Torquay United Fans Forum

You know us northerners Super, always trying to get something for nowt! :~D

i do love my fellow northerners "mad as a fish" threads................. 8/

i think that if it was to happen then plainmoor would have lots of fairweather, well off corperate tw*ts turning up.

anything is possible - wigan is the best example, and tonight for instance, brighton who lost their ground and nearly went under have played in front of 25,000 fans tonight - and that was against millwall! =D

I have always advocated the reduction in ticket prices in order to get more bodies inside Plainmoor, once inside they may buy some food, drink or a programme but i do think that overall Nickgull is right in saying that for the extra that we add onto the gate, it still won't be enough of an influx to really make ends meet on a regular basis. The cash from the extra food and drink that they may buy may just be making up the shortfall of the lower ticket prices thus we would end up losing money on catering and things ultimately.

My only annoyance with clubs such as ours is their general dismissiveness of the very people who make them exist in the first place - the fans. Torquay United, in my humble opinion patronize us and do not appreciate the income generated from the hardcore supporters who turn up week in week out regardless. As fans we are just providers of numbers on a balance sheet and clubs like ours that only have a couple of thousand fans actually keeping them in business should be busting a gut to make us feel appreciated and reward us for our support.

I've said this before but i can't accept that offering us kids for a quid or a mate goes free is somehow a viable reward for loyal supporters and makes their life a little easier. It doesn't even touch the sides. I want a loyalty scheme where you get a free home game after attending every 5 or 8 or 10 or whatever. TUFC is a business and it should be offering fans a real tangible incentive to keep returning to Plainmoor and to make life a little easier for them in this harsh economic climate. The fans then would actually FEEL that the club has a heart and the club cares about it's supporter base and understands the importance of my, your support. This idea wouldn't impact on the revenue of the club nowhere near than reducing ticket prices would and season ticket holders i believe, get a reduction overall for pre-purchasing which is the equivalent to more than a couple of matches at full price if i'm not mistaken. For the fans who get whenever they can and don't have a season ticket, this scheme would be most welcome and i urge the club to trial it.

Torquay United should not underestimate the power of reward, they make people feel good, they make people feel they are getting something in return for support and dedication and they are more likely to make more games than usual in my opinion. This idea is so simple and could be so effective, it would create a feelgood factor about Plainmoor and would make fans, many who have become disillusioned with the club, appreciate that the club are trying to give them something back and truly value their support. I feel passionate about clubs just taking the fans for granted and ripping them off and although i don't believe we are generally being ripped off by Torquay, i do strongly feel that their total apathy towards making life easier and appreciting the lifeblood of it's very existence - the fans - by offering us nothing when most of us have got nothing is on a Scrooge level and is really short sighted management. There are lots of distractions nowadays on saturdays for people to do instead of going to Plainmoor and anything that gives that bit more encouragement HAS to be tried.

So Torquay, give us the endorphins and give us freebies in return for support.

Indeed top thread Andy, I think our club has its pricing structure spot on, Hartlepool may well be a prime example of a club who have got it so badly wrong it is untrue just one look at the current League 1 table shows Hartlepool 24th with 9 points from 22 matchs, they are possibly fielding the worst side in the entire history of the 3rd tier in English football.

We did the £199 season ticket a couple of seasons ago, yes I brought one however as a long time full price season ticket holder of the club it was my right, however it does appear to have cost our club a small fortune, if our club was to reduce prices nothing would change our gates would not rise by enough to cover the loss let alone add to the clubs income, their is real apathy amongst the people of the bay, believe it or not I have met quite a few who tell me that they wish the club didn't even exist.

That leads me onto Torquay in the Premier league, it will never happen purely because this area as a whole is no hotbed of football if a rich oil barron knocked on our door and gave us £300 million it would not be enough to put Torquay in the premier league, the difference between us and say Hull City is when they started to rise through the leagues thier gates went up with it going from 4,000 to 25,000, if we built a ground that could hold 15,000 and were in the Championship not sure you would much more than 5,000 home fans in it .

I have seen Spurs, West Ham, Newcastle, Chelsea, Leeds to name a few over the years in the premier league and every time I come back and stand at Torquay I feel right at home, honest players, fans mixing with out real problems, players in touch with supporters a real working class feel to it, what football was built on and that has been destroyed by the premier league, however would I stop supporting Torquay if a mircale was to happen..no, I bleed Yellow.

Oh b,t,w yes you can go and watch premier league football for around £25 but it depends where in the ground you go the best seats in the house can cost you up to £60, also the bigger clubs can afford to reduce prices they have 30,000 fans buying programmes most have bars inside the ground so are selling beer directly to 30,000 fans aswell as food and corperate hospitality on a grand scale.Which of course us league 2 minnows don't have.

MidDevon wrote:I would love the club to try something similar to that tried by Hartlepool United last season

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... t-100.html

Essentially the more tickets sold, the lower the price eveyone pays. I am not saying season tickets should go as low as the £100 Hartlepool fans paid but a great way to generate early season interest and sure to generate some more sales.

At the end of the day, it could be a scheme, if well thought out that fans and club alike benefit from

It is worth remembering that Hartlepool revereted to "normal" ticket prices this year

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hartlep ... 5k-1268857

yes that is £155 a season!

So if they have 5300 people paying £150 for example as it says on there. That would make a total of £795,000
Split that over the 23 home games in a season 34500. So we get 2000 a a home game paying £15 thats £3000.

So on them sums it works out better off. So even if you charged a little more on the tickets. plus all the extra food and shirts and stuff we would sell. COuld be better off. So well done to Hartlepool.

If we ever made it to the Prem we would always be a team like wigan. We would never be able to get players on big wages and i doubt would sell out a stadium. I went to a wigan game and to be honest it was cheaper than one of our games and the actual day out it self was no different by going to the local bar then off into the stands to watch a game. I would never say no to that as it would be nice to beat a few bigger sides week in week out.

What ever league we are in and who ever we are playing i will always support the club. Would love us to be a championship side and have a season in the big time and if we got relegated like blackpool then so be it. For the moment league 2 it is and it would be nice to make the step up to league 1 within the next few years.

I would love the club to try something similar to that tried by Hartlepool United last season

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... t-100.html

Essentially the more tickets sold, the lower the price eveyone pays. I am not saying season tickets should go as low as the £100 Hartlepool fans paid but a great way to generate early season interest and sure to generate some more sales.

At the end of the day, it could be a scheme, if well thought out that fans and club alike benefit from

It is worth remembering that Hartlepool revereted to "normal" ticket prices this year

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/hartlep ... 5k-1268857

yes that is £155 a season!

MidDevon wrote:It's not just Wigan Athletic, clubs all around the country are reducing prices to try and fill their stadiums. The only clubs keeping prices sky high are those such as Liverpool and Manchaester United who sell out each week.

I would actually say it is Division 4 where prices are kept artifically high when compared to demand, few teams play in front of more than 4,000 at our level and those attendances are likely to stay low as long as other clubs offer better deals.

Seats are available over Christmas and the New Year at

Aston Villa v Wigan @ £20
Aston Villa v Ipswich @ £15
Birmingham v Burnley @ £16
Millwall v Preston @ £15
Colchester v Swindon @ 18

as I said previously I could add many many more...in fact almost all clubs have matches with lower prices than we have to pay for a seat.

I do not especially like what Karen Brady stands for but was fortunate enough to meet her at a business function several years ago when she was at Birmingham City. Her view was that you had 21 chances (or "events") in which to maximise profits at a football club and each "event" should be treated differently to ensure you maximise sales whilst maintaining your brand.

So importatnt was it to Karen Brady that she would have a day long meeting 6 weeks before each match to discuss what could be done, try new ideas and ensure Birmingham City was doing as well as it could at each event.

Many teams are starting to run their clubs very much in this way to bring a bit of excitment back into their club. At the end of the day if your barnd is so big (Manchester United) you have to make less effort to bring in the money than if you are running Birmingham City or even little old Torquay United

The bolded bit is a good point. However as sad as it is, it's better for the club to get 2300 at £18/£20, than it is to maybe get 3200 at £12/£14. Do we think that if we reduced our prices to something similar to what I mention we'd pick up another 1000 supporters? I think it'd be interesting to see. I certainly remember 10 years or so ago where we averaged 3200/3300 each game, but over that decade we seem to have lost around 1000 fans. It is so refreshing going to Burton because you know that you're paying a price you don't really mind paying to watch L2 football. I'd like to think that we could improve our attendances by doing something similar, but I highly doubt it.

As for the topic itself, I'd enjoy it for a year I think, but no more than that. I'd like to think the Championship is a realistic aim though, much in the same ilk that Scunny and Colchester enjoyed a period there.

A great discussion Andy and some good responses so far even if I don't entirely agree with some of the opinions.

I would like to ask those who would not be happy if the mighty gulls soared to the Premier League whether it is a dislike of the Premier League as a whole or what you think it could do to those who run our club?

Surely if our club stays true to its routes and loyal to the fans who have supported them for so long (by offerring discounted season tickets to those that had them for previous season, for example) then surely we could become a beacon for small, well-run clubs all over the country. Much like Blackpool did. Holloway's men went into the Premier League with their fairly small ground and football league journeymen and tried to attack anyone who came to play them. The fans were just happy to be there. Wouldn't you be?

It's not just Wigan Athletic, clubs all around the country are reducing prices to try and fill their stadiums. The only clubs keeping prices sky high are those such as Liverpool and Manchaester United who sell out each week.

I would actually say it is Division 4 where prices are kept artifically high when compared to demand, few teams play in front of more than 4,000 at our level and those attendances are likely to stay low as long as other clubs offer better deals.

Seats are available over Christmas and the New Year at

Aston Villa v Wigan @ £20
Aston Villa v Ipswich @ £15
Birmingham v Burnley @ £16
Millwall v Preston @ £15
Colchester v Swindon @ 18

as I said previously I could add many many more...in fact almost all clubs have matches with lower prices than we have to pay for a seat.

I do not especially like what Karen Brady stands for but was fortunate enough to meet her at a business function several years ago when she was at Birmingham City. Her view was that you had 21 chances (or "events") in which to maximise profits at a football club and each "event" should be treated differently to ensure you maximise sales whilst maintaining your brand.

So importatnt was it to Karen Brady that she would have a day long meeting 6 weeks before each match to discuss what could be done, try new ideas and ensure Birmingham City was doing as well as it could at each event.

Many teams are starting to run their clubs very much in this way to bring a bit of excitment back into their club. At the end of the day if your barnd is so big (Manchester United) you have to make less effort to bring in the money than if you are running Birmingham City or even little old Torquay United

With regards to season ticket pricing, a bloke was telling me his Wigan season ticket cost him £240. I am sure we are dearer than that. So not all PL clubs are rip off merchants. But I still hate the PL. But whilst people are still prepared to pay stupid ammounts to go games(wigan excluded!) And continue to pay sky for subscription to sky sports, clubs will not change. What we need is for 1 of the big 6 to go under and let's see how that would change things, if Roman was to leave Chelsea, which is quite feasible what would they do?

Anyway going back to original post question, it has to be a dream for us gulls, it just won't happen. We would need a new ground, bigger Fan base and Money. I would rather we get playoffs every year and see what they bring

Ticket pricing higher up the leagues is something of an urban myth. You can actually watch higher league football at much less than the cost of a ticket at Plainmoor

Whenever I speak about Torquay to friends who watch other teams they are always surprised at how much it costs to get in.

Wigan Athletic for example are only charging £25 to see the home match againt Arsenal, £20 for the home match against Sunderland and just £10 for the FA CUP match against Bournmouth

Coventry v Shrewsbury is £18

Blackburn v Bristol City (2 Championship sides in the FA CUP) is just £10

There are many many other examples of teams trying to fill their stadiums


....OK Torquay is isolated, but perhaps pricing continues to be a major reason why the ground is only 1/3rd full most of the season.

I am more than happy for the premier league to get a bashing, but fans in league 2 are probably treated worse than most premiership supporters in terms of value.

brooker wrote:i look forward to football weekends more than almost anything else in my life. Its not just the 90 mins on the pop, its getting a hello from various people in boots, meeting up with mates for a pint and a chat about United, and a bag of cardboard chips that tastes more of nostalgia than potato.

The worst scenario for me would be not being able to afford a season ticket, and having to enter a lottery to get into a game. How can you feel like a true supporter of a club when you can't get into the ground because some rich d**k has arranged a corporate day out for members of his company who are there for the a la carte menu and champagne, don't know the offside rule, will only see the last twenty of the second half, and will alert a steward because some bled dry working class man on the other side of an aisle said bugger?

I also would dread to be stuck in row z-bb, miles away from the action, losing all notion of the physical element of the game, and having to keep an eye on the big screen to see which yellow speck hit the ball in the net. In a smaller ground you almost feel like you're affecting the game, spurring on your boys, winding up the opposition players, and celebrating a goal only yards away from the scorer.
Getting promoted is obviously a great feeling, it's the main aim of a successful team and can be an awesome way to finish a season, but by no means is the be all and end all. A season of football is great because of the individual matches throughout the duration, (some great and some god-awful) and not because of the final league position of the team in May.
It's great to see us in contention every year, and some of the tail end games of the last couple of seasons have been hugely fun, but if Torquay are still in League 2 for the next twenty years, I'l still be here, still be able to afford to see my team (let's hope at least!), and ultimately still be a pretty happy Gull.

Top comment.

I particularly like your reference to the small size of the stadium and the proximity to the pitch. You feel like you can affect the action - I know in reality the effect may be minimal - but I just like yelling at an opposition corner-taker! Banter between the players and fans if also great at our level with less (not none) mindless idiots that throw stuff onto the pitch and punch goalkeepers.

For example I loved in the Aldershot game earlier this year when Guy Branston went down under a challenge and took some stick from the pop side and then proceeded to approach them and 'rev them up' by acting as their conductor and making them louder. Good, light-hearted banter between a former player and the fans that once applauded him. If any Premier League player tried to do this against a former club I am certain all manor of objects would be hurled in his direction and there would be an inquest as to why the fans threw objects and why the player approached them.

i look forward to football weekends more than almost anything else in my life. Its not just the 90 mins on the pop, its getting a hello from various people in boots, meeting up with mates for a pint and a chat about United, and a bag of cardboard chips that tastes more of nostalgia than potato.

The worst scenario for me would be not being able to afford a season ticket, and having to enter a lottery to get into a game. How can you feel like a true supporter of a club when you can't get into the ground because some rich d**k has arranged a corporate day out for members of his company who are there for the a la carte menu and champagne, don't know the offside rule, will only see the last twenty of the second half, and will alert a steward because some bled dry working class man on the other side of an aisle said bugger?

I also would dread to be stuck in row z-bb, miles away from the action, losing all notion of the physical element of the game, and having to keep an eye on the big screen to see which yellow speck hit the ball in the net. In a smaller ground you almost feel like you're affecting the game, spurring on your boys, winding up the opposition players, and celebrating a goal only yards away from the scorer.
Getting promoted is obviously a great feeling, it's the main aim of a successful team and can be an awesome way to finish a season, but by no means is the be all and end all. A season of football is great because of the individual matches throughout the duration, (some great and some god-awful) and not because of the final league position of the team in May.
It's great to see us in contention every year, and some of the tail end games of the last couple of seasons have been hugely fun, but if Torquay are still in League 2 for the next twenty years, I'l still be here, still be able to afford to see my team (let's hope at least!), and ultimately still be a pretty happy Gull.

Some good responses. I too side with the reverse snobbery idea that premiership fans are to be pitied, as they are being taken for mugs, and fleeced by corporate greed.

I much prefer being taken for a mug by local businessmen and being relieved of more modest amounts.

Little do they realise that I know that they know that I am a mug, and that I’m going to keep supporting TUFC anyway... Serves them right!