PERCEPTION AND REALITY

Neal · Post by **Neal** » 26 Aug 2016, 20:26

How many fans would stump up £1000 to be an owner, 100? Crowdfunder maybe? The privileges would be a rotating position on the board. A vote for choosing a manager. A discount on season tickets, but not free. Access on match days to a 100 club. Just ideas before some smart arse starts having a go!

gullpower · Post by **gullpower** » 26 Aug 2016, 20:58

fredisley wrote:
It is time to give TUST the chance to run the club.

Absolutely.

Punk football - read it - believe in it!

As I have posted before, the folly of Dave Phillips and the board is that while they are looking for sources of new investment, there is one sitting under their noses - TUST.

TUST may only have 400 or so members but I know plenty of fans who are not members that would invest in the club given the chance. I think a sizeable amount and enough to move the club forward and be financially stable would be raised. There are Gulls fans all over the country - in fact the world -(Brazil even!) - that would invest.

I have wondered why Dave Phillips and the board are so reluctant to allow TUST to invest in the club and have a role in its running. I can only think that it is because they believe that supporter directors would put off other investors/consortiums. However, supporter directors on the board would be the acid test for any new investors. If they were not prepared to work with the supporter directors it would indicate that they do not have the clubs best interests in mind.

So, Dave Phillips, please don't wait until there is a financial crisis and TUST has to be the buyer of last resort from the administrators. Give TUST the chance to invest in a viable and healthy club now.

tomogull · Post by **tomogull** » 26 Aug 2016, 23:32

gullpower wrote: Absolutely.

Punk football - read it - believe in it!

As I have posted before, the folly of Dave Phillips and the board is that while they are looking for sources of new investment, there is one sitting under their noses - TUST.

TUST may only have 400 or so members but I know plenty of fans who are not members that would invest in the club given the chance. I think a sizeable amount and enough to move the club forward and be financially stable would be raised. There are Gulls fans all over the country - in fact the world -(Brazil even!) - that would invest.

I have wondered why Dave Phillips and the board are so reluctant to allow TUST to invest in the club and have a role in its running. I can only think that it is because they believe that supporter directors would put off other investors/consortiums. However, supporter directors on the board would be the acid test for any new investors. If they were not prepared to work with the supporter directors it would indicate that they do not have the clubs best interests in mind.

So, Dave Phillips, please don't wait until there is a financial crisis and TUST has to be the buyer of last resort from the administrators. Give TUST the chance to invest in a viable and healthy club now.

By co-incidence, TUST members will have received a comprehensive and i would say encouraging report from this week's meeting between the Board and TUST. At last there seems to be some co-operation and agreement to work together - hooray !!! The thinking behind a new GRASS pitch with additional facilities at Nightingale Park are explained in more detail as well.

gullpower · Post by **gullpower** » 27 Aug 2016, 00:11

tomogull wrote: By co-incidence, TUST members will have received a comprehensive and i would say encouraging report from this week's meeting between the Board and TUST. At last there seems to be some co-operation and agreement to work together - hooray !!! The thinking behind a new GRASS pitch with additional facilities at Nightingale Park are explained in more detail as well.

Have just read the report of the meeting. Very encouraging. Fingers crossed that this is the start of a closer and more productive relationship between TUST and the board.

Forest gull · Post by **Forest gull** » 27 Aug 2016, 00:14

How can I join the TUST

hector · Post by **hector** » 27 Aug 2016, 00:36

happytorq wrote: I would tend to agree with you here - although realistically TUST probably isn't going to be ready for an ownership role any time soon. It seems to me that a wealthy owner/group of owners who is already a fan of the club could take over and lay out a plan to divest him/herself of that ownership in favour of TUST over a number of years. It could probably be done in stages. Buy the club and say "look, I'm not in this to make a fortune - I'll stabilise the club in the short term and then sell to TUST at a very good price over the course x years". That person could still retain an interest later on (say, 51% is TUST owned) but that's what I do.

If I had the money.

Which I don't.

Sorry.

The thing is, is that it has never been tested. There is this assumption that a docile, local populace hasn't got the gumption or inclination to get off their backsides to raise enough money to purchase the club. That assumption may well be correct but we do not know for certain until we try it.

I have no idea how much would need to be raised to purchase the club. Is it £1m? £500k? Or simply to repay the £30k x around 4 that may be left of the current directors alleged untouched investment.

Say it was just £120k. An average of £60 per supporter, if you worked on 2000 before any other type of community-wide fundraising was embarked upon. On a slightly smaller scale, my neighbour has just crowdfunded his own brewery and those committing to funding get something like a beer mat. If TUST looked to crowdfund on top of donations from supporters, I think that lower amount would easily be achievable.

What TUST is up against, are the assumptions regarding local fans; the perception that because numbers are relatively small, they would not grow; a football club that demonstrates disdain and contempt for supporters and would rather listen to Peter Masters; an unhelpful local media that paints them as an old-fashioned supporters club, fundraising for lawnmowers.

If the apparent 'supporters' on the board were not going all Napoleon from Animal Farm, on us and the media was supportive, then the right climate could see TUST work to gain control.

My feeling is that it may happen eventually. I don;'t see many other options, other than sharks.

gullpower · Post by **gullpower** » 27 Aug 2016, 08:18

Forest gull wrote:How can I join the TUST

Here you go.

http://www.torquaysupporters.co.uk

And it only costs 50 pence a week!

Do all fans realise that's all it is? Perhaps an ad on the scoreboard before a match and at half time would help get the message out. Any sponsors for the ad out there?

Neal · Post by **Neal** » 27 Aug 2016, 08:27

Mmmmmmm if TUFC is a business, has basically no assets, is struggling to pay its way each season, has some debt commitments i.e to GI. Needs investment to actually get through the season. I would say the value is precisely £0

SteveDeckchair · Post by **SteveDeckchair** » 27 Aug 2016, 08:33

I personally can't see why it would cost anything to buy the club. All that would be needed would be a bit of cash in the bank to cover losses and help with cashflow.

500 people putting in 5 pound a month gives you 30 grand a year. We can't be a million miles away from that already. If TUST ownership is a real possibility, then surely we can double that figure. In 2 years we are sitting on 120 grand. Add in the Torquay Fans Ltd supposed megabucks and we can own the club in a relatively short period.

2 years to put the structure in place to manage the club and hand over in stages.

I also think it would go a long way to proving the TUST worth and create goodwill with the club if they actually started organising events such as yellowfest themselves. 50% of any profit to the club and 50%to the TUST. Win win.

standupsitdown · Post by **standupsitdown** » 28 Aug 2016, 16:30

As a TUST member I'd be happy to buy a few shares but not if it contributed to a move from Plainmoor.

Forest gull · Post by **Forest gull** » 28 Aug 2016, 19:44

gullpower wrote: Here you go.

http://www.torquaysupporters.co.uk

And it only costs 50 pence a week!

Do all fans realise that's all it is? Perhaps an ad on the scoreboard before a match and at half time would help get the message out. Any sponsors for the ad out there?

Joined

gullpower · Post by **gullpower** » 29 Aug 2016, 08:01

Forest gull wrote:
Joined

Well done, COYY

gullpower · Post by **gullpower** » 29 Aug 2016, 08:03

Forest gull wrote:
Joined

Well done, COYY

Duplicate post (which I can't delete!) due to gremlins!!!

Plainmoor78 · Post by **Plainmoor78** » 29 Aug 2016, 12:11

SteveDeckchair wrote:Add in the Torquay Fans Ltd supposed megabucks and we can own the club in a relatively short period.

As mentioned on another thread by Dawlish Warren, TUfans ltd now trade under the name Homes for all investments ltd so I think we can forget about any largesse from that direction.

Post by **happytorq** » 29 Aug 2016, 15:28

ooob. I've just remembered - i think my TUST membership expired. BRB, fixing that.

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