A message from the staff and players

From Jake Ash:

I know these forums are sacred to the supporters and I try not to read them (I can’t bear the constant barracking!) but on behalf of the staff and players we feel it is necessary to use this platform on this occasion.

This evening - Tuesday 11th September – several players and staff have signed a 100% wage deferral until the end of October while the administrators seek investment to take the club forward. This will essentially equate to a second successive month for which we will all go unpaid.

It is our understanding that without a large percentage of us agreeing to this, the club would not be a viable entity and would cease to trade.

Needless to say this has been a massive moral and financial decision for everyone at the club. We will lose some players as a result of this, and those that do, I have no doubt will leave with the upmost respect and understanding of everyone associated with the club, including the supporters. It is obvious to everyone the affect of not getting paid has; we have boys who are struggling to meet mortgages; boys who can’t afford to put fuel in their car to get down to home games and staff who are funding basic first aid equipment, pre match meals and half time refreshments through now stretched credit cards. We are not asking for sympathy – we are all incredibly privileged to do what we do, and to receive money in order to do it. But everyone here has done it for the club, and has gone through some horrible days and weeks, because without exception we all care for this football club.

That is why many of us have made the decision to sign the deferrals in order to give the wheels of change some time to turn. The success of this process is entirely out of our hands, other than providing our time in order for a takeover to be a viable proposition. For many of us this will mean making personal and financial sacrifices. But we all want there to be a Truro City Football Club, run properly and carrying the same badge that conveys all the history and pride that we all feel when we represent it.

I must stress that the club is now run solely by the administrators. Anyone who had grievances, for whatever reason, with anyone previously associated with the club, must now know that there is no link or any decision making made by the previous directors. We all respect everything that they tried to do with the club, and I am not going to run anyone down. But that regime is gone, and anyone that pays money through the turnstiles can be assured that the money will go towards helping to safeguard the future of the club by allowing the club to trade for as long as possible to conclude a sale.

Healthy crowds will help extend this period and thereby increase the chances of survival. We are calling on everyone to get themselves, family, friends, enemies, neighbours etc to Treyew on Saturday and get behind a truly loyal bunch of men who are giving their upmost in horrible circumstances to ensure a football club remains, and it’s history ensues. This could be the start of a really exciting new era. Even if it isn’t, at least we know we tried.

We, as players and staff, will do everything we can to give the club a chance with what we do on the field. Saturday wasn’t good enough, but I am sure it was a one off. In the meantime we are personally taking it upon ourselves to organise as much fundraising for the players and staff as our evenings will allow. Any money we do raise will keep the players and staff here in the short term and essentially gives the administrator more time to make a deal happen. The administrator, Kate Breese, has assured us that any money WE raise will ONLY go to the staff and players, 100% of it.

In short, these efforts will be used to directly pay the staff and players. Having spoken to numerous fans I know this is something they have talked about wanting to support. Thanks to my red card (keeper definitely dived!), I will start this with a bucket collection along with the injured crew on Saturday! Plans are also afoot for a golf day (Killiow Golf Club have already offered their course to us – thank you John!) and also a separate evening with a celebrity speaker (and although Yetts regards himself as a celeb, I do mean a proper one) and sit down meal.

Please, please, please – anyone that would want to help organise this or who has any contacts please get in touch via the details below. The administrators are also in the process of setting up a PayPal account so that anyone wanting to buy tickets for these events, can do so from a distance. Whilst we would never expect to meet our wages from these events, even if we can ensure staff and players are able to get to and from games, it would be a great relief.

It would be a real fantastic justification of our decision to see a big crowd on Saturday. It will cement the feeling that the community share our desire to see the Football Club carry in the guise we know it. And long after we as players and staff have left the club, you will still have a team to support on Saturday, playing at a level at which we all know a club in Cornwall should, and sustainably, can.

We really hope that our signing of these deferrals will ensure time for a satisfactory resolution to transpire. We are under no illusions that this may not actually be what happens, and that after the deferrals’ we may be even more out of pocket, but we have to give it a chance. When the deferral period is over we hope a positive decision will be an increasing reality. The longer this goes on, the more difficult it becomes so we all hope those interested in taking over resolve this as quickly as possible.

It goes without saying, and everyone who knows anything about the Truro City will know, that a club can prosper at this level. With the right people in charge, and the support of the community, this can be a real hub for Truro, and Cornwall. It can – without doubt - be a place with the sort of buzz we have experienced at so many other grounds up and down the Country in towns, cities and counties with far fewer patriotic communities than the one we boast.

We just need to get behind it, for as long as we can, and as a group together – players, staff, supporters, community and investors – give it a chance to be the club we know it can be.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.

See you on Saturday!

Jake Ash
07769 210089
tcfcadmin@googlemail.com

P.S. - We know there has been a lack of information coming out over the recent months, and we have been subject to it too. We will do our best to use this forum to keep everyone as up to date as we can.