Torquay United Fans Forum

yeovilgull wrote:If the club are serious about offering a Promotion budget for next season, I would look at putting some aside to offer a role of Director of Football to Paul Sturrock (if he wants it) to add some experience alongside Hargreaves. Maybe on a 6 months or 12 month initial contract. Less for the playing budget I know but hopefully what we did have would then be better quality and better prepared. If Hargreaves doesn't like that then he can walk away from his contract (without compensation) and leave us to undertake a proper selection process for a replacement.

Since the sacking of Martin Ling this board has made a series of very poor footballing decisions. We are now precariously balanced on the precipice of relegation to the Conference. Only those who still believe in the Tooth fairy would give us any chance of survival.

I for one, do not trust the Board or Hargreaves to bring in the calibre of player required for us to regain our football league status. They have shown themselves to be incompetent when tasked with the responsibility of recruiting and the overseeing of a Squad manager.

If we were to waste our parachute payment on the dross served up this season, I would fear for our Conference survival let alone any chance of a playoff place.

It was frustrating to hear the interviewer say to Bill Phillips that Paul Sturrock was an option and Phillips didn't deny it. If only...

If the club are serious about offering a Promotion budget for next season, I would look at putting some aside to offer a role of Director of Football to Paul Sturrock (if he wants it) to add some experience alongside Hargreaves. Maybe on a 6 months or 12 month initial contract. Less for the playing budget I know but hopefully what we did have would then be better quality and better prepared. If Hargreaves doesn't like that then he can walk away from his contract (without compensation) and leave us to undertake a proper selection process for a replacement.

hector wrote: So you are now finally conceding that Alan Knill would have taken us down anyway. Doing a good job with the cones and bibs at Northampton by all accounts!

Possibly but it is something we will never know. What I do know is that if he were still here we would at this stage of the season still be in with a chance of avoiding relegation. You know like we did last season with exactly the same manager.

I have though noticed that in my 2 posts in my exchange of opinions with Gullscorer I did not mention Mr Knill once.

It is your obsession with Mr Knill I am getting concerned about. The tablets clearly aren't working. Time for some counselling I think. It is a serious case so I think after about 12 sessions it may be necessary to finish off with a one to one session with Mr Knill. It would be painful for him I know, but I am sure he would be willing to help

It doesn't matter what teams he signs players from - it depends on whether the players are fit for purpose. So if he signs a Man Utd youngster in Rudge who never made an appearance. Cooper who never made an appearance or Danny Stevens from nowhere rovers who has made an appearance but has proved to be useless then its fairly obvious that these signings are no good to us. Then there was O'Brien,Wilkinson etc etc etc
As has been stated we were one point from safety when Hargreaves took over and now we are eleven points adrift that is quite frankly embarassing.
Our missed penalty last week was taken by a player who has been as near to scoring a goal as I have been sat in Bristows Bench for most of the season.
We get a conveyor belt of different team line ups week in week out.
If Hargreaves was to get us promoted next year it would be nothings short of a miracle.

Gloomy Gull wrote: Of course it's bloody well needed!!

The question is .......does Hargreaves have the experience/contacts to make the right purchases ???

i think we already know the answer to that.

tufcbrett wrote:I wouldnt worry we will be getting half of the Bournemouth youth team next season thats all of CH contacts.

Yes because clearly signing players on loan from Man United,Spurs and Brighton mean he only has contacts at Bournemouth...

stefano wrote: Well that is one way of looking at it. Another is:-

When CH took over we were 23rd in the table 1 point from safety and with half the season gone. Northampton were bottom 6 points behind us. A continuation of our points haul in the second half of the season would still have seen us down and two points adrift at the end, but, at this stage of the season with 5 games to go we would have still been in with a shout and may well have battled clear as we did last season and several memorable times before.

However we are not even in a battle now. We are now 11 points adrift of safety. What is even more galling is that Northampton are still in the relegation places but have turned around 13 points on us in those 3 months so they now sit in 23rd place 7 points ahead of us.

You couldn't make it up. It's Roy of the Rovers in reverse!

So you are now finally conceding that Alan Knill would have taken us down anyway. Doing a good job with the cones and bibs at Northampton by all accounts!

Gullscorer wrote:To be fair, if you're talking about the manager, there were two of them this season, and, to be fair again, the second one always had the more difficult job, given the situation we were in when he arrived, he only had half a season to turn things around with (initially anyway) the previous manager's squad, and very little to work with, and he is a rookie manager. But then, who appointed the two of them? At least next season CH will have the chance to start again with a clean sheet and to prove himself. I'll give him until November...

Well that is one way of looking at it. Another is:-

When CH took over we were 23rd in the table 1 point from safety and with half the season gone. Northampton were bottom 6 points behind us. A continuation of our points haul in the second half of the season would still have seen us down and two points adrift at the end, but, at this stage of the season with 5 games to go we would have still been in with a shout and may well have battled clear as we did last season and several memorable times before.

However we are not even in a battle now. We are now 11 points adrift of safety. What is even more galling is that Northampton are still in the relegation places but have turned around 13 points on us in those 3 months so they now sit in 23rd place 7 points ahead of us.

You couldn't make it up. It's Roy of the Rovers in reverse!

Like for like early bird season ticket sales not going to well then hmm. Manager plus budget to have kept our place in the football league would have been nice, to be honest I read that as, if the team our up near the top come January they'll provide funds for a promotion push, if we're not, what then ?

Maybe Mr Phillips thinks we will beat the drop and be gunning for promotion from League 2....

stefano wrote:I am not yet convinced that somebody who has managed to get us 11 points adrift at the bottom of League 2 in 3 months would be able to get promotion from the Conference whatever the budget!

To be fair, if you're talking about the manager, there were two of them this season, and, to be fair again, the second one always had the more difficult job, given the situation we were in when he arrived, he only had half a season to turn things around with (initially anyway) the previous manager's squad, and very little to work with, and he is a rookie manager. But then, who appointed the two of them? At least next season CH will have the chance to start again with a clean sheet and to prove himself. I'll give him until November...

Sorry folks, but after my first post the significance of that news suddenly hit me, and I had to resort to some medicinal beverage, having been overcome by a wave of combined euphoria and incredulity. Having at least partially recovered, I can see that a number of questions are being begged:

- So presumably this season we will have had a relegation budget?
- What's the difference between a promotion budget and a relegation budget? (Answer: at Plainmoor, no doubt very little).
- What other costs at Plainmoor could be cut which would possibly have any impact on the size of a promotion budget?
- At what stage during next season will this 'promotion budget' become 'necessary'? December? February?
- Surely a budget is a budget, and CH will need the highest possible budget whether we are at the top of the table going for promotion or at the bottom struggling against relegation?
- If CH is to get the highest possible budget (shouldn't a manager get that every season?), whether to go for promotion or to avoid relegation, shouldn't it be determined before the season even starts, so CH will know what is available for him to build his new squad during the summer, and what would be available to supplement the team during the course of the season?
- Why weren't we given a promotion budget this season? Or if we were, why wasn't action taken earlier to prevent it turning into a relegation budget?

There are other questions of course, as to how the budget might be used, and so on. But I'll have to stop there; I'm beginning to feel dizzy again. I must have a rest. A promotion budget! Wow..!! It's all too much for me... :sleep:

I wouldnt worry we will be getting half of the Bournemouth youth team next season thats all of CH contacts.

Gullscorer wrote:There's an article on the back page of this week's Herald Express (which is not as yet on the paper's website) which reports that Bill Phillips has promised CH a promotion budget next season - 'if it's needed'. And they'll cut other costs at Plainmoor to do it.

Wow...!!!

Of course it's bloody well needed!!

The question is .......does Hargreaves have the experience/contacts to make the right purchases ???