TALKING POINTS
Rachel Malloch
@Rachelvillavox
Rachel discusses the Gulls loss at Plainmoor and more
SCRAMBLING FOR LIFEBOATS
Whilst not quite the upbeat carnival affair of the previous home games against Aveley and Dartford, since the club were plunged into further instability following the abrupt announcement from Clarke Osborne and Gary Johnson that they’d had enough of running and managing this football club and in Johnson’s case had been paid up and were scarpering respectively, it had been another grey, drizzly day, of days nee months where we’ve barely seen sunshine coinciding with the last time we had witnessed a Torquay win before Dartford, a climate that has seen even the most stoical soul feeling the effects of SAD syndrome, murky days that my granny Dundee would describe as “auffie driech”. There was nonetheless a much lighter, ebullient atmosphere around Plainmoor on Tuesday night against Taunton, a team based less than an hour up the M5 across the Devon county line to Somerset, who themselves are no stranger to looming financial constraints and uncertainty hanging over their club.
My expectations were that Taunton would bring a fairly generous following of supporters both in the hope of seeing them get one over their struggling westcountry counterparts and in light of their own club’s financial strife, to boost their neighbours coffers and bump up the attendance slightly, but alas. Still, that’s not taking anything away from the 90 Taunton fans who did make the short trip, despite the fact they brought double that for an FA Trophy game last season.
If the Plainmoor floodlights on full beam were an allegory of a lighthouse steering us away from the rocks, sadly the evening’s performance from the Torquay players had many of us scrambling for the lifeboats long before the ref blew for full time. After the effort and real sparkling moments of quality shown in that second half Dartford performance, the players reverted back to playing in a manner that has been all too familiar this season, Sporadic effort, sloppiness, amateurish defending, a chasm of any creativity in midfield and a labouring forward line cul de sac.
Earlier I had been invited to chat with BBC Radio Devon sports broadcaster James Vickery on his evening slot, talking about the emotional maelstrom of being a Torquay United supporter and perspective on our plight, giving some insight into how fans and conversely the club too are trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Of the wave of support that is buoying up our club and our mood, with shirt auctions, the TUST involvement, various go funds, local team supporters donating and attending matches, notably much solidarity from Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle, the community togetherness that is being generated and the approaching ‘Devon Day’ of the 23rd March at home to Hampton & Richmond that with fixtures dictating a no-game day for our footballing neighbours, a show of support in attending TQ1, a gesture that is welcomed by all.
Then the grave news arrived Wednesday lunchtime. The announcement that due to Osborne’s hasty departure in leaving the club in the hands of his CEO George Edwards, entrusting him to navigate the club toward new investors with financial administrators waiting at the door, naively many, myself included and without much legal knowledge around unscrupulous football club owners jilting their clubs, had somewhat foolishly believed that the National League deemed an interim moratorium some type of stay of execution and a noble attempt by the club to make every effort to rescue the finances and seek to find a well intended buyer. However, the threatened -10 points deduction was enforced and from our mid-table mediocrity we find ourselves hovering precariously 3 points away from the relegation zone in the National League South.
The punishment is hefty, seemingly an insult to injury for an already insecure football club with a statement from the National League that does little to assuage a belief that they have our safety and survival at heart. That it would seem is left to the continued fundraising, the goodwill from both the infrastructure of our community and from the wider reaching football contingent outside the Bay, local and national media coverage highlighting a club for sale and for the amazing Torquay United supporters continuing to attend the games in numbers and that more than just a wing and a prayer we will hear more encouraging news in the days ahead – a group, a conglomerate, a consortium, a wealthy business man/woman bonkers about football and willing to invest in this seaside club that might not have the most illustrious history or an overflowing trophy cabinet but one that has existed for over 125 years, 100 or so of those as a proud league football club propped up by a loyal fanbase who aren’t entitled, don’t have huge expectations or delusions of champions league glory any time soon, heck a good run in the FA Trophy lifts our spirits, all they do want is to have their, our, football club to function with stability and to exist for our weekend recreation.
Save our club because you know what? You’ll miss us if we’re gone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bid for Rene Howe’s signed shirt. Up the Gulls.
COYY – RACHEL
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And, despite the result, we should post up a big thank you to the eighteen Brighton fans who were on the Pop Side as well a number of other club fans from Devon.
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