Torquay United Fans Forum

Wonderful news, a big "well done" to all concerned!

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Wonderful news, a big "well done" to all concerned!

our training ground was one of the only things that may attract players to our club, massive disappointment that we've lost this. We're not an attractive prospect at the best of times, I can't believe it's actually got worse for us. Literally nobody will want to sign for a team that are training on random college pitches. embarrassing that it's come to this

The Torquay United podcast via the Herald Express shed new light on the training ground. Plymouth have rented for 2 years the 2/3 of the facility which includes a drainage system. Torquay's 1/3 is only decent when weather is fine. BUT after two years if our finances improve we could take back the whole thing including changing rooms, treatment rooms and all the things associated with a professional team. By walking away we say goodbye to that. The current cost was about 300 a week. Maybe money down the drain with poor winter weather but in the long-term a great facility. We are now training at Windmill Hill and various schools. A team with no training facilities will not encourage investors or players. Jumpers for goalposts?

I think FrenchGull you seek to be controversial. I sincerely hope so.

Don't be ridiculous frenchgull. Why on earth would you say that Dave Phillips, Merv & Val Balson (known to me), the other members of the Board (not known to me) are 'people of grandeur ? They're fans matey, fans like you & me. They had some money to put up front, enough to stop the Club from closing. I'm thankful for that. See my signature ? TTID. I ain't dead yet, & nor's my Club. I'm had many bad moments over the last few seasons, but the fat lady's still in the cupboard. I think the aim is to survive this season, get the Club SUSTAINABLE. What short memories people have Last season, the Club was being underwritten by Thea & losing impossible sums of money on a daily basis. This season is the pain of fixing that. I'm prepared to hang in there & hope for better next season; that's not to say that I'm not hoping for better this season as well ! We've got Josh Carmichael & Waide Fairhurst almost ready to come back into the team. Why won't you have a bit of patience & give people a chance ??

It's all a joke,torquay as a professional football club ended five years ago.The new saviors who "rescued the club" in August are nothing more than people who think they are something they are not and firstly they are not wealthy,they are people of grandeur.We need investment,these people do not have it.Mr Breed is on the same level as Mr Nicholson,hearts in the right place but both are stumbling around in the dark.Please close the gates and revert to playing Upton Athletic next season,most of the people have had enough.

Forever. In fact really good post. I agree with every word.

I feel very sorry for Dave Phillips and Steve Breed, if the pair decide to chuck it in tomorrow I wouldn't blame them one bit, of course they won't, they are trying to save a football of which a small percentage of the fan base are morons.

What the previous regime did was spunk £200k of Thea's cash on a project doomed to failure before it even started, hell enough people warned them, probably could have spend less than a third on forchess cross, or Abbrook farm Kingsteignton , even upgraded the racecourse for pittance, after all it's not like the club had a proper contract or long term agreement on Seale Hayne, could have been kicked off at any point, all very well the old regime saying we had a gentleman's agreement with the land owner, what would have happened if the land owner had decided to sell his land to someone else.

As suggested above, I should imagine Plymouth put the money to upgrading their section of Seale Hayne, hence why their section is useable and ours is under water. Our board have taken a decision to stop spending good money after bad on something they can only use in the summer close season, makes perfect sense to me.

Would any of us pay rent for something you can't use ?

Of course a full time professional football clubs needs a fit for purpose training ground, that goes with saying, but our club has to have what it can afford. The current board are picking up the pieces of a previous regime who spent a few million pounds of Thea's money on rubbish, hence why we are now, where we are.

Precisely. You say yourself "the good two thirds" . That would explain why the rest was not done by the previous regime - "COST"

MF68 wrote:Sorry Baygull. Before you praise Brian Palk and blame the new Board had you thought that the previous regime spent £200k on Seale Hayne and that turned out not to be anywhere near enough. If as a player told me this morning "its under water again" it would conceivably cost that amount again to get right for the future.

Any TUFC fan knows at the moment that would never be an option.

That's £200k on the whole thing, including the good two thirds that Edwards rented to Argyle and they are, as far as I am aware using quite happily at the moment.

If I was a conspiracist I would be saying that they offloaded the good bit and kept the bog in an effort to further discredit the previous regime by saying it's not fit for purpose, has been a huge waste of money and the only choice was to scrap the whole idea.

Sorry Baygull. Before you praise Brian Palk and blame the new Board had you thought that the previous regime spent £200k on Seale Hayne and that turned out not to be anywhere near enough. If as a player told me this morning "its under water again" it would conceivably cost that amount again to get right for the future.

Any TUFC fan knows at the moment that would never be an option.

Brian Palk is obviously very perturbed and upset about this move - and knowing Mr Palk like I do then I reckon he has just cause to be.

It was Brian who oversaw all the drainage work that was put in place out at Newton Abbot racecourse, along with all the refitting and upgrading that was done to both the changing rooms out there. He could regularly be seen attending to work at the racecourse at all times of the day and week. There were portable floodlights out there, all stored in a large shipping container along with all the training equipment and a generator.

He has then overseen the majority of the work that has gone into the upgrading of the ground and surrounding buildings out at Seale Hayne - only to now once again see all his time and effort wasted as the club decide to kick another training ground facility into touch.

At their current level of football they should be grateful for anywhere to train on and as a poster has already said earlier, it will soon be back to Windmill Hill or Torquay beach when the tide is right.

Thanks for all your efforts Mr Palk - even if the club don't see it that way.

SBP wrote:During the Buckle era didnt we use to train at Newton Abbot Racecourse??

Surely somewhere else is already in place?? I suppose we will find out reading HE sometime

It certainly is frustrating what little info and updates we get through the OS...

As many have mentioned, the club had promised better communication lines.

The way things are, they may want to just make it a live fee of HE updates

During the Buckle era didnt we use to train at Newton Abbot Racecourse??

Surely somewhere else is already in place?? I suppose we will find out reading HE sometime

Some great posts on this thread but the underlying problem coming out of the Club at the moment is that there are not "football people" involved.