Torquay United Fans Forum

Well time will tell im sure, and I for one will be there.

Fonda wrote:Yes, IF we're winning, our crowds will return to our 'normal' level of between 2,000 and 2,200 (bearing in mind away attendances will be generally minuscule. If things are going very well, we might get back towards 2,500. TauntonGull makes an excellent point which I neglected to - as strange as it might sound, there was a massive feel-good factor around our last stay in the BSP. We attracted an excellent squad and there was a buzz about our short-term and long-term prospects. It won't be like that again - however 'negative' it might be to say so.

that is a fair point. I think the reason being was that we had accepted relegation due to the situation we found ourselves in and it was a new beginning.

the problem is this time is that it could have been avoided. and I dont think that fans will attend to same degree again in the conference.

Yes, IF we're winning, our crowds will return to our 'normal' level of between 2,000 and 2,200 (bearing in mind away attendances will be generally minuscule. If things are going very well, we might get back towards 2,500. TauntonGull makes an excellent point which I neglected to - as strange as it might sound, there was a massive feel-good factor around our last stay in the BSP. We attracted an excellent squad and there was a buzz about our short-term and long-term prospects. It won't be like that again - however 'negative' it might be to say so.

I think you will find if we have a winning side the crowds will be around our average, as I said before people will come along to watch a winning team wehatever league we are in.

There is an interesting page on Salisbury's website highlighting ticket prices this season the the conference

http://savethemightyimps.wordpress.com/ ... et-prices/

ROADRUNNER wrote:We played our first game in the conferance lastvtime against grays in front of over 4000, people have short memories, there is no reason if ch gets in the right players and we support our team like last time why we cant pull it off again, if we stick together then it can be done. People will soon start watching again when they are winning whatever league we are in?

That game against Grays, though, marked the whole new era feeling. New consortium, Buckle, Colin Lee, the Bristows, even Daryl Batten as Commercial Manager - the club just felt brand new and suddenly professional and forward looking.

I suspect first game the crowd will be around 1800, this time around.

Fonda wrote:I think 'consistency' is the key to being successful in any division. If only it was a simple to find it as it is to say it.

well shane, we aint found it this season.

oh, hang on we have - consistently sh*t.

I think 'consistency' is the key to being successful in any division. If only it was a simple to find it as it is to say it.

The conference is all about consistency, Luton have found theirs and will be going up easily! Cambridge and Kidderminster again have lost theirs and fallen away.
You have to feel that with the likes of Nunenton and relegated Barnet being up there you have to hope for a successful season which would hopefully sustain crowd numbers

Fonda is absolutely 100% spot on as far as I'm concerned. Add to the situation the club was in when we started down there the fact that there was a huge sense of injustice amongst the fans that our loss of league status could be put down to the hugely negligent acts of Mike Bateson and to a greater extent Chris Roberts - the club had a great deal of momentum behind it to get back at only the second attempt. Sadly that simply isn't going to be the case this time around. We've got people in charge who care about the club but unfortunately there simply won't be the resources or the numbers through the door to sustain anything near a title or playoff challenge in my opinion. You only have to look at the kind of sums Luton - and even Forest Green have spent in a division which is as fiercely contested now as it was then. Having said that there are examples such as Alfreton and Nuneaton who have done very well on modest budgets but in order to emulate that the club will have to be extremely well run off the field. Sadly I can promise you now unless we are playing Exeter there won't be anything like 4,000 there for our first home game. I think we will do well to sustain crowds of 1,500.

Considering the recent financial news I feel it could be some time before we are able to be seriously competitive again. The most important thing for me is we MUST stop the slide which has affected other clubs relegated for a second time. Once that's achieved it might be feasible to consider a challenge for promotion. A big factor in this will be to rid the place of the laissez-faire attitude which dare I say it seems to have infected the club over the past two seasons. If this can be realised we might be able to look forward to better things but its vital the fans stick together and back the club in the strongest numbers possible.

Nice to see your so positive fonda, lets hope you eat your words, also nobody knows what our budget will be, people put 2 an2 together and make 5, I understand the negativity but it doesnt help, lrts just see what next season brings before we start putting the club into the ryman league.

It has to be recognised that when we were in the BSP previously, we had a sizeable budget (relatively speaking) to play with. Buckle had virtually a blank canvas (some at the time suggested having a squad of 4 was a disadvantage - it absolutely was not). Much better to have lots is spaces to fill, than lots if dross to shift. With very little unwanted baggage, and a hefty budget, Buckle was able to cherry pick the very best players at that level. The pro-Buckle element of our support refused to acknowledge the privileged position he was in at that time. But that was a very unique time in the history of TUFC, and it won't ever be that easy again. When we go down, prepare yourselves for a long stay. Our best chance of seeing league football again, is when the Skrill becomes League 3. If we're still in it.

We played our first game in the conferance lastvtime against grays in front of over 4000, people have short memories, there is no reason if ch gets in the right players and we support our team like last time why we cant pull it off again, if we stick together then it can be done. People will soon start watching again when they are winning whatever league we are in?

MisterOkami wrote:For the matter of going to see games getting relegated will actually help me.
I'm a Torquay who lives no where near Torquay, I live in Warwick (so a 3 hour drive) and the nearest League 2 away game to me is Northampton 50 minutes away, after that it's Burton, Cheltenham and Oxford which are all an hour away.
If we get relegated then I could go see our games at Nuneaton, Kidderminster and Tamworth which are all closer to me than Northampton (although Tamworth look like they're gonna get relegated, but then again Solihull Moors could get promoted and then they'll be closest of all).

Anyway it shouldn't matter what level we play at, we are supporters of the club, not the league.

YOUR A TOP SUPPORTER !

I went to the Farnborough Town v Basingstoke Town conference south / skill whatever it is on Thursday night. The football wasn't too bad actually, well I didn't think it was too far from our performances this season anyway. The players seemed to be able to control the ball and pass it to one of their own at least. And Basingstoke had some fast dangerous forwards actually. They also seemed to be well committed and Farnborough didn't give up even when 3-0 down.

However!!!!! This was a local derby and the attendance was 226. No atmosphere and how these clubs survive I do not know. In fact I attended more games when we were in the conference and I bought a season ticket (it was cheap then though) but living in Basingstoke I don't attend every game. And for me if we are playing badly trying to motivate to drive down the 303 is bloody hard I can tell you.