Torquay United Fans Forum

Just wanted to wish Ricey all the best for the future and Downes too. Both with their faults but players I felt gave their all in most games in the relegation season. I wish them all the best. Harding sadly will probably mug off some other club next season whilst Cameron and Cruise should really be down the job club. It's just a shame that contracts have to be honoured even after it has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt that a pair of blindfolded giraffes could do just as good a job for a fraction of the salary. That way players like this with zero talent and zero end product could be released a lot earlier and not suffocate the club with their wages for the next year and a half. There have been many more for Torquay these past 2 or 3 years too. One particular player I can think of who was so bad that the only bloke who was prepared to give him another chance once his contract expired was Alan Knill!! Worked out well that one.



The Bosman ruling was huge but maybe something should be done about players who give absolutely nothing for the duration of their contracts yet still have to be paid? Daft idea maybe with no way of proving what is considered tangible and not but in many teams across many leagues, players are just taking the piss and effectively getting paid for being shit. In any other walk of life if you are shit at your job you go. Anyway, best of luck Martin and Aaron!

brucie wrote:Neal - Just so you don't spend the rest of your summer frothing at the mouth and getting yourself into a state, I havn't actually watched Exeter play once this season. Incidentally, I havn't watched Torquay since the Wrexham semi final either! Are you Chris Hargreaves wife posting under an assumed name though? (or indeed Ben Hardings other half?) because if you think the serial waster is going to get retained because we have won a couple of meaningless games (which are equivalent to pre season friendlies) then you are barking mad.
Halifax have missed out on the play offs so had nothing to play for yesterday so an away victory was always on the cards.
As for Farcegreaves? congratulate him? yeah right - we have been absolute garbage for three quarters of the season.

**** hilarious.

Either it WAS a real wind up and you're an extremely understimulated individual or you DID have the intention of supporting Exeter then realised you'd changed your mind and made the excuse that it was a wind up to save face. Either way it's a pretty tragic tale of events.

DonnyGull50 wrote: Sent you a PM Andy

Replied to.

Cheers Tony.

Did you enjoy walking up the hill today at Halifax? Last time I went all I remember is a load of hills to walk up! I think I parked near the hospital half way up a hill. Halifax eh?

Hope you are OK Tony? (Donnygull). Miss our little chats mate and hope the lad is alright. Donny having a bad end to the season and all that!

brucie wrote:Well I'm sick of watching my team lose so I think I will support Torquay again next season, particularly as Chris Hargreaves has turned it around. Its taken him nine months to suss out these damn part timers but by god now he's done it he seems to be handing these minnows a right royal spanking week after week. Caught a bit of what Chris said on the radio tonight and of course he is right - the team has done bloody well considering the lack of resources he's got.
Leaving Pearce out for seven months certainly taught him a lesson, I mean now he has been reinstated and not playing like a useless git we get a clean sheet every match.
Tisdale? I call him Pissdale - give me CH everyday of the week.
A bloke called Daniel somebody or other scored for us today - buggered if I know who he is. Anyway Chris did a bloody good job offloading that useless bastard Jordan Chapple off to Grimsby.
I mean what a joke - they are going for promotion so the litle short arse has no chance up there. I guarantee he won't get on the pitch this season.... and one things for sure you won't see the little runts name on the scoresheet.
Happy days.

Brucie, you're either a Greek now or still a Gull? I know it's hard but you need to make up your mind. Either way I don't see the point of posts like this. I think many Gulls fans recognise that CH has done a pretty unremarkable effort of managing Torquay even allowing for his inexperience and the difficult circumstances on and off the field.

I think that many Gulls fans recognise that most new additions to the playing staff from now on are probably going to be players we've never heard of. Daniel being one of them. He scored a belter by all accounts today so might have SOME talent at least so maybe CH has an eye for the unknowns? I doubt it but you can't rule it out.

I think that many Gulls fans recognise that Jordan Chappell is either: a) a talented player who just hasn't produced the goods at TQ1 or b) totally shite. I'm in the latter camp but we all know that signing Jordan has been almost a bigger waste of time than when Bodin was signed so it's not news.

I totally understand the bitterness you have towards TUFC and I was the same, the rants will gradually become fewer and further between as you reach closure on this chapter of your life and open a new red and white striped one. But in the meantime stop **** posting negative shit just so you can try and spoil a positive day for TUFC!!

I don't for one moment believe that any Torquay fan thinks that because results have improved of late then it papers over the cracks sufficiently enough to expect more next season but it's a great away win and just let people enjoy it man. Why not just praise everyone for a job well done including fans that made it there today? Ok, accept the realization that CH is a bit of a dufus, accept that most of the players need to be registering on the Jobcentreplus website in a few weeks time, accept that the board members who put the club to shame are still in attendance, accept the stewarding is still a lot more robust than you would like, accept that the matchday experience is shocking for the price paid and accept that you've had enough as most fans have.

But most importantly of all, accept that you aren't yellow anymore and the concerns of the club don't now matter to you like they matter to all the remaining TUFC fans you've left behind. Move on Brucie and have some respect for those fans who don't feel the urge to jump ship like you and I. Just as I expect the Torquay fans to respect our decisions for doing so then we should also respect their decision to continue their support even if we think they are wrong. It's not our business anymore to keep posting our angst at the club and i'd like to think i'm past that. They do their thing and we go and do ours.

I've had a bit of a rant lately about the lack of people joining the trust, mainly because I feel it's a lifeline that cannot be passed over and it frustrates me that one day the lack of interest may become a huge issue but apart from that I am happy now to come on and ignore my old angry side and express my delight at a good Torquay result or that someone involved with the club has done something special such as the fundraising for that poor little lad who was poorly last season. I won't now come on otherwise. Cue the cheers.

I've no idea if Exeter will be the key to the door you've been searching for Brucie but lets stop the noisy neighbour stuff eh? It's not most of the Torquay fans on here that we have an issue with but just the way the club has been mismanaged these past years. Let the people responsible for this have all the vitriol and spite and NOT the fans who are having to find something deep within themselves, something we couldn't muster, to keep on going for the sake of the club despite being kicked to the ground and having to get up again nearly every week for the past 3 years.

Glad everyone who went today had a good day out and that is ultimately what it's all about.

Mark Ellis is the difference between Shrewsbury and York today with a decent headed goal to nick the points. He's still a really decent player at this level, had a good game today. He was amongst the better players Torquay have had these past 6 years or so.

Felt weird today going back to Shrewsbury for the first time since I was part of the celebrations a few years back in the play off semi 0-0 draw. On that occasion I booked a nearby Travelodge within walking distance and got hammered on the local Woods Brewery Shropshire Lad which they served in the bar area there. Staggered the 2 miles back to the hotel afterwards. I guess i'm going to have little choice but to be re-visiting some of the grounds with York that I did as a Torquay 'supporter' and each time i'll have memories that pop into my head from time to time. Today was one such example.

My last game of the season anyway today in what has been a turbulent and difficult season battling relentlessly at the wrong end of the table and also witnessing some truly awkward football. A carbon copy of your season I guess. It's been nice to get to most home games. I've been to all bar 3 including cup whereas with Torquay, I only went to 1 maybe 2 home games a season due to the distance from my home obviously. I made up for this by going to watch most Torquay away games but missing home games and not feeling a regular part of the set up was a big downer for me as I live for matchdays.

No such problems for me now.

Good to see of the Gulls result at Halifax today, results are on the up. Good to see those that went having a good time and good to hear that Bix is still alive. Not heard owt from you on the forum man. Hope you are ok bud. Long time no see. Oh and Luce driving like Wacky Races on the way home. I knew Halifax was a bit grim but had no idea it was that bad. Couldn't wait to get away I bet!

At least next season you'll have Cheltenham, they are finished. Tranmere are too given their last two fixtures. Plymouth away and Bury at home. Tranmere are by some distance the worst team I've seen come to Bootham Crescent this season and with two games to play they haven't improved. On top of that Brizzle look like they've blown it. Next conference season might be very interesting but also very very competitive. Aren't FC United coming up or is there another league for them to go into beforehand?

Anyway, chins up folks and good luck with the planned takeover and summer re-building.

So if the TUST somehow got a foothold in the club then would they run the club symbiotically alongside the current board or are they looking at a complete takeover? Forgive me as I don't know the full facts of how it works.

If the situation is the former then I can understand why many, like Kevgull, are holding back from joining. A sort of dual run club is fine in principle but allowing the current board to continue in this way as though the past few years hasn't happened is pretty disturbing. The fact that they will have members of the TUST to discuss matters with makes no odds, they belong in a circus and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the club IMO.

I believe that short term such a scenario would be ok if only to get the TUST onto a better footing, get more members, a higher profile and crucially more finance. This must be with a view to taking total control of the club in the near future. The good thing about this is that TUFC will eventually find itself on a sound, secure footing with all those involved in the Trust pulling in the same direction and making decisions that benefit the club and not individuals. The bad thing is that whilst waiting for the TUST to gather momentum and get themselves in a position to do this, the club will still be having decisions made on it's behalf by the current board. Some of the board members have already departed and rightly so, i'm unsure whether they made any public apologies for screwing up but at least it's a few more that can't do any more damage. Anyway, like I said, in the meantime you are left with still no investment (anyone who thinks that this is forthcoming I salute your optimism) , the current board trying to operate on an absolute shoestring whilst happily allowing CH to further decimate the remaining fanbase.

CH being allowed to continue next season sees you in a certain relegation battle. Each year TUFC fans have been saying, "well it can't possibly get any worse than this" and it actually does. Nothing is impossible and Torquay getting relegated next season may only be avoided because there happen to be half an entire league of rubbish football teams in the Conference and therefore by default Torquay can still be as bad as York and still stay up. CH will take you as near as damn it to non league oblivion without even trying.

So the negative is that for a good few years yet you will have to still pay through the nose to watch disinterested, unmotivated, overweight footballers managed by CH flirt with relegation and get mullered by postmen now and again but if you can see the bigger picture then join the trust, ride the storm for the next few years and get your club back from the dead and start again.

Or don't join the Trust and keep paying your ticket money, keep your head in the sand, watch the same old cack, post the same old moans and gradually watch Tufc sink into extinction.

I have the utmost sympathy for those bitten before in the sense that some of you have already been paying a subscription for years and they have continued to take your money but offered you zero acknowledgment, gratitude or information. This type of ignorance across the whole running of the club was one of my big annoyances. THIS IS A NEW VENTURE. Forget the old and in with in the new. Join, hold the trust to account if you aren't happy with lack of communication or whatever and if you still aren't happy then **** them off. No harm done. You've offered your help and they've taken advantage. It's your prerogative. In no way am I saying that this will happen. The TUST sound like they wish to engage, communicate and wish to rescue the club. It all sounds positive.

Torquay get 2000 or under hard core at home so how come only 200 TUST members? If YOU don't engage then the club goes to the dogs. If you don't want a club to go and watch then you need do nothing.

During my brief 5 or 6 seasons it has to be Hargreaves.

Knill was truly embarrassing but did at least have a basic comprehension of how management worked and exercised a modicum of common sense. CH has neither. I honestly believe that the biggest mistake the board made wasn't appointing Knill, it was appointing CH to try and get the club to safety. It was quickly apparent that CH was exceptionally inept even for someone relatively inexperienced and any fan on the terraces could have done a better job. This is not a flippant comment. I truly believe this.

CH was allowed to carry on this season and WOW! Car crash.

How is this bloke still being paid to manage footballers? Not his fault. The fault of the people who gave him the gig and who then couldn't / can't find the cash to rectify the mistake and give him his P45.

brucie wrote:Really enjoyed the game today. A hard fought victory against a resolute Newport side. The most noticable thing was that we have a manager who can actually change the game. The rather splendid Mr Tisdale must be due all the plaudits as his substitutions certainly won the game.
Level with Plymouth on points now, I really think we can make the play offs so should be an exciting end of season.
I did catch the after match interview with Mr Hargreaves who did say that his team were comfortable until the first goal went in. Imagine my shock when I actually heard that the first goal was scored after four minutes.
Still at least it seems like it may have been an improved performance as you must have dictated the game (well at least for the first three minutes anyway!!)
Perhaps with Mr Sturrock waiting in the wings (or on the coach!) things will improve but with old Luggys health on the wane I have ny doubts that this will be the answer.
Anyway good luck for the rest of the season, you never know you might even pick up a point or two (well if the opposition turn up with seven men perhaps!)

Why post this Brucie in an attempt to rub it in? It is because you WANT to be right. You BELIEVE you are right and you WANT to be right that all you have said about Torquay these past few years is somehow as you predicted. Well you aren't the only one who predicted it. I too did and so did many others, others who won't go on to support other sides like you and I and who will stay silent yet still give their full support to TUFC next season as they always have done. So we predicted the club is in decline and that Knill and Hargreaves were **** useless. To be fair ANYONE without any knowledge of football could have predicted this months into each managers tenure. We aren't that special mate.

I'm back in the groove as a Minsterman now and it's where I belong but for you, I don't feel it's about soul searching. I feel it's about always wanting to be right and always wanting to hold someone accountable for your own disappointments. I don't wish any ill on TUFC and really really hope that the appointment of Sturrock heralds a new era in the fortunes of Torquay. Why would it make me feel better to wish otherwise? Sure there are some real knobheads use this forum, arguably i'm one of them but there are also far too many great and loyal people / fans who use this forum who have been through the mill in the past few years who WON'T be turned to another club. Not for a managers natty dress sense nor for the fact that they love Roman cities. They shouldn't be mocked let alone on their own turf.

Brucie is bitter and feels affronted by the actions or lack of by Torquay United these past few years and i'm with him 100% on this. In fact regarding the Sturrock thing, I agree with Brucie. **** me I sound like Wivelgull now. Whoever HE is. I have a strong feeling the Sturrock 'thingy' is a huge white elephant that will buy some time. I am cynical but this is the erstwhile engaging board members of TUFC who couldn't run a bath let alone a football club. Those who are suddenly hoping for a better future on hearing the Sturrock news are in for a large shock. Nothing is going to change.

Sad that it takes 'defectors' like Brucie and myself to stir up the old TUFC passion in a sense but regardless, nobody with any ounce of common sense should see it their place to come on here and start throwing shit around. Like others have said, it's called Trolling.

The only thing I know about Trolls is that they belong in Norwegian folklore and that is where they should stay.

I do really hope that the Sturrock appointment turns out to be the beginning of the revival and i'll be watching to see what happens. I don't believe it will be but that's just my opinion but I hope i'm wrong and next season you can begin with a new lease of life, a new set up and a new set of players. This means no CH but also none or minimal number of the current board. I 'm not sure both of these can be achieved which still leaves the club hamstrung but if it can then it's game on.

For the record, I actually believe that Hargreaves pound for pound is a far worse manager that Alan Knill. Knill was rock bottom.

You see why CH needed to go a long long time ago then yes?

Sturrock. I bloody well hope those clowns in charge haven't hoodwinked you all AGAIN!

COYY!!!!!