Home Match Day Thread +++ 12/10/2019 L1 OUFC v Doncaster Rovers +++

[werthersoriginal]

Eh? So you want your seat in the SSL reserved, but us plebs in the East Stand have to scrum for ours? I think the East Stand ought to stay as it is and make all the South Stand unreserved You can fight over the blankets and thermos flasks....

Yeah maybe! Wouldn’t suit me, but just trying to think about things that would bring more people in

 

[UTM]

Are we actually a club with a bigger fan base more than the 6000 all so people that turn up every other Saturday I mean most night matches at home the crowd is generally less than a Saturday game I think people look at us and we’re probably not that appealing do we really want a casual game where we get 10000 with a deal atmosphere all the usual 6000 and a good atmosphere I would rather have the usual 6000 even in the championship than a load of glory hunters who turn up just because the games are against teams they’ve seen on the tele

I would say our true fan base is 6,000,
And lots of that number are people like myself and my mates who have moved out of the area who have supported OUFC from the 70s and 80s and can’t get to the games like we did. And that is the problem our support is getting old and no one is taking our place.

 

[TailsWeWin]

I remember Brighton at their old athletics club ground. What was their “fan base” then?! Nip over to their new ground and have a look....

 

[windmill]

Bristol had seven and a half and they are above us. We aint doing too bad. Wycombe would love our attendances as would Fleetwood, Burton and many more. Stop all this paranoia.

 

[bazzer9461]

I’m just thinking it would make the home end more like a terrace and let people cluster with like minded souls. It seems to work at the rare away games I attend.

A lot of away games can accommodate the unreserved policy but that is partly because we get an area that even if we took a thousand plus there will still be plenty of space. At Accrington for instance we were asked to take our seats as they weren’t su how many would be in the seats but when the game is in we could move to another space, but at home ST holders want those seats for a variety of reasons and I think other fans respect those seats.

 

[oufc1991]

I would say our true fan base is 6,000,
And lots of that number are people like myself and my mates who have moved out of the area who have supported OUFC from the 70s and 80s and can’t get to the games like we did. And that is the problem our support is getting old and no one is taking our place.

That’s my thoughts aswel people aren’t taking the places of older fans who sadly are no longer with us or are unable to get to the games anymore

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Bristol had seven and a half and they are above us. We aint doing too bad. Wycombe would love our attendances as would Fleetwood, Burton and many more. Stop all this paranoia.

People have a simple discussion about ways to help grow crowds (which have dropped just a tiny bit in the last year or two), which is healthy for any business and good for the club, and you say it’s paranoia. Fans wanting more people to come to games and exchanging views and ideas is representative of some sort of paranoid mindset. Okay. That’s... an opinion. It’s certainly something.

 

[werthersoriginal]

A lot of away games can accommodate the unreserved policy but that is partly because we get an area that even if we took a thousand plus there will still be plenty of space. At Accrington for instance we were asked to take our seats as they weren’t su how many would be in the seats but when the game is in we could move to another space, but at home ST holders want those seats for a variety of reasons and I think other fans respect those seats.

OK, let’s take the seats out!

 

[bazzer9461]

OK, let’s take the seats out!

??

 

[LondonRoader]

Mmm. I am not sure that it is maybe your group that has lost interest. Most I speak to are generally enthused by the football we are playing.
Watching good football meaning just turning on the TV? Really surprised at that comment. Watching your team play fantastic football, with a highly motivated group of individuals and scoring stunning goal after stunning goal is a million times better than watching Liverpool in my view (and I would imagine most oufc supporters)

I think you are missing the point, we are not going because the football is good or bad, we have lost our affiliation with the club, lost the passion, we go because it’s a social event where we can all meet and as friends enjoy each other’s company, yes we like watching good football but that along will not encourage us as a group to be there every home game, I’ve seen more midweek games than Saturday games, I go to be with my mates and get away from the plastic prem football, some might disagree but I still think there’s something missing around the club at the moment.

 

[ljs]

I think you are missing the point, we are not going because the football is good or bad, we have lost our affiliation with the club, lost the passion, we go because it’s a social event where we can all meet and as friends enjoy each other’s company, yes we like watching good football but that along will not encourage us as a group to be there every home game, I’ve seen more midweek games than Saturday games, I go to be with my mates and get away from the plastic prem football, some might disagree but I still think there’s something missing around the club at the moment.

Free hot dogs?

 

[PottersRightBoot]

I think you are missing the point, we are not going because the football is good or bad, we have lost our affiliation with the club, lost the passion, we go because it’s a social event where we can all meet and as friends enjoy each other’s company, yes we like watching good football but that along will not encourage us as a group to be there every home game, I’ve seen more midweek games than Saturday games, I go to be with my mates and get away from the plastic prem football, some might disagree but I still think there’s something missing around the club at the moment.

You’re a hard taskmaster LR. The quality of the football is first class. That’s the main reason we go isn’t it, to watch good football?

 

[West Oxon U’s]

Ten years ago this week we were drawing at Barrow in the CONference wilderness. Getting back to the FL was
incredibly difficult and people moaned a lot.

Fast forward a decade and the club is just outside the L1 play-off positions and playing a brand of
attractive attacking football with goals a-plenty.

Some will never be happy - there will always be those who will look for all sorts of angles and agendas.

 

[Scotchegg]

I still think there’s something missing around the club at the moment.

The highest finish we've had in the last 20 years ago was 8th in league 1 at the end of MApp's last season. We are currently in the same position with momentum to go higher.
What else would you like around the club to make this experience better?

 

[oufc1991]

The highest finish we've had in the last 20 years ago was 8th in league 1 at the end of MApp's last season. We are currently in the same position with momentum to go higher.
What else would you like around the club to make this experience better?

Wouldn’t mind some Crystal Palace style cheerleaders for half time instead of Rosie ? might put a few more bums on seats

 

[MarkG]

I think it takes a long run of games for part time fans to be persuaded to go to league games unless they are ‘big matches’ / grudge games. Get into the top 6 and crowds will go up. As simple as the promotion season under Appleton. Fans just want to see winning games and if you are near the top of the table that’s what you get.

A bit of feel good factor helps too. For all his faults, Eales and his hotdogs and pints made a connection with fans that’s missing. Tiger might have stripped half naked in Ireland, but he’s got a lot to build on after the financial issues last season.

So ZN is now our UK based director and investor and seems to be making the right sort of quotes.

 

[tonyw]

Just wanted to note that the smallest average attendance in this season's Championship is Luton, at a shade over 10,000.

Now, if KR did deliver this year and we got promoted, our attendances would undoubtedly go up (many more away supporters, and some higher profile opponents) but from recent evidence, it might be a challenge to get up to that 10k mark.

For us to be able to realistically compete financially at Championship level over multiple seasons, we need to be increasing the size of our ground, and getting 15k+ bums on seats regularly.....which of course would only be worth the investment if we were selling out regularly.

If we don't get a big push, and our attendances stick where they've been in the 6-8k region, then as a fanbase League One is where we deserve to be. It'll take a substantial overperformance from the team and manager for us to go any higher.


None of which is me saying this is a bad thing - I like League One. There's a great mix of teams, big and small, and there's some good quality football on show. It wouldn't be a bad thing to stick around here for many more seasons......

…...but it ain't the 80s any more, and it's no longer realistic to expect us to climb any higher and stay there unless the core fanbase grows......or Tiger finds a pliant billionaire who doesn't mind wasting tens of millions a year on a footballing vanity project (carefully funneled to get round any fair play regulations, of course).

 

[Fred]

BBC South Today why bother covering the Oxford match when you can't be bothered showing the penalty! Pathetic!

 

[Fred]

Good job we didn't score 6 they would've only showed 4!

 

[TailsWeWin]

The highest finish we've had in the last 20 years ago was 8th in league 1 at the end of MApp's last season. We are currently in the same position with momentum to go higher.
What else would you like around the club to make this experience better?

Well, not LondonRoader for a start. Admit you want to miss games - then claim “there’s something missing.”?! We’re happy without the negative “fans” thanks. Go and watch your premiership ponces on TV then. You won’t be missed.