It is fair to say that this season has been a somewhat turbulent ride for those associated with Torquay United. Thankfully for those with the Gulls in their hearts, National League South safety has been achieved.
Experienced manager Gary Johnson left Plainmoor and has been temporarily replaced by his assistant Aaron Downes. During his short tenure, Downes has had to contend with the club calling in the administrators, being deducted ten points and then losing a further point for fielding an ineligible player.
In February, club owner Clark Osbourne announced he could no longer support the club financially. At the time of this announcement, The Gulls sat 11th in the National League but the eventual points deduction plunged the club into relegation trouble.
Tuesday night’s victory at Taunton United has secured the club’s National League South status, for now at least. They still face an uncertain future as they wait for a takeover.
One man who is keenly watching the situation from afar is former Gull’s youth product, Lee Sharpe. The pacey winger became, at the time, the club’s youngest-ever debutant when he took to the field at 16 years and 70 days in 1987.
It didn’t take long for the big clubs to start taking an interest, but it was Alex Ferguson and Manchester United who managed to prise Sharpe away from the Devonshire club in a deal worth around £185,000.
The Real EFL were given an exclusive opportunity to ask the former winger about the situation at his former club and what needs to be done to stop this problem from continually happening.
“It’s a shame that football clubs come to this, it’s not the first and I’m sure it won’t be the last one. With all the money that is in football, you would like to think that someone sensible can sit down and organise some filter system so that the money from the top makes its way down to the lower tiers.”
“But, as you say, something needs to be done from the top to help these teams who are struggling down the bottom with finances.”
Sharpe, who went on to win three Premier League titles at Old Trafford, felt that those clubs lower down the pyramid must also ensure they have their affairs in order.
“But you’ve also got to make sure these lower-tier clubs are run right. I think there’s going to be a fan consortium that is going to try and buy the club and get them back out of trouble. I really hope that happens.”
Lee Sharpe spoke to The Real EFL courtesy of BetVictor.
Writer’s View
It is a desperate situation when a football club falls on such hard times financially. There are many reasons as to why these clubs fall into financial issues and, as Sharpe said, they must make sure they look after themselves first.
However, with the cost of living as it is if simply surviving for clubs who have attempted to live within their means becomes impossible there has to be a system in place to share some of the extreme wealth at the top end of the game.
