A WEEK'S A LONG TIME.....
….in the life of Torquay United!
Believe it or not, it was only lunchtime last Thursday when Clarke Osborne announced that he was no longer willing to fund the club and had served notice of his intention to put it into administration.
The TUST board has been incredibly busy since then meeting its brief to do everything possible to secure the future of professional football in Torquay. We are all volunteers and give our time willingly to the cause we love. Some are still working and have juggled those commitments with the needs of the Trust, suffering personal financial loss in some cases. We would not have it any other way.
This is a summary of what has been done over the past week;
Held an emergency board meeting on Friday and informal Zoom meetings every evening this past week.
Co-opted three TUST members on to the board to strengthen its experience.
Jon Gibbes is an accountant and will be known to many as the club’s unofficial historian with an unrivalled knowledge of the club’s story.
Matt Gorman is an chartered financial adviser and past TUST treasurer.
Shaun Tanner is a lifelong supporter and insolvency practitioner.
Jon and Matt have been members of our Strategy Team for several years.
Offered our full support and best wishes to Aaron Downes and the team at this difficult time.
Launched a Crowdfunder which has raised over £5,000 to date.
Handed out membership details at the home game on Saturday.
Processed an influx of more than 250 new members.
Received and dealt with a huge number of media enquiries resulting in interviews with local television, local press, TalkTV, national football press When Saturday Comes magazine, the Price of Football podcast among others.
Promoted the plight of the club amongst the football community to galvanise support both in terms of attendees at games and also from a financial perspective.
Received and responded to many offers of support from members, other Gulls’ fans, supporters of other clubs and other trusts.
Welcomed a very generous offer from Weymouth FC to donate funds from ticket sales for this Saturday’s match.
Discussed the club’s position and offer of assistance with the trusts at Argyle and Exeter.
Made plans for a Fans Forum (subsequently postponed – details to follow).
Sought advice from the Football Supporters’ Association and other practitioners.
Met with Kevin Foster MPAttending cross-party meeting with Torbay Council (this afternoon).
Been approached by potential bidders enabling us to promote the case for fan involvement in the future running of the club.
Proactively sought out other potential bidders.
Met with the club and its advisers which was a very productive meeting providing some comfort of a positive outcome and secure future for the football club (a detailed statement will follow).
Issued frequent updates to members and across social media.
We apologise to anyone who has contacted us and not received a full reply. We have simply been too busy to deal with everything.
We appreciate the support that our membership have offered and reassure ALL supporters of our continued commitment to securing a yellow future.
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