Thanks to Chris for answering this weeks questions.
Thanks to Chris for answering this weeks questions.
How Long Have You Supported Torquay?
I went to my first game in August 1997, although it wasn’t until my first away game in 2003 that I really caught the fever.
Last Season’s League Finish?
13th in the Conference. Probably slightly under par for the squad we had, although not by much. We had never been outside the football league before our 2007 relegation and finished in the play-offs in both seasons at this level back then, so it’s in the history books as our lowest ever finish – although we’ll break that again this season.
What Do You Think Of Your (Caretaker) Manager?
Hard to tell really as he’s only been here for a few months and has only had one game in sole charge. I don’t think he’ll be here too long now that Cox has gone and he’s not got a contract or getting paid anything other than expenses.
Hopes/Expectations This Season?
Before the season started I thought Paul Cox would deliver a boring lower mid table season. Right now, I would snap your hand off for 5th from bottom as I think we’re in real danger of going down.
One(s) To Watch?
James Hurst has scored 5 goals so far this season from right-wing back. The rest of the squad doesn’t really have anyone noteworthy, as our league position suggests. Our captain and best player Luke Young damaged his cruciate ligament the week before the opening match and will miss the whole season.
You signed ex-Imp Waide Fairhurst in the summer. How has he performed?
Unfortunately he’s been injured since the first week of the season so has only made two substitute appearances. Having two of our senior players missing has been a huge blow to us so far as we simply don’t have the money to replace them.
Paul Cox resigned last week. How did that situation arise?
To cut a very, very long story short – he had been working without a contract (as has his assistant John Ramshaw, who is now the caretaker manager) since the appointment. The deal was that we would pay him expenses, plus provide accommodation, food and a car for him, but there was no contract or an actual wage. The agreement was that this would raise his profile after more than six months out the game, and that we would look at things again in October. The hope being that we would be in a better financial position and able to offer him a contract.
Unfortunately we are still paying our last manager Chris Hargreaves and attendances have not been too great, so when he gave the board an ultimatum last week, they were unable to offer him anything and he resigned.
Your finances have obviously been a big talking point down there since the beginning of the year. From the point at which Thea Bristow announced she was stepping down as Chairwoman, what have been the timeline events?
Again, to cut a huge story short? Paul and Thea Bristow won £15m on the lottery about 10 years ago. When the club was relegated in 2007 he was one of the consortium who took over. He sadly died a few years later and his widow took his place on the board.
She is not a football fan, but wanted to carry on his work and his passion. The new main stand was chiefly funded by her and named ‘Bristow’s Bench’ in his honour. Once that was finished she had achieved her aim of a lasting tribute to her husband and so announced that she would step down once new owners were found.
What happened in this time, to overly simplify things, was that the club was run without any control. As the only one with any money, Thea was the one putting her hands into her pockets when we needed anything, and over time she became more involved. She was appointed Chairwoman, but has never had any experience running any business or interest in football. Others were running the club but she was the ceremonial head. Basically by this point she was covering the losses the club made, so there was never any need to run the club properly, we just did what we wanted and she covered the shortfall. This amount grew and grew until the point that she was paying out about £2000 per DAY.
When she announced that she was stopping this, she agreed to write off the circa £3m she had put into the club and give away all her shares for £1. However even debt free and for £1 there was no-one wanting to take over. Eventually a new consortium of local fans was put together, but they are not rich people and are not funding anything, so we can only spend money we generate.
Years of over-spending compared to our revenue means that we’ve had to cut-back by over £700k a year to reach this break-even point. The cutbacks in some areas will take longer to achieve (such as Chris Hargreaves and the previous staff on wages we can no longer afford but are committed to until the end of the season) so the playing budget has taken the biggest whack.
From next season we should be in a stronger position, but until then we have to make ends meet, which means we currently cannot afford to pay a manager a salary or sign any players. The real worry is that with a weak squad, no manager and long-term injuries to our best players we might get relegated again before we have a chance to rebuild. If that happens then I don’t know what we’ll do.
Top Five Predictions?
Forest Green, Wrexham, Cheltenham, Gateshead and Grimsby.
Bottom Four Predictions?
Please, please, please, just anyone but us.
Thoughts on Lincoln City?
If you let us win on Saturday you will be my second favourite team in this division.
If we’re playing the first thing that comes into your head game, then air raid sirens is the first thing that comes to mind.
Score Prediction?
With the run we’re on, and no leadership to improve the situation, I just can’t see anything other than a home win. Lincoln 3-1 Torquay would be my guess.
Random Fact About Your Club?
In 2010 we were two minutes away from going 1000 minutes without conceding – something only a handful of clubs have ever done. But in true Torquay United fashion we conceded after 998 minutes. That season we also lost in the play-off final and lost to Crawley in the FA Cup 4th Round, who then drew Man Utd away in the next round.
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