**23rd March v Hampton & Richmond** - Big Protest Day

[WestLondonYellow]

If nobody can afford to take over the club what difference will a protest make except create a toxic atmosphere?

If 30 fans remortgage their homes that would be a start but as we we all moan about a few pence added to the beer prices, nobody is going to raise any money.

“We are talking about a small group but I think they should stay at home if they are going to be like that, because it clearly affected the players on the pitch. It was just unacceptable in my view … I think I deserve more respect too”

Not Gary as some would like to think but Norwich boss David Wagner gets the funk on with some Canaries fans who were less than supportive towards his substitutions during the 4-2 win over Watford which has lifted them into the Championship playoff places.

[WestLondonYellow]

If nobody can afford to take over the club what difference will a protest make except create a toxic atmosphere?

If 30 fans remortgage their homes that would be a start but as we we all moan about a few pence added to the beer prices, nobody is going to raise any money.

“We are talking about a small group but I think they should stay at home if they are going to be like that, because it clearly affected the players on the pitch. It was just unacceptable in my view … I think I deserve more respect too”

So do you want it to be a bigger group before you are ready to follow along? Or Do you want all to stay quiet and stay away? WHich is it?

Not Gary as some would like to think but Norwich boss David Wagner gets the funk on with some Canaries fans who were less than supportive towards his substitutions during the 4-2 win over Watford which has lifted them into the Championship playoff places.

From PASOTI members: - https://pasoti.co.uk/threads/torquay-un ... 961/page-2

"OK, I'm aware this may come over as heartless, what I'm aiming for is a qualified low level of sympathy.

Not for the situation you understand, malevolent owners are a universal enemy.

No, it was the earlier comment about yesterday's protest amounting to 'a dozen teenagers and a sheet with a message on it'. WTF?

If Gulls fans as a whole are largely apathetic to the situation and aren't protesting in numbers, aren't seemingly getting vexed about someone ****ing up their club... why should anyone else?... why try and garner 'flying pickets' from other clubs when those most directly affected are largely muttering a collective "meh"?

Yes Albion stood by us and God bless every one of 'em... but we were already flippin' livid and completely mobilised for the fight ourselves. There is a huge difference.

We were approaching/in administration without a pot to p155 in... resource wise Torquay are a big fish in a small pond, they have the second highest gates. Their ON FIELD 'woes' are not for the want of relative resources. They've come down as a full time squad with a superior attitude over their part time newly aquired peers... who have been running rings round them.

Its harsh, the ownership situation is just plain wrong. But they are architects of their own problems on the pitch and just like charity... protest begins at home.

Come back and ask again for my assistance when you've done some hard yards yourselves. You've not raised so much as a single pitchfork yet... let alone an angry mob."


"I have to agree with Xy on this one.

I haven't seen anything like the force we created when crap was being thrown at us.

You need to fight like dogs when your club is in danger, and I've seen nothing of that."

"Having perused their forum quite recently I thought that immediately I saw this plea for assistance yesterday... they aren't even remotely as animated as they need to be and can't even agree that the team is poor and Johnson needs to go

I diplomatically held my tongue though until one of ours demanded "come on you greens supporters..." as if it were our responsibility to do something... "come on you yellows" more like, light a fire under yourselves.

I'm sure there's plenty of good will and practical support we could offer. But they say you should never rouse a sleepwalker and if they want to sleep walk into non-existence then that's their problem."


"They need to put pressure on that scumbag Clarke Osborne, they need to get very personal.

They need to keep their plans off line as much as they can as their security guys will be paid to pot a stop to their games.

Games need to be disrupted as much as they can, chickens, tennis balls have all be done, but I'm sure something else can be thought of.

The link with the Council needs to be sussed out, there must be someone there working for (nudge nudge) Osborne in some way or another.

That club announcement a few weeks ago, should have been the last straw, it's obvious what he's up to, he wants the land, and is basically saying so in that missive.

Don't give the pig an inch, it's YOUR club not his. Show no respect or deference, take what is yours. Go in with that attitude they may start to think quiet, but 20 youngies singing "sack the board' won't cut any mustard in the state your in.

He doesn't give a flying fart about your club, he want's it knocked down and made into high density housing. You'll be playing part time in the 8th/9th division unless you mobilise."

"Meanwhile on their forum they're arguing amongst themselves about what to do...

TUST - Show Venom and a backbone - TorquayFans.com | Torquay United Fans Forum

Shows there is some fight in them. But its so small that even on their 'protest thread' it quickly comes back to the almost irrelevant subject of 'on pitch' matters...

...YOUR CLUB IS BEING STOLEN, WAKE THE **** UP!!

It calls to mind those lines in War of the Worlds (I only have Jeff Wayne's version to draw reference from) when the earth is about to be invaded by Martians...

"It seems totally incredible to me now that everyone spent that evening as though it were just like any other. From the railway station came the sound of shunting trains, ringing and rumbling
Softened almost into melody by the distance. It all seemed so safe and tranquil"


"It won't if the fans do nothing about it.

Osborne is depending on their apathy."

Argyle are there to help us, as are Exeter. Are you picking up the sentiment on what they think of the general apathy in the Torquay fanbase? Osborne is relying on this Apathy to continue and your post above is exactly that.
"while any one crab can easily start to climb out, it will nonetheless be pulled back in by the others, ensuring the group's collective demise."

[Dave]

.if you dont I have the name , the lease , the players contracts etc and you can start from scratch.
It then remains that our sole hope is a late application to the western league, sensible questions from the league such as,have you got an approved ground, have you got a team, have you even got a manager, have you even got a strip or a name, do you have a budget, these are things that cannot be sorted out overnight, with say 500 TUST members who all have their own differing opinion and a say on our new name/manager do we have to go through time consuming ballots

Clarke Osbourne could relocate the club, as the original Wimbledon became the MK Dons, but where to? Near his Bristol base ? when you already have City, Rovers and Bath City on the doorstep, so the Bristol Gulls wouldn't work, Gloucester, there's Cheltenham, FGR and Gloucester city , not going to work there either.

So can't see a single reasons as to why he'd want to leave Torbay and take the football club with him, also must be remembered Torbay Council own the lease, the lease is between Torbay Council the owner and TUFC the tenant, under any scenario CO doesn't get to walk away with the lease.

The most likely thing that will happen if CO doesn't get what he wants within any set time frame will be for CO to withdraw funding and walk away. In this case, and everyone with an I.Q slightly above a turnip knows the most desirable option would be TUST with an investor/investors taking control of the club in it's current form, but the likely hood of that coming to pass, is slim at it's best.

So that will leave of us with a phoenix club, as TUFC would have gone into liquidation, in which case the lease between Torbay Council and the club would cease. Phoenix Torquay may not get automatic entry into any step level, may have to wait one or more seasons.

Yes in the event of a phoenix club there would be ballots, TUST members and community shareholders would have to appoint a management committee, who would have to present their decisions to be voted on, democracy would win the day, but when you own a share in your football club, would you stay away, because your preferred candidate didn't get the job ?

A phoenix club is the last resort, but what's so great about what we have now , if nothing changes between now and June, season ticket sales will collapse, a phoenix club maybe required no matter what, and is nothing to be scared of.

[greb46]

It's a very difficult situation, there's an owner who takes no interest in football or the club it appears but continues to cover salaries, expenses etc weekly as the club must be leaking money quicker than the Titanic leaks water .It makes no logical sense for a businessman to continue doing this and yet he does.He has been told he has no chance of acquiring the ground for non footballing means yet year on year he continues funding it.So where is the end game? Surely no matter how much money you have you stop eventually yet the club survives year on year.However we're in the lowest position possible and the sinking of the Titanic seems close.Its difficult to know what to do,carry on until the club is finally on the sea bed or hope that CO has a miraculous turn around and re floats it.Presumably if he wanted to get rid he would try to sell the lease though with it saddled in debt can't imagine many takers though a rich investor would be the ideal scenario.The problem is trying to start a phoenix club from scratch with no money and no certainty of what the owners intentions are is nigh on impossible as he may carry on.If he were more transparent about his plans or lack of them then supporters would know where to go.Its the not knowing that slowly kills you.

[Dave]

The provisional development for building a stadium and community facility was £3.5 million

See link for how they proposed to raise the capital:

https://fc-utd.co.uk/files/documents/FC ... %20Doc.pdf


Edit: It appears to meet spiralling costs of the new stadium additional loans were taken out and total cost of completion was £6.3 million nearly double what was envisaged.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... 0k-8188428

And what you've presented here Mellow, is an absolute reason to any TUFC fan why CO's 'events' stadium is a white elephant that will 'never' get built, factor in inflation, the fact that CO wants to build an events stadium with commercial ventures around , so likely to be bigger and more involved build than the stadium for FC United, I can only hazard a guess the build cost could be 4x's possibly more than the £6.3 million for FC United's ground.

It doesn't surprise me the council have indicated CO's latest stadium plan didn't stand up to scrutiny anymore than his original plan did, I'd respectfully suggest in reality CO's plan could be for some land at the back of nowhere, for a ground comprising of cut out shipping containers bolted together.

Difference here to me is, FC United was a formation of a new club, no history, no ground, no infrastructure. Here at Torquay we have a ground as well as other things mentioned, Torbay Council is no more cash strapped than any other local authority, if it wanted to sell the ground to CO or anyone else it could have already done that more times over.

I see no reason why Torbay Council wouldn't want to work with any phoenix club for a renewed lease on Plainmoor, in the event that should be required, as the retention of green field sports facilities is popular and a vote winner. And when you consider that the overwhelming majority of phoenix clubs including Bury managed to retain their grounds, why couldn't Torquay do the same ?

What would you/we want more ?

TUFC playing in step 9 under CO's ownership with him making a vast profit of the back of our misery. Or TUFC playing in step 9 as a fan owned club with a future of our own making and united behind a common goal, I know what I'd rather have.

[Southampton Gull]

If he couldn't build anything for his "beloved" Bristol Rovers he sure as hell isn't going to build anything for us. All this talk of potential new stadiums pisses me off because people need to get real and understand there is a money making objective behind his ownership of the club. That's his sole purpose and it will obviously feature a land grab somewhere, I think that Plainmoor is the carrot he will dangle to get his hands on whatever plot of land he's really after and the council is already invested in it through the school. Talk of building on the Plainmoor site is a red herring. Provisions for life after Osborne need looking into, talk of new stadiums hampers the attention of the ordinary fan which is his tried and tested MO.

[WestLondonYellow]

If he couldn't build anything for his "beloved" Bristol Rovers he sure as hell isn't going to build anything for us. All this talk of potential new stadiums pisses me off because people need to get real and understand there is a money making objective behind his ownership of the club. That's his sole purpose and it will obviously feature a land grab somewhere, I think that Plainmoor is the carrot he will dangle to get his hands on whatever plot of land he's really after and the council is already invested in it through the school. Talk of building on the Plainmoor site is a red herring. Provisions for life after Osborne need looking into, talk of new stadiums hampers the attention of the ordinary fan which is his tried and tested MO.

Spot on.