Beware what you wish for .....

[knightmaregull]

I have just finished a wonderful book by David Goldblatt called The Game of our Lives - The Meaning and Making of English Football. It's a little slow to get into but then goes on to give a nostalgic look back at the game of old and offers thoughts as to how it has ended up as it is (an absolute mess and sad reflection of the modern world in my opinion!).

Anyhow, the point of this message is that he starkly summarises the host of poor fans who have seen their clubs ransacked by rogues and thieves, promising the earth and then stripping them bare. A salient quote is 'the football peripheries serve as hunting grounds for the most venal, deluded and dubious club owners and directors ..... In an era of booming property prices .... Clubs' only real asset became their stadiums, or rather the land that their stadiums were inconveniently parked on'.

It then goes on to give numerous case studies of how these white knights have used various ways to get the land out of the club into shell companies under their control and then say bye bye or hold the club to ransom paying high rents for the privilege of playing in their own historic ground! The book tells how Chester and Wrexham 'were plain robbed'.

The next chapter tells how 'in dozens of cases over the last twenty years supporters' trusts have stepped in to try and salvage something from the wreckage of their club'.

I know this has all been posted on this forum many times before but reading this book and seeing in black and white just how badly shafted so many clubs have been reinforces my desire to first and foremost ensure TUFC survives and stays in the hands of people who, whatever you may think of them, are supporters and want the club to succeed.

To those of you shouting and screaming just be very careful what you wish for as the grass is often not very green on the other side, especially for a club like Torquay with low debts and a ground to call their own with a weak council sitting behind the covenant over it ........

[Gullscorer]

This forum is for fans of Torquay United - hence its name. I only wish some of those so-called fans would stop and think before they criticise. They may think they're supporters of the club, but their words indicate otherwise. Constructive criticism is acceptable, but constant denigration of the club and its officials is no help at all. You know who you are, and you would help best by staying away from the forum until such time as you acquire some positivity, and leave the forum to Torquay fans (.com)..

The rest of us will continue to support the current board, Kevin Nicholson, and all the staff and players.

[IanGull01]

Good posting guys

[Neal]

Excellent thread, totally agree!

[knightmaregull]

I had to dash out before I could really finish summarising my post but basically it's to say that for years we (or at least I) have looked on at numerous other clubs thinking how sorry it was to see them fall from grace but that it would never happen to Torquay. The sad fact it is that it has happened and our luck (because we have had a lot of it over the years) has run out.

For me the only way to save ourselves is to ensure that fan ownership happens before any property vulture gets their claws in. I'd encourage everyone to join TUST and the recent communications from TUST have been encouraging and I hope Steve Breed etc do all they can to come up with an ownership structure that protects the future of the club even if it means they have to take more of a back seat.

The attendances we have had in recent weeks have been staggering all things considered and that alone gives me hope that we can rebuild and regroup even if / when we get relegated and then mount a more professional attack on promotion back to the league over the next few years.

Personally I shall be praying not to see any headlines about any (supposedly) rich individuals coming in to 'save' us as there's absolutely zero reason why anyone with any notion of sense would do so without ulterior motives. The ONLY way out of this is as a group and I just hope the current board remember that, stick to their guns and ignore all the haters on here who (in my view) are either lacking in sense or have ulterior motives.

[wivelgull]

Knightmaregull! Join the select list of great contributors' names.