.

The club is now in the ownership of former Toronto Wolfpack rugby league and current Cornwall RLFC owner Eric Perez.

Here is the timeline of what happened to Truro City...

On 25 August 2011, HM Revenue and Customs presented a winding-up petition to the club due to unpaid taxes of over £100,000. Prior to this, chairman Kevin Heaney had to quell rumours of the club being sold. A meeting on 31 October 2011 between the club and HMRC resulted in a postponement of the winding-up process to allow the club until 16 January 2012 to pay their taxes. When the case was called, the Registrar was told that two hours before the hearing the tax debt had been "paid in full." A further winding-up petition was lodged by HMRC in the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) on 30 March 2012, with a hearing on 30 April 2012 when the club was expected to pay £51,000 to HM Revenue and Customs. When this was not paid, a further extension to 25 June 2012 was granted, but the petition was dismissed when the bill was ultimately settled. Four other parties were also claiming monies amounting to around £700,000, but the club disputed these claims.

Chairman Kevin Heaney stepped down on 24 August 2012 after being declared bankrupt, and he was replaced by vice-chairman Chris Webb. On 31 August, Truro City F.C. filed for administration after the first-team players, who had not been paid during August, informed the club that they would not play against Boreham Wood on 1 September unless this course of action was taken. On 3 September, a further HMRC winding-up order over a tax bill of £15,000 was postponed until 17 September, but this order would be dismissed if the club went into administration, which it did the following day. Ten points were deducted from Truro's total, leaving them bottom of the Conference South table.

On 11 October 2012, Truro City's administrators failed to meet the deadline for the Football Conference's requirement of a £50,000 bond that would enable the club to continue in the Conference South. This bond was to cover the costs of visiting clubs should Truro be liquidated during the season and their results be expunged from the record. A reduced amount was offered by the club, and was refused by the Conference. The match at home to Dover Athletic on 13 October was called off, and the club was expected to be expelled from the league with liquidation probably following such an expulsion

Enter Masters & Perryman...
However, on 12 October the Conference gave the club another week to pay the bond, in the light of "encouraging" information from the administrator. After a preferred bidder pulled out on the morning of 19 October, the bond remained unpaid and the club was set to be expelled from the Football Conference, but discussions continued and City were reprieved later the same day when two businessmen, Pete Masters and Phillip Perryman, paid the £50,000 bond.] The pair completed a deal to purchase the club on 14 December 2012.

In March 2019, Masters transferred his controlling interest to Cornish Pirates; so I ask again:
What is the mess he is supposed to have left Truro City in?

[CornishGull]

Masters has shown his colours in the past when muddying the waters previously and the mess he left Truro in.

Utter tosh.

[hector]

While I do not disagree with your sentiments our personal prefernces count for little, It is who comes up with the dosh, has the best business plan and the chance of experienced professionals being involved, while the TUST may have our best interests at heart they do not have the experience to run a football club even with their experienced business partners, supporters do not equate to knowledge.

No one generally has had experience of running a football club when they take one on for the first time but many principles of business will apply.

What we do know is that under the current charlatans, a former EFL club is fighting against relegation from a regional league into an even lower one. They have ruined this club. They can’t be allowed to finish the job.