Conference 14/15

[tomogull]

Having written the above I must admit that there is a natural progresion in life,nothing stays the same,I now have a TV,computer ,washing machine and god knows what,as a kid I had a football and at home a wireless so thank goodness everything changes,who remembers Torquay playing Grimsby,Southport,Darlington,Wrexham,Aldershot,Bradford p a,Workington, Gateshead,Barrow,Chester,Halifax,Lincoln,Stockport.
So you see teams come and teams go,new teams like Crawly,Stevenage,Fleetwood,Burton and the most successful Peterbourgh have stayed in the league,I only hope Torquay get back as soon as possible and do not become permanently down amongst the dead men .Good luck to Eastleigh,but not too much..

Very true, Frenchgull. But teams come back. How long were Mansfield in the Conference and Newport disappeared into goodness knows where for several seasons. Next season, Luton and Cambridge are returning after several seasons in the wilderness and Grimsby, Gateshead and Halifax were on the brink. So here's hoping for the Gulls return ...... and rather quicker than Newport, or even Luton !

[brucie]

What I don't understand is why people are so jealous of Eastleigh. They may have signed Midson and Constable but do we really know that Eastleigh "outbid" us for Midson.
It all depends on how much they are paying the duo really. If they are paying them more than they are actually worth then they clearly are not good signings at all.
Then again look at McAlister and Fleetwood. McAlister was rejected by us when Exeter got rid. Basically he is a complete carthorse.
And why has Fleetwood been playing at such a low level. Neither of player would be looked at by us.
In fact even with all our transfer listed players we have got a stronger squad than they have.
Compare Pearce to Chris Todd - Pearce is five classes better than Todd.
In fact put Constable or Midson up against Pearce and neither forward would get a kick.
Ok perhaps Pearce will sign for Eastleigh next week and they will offer pay him five million a week, and then you would start to say that Eastleigh might win the league.
As it stands though it s gonna take more than the signing of two bog average league 2 forwards to that.

[brucie]

And perhaps to put it into perspective during last seasons promotion winning season Eastleigh were beaten by ahem Basingstoke,Whitechurch United (whoever they are),Ebbsfleet,Oxford City,Tonbridge Angels (goal from one Shamir Goodwin), Weston Super Mare,Concord Rangers and Boreham Wood.

[ferrarilover]

What I don't understand is why people are so jealous of Eastleigh.

Not jealous, so much as envious. We haven't got a pot to piss in, they've got more money than they know what to do with. If you lived on the street, eating rat shit from behind the wheelie bins near Waitrose, would you not feel envious of the people turning up to do their shopping in their Range Rovers and Jaguars?

They may have signed Midson and Constable but do we really know that Eastleigh "outbid" us for Midson.

They outbid us for both. Believe it or don't doesn't alter it's truth.

It all depends on how much they are paying the duo really. If they are paying them more than they are actually worth then they clearly are not good signings at all.

Not much more than we're paying Hawley. Value is relative. Between them, they'll earn as near as makes no difference what Hawley, Benyon and Chaps will combined. Which would you rather have?

Compare Pearce to Chris Todd - Pearce is five classes better than Todd.

They conceded 40 goals last season. We conceded 66. You are right, Pearce is much better than Todd, but that's a bit like saying that Hitler's fingernails were more neatly trimmed than those of Mother Theresa.

In fact put Constable or Midson up against Pearce and neither forward would get a kick.

You have a short memory...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23644683
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/9 ... -v-torquay

As it stands though it s gonna take more than the signing of two bog average league 2 forwards to that.

We would be coming in our gym shorts if we'd have signed Constable and Midson, as well you know. No, they aren't Messi and Ronaldo, but for the level we're at, they're better than anything anyone else is likely to have and certainly considerably better than that which we will end up with.

I've seen the standard of football in the Conference South and it was no better than anything you'd see on Hackney Marshes, but you can only beat what's put in front of you. The highest position you can finish in is first, they duly did that and now they're spunking massive wads of cash on improving their side. I sort of agree with you in that there is no real reason to suspect that they'll walk the league. If it was down to budget and little else, Portsmouth would have won L2 with about 9,000,000 points last year, with Accrington coming bottom on -33. However, what they are doing, if nothing else, is preventing teams like us signing up talented strikers like Constable and Midson. It might not allow them to win the division, but it might just be enough to stop us winning it and that's really what, if anything, I'm miffed about.

Matt.

[hector]

Even in the Conference, teams are already recruiting for next season. Kidderminster have just signed Reid, who was playing League 1 football last season. It always feels like Torquay wait until the last minute, whoever is manager - apart from when Buckle was here. He always seemed to recruit quite early.

There has been nothing yet, to tempt the wavering season-ticket holder, other than the release of a few names, one of whom has already signed for a wealthy park team.

And what can Hargreaves do? His scrawny budget is already taken up with 8 players he doesn't want. The only interest from other clubs, in any of our players, appears to be for players we want to keep (Pearce/Cameron), so we could be lumbered with a squad of Alan Knill's deadwood next season. So it is going to take some time for Hargreaves to actually build his team when he is hamstrung in this way and another reason why ticket-season sales are likely to remain slow.

I cannot say the prospect of watching Benyon fall over every week, and get a shot on target once a month, is going to make me rush out and buy a season-ticket. I am one of the waverers. I hated every minute of last season. I have only seen us win twice in more than a year and while I like Hargreaves and hope he can do it, I just do not think I can bring myself to spend £300 to commit myself to watching the likes of Hawley, Benyon, Tonge & Harding.

The only way we can get rid of them is to pay them off and that isn't going to leave very much money behind.

[DerbyshireGull]

Even in the Conference, teams are already recruiting for next season. Kidderminster have just signed Reid, who was playing League 1 football last season. It always feels like Torquay wait until the last minute, whoever is manager - apart from when Buckle was here. He always seemed to recruit quite early.
one of whom has already signed for a wealthy park team.

And what can Hargreaves do? His scrawny budget is already taken up with 8 players he doesn't want. The only interest from other clubs, in any of our players, appears to be for players we want to keep (Pearce/Cameron), so we could be lumbered with a squad of Alan Knill's deadwood next season. So it is going to take some time for Hargreaves to actually build his team when he is hamstrung in this way and another reason why ticket-season sales are likely to remain slow.

I cannot say the prospect of watching Benyon fall over every week, and get a shot on target once a month, is going to make me rush out and buy a season-ticket. I am one of the waverers. I hated every minute of last season. I have only seen us win twice in more than a year and while I like Hargreaves and hope he can do it, I just do not think I can bring myself to spend £300 to commit myself to watching the likes of Hawley, Benyon, Tonge & Harding.

The only way we can get rid of them is to pay them off and that isn't going to leave very much money behind.

And this is my biggest annoyance other than ticket prices and Billy Bodin. On the face of it, that sentence says it all about the lack of direction and determination coming from within IMO. We're now in non league, watching minnows like Eastleigh overtake us and stick two fingers up on the way past, seeing players who we don't want and can't shift look like they could be here for next season, seeing other clubs get the ball rolling in terms of squad additions and seeing CH hamstrung by a lack of funds and a lack of action.

There's nothing we can really do about any of the above, I accept that but we then should be focussing on what we CAN do which is get something positive going around the club in the face of all this 'adversity'. Getting the fans to buy into next season and buy into the siege mentality. Yes, lots of it will be meaningless PR crap which I hate but it's a start. TUFC should be in everyones faces plugging the deal and getting us all to rally round together. All we have is silence and a 1940's alternative band playing at Boots. We still have the tin pot , loser mentality and until that changes from within as a culture then the club will continue to stagnate and fail.

So what's new I hear you say? Torquay have been like this for the last 100 years I hear you say. Well fine. It doesn't have to be that way though.

We have had Alex Rowe confirming quite smugly that Torquay fans are great and they will help plug the deficit but what we haven't had is anything that resembles an apology, a forward plan of action and some real togetherness and momentum now to get everyone pulling together. That is the big problem. The fans forum next month is a great idea if cutting questions are met with realistic and honest answers. I doubt that very much however.

The club has had nearly all of May now to try and get everyone on side in a desperate attempt to win back s/t holders, persuade waverers and to maybe appeal to the odd new one and wasted every single day of it thus far.

I don't know how it can be achieved but we really need a club spokesman / representative who is like a ferret. All over the place drumming up fervour, support, ideas, positivity, camaraderie and an in your face consistent presence for all things TUFC. As it is we have closed doors.

[brucie]

I do agree with alot of what is written on here, particularly the point is that we maybe hamstrung by alot of players who we cannot move.
I appreciate all of that, and of course Eastleigh may strengthen their squad even further - I havn't got a clue.
If Hargreaves cannot move players then its up to him to instill some belief and confidence in what we have left here.
I am not that concerned that a player who is now 30 who was released by Wimbledon has been snapped up by a team who need to buy a second hand stand from a rugby team.
Let me see the strength of the respective squads of Eastleigh and Torquay by the the time the season starts - until then its all speculation.

[ferrarilover]

I really wish running/managing a football club was as easy as you seem to think it is, Andy. I'd be chairman of Barcelona, Man Utd and River Plate all at once, while carrying on my day job.

Imagine going on Mumsnet and posting "Don't know why you lot are complaining, just sit the baby in front of the telly with a bowl of crisps, then you can go to work all day and have a good night's sleep too". It sounds plausible, if you've never so much as seen a baby, but to anyone with information beyond that, it' a crazy suggestion.

Matt.

[DerbyshireGull]

What's crazy is losing custom and doing nothing to get it back. As for what WILL bring them back other than successful football is open to debate but in the absence of that, at the very least make an attempt.

What is mumsnet? :Oops:

[ferrarilover]

And that's exactly the point. You're saying that the club need to do "something" then A) criticise what the club are doing and B) don't suggest alternatives.

It doesn't matter what the club does, it comes in for criticism. We're told that we don't make good enough use of the facilities, so we start to make much better use of the facilities and then get criticised for "only" having some "1940s alternative band". I'm sorry, we did initially book Aerosmith and The Stones, but they had other plans. We did also bid to host Froch v Groves II at Plainmoor, but it was felt that such an impressive arena might take away from the fight.

We've done what we can, we've frozen prices when what we could really do with is doubling them. That's a season of professional football for less than £13/game. What more incentive do you need? Buy a season ticket or don't bother. That's the deal. A saving of about £5/game, 10% off in the club shop, priority access to tickets and guaranteed places at sold out matches. What else do you want thrown in to make you turn up? Seriously, chuck some suggestions into the pot, I'll take them to the club and Chris and see what they say.

The club are promoting themselves. They have a website, three forums (all unofficial, but they exist nonetheless), they're engaged in social media, they have a regular and prominent feature in several local newspapers, they have their own shop and links with a national distributor, they advertise via hoardings, they play charity matches, they engage with the community via the local schools/youth programmes, they engage with local and national and international enterprise by entering into sponsorship deals, they attract non-football related income by holding wedding fayres, lunch clubs, conferences, quiz nights and evenings of music and entertainment.
Again, what else do you want them to do? If you've got any bright ideas (and I mean fully formed ideas, not just "do better at advertising" or "be less shit at everything") then pitch them to me here and I'll ensure that they're given a fair hearing by Andy or Chris or even Thea, if it gets that far.

Matt.

[tomogull]

If Hargreaves cannot move players then its up to him to instill some belief and confidence in what we have left here.

That I think is a good point, Brucie. I doubt that there will be much interest in 'cast off's' from a club that finished 92nd in the league structure but ....... I did not rate Ryan Jarvis in his first season at Plainmoor (although he never shirked a tackle so I liked him more than Harding who I have been very critical of this season) but Jarvo won fans over in his second season (2012/13) and was one of the few players who came through with any credit. Similarly, Ian Morris was having a better season until he picked up that bad injury.

Harding must have played better for Northampton when they reached the play offs last season and when Aldershot were promoted from the Conference. Tonge was a regular with Rotherham before Fatty Evans went there. Hawley in my opinion would do a job playing in midfield, sort of in Mansell's role. Hargreaves doesn't seem to rate Aaron Downes but he'd be a damn good player to have on the bench. Benyon - I don't know. Maybe playing off a half-decent striker he could get amongst the goals again. But again, he could be a useful player to have on the bench.

I know this is all 'pie in the sky' and my computer will probably go up in flames when Forum members respond. But as you say, it is up to Hargreaves to instil some belief and confidence ...... and in Harding's case, to show some commitment. However, at the end of the day, the minimum we require is one, possibly two, decent strikers, a play maker in midfield and a central defender. On a limited budget, it wont' be easy for Hargreaves to bring in the sort of quality players we need.

[DerbyshireGull]

And that's exactly the point. You're saying that the club need to do "something" then A) criticise what the club are doing and B) don't suggest alternatives.

It doesn't matter what the club does, it comes in for criticism. We're told that we don't make good enough use of the facilities, so we start to make much better use of the facilities and then get criticised for "only" having some "1940s alternative band". I'm sorry, we did initially book Aerosmith and The Stones, but they had other plans. We did also bid to host Froch v Groves II at Plainmoor, but it was felt that such an impressive arena might take away from the fight.

We've done what we can, we've frozen prices when what we could really do with is doubling them. That's a season of professional football for less than £13/game. What more incentive do you need? Buy a season ticket or don't bother. That's the deal. A saving of about £5/game, 10% off in the club shop, priority access to tickets and guaranteed places at sold out matches. What else do you want thrown in to make you turn up? Seriously, chuck some suggestions into the pot, I'll take them to the club and Chris and see what they say.

The club are promoting themselves. They have a website, three forums (all unofficial, but they exist nonetheless), they're engaged in social media, they have a regular and prominent feature in several local newspapers, they have their own shop and links with a national distributor, they advertise via hoardings, they play charity matches, they engage with the community via the local schools/youth programmes, they engage with local and national and international enterprise by entering into sponsorship deals, they attract non-football related income by holding wedding fayres, lunch clubs, conferences, quiz nights and evenings of music and entertainment.
Again, what else do you want them to do? If you've got any bright ideas (and I mean fully formed ideas, not just "do better at advertising" or "be less sh*t at everything") then pitch them to me here and I'll ensure that they're given a fair hearing by Andy or Chris or even Thea, if it gets that far.

Matt.

The alternatives Matt, although they will be popular with fans and make them feel valued, sadly won't equate to increased financial gain for the club on the whole but it's the little things that can help make all the difference.

I don't know what the club offer or give away on a regular basis and obviously they are not a registered charity but simple things like collecting tokens when buying a programme and after you've accumulated the required X amount then you are entitled to a free programme or free drink and pie at half time? Every X amount of spend in the club shop gives you a stamp on a savings card and when you've hit the required spend you get a free match ticket or tenner credit to spend in the club shop? A rewards card that you get stamped when paying on the day of a game and when you hit ten games you get the next free or even half price?

Get competitions going in the local rag each week to win free tickets and refreshments. Get fans involved in the matchday programme. Pick some of them out at home games and format some questions and give them a platform, make them feel part of the club. Print a fans section in the following home programme with the previous fans answers and pictures. Just get fans involved and engaged and anticipating arriving at Plainmoor with excitement as to what is around the corner other than the game.

Hey, I know these ideas are really just semantics and in the grand scheme of things don't look a dealbreaker but the little things are important to me and I truly believe they make a huge difference. If things on and off the pitch aren't going so well like the past 3 years then the club has to make efforts to make people feel good about the club and themselves in the face of general malaise and shitness.

They will be rewarded for it because people don't forget excellent customer service and they don't forget getting good value for money. TUFC haven't been able to offer good value for money these past 3 years and although you say tickets would be £13 a game if one bought a s/t last season, watching consistent dross on the field and mind-numbingly drab h/t entertainment and the like on a fortnightly basis for an entire season doesn't feel like a win.

It feels like you are being ripped off even though technically one may be paying a reasonable amount for what equates to professional football. If a club can soften the blow of weekly horrendous football followed by relegation from the football league with a lots of positive little ideas and incentives such as the ones suggested then they can keep the fans running the hamster wheel without alarming hits to s/t sales and supporter confidence.

I'm not for one moment suggesting that any of my tiny ideas would work but for me personally they would engage and provide reassurance that my support was not ultimately '**** shit' contrary to popular belief. I could go to Plainmoor knowing that regardless of the outcome of the game I was providing my club with income and they in return were offering me something so insignificant like a free pie but that insignificant pie would make me feel good about myself that I have earned it and that my club have recognised my continued contributions and support through the medium of offal filled pastries.

It's a no brainer.

The point about the club making best use of it's facilities like Boots I concede you are correct with. My issue is always the timing and inappropriateness of these 'events'. For example we lose a million games on the spin, Ricey gets abducted by aliens and we need to accumulate 50 points from 3 games to stay up and we get a release on the O/S inviting fans to come along and enjoy pig racing. Now I appreciate pig racing needs to happen but it should not really be the focal point on our O/S when what we really need is someone from the club coming on kicking butt and reassuring fans that there is no way on this **** planet that ET is getting his hands on our Martin. In times of great stress and turmoil and just when we are looking for leadership...................we get pigeon racing or some sort.

It's unprofessional and odd to be fair. I appreciate pig racing may be a great evening out, certainly more enjoyable than watching an Eminem gig and I appreciate it needs to be advertised but perhaps slip it onto the O/S underneath the main news story of 'THERE'S NO WAY SO LONG AS I'VE GOT SLOWLY FERMENTING SHIT IN MY COLON THAT TORQUAY ARE GOING DOWN!!!'. There's a time and a place.

The club are promoting themselves adequately like you say but no more than they should be. They are doing the basics. It's human nature that people like to feel valued and rewarded for loyalty. Making our fans benefit from both is the ONLY way other than successful football that TUFC can flourish IMO. Given that the latter is not guaranteed then I think speculating to accumulate is a good idea.

Also the emphasis they put on articles are akin to Government spin. They comment on the upcoming Exeter friendly like it's a coup. It's Exeter, they are a league club we aren't. They will take the piss out of us and we can't. The O/S article points out that we beat them last season like it actually matters now. It's a hovel.

Then they claim that the programme of pre-season friendlies will get the juices flowing. We have Yeovil, Plymouth, Exeter and Walsall. See what I mean about inappropriate. By all means promote them, I actively encourage that but to make them out as prestige fixtures is ridiculous. Ok so I'm being a bit OTT but you get the drift? I wish they would be a bit more realistic. All the games will be good tests but in terms of getting fans excited (so they might buy a s/t perhaps?) the journalism is appalling.

I'm probably wrong Matt and get brushed aside as not knowing what goes on in the real world behind the scenes at a club like Torquay but wrong or not. Relying on the standard of football alone for hoping fans turn up to Plainmoor is an increasingly risky proposition. And for what? The sake of a few free pies?

I know there will be reasons why most or all of the above can't be done so I don't really have any amazing ideas Matt is the answer then I guess.

[DerbyshireGull]

Anyway, it matters not. We pile into next season and hope everyone including myself has learned from their mistakes. We have to hope CH believes he has a chance of a play off spot and to hell with the small club mentality.

[cambgull]

Its all getting a bit silly,I guess many people think that there is too much money in the premier league and the likes of Yaya Toure getting upset because someone forgot his birthday dispite getting two hundred thousands pounds a week is ridiculous,I think he is a tremendous player but now but now I think he has the mental age of nine.Now this mentality has drifted down to our level,not for the first time I agree but if Eastleigh won promotion through good management and tactics,bought well from lower league sides I would say well done but it seems that they have a sugar daddy who is throwing money at the team,whether this is sustainable heaven knows.Should it be allowed,who knows,is it fair,who can say its not,am I jealous,properly,all I do know is that money is ruining our game and that the playing field is certainly not level.

I do agree frenchgull, but dear God, there are spaces after commas!

[frenchgull]

Thanks cambgull but you have to remember I am an old fart but Audly Park did their best.