The club is in a ruthless, survival of the fittest competition. Appearance records and wistful thoughts about how things were in the 1960s should play no part in contract negotiations!
I've lifted this quote from another thread because this may be the more appropriate place for a few reflections and to pose some questions.
Islington's comment prompts an "historical" observation from the period 1995-2007 when, to me, it was noticeable how we fell behind other 4th tier clubs with respect to facilities, commerical activities, turnover and general outlook. Since 2007, I suspect we've made progress on many fronts but there's still a lot to be done to test the mantle of those who run the club.
Several months ago, Jon reminded us that it was unusual for Torquay United to be in a league where we were one of the "bigger" clubs. Now, of course, normal service has been resumed. I've no comparative
turnover figures to hand so it's a case of falling back on the old staple of
attendance figures. This season's average over the 23 home league games - 2243 - would have placed us 19th in the Lge 2 attendance chart. Add another 25% and we'd remain 19th; another 50% and we're up to 15th; 75% brings 13th place; double the crowds and we'd just be in the top 10.
But it's not just about attendances, as we know, and this is where
expertise - on and off the field - comes into play. From my limited observation of Plainmoor behind the scenes, I'm confident the club is moving in the right direction and I'm hopeful Colin Lee's role will become increasingly more significant and appreciated. I'm really at a loss when people bemoan Colin Lee's lack of involvement in
team affairs because I'm pretty sure this was never meant to be on the agenda. Didn't he set out to bring
business and
administrative expertise based upon a career in football? Lee runs the club - Buckle the team - simple as that. He's a chief executive with the
added extra of being an ex-team manager. Shouldn't we now anticipate that Colin Lee's experience of
other clubs will really pay dividends?
And what of the team? Well, our promotion of 2003/04 showed that anything is possible even when - as in that case (but not now) - a club has a pretty shaky infrastructure. When talking to a couple of Exeter supporters yesterday, I said that after winning promotion to the League
three years quicker than Exeter I'd be content to take
three years longer than City did to win promotion again. Perhaps that's me trying to
slightly dampen my own expections in the wake of Wembley but, to be honest, to win promotion to League 1 by 2013 would be a hell of an achievement and there's certainly some arguments to be aired about walking before running. And further ahead - if and when promotion to Lge 1 ever happens - there's the issue of whether a place in that league can be
sustained.
Which begs the question of what can we
reasonably anticipate over a longer period of, say, twenty years?
I had to smile over Merse's observation that promotion in 2004 at least ensured league football until 2006. Funnily enough,
we said the same coming back from Roots Hall just as - on the way to Brisbane Road in 1998 - we argued that promotion would have guaranteed Football League membership until the new century. In truth - save perhaps for those heady twelve months following Mike Bateson's purchase of the club in 1990 - the Conference was just over the horizon for many years. This may explain how some of us took a pretty sanguine view when it arrived and why, even now, I remain surprised that relegation took so long to happen. And, in the run up to the Cambridge game, didn't Sam suggest that 22nd in Lge 2 each year would do the trick for him? I take his point but there's something
Batesonesque about that and I'm not sure if it would breed a strong club.
Look back and you'll see 1969-1989 brought us three seasons in the 3rd tier followed by seventeen in the 4th tier. 1989-2009 equated to sixteen 4th tier seasons; two in the 3rd tier; two in the 5th tier. Repeat that during 2009-2029 and I suppose we'll get our money worth if nothing else. But what would you anticpate for 2009-2029? And what would you settle for?
