Torquay United Fans Forum

Davie Caldwell,loved you as a footballer not too sure about your thoughts and observations on the football business side of things,Glad you have made a stab at business but so have others on here so don't need to be told the obvious.Football is a business unfortunately it's unsustainable in Torquay a bit like Marks and Spencer opening up in Holesworthy.

Makes very good sense your comments, for the record your right, its a huge challenge to build a football club as a business, that's why I don't tend to be too harsh on any regime as I know its difficult. You would be surprised how close football relates to day to day business, as a business manager for a larger PLC and now business owner I know better than most form experience where clubs go wrong.

Revenue streams and realistic budgets are the key to success at a modern day club, being creative in how you bring in peripheral revenues can help you generate higher revenue income.

A great correlation is between players and sales people, if you sales people don't sell, revenue streams drop, top sales people cost money, but they deliver more profit, but you don't have the budget to employ them! With Chelsea as a current example its all about the players and the dynamics, but the problem with getting this right is you need to get more than one dynamic right, ultimately you need to get the right players who will respond to your managerial style, you need to get the best out of these players so they over achieve.

Its a real challenge and you need to get good people around you and make good informed decisions, there will be a lack of trust at the club at the moment, pressure will add to this, but they need to get as much professional help as possible as its not easy.

DC

[quote="Neal"]MB was hated in the last few years of his tenure. A lot of fans couldn't wait to see the back of him. They won't admit it now though! Football fans always know best, and are quick to insult and have a go. But very rarely admit when they are wrong. He ran this club within its means at the time and argued on forums actually that its no business and its not investing, its throwing money down the drain. He was slated for having no ambition, what the fxck does that mean, well it means donating loads a money with no guarantee of success, non at all. What pisses me off is people on forums who act as if they could do better, and most of them havnt been over successful themselves OR they would "invest" themselves, but they can't because they haven't been successfull.

The current board do not have millions to chuck away. I knew this when they took over and so did you lot! The club will almost probably go down another division. So be it! In today's football hierarchy that's where we are.

Why don't some of you take up a sport, and see how bloody hard it is to win anything! It is bloody hard!!![/quote]

MB was hated in the last few years of his tenure. A lot of fans couldn't wait to see the back of him. They won't admit it now though! Football fans always know best, and are quick to insult and have a go. But very rarely admit when they are wrong. He ran this club within its means at the time and argued on forums actually that its no business and its not investing, its throwing money down the drain. He was slated for having no ambition, what the fxck does that mean, well it means donating loads a money with no guarantee of success, non at all. What pisses me off is people on forums who act as if they could do better, and most of them havnt been over successful themselves OR they would "invest" themselves, but they can't because they haven't been successfull.

The current board do not have millions to chuck away. I knew this when they took over and so did you lot! The club will almost probably go down another division. So be it! In today's football hierarchy that's where we are.

Why don't some of you take up a sport, and see how bloody hard it is to win anything! It is bloody hard!!!

You raise a fair point about the sustainability of full time pro football in Torbay.
If teams were placed in leagues solely on the basis of support and financial backing we wouldn't be in the top 92 and therefore we wouldn't be in the football league. At best we are a top half Conference side but with the disadvantage of excessive travel to away games.
We have been lucky to have had two benefactors in the shape of the Bateson and Bristow families who have given us a neat little stadium. We could do with benefactor number 3 but we certainly don't want any investors who will be looking to get their money plus interest back! If benefactor number 3 doesn't turn up soon we may have to go part time and live within our means.

Let's face it , sustainable pro football in Torquay has gone.Many fans like me have said for quite some time that to run a pro football club in our area is too expensive,this present board has proved it as trying to run the club on the current budget is not working.Just how much do you think it costs to run a pro football club,what ever it is Torquay and the board do not have it,travelling to away games in their own cars,recruiting players from the sdl who automatically sit on the bench and are quite open that they have no money to sack the manager or buy new players.The thred of if you won the lottery proved the case as all thoughts said they would have to put in loads of money to just keep us afloat and as lottery wins are a pipe dream I see no one who would fork out the money just for the sake of it.No the present owners are not the answer as they are as poor as church mice in the scheme of things and can't or will not put up more money so there's only one conclusion,Torquay United RIP.