Torquay United Fans Forum

Well I thought the club were playing us, and even though I've moaned quite a bit, if he can replicate the form in the loan spell, what a signing and another big statement from the owners.

Same here, those awful AI pictures of couples from 50 years ago and now, normally on the exact same bike, the ones people post of celebrities on their birthdays (although it's normally the wrong date, wrong age) and they've aged a picture of them from years ago, looks ridiculous.

Used to be photoshopped images, now this crud.

Anyhow, I guess the post from the club about some new player news was either to drum up interest or else they didn't actually sign for us.

I agree they have got virtually every decision correct, although not with the rationale of forcing parents and their children to move from Bristows to the Family stand or pay hugely inflated prices. If we get 3-4000 regularly next season, then there is enough space for full paying supporters in Bristows as well as the kids. If we’re getting 6000 a game and still not making money then something is wrong. It is totally unacceptable saying that ‘we all need to do our bit’ we already do with the most likely highest prices in non league football, on a par with a lot of FL clubs, imagine the prices if we get to the FL. It’s worrying that they haven’t said these current prices are fixed for the season after as well.

The Family Stand is inferior for its view of a game, people like to sit where they have done for years, especially more so if you start bringing your children along, again it’s easy to comment on things if it’s not your seat that they’re asking you to move from. I’m lucky my son has no interest in football (yet) I wouldn’t be moving from Bristows if he did though, I’d have to find the extra money and lose a little of my love for Torquay United.

On the appointment of a new CEO, as long as he brings in more money on a long term basis then of course it’s a great thing, just galling that we’re not yet breaking even and I assume we are now paying him the highest salary in the club.

This must have been one of those conversations where the owner’s business minds overwrote their football ones, do we up the playing budget, do we give the assistant coach a full time contract (I read he’s part time) or do we bring in someone to push the whole financial side of the club forward.

If within a time frame he brings in continued substantial increases in income then it’s a sound move that not only sets us up to be sustainable but may give us options like ground upgrades, transfer fees, higher salaries for incoming players, was Colin Lee’s role the same?

You’d assume he’d have projected targets and maybe a base salary that will be increased if they are met, and I assume his salary will make him the highest paid member of staff, but if he brings in the kind of income to take us to the next level then no one will complain. I think it will be very beneficial if any ‘wins’ he gets us are communicated to us as supporters like myself will moan that our ST increases aren’t being well spent if we don’t see results.

He has a great background, so hopefully this is a very shrewd move by the club.

Torquay United have coaches that come in at lunchtimes at the school I work, I talked briefly to one of them ( a former player) and he thinks it’ll be this time next year that everything will be in place for it to start working for us and not for Exeter City etc. He gets frustrated that Torquay begin the process and then other teams carry it on and benefit.

It’s such a high priority, as the money City make from selling players is considerable.

Confirmed new signing, Austen Booth................for Taunton Town! I thought he was half decent, but after a year out of football. I assume we'll maybe look at Lapslie if none of Wottons potential midfield signings happen.

I work at a primary school so get to chat to the kids that are Torquay supporters, one I spoke to yesterday said his dad will be renewing their ST in Bristows at the high new cost as they want to keep sitting there, his dads not happy about it but just doesn’t want to move. So I guess the club makes more money but they won’t get their wish to have all kids out of the Bench.

I sit there and I like the fact we have younger supporters, us middle aged ones and the older ones, while the teenagers, twentie somethings and more vocal ones stand in the Pop side. Just let people watch a game where they want to.

As a side note, please stop singing “stand up if you love Torquay”, my backs bad enough already and standing up, sitting down just makes it worse!

We all want the club to prosper on and off the pitch, but to hear certain people saying put up and shut up, ridiculous.

Our prices are not far off Championship, League one levels and we’re in NLS! If we’d been promoted then yes a rise would be acceptable, however we weren’t, this is more about forcing people out of Bristows for me.

We were getting gates of over 5000 and that was bringing in substantially more income than the budget they had given based on gates of 2000. If they are budgeting for gates of 3000 for the coming season (which we could have expected) that is obviously an increase of 50% and more in line with Boreham Woods budget. We’ve just been told that we are now debt free, which is amazing and I am very thankful to the owners, but doesn’t this now mean we have money to spend elsewhere?

You can not use the inflation line for price rises, our prices have been much higher than everyone else’s for years, we started from a sky high price to begin with.

The people saying stop moaning, how often do you pay to go to Plainmoor? do you have kids you take to Plainmoor with you ? We like sitting in the same spots we have done for years, our kids like sitting there and now the club are trying to forcing us to sit with the inferior view from the Family stand, it’s crazy how they want to push away the next generation of paying customers and are effectively punishing those who buy ST year after year, especially with some of the dross we’ve had to put up with.

They’ve already stated they don’t want to rely solely on attendances for their income, we know money needs to be invested, but to target ST holders and those with youngsters, the very people who help inject funds in the close season, just wrong.

We finished up with crowds of over 5000, all paying customers, I would have expected 4000 for our opening home game, I’d now be surprised if we reach 3000.

It only works out at £16 per match if you go to every single home match, I generally can’t make four or five a season but if you don’t get a ST then you are paying a lot of money to watch NLS. It feels like they have targeted the very people who went all out last season and paid for a ST trusting in a the club that had just one player.

We’ve effectively paid off all our debts and bought in a squad that finished second on a budget half of the previous season, I believe they based it on gates of 2000? Wouldn’t basing the new budget on crowds of say 2500-3000 already give us an improved budget, even including the salaries of Young etc.

I have seen chairman’s chat, they made a point of saying they don’t want to solely be reliant on fans through the gate to pay for things, then they do this.

It feels the guise of getting kids into the Family stand for the purpose of giving them a targeted football experience is a bit of smoke and mirrors, and more like they want extra paying adults filling those spaces and cheaper fans filling the less popular Family stand.

We have some very high prices already and to put them up further is not a great move for me.

Without knowing all the ins and outs financially, maybe they are investing in too many new projects too quickly. I’m incredibly thankful they saved our club and have pushed on, however what happens if we get promoted next season, another hike?

Well, for me the first real misstep the club has made.

They have hiked the already high price of a ST for Bristows Bench, used watching women’s football at Plainmoor as an incentive to pay it, tried to force parents and kids to move from Bristows to the Family stand (people have sat in those seats or even from the stand before for years, they won’t want to move and the view from the Family Stand isn’t as good)

A massive mistake for me.

I can remember the “Charlie Charlie Oatway” chant and that he was short, that’s about it!

Who were you expecting them to bring in?

Wotton did a fantastic job at Truro, he knows this league, he’s based fairly locally I assume, he knows Warnock (even if it doesn’t mean a never ending supply of loans, it does add his well known name to Torquay Utd and his experience for Wotton to use if necessary). Im guessing Wotton was probably not too expensive to prise away from Truro or was he out of contract, I’ve no idea, same with his salary here or for how long, but maybe it’s a prove yourself deal. He’s up and coming, the right age and experience, good connections with Plymouth and Yeovil. I really don’t know who else we could have got at short notice, that was available and fancied the challenge.

A fantastic choice by the club and the fact they sold the idea of where they wanted the club to go to someone who knew we still owed money, the budget wouldn’t be huge, and we had one player on the books as we entered June was it?

As for next season, I assume we’ll try a mixture of experienced players, some unknowns, maybe a ‘marquee’ signing from the names suggested, maybe look at Lapslie, Booth, if WJD has no interest from elsewhere, then if Wotton has interest in him. In our position we have to look around us, to Truro, Yeovil, Weston, even Exeter castoffs, to bring a player from further away we would have to sell the idea to them, as everyone will be looking to do the same from every club around the country.

In the future maybe we can start paying pay a fee if it’s justified, but we’re not in that position yet, we have to see what our ST sales and attendances stay at next season. Will the prices stay the same? You’d hope the 3000 mark becomes the new normal no matter the football on display although hopefully now we have a strong defence we can start to add pace and guile. If they budget is based on guaranteed sustainable income then will it be increased slightly? Funds need spending on new ways of bringing in revenue, maybe Plainmoor needs more money spending on it. I’m sure they are looking and learning from the season just gone, and hopefully we’ll hear about plans for the youth development soon, as the opportunity to bring on our own players will benefit the team and our bank account if we sell them on.

In my mind the owners and Wotton have got far more right than wrong.

Pretty much spot on and a really strong starting place with 11 odd decent players under contract compared to last season.

Mussa brilliant at times, but way too inconsistent.
Ash a shame as he somehow scored those 20 odd goals a few seasons ago.
Moxey tbh I’d have been happy if he’d stayed as a part time coach and player if needed.
Oscar, how he was a captain, quiet and mostly ineffective.
Zanzala a shame as he could hold the ball up, beat players.

Not sure the budget will be much larger if we’re still aiming to be self sufficient.

SuperNickyWroe wrote: 06 May 2025, 22:13 2023? Great.
Jeez, why dont you go back to 1974, when Darlo played us off the park when they won 4-2...???
And no I wasn't there - not that makes any difference - but watched it on TV if thats OK with you...

Yes because 16 months is such an age ago.

The point I was making, which you can't seem to grasp, is that Wotton built a side there in time that played incisive, attacking, free flowing football and I assume he will do the same here. He's made a side quickly that's hard to beat and will hopefully now start adding flair and pace.

I'm sure you'll reply with another well thought out positive comment.

SuperNickyWroe wrote: 06 May 2025, 11:32 Don't know which game you were watching....

The one Christmas 2023 I think, with Paul Wottons Truro team winning 0-1 at Plainmoor. They played us off the pitch and deserved to win by more, their style very reminiscent of Borehams on Saturday and although they only won by a goal, they totally dismantled us for 90 minutes and should have won more easily. Don’t you remember that one as I take it you were there?