Torquay United Fans Forum

There are a number of good ideas the club could implement if only they had the money. Advertising, marketing, sales and publicity, and just about most things, cost money, something the club has very little of at the present time. The current board and manager have done well to be where they are now, but, given that we have no billionaire benefactor, it has to be a long-term project; we must give them time, and support them all the way. And support the team on the pitch; having come this far, they deserve it.

Agreed, even if I'd received a reply saying, we've a lot of serious issues to work on at the moment, contact us back in 6 months time, I'd have been happy with that.

I know Stephen Breed and others from the club read the forums, so I'll out line the idea on here; summer youth football festival, look to hiring somewhere like Clennon Valley, it's flat has quite a few pitch's there, and room for mini-soccer pitch's as well, being the summer no waterlogging problems.

Time for either the end of the season while some players are still in the area, or preferably in line with, just before the start of pre-season when many players are back in the area, so as many players can attend, and club staff.

There has to be charge for teams to enter, (U8-U16) advertise it around the DJM (Plymouth) Devon and Exeter youth league and Torbay pioneer league.

Have beat the keeper, cross bar challenge, penalty shoot out's, at regular intervals so as many team players can part during the breaks between match's, 50p or £1 a go, have the usual refreshment vans, and bouncey castles etc, charge a small percentage of takings in return for the pitch.

There is absolutely no reason why the club should not make a little bit of money by running such a youth event.

It will provide the club a chance to scout any players not currently signed up to pro clubs, and perfect chance for the club to promote itself in a situation that rather costing the club money, while there actually make a few quid.

Remember each club that enters will put in more than one side, offer every single club that enters a chance of Saturday training session at a home game and tickets to for all those who attend to the match.

You will not get 100% take up of course, especially form those clubs from outside the area, but should be enough local clubs to fill most home match dates, and of course, a lot of parents and kids will only come once, but if at least 10% of those kids become new TUFC fans, and come back paying with their parents, job done, and then run the festival again and again.

This is low grade simpleton stuff, I invite the club to at least have a look at this idea.

I would agree wholeheartedly with MF68 here.

How hard is it to reply to a message? Even if the idea is a non-starter it's just common courtesy to reply isn't it?

This is what really annoys me about the present Board/Staff at the Club.
Ive lost count how many times I have read that someone has offered services/advice/ideas etc and "they never bothered to reply".

So so shoddy Public Relations

Keep sending input to the Club. One day somebody may listen.

Except what you're saying and fully understand, but TUFC also give away free tickets, maybe not at the same level, but there often kids in the family stand that have come in on free tickets, as it stands Eastleigh's fanbase is not as big as ours, agreed.

But if they carry on in the manner that they are, and I'm not just talking about on the field, off it as well, there fanbase will rival ours quicker than some think, their gates are going up year on year, ours our going down year on year, as a football club we're not doing enough in the community, I sent a message to a senior member of the club staff about a community football tournament, and talked about the potential to win over new fans by getting involved with local youth football as Exeter City do, didn't even get a reply, can't be bothered now.

These are the things as listed by SG that Eastleigh are doing, and slowly reaping the rewards, as more and more of our pathetically fickle fans , stay away.

forevertufc wrote:Eastleigh made their game v FGR free to all, but have only done that once, Eastleigh have a number of home attendances higher than TUFC's highest gate of this season so far, Eastleigh lowest gate is also higher than our lowest as well.

SG's point about Eastleigh's gates being comparable to ours is correct, and in all likely hood they will in future be better supported than us, unless, our stay away fans swallow their pride and come back to support our club.

http://european-football-statistics.co. ... eengnl.htm

http://www.emfootball.co.uk/attend.html

I wasn't talking about the FGR game, they apparently give out hundreds of free tickets every week as mentioned by Citizen previously in this thread.

Also it's not really a like for like comparison when they are having one of their best ever seasons and we are having our very worst. What would they be averaging if they were in our position?

The suggestion that their weekend attendance was hit as Southampton were at home hardly suggests that their crowds are made up of supporters in it for the long haul either.

They may well overtake us in fanbase size at some point in the future as they seem to be very well run and very ambitious, but not just yet.

Eastleigh made their game v FGR free to all, but have only done that once, Eastleigh have a number of home attendances higher than TUFC's highest gate of this season so far, Eastleigh lowest gate is also higher than our lowest as well.

SG's point about Eastleigh's gates being comparable to ours is correct, and in all likely hood they will in future be better supported than us, unless, our stay away fans swallow their pride and come back to support our club.

http://european-football-statistics.co. ... eengnl.htm

http://www.emfootball.co.uk/attend.html

Nothing to do with willy waving

Just noticed this mentioned elsewhere and thought it was relevant to this thread.

I know Eastleigh are close to your heart SG and fair play to them for what they have achieved but they do not have a fanbase at our level yet no matter what they may achieve in the future.

I think I read somewhere that their league attendances are artificially inflated by ticket giveaways?

We are having the worst season in our entire history and yet we still trebled their attendance.

Our attendances this season have been fantastic and our much criticized fans have shown that if we get things right on and off the field we have a bright future still.

Also Saints at home but lets not get in the way of the master pedant and allow him his moment........

They're also still in the FA Cup so perhaps the Trophy games weren't an ideal time to wave the attendance willy

Point taken Jerry. However if we look at Eastleigh's league attendances and compare them to ours, then Dave SG has a point; Eastleigh from 13 home games have an average of gate of 1,842, Torquay from 12 home games have an average of 1,727.

Southampton Gull wrote:Their crowds are comparable to ours, their clubhouse sinks profits straight back into the club, the stadium facilities generate plenty of income too, their merchandising is all run by the club, they simply bring in far more money than we do. They aren't paying as much as you would think either, and their sponsorship deals are also helping with that side of things. It won't be long and their crowds will dwarf ours. Like I said, their playing budget isn't in the top 3. They've bought their ground, developed gradually and aren't too far away from completing it. The next phase will see them build a smaller version of Bristows Bench, improving their ground in line with their playing achievements, it's sustainable growth, this has been no fly by night rise through the leagues.

Forest Green are a totally different example to Eastleigh, a club in the middle of nowhere and a club with a catchment area of half a million people?

We had a wealthy benefactor backing the club, when she left how well did we do? I guarantee Eastleigh would handle the transition a lot better than we have.

This weekends FA Trophy games:

Torquay United v Wrexham - attendance 1361

Eastleigh v Gateshead - attendance 453

Behind-the-Gulls wrote:Yes,and all this in the face of Southampton doing so well in recent years.Hats off to them I say.

I think that's actually helped. It's cheaper and easier for a lot of fans to get to see Eastleigh now all the fair weather Saints have come flooding back.

Yes,and all this in the face of Southampton doing so well in recent years.Hats off to them I say.

Give them a few years and they will be averaging over 5000, will you still be saying they can't sustain a viable professional club then?

Citizen, they do have offers for certain groups and on occasion have given free entry to all so you're correct, the real point though is they are building a fanbase and they have been for 20 years. They also, as you mention, concluded a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal, I alluded to that previously. Crawley/Fleetwood/FGR they are not. They aren't just sitting on their arses letting some poor bloke pay for everything, they are working hard to build a solid professional club. Scores of dedicated people working their socks off for the club and all singing from the same hymnsheet.
What's not to like about that?

Just to add to the Eastleigh debate they have just secured a new six figure a year shirt sponsor with a company from winchester which will go a long way to helping them go self sufficient, although I agree with the attendance issue could they survive on the crowds they get especially as they give out hundreds off free tickets weekly which I believe at the moment doesn't give a true reflection on the real support they have.