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Neal wrote:But why the heck bother with TUFC. Just goto the council with your plans and do the whole thing without getting involved with a football club, no it doesn't make sense at all.

Because even Torbay Council are not stupid enough to evict Torbay's football club and sole large scale community institution just for a developer to make a profit and they'd be more suspicious if the idea came up without ownership of the club being involved, so many clubs have been screwed over on property deals when their new stadium falls through.

Whether they could be tricked into doing so is a whole different matter....it's happened before time and time again across the country, look at how Northampton Council were fooled out of £10m very recently.

What we need now:

Investment
If what above is true a we are £250,000 down that's ridiculous considering the cutbacks and not being far off the 1800 breakeven target! Still not sure we need to pay a salary to a chief executive! Agree with Forever that the academy wouldn't be high on my list, especially with no matched funding outside of the league, lets get back their first!

Stability
Any plans to move stadium etc will take a few years, if - hopefully - these new guys are in it for the long haul whether that be for a new ground or not we should see some period of calm! is that likely - this is TUFC.

I'm not going to take any side until i see whats coming in and hear what they have to say, there's only one thing i'm currently concerned about and that's staying up!!

So a prospective developer needs TUFC as a vehicle to build what ever, cant buy that. With the list of problems and uncertainty involved with the club at this moment in time.

Likely to be relegated
Falling gates
Covenant
Land is not that valuable.
Losing money
Winning over the council
Winning over the fans
Winning over the residents
The time all that lot will take.

Just goto a nearby farmer, offer him 1million and persuade the council, much easier

Where has this £250,000 shortfall info come from?

I've not seen or heard anything like this anywhere until Mid Devon's post earlier.

When I said things didn't feel right.. Well; Gaming International CEO Clarke Osbourne became the sole director of RIVIERA STADIUM LIMITED (the name of the proposed new stadium from the American company at nightingale park) on the 22nd of March.. Does this mean Plainmoor is going to be no longer when the group take over? 'New ground' for us, Plainmoor land for them.. Hmm.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... 2/officers

The mystery 250k could have been publicly aired last summer. Wasn't there money owing when the present board took over in July.? Didn't they have to find a large sum then.? It depends where financial periods are measured from. I hope this is right - otherwise it's very frightening...

lucy6lucy wrote:How times have changed, we had virtual pig racing a few years back. Now we can soon enjoy live greyhound races at plainmoor.

Just so happens I have a rescue greyhound that used to race at Swindon. He failed miserably in most of his races but I have been training him up in the last eight months and now he can run faster than me!

So Mr Tommy will be ready come the day!

Jerry wrote: As someone who has been involved in the game at a reasonable level could you explain this?

I often hear of players being unsettled by off field issues but it seems peculiar to me. My work output isn't affected by any boardroom shenanigans (and we have had plenty!).

Do these things really affect a players performance? Surely once they "cross the white line" they are fully focused on the task at hand.

That's because the changes have not affected you directly remember football is a short career. A players life changes when a manager changes these young lads want contracts (security) next season. Very few want to move on if they are enjoying their season. Then there is the better players already looking to move if they are not enjoying it. At the moment I would suggest that Nicho has got a good team spirit don't, let the take over spoil it.

Bleeper has struck gold with his revelation that "Gaming International CEO Clarke Osbourne became the sole director of RIVIERA STADIUM LIMITED (the name of the proposed new stadium from the American company at nightingale park) on the 22nd of March.". This apparently suggests that there really is a link to the American firm who want to develop land in Torbay. Still, I can't see the development going through at all. More realistically, Gaming International can use Plainmoor as an experiment to see if an all weather pitch can bring in decent funds. They are buying the club for a relatively small amount. The lease is with the council so they can''t sell the stadium to a parent company and then charge high rent which is a tactic used by other buyers who eventually depart but leave the club with enormous rent on their own stadium Eg Oxford.
Perhaps the Herald Express will ask Mr Osborne if he is a lifelong fan.....you never know!

torq2u wrote: Just so happens I have a rescue greyhound that used to race at Swindon. He failed miserably in most of his races but I have been training him up in the last eight months and now he can run faster than me!

So Mr Tommy will be ready come the day!

Is he going to race Blindfolded with 2 legs tied together. or are you coming to think of it

Added in 4 minutes 52 seconds:
Well As I said. Its going to happen and like it or not this company is taking us over.. how long before they lose it and leave. ripping us off in the process. Sorry but I am seriously worried by this lot..its ringing too much of property development and not enough of real fans who care for our club or any club. I don't care how much he says he's a football fan. as far as I'm concerned that could and probably does mean he love the Premier League. I don't and I'm very wary of this Greek bearing Gifts. I would be more trustful of Greece asking us if they can camp on the pitchas their country is going to the Dogs.. ohh there is a link after all.
Ahh only little interesting fact.. Mr Osborne is a co director with Steve Hayward . a director of Newcastle united. Both Mr Hayword and Mr Osborne are Directors of Token Ltd which own Gaming internationl which own Stadia UK. wow what a convoluted way to run a company. so why would they have a company to own a company to own yet another . and as one is involved with Newcastle united. Is he going to as a director be involved in any way with Torquay united which means he will resign his position at Newcastle or not. I find it interesting that Stadia UK and Gaming international will own Torquay united while all the while only 2 directors are in charge of Stadia UK and Gaming International. so both will have an interest in Torquay United while only one has an interest at Newcastle. ?
I do so hope i haven't confused any of you there.

arcadia wrote: That's because the changes have not affected you directly remember football is a short career. A players life changes when a manager changes these young lads want contracts (security) next season. Very few want to move on if they are enjoying their season. Then there is the better players already looking to move if they are not enjoying it. At the moment I would suggest that Nicho has got a good team spirit don't, let the take over spoil it.

Of course they affected me directly. Loads of people laid off, relocation of the company etc. Didn't stop me from doing my job.

If they are worried about the future I would suggest concentrating on putting in performances on the pitch is the best way to ensure they get what they want.

Or are footballers really too stupid to work this out?

There we have it !
Groundshare with Newcastle !
; )

Glostergull wrote:


Well As I said. Its going to happen and like it or not this company is taking us over.. how long before they lose it and leave. ripping us off in the process. Sorry but I am seriously worried by this lot..its ringing too much of property development and not enough of real fans who care for our club or any club. I don't care how much he says he's a football fan. as far as I'm concerned that could and probably does mean he love the Premier League. I don't and I'm very wary of this Greek bearing Gifts. I would be more trustful of Greece asking us if they can camp on the pitchas their country is going to the Dogs.. ohh there is a link after all.
Ahh only little interesting fact.. Mr Osborne is a co director with Steve Hayward . a director of Newcastle united. Both Mr Hayword and Mr Osborne are Directors of Token Ltd which own Gaming internationl which own Stadia UK. wow what a convoluted way to run a company. so why would they have a company to own a company to own yet another . and as one is involved with Newcastle united. Is he going to as a director be involved in any way with Torquay united which means he will resign his position at Newcastle or not. I find it interesting that Stadia UK and Gaming international will own Torquay united while all the while only 2 directors are in charge of Stadia UK and Gaming International. so both will have an interest in Torquay United while only one has an interest at Newcastle. ?
I do so hope i haven't confused any of you there.

You've confused me because I thought you had evidence as to why this man Clarke Osborne is going to be a bad option for us yet you haven't given us any. A lot of companies use the layout you describe, hardly a reason to spread doom and gloom.

Yes the "companies owned by companies" thing is pretty standard and nothing in itself to worry about.

Just need to know their motivation. Surely they are in it for money at some point, so they have to be up front and honest about how they plan to achieve that whilst still maintaining a successful football club. E.g., if they said "our plan is to do a deal with the council to relocate Torquay United, allowing it to increase its revenue streams and become self sufficient, meanwhile we will build houses and make a load of coin in the side" then I will say fine, provided you don't use football club money to do it.

If they're cagey, give only altruistic reasons for owning us I would struggle to believe them and worry for the future.

Jerry wrote: Of course they affected me directly. Loads of people laid off, relocation of the company etc. Didn't stop me from doing my job.

If they are worried about the future I would suggest concentrating on putting in performances on the pitch is the best way to ensure they get what they want.

Or are footballers really too stupid to work this out?

I feel like this is a little too simplistic. A key difference in football is everyone is on a short fixed-term contract so "laid off" in that context will often mean that contract has ended and will not be renewed. Being "unsettled" doesn't mean that the players will stop doing their job, they'll still turn up to train, and they'll still kick a ball around for 90 minutes once or twice a week and try to put on a performance. In pure football terms, "unsettled" may affect things like whether a player will dig up something special in those 90 minutes, whether they play as a team or as individuals, and whether the tension might stop them trying the ambitious at critical moments. That's important because football can be boiled down to moments of genius, inspiration and/or luck. Our recent 1-0 win at home to Southport ultimately came down a to a few seconds in the match. Toby Ajala used a burst of skill to control the ball and open up some space to put a neat ball into the path of Dan Butler, who hammered a terrific quick, low cross in the box, which eluded the otherwise resolute Southport defenders and landed perfectly at the feet of Nathan Blissett who kept his composure just enough to guide the ball into the net. You could argue that the Southport defender who missed the cross failed to "do his job" but that would be unfair. And maybe if he had intercepted the cross and we don't win that match, you could then argue that Butler or Blissett failed to "do his job". But again that would be unfair. And we won't talk about the other 89 minutes and 57 seconds of football in that match, ever again. The point here is that football success and failure comes down to split-seconds in a match. People make mistakes. People make amazing decisions. Football players will do both many times in a single match. Look at how James Hurst scored two brilliant goals at Kidderminster back in September, and in the very same match gave away a silly penalty with seconds remaining to deny us the win.

It's Wembley 2009 and Chris Hargreaves bursts through the Cambridge defence. Maybe he wouldn't normally smash the ball with his unfavoured right-foot. Maybe he'd hit it first time with his left and watch as it deflects out for a corner. Some instinct kicked it at that precise moment for him to hit an unstoppable shot and score an amazing goal. "Team spirit" is a big thing in all this. We were a free-scoring promotion-chasing team with the promise of a good future should we come out on top that day. The motivation to try something and not worry about the consequences was at a real high. Today, we're a low-scoring, relegation-threatened team and goodness knows what could happen to us should we suffer relegation. Even players "doing their job" will be that extra bit cautious about taking chances, nervous about making a match-losing mistake. These guys are all playing for a career and it's a difficult balancing act at the best of times as to how they should perform. By "how they should perform" I mean the small decisions in the blink of an eye where the fans erupt in a roar of excitement or groan in despair. And it's the tiniest difference, a slightly over-hit pass or an inch-perfect pass. My favourite player is Courtney Richards, he likes to try that quick ball through the middle, sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't. When it does, he's a genius. When it doesn't, he's an idiot. But regardless of the outcome, the bloke is clearly trying his best.

There's going to be hundreds of names hoping to get a trial at a football club like Torquay United in three months. I think every single one of our players (aside from a couple of loanees) are out of contract next season and will very likely find themselves on that list of names if they do not get a contract offer from us.

The above is just the norm. Add to the mix the talk of a club takeover and all of a sudden you might be impressing the wrong man. It might not matter if you're ambitious or if you're cautious, if you take chances or if you play it safe, if you play as an individual or as part of a team. Kevin Nicholson thinks you're great and will have you back next season in a heartbeat, but Geoff Harrop thinks you're too small, Paul Hart thinks you are too big, Paul Sturrock doesn't want to play with defensive midfielders at all, Steve Tully just plain doesn't like you and Louis Van Gaal feels like he could find a Dutch youngster who is a tiny bit better than you. Regardless of how much you contribute in these next seven games, you will be on the long list of players without a club in June and have to start all over again.