Myself and a few of my other friends who don't attend all the time sit together in the same group all have ST, so the financial situation is not about us.
There is an amount of apathy amongst our group and rarely do we all attend at the same match, some of are group have been following our team for 45+ years up and down the country, good and bad times, we can still enjoy a win and moan about a bad result even not being at the ground but doing what we preferred to do on the day.
If I wanted to watch good football I would switch on the TV to watch some (which I don't), the ground and club need to get the soul back in the club, motivate the fans who attend now and target new fans to increase attendances, DE achieved this for a while and it is now down to the owners to get the off pitch stuff sorted better and get the belief back in the existing fans.
I appreciate that I can come across as a bit of a dick at times when defending the club, but I honestly respect that everyone has a decision to make themselves about how they spend their time and money - both of which are sometimes in short supply.
The club does need to listen to fans, especially those who have given a lifetime to the club. But I also think, as fans, we have to see the situation from the clubs position too.
I very rarely watch football on tv these days. I have a passing interest in the PL and will watch England in the World Cup/Euros, but beyond that I generally don't care for it. I do however find myself enjoying the Oxford United experience far more! Of course there are good days and bad, and Christ have we had our share of the bad! It's great seeing us rip West Ham apart and easing to wins against Doncaster, Gillingham, Tranmere. But it's also the games against Coventry which gave pretty much everything you want from league 1 football. I was left speechless by Baptiste's goal against West Ham, but took just as much enjoyment out of seeing Jamie Mackie rugby tackle a player in the last minutes against Coventry when he was fucked!! Equally, seeing the kids play in the Leasing.com games is just as important as seeing the stars of Man City last year. And to make it even better, I've now got my daughter coming to pass this all on to the next generation. So on the pitch, things are really as good as they've ever been during the Kassam years.
Off the pitch, we have been through the mill a number of times. And of course news about late bills and financial uncertainty doesn't do anyone any favours. But as much as we have a crappy first year with Tiger, we have been as stable as we ever ca be since March. We have invested heavily in the first team squad over the summer, secured the training facilities and are (whether believed or not) working exceptionally hard behind the scenes to sort the stadium issues out. As fans we always want more, but at this stage, I genuinely feel that we are in a good position that could become very much better IF the plans all come together.
The stadium is still a fairly miserable place to be, and it needs more than Ollie the Ox wandering around to get people to love the wider match day experience. But this has been the case for many years and fans can work around the limitations if they want. You can go to pubs 10-15 minutes away and walk up to the game. Meet further away and grab an increasing number of buses to the ground. Or, if you really must, turn up early and endure a warm beer and cold sausage roll!! All of which are part of the footballing experience that we were brought up with!
So whilst things are far from perfect it could be a hell of a lot worse and whilst the club can massively improve their marketing, so can we as fans. Within your group, why not arrange one game a month or so where you all get together. Meet in a different pub each time etc, make it a shared experience that brings the love back to the game. Have your own retro shirt game! Bobble hat game etc etc. Bring a friend to the agme day! The social interactions at football can't be underestimated, but this can't me manufactured. We can all make a difference and if we can bring lifelong fans back through the doors, then it gives us a good base to start building a new fan base.