Post by Dave on Jan 8, 2009 23:30:39 GMT
I have a feeling this thread may get some heated debate, but I do think its a question that should be asked. A football club is now a days a business and as such has to stand on its own feet, just like any other business, so is there anything that makes it a special case to get what would be local tax payers money to help it out.
As football fans I'm sure we would all think that the local council should do more to help the club, but what does the club do for a place like Torbay? and out of the whole population of Torbay, how many people would feel the club was important.
Now back in the 60s and 70s, factories around the UK would all close at the same time for summer holidays and thousands of families would get on trains and come to the bay. They would have packed out all the holiday camps around the bay, not sure how many there were, but most have now long since gone.
Football at this time had many problems and has so often been associated with violence etc, maybe not what you would want to see in a seaside holiday town. To be fair we have not had that many real problems, but after the famous Wanders match, how many shoppers and shopkeepers in Torquay wished they would never see football fans again.
When we had evening kick offs Torquay never appeared on the football coupons, so the town did not benefit from getting its name seen and anyway the football team is not responsible for putting Torquay on the map.
How would the local tax payers feel, if the council said, that it could not sort out rock walk for a few more years, the reason being is because it has helped out the football club, I'm sure most would be unhappy. You see its OK for some to keep going on about what does not happen etc, but the plain fact is, that football and the club, is only important to a small number of the Bays residents. I wish the whole bay were fans of football and the club, but they are not and there will always be some who might even be glad if it did not exist anymore.
I think the real point I'm trying to make is, we as fans love the club and to us it is so very important as it should be, but other people like other things and those things will be more important to them and we just have to except that as fact and just get on and do our part to help and support our club as we have always done.
As football fans I'm sure we would all think that the local council should do more to help the club, but what does the club do for a place like Torbay? and out of the whole population of Torbay, how many people would feel the club was important.
Now back in the 60s and 70s, factories around the UK would all close at the same time for summer holidays and thousands of families would get on trains and come to the bay. They would have packed out all the holiday camps around the bay, not sure how many there were, but most have now long since gone.
Football at this time had many problems and has so often been associated with violence etc, maybe not what you would want to see in a seaside holiday town. To be fair we have not had that many real problems, but after the famous Wanders match, how many shoppers and shopkeepers in Torquay wished they would never see football fans again.
When we had evening kick offs Torquay never appeared on the football coupons, so the town did not benefit from getting its name seen and anyway the football team is not responsible for putting Torquay on the map.
How would the local tax payers feel, if the council said, that it could not sort out rock walk for a few more years, the reason being is because it has helped out the football club, I'm sure most would be unhappy. You see its OK for some to keep going on about what does not happen etc, but the plain fact is, that football and the club, is only important to a small number of the Bays residents. I wish the whole bay were fans of football and the club, but they are not and there will always be some who might even be glad if it did not exist anymore.
I think the real point I'm trying to make is, we as fans love the club and to us it is so very important as it should be, but other people like other things and those things will be more important to them and we just have to except that as fact and just get on and do our part to help and support our club as we have always done.
