Thea steps down with immediate effect

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Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Dave » 26 Jun 2015, 22:42

Yorkieandy wrote:Hi Dave. Hope you and the lads are well man? :-D

I wasn't directly having a pop at your post so apologies if it came across as that.
Hi Andy, yes me and the lad are well. I never took your post as having a pop at mine, my post in return was trying to answer generally held view points.

Edit; On further reflection Andy, it is time to let sleeping dogs lie, take care me old mate. :)

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Yorkieandy » 26 Jun 2015, 21:27

forevertufc wrote:Completely agree with Andy's sentiment. I do not want to come across as if, I'm insulting Thea Bristow's generosity, or integrity, however, I'm not going to insult the intelligence of Thea Bristow either.

This suggestion that Thea, was some how this simple old lady that whilst chair of TUFC, did nothing but sit at home cuddling the cat, whilst watching endless episodes of loose women , waiting dutifully for Conan to ring up and dupe her out of another bundle of cash, is in, itself both cruel, evil and insulting.

Thea Bristow would have attended board meetings, would have agreed with and signed off on the decision making process, Thea played her part in the appointment of a done nothing, know nothing,no contacts, no chance of ever keeping the club in the league or getting it back there manager, Thea played her part in preventing the current board from taking control of the club in March, which would have enabled them to put many of the fix's there having to do overnight, in place in a reasonable time frame, immunity not granted.

Whilst I'm personally grateful for what the Bristow family did for this club and always will be, it needs to be said, and Mattpuma was right to do so, he only said what, trust me, many are thinking, and perhaps to scared to say.
Hi Dave. Hope you and the lads are well man? :-D

I wasn't directly having a pop at your post so apologies if it came across as that. I think you make some good points about the level of involvement Thea had in boardroom wheeling and dealings. I paint her as, like you describe, a simple old lady who loves cats and frequently signs cheques blindly to buy shite footballers on the recommendations of two blokes, one most famous for nearly running over a squirrel and the other for being called 'Tarzan' whereas you are of the opinion that she was a little more aware of what was going on behind the scenes than people think.

Well she certainly sanctioned much of the spending but it's ludicrous to suggest that she actually instigated the processes to acquire AK and CH as well as a near full playing squad of duds. An analogy which may explain my view is this. I win Euromillions. I win 15 million. I opt to become a racehorse owner as I love horse racing so I approach a trainer. As it's the south west i'll plump for David Pipe. So I approach Mr Pipe and tell him i'm on the lookout for some decent racehorses for him to train so he goes to the sales and buys several on my behalf. He's an experienced trainer so I trust his judgement. I sign the cheque, he knows his onions and he buys the nags. The horses all turn out to be equine versions of Billy Bodin, they run about a lot, are wonderfully groomed and turned out but they're losers. Is it my fault that I have put all my eggs in one basket in good faith and trusted the opinions of others? A bit naïve perhaps yes but I don't see how in that instance, I could be held accountable for the bad judgement of those who were there to run things. Likewise with Thea.

She was 'advised'. She wasn't the decision maker. Others made the decisions and she trusted those decisions. Others probably said that CH was the perfect fit, an old legend, cutting his teeth, with plenty of 'supposed' contacts and determined to be a success. Oh and relatively cheap too. I can't imagine Thea sat at home going through all the pro's and con's of such an appointment. Like I said, naïve but nothing more serious than that. She let the others do all the 'homework' and to make two humongous mistakes without impunity. Knill and Hargreaves.

I know I blame the board for a lot of horrendous practices but there are also two managers and a near full squad of footballers who should never be allowed to work in the industry again. Thea helped appoint AK and CH but once again, these two clowns squeezed the cash out of her to go out and buy some real stiffs. Not one or two but bloody loads of them. All over Plainmoor. To add to the useless crew already here when Knill took over. Did Thea suggest to Knill about signing Karl Hawley? Was he HER idea or was it Knill who convinced her he'd be a good fit and that Torquay should sign him if they could? Exactly. She wanted to co-operate and help her managers the most she could so she did. I fail to see that by agreeing to things and sanctioning the cash that this makes her in some way partly to blame for others being shitter at their jobs than Ed Miliband.

I mean come on. The last 2 or 3 years have been a relentless cascade of absolutely bizarre decisions and events of monumental comedic proportions and there is absolutely no way that anyone from outside the coven could parachute in to the club as an outsider and not think, "HANG ON A MINUTE?!! THIS IS **** MENTAL!!!" :clown: :O

Sadly Thea did do this and you have to ask why? How did she not see? More importantly, an very intriguing and pertinent question Jerry asked about her son, why did he not step in? What did HE think about all this? I'm damn sure if it was my parents being taken to the cleaners then i'd have summat to say about it. All very odd.

Were the directors involved so very charming and helpful from day one that Thea felt exceedingly comfortable and in the safest of hands? She was a multi millionaire fan with zero business experience actively wanting to step in and help her club. I'm sure her arrival was welcomed with the widest of open arms.

There will probably always be more questions than answers but although Thea may not have owned a cat or watched loose women, she was certainly 'seen coming' as we like to say in northern parts.

I'm 100% happy to absolve Thea of doing anything wrong but put trust in the human race.

Great to see Breedy involved in the new set up and it's worth remembering that he and the rest of them actually got off their arses and did something about what was looking like a terminal problem. They didn't sit around moaning and spending months intellectually considering the rights and wrongs of joining the trust. They got together. They love the club. They got together and they came up with a plan. They put their bollocks on the line and to hell with it. They did it. They did it. They did it. A life lesson to me most certainly. Inspiring.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Jerry » 26 Jun 2015, 18:36

I'm surprised that Gullscorer hasn't been all over this thread because, let's be honest, if Thea had been a bloke instead of some "old dear" he would have got a damn sight more criticism.

As for a lack of support in the boardroom...when she made herself Chairman her son was added to the board, what was he doing whilst all this was happening?

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Dave » 26 Jun 2015, 17:24

Completely agree with Andy's sentiment. I do not want to come across as if, I'm insulting Thea Bristow's generosity, or integrity, however, I'm not going to insult the intelligence of Thea Bristow either.

This suggestion that Thea, was some how this simple old lady that whilst chair of TUFC, did nothing but sit at home cuddling the cat, whilst watching endless episodes of loose women , waiting dutifully for Conan to ring up and dupe her out of another bundle of cash, is in, itself both cruel, evil and insulting.

Thea Bristow would have attended board meetings, would have agreed with and signed off on the decision making process, Thea played her part in the appointment of a done nothing, know nothing,no contacts, no chance of ever keeping the club in the league or getting it back there manager, Thea played her part in preventing the current board from taking control of the club in March, which would have enabled them to put many of the fix's there having to do overnight, in place in a reasonable time frame, immunity not granted.

Whilst I'm personally grateful for what the Bristow family did for this club and always will be, it needs to be said, and Mattpuma was right to do so, he only said what, trust me, many are thinking, and perhaps to scared to say.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Scott Brehaut » 26 Jun 2015, 16:06

Yorkieandy wrote:Not that most of you particularly care for my opinion but the situation regarding Thea was one of the reasons for my 'defection'. She pumped in a fortune and built an entire stand, all because she cared and wanted the best for the club. She knew absolutely nothing about running a football club and entrusted this highly skilled and responsible position to an assortment of truly abhorrent individuals who convinced, sorry, hoodwinked her into thinking they could competently do this on her behalf.

If those spending Thea's cash were doing so with the best for TUFC at heart and made basic errors of judgement then I can sort of get my head around this but this scenario is not what I choose to believe.

Thea IS handed immunity from any blame whatsoever. To suggest or think otherwise is cruel, evil, call it what you will. Bizarre in fact.

She said to those suits behind the scenes, "i know nothing", ala Manuel in Fawlty Towers. They knew this and had a field day. Thea simply funded the club's operations for the time she was at the helm, it was those actually using that money to the detrimental effect of the football club that are solely culpable for the club nearly going to the wall. As well as Knill and Hargreaves too obviously. Both totally clueless and both with brass necks.

Thea is a very kind and generous woman to the point where she could have just bailed out and left you all in the brown stuff but despite all that has passed she STILL has the best interests of the club at heart.

I'll tell you what, to have bombed 3 or 4 million in the space of a couple of years trying to do something she believed in and STILL seeing the best in people, not harbouring grudges and not being eaten alive by bitterness makes her a very, very special individual indeed. All she needs to know is that it is her who is the real winner. Odd to say now a few million lighter but she had a vision. She had a dream and she went for it. That is to be admired. She was thrust into the limelight despite clearly being nervous and inexperienced at such media attention but she got on with it and yes, she had folk laughing and criticising her for it too.

She clearly has integrity, faith, passion, bravery and humility. She also had a lot of money. She gave much of it to try and make TUFC a better place.

Thea is one of the few people from the club I have complete respect for. They say money can't buy respect and it has to be earned. For me anyway, respect is the one thing Thea has in abundance from many people and she didn't have to spend a penny for. Hopefully for her sake she gets to enjoy future yellow success sat in one of the seats she bought in the Bench. It's richly deserved.
Great post. Totally agree.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by happytorq » 26 Jun 2015, 15:58

that was probably one of the best posts I've ever read here. Good stuff.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Colorado Gull » 26 Jun 2015, 12:48

Yorkieandy wrote:Not that most of you particularly care for my opinion but the situation regarding Thea was one of the reasons for my 'defection'. She pumped in a fortune and built an entire stand, all because she cared and wanted the best for the club. She knew absolutely nothing about running a football club and entrusted this highly skilled and responsible position to an assortment of truly abhorrent individuals who convinced, sorry, hoodwinked her into thinking they could competently do this on her behalf.

If those spending Thea's cash were doing so with the best for TUFC at heart and made basic errors of judgement then I can sort of get my head around this but this scenario is not what I choose to believe.

Thea IS handed immunity from any blame whatsoever. To suggest or think otherwise is cruel, evil, call it what you will. Bizarre in fact.

She said to those suits behind the scenes, "i know nothing", ala Manuel in Fawlty Towers. They knew this and had a field day. Thea simply funded the club's operations for the time she was at the helm, it was those actually using that money to the detrimental effect of the football club that are solely culpable for the club nearly going to the wall. As well as Knill and Hargreaves too obviously. Both totally clueless and both with brass necks.

Thea is a very kind and generous woman to the point where she could have just bailed out and left you all in the brown stuff but despite all that has passed she STILL has the best interests of the club at heart.

I'll tell you what, to have bombed 3 or 4 million in the space of a couple of years trying to do something she believed in and STILL seeing the best in people, not harbouring grudges and not being eaten alive by bitterness makes her a very, very special individual indeed. All she needs to know is that it is her who is the real winner. Odd to say now a few million lighter but she had a vision. She had a dream and she went for it. That is to be admired. She was thrust into the limelight despite clearly being nervous and inexperienced at such media attention but she got on with it and yes, she had folk laughing and criticising her for it too.

She clearly has integrity, faith, passion, bravery and humility. She also had a lot of money. She gave much of it to try and make TUFC a better place.

Thea is one of the few people from the club I have complete respect for. They say money can't buy respect and it has to be earned. For me anyway, respect is the one thing Thea has in abundance from many people and she didn't have to spend a penny for. Hopefully for her sake she gets to enjoy future yellow success sat in one of the seats she bought in the Bench. It's richly deserved.



Hear, hear. :goodpost:

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Southampton Gull » 25 Jun 2015, 21:49

Andy, for once we are in total agreement.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Yorkieandy » 25 Jun 2015, 20:33

Not that most of you particularly care for my opinion but the situation regarding Thea was one of the reasons for my 'defection'. She pumped in a fortune and built an entire stand, all because she cared and wanted the best for the club. She knew absolutely nothing about running a football club and entrusted this highly skilled and responsible position to an assortment of truly abhorrent individuals who convinced, sorry, hoodwinked her into thinking they could competently do this on her behalf.

If those spending Thea's cash were doing so with the best for TUFC at heart and made basic errors of judgement then I can sort of get my head around this but this scenario is not what I choose to believe.

Thea IS handed immunity from any blame whatsoever. To suggest or think otherwise is cruel, evil, call it what you will. Bizarre in fact.

She said to those suits behind the scenes, "i know nothing", ala Manuel in Fawlty Towers. They knew this and had a field day. Thea simply funded the club's operations for the time she was at the helm, it was those actually using that money to the detrimental effect of the football club that are solely culpable for the club nearly going to the wall. As well as Knill and Hargreaves too obviously. Both totally clueless and both with brass necks.

Thea is a very kind and generous woman to the point where she could have just bailed out and left you all in the brown stuff but despite all that has passed she STILL has the best interests of the club at heart.

I'll tell you what, to have bombed 3 or 4 million in the space of a couple of years trying to do something she believed in and STILL seeing the best in people, not harbouring grudges and not being eaten alive by bitterness makes her a very, very special individual indeed. All she needs to know is that it is her who is the real winner. Odd to say now a few million lighter but she had a vision. She had a dream and she went for it. That is to be admired. She was thrust into the limelight despite clearly being nervous and inexperienced at such media attention but she got on with it and yes, she had folk laughing and criticising her for it too.

She clearly has integrity, faith, passion, bravery and humility. She also had a lot of money. She gave much of it to try and make TUFC a better place.

Thea is one of the few people from the club I have complete respect for. They say money can't buy respect and it has to be earned. For me anyway, respect is the one thing Thea has in abundance from many people and she didn't have to spend a penny for. Hopefully for her sake she gets to enjoy future yellow success sat in one of the seats she bought in the Bench. It's richly deserved.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Dave » 25 Jun 2015, 19:46

Just being honest with my opinions here, there is a danger of Thea being some what handed immunity because of the money she put, which of course we're all grateful for. I don't blame Thea solely for the mess we're in, she is not a business person, clearly Thea was poorly advised, however,the money Thea was putting was largely to cover mistakes, some, no doubt made by her good self, by and large mistakes made by others, though.

What I will say, £150k out lay and what was the figure, £1,000 a month rent on a training ground with no formal lease signed, I mean, what business acumen do you need to look at that and say it's my money, STOP.

I will always be thankful for the work the Bristow's did for the club, but they were part of a regime along with Bill "Conan the club destroyer" Phillips who nearly finished our club of for good, hopefully a brighter future lies ahead.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Southampton Gull » 25 Jun 2015, 19:25

Baker and Phillips using Thea's money to pay for their total ineptitude was truly despicable, the only thing you can blame her for is being too trusting.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Mattpuma » 25 Jun 2015, 19:23

It has been reported that the players wages for June were NOT paid by the outgoing regime as promised but instead fell to the new owners to fund! This "debt free club" stuff is sadly an illusion spun by a discredited regime trying to cover their arses.
Lets be frank, the old regime have been given an astonishingly easy ride. If Mr Bateson had done the exact same things people would have crucified him.
I fully understand Mrs Bristow didnt intentionally nearly destroy the club and was acting in what she was advised were the clubs best interests and others deserve more of the blame but the fact remains that the club is now in a perilous position and that shouldnt be applauded.
If the club was left in a healthy position then fair enough but it appears that this was far from the case sadly.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by lucy6lucy » 25 Jun 2015, 19:03

A tad harsh on thea. The other board members should be truly ashamed. It wouldn't surprise me that the players June wages that where paid for by thea(she did say the wages would be paid), has enabled cowboy bill to go on his cruise hopefully to the Bermuda Triangle.

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Dutchgull » 25 Jun 2015, 18:58

Mattpuma wrote:Now the full extent of the disaster of her and Bill Philips reign is coming to our attention do you still propose she be feted. The club was brought to its knees by their bungled management and appointment of a vanity manager who clearly wasnt up to the job. The only round of applause required is for the brave souls who have stepped in to save the club and sort out the disgraceful mess it was left in. From the verge of League 1 to just outside the Conference relegation zone in a handful of years, yes we should be SO thankful. The writing was on the wall when following our truly disastrous relegation, the party line was "as long as we can enjoy the football thats all that matters". Inept investment is worse than no investment as it brings a false sense of security and a laissez-faire attitude to budgetry controls.
Thank heavens we now have a board who are trying to run the club in a professional basis and I can look forward to renewing my season ticket with confidence that the club isnt being flushed down the drain.
:goodpost: :goodpost:

Thea steps down with immediate effect

by Mattpuma » 25 Jun 2015, 18:17

Now the full extent of the disaster of her and Bill Philips reign is coming to our attention do you still propose she be feted. The club was brought to its knees by their bungled management and appointment of a vanity manager who clearly wasnt up to the job. The only round of applause required is for the brave souls who have stepped in to save the club and sort out the disgraceful mess it was left in. From the verge of League 1 to just outside the Conference relegation zone in a handful of years, yes we should be SO thankful. The writing was on the wall when following our truly disastrous relegation, the party line was "as long as we can enjoy the football thats all that matters". Inept investment is worse than no investment as it brings a false sense of security and a laissez-faire attitude to budgetry controls.
Thank heavens we now have a board who are trying to run the club in a professional basis and I can look forward to renewing my season ticket with confidence that the club isnt being flushed down the drain.

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