Torquay United Fans Forum

The Great Muta! wrote: ↑30 Mar 2024, 11:22 No doubt about it, how on earth got his mitts on the club in the first place is a mystery to me.

The Great Muta! wrote: ↑30 Mar 2024, 11:22 Great post Samuel, on point and fact laden .No doubt about it, how on earth got his mitts on the club in the first place is a mystery to me.

TommyGunn wrote: ↑29 Mar 2024, 14:22 I would have thought it possible to have a mixture of full and part time players.

standupsitdown wrote: ↑22 Mar 2024, 10:22 What is best - a bad owner as we've just had or starting again as a phoenix club?
Depends how bad the owner but if any only want the ground I'd rather start again.

Taelee73 wrote: ↑18 Mar 2024, 11:46 Guess we'll find out on pay day.

The official amount raised is £20k plus whatever gate receipts are profit. The wage bill has hopefully dropped.

You saying Osbourne is still paying?

TommyGunn wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 20:08 If you read Daves link. As I understand it players are top of the chain when it comes to getting paid.
The manager and Players become preferential creditors and receive a pay out in advance to that for unsecured trade creditors. This is the opposite to what normally happens.

CornishGull wrote: ↑16 Mar 2024, 21:02 An administrator can't just get rid of players unless he honoured their contracts so he might as well keep them on because he has to pay them anyway.

exilegull wrote: ↑14 Mar 2024, 11:51 This is where I fundamentally disagree with you Dave. Regardless of Clarke Osborne’s motives, he provided additional cash than Torquay United itself generated, or can likely hope to generate in the near term, for the playing side. The playing budget was better off due to Clarke Osborne’s actions regardless of motive. Without those injections Torquay United would have much more likely have tumbled down the pyramid and probably into administration/insolvency some time ago. As it was there was promotion back to the National League and a whisker away from a return to the league -had the club returned to the league it is possible it could stand on its own two feet, given the additional money from the EFL.

I have sympathy for those who say maybe it would be better for this to happen pre-Osborne took over, but personally I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on that epic season and play off final even if it ultimately wasn’t successful.

I’m not suggesting any gratitude, or sympathy for Osborne by the above - it was a business gamble that didn’t pay off. But I don’t see how that relates to onfield performance.

It’s not Clarke Osborne’s fault the club is now languishing in mid table (pre points deduction) in National League South - that is Gary Johnson’s fault, both for relegation last year and worse the performance this year when he was given a full time playing budget - sure I could accept being behind Yeovil and having a tough competition with top part time sides, but the reality is the season has been utter dross. Regardless of what you think about Clarke Osborne, I don’t possibly see how Gary Johnson can be absolved in any way whatsoever and the fact that club languishes in national league south makes it an even harder proposition to sell and it’s even more of a money pit.

Absolutely blame Clarke Osborne for not sacking Johnson in Jan-23, that I can fully get behind.

JimNichol'sdog wrote: ↑13 Mar 2024, 19:55 If Smurthwaite and Masters are the answer to the question, then Torquay United is deep in the s**t.