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Torquay are on the verge of a full-blown crisis amid rumours of player walkouts and crumbling finances.
The financial background of chairman Chris Roberts, originally described as a successful football agent and businessman, has been called into question after local press unveiled a string of debts, failed companies, and resentful former business partners. It is understood that Roberts financial situation is so poor that he is unable to get a mortgage.
Now, little more than ten weeks after taking over, Torquay United are on the verge of running out of money and players.
Goalkeeper Nathan Abbey and striker Mickey Evans both quit the club in recent weeks and Evans' fellow strikers Lee Thorpe and Jamie Ward are both believed to be in open warfare with Roberts. Ward, a summer signing from Aston Villa after the Gulls beat off a dozen competing clubs for his services, is believed to be set to sign for MK Dons after handing in a transfer request. Loan players Kyle Critchell and Jordan Robertson are also believed to be on the verge of being recalled by Sheffield United over non-payment of wages - a move that could leave the club with just 13 available players for their New Years Day match.
Yesterday, for the third time, Torquay failed to fill their substitutes bench with rookie keeper Martin Horshell the only stopper at the club. Their existing monthly wage bill is believed to have only been covered by the revenue from Saturday's home match with Macclesfield - a game that left them bottom of the League.
Manager Lubos Kubik is believed by many to be a pawn in Roberts' game. The picture painted by Roberts to Kubik of League Two football is allegedly far inferior to the product that the league actually is. Finances to cover the promised string of Eastern European players are said to be dry, with Kubik also believing the intended targets are not of the required quality, and the few assets inherited from previous chairman Mike Bateson have been spent on expensive junkets and consultations over a proposed new stadium.
Torquay fans are bracing themselves for a long second-half of the season with many already expecting Conference football next season. The less optimistic aren't expecting the club to survive long enough.
