I sincerely hope they come out of this.

It looks very bad for them: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68372224

Debts of over £5 million and in danger of dropping out of the NLS. For once it's not an historic northern club with a long history in the football league facing oblivion, but still a real shame.

Fates a funny thing, wonder if they had won the penalty shoot out if they'd still be in the league, higher, our level or lower?, if if's and buts were apples and nuts.

Sad times ahead for a lot of clubs our size...

Sad that is….I always thank them for Eifion.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that there are many other Clubs in trouble.

Relying on "one man/woman" to finance a Club is mostly very short sighted. Not for the fact they can run out of cash but mostly they are from an older age which normally brings them closer to God's waiting room and their family might not want to continue laying out cash from their estate.

That could have been us a few seasons ago, in fact nearly was us against Wrexham.

In 20 years time I can see there being only 2 English leagues, Premiership and Championship all filled spaces with the big city teams with big grounds and attendances, Thanks Sky for finally driving the last nail into the little clubs coffins.

Not looking good, got to feel for their fans. Their Chairman's statement says it all lately, need local authority and local business support to run a professional football club, or a sugar daddy to fund their trophy club. Plus the fa t that the vast majority of the money that football generates stays in the top tier.
Who's next?

And Sir Cyril

That's what I'm thinking off, I bet the FA are rubbing their hands in glee. Gives them more of a reason to kill the little clubs off.

Just been on Torquay forum and it's the Chairman who has spat the dummy because the council would not sell him the land to build a new club. The bloke who runs the board had written to the Chairman and told him a few truths with lead to his resignation. That's more or less what's gone on. The club was badly run from top to bottom according to the fans.

Manager Gary Johnson leaves by mutual consent.
https://torquayunited.com/johnson-departs-tuafc/

Perhaps Mr Singh isn’t all that bad after all!

Nah, half right. The EFL will still exist, but leagues one and two will feature "giants" such as Bromley, Harrogate Town, Fleetwood Town, Borehamwood, Eastleigh, playing in front of 1,200 odd with 15 away fans. All while games like Pools v Scunthorpe will be in the NPL.

MK Dons were the start of it sadly.

It’s the future I dread….two ‘divisions’ although they ‘ll have thought up even poncier fancy Dan names based solely on the crowd they can generate and size of stadium all geographically located to gain maximum coverage all with the the media blessing, for instance round here they’ll go Tees Valley= Borers.
The future’s shite.

Lovely club Torquay United and their Plainmoor ground. Their social club is as good as any. Great sadness if they go under. A large area like Torbay needs a successful TUFC. The Gulls are one of the better southern clubs and I hope along with Rochdale they survive. Best of luck both of you.

The Chairman apparently has only attended 4/5 home games in the 3/4 years and has a "record" of "destroying" other Football Clubs as well as quite a few Speedway venues.

He's had not good dealings in Bristol, with both Rovers & City and appears to be only interested in the land to build houses on!

Absolute disgrace the way that club was allowed to form.

The thing that got my goat with MK Dons (stupid bloody name)….was those gormless Wimbledon fans who still supported them up in plastic Milton Keynes.

Surely it'll be a more northerly team that replaces them if they go or will Lands End be invited to replace them?

the biggest shame if torquay do go out is that their fans have not another club to support thats close to them. doubt they,ll go to exeter as that would be like us supporting darlo.

Unfortunately now, they do have a strong support from Milton Keynes and Bletchley over the past 19 years. You have kids in the late 20 early 30's supporting them from 04 season.
However, in my eyes, they all will be a plastic American franchise club, with no Identity or history.

Nah, half right. The EFL will still exist, but leagues one and two will feature "giants" such as Bromley, Harrogate Town, Fleetwood Town, Borehamwood, Eastleigh, playing in front of 1,200 odd with 15 away fans. All while games like Pools v Scunthorpe will be in the NPL.

why do these new age clubs never get into financial difficulties like traditional lower league clubs seem to get in. in the last 10 years its more than just pools but others including chesterfield, oldham and even wrexham and stockport have had their money problems.

I’ve heard Scilly Isles Academicals are top to replace them, but Falklands Wednesday are touted, but maybe a bit too far sarf.

somewhere the ize of milton keynes deserves to have a football league club as there isn,t once close. its how it came into being that annoys fans and rightfully so.

These clubs are young and fresh of the street, they don't have money worries yet, because it's like someone starting a new high paid job and can afford things in first few years, before the debt builds up and creditor come knocking at the door, as loans and Mr/Mrs Visa or MasterCard are maxed out and can't afford the repayments.
Or they chairperson is mega rich they can afford the salaries in the NL.

They have Luton, Northampton and the mighty Brackley

Nowhere deserves a team, you build/ create a team but size gives it no privileges.

surely though a city the size of milton keynes with its geography deserves a team in the football league far more than yet another team from greater london or the north west or west yorkshire. again its how it came into being that annoys football fans instead of throwing millions at the original milton keynes non league side. that would eventually had happened if the situation had not cropped up where they just used the system that was around at the time.

In general terms most league clubs are from the larger towns and cities but there are exceptions. The following are all much bigger than Hartlepool.

Dudley 310’000
Maidstone 140’000
Basingstoke - 160’000
Croydon - 350’000 (arguably Palace falls within this one)
Warrington - 190’000
Gateshead - 190’000

I’m sure there’s more.

Figures are deceptive, take Gateshead, they cover a large area but the core population of the actual,place of Gateshead will be lower, plus in their case their masters over the Tyne have the concession.
Stockton has a big population because the authority covers Billingham, Thornaby, Yarm etc who are not really part of Stockton and the core population of the actual town of Stockton is much lower.
At the end of the day just because you have a big population a big team follows, might be a rugby town or have a successful team in a neighbouring town, but it’s patently obvious they don’t have a team because no one bothered to create one back in the day.

Dudley has about 80,000 - are the other 230,000 illegals?

Some of us have been toughened to the conditions for years.. .. But we still have broad shoulders.Up the Darlo

family and friend benefits?..it's all perfectly, wokeable.

back in the post war era i thought that the voting in and out of clubs to the league was quite fair. those who came in were far more deserving than the clubs voted out until barrow got the boot. who really missed the likes of new brighton, gateshead, bradford park avenue or accrington that went bust apart from the few who watched them who had an easy alternative. peterborough, oxford and cambridge had more success in a few seasons these ever had.

Hope it works out for them. Another stalwart of division 4.

[quote
somewhere the ize of milton keynes deserves to have a football league club as there isn,t once close. its how it came into being that annoys fans and rightfully so.[/quote]

Apologies for being an argumentative git - Northampton are one junction up the M1 and Luton are 3 junctions down the M1.

Most lads my age (late 50s) that I know in MK support London clubs. On a good day, the train takes 35 minutes into London.

Selfishly, it was good for me when Wimbledon moved there and went down the pyramid, as it meant I could see HUFC play less than 30 minutes from my house.

Apologies for being an argumentative git - Northampton are one junction up the M1 and Luton are 3 junctions down the M1.

Most lads my age (late 50s) that I know in MK support London clubs. On a good day, the train takes 35 minutes into London.

Selfishly, it was good for me when Wimbledon moved there and went down the pyramid, as it meant I could see HUFC play less than 30 minutes from my house.[/quote]
so have these lads just carried on supporting clubs they did before moving there. you will always get good numbers from their supporting london clubs because of family traditions of the past. the reason most of us supported pools and carry on with the tradition. those who did decide to throw in their lot with the local side get more stick than they deserve being the club nobody likes and its none of their fault as they did not create it.

Deducted 10 points for entering administration, now only 3 points above the relegation zone.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68553988

Dunno why but I keep seeing their supporters faces during the penalty shoot out and feel really sorry for them since that day.

Wonder how many of thier fans felt for us when we were relegated, Its football give ya heads a shake.

I suppose at the end of the day it comes down to the over the years experiences with these old clubs that each of us have experienced. I enjoyed my trips to the likes of Torquay and class them as one of us whatever that means in reality. I hope they get sorted and we meet again, preferably in the EFL.

I suppose at the end of the day it comes down to the over the years experiences with these old clubs that each of us have experienced. I enjoyed my trips to the likes of Torquay and class them as one of us whatever that means in reality. I hope they get sorted and we meet again, preferably in the EFL.

Behave….I’m talking about their situation now.
Most fans won’t give a toss, but I’m not most fans….. and I have some sympathy for their fans situation, because they’re just like us.

Probably have to go down the Trust fans owned method like Exeter.
Think an away game in FA Cup at Man Utd got them back on track.
Anyhow don't think Pools should be content just ticking over in division 5.
Once that mindset becomes acceptable the slow rot sets in. Because you get the talk talk of ambition that remains talk talk with minimum progress.
See what 24/25brings.
UTP.

Back in 1991 a pal of mine ran a company that post Hilsborough report put CCTV into football stadiums. As it was Torquay v Pools first game of the season we made a Friday to Sunday weekend of it. We called into the ground to see the stadium manager on the Friday and after a discussion on the works without telling him we were Pools fans talked about the upcoming game. He then said ‘we will be visiting that shithole on a cold Tuesday night probably ‘ now the town isn’t perfect and he is entitled to his opinion but it was only as a big contract was at stake tongues were bitten. I’ve had probably misplaced dislike of them ever since. Lost 3-1 as well.

thats just one persons opinion who most likely only saw the road in and back out of the town. wonder how many of us have called certain towns shit holes after just doing the same as he might have done. for me just go to a match at the usual suspects barrow, oldham and rochdale those places actually look better than they are if you only travel to the grounds, park up, watch the match and go straight back home.

I could see his point as it was a glorious August weekend in a very nice part of the world but I did take huge inwards offence. I hated the the chant that goes
‘The team your playings a shithole I wanna go home.