Matches 1st ST Ballot

[WokinghamYellow]

It doesn’t bother me at all, people these days want to rebel against anything they don’t agree with. Try looking at the bigger picture of things people.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Massive own goal by the club, to please 200 and upset 4500.

Perhaps 4500 of us AREN’T as upset as you are.

 

[NC2U]

The fans who pay more than others do so for the reason that they get a better seat and view, or benefits such as parking and use of the lounge etc, and the reason the Oxford Mail stand is cheapest is because for a lot of people they don’t like the view. They don’t pay more to get priority over things like away tickets or cup tickets so why should they get priority over this.
It doesn’t matter though whether you are east stand or 1893 member, the one thing in common is that everyone has paid up front to see the games and therefore should get an equal chance to do so.

This is a bit of an own goal by the club, and even if after the three game period they change it, they are then going to potentially annoy a lot of corporate ST holders who will feel they should get priority, because now the precedent has been set, it will be difficult to take away.
The stupid thing is, I don’t think most 1893 fans were expecting priority so the club didn’t even need to do this and upset other supporters.

I’m not sure what the answer is but I think whatever the club do now, they are going to find sections of supporters angry and upset.

 

[Coffin dodger]

I appreciate that some people aren't upset or bothered, but it just strikes of the Tory attitude of the more you pay the more you get.
We'll find out when the ballot is completed and a percentage of season ticket holders are only getting to see 1 game wheras others are getting all 3.
I'd like the club to publish exact figures for season ticket holders, there is a vagueness of actual numbers, I've seen figures on here of (from memory) between 3850 and nearly 5000. There are also a fair few that currently live in tier 3 so are not allowed to travel.

 

[NC2U]

For the record I am a ST holder and although I believe we should all be in the ballot, tbh I’m not actually that bothered, but there are obviously a lot of aggrieved people. I think the club are in a difficult position and whatever they do at the moment people are finding fault, but it’s such a difficult situation that finding answers that suit everyone is impossible, and that’s why I understand why they have taken this route and why I’m not so bothered.

 

[carefreeoufc]

Out of interest how many tickets does this amount to? Perhaps a more complicated but fairer way would have been to have say 100 guaranteed spots so the 200 got a 50% chance of bagging a ticket. Then any not selected went into the paupers pot?

 

[bazzer9461]

It doesn’t bother me at all, people these days want to rebel against anything they don’t agree with. Try looking at the bigger picture of things people.

So what’s the bigger picture? “ you’re privileged so you can have a ticket for all the home games, sorry you’re not privileged so you go into the hat “

 

[OxfordYankee]

If by bigger picture you mean the pandemic, Brexit, world hunger and war, you have a point; first world problems and all that.

If you’re referring to the current financial situation faced by football clubs, I think it is you that need to look at the bigger picture.

Oxford United rely upon their season ticket holders and by prioritising some of them they have introduced separation into what has been a united group. In my opinion, they are taking for granted a group whom have been asked for and shown their commitment. That’s a dangerous game to play and gauging the level of unhappiness on here and Twitter, I think they will come to regret this divisive and short-sighted policy.

 

[werthersoriginal]

So what’s the bigger picture? “ you’re privileged so you can have a ticket for all the home games, sorry you’re not privileged so you go into the hat “

Privileged implies that they’re getting benefits through being favoured in some way, whereas they have actually paid more - but then so has everyone in the South stand. Seems odd to annoy everyone just to please a few would-be local big shots

 

[bazzer9461]

So in an update on the FAQ’s if you can’t make the game you’ve been allocated, you can contact the club and see if they can rearrange your ticket for one of the other games....yeah right that will work “ so you can’t attend the Doncaster game, what game can you attend? The AFC Wimbledon game, ok no problem.”

 

[Manorlounger]

I do wish that people would think a bit more about what they post. Some of the stuff posted here is misinformed and some really upsetting.

This labelling of 1893 club members as "local big shots", "privileged", "prawn sandwich brigade" is daft. In the main they are long standing supporters who have graduated to a point where, in order to enjoy watching their team, have to look for the seats that provide access to toilets, a lift, somewhere to warm up at half time and some form of social interaction with fellow supporters. For some it will be their only social interaction of the week. I exchange comments on a regular basis with a single elderly chap who sits next to me at games. To his right are two ladies one of whom has struggled for some time to manage the steps and did once take a tumble nearly injuring herself in the process. On our table we have a widower, a terminally ill chap and most are well past retirement age. Some come with grandchildren, even great grandchildren. Mrs Lounger and I opted for seats in this area because of the distance we travelled to home games and needed a car park space in advance as we would have never made it in time otherwise. We enjoyed our experience and have remained season ticket holders despite the expense. And, no, we are not wealthy. I don't know any in the 1893 club who are anything more than, at best, comfortably retired. It's not a "tory thing" - what a stupid remark.
Others will have their own reasons for selecting this area. It may be worth noting that many of the members will not be able to attend as they fall into the vulnerable section, others will not attend as they would have accompanied someone not able to attend.
The club itself moved us from normal season ticket holders to corporate long ago in order to ease the burden of managing the corporate areas. The individual lounges became too expensive to maintain (thanks to Stadco and FK) and we all ended up in the large conference area. The corporate side of the club support is, as would be expected, dedicated towards the sponsors and box holders along with the more generous of the business support that the club needs in order to survive.
From a purely commercial viewpoint it is necessary for the club to maintain good relationships with this source of income. I can only imagine that the club weighed up the necessity to "look after" their corporate clients against normal season ticket holders and came to the decision they have, and not without some lengthy discussion and a great deal of thought.
1893 club members, rightly or wrongly, have benefitted from this, but, please, don't take out your anger on them. We did not expect this, we did not demand or ask for this and the ongoing vilification and outpouring of bile from some on here is just not worthy of OUFC supporters. Some of you should be ashamed.

 

[TailsWeWin]

So what’s the bigger picture? “ you’re privileged so you can have a ticket for all the home games, sorry you’re not privileged so you go into the hat “

No, Bazzer. The bigger picture is that we are talking about three matches that, a couple of months ago, we didn’t expect to see anyway. Thousands and thousands of people have been affected by a dangerous pandemic, and you’re stressing about missing a game of football. As a season ticket holder I’m pleased to be able to get the opportunity to see one.

 

[m]

Should SSU season ticket holders get priority over those in the East Stand? After all, they’ve paid more money. The 1893 Club paid £164 more than a SSU STH in the central blocks, so the delta between the SSU and ES is similar.

My ire isn’t at those lucky enough to benefit from this policy but the club have chosen to draw the line where one wasn’t required. A very poor decision by the club, in my opinion.

It wasn't a loaded question fwiw, genuine thinking out loud.

The line had already been drawn, with non-ST holders being unable to get tickets.

The leftie in me agrees with you, the pragmastist accepts that once you can't please all of the 'committed' then you have to make a decision somewhere, and tiering according to level of 'commitment' seems logical.

 

[nick68]

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree that certain STH are more entitled to attend than other STH, for me the fact that the club have kept this quiet is the biggest crime.

Should we trust them to do the ballot fairly, probably but it does cast a shadow when you find out things like this.

 

[Northstandboy]

The club have now created a friction between fans. Great!

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I do wish that people would think a bit more about what they post. Some of the stuff posted here is misinformed and some really upsetting.

This labelling of 1893 club members as "local big shots", "privileged", "prawn sandwich brigade" is daft. In the main they are long standing supporters who have graduated to a point where, in order to enjoy watching their team, have to look for the seats that provide access to toilets, a lift, somewhere to warm up at half time and some form of social interaction with fellow supporters. For some it will be their only social interaction of the week. I exchange comments on a regular basis with a single elderly chap who sits next to me at games. To his right are two ladies one of whom has struggled for some time to manage the steps and did once take a tumble nearly injuring herself in the process. On our table we have a widower, a terminally ill chap and most are well past retirement age. Some come with grandchildren, even great grandchildren. Mrs Lounger and I opted for seats in this area because of the distance we travelled to home games and needed a car park space in advance as we would have never made it in time otherwise. We enjoyed our experience and have remained season ticket holders despite the expense. And, no, we are not wealthy. I don't know any in the 1893 club who are anything more than, at best, comfortably retired. It's not a "tory thing" - what a stupid remark.
Others will have their own reasons for selecting this area. It may be worth noting that many of the members will not be able to attend as they fall into the vulnerable section, others will not attend as they would have accompanied someone not able to attend.
The club itself moved us from normal season ticket holders to corporate long ago in order to ease the burden of managing the corporate areas. The individual lounges became too expensive to maintain (thanks to Stadco and FK) and we all ended up in the large conference area. The corporate side of the club support is, as would be expected, dedicated towards the sponsors and box holders along with the more generous of the business support that the club needs in order to survive.
From a purely commercial viewpoint it is necessary for the club to maintain good relationships with this source of income. I can only imagine that the club weighed up the necessity to "look after" their corporate clients against normal season ticket holders and came to the decision they have, and not without some lengthy discussion and a great deal of thought.
1893 club members, rightly or wrongly, have benefitted from this, but, please, don't take out your anger on them. We did not expect this, we did not demand or ask for this and the ongoing vilification and outpouring of bile from some on here is just not worthy of OUFC supporters. Some of you should be ashamed.

Really excellent post. The club have made a bad decision but it’s their decision, and shouldn’t result in groups or individuals being scapegoated or vilified, or lead to any sort of judgement being made in terms of who or what people are. Any criticism should be aimed only at the people who made the decision, and should very much be kept above the belt.

As somebody else said earlier, the fan base was largely united prior to this. At least in terms of people looking to the bigger picture and being at least content to put their hands in their pockets and do their bit, and feeling as though they knew what they had signed up for. This decision has, unfortunately, been ill judged and created what is seen as a form of class divide. They’ve lost a certain amount of goodwill and turned ‘us’ into ‘us and them’. Which is a really silly thing to do.

 

[Brahma]

I do wish that people would think a bit more about what they post. Some of the stuff posted here is misinformed and some really upsetting.

This labelling of 1893 club members as "local big shots", "privileged", "prawn sandwich brigade" is daft. In the main they are long standing supporters who have graduated to a point where, in order to enjoy watching their team, have to look for the seats that provide access to toilets, a lift, somewhere to warm up at half time and some form of social interaction with fellow supporters. For some it will be their only social interaction of the week. I exchange comments on a regular basis with a single elderly chap who sits next to me at games. To his right are two ladies one of whom has struggled for some time to manage the steps and did once take a tumble nearly injuring herself in the process. On our table we have a widower, a terminally ill chap and most are well past retirement age. Some come with grandchildren, even great grandchildren. Mrs Lounger and I opted for seats in this area because of the distance we travelled to home games and needed a car park space in advance as we would have never made it in time otherwise. We enjoyed our experience and have remained season ticket holders despite the expense. And, no, we are not wealthy. I don't know any in the 1893 club who are anything more than, at best, comfortably retired. It's not a "tory thing" - what a stupid remark.
Others will have their own reasons for selecting this area. It may be worth noting that many of the members will not be able to attend as they fall into the vulnerable section, others will not attend as they would have accompanied someone not able to attend.
The club itself moved us from normal season ticket holders to corporate long ago in order to ease the burden of managing the corporate areas. The individual lounges became too expensive to maintain (thanks to Stadco and FK) and we all ended up in the large conference area. The corporate side of the club support is, as would be expected, dedicated towards the sponsors and box holders along with the more generous of the business support that the club needs in order to survive.
From a purely commercial viewpoint it is necessary for the club to maintain good relationships with this source of income. I can only imagine that the club weighed up the necessity to "look after" their corporate clients against normal season ticket holders and came to the decision they have, and not without some lengthy discussion and a great deal of thought.
1893 club members, rightly or wrongly, have benefitted from this, but, please, don't take out your anger on them. We did not expect this, we did not demand or ask for this and the ongoing vilification and outpouring of bile from some on here is just not worthy of OUFC supporters. Some of you should be ashamed.

Any angst towards 1893 ST holders is wrong and I absolutely agree that the reasons for being an 1893 member, is in the main, as you described in the first main paragraph.

My question, if you're happy to answer, is when did you become aware of an 1893 member getting all three tickets for the three game block? As it must have been before the ballot announcement.

As for who are making these policies and decisions, I'd be staggered if it were Tiger. I really would be very surprised after all the requests for financial support, donation of season ticket money balances, requests to spend big in the club shop.

 

[bazzer9461]

I do wish that people would think a bit more about what they post. Some of the stuff posted here is misinformed and some really upsetting.

This labelling of 1893 club members as "local big shots", "privileged", "prawn sandwich brigade" is daft. In the main they are long standing supporters who have graduated to a point where, in order to enjoy watching their team, have to look for the seats that provide access to toilets, a lift, somewhere to warm up at half time and some form of social interaction with fellow supporters. For some it will be their only social interaction of the week. I exchange comments on a regular basis with a single elderly chap who sits next to me at games. To his right are two ladies one of whom has struggled for some time to manage the steps and did once take a tumble nearly injuring herself in the process. On our table we have a widower, a terminally ill chap and most are well past retirement age. Some come with grandchildren, even great grandchildren. Mrs Lounger and I opted for seats in this area because of the distance we travelled to home games and needed a car park space in advance as we would have never made it in time otherwise. We enjoyed our experience and have remained season ticket holders despite the expense. And, no, we are not wealthy. I don't know any in the 1893 club who are anything more than, at best, comfortably retired. It's not a "tory thing" - what a stupid remark.
Others will have their own reasons for selecting this area. It may be worth noting that many of the members will not be able to attend as they fall into the vulnerable section, others will not attend as they would have accompanied someone not able to attend.
The club itself moved us from normal season ticket holders to corporate long ago in order to ease the burden of managing the corporate areas. The individual lounges became too expensive to maintain (thanks to Stadco and FK) and we all ended up in the large conference area. The corporate side of the club support is, as would be expected, dedicated towards the sponsors and box holders along with the more generous of the business support that the club needs in order to survive.
From a purely commercial viewpoint it is necessary for the club to maintain good relationships with this source of income. I can only imagine that the club weighed up the necessity to "look after" their corporate clients against normal season ticket holders and came to the decision they have, and not without some lengthy discussion and a great deal of thought.
1893 club members, rightly or wrongly, have benefitted from this, but, please, don't take out your anger on them. We did not expect this, we did not demand or ask for this and the ongoing vilification and outpouring of bile from some on here is just not worthy of OUFC supporters. Some of you should be ashamed.

Mr lounger my anger isn’t aimed at your good self or better half or indeed any 1883 club member, but aimed at how it was announced and how it made ST holders whether they be SSL Eastand or a north stand toilet wall reader felt.

 

[bazzer9461]

No, Bazzer. The bigger picture is that we are talking about three matches that, a couple of months ago, we didn’t expect to see anyway. Thousands and thousands of people have been affected by a dangerous pandemic, and you’re stressing about missing a game of football. As a season ticket holder I’m pleased to be able to get the opportunity to see one.

Wrong @CheltenhamYellow I’m not stressing about missing a game as I’m guard to see at least one. The point I have made and made it Cleese enough is how the club have announced all 1883 club members and corporate will get to go to every home game whereas 4,500 will get to go by the way of a lottery. This is not an attack on 1893 club members in any what whatsoever. I hope that is clear enough for you to understand.
On a side note i am fully aware of the pandemic and can see another lockdown very soon and no more supporters attending matches as a result of the lockdown and this will be down to idiots who don’t give a flying toss about Covid-19.

 

[Wallop]

Out of interest how many tickets does this amount to? Perhaps a more complicated but fairer way would have been to have say 100 guaranteed spots so the 200 got a 50% chance of bagging a ticket. Then any not selected went into the paupers pot?

Bit like Champions League non-qualifiers going to Europa League?