Torquay United Fans Forum

tomogull

I'm sure most fans will remember the last time we played Maidenhead two seasons ago. It was also on a Tuesday evening early in the season. We won 4 - 0 and looked like Real Madrid. Several Forum members were salivating afterwards that we were a great team and certs for promotion ........ until it emerged that the Maidenhead coach had been stuck in traffic on the M4 & M5 (now, there's a surprise!) and their players barely had time to tie their bootlaces before kick off. I think we were 2 - 0 up within 10 minutes. I don't think it will be like that tonight! Oh, and as we all know, we were relegated ....... !

tomogull

Congratulations Kevin Nico. Along with probably 99.9% of TUFC fans, I wish you lots of success 'up the road' and a less stressful time than your managerial experience at Plainmoor.

tomogull

[quote=6667GULL post_id=241694 time=1565224255 user_id=19148]
The only contenders we were ever going to be this season were at the bottom not the top of the league.
The phrase bullied by the opposition has been used for both games so far this season the same as was used last season when we played badly. We need an experienced centre half and an experienced midfield enforcer to ensure we stay in mid table safety. GJ post match comments were the truth with no bullsh*t and I have every confidence he will sort things out and we will be fine. (quote)

If you think GJ will 'sort things out and we will be fine', why do you think 'we will be contenders for the botom of the league and not the top'? We lose one game against one of the favourites to be in at least the play offs, and we're contenders for bottom of the league!! Ridiculous. I do agree that an experienced centre half would strengthen the side. My view is that this a young side who will learn together under GJ and Aaron Downes. Some may fall by the wayside but most are good enough to develop to form the basis for a strong side next season. Let's just see where we are after 10 games, shall we?

By the way, who is bankrolling Solihull? Does anyone know?

tomogull

stefano wrote: ↑07 Aug 2019, 11:33 I have been visiting Plainmoor for 56 years now and have never had a problem finding a convenient and safe place to park even in the heady days of the 1960's and regular 10000+ crowds and occasional 20000 for cup games.

Gales forecast for the weekend so do not have much hope of Solihull having any stands or toilets left after that.....

I bet you travelled on the Plainmoor special buses in the 1960's. And of course, back then there weren't two, or even 3, cars to each household. Many didn't have a car. So street parking was a lot easier then. However, you're right. There is ample unrestricted parking if you know where to go. From where I regularly park, my tired old legs can get me to the Pop Side turnstile in 7 minutes. But I'm not telling you where it is!

Now, here's a question for you, or anyone else, with an anorak on. How many consecutive penalites have we now missed? I reckon it is four, maybe five. Surely a contender for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records????

Finally a note to Fred Perry - yes, you were obviously the better team last night as you have told us two or three times. But don't worry - Gary Johnson will have sorted out any weaknesses in the team long, long before you come to Plainmoor next March ....... and when/if we play you in the Play Offs.

tomogull

brucie wrote: ↑07 Aug 2019, 00:11 Can't really blame Johnson - its early in the season and he's rotated the squad, although he's got four strikers so don't really see why he played Evans up front.

Yeah ..... you're probably right. However, good as he is, I don't see Opi Edwards as starting games just yet. Bring him on second half as GJ did against BW. Also - where is the other loan striker from Newport ?

tomogull

I slightly question GJ's team selection tonight. I would have expected the same starting eleven as Saturday, except for CLE in for Manny Duku. But then, what do I know? Tough throwing in Joe Lewis for his first game against one of the fancied sides, but I suppose his height was the deciding factor against a big side. How did he do, by the way?

Can't believe that the team was boo'd off the field at half time. They didn't deserve that in only the second game of the season. This is the team that got us out of the National South and we cheered them all the way against Boreham Wood. Fickle fans, or what ???

tomogull

wivelgull wrote: ↑06 Aug 2019, 13:11 Why was that? He was MoM and scored a good goal.

It looked as if he was having a go at someone, doesn't it? I hope it wasn't Niate. Niate looked distraught as he was leaving the pitch and he didn't join in the celebrations. It was good to see Shaun MacDonald consoling him. I don't think GJ will leave him out tonight as his experience will be needed against Nathan Blisset and MacCullum who must be about the most lethal strike partnership in the National League. Unfortunately, Niate reminds me of Jimmy Aggrey. You're never sure he isn't going to make a mistake. For 89 minutes, he did okay, but he will be remembered for that last minute indecision which could have cost us 2 points. Football is an unforgiving game.

Yes - fair play to Champion, the B/Wood captain, who took a bit of stick from the crowd for an earlier off the ball incident involving Duku. He dealt with a potential ugly situation very well by calming down players on both sides

tomogull

culmstockgull wrote: ↑06 Aug 2019, 17:05 How does anyone balance the books of a football club unless you adopt your local oligarch or better still a prince of a far east country as chairman.
Like many, I would love to run a football club but nothing in my career could have equiped me to deal with a business that haemorrhages money. Even if we doubled the crowds that we currently get through the turnastiles we may and I say may break even. That would equate to standing still and no room for further investment.
There has to be some very innovative thinking to produce a large and sustainable revenue stream that is outside of the football side of the club, even if we were fortunate enough to sell a player for a million that would equate to probably a season and a half or if very prudent two seasons on field spending.
I believe football is no longer sustainable as a stand alone venture, so it matters not whether Osborne or some other loveable rogue like father Christmas is chairman, the benevolent, deep pocketed, team supporting chairman is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
I recall that several seasons ago rumour had it that Smurthwaite was thinking of relocating to our part of the world and looking to offload Port Vale and the world of ever hopeful Torquay fans were desperate for him to take over and become the new messiah. His name, now that part of the story of his stewardship at Port Vale has come out makes Osborne by comparison destined for Canonisation by the Pope. So we should be careful what we wish for.
I know a number of local authorities financially supporting their local team, whether by zero rents, interest free loans, assistance with construction projects etc, if Torbay can justify spending over a quarter of a million pounds for ever air show that they hold on the basis that it brings revenue to the area then surely a successful football team encourages away supporters who bring revenue to the bay.

Good post Culmstock and I fully agree. I fear for the long-term future of many clubs outside the Premier because, as you say, football is no longer sustainable as a 'stand alone' business. Are Bolton and Bury just the tip of the iceberg? I wonder how many clubs are running at a frightening loss each year?

tomogull

Plainmoor78 wrote: ↑05 Aug 2019, 20:29 No it doesnt. That figure of 1800 was given by Dave Philips when Paul Cox was the manager and we had a playing budget of £300,000.
When it became clear that this was insufficient to keep us in the Conference Premier Philips borrowed £120,000 from GI so Kevin Nicholson could rebuild the squad during the mid season transfer window, and the rest is history.

I more or less thought that would be the answer - thanks for that PG. We really need someone like Boris who is able to pluck £££s off magic Money Trees .......

tomogull

dawlishmatt wrote: ↑04 Aug 2019, 16:25 Yorkieandy, I truly feel sorry for the problems you have experienced with your mental health. As quite rightly as pointed out by Scott Brehaut, this is not the right place to openly discuss your issues but I sincerely wish you well. Scott Brehaut, the reasons why I publicly made my comments concerning Southampton Gull on this forum is as he always seems to aggressively attack people in a demeaning manner, including myself, surely I have a right of reply via the same source.
I will however be making no further comments concerning anything not connected to the purpose of this forum unless I am aggressively attacked on this forum for voicing my options.

Frankly, DawlishMatt, I don't know why you chose to regurgitate this issue at this time. There is no doubt money has been pumped into the club, but remember it is a loan, and the appointment of Gary Johnson was a masterstroke (and to be fair, GJ said he was happy with the situation at the club). George Edwards appointment as chief executive, or whatever his title is, appears to be sound, although we don't hear much from him. We are enjoying the brand of football being played - better than for many seasons - which is bringing fans back to home games. The pitch looks great and the Youth System, whatever it is, appears to be producing players for the future. That's the positives. The negatives, of course, are that Clarke Osborne has no interest in football. I don't think he attended any games last season, not even the last game when we were presented with the trophy. He has several failed new stadium promises to his name, so what is his endgame? We must all remain watchful. If as you say he has had 'further discussions' with Torbay Council planners, we must insist that TUFC continue to play at Plainmoor until a new FIT FOR PURPOSE stadium has been built. I have serious doubts about the proposed Nightingale Park site.

I agree with Standupsitdown that there have been some 'disappointing' posts on this thread so keep on posting, especially if you hear any tittle-tattle about the talks with Torbay Council.

By the way, before Osborne took over, we were told the break even attendance figure was 1800. As we seem to be getting gates over 3000 now, are we going into the black financially?

tomogull

We all know what a good player CLE is and it is great to have him back until January at least. My query about Opi is - is he a 90 minute player, or an impact sub? He certainly made an impact yesterday.

Boreham Wood are a physical side and they finished just above the relegation places last season with 52 points. But I think they looked a better side than that yesterday. I thought the ref had a reasonable game. He missed a couple of 'off the ball' incidents - both involving Duku - but maybe they should have been spotted by the linesmen? By the end of August, we shall be able to make some judgement about our chances in this league, but, for now, it is good to see us in a play off position!

tomogull

Ben Wynter - developing into a very good player.
Jamie Reid - provider for Opi's goal, and scored a great goal himself
Kyle Cameron - another great performance in the centre of defence
Opi Edwards - terrorised the Boreham defence when Gary unleashed him
Shaun MacDonald - some brave saves, safe handling and good distribution. Unlucky not to keep a clean sheet.

A great team effort and an entertaining game played at pace.

tomogull

Joe Lewis - welcome to Plainmoor. We're looking forward to seeing you play and sincerely hope you enjoy your season with us and that it will help you in your football career. Good Luck !

tomogull

Jerry wrote: ↑30 Jul 2019, 12:44 Johnson made a habit last season of not announcing signings early (often not until the day of the game) in order to surprise the opposition manager. These players were often training with us for the week before the announcement. Wouldn't be surprised if the 3 players are all signed and sealed just not made public until closer to Saturday.

Exactly. How many times in the past have we been told the name of a player who is about to sign, and then it all falls through? We all like to know, or guess, what is happening but I like GJ's method much better. Also good to see close links with Exeter being forged ...... Brucie may not agree !!

tomogull

No silly fool has come on here to make predictions for the coming season ...... until now!! I know predictions are stupid because they are affected by injuries, managerial sackings (not TUFC of course) and lots of other things, but we all like to make them!

My feelings are that it will be a competitive league as usual, but there are no promotion near-certainties as there were last season (Leyton Orient & Salford). I think Wrexham & Fylde will be up there again, and maybe Solihull Moors. The bookies seem to think Notts Co. will walk the league, but I don't think they will - nor Yeovil. I think we could well be up there, challenging for a play off place. But I feel we are going to miss Saikou Janneh and Conor Lemonhaigh-Evans. So here are my Mystic Meg predictions -
Top Six: Wrexham, Fylde, Barnet, Stockport (with the support they get, they should do well), Solihull Moors, Chesterfield
Next Six: Eastleigh, Torquay, Harrogate, Chorley, Notts Co, Yeovil
Third Six: Woking, Aldeshot, Ebbsfleet, Bromley, Hartlepool, Degenham & Redbridge
Bottom Six: Barrow, Halifax, Sutton, Dover, Boreham Wood, Maidenhead.

There are no obvious candidates for relegation except maybe Maidenhead, so it could be quite a battle at the bottom of the table.

The other interesting factor is what will be happening to Bolton & Bury. I hate seeing clubs go under financially, especially when Paul Pogba's monthly wage could probably save both of them in the short term. Bolton - a club with so much history and Bury - a club very much like ourselves. I understand Bury are in the greatest danger of being thrown out of the Football League. If that should happen, and I sincerely hope for the Bury fans that it doesn't, I wonder if it will be decided to promote three from the National League at the end of the season, or relegate just one from Division 2 ? I suspect it will be the latter.

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