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Post by stewart on Dec 5, 2019 3:06:59 GMT
Let's face it, both parties are immediately jumping on whatever they think the public want to hear and making promises accordingly. That is why neither of them can be trusted and also why there is simply no credible party worth voting for in our, or any other, constituency. Politics in this country has sadly declined into a battle between the egos of the two leaders, who say that they will guarantee anything to the electorate in order to keep, or get, themselves in power.
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 5, 2019 8:30:44 GMT
Let's face it, both parties are immediately jumping on whatever they think the public want to hear and making promises accordingly. In theory, this is how democracy works? Not a perfect system by any means but as Churchill once quoted, the only acceptable form of governance. There is a growing momentum for greater fan engagement but this doesn’t mean control although how this will look like remains unclear. Working collaboratively for the betterment of your club is an ideal that I think a majority would agree with. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 14:28:00 GMT
Floridagull  You must remember the warnings about ‘creeping Socialism’ back when you were over here, Florida ? It’s just that it would creep at one hell of a fast pace should Corbyn get power, and he’d want like minded people or organisations given power within as many facets of Society as possible. I’ve warned everyone to death for a long time, by saying this is all about imposing societal change, and next to nothing to do with football, a sport which is however, a most useful vehicle to use to get the message you want out to the section of society you’re targeting. Is it better to have the water gush in and destroy your house all at once ?. Or watch as the water level slowly rises and your possessions go under one by one ?. The message of TUSTWatch has consistently been that we need to be getting the sandbags up now, it’ll be too late to start raising objections once the water has started seeping under the door. One wrong election result and Jezza will have smashed a window, shoved a Socialist hose in, and turned the water pressure right up…. there’ll be no going back then … give them an inch and they won’t settle for taking just one mile. The Reds move fast when they’ve got the smell of private enterprise blood in their nostrils. By Tuesday night the news was out that Corbyn’s Shadow Sports Minister had already ratcheted it up to letting the ‘workers’ decide on the Team Manager as well. If the Exeter proletariat can pack Tisdale’s bags for him, then our revolutionaries demand the right to kick out Johnson when the mood takes them. Under Labour, as long as they’re politically correct, and ideally from a minority background, we’ll be able to select the Coach of our choice….and Clarke Osborne can pay his wages. And with every new step, there’lll be a further reassurance of ‘But this doesn’t mean control’ … right up until that final ….. ‘Now this IS total control … Viva Corbynista !’
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Post by Rob on Dec 5, 2019 19:48:42 GMT
Conservatives also promoting supporter representation in their manifesto. As indeed it says in the post. Yes, but only promising a review, which is something I could buy into. They have said slightly more than that of recent. I’ve not looked at what is in the manifesto, but they are right to look at it. It’s not exactly a vote gaining sole issue but it’s important to lots of fans of clubs up and down the country and it’s good to see both the main parties appreciate that. Totally agree with stewart’s point, too, mind. None on here would ever post a thing about their beloved football club if it wasn’t beloved already. That includes the odd curmudgeon here and there. Am conscious this is a TUST Update thread so thats probably it from me on this subject and thread for now. I know others like the last word, anyway. |
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Dec 10, 2019 9:30:33 GMT
SUCCESSFUL INAUGURAL MEETING Board members and trustee representatives of Devon’s three top professional football clubs’ supporters’ trusts - Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United - met recently at Exeter’s St James’s Park to establish a Devon group of supporters’ trusts (DSTG) Those present exchanged views and ideas about the role of a supporters’ trust at each club. Whilst much of what happens at each club differs in some aspects, what was agreed is the growing influence and importance of supporters’ trusts who represent the views of a club’s fanbase. A spokesperson said, “ It was great to have all three clubs in one place to discuss supporter influence on their clubs and across their local communities.” The DSTG group intend to meet again in the near future before the end of this current season with a view to establishing a wider South-West alliance. TUST article |
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Post by rjdgull on Dec 30, 2019 21:11:37 GMT
December Newsletter
Chairman's Comments
Dear members and supporters,
Firstly, hoping the festive season has been a joyful and healthy one for everyone, excluding the wet and miserable Boxing Day match at Yeovil! Well done to the team and the supporters who all came back together and put in a great shift for our club on Saturday against Woking, I certainly went home much lighter of foot.
The most important message I want to send to you this month is to please make sure to collect a copy of our new complimentary 2020 TUST BROCHURE, which we are launching on January 1st before the Yeovil match. Please be sure to take a copy for anyone you may know in our community who is a friend of TUFC and may not be at the match. We will also arrange to take them to an away match or two soon, to distribute to our exiled supporters who may not often get to Plainmoor. ( We also aim to send members soft copies with our next email .)
Our particular thanks go to our member, Black Swan Printers at Dawlish, for doing such an excellent job. Equally to our increased number of corporate members who wholly funded this initiative. Please peruse their adverts and consider supporting them and their excellent local services.
Our team would be grateful to have a couple more VOLUNTEERS to come forward to help give the brochures out on January 1st. Please let us know if you can help (info@tust.co.uk) We will then get in touch with you personally to discuss the details and at what time you might be able to be there.
We will be distributing outside Plainmoor, at both the Pop side and the Bristows/ Family stand entrances , we aim to begin from when the gates open, between 1:45 and 2pm. Our team looks forward to meeting you there.
Meanwhile, the summary of the minutes of our December meeting will keep you updated on the various ongoing works we are involved with, in order to support our club and its engagement with, and outreach to, the community. You may have had the opportunity to read the recent press releases, not least relating to our partnership with the Torquay United Community Sports Trust and the creation of the new Devon Supporters’ Trust Group with Argyle and Exeter City trusts. At the same time, we are still continuing to work towards more supporter engagement and togetherness, with all who are involved in the important decisions on any plans, in influencing a sustainable and a secure longer term future for our special club. Rest assured that both remits are being followed with diligence.
A happy and healthy New Year to all supporters, the club management, the staff and of course players with success for all at TUFC.
Michel Thomas
COYY
December board meeting - summary minutes
Chairman’s introduction
MT opened the meeting by reflecting on TUST’s many successes during the year including the Matchday Ambassadors, delivery of the Premier League Fans Fund projects including Fan Zones and outreach events, our brochure, networking with the business community, the work of the strategy team, the success of our social media, our blossoming partnership with the Community Sports Trust including headline sponsorship, the Devon Supporters Trust group, press coverage and relations with local politicians.
He thanked all the board members for their support and dedication in making these happen.
Radio Devon
TUST had raised members’ concerns over the lack of radio coverage of Torquay games. A reply had been received from Radio Devon explaining that they did not have sufficient local frequencies to broadcast live radio coverage of TUFC games but were providing on-line commentaries. While we understand the explanation it doesn’t address our concens and it will be interesting to see what coveage is provided when we return to the Football League.
Torquay United Community Sports Trust
A useful meeting had been held with representatives of the TUCST board and a proposal to appoint a TUST board member to the TUCST board is being considered.
Devon Supporters’ Trust group
The inaugral meeting of the group was held at St James’ Park on 5th December. It had been a positive meeting attended by representatives of Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City. The various objectives of the Trusts were discussed and their relationships with their clubs. A further meeting was planned for later in the season which TUST had offered to host.
A proposal had been agreed to explore whether there is interest in a wider alliance of trusts across the SW region.
A press release about the event and partnership had been prepared and received some coverage. The Non –League Paper had also asked Nick Brodrick to prepare an item about Trusts in non-league generally for publication in the New Year.
Proposed Supporters’ Club
Despite several attempts to seek an update there was no news from the Club regarding the formation of a Supporters’ Club proposed in September.
New brochure
The final draft of the new brochure was tabled and favourably received. It was currently with the printers with a view to having it ready for distribution at matches over the Festive Season. It had been agreed ahead of the meeting to order 3000 copies.
Corporate members
Membership now stood at 20 and all were represented in the new brochure
Response to AGM motion
No response had been received from the Club. The FSA had been instructed to try and broker a meeting between the TUST board and the Club and initial contact had been made.
Asset of Community Value
The need to renew the ACV in respect of Plainmoor before it expires in March 2020 was noted.
Banning orders
The board condemned the recent news of the violent behaviour of three men supposedly ‘supporters’ of TUFC. It praised the Club and police for taking firm action to prosecute and ban these individuals.
The Chair updated on the unrelated position of the ten or so fans who had been given banning orders for entering the pitch after the last home game of the season. There was no indication that their request for a repeal of the season long ban was being considered by the Club. It was understood that the group were considering their next step following advice from the FSA.
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Jan 3, 2020 10:44:18 GMT
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Post by TUSTOfficial on Jan 3, 2020 16:41:41 GMT
TUST Brochure - pdf now online for exiles and those that did not get a copy on Saturday.
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Post by rjdgull on Jan 24, 2020 21:08:31 GMT
TUST STATEMENT The latest TUST brochure was distributed on New Year’s Day and has gone down well. The brochure is designed to be of benefit to the club and aimed at engaging with local businesses and the wider community. It is available here: www.tust.co.uk/2020-tust-brochure We have received some excellent feedback and we are pleased to report that the exercise has resulted in a number of new members joining the Trust. Despite reports to the contrary, we have received confirmation that a licence was not required from the Police, Torbay Council or the Safety Advisory Group to distribute the brochure outside the stadium on New Year's Day.. It is in all our interests to have a strong Torquay United football club and TUST looks forward to working positively with the club in 2020 to achieve this end. Ruairi Keating: Whilst writing, following today's news of his transfer to Gateshead FC, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Ruairi for his undoubted commitment and passion for our great club. We wish him every success in his future career. SUPPORT TUST - SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY |
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Post by rjdgull on Jan 31, 2020 7:22:48 GMT
January Newsletter
Chairman's Comments
Welcome to our monthly Newsletter. On this occasion I will be writing with my own thoughts next week but in the meantime here is a summary of this month's board meeting. As always, we would welcome any feedback via our e-mail at info@tust.co.uk
Michel Thomas
COYY
January board meeting - summary minutes
Relationship with the Club - Football Supporters’ Association (FSA)
Andy Walsh of the FSA had met with directors of the Club on 9th January with a view to brokering a better relationship between them and TUST. He had subsequently provided feedback to the board and had written again to George Edwards. As we write this at the end of the month he is still waiting for a reply. The TUST board re-iterated its desire to work positively with everyone at the Club to promote our common interests.
Walsh had been keen that TUST should promote the work of its members to improve disabled facilities at Plainmoor and said this aligned with the FSA’s Disability Charter. There was the possibility that the FSA could provide some funding for such initiatives.
He had also encouraged TUST’s policy of liaising with the trusts and other supporter bodies from visiting and other clubs. The FSA were particularly interested in the potential Devon / SW Region trust group.
It had been requested through Andy Walsh that all future concerns of fans about organisational matters should be referred to the Club through Dominic Mee, the appointed Media and Supporter Liaison Co-ordinator. Concern was expressed about his low profile as he is not seen around the ground on match days and he is not listed among other staff on the ‘Contact Us’ page of the TUFC website so there is no e-mail address for him.
Proposed TUFC Supporters Club
There is still no news on the proposal first launched in September although Andy Walsh had been advised that an announcement would be made shortly.
TUST brochure distribution
It was noted that TUST board members distributing the new brochure outside the ground at the game on New Years Day were told to move on by stewards and the police, apparently at the request of Club directors. Despite this approximately 1,000 brochures had been handed out and favourably received.
Subsequent enquiries had established that no licence was required for distributing such material in this location and a discussion with the police and the Safety Advisory Group had confirmed that they had no concerns about TUST’s actions or right to do so.
Asset of Community Value (ACV) - Plainmoor
As previously reported, the current ACV expires on 31st March and the importance of renewing it had been previously agreed. The Secretary advised on the history of the previous application and subsequent revelation that it applied to the Club’s leasehold rather than the Council’s freehold. He referred in particular to the very helpful legal advice on the matter obtained in 2017. This had concluded that, whilst the Council’s interpretation of the effect of the ACV was correct, it would still be of strategic value. It may apply in the event of the Club acquiring the freehold of Plainmoor and subsequently wishing to dispose of it to a third party (eg: for development).
Business networking
It was reported that TUFC had joined Your Partnership (Torbay and Teignbridge) business networking group and arranged a joint breakfast meeting at Plainmoor on 12th February. As TUST is an existing member of YP, it had received an invitation to attend. However, it has received a message from the Club saying that despite this, if TUST representatives attend they will not be permitted to promote TUST, only their own businesses.
Quarterly report
The Treasurer and Membership Secretary advised that the current account stood at £2,226 and the savings account at approximately £40,000.
Membership had increased to 379 with a number of new members joining since the New Year, possibly in response to the brochure.
There was some discussion about possible initiatives for increasing awareness and membership in the wider community such as through schools. Experiences of other trusts would be considered.
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 6, 2020 21:40:52 GMT
Following on from the newsletter the Chairman’s comments are now up on the TUST website to read through- link |
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 21, 2020 21:28:00 GMT
FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING
Summary of board meeting held on 17th February
TUST partnership with TUCST & Women’s Team
We were delighted to welcome Matt Green, joint manager of the Torquay United Women FC, to address the meeting. He presented the current circumstances of TUWFC. With a depleted squad since the Summer the team has struggled on the pitch and is likely to face relegation at the end of the season. However, there is strong support for the women and girls’ teams at all age groups and exciting and viable plans are proposed for the future of these teams next season.
The immediate problem TUWFC face is funding the remainder of this season. There are six fixtures left but only one at home. There is a small balance in the bank but Matt projects a shortfall of £850 to enable the team to complete the season. This is required to cover pitch hire for matches and training and travel costs.
After Matt left the meeting the board considered the position in respect of TUST’s net surplus for 2018/19 (£6k) and the agreed principle of contributing 50% of this to community engagement activities. To date, sponsorship had been provided for the TQ1Club shirts and training tops for the TUCST coaches. A contribution had previously been agreed towards tracksuits for TUWFC but had not been actioned and it was now agreed that this was not a priority in light of the team’s current predicament.
There was a lengthy discussion about TUWFC’s position and its need for funds to complete the season. It was unanimously agreed that TUST should provide an initial sponsorship of £450 towards the shortfall outlined by Matt. The board agreed that TUWFC should be encouraged to seek the remaining funds from other sources. The meeting noted that currently the club makes no financial contribution to the women’s team.
We will look to publicise this sponsorship as we continue to build on our partnership with the Community Sports Trust and TUWFC and draft a press release in consultation with the TUWFC management.
Relationship with the Club
Andy Walsh, Head of the National Game at the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), has been trying to broker a relationship between TUST representatives and the Club’s directors. A long e-mail giving an update from him arrived during the meeting.
In summary, he had received no further communication from George Edwards, adding it was another sign of his unwillingness to understand the role of a democratic supporters’ organisation and the positive impact that working with a forward thinking group such as TUST can have. AW was supportive of all the good work that TUST are doing on behalf of the fans and wider community.
Disabled supporters
The recent appointment by the Club of Jo Harris as Disability Liaison Officer was noted and welcomed. It was agreed to contact her with the offer to provide details of local disability groups which she could liaise with.
Public relations
A contact from one of the business networking events who runs a consultancy had offered to make a presentation to TUST about marketing.
Now that it has been clarified that there is nothing to prevent us from doing so, plans were agreed for distributing the TUST brochure outside then ground at a future home game and also at the away game at Maidenhead.
The Chairman reported on his attendance at the Sport Torbay consultation meeting last month. The aim of the initiative is to develop a new sports plan for Torbay which will reinvigorate and work with key partners and governing bodies to invest and develop sporting opportunities within Torbay. He had agreed to prepare a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats) analysis for Sport Torbay for consideration at the next TUST board meeting.
The launch of the new Torbay Weekly newspaper was noted including Dave Thomas’ joining as TUFC correspondent. Richard Hughes is now the main reporter on TUFC matters at the Herald Express / Devon Live.
Supporters’ Trusts
Arrangements have been confirmed for the next meeting of the Devon Group which will be hosted by TUST on 24th March. The inaugural meeting of SW Regional Group has been scheduled for Sunday 26th July.
Social media
Recent social media activity about the Twitchin family’s disappoinment at not being given free use of the Ian Twitchin suite for one match as previously offered by the Club was noted. The Chairman had been in discussion with the family about this and plans for this season’s Twitchin Trophy award.
Communications procedure
It was agreed to produce more frequent but shorter news items for members and on social media. The Chairman’s monthly comments and summary minutes will be released separately and bite-size pieces will be used more.
Safer Gambling Campaign
The FSA is running a campaign to promote responsible gambling on football and address addictive issues that can arise. It was agreed that this is a worthy campaign that TUST should support. The FSA have produced various promotional material in support of the cause and we will download and use appropriate items.
Any other business
Nick Brodrick raised the issue of government advice on health precautions for large gatherings in light of the Coronavirus threat. Clean washing facilities with soap / anti-bacterial gel and drying facilities were fundamental to this but were sadly lacking in the ground. It was agreed he should raise this with the Supporter Liaison Co-ordinator.
He also drew attention to recent speculation about the possible demise of BBC local radio and whether this may present an opportunity for TU Radio to expand its activities into the wider community.
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 11, 2020 21:36:20 GMT
SUPPORTERS’ TRUSTS ARE HERE TO STAY
The following article written by Nick Brodrick, TUST's board member and Supporter Liaison Officer, appeared in a recent edition of the Non-League Paper.
Supporters’ trusts: a hindrance or help?
In the top four divisions there are probably few clubs without one but in non-league this isn’t the case. Supporters’ trusts should not be confused with supporters’ clubs which are generally run and overseen by the football club whereas a supporters’ trust is an independent body. What a trust is, is a democratic, not-for-profit organisation designed simply to ensure the long term sustainability of its football club. Commonly supporters’ trusts are generally founded in order to increase influence at clubs through a financial stake.
There are over 140 supporters’ trusts across England, Wales and Scotland. While the majority of these are affiliated to football clubs, some exist for Rugby Union & League.
Trusts are formed within the legalities of the Community Benefit Societies (CBS). CBS’s are registered with the Financial Conduct Authorities. The members own all assets and liabilities collectively and any profit made is either kept as reserves or reinvested to meet its objectives. They are not charities. They exist to develop and strengthen the relationship between the football club and the local community, representing the voices of supporters whether living in the local area or as exiles.
Relationships between supporters’ trusts and owners/directors of the football club clearly vary from club to club ranging from trust directors sitting on football club boards to trusts being kept at arms length.
But in some instances, trusts actually run their football club. In the National League there are 13 clubs which have a supporters’ trust. At Wrexham they own the football club; at Woking the trust is the second largest shareholder. Notts County’s have a 30% share in the club. And at Chesterfield their Community Trust is in talks to become the major shareholder of the club by mid-February.
But let’s take a look at a supporters’ trust in a little detail. At Torquay United the supporters’ trust (TUST) was established in 2006, since then there have been ups and downs with a succession of chairmen, the last but one, Michael Goulbourne, having to resurrect the trust in 2014 from almost going out of existence.
TUST, now under the leadership of Michel Thomas, a passionate, driving force, has over 370 paid up fans and corporate members. Fans pay £2 a month to be members with each one having a voting right. And corporate members pay £50 which gives their business a local platform, as they have advertising space in TUST’s annual brochure.
It acts as a critical friend of the football club with its mission statement saying, ‘ TUST promotes good governance and seeks to ensure the long-term sustainability of our club for the benefit of current and future supporters and the wider community.’ Thomas explains, “ Football clubs’ supporters and the clubs’ wider communities are there for the long term. Supporters’ trusts exist to represent people’s interests in their clubs ranging from highlighting and supporting initiatives that enable supporters to enjoy a comfortable and positive matchday experience to endeavouring to support or influence decisions that promote their club’s sustainability for a longer term future.” He continues, “ It’s important for the custodians, whoever they may be, to recognise that the clubs they run are much valued assets to their local and wider communities.”
Tellingly Thomas adds, “ Football stadiums are places for regular community gatherings and not just on match days; they are a part of our culture which is worth preserving and supporters’ trusts are there to ensure this.”
At Torquay United current owner/chairman Clarke Osborne ,who bought the club in December 2016, is rarely seen at matches leaving the day-to-day running of the club to CEO, George Edwards. Osborne, though, through his company Riviera Stadium Limited, owns 92.341% of Torquay United and one of his stated aims is to move the club to a new stadium and this is where TUST as the club’s supporters’ trust can keep an eye on proceedings. To be fair, to date, as the most recent accounts show, Osborne has ploughed in £2.1million to revive the club’s fortunes.
Supporters’ trusts are full members of the Football Supporters Association (FSA), a national body, which provides support and advice, especially to trusts and Supporters’ Associations who have concerns about poor governance of their club. Furthermore, they are represented on the FA Council and advise the Parliamentary Media, Culture and Sports Select Group on national football matters of importance to the game.
So what does a supporters’ trust involve itself in? What does a typical trust do bearing in mind trust officials, although democratically elected, are all non-paid volunteers giving freely of their time? A good example is, in 2018, through the efforts and initiative of the TUST board, Torquay United were the only non-league club to be awarded a grant from the Premier League Fans Fund (PLFF) to enable the trust , along with the Torquay United Community Sports Trust (TUCST), to purchase special equipment, such as a very popular speed goal, to use at FanZones. These have been held on regular occasions before home matches and at outreach events throughout South Devon.
At the same time for the 2018 - 2019 season TUST, with the club’s support, introduced what turned out to be a popular MatchDay Ambassador scheme where a team of volunteers, led by TUST’s supporter liaison officer (SLO) a post which is mandatory in the EFL, welcomed supporters into the ground and dealt with any issues, such as seating problems, which arose. In the National League only 9 clubs have a SLO.
Earlier this season TUST became headline sponsors of Torquay United Community Sports Trust (TUCST), purchasing training tops for the TUCST coaches as well as competition shirts for the TQ1 kids and sponsorship of the Torquay United Women’s team. As TUST chairman Michel Thomas puts it, “ We’re really pleased to show our support of TUCST as it underlines one of our core objectives - outreach and community engagement.”
What is clear is the growing importance of every club having an active supporters’ trust to not only work with their club but also to be there in times of need. “ We fell asleep” is what Bury’s supporters’ trust admitted after the sad demise of their club so there is a big lesson to be learnt.
Towards the end of last year there was an exciting initiative with the inaugural meeting of the supporters’ trusts of Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United to form a Devon Supporters Trust Group with the intention of increasing this into a bigger south-west alliance. With their growing influence in the life of a football club, supporters’ trusts are here to stay and all strength to those who run them.
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Post by rjdgull on Apr 5, 2020 18:53:59 GMT
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Dear members and supporters,
It has taken a while to draw oneself towards writing this as recent global events have unfolded, affecting all of us in so many different ways.
Firstly, as has been overwhelmingly the concern within our society, we hope that everyone in our communities keeps well and safe during this difficult and unprecedented time. Furthermore, that our members, all TUFC supporters, the club management, staff, players and your families are able to see your ways through this and keep healthy.
Our thoughts also go towards the people who work on the front line of the NHS, the carers and many vital various key service providers who are continuing to ensure our well being and safety. We have never appreciated them so much, as was evident again on Thursday evening, on my doorstep at 8pm.
We would also like to publicly appreciate the fact that members of our club have been involved in outreaching to our community. It is really a great gesture that some of our players have been involved in helping the vulnerable with deliveries; that Gary Johnson, Aaron Downes and Asa hall have been phoning many of our senior season tickets holders for a supportive chat and that Dominic Mee has also been getting in touch with supporters. Furthermore, the TU Community Sports Trust and Women's team have also been phoning supporters to make sure that they are safe and to offer any help needed. Gary Johnson's question times on TUFCTV have also been a very welcome initiative for many of us. It has been appreciated that his responses have, with eloquence and clarity, addressed a variety of the ongoing questions he has received from supporters in some depth.
Football matters are, rightly, of secondary importance at this time, as we all have much more important concerns and challenges to come to terms with. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention some various news items of interest. We are just trying to keep some focus on issues, as is our members' remit, that might be of relevance in considering TUFC's possible future situation down the line. The following points seem to be of relevance, realising that many of you will have picked these up for consideration already...
Gary Johnson, in one of his excellent question/answer club TV interviews, positively confirmed that the players' wages were still being paid by the club at this moment in time. Moreover, he felt that Clarke Osborne is amenable to funding this expenditure at this time. Furthermore, he didn't think Mr. Osborne would be cutting his losses and was certain that he wouldn't 'pull the plug', as one supporter put it. He trusts the owner and directors to do 'the right thing by the football club'. We, of course, all hope so too.
The National League confirmed an indefinite postponement of the season's fixtures during the last week. Meanwhile the EFL and National League are understood to have had joint talks about how the future might be best planned. Some sources believe a new regionalised EFL division, encompassing National league clubs and Division 2, is one consideration to ensure our lower level professional clubs have a better chance of surviving financially. There seems to be a mixed opinion on how this season should be concluded. The FA/National Leagues are also understood to be in talks, whilst following the government's guidelines and directives. It must be hard to predict outcomes re the pandemic at the moment.
An interesting article in the Non-League Paper states that Premier League clubs have spent in the region of a total of £261 million on intermediaries(agents) this season. The Dagenham and Redbridge owner estimated that a £20 million funding package at least would be needed for all National League clubs to get through this unprecedented crisis. The article suggested that the PL could quite easily donate a significant amount, re the above figures, to help the professional teams in the lower echelons of the football pyramid to pull through.
It has since been announced that PL players are agreeing to take a 30% wage cut, if the season is not finished or is completed without attendances. This would become a deferral if the PL season is eventually ended normally. I understand that the cut is in order to donate funds towards the NHS and lower league players wages if required. However, some recent breaking news suggests that the PFA believes that footballers are concerned that agreements may benefit club ownerships more than non-playing staff and emergency services.
Meanwhile, the PL has apparently agreed to bring forward solidarity payments of £125 million to the English Football League and National League, with a further £20 million to the NHS. It will be interesting to see the developing criteria used in sharing out the funding to EFL and NL individual clubs.
An excellent supporters trust related article, written by our own TUST liaison officer, was published by the NLP online a week ago and is well worth a read. It has since been published by Supporters Direct Europe!
On a final note, when this global pandemic is eventually over, whenever that might be, the resumption of football will be welcomed by players and supporters alike. This period of absence may just allow people to appreciate a little more the live event ritual of coming together locally on a matchday to share something we all mutually enjoy. Whether playing, meeting up with friends, acquaintances, seeing familiar faces and in many cases attending as a family group or carrying fond family memories.... To be involved again, in one way or another, in the 'beautiful game' as a complete footballing community. This may also include some relief at seeing our familiar fellow clubs also re-appear intact, to re-join with us in sharing healthy competition.
If you know of any TUST member or supporter, particularly our seniors (of whom I am one!) who would benefit from a phone call and a chat, please get in touch ( info@tust.co.uk ). Self -isolating myself, it is something else I can actually do!
In the meantime, stay safe and well everyone.
Best wishes,
Michel Thomas, TUST
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Post by rjdgull on Apr 8, 2020 7:30:17 GMT
RESPONSE TO CLUB STATEMENT
George Edwards’ statement on the club’s website last night was very welcome at this really difficult time, clarifying the club’s policy during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Given these unprecedented times and with no clear guidance yet by either the FA or the National League as to how the current season will end, the decision to furlough now all the staff - management and players - is understandable.
George’s words were upbeat and positive with all Torquay United supporters relieved and reassured to hear that the club’s determination remains to take the club back to the Football League once football resumes.
We, at TUST, fully support his comments especially those regarding everyone at the club being determined to help not only the club but also the local Torbay communities which very much echos TUST’s mission statement.
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You must remember the warnings about ‘creeping Socialism’ back when you were over here, Florida ? It’s just that it would creep at one hell of a fast pace should Corbyn get power, and he’d want like minded people or organisations given power within as many facets of Society as possible.