There has to be something going on..

Because as I said, none of the options involve the club owning it’s own stadium?
The club will never own it's stadium, the club will never be in a position to gain the revenue streams associated with owning a stadium.
As I keep saying, this is a complete red herring talking about the fabled owning our own stadium, why do people keep going on and on about how great it will be and how our fortunes will change for the better.

How many is there of the 92 football league clubs where the "club" are gaining financial advantage from owning their stadiums, or is it the clubs owners, the people who put the money in who get the rewards, the only ones I can see are the grounds given to the club by the councils then they still have to cover the up keep etc.
 
Some fans need to take a breath or two. Patience, not a strong point of football fans, is needed re a stadium because nothing will happen over night and the club are therefore stuck between a rock and hard place. Say nothing, and there is a conspiracy. Say something and its pie in the sky.

Clearly, the impending arrival of Thohir, with other recent board appointments will mean things will move along again. Let's see what that means. Talk of a phoenix club and pending relegation is a bit of an extreme reaction. We all know things have to be better.
 
Some fans need to take a breath or two. Patience, not a strong point of football fans, is needed re a stadium because nothing will happen over night and the club are therefore stuck between a rock and hard place. Say nothing, and there is a conspiracy. Say something and its pie in the sky.

Clearly, the impending arrival of Thohir, with other recent board appointments will mean things will move along again. Let's see what that means. Talk of a phoenix club and pending relegation is a bit of an extreme reaction. We all know things have to be better.
Wise words.
 
The club will never own it's stadium, the club will never be in a position to gain the revenue streams associated with owning a stadium.
As I keep saying, this is a complete red herring talking about the fabled owning our own stadium, why do people keep going on and on about how great it will be and how our fortunes will change for the better.

How many is there of the 92 football league clubs where the "club" are gaining financial advantage from owning their stadiums, or is it the clubs owners, the people who put the money in who get the rewards, the only ones I can see are the grounds given to the club by the councils then they still have to cover the up keep etc.
Burton and Fleetwood spring to mind, but at our level, it's a rarity.
 
Taking into account the tone of my original post, the silence from all the stakeholders associated with OUFC means something is happening. Whether it's positive or negative is another matter.

Personally I found the pathetic statement that was issued in relation to the club and council the most worrying part of the current saga as its just lip service without any agreed actions!
 
Bit soppy lad. You're the sort of guy who would blindly pay £1200 for a season ticket if they charged it, because "I love this bloody club".

It's very noble of you to take the title of "world's best OUFC fan", but some of us want something sustainable that we can pass on to our future children and grandchildren, and are perhaps willing to make compromises if circumstances dictate.

If we don't get out of this stadium, there will be no Oxford United in the future.

Vapid rhetoric.

Well done, really well done.
 
The option of a Phoenix club may disgust some fans of which m is one who so eloquently voiced his thoughts, but it is an option that needs to be kept on the table. Those who suggest such an option are not trolls and certainly just as committed fans to the yellows as those who would not entertain such an idea, but it has to remain a serious option. As for the suggestion of fans buying the club, fantasy is a word that comes to mind. Clubs can be brought for a £1 thats not the issue, it’s the cost of running a club playing at the Kassam that is. It’s been stated on here that the owner of Eastleigh pumped in £10m to try to get the club into the football league, but failed and they own the ground they play in. I don’t know what the answer is, I doubt if any of us do, but something needs to happen before we find ourselves playing in the National League with £1m costs to the club for the privilege of playing at the Kassam.


No. Someone who is prepared to walk away from the club and start again is not as committed to the club. By very definition.
 
No. Someone who is prepared to walk away from the club and start again is not as committed to the club. By very definition.


That depends if the club you have supported for the majority of your life is still the same club. Oxford United is a completely different club now under its current ownership than it was back in the 80s or 90s. Being committed to a club does not mean you have the best interests of that club at heart.
 
This thread needs to be re-titled "Over-reaction: how to make a disaster movie". We all know that the Kasstad is a rubbish venue for all kinds of reasons. It was made clear at the Forum that we are looking at ways to relocate. Yesterday's statement doesn't really add to what we knew but it was needed. If the statement hadn't been issued at this stage and people got wind of visits to potential sites, planning consultants being appointed etc. then there would have been further complaints about "something going on". So now it is publicly out there - we are looking for a new venue.
Thohir's involvement, which is expected to be formalised soon, is precisely because of his experience with financing stadium building at DC United. (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ed-announces-changes-to-its-investment-group/)
One of the reasons he is leaving Inter Milan is reportedly because they are not able to develop their own stadium. D. C. United pay $1 a year for use of the stadium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Field.
We were badly bitten by Kassam, and his treatment of the sale of the Manor makes my blood boil. But we are now in a different economic and sporting climate. The club owning its own stadium will not happen unless the cost is written off by investors. The likelihood of a gift of that magnitude is minimal. The likelihood of 4000 core fans raising such sums is as small.
So a venture in a sensible location with reasonable rent, 4 sides to the stadium and more importantly OUFC as the licensed operator of the venue, would be a reasonable outcome.
Why the announcement has led to such hyperbole is beyond me.
 
It may be beyond you, but it’s brought about by the current position of the club in league 1, it’s also to do with history regarding relocating the club to a new ground and all the pitfalls that we have encountered in the past. I don’t believe it is wrong to be very concerned about the current ownership, future plans etc. we the supporters have in the past stayed fairly quite when in reality the issues the club were facing led to FOUL being set up to help save the club. I would hope that the way this thread has taken off will be seen by those in power at the club and they realise how concerned the supporters are. They certainly give the impression that they are quite happy with the present situation.
 
That depends if the club you have supported for the majority of your life is still the same club. Oxford United is a completely different club now under its current ownership than it was back in the 80s or 90s. Being committed to a club does not mean you have the best interests of that club at heart.

How and why is it different?

Do we want it to be the same again?

Explain how being committed to the club means that you don't have it's best interests at heart.
 
It may be beyond you, but it’s brought about by the current position of the club in league 1, it’s also to do with history regarding relocating the club to a new ground and all the pitfalls that we have encountered in the past. I don’t believe it is wrong to be very concerned about the current ownership, future plans etc. we the supporters have in the past stayed fairly quite when in reality the issues the club were facing led to FOUL being set up to help save the club. I would hope that the way this thread has taken off will be seen by those in power at the club and they realise how concerned the supporters are. They certainly give the impression that they are quite happy with the present situation.
I wouldn't hold your breath if you think a few fans who are willing to contribute their thoughts on here, will determine the future of the club.
I might hazard a guess that some threads/posters are driven by the club to get certain points across!
 
What we need is one of the main stream tabloids to run a story again on the plight of OUFC and lay it bare...
Just need to find a match to light the fire!
 
A football pitch surrounded by a dog track and then a speedway track would be a absolute disaster for the club. Every ground I’ve ever been to where the pitch is surrounded by a running track or whatever has been an atmospheric library. Especially behind the goals as it’s miles away.
Sadly and I know many will not agree. If speedway dies because people didn’t go. Then what’s the point in it being resurrected. Same with the dogs. I remember a time when thousands went. But it’s just not that mainstream or interesting to be sustainable.

THousands more use to go to Oxford games maybe that product is less interesting or not sustainable just a thought
 
THousands more use to go to Oxford games maybe that product is less interesting or not sustainable just a thought
Not really true.
Our seasonal average attendances have historically been between 8,327 and 4,728 over the last 30 years. We are currently averaging 7,376. Looking further back, it's true that we've had a couple of short periods of three years or so where the crowds have averaged over 10,000 (84-87 and 69-71) even getting to over 11,000 for a couple of seasons. But we have also had seasons in between those periods where we just about got over 4,000 (and once when we didn't!).
Our crowds depend very much on which division we are in and how we are doing (surprise, surprise!) with a solid core who are always there.

(Source: http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm > England > League Clubs > Oxford United)
 
This thread needs to be re-titled "Over-reaction: how to make a disaster movie". We all know that the Kasstad is a rubbish venue for all kinds of reasons. It was made clear at the Forum that we are looking at ways to relocate. Yesterday's statement doesn't really add to what we knew but it was needed. If the statement hadn't been issued at this stage and people got wind of visits to potential sites, planning consultants being appointed etc. then there would have been further complaints about "something going on". So now it is publicly out there - we are looking for a new venue.
Thohir's involvement, which is expected to be formalised soon, is precisely because of his experience with financing stadium building at DC United. (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ed-announces-changes-to-its-investment-group/)
One of the reasons he is leaving Inter Milan is reportedly because they are not able to develop their own stadium. D. C. United pay $1 a year for use of the stadium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Field.
We were badly bitten by Kassam, and his treatment of the sale of the Manor makes my blood boil. But we are now in a different economic and sporting climate. The club owning its own stadium will not happen unless the cost is written off by investors. The likelihood of a gift of that magnitude is minimal. The likelihood of 4000 core fans raising such sums is as small.
So a venture in a sensible location with reasonable rent, 4 sides to the stadium and more importantly OUFC as the licensed operator of the venue, would be a reasonable outcome.
Why the announcement has led to such hyperbole is beyond me.

At last, some sanity on this thread.
 
A football pitch surrounded by a dog track and then a speedway track would be a absolute disaster for the club. Every ground I’ve ever been to where the pitch is surrounded by a running track or whatever has been an atmospheric library. Especially behind the goals as it’s miles away.
Sadly and I know many will not agree. If speedway dies because people didn’t go. Then what’s the point in it being resurrected. Same with the dogs. I remember a time when thousands went. But it’s just not that mainstream or interesting to be sustainable.
Speedway and Greyhounds didn't stop because people didn't go. Greyhounds was proved to be making a profit after the closure. The property developers who purchased the stadium pulled the plug because they were sure they would get planning to build houses there. Since then a supporters group and the OCC have battled to stop that happening. The owners are still sitting on it still believing they'll get what they want and they might!!
There could be a similar scenario going on at Grenoble Road!;)
 
Slightly changing the story...........................I'm a football fan. You people who come on here, whether they're OUFC fans, or trolls from other clubs, are all, none the less, football fans. It is, to some extent, a 'religion' to us. Investors in clubs, with all their wads of cash, are mostly from foreign countries. When are people here going to get the message; these investors (where ever they are from) are here to make money. The more the better (for them). At this point, I'm not going to write down what's totally on my mind, for fear of being banned on here, or sued by whoever. But I will say this; in the 70's and 80's, football hooligans were prevailant in the game. They quite rightly, were condemmed by our press. We were warned that hooliganism would kill our great game, if it wasn't controlled. Fair point. Then along came the big money men. Football was meant to be a game for the working-class to enjoy. Such was the success of this great game, it was too much for the greedy capitalists to pass over. Capitalists and working class together? Only one winner. The hooligans won't ruin this game. The greedy money men are already doing it.
As far as our club goes? Please don't hate me for saying this, but the only way I can see us winning this latest battle against you-know-who and whatshisname, is for the club to close down and start again, somehow.
I've been to over a thousand games, over the last fifty years, watching different forms of Oxford United. The sorry state that we are in today, really hurts me.
Coventry fans stay away in their numbers. man U fans have their green and white scarves. Protests won't hurt the uncaring (because that's what they are) money men in this sport. Closing down the clubs and being re-born without them, will.

Dave (f*ck the money men) Cudd

So what clubs like ours really need is someone with plenty of cash. Who cares deeply for the club as a fan and can bring others on board to reduce the financial burden. I can’t quite think of anyone right now?
 
Not really. This thread is not packed with hyperbole, it's full of reasonable concerns about a developing situation where a bunch of wealthy speculators are lining up to make money. Or perhaps Tiger et al are genuinely interested in OUFC, its fans and its future? You decide.
They will be lining up to make money. That is the world we live in. But they aren't goïng to strip assets in the way FK did as we don't have any such assets left. Yes we need to keep a watching brief but all this talk of phoenix clubs etc. Is more than a little premature.
 
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