Torquay United Fans Forum

An exciting appointment and the first sensible one since Martin Ling was unjustifiably sacked. Gary will need substantial financial backing to arrange decent loan signings [hopefully son Lee will be able to provide some Bristol City youngsters looking for experience] until the new manager can unearth some hidden gems on permanent transfers.

This is, I think, only my second post since the end of the Kevin Nicholson era because I had lost all interest and felt we were doomed to oblivion unless changes were made.

Gary will not have come cheaply in terms of salary- just hope he receives the finance, can weed out the dross and make it clear to those remaining and new entrants that their position is not a sinecure and that they are very fortunate to have full time salaries at this level

The throwing of coffee into the face of Gary Owers is totally unacceptable behaviour and hopefully the culprit will be apprehended and suitably punished. We British are better than that and we don't kick a man when he is down. Owers is trying incredibly hard to turn things around and he really ought to be given a few more games and our full support before a decision to terminate his contract is considered.

The rot set in when Martin Ling was dismissed without justification and a succession of managers who arguably were not of the required standard were appointed.

We are where we are, notwithstanding the fact that Osbourne, Harrap et al may have their own agenda which may not conform to that of the majority of the fan base. However, the Council, fortunately, still own Plainmoor and that is absolutely crucial.

One possible solution to the current crisis is, if things don't improve, to form a phoenix club along similar lines to Hereford FC, the successor to Hereford United. We could then try to raise sufficient funds to renegotiate the terms of the current lease and sign a new squad of players as necessary.

I fully support Paul Cox's robust rejection of Nicholson's ludicrous statement on Facebook.

Nicholson has absolutely no credibility left after his puerile outburst which essentially is a schedule of excuses designed to deflect the totally justified criticism of his abject performance as manager.

Nicholson is fast becoming a laughing stock - The Board should announce his dismissal tonight

Scott, you are absolutely correct to say that the Board must respond to the fans' concerns about the critical situation at the Club. They must put their cards on the table and also come clean about the identities of those they are currently in negotiations with over investing in the club, the size of the investment and whether or not that investment will leave the current directors with a minority holding. Breed and Phillips are both business men and not, in any sense of the word, philanthropists.

Whilst no one is happy to see a man lose his job just before Christmas, Nicholson must be removed from his position as a matter of urgency if we are to have any reasonable chance of avoiding relegation. The Board must then appoint a new manager on the basis of merit and a proven track record to date rather than parachuting in yet another so called "club legend", particularly one who proclaims that he is probably the best man for a job that he has always coveted. There are plenty of out of work managers who, I feel, would be prepared to work on a results driven basis in view of our precarious financial situation. To persist with the status quo will almost certainly bring about the end of the Gulls as a professional club

Whilst no one is happy to see a man lose his job just before Christmas, Nicholson must be removed from his position as a matter of urgency, if we are to have an reasonable chance of avoiding relegation. The Board must then appoint a new manager on the basis of merit and a proven track record to date rather than parachuting in yet another so called "club legend", particularly one who proclaims that he is probably the best man for a job that he has always coveted. There are plenty of out of work managers who I feel would be prepared to work on a results driven basis in view of our precarious financial situation. To persist with the status quo will almost certainly bring about the end of the Gulls as a professional club

My view, as stated last week after the Barrow game, was that Nicholson's position must be reviewed after three more matches and that he and Herrera must be dismissed once that point has been reached unless there is a positive improvement in terms of points gained. Whilst I noted with interest, after the Barrow result, the undiminished optimism of the manager and his opinion that the 4-0 defeat was just one of those bad days, the reality is that Nicholson always has talked a good book, especially when he was touting for the job during Hargreaves' tenure, and no doubt will continue to do so.

Well to be fair to him, the present situation is patently not all his fault in that the majority of the present pool of players have neither the ability nor the inclination to get us out of this position and of course he wasn't in the main responsible for their recruitment. It is looking increasingly likely that the Board will, in the interests of the club and it's fans, have to wield the axe. What is absolutely imperative is that any new managerial appointment has to be made on the basis of merit,experience, affordability and crucially avoiding the nonsensical choice of a former player.TIME IS RUNNING OUT- THE SITUATION IS NOW CRITICAL- THE DIRECTORS MUST START LOOKING FOR A POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT FOR NICHOLSON NOW

I expressed my grave reservations about Nicholson's appointment as manager at the time and specifically stated that I hoped that his notice period was no longer than one month. However, we are where we are and the clock cannot be turned back. Like it or not I will continue to give my full support to the team and hope that yesterday's extremely poor performance will not be repeated. Nevertheless, if there is no discernible positive improvement which is evidenced in terms of points gained in the next three matches, then it will be absolutely necessary for the Board to take action and remove the present management team. All is not yet lost and if a change has to be made, by hook or by crook the money will have to be found to get someone in who has the experience and contacts to save our proud but seemingly impecunious club from falling through the relegation trapdoor

Added in 4 seconds:
I expressed my grave reservations about Nicholson's appointment as manager at the time and specifically stated that I hoped that his notice period was no longer than one month. However, we are where we are and the clock cannot be turned back. Like it or not I will continue to give my full support to the team and hope that yesterday's extremely poor performance will not be repeated. Nevertheless, if there is no discernible positive improvement which is evidenced in terms of points gained in the next three matches, then it will be absolutely necessary for the Board to take action and remove the present management team. All is not yet lost and if a change has to be made, by hook or by crook the money will have to be found to get someone in who has the experience and contacts to save our proud but seemingly impecunious club from falling through the relegation trapdoor

I am really pleased to read of Martin's appointment as manager of Swindon. As a Gulls fan for many years I was heartily sickened and ashamed by the way the previous board treated him [ and in this respect I firmly believe Thea was leant on very heavily by more than one of her fellow directors to go along with, against her true instinct, the devious little scheme which had been concocted to remove Martin ]. Whilst one can never be absolutely sure, I doubt very much whether we would be in the current situation we find ourselves in, had we stayed loyal to Martin. He is a very accomplished manager and I hope very much that he succeeds with Swindon and proves the doubters wrong.

I'm really sorry to see that Kenny has decided to leave-he has been a loyal servant both as a very competent keeper and member of the coaching staff. Hopefully he will be able to recharge his batteries and, if he wants to do so, return to the game in another capacity. In the meantime, as Richinns has pointed out, we need a replacement goalkeeping coach as a matter of urgency, otherwise the development of these two young keepers is likely to stall. Certainly John Turner, if he could be persuaded to come in on a part time basis, would be a tremendous help but I understand that he is very busy with his day job.

An excellent performance which will increase the team's confidence considerably. As supporters we must do our part and encourage the players ans staff as much as possible even when the going gets tough and the results don't go our way. Hopefully, as the injuries situation improves so will our survival prospects so we can rebuild for next season and challenge for promotion back to the Football League where we can consolidate and lay down proper financial foundations for a sustainable future !!

I agree totally with Plainmoor Bob and Jerry- Martin Ling was treated in an absolutely disgraceful fashion- I have absolutely no idea which of the Directors was responsible for agitating for Martin's dismissal and then prevailing over the others but that decision must go down as one of the most shameful in the history of the club. Martin's two successors were, by all accounts, given ludicrously generous contracts and then proved to be totally inept at managing the team and recruiting new players.

Who on earth in their right mind would give an out of work manager like Knill who had failed at his two previous clubs, such a generous contract after a pretty ordinary record as the acting manager ? As for Hargreaves, apart from being an average player with the club, what managerial qualities did he have to entice the Board to appoint him, again on what appears to have been a similarly attractive contract, if Dean Edwards' comments about the potential financial liabilities are to be believed ?

Kevin Nicholson certainly talks a good book but only time will tell whether his words can be matched by results on the field. Howrever, like his two predecessors his experience of football management is virtually non existent. I hope he succeeds but I have grave doubts as to whether this will be the case. Certainly his alleged behaviour, tantamount to throwing his toys out of the pram, when told to play for the reserves, hardly inspires confidence. As for Nicho;son being described as a club legend well ................... !!!!!

My initial thoughts are not printable but, given history of recent appointments [Martin Ling being the exception], this is no surprise.

Hopefully he is not on a contract - but if he is, surely not one requiring more than 1 month's notice.

Will continue attending at Plainmoor because I want the club to survive but ...........

I agree totally with Scott Brehaut and Kevgull- Martin Ling, arguably, would be a very credible choice.

For whatever reason, the previous Board treated Martin shamefully [ I make an exception of Thea in this regard as I believe she was heavily influenced by her co directors and pressurised into agreeing with them ] .

As I have argued previously, people who have suffered from mental illness manifesting itself in the form of clinical depression are eminently capable of making a full and sustainable recovery.

We are considered to be a family oriented club with decent values - we can and should make amends as regards Martin by giving him the opportunity to pull us out of this dreadful mess- I feel sure he would relish the chance

I believe that it would be a serious error of judgement on the part of the Board to appoint a former player as manager, particularly any of the names mentioned thus far in the press, viz Nicholson , Joyce et al . Hargreaves was arguably an appointment in which the heart ruled the head as regards those in charge at the time.

It is absolutely imperative that a rigorous selection process is undertaken in view of the perilous position the team has fallen to in the league. If Martin Ling has applied for the position then he should be judged on his previous results and experience as a manager and not on the basis that he had severe depression a couple of years ago- people do recover from mental illness and if Martin can provide evidence of recovery then he should certainly be considered as a serious candidate.

On the basis that we have a hardcore of around 1600 to 1700 fans if somehow we could ,each of us ,scrape together an average of £30 per person and donate it into a segregated and ring fenced bank account that would provide the club with around £50000 for the new managers salary. I would suggest no more than a 3 month notice period on either side ie no long term contract for the first 12 months and then the position of a longer term notice period could be considered. Long term contracts both for players and managers at this level can prove financial suicide for any club