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If your all so sure that the things your pushing will work why don't you do it yourselves. I cannot see why our supporters trust cannot be trained to help promote the club. Yes it does need training. You can easily cock things up unless we are all doing the same thing in the correct manner. But if we pull together and help the club it takes an enourmous strain off the few staff who this week have probably been stretched to the limit, I know you think all things can be done easily with ver little effort but when you try it yourselves you wll realise how much work goes into what does happen.
Why can't supporters go round the town and enourage traders to put up bunting and posters. why can supporters go round the town to enourage more to come to matches.
It's no good sitting on our own butts expecting others to do this or that. we need to do something.
Regarding PDQ machines. No you cannot get one that easily. traders are expected to sign agreements to get hese machines and if yo want very short term agreements they are not cost effective. so don't keep bashing the club. help them. they need it.
Forget about renting shops. Unless we have a benevolant landlord willing to let us have one near enough for free it will fold,. The rent is one thing but the rate are not too far off what the rent is in some cases and that is what finishes some shops off.,. come on look around, there are far bigger companies with shops closing down right now. TUFC wouldnt be able to cope with another shop in the center of town. rent would be more than likely 50 to 70k. rates will be another 25k. Heat and light would add another 2 or 3k. wages would add another 30 to 40k . dont forget that you would need 2 to 2 1/2 people ie full and part time to cover holidays and sickness. plus 12% on top for national insurance.
Thats not all the costs. I know I run my own business. It costs 45k to run my shop before I consider my own wages (hmmm, fat chance at the moment)
I could easily add another 10k in advertising. Thats an awfull lot of dosh to consider and if your profit margin is only 25% then you have to turn over an extra £180.000 to make it pay if costs are a little more then your getting uncomfotably close to 1/4 million. that equats to another 625 supporters for 25 matches each season and don't forget you can't rent a shop fot a year. most landlords won't consider less than 7 years. with if your really lucky and 3 year break clause if you can't make it. and that alone will push up the rent.
Uncomfortable aint it. MAybe one day if we could be an established top end league one club we could consider it but I have my doubts

Excellent response Gloster. As I was reading through the thread I was thinking the whole time if anything could be done it would have to be voluntary as there is no spare cash anywhere at the moment. It would take individuals to take the initiative.

What i would ask is why do you think these things haven't been tried? Is it realistic to think the club just isn't interested in promoting itself? Or is it worth considering that actually the club have looked into such things, and worked out they wouldn't prove cost effective? This isn't the first regime at the club to fail to address this issue. Perhaps it just isn't as easy as some here think it should be?

Dave_Pougher wrote:Excellent response Gloster. As I was reading through the thread I was thinking the whole time if anything could be done it would have to be voluntary as there is no spare cash anywhere at the moment. It would take individuals to take the initiative.

Eh Blimey Flippin eckythump Dave. Thats the second time we have agreed on something.

Fonda wrote:What i would ask is why do you think these things haven't been tried? Is it realistic to think the club just isn't interested in promoting itself? Or is it worth considering that actually the club have looked into such things, and worked out they wouldn't prove cost effective? This isn't the first regime at the club to fail to address this issue. Perhaps it just isn't as easy as some here think it should be?

Hammer Nail and Head come to mind. Exactly!
I think if you look over the last 20 odd years at least there have been many comments to this end. The plain fact is that there is not the interest in Torquay That there was in our football club. We do all need to work hard to change that.
It has taken a while to degenerate and now it will take an even longer while to re generate the interest. And we need to be nice to people to encourage them.
I am no lover of the prawn sandwich brigade but I will gladly interect with them to get them to pour money into our club. In MB's Time we did have at least some publicity from Mikes contacts and getting certain celebs down to matches which would then get reported in Newspapers. It doenst matter one jot if they aint really interested. but it does matter if they get treated well and respected. Because it does get reported. and if they like the treatment then they will tell others and they may tell others again and those others may well then end up putting serious money into the Gulls.
But I am afraid it all takes really hard work.it won't come instantly and that's what most poeple want today. instant success