Torquay United - Potential Takeover?

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Rumours down here that we may be getting a take over. Apparently a meeting with all staff members on Wednesday, so will see what comes of that.

Just praying it isn't another Chris Roberts saga..

 

[Aber gas]

Your not a bad proposition for investors . You own your own ground ( I think ). Potential to grow your fan base , good young manager , a good record with young players and probably a little undervalued due to your current position. Good luck

 

[Cardsfan]

Compared to other clubs is there really that much potential to improve the fanbase? Very isolated area

 

[Aber gas]

Compared to other clubs is there really that much potential to improve the fanbase? Very isolated area

It is isolated but the Paignton / Torquay area combined with other towns which are close by such as totnes should definitely be able to sustain bigger support than they currently get imo

 

[Greenacres]

Compared to other clubs is there really that much potential to improve the fanbase? Very isolated area

Interesting point. This of course begs the question of which non-league club would be best for an investor to take over, with the aim of building a challenge to get into the Football League. Most of us support clubs that find themselves within maybe half an hour of established league sides, in Rovers case it is Swindon, Cheltenham and Bristol City.

My tip would be Gateshead, who I know are in the shadow of Newcastle United, as I have always believed that Tyneside could easily support a second League team.

 

[ForeverUnited]

Hopefully its not a touzar or agombar situation, but a good football person.

 

[Aber gas]

Interesting point. This of course begs the question of which non-league club would be best for an investor to take over, with the aim of building a challenge to get into the Football League. Most of us support clubs that find themselves within maybe half an hour of established league sides, in Rovers case it is Swindon, Cheltenham and Bristol City.

My tip would be Gateshead, who I know are in the shadow of Newcastle United, as I have always believed that Tyneside could easily support a second League team.

Do Cheltenham make a massive difference to your support ? I would have thought you have more potential especially if you move to Gloucester

 

[Luke Imp]

Interesting point. This of course begs the question of which non-league club would be best for an investor to take over, with the aim of building a challenge to get into the Football League. Most of us support clubs that find themselves within maybe half an hour of established league sides, in Rovers case it is Swindon, Cheltenham and Bristol City.

My tip would be Gateshead, who I know are in the shadow of Newcastle United, as I have always believed that Tyneside could easily support a second League team.

I don't think we're too badly placed in that respect.

Yes, there's Forest, Leicester, Derby, Hull etc 45-60 minutes away but there's no-one who's really on our doorstep as such. Scunny aren't a particularly well supported Club anyway then there's Grimsby, Trinity and Boston.

We should be getting better slightly attendances than we do in all fairness if you take into account the student population and Lincoln as one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, both in terms of population and business.

 

[Sparrow]

I'm sure Torquay will be hoping it is as lucrative as the Alfreton one.

 

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While there is a big catchment area down here, unfortunately the majority of Torbay and nearby towns is retired people who have moved to the area - and so have no affiliation with the club. This is usually because the people that come that are interested in football have other teams. Sure, some will find their way to Plainmoor at times, but as we're at such a low ebb it isn't going to happen right now. People aren't interested, especially when the main attraction is so poor.

I will say I await tomorrow with a fair bit of interest though.

 

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http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co....ed-assistant/story-25894188-detail/story.html

Sounds…interesting.

Pro Direct are based down here so it's somewhat feasible I guess? Tomorrow's staff meeting will be big, I think.

 

[Greenacres]

Do Cheltenham make a massive difference to your support ? I would have thought you have more potential especially if you move to Gloucester

Not really, they are still fairly new in league terms, there is probably more support in our area for the likes of Swindon and the Bristol clubs. Gloucester City, our greatest rival, currently play their home games in Cheltenham but are in the process of building a new ground and hope to return there either next season or the one after. We will never move to Gloucester, if our Chairman decides that is a good idea he will effectively zero the fanbase and I don't think that even he is that stupid. We will more likely move, if at all, to somewhere near Stroud. If we do have to move then this is probably the option that would be acceptable to most fans. The biggest rival for support in this area is from egg-chasers, strange people, but they do seem to hoover up most people who want to go to sport. For that reason it will be difficult for any team to develop what might be considered a serious following.

 

[Aber gas]

Not really, they are still fairly new in league terms, there is probably more support in our area for the likes of Swindon and the Bristol clubs. Gloucester City, our greatest rival, currently play their home games in Cheltenham but are in the process of building a new ground and hope to return there either next season or the one after. We will never move to Gloucester, if our Chairman decides that is a good idea he will effectively zero the fanbase and I don't think that even he is that stupid. We will more likely move, if at all, to somewhere near Stroud. If we do have to move then this is probably the option that would be acceptable to most fans. The biggest rival for support in this area is from egg-chasers, strange people, but they do seem to hoover up most people who want to go to sport. For that reason it will be difficult for any team to develop what might be considered a serious following.

What's the end game for your chairman then ? He's obviously invested heavily in your club so he must believe that he can grow the club if / when you get into the league .

 

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So ex-Oxford chairman Kelvin Thomas has come into the club to "look at all aspects" with a team of his people.

Not quite the pro-direct link I was half expecting, but on paper it seems he did well at the Kassam, and was reasonably well liked aswell?

http://www.torquayunited.com/news/article/a-new-direction-2218090.aspx

 

[Luke Imp]

When did Oxford average 7,200?

I could never quite work out the set-up at Oxford and who they did and didn't like. Hardly any money seemed to go to the Club in terms of sponsorships or catering, so relied on gate money.

 

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Apparently they averaged 7600 in 2011/12, according to this..

http://www.football-league.co.uk/documents/average-attendance549-2006711.pdf

 

[Aberstone]

Close to the play-offs and Swindon were in the division as well.

 

[Aber gas]

I'm automatically sceptical of anybody hanging around a club "consulting" it's another expensive level of bureaucratic fiddling and cost cutting unless this is part of the ground work for further investment or a takeover.

 

[Greenacres]

What's the end game for your chairman then ? He's obviously invested heavily in your club so he must believe that he can grow the club if / when you get into the league .

He definitely has ambitions to get into the Football League, maybe to provide a bigger platform for his green message. You would need to ask him how much he expects the fanbase to grow if we do achieve this. There have been lots of initiatives to encourage more people to attend games and crowds are definitely up this season, although not at levels that could sustain the club without him dipping into his pockets, we do offer a matchday experience that would be the envy of many.

 

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A potentially interesting twist in this…

http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co....wist-council/story-25929771-detail/story.html

 

[GTFC1979]

While there is a big catchment area down here, unfortunately the majority of Torbay and nearby towns is retired people who have moved to the area - and so have no affiliation with the club. This is usually because the people that come that are interested in football have other teams. Sure, some will find their way to Plainmoor at times, but as we're at such a low ebb it isn't going to happen right now. People aren't interested, especially when the main attraction is so poor.

I will say I await tomorrow with a fair bit of interest though.

Yeah my wifes uncle has lived in Torquay for over 20 years and he has as much interest in football as B2TF has in making friends...

 

[B2TF]

Who needs friends, this Yorkshire proverb sums it up " A friend in need is a bloody nuisance"

 

[GTFC1979]

Who needs friends, this Yorkshire proverb sums it up " A friend in need is a bloody nuisance"

My nanna had a better quote: "You can never teach a Yorkshireman anything, because they already fucking know everything"!
Oh and: "Yorkshire is a beautiful place, just a shame about the fucking people who live in it"!

 

[B2TF]

Your gran only said that because I never called her afterwards.

 

[GTFC1979]

Your gran only said that because I never called her afterwards.

Heartbreaker!!!!

 

[B2TF]

Shut up, I might be your grandad.

 

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So Kelvin Thomas is sticking around until the end of this season. I wonder if he'll be involved - I think I'd certainly rather him be involved in some capacity, rather than the ridiculous Harry Redknapp links we saw come up over the weekend.