Post by rjdgull on Sept 4, 2011 12:46:56 GMT
There has been quite a bit of voting going on this week which generally means there has been a few differences of opinion! 
I suppose to regularly log on to this site we must as fans be quite passionate about our club and to liken it to a good woman (or man), some of us are faithful throughout our lives, some will need a period of separation while other will have a short lived intense fling etc. Therefore, if someone does appear to be unfaithful, then passions are going to inflamed but it is up to each individual to hold a view and argue that without it becoming personal.
Having read through all of Dave's posts this week, there is only one, however controversial it may be that deserves to be Post of the Week but I have also included a quote he made earlier this week on the Billy Kee thread which is also worth consideration.
I set up the TFF with good intensions, I knew the sort of forum I wanted and how it would run and what its ethos would be, it cost me money rather than earn me any and yet on so many occasions what would have been fair criticism, crossed over to nothing more than unnecessary and hurtful personal abuse.
I do feel all the problems over the building of the new stand are very unfortunate, but as the club had to wait to see if it was going to get the money, due to when they learned they were, there as always going to be a situation where the stand would be out of use for some part of the season at least.
With the new dressing room size etc regulations, the club has to spend money on major improvements and as that main stand is past its sell date by a good few decades in my view, then replacing it was the only sensible option.
When I was talking with Mark Boyce a while ago now about the new stand, I did feel his hopes of just what it was going to do for the club were far higher than what will be the real reality. Yes it will make the ground look smarter and will solve the dressing room problem, but it will in the end just be a stand and just a place fans sit to watch the match.
Having the stand standing there empty does nothing to help the Plainmoor experience, but I’m sure once it gets knocked down and fans can see the building work starting, it won’t be such a big issue. We are not the first club to have a stand out of use during a season or having part of the ground being a building site.
The lack of what looks to fans as any real action as far as the stand is concerned has added to any concerns they may have about the strength of our team and just what if anything it will achieve this season.
We very surprisingly in my view, reached the play-off final last season, yes not winning that game was bound to be another downer as far as TUFC fans were concerned and Buckle was bound to have been blamed by some, who felt his mind was somewhere else rather on what was in front of him.
I never took that view as I believe it’s the players who get paid to do their job out on the field and their own sense of pride alone, should be enough for them to put every thing they can into winning each and every game they take part in wearing the club shirt.
As we know that when Buckle left, he took with him a number of key players for us and he had the budget to lure those players to Bristol Rovers, we were never going to be in a position at out club, to better any offers we could make to those players and so we were never going to keep hold of them here.
Mr Ling must have wondered if he made the right decision to join our club after the reception he received from a good number of fans who do post on forums, but he got stuck into the job and did what he could to put a side together with players to fill all the gaps that were created by Buckle moving on and taking players with him.
Our club has lost well over one million pounds over the last two seasons, Mr Ling is never going to enjoy the sort of money that Buckle and so many other managers enjoy to put a squad together. When you look at the gates up at Plainmoor, it’s very clear to see just where the problem is and just why the club is always going to have major problems even trying to balance the books.
It’s far too easy to blame the Torbay public for their lack of support for the club, what should be happening is looking at the real reasons the club lacks any appeal to them. If you look closely enough it’s not too hard to find those answers and if we look at who does go to the games, you will see it’s only the real diehards these days and even they are slowly reducing in numbers.
People can put up figures on here that do show in compared to many other clubs, our prices are not so high, but the fact remains as far as I’m concerned to watching second division football that is if we are honest, not that high a standard, has now got to the point its beyond the pockets of many people living here in the Bay and surrounding areas.
I say standard of the football as after watching the game recently between Buckland and Torpoint for example, I watched a game that had as much quality as can ever be found up at Plainmoor and at a fraction of the price. Football clubs trade on the loyalty of their fans and it’s why the diehards keep turning up for match after match, but even they need to see the club has some real ambition and are going to put out a team worthy of paying the entrance money.
I’m not alone in believing our club has lost sight of who the real fans are and the ones they should be doing their best to hang onto, football clubs in my view seem to think it’s the likes of who could afford to join the Gold Club that are the most important and we only need to look at the very poor take up of that clubs membership, to see the club sure got that wrong.
Yes I have been hit very hard financially myself this year and have had to look hard at my out goings, I also had to look at just what appeal there was going to Plainmoor this season as to be able to do so, would mean making cutbacks elsewhere.
I really wish Plainmoor was screaming out to me to be there, but that sadly is not the case and it’s hard to believe after all the years I have been a Torquay United fan, the appeal has dropped to such a low level, I’m happy to watch football on our local parks instead.
What ever happened to the days when I was a milkman? Having to work on a Saturday I would go back out on a Friday evening after a 12 hour day and call on as many Saturday payers as possible. Done simply so that I could then reduce the time it would take me to do the round on a Saturday and it I got it all right, be finished by 2pm.
I so remember driving then from Paignton along the Ring Road and coming off the roundabout at Gallows Gate. Catching the sight of the floodlights from that point rose my excitement levels to the roof and I would always shout out at the top of my voice “come on united “.
Where has all that passion I once had for our club gone? Just how much is the club to blame? It is a shame that I would rather go and watch Teignmouth play this afternoon then hand over my money at the Plainmoor gate, but then I know that I can get all I’m looking for at a football match on a local pitch that I can’t get inside a football league ground.
I don’t feel disloyal to Torquay United, it’s the way the whole game has gone and just how much the Plainmoor experience has changed for me, that I can get far more enjoyment watching more grass roots football.
It’s a shame and I do not know what really needs to happen to make me feel that my place should be back standing on the Popside. Right time to get the batteries out of the charger ready to go and do what I love doing the very best and that is taking pictures with the camera Carol so much wanted me to have.
I suppose to regularly log on to this site we must as fans be quite passionate about our club and to liken it to a good woman (or man), some of us are faithful throughout our lives, some will need a period of separation while other will have a short lived intense fling etc. Therefore, if someone does appear to be unfaithful, then passions are going to inflamed but it is up to each individual to hold a view and argue that without it becoming personal.
Having read through all of Dave's posts this week, there is only one, however controversial it may be that deserves to be Post of the Week but I have also included a quote he made earlier this week on the Billy Kee thread which is also worth consideration.
I set up the TFF with good intensions, I knew the sort of forum I wanted and how it would run and what its ethos would be, it cost me money rather than earn me any and yet on so many occasions what would have been fair criticism, crossed over to nothing more than unnecessary and hurtful personal abuse.
Sept 3, 2011 9:43:28 GMT Dave said:
It has been interesting reading this thread, it started off asking if this season already had a low key feeling to it and then ending up looking at what might be the problems out on the pitch.I do feel all the problems over the building of the new stand are very unfortunate, but as the club had to wait to see if it was going to get the money, due to when they learned they were, there as always going to be a situation where the stand would be out of use for some part of the season at least.
With the new dressing room size etc regulations, the club has to spend money on major improvements and as that main stand is past its sell date by a good few decades in my view, then replacing it was the only sensible option.
When I was talking with Mark Boyce a while ago now about the new stand, I did feel his hopes of just what it was going to do for the club were far higher than what will be the real reality. Yes it will make the ground look smarter and will solve the dressing room problem, but it will in the end just be a stand and just a place fans sit to watch the match.
Having the stand standing there empty does nothing to help the Plainmoor experience, but I’m sure once it gets knocked down and fans can see the building work starting, it won’t be such a big issue. We are not the first club to have a stand out of use during a season or having part of the ground being a building site.
The lack of what looks to fans as any real action as far as the stand is concerned has added to any concerns they may have about the strength of our team and just what if anything it will achieve this season.
We very surprisingly in my view, reached the play-off final last season, yes not winning that game was bound to be another downer as far as TUFC fans were concerned and Buckle was bound to have been blamed by some, who felt his mind was somewhere else rather on what was in front of him.
I never took that view as I believe it’s the players who get paid to do their job out on the field and their own sense of pride alone, should be enough for them to put every thing they can into winning each and every game they take part in wearing the club shirt.
As we know that when Buckle left, he took with him a number of key players for us and he had the budget to lure those players to Bristol Rovers, we were never going to be in a position at out club, to better any offers we could make to those players and so we were never going to keep hold of them here.
Mr Ling must have wondered if he made the right decision to join our club after the reception he received from a good number of fans who do post on forums, but he got stuck into the job and did what he could to put a side together with players to fill all the gaps that were created by Buckle moving on and taking players with him.
Our club has lost well over one million pounds over the last two seasons, Mr Ling is never going to enjoy the sort of money that Buckle and so many other managers enjoy to put a squad together. When you look at the gates up at Plainmoor, it’s very clear to see just where the problem is and just why the club is always going to have major problems even trying to balance the books.
It’s far too easy to blame the Torbay public for their lack of support for the club, what should be happening is looking at the real reasons the club lacks any appeal to them. If you look closely enough it’s not too hard to find those answers and if we look at who does go to the games, you will see it’s only the real diehards these days and even they are slowly reducing in numbers.
People can put up figures on here that do show in compared to many other clubs, our prices are not so high, but the fact remains as far as I’m concerned to watching second division football that is if we are honest, not that high a standard, has now got to the point its beyond the pockets of many people living here in the Bay and surrounding areas.
I say standard of the football as after watching the game recently between Buckland and Torpoint for example, I watched a game that had as much quality as can ever be found up at Plainmoor and at a fraction of the price. Football clubs trade on the loyalty of their fans and it’s why the diehards keep turning up for match after match, but even they need to see the club has some real ambition and are going to put out a team worthy of paying the entrance money.
I’m not alone in believing our club has lost sight of who the real fans are and the ones they should be doing their best to hang onto, football clubs in my view seem to think it’s the likes of who could afford to join the Gold Club that are the most important and we only need to look at the very poor take up of that clubs membership, to see the club sure got that wrong.
Yes I have been hit very hard financially myself this year and have had to look hard at my out goings, I also had to look at just what appeal there was going to Plainmoor this season as to be able to do so, would mean making cutbacks elsewhere.
I really wish Plainmoor was screaming out to me to be there, but that sadly is not the case and it’s hard to believe after all the years I have been a Torquay United fan, the appeal has dropped to such a low level, I’m happy to watch football on our local parks instead.
What ever happened to the days when I was a milkman? Having to work on a Saturday I would go back out on a Friday evening after a 12 hour day and call on as many Saturday payers as possible. Done simply so that I could then reduce the time it would take me to do the round on a Saturday and it I got it all right, be finished by 2pm.
I so remember driving then from Paignton along the Ring Road and coming off the roundabout at Gallows Gate. Catching the sight of the floodlights from that point rose my excitement levels to the roof and I would always shout out at the top of my voice “come on united “.
Where has all that passion I once had for our club gone? Just how much is the club to blame? It is a shame that I would rather go and watch Teignmouth play this afternoon then hand over my money at the Plainmoor gate, but then I know that I can get all I’m looking for at a football match on a local pitch that I can’t get inside a football league ground.
I don’t feel disloyal to Torquay United, it’s the way the whole game has gone and just how much the Plainmoor experience has changed for me, that I can get far more enjoyment watching more grass roots football.
It’s a shame and I do not know what really needs to happen to make me feel that my place should be back standing on the Popside. Right time to get the batteries out of the charger ready to go and do what I love doing the very best and that is taking pictures with the camera Carol so much wanted me to have.