TT BLOG
Thomas Kelly – @tommyktufc
Tom discusses the comments from the Chairmen and the new owners’ impact at TUFC so far
Torquay United Football Club has undergone quite the transformation in the last 6 months.
The dark days of the previous ownership, failing to take any accountability for the failings of a club, once a proud member of the EFL being decimated towards regional football. Now officially gone.
Now, the Bryn Consortium have taken the reigns, signifying a brand new era at Plainmoor where the fans will be at the forefront of the new consortium in everything they do. A refreshing change.
The club uploaded a video with Michael Westcott & Mark Bowes-Cavanagh (we do love a double barreled name!) highlighting their first month at the football club and provided Gulls fans with engagement and information that we’ve not seen in such a long time of not ever!
It was a welcome breath of fresh air.
Let’s divulge into the key points from the interview shall we?
The Bryn Consortium
“Remember we’re fans first” – MW
“Every person in that consortium is a winner in their own way” – MBC
You can tell immediately the excitement and pride from both about being in charge of their local football club. They make it clear that although they are successful business people, they are supporters of the club as well and it’s clear they will have the football clubs best interests in mind in every decision they make. They experienced the frustration and anger that we have all felt in recent years about the direction our club has gone and there is no doubt in my mind that the dark days have passed and the club is in safe hands going forward into the future.
Sponsorship
Revenue is key for a football club and Mark made it clear that a lot of sponsors did move away from the football club in recent years and now want to return and be apart of this new era of Torquay United. It seemed value for money wasn’t a priority under the last consortium, which is strange considering the clubs dire financial position at the time. Let’s not forget that Osborne had injected nearly £7,000,000 into the club during his tenure. Although knowing that he wouldn’t reclaim any of that money back, surely keeping local businesses to continuously invest well needed revenue into the football club should have been a high priority of his. I guess when all you focus all your efforts into wanting a new stadium that was never going to happen, you forget about the important things of maintaining a stable football club.
I’ve heard stories from supporters/businesses who sponsored players were handed player shirts in a black bin bag after the season ended a few years ago.
Thanks for your support indeed!
To see the eagerness from sponsors who rightly thought why bother putting their money in for little reward now wanting to be apart of this new era and it seems like sponsorship and advertising interest is at an all time high now. This is a credit to the Bryn Consortium who in such a short period of time have been getting the word out that Torquay United will no longer take your support for granted and to be proud of your local football club again as we look to progress up the pyramid back to where we all believe we should be.
The TUST
“They’ve (the TUST) got a really really important spot on the board” – MBC
After years of being ignored, the new consortium will look to engage more with the Torquay United Supporters Trust, where Michael announced that the TUST would inject a sum of money from their Forever Yellow Fund which would begin stage one in where the TUST would secure shareholding in the club and gives them a protected seat on the board. Michael then explains that a community share issue would then be offered in where this would secure a second seat on behalf of the TUST.
I’m a big fan of fan ownership/a club working in tandem with a supporters club so this to me is a very positive step forward for all parties. The TUST struggled to make much progress under the previous ownership and I’m happy for them that they will have a place at the table going forward from here.
It’s clear from the interview from Michael and Mark that they have an extremely good relationship with the TUST and are more than happy to extend the olive branch to them going forward and to work together for the best of the football club. A big thumbs up from me.
Season Tickets Sales & The Online Survey
“This isn’t any ordinary club, this club shouldn’t be in National League South, It’s clear, Torquay United need to get promoted” MBC
“Our fan base is extraordinary, we are fans first and foremost and we want to run this club that reflects our fan base” – MW
“We’ll be judged on what we do, we are accountable to our fans” – MW
Dom Mee announced that the club had almost sold 1,100 Season Tickets since being put on sale only 10 days prior. I am led to believe that we sold 1,300 last season and I’m confident personally that we will smash that this season.
The online survey produced by the club was answered by over 1,100 people and Michael announces that they’ve already implemented changes from feedback provided by the Yellow Army and will look to continue to improve the overall matchday experience, which was highlighted as one of the main focus points from the responses.
The dropping of the £2 surcharge was welcomed by all, allowing those who make a late decision to attend a home game at Plainmoor to not be penalised financially in doing so.
“What have we been able to do immediately is get rid of that crazy £2 surcharge on the gate” – MW
Food options at Plainmoor was also high on the list of priorities from the supporters, fed up of overpriced cheesy chips and standard burgers, it seems the club are in discussions with the restaurant Rockfish in order to provide better quality food to satisfy 2,500+ fans on a weekly basis. Watch this space.
Also mentioned was the improvements to spruce up Plainmoor and a focus to for the club to make considerable improvements to the clubs hospitality packages, which after my experience last season is welcome news. I felt there was a lot of missed opportunities for the club to generate further revenue and that customer service basics were lacking. It almost felt like unless you were a regular face, you were more a hindrance than a guest. I’m sure this won’t be the case going forward and I’m sure many of you reading who experienced hospitality would have good experiences. I can only go by my experience on the day I was so kindly invited to partake and I hope that the feedback is taken on as it should.
“We’re going to make it (hospitality) a real nice experience, in terms of better food. We’re not going to turn it into prawn sandwiches and champagne, we’re going to make sure there’s an avenue for everybody at this football club” – MBE
Paul Wotton
“We knew he was under contract but we wanted him, he has a great knowledge of South West Football” – MBE
“What I can guarantee is that every single player next season, the fans can be guaranteed will give 100% for this football club” – MBE
Looking at on the pitch matters, Paul Wotton was everyone’s number one choice to bring in, from Neil Warnock to the rest of the consortium, Wotton was the guy to take us forward. Whilst having to pay him out of his contract at Truro, he has built a decent reputation at this level and his good friendship with Neil Warnock can only be a good thing for the club.
The raiding of promising players across the River Tamar as well as utilizing his links at his time at Plymouth and links in the South West should provide us with a strong and physical NLS team able to complete towards of the top of the table.
With the greatest of respects to Truro City, I’m sure Paul will see this as a great next step in his managerial career. Everything is here to get himself managing in the National League and hopefully the EFL in the near future. He will know the expectations of the fans and will know that we won’t tolerate any excuses for inept performances we saw under the previous management.
It’s important to give him time to settle and assemble his squad, but deep down, I’m sure he knows that many expect us to be challenging eventually.
The Squad and Training Facilities
“We are going to be very very organised and we’re going to have a team that will be more or less full time next season” – MBE
Michael announced that the club had signed 13 players as of which 2 were on a part time basis with at least 3 more on the way in the near future and were happy with how Paul Wotton’s squad was progressing.
It was also announced that Seale Hayne was now no longer being used for training and that the club had agreed with Buckland Athletic for the club to use their facilities every Thursday evening alongside training at South Devon College, training four days a week.
I’m led to believe that there was some considerable investment being put into Seale Hayne so it’s an interesting decision for the club to move away this season.
South Devon College have a good set up but I believe the pitch is artificial so I think it’s good to be able to utilize Buckland’s facilities on top of this, if only for once a week.
Perhaps a decision implemented due to weather over the winter? Who knows.
Neil Warnock
The topic of Neil Warnock comes up a few times during the interview with and of course his show is mentioned towards the end of the interview
Michael expects that there could be upwards of 1,200 people to be in attendance for Neil’s show at the Princess Theatre with all the money raised going (seemingly) into the transfer budget.
A quick word on Neil, thank you for your support of the football club and for your assistance behind the scenes. If you had told me at the start of year that Neil Warnock would play a part in our future, I’d have told you you needed counselling! It’s great to hear that Torquay United still means a lot to you in your esteemed career in football management. Are you with me? Absolutely!!!
“Those Funds are going into the playing budget, it’s going to be a fantastic night, it’s going to be a lot of fun, we promise some surprises, there will be player reveals on the night plus some other stuff happening” – MW
Ambitions for the season
DM: What can Torquay supporters that are going to come to Plainmoor, going away from home expect from their football club this season?
“Fun. Not sour faces, not feeling let down, whether we win, lose or draw, we’re going to have fun at this Football Club” – MBE
Remember that infamous Gary Johnson quote after relegation to the NLS? That was great fun…
However, this time, unlike previous seasons, the club have literally started with a blank sheet of paper, those who failed us have been moved on and those running the show have brought in belief and optimism for the fans to rally behind. The atmosphere at Plainmoor when we begin the season is going to be special and for all the right reasons.
This is a new era at Torquay United and it’s clear for all to see that the supporters will never be ignored or forgotten. I’m excited for what is to come.
Plans for an in house fans forum seem to be in the works which is good to hear. Engagement with supporters have been lacking for years. This may be done before the season starts but it is in the works.
Final Thoughts
“Whether you want to come with your partner, your friends, your family, this is going to be the place to be on a Saturday afternoon” – MBE
I’m proud of everyone who refused to accept failure for our club and for standing up when our club needed us most.
Who else would you get better than Johnson? The club would die if Osborne pulled his funding. Just two quotes I heard many times over the last few seasons. I always believed that we as supporters deserved better and that it was important that those inside were held accountable.
The lack of communication and complete resentment to us supporters was something I wouldn’t stand for, no individual(s) should ever be bigger than the supporters of Torquay United Football Club.
We held them to account and as Sam Swann perfectly mentioned at the end of our Season 3 video of Gulls Eye View. “We won”.
Whilst ambition is a good thing, it’s important for everyone to understand that we will need to be patient as a fan base and to give the Bryn Consortium and Paul Wotton time as the season approaches.
I personally believe that we can push for a play off finish this season but we will need to show patience and do what the Yellow Army do best and turn up in numbers both at Plainmoor and on the road to support the club we all love.
It is important to us at TorquayTalk that we continue to hold these values that many of you have come to expect and respect as an independent fans site and that is something that we will continue to do. I’m aware that members of the Bryn Consortium follow us and watch our content so I just want to say that we are all behind you and we know this football club is in safe hands now.
With proper engagement and knowing that those inside are supporters just like us, we all are now One Club United (am I allowed to say this still?!) and we look forward to following our club going forward into the future.
COYY – TOM
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