Torquay United Fans Forum

Nice of CO to deem us worthy as fans of being communicated with via our MP. This update tells us naff all, other than that GI are continuing their development focused master plan, in this case trying to get key people on side. Hopefully KF is now not also about to fall under their spell and believe the spin and false promises that continue to be all that flows from them.

Interesting CO has time to meet the MP but not the fans.

The fans and the football are mere inconveniences to GI and we continue to wait to see how long the former have football to even watch.

[b][i]'it was no longer the club's intention to seek the purchase of the freehold to Plainmoor, other than as part of a future deal that encompassed the building of a new stadium'.[/i][/b]

So it's still the club's intention to purchase the freehold then? :lol:

Who buys all this sh*t?! :lol:

Scintillating and convincing plans for a new stadium will be drawn up and approved and even some preliminary work will be undertaken to hoodwink the council into believing that a new stadium is on it's way and so they sign over the freehold.

Then abrubtly the proposed new stadium development runs into problems and 10 years down the line still no new stadium.

I'm really hoping the council of Torbay are not this pig sh*t thick.

Get the new stadium built first, get it up and running and make sure everything from a legal perspective is watertight in favour of TUFC and THEN sign over the freehold. Common sense really.

Oops. Common sense? Council? There's no link there which is the worry.

Thought I would post this from Kevin Foster's Weekly Update for others like me that don't do Facebook.

At least it offers some off the field security - although its not going to matter much if we don't start winning.

Perhaps Kevin Foster could have a word with Clarke Osborne and Geoff Harrop about how to sack and appoint managers?

[b][i]Meeting With Clarke Osborne[/i][/b],

[i]Today I met with Clarke Osborne, Chairman of Torquay United Football Club, to discuss his plans for the club, plus the concerns fans have raised about the future of Plainmoor.

During the meeting, that lasted just over an hour, a range of subjects were covered including plans for a new Academy, work to bring additional investors\commercial supporters into the club, his vision for where TUFC will be in five year's time, plans for a new stadium and, crucially, what his intentions were in relation to the Club acquiring the Freehold of Plainmoor Stadium.

Mr Osborne confirmed that it was no longer the Club's intention to seek the purchase of the Freehold at Plainmoor, other than as a part of a future deal that encompassed the building of a new stadium. When questioned he confirmed that the intention would be for the club to own any new stadium, with a view to non-matchday revenues being used to support the club overall.

This was a welcome discussion and I was pleased to be able to put some of the concerns raised by fans directly to Mr Osborne. His comments on the Freehold issue and on an Academy facility for TUFC were particularly welcome.

Plainmoor's Freehold cannot be considered separately to a binding plan to build a new stadium. Its ownership by the Council is intended to ensure there is a facility suitable for League Football here in the bay and protect it. Any deal to build a new stadium must be based on firm business plans, delivering a long term sustainable future for TUFC as a club playing in the football league.[/i]

I posted on here what the business model will be, ages ago and I havnt changed my mind, not because I know from any contacts but just being logical.

Everything with the new development will be either franchised out OR leased out including the ground.

The "club" will own nothing!
The club will benefit financially from matchday hospitability.
From program sales
From matchday advertising
Half time draw
And probably one or 2 other things I cant think of now.

Ownership of the club, I reckon this is still not decided. It could be some local business men which would probably be the preferred option but it could also be a separate limited company with chairman but owned by the holding company.

The playing budget which is the most important thing will have to come from the income as stated above and the generosity of who ever owns "the club".

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IS! What will be the terms of the lease! Whats your gut feeling, best guess as we stand today.

Less than we are paying the council today
The same
Or more

Mmmmmmm I can imaging the spin when the above is divulged. "Look we have a brand new stadium, the people of Torbay should be proud of it, use it and enjoy it. The new facilities are state of the art, safe for families, great transport links and will provide the people of Torbay some of the best facilities football and non football that you will find anywhere in the country. Yes it has cost more than expected, so we obviously have to command a rent to make this viable." 100K a year please :)

And THE CLUB will own sweet f all!!

I heard something a little better than that but it would be silly to talk when we do not know the facts.

The proposal has seemingly moved from a request to own the freehold through to that request being considered in the context of a detailed proposal to seemingly now the matter being considered towards the context of a development package (whose viability can at least be considered it might be hoped ). The more that has to be tabled, which presumably has to take paper account of the assurance from Osbourne that the stadium will be built first, the better from everyone's sake. The nigheve suggestion first mooted that to give the club viability they ought to be given the freehold seems at least to have been developed into a wider requirement/ proposal. Don't get me wrong I still have no trust or faith in GI, particularly given their track record, but the more the requirement on GI to show detail the better. This is no victory or even a clear step forward to save the club but the more steps sideways GI are required to take the better imo.

So ... no change there, at all. That's what they've always said: they'd purchase the freehold as part of a deal to build a stadium elsewhere. What's new?

Merse there could be a change of views!

[quote=Dazza post_id=211623 time=1504295119 user_id=23137][i][b]They aren't just going to go away Merse. The angle is now materially different however and we need to cover this one as well.[/b][/i][/quote]

I'm not suggesting [i]'They are going to go away'[/i] ~ far from it. What I'm warning against is the naivity of saying 'the club' will own it without questioning who owns the club? It's one and the same person isn't it..........Clarke Osborne.

So what is the different angle you are referring to?

They aren't just going to go away Merse. The angle is now materially different however and we need to cover this one as well.

This is alarmingly naïve once again. Who owns the club that would 'own the stadium' Mister MP?

[quote=OllieGull post_id=211608 time=1504288120 user_id=19348]
Don't think this needs a new thread, and this is the most relevant one right now. But Kevin Foster MP met with Mr. Osbourne today:
https://www.facebook.com/KevinforTorbay/photos/a.543542602420557.1073741828.543502699091214/1421923154582493/?type=3&theater
[/quote]

Perhaps he's going to be the new manager. :)

I think that's a super spot Ollie Gull. Congrats. So that's how it now being played. The danger might be exactly the same but it's a significantly different game...

Don't think this needs a new thread, and this is the most relevant one right now. But Kevin Foster MP met with Mr. Osbourne today:
https://www.facebook.com/KevinforTorbay/photos/a.543542602420557.1073741828.543502699091214/1421923154582493/?type=3&theater

[quote=PhilGull post_id=211487 time=1504200478 user_id=142] [i][b]Over the summer we seem to have signed quite a few names that all Conference fans and a lot of League fans will recognise, a lot of them I imagine earning more than any new signing over the last few years. The fact that a lot of them appear to be crocks is I guess one of the reasons for Nicho's sacking. Given they have sacked him and are now reportedly doing a lot of due diligence to appoint an experienced manager it does appear to me that GI are actually spending a lot of money (in comparison with the last few years at least).
Are GI actually trying in their own ham-fisted way to do this properly? [/b][/i][/quote]
[b]
Well the fact that Clarke Osborne has an interest in so many varied aspects of business tells you all about his approach to owning Torquay United........like Mike Bateson, he won't be in it to lose money.[/b]

If it is the slowest of slow burners, one way or another he will turn a profit on the deal one way or another. If he doesn't get the freehold deal he so publicly seeks he will move the club on and to do that he needs to knock it into some sort of business like shape.

It might not make for pretty watching and it might no be what we want but for sure he wasn't going to tolerate the playing budget being spunked in the manner that it has been on the sick, lame and lazy.

Of course he is insisting on plenty of due diligence. Clarke Osborne does not know football so he employs Geoff Harrop and Dave Hedges to know it for him. They in turn are not here to be manager so they have to source that manager and a manager who will not spunk the precious resources is the number one priority.

To do that research, enquiries need to be made with the previous employers of anyone on that short list that they can indeed perform adequately within the budgets they were allocated in their previous jobs.

Nicholson's budget might well have been restricted and the new man's will be strictly limited so it is imperative that a manager who can operate on what he is given because the last one clearly couldn't!
[b]
My local Isthmian League clubs ~ Wingate & Finchley and Haringey Borough ~ both operate on the smallest playing budgets within their leagues and successfully operate with a Head Coach in one case and a manager in the other who [i]CAN[/i] manage on their limited resources. You don't find that calibre of person by sticking tails on donkeys whilst blindfolded or gifting the job to ex players.[/b]