Clark Osborne/Jim Parker Interview

[MellowYellow]

Kevin Foster, the local MP, says he talked to the council leadership. All the council did was give the club a polite hearing and reiterated that Plainmoor is NOT for sale, they also queried how the club intended to finance any development.
In other words nothing is going to happen so stop worrying.

7 years since the takeover and 7 million squid loan investment all for one polite chat over tea and biscuits. Something is not adding up. I think we have lots to worry about. Something will happen. Either the development goes ahead or Uncle Clarke walks. Which is the worst of two evils? Will there be enough passion in the Bay to restart and follow in Tier 9 'Western League'' playing the likes of Nailsea & Tickenham FC. However, we will still be playing at Plainmoor which is what appears to count.

[gullsgullsgulls]

Was looking at the latest from Swindon (see link below) and the announcement from before Christmas that Uncle Clarke has found a new site for the Speedway team who have played at Abbey Stadium since the 1940s (now a housing estate under Gaming International ownership, despite promises to the contrary).

Clarke was very pleased to have found a site ‘only’ 45 mins drive from Swindon which he described as “well within our drivetime criteria (sic)”. To me this implies he would have been happy with at least an hour commute from Swindon to ‘home’ events.

I have had a look at a map of 1 hour drives from Plainmoor and it is quite a large area - from Liskeard to Lyme Regis…

My fear is that any site found for a new stadium will be in such an unpopular location that people will understandably protest and Clarke can then turn around and blame the fans for not wanting the new stadium, before walking away. Job done.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/spo ... -speedway/

[WainwrightGull]

Was looking at the latest from Swindon (see link below) and the announcement from before Christmas that Uncle Clarke has found a new site for the Speedway team who have played at Abbey Stadium since the 1940s (now a housing estate under Gaming International ownership, despite promises to the contrary).

Clarke was very pleased to have found a site ‘only’ 45 mins drive from Swindon which he described as “well within our drivetime criteria (sic)”. To me this implies he would have been happy with at least an hour commute from Swindon to ‘home’ events.

I have had a look at a map of 1 hour drives from Plainmoor and it is quite a large area - from Liskeard to Lyme Regis…

My fear is that any site found for a new stadium will be in such an unpopular location that people will understandably protest and Clarke can then turn around and blame the fans for not wanting the new stadium, before walking away. Job done.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/spo ... -speedway/

Spot on gullsgullsgulls.
You only have to read the link and supporters comments to know what is coming. Perhaps the new Stad will be in Portishead save Johnson on his travel !

[exilegull]

Kevin Foster, the local MP, says he talked to the council leadership. All the council did was give the club a polite hearing and reiterated that Plainmoor is NOT for sale, they also queried how the club intended to finance any development.
In other words nothing is going to happen so stop worrying.

If nothing is happening then Osborne will certainly stop putting additional funds in the club and no doubt seek to recover funds which will almost certainly result in liquidation. That is certainly something to worry about.

[SuperNickyWroe]

If nothing is happening then Osborne will certainly stop putting additional funds in the club and no doubt seek to recover funds which will almost certainly result in liquidation. That is certainly something to worry about.

If he did that, he wouldn't get anywhere near his money back....
And he won't want to lose any money at all.

[exilegull]

If he did that, he wouldn't get anywhere near his money back....
And he won't want to lose any money at all.

At some point he’ll stop throwing good money after bad. I’d be curious as to the attendances needed to break even if the club was run on a part-time basis.

[knightmaregull]

If nothing is happening then Osborne will certainly stop putting additional funds in the club and no doubt seek to recover funds which will almost certainly result in liquidation. That is certainly something to worry about.

For those of us suspecting there is no 'good' ending here this may actually be one of the better ones. The absolute key is the Council being strong enough to hold their ace cards until a new stadium is built in a suitable location and owned by a structure that doesn't expose the club to a Coventry situation (or sufficient funds are unequivocally held in escrow account to cover default) - ie. not giving up control of the freehold. Otherwise, as soon as Osborne has the keys, his plan will unravel and, as so many have said before, some ectenuating circumstance will magically appear so he can conveniently blame someone else for not building the new stadium.

In the situation above, we go bust sooner but have a local ground for a phoenix club to grow from. If macclesfield, Scarborough, Hereford, accrington, newport etc. etc can do it then so can we (not easily of course but of course we can).

I'm more and more in favour of flushing Osborne and co out soonest and hopefully ensuring there are 2 x losers here and not just the inevitable 1.

[Colorado]

Given all that has been previously stated, it seems that it’s not unreasonable to plan for the worst.

So what would be the next step in forming a Phoenix Club

[Admiral]

Given all that has been previously stated, it seems that it’s not unreasonable to plan for the worst.

So what would be the next step in forming a Phoenix Club

Here here, best to plan for this eventuality and hopefully never need to act on it.

Chester made plans quite far in advance, the club ultimately went into liquidation and there were boycotts prior. I’ve said it before, but if a fan-owned club had been formed in 2017 we’d probably be back where we are now without Osborne in the picture.

[TUST_Official]

It is about preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. A lot of hard work has gone into ensuring that TUST is as prepared as possible should the worst ever happen. We sincerely hope that it won’t be needed.

Much of TUST's work has been to research and prepare for the launch of a phoenix club including how finance can be raised in a crisis through Crowdfunding and a Community Share Issue. We have met with the trusts of other clubs which have been through the process and the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) can provide expert assistance.

For more information on TUST's activities visit the FAQ page on our website: https://www.tust.co.uk/faq

[Gull in black]

Like Knightmaregull I think that the council are key to this.
Talk of a meeting with the council is concerning because the sight of money to councillors (for the freehold) could be attractive to them so that they can splash some cash on the promises they have made.
The biggest motivation for councillors is votes at a future election. That why it’s important for TUFC fans to contact their councillors (irrespective of political allegiance) to let them know what is important. The council needs to protect the future of TUFC for the people of Torbay. This must be through solid legal provisions that protect plainmoor until any new ground is ready and ensures that the ownership of the new ground (and income streams) cannot be separated from TUFC.

[culmstockgull]

While TUAFC may own the majority of the buildings plainmoor sits on, they do not solely own bristows, DCC put in nearly half a million so the school got their tech labs on the ground floor so that would have to be paid back.

[knightmaregull]

DCC will form part of CO's plan though, most likely with them acquiring the ground - he absolutely has his eyes on far more lucrative land, rumoured that the College have some control over. He isn't doing all this to build on the Plainmoor hallowed turf that's for sure.

I've no idea who 'owns' DCC bit will be interesting to see if they come out of this with clean hands as well. As you say though, they are a key player in things though and so another potential blocker to any scheme that's afoot.

[Cheddargull]

DCC aren't key players in anything. Torbay is a unitary authority.

[swindon gull]

From todays swindon advertiser

Concerns over 'lack of progress' on Abbey Stadium amid council probe

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/new ... be/?ref=wa