FA Cup 2023-24 FA Cup R1 Draw

[Scotchegg]

Have we ever done this before for an FA Cup game? I don't remember season ticket seats ever being not reserved for a proper (league, league cup, fa cup) match.

We've definitely done it before, including last season. There will be costs associated with opening areas that will be under used (stewarding, turnstile operators, catering etc) so I can understand why the north stand and SSU will close or will be restricted. But it does cause much greater disruption to some sections of our fanbase.

This could easily be addressed by communicating this as part of the season tickets t's and c's ("whilst your seat will be held for cup games, the club reserves the right to close sections of the ground where attendance will be reduced), and a further announcement once the ticket details were advertised.

Like a couple of factual inaccuracies regarding the clubs history in the stadium proposal, these oversights may seem small, but they show a lack of attention and care that upsets fans more than the initial decision.

 

[Foley]

Indeed it does, I did not pay a fee to sit somewhere else, I paid to sit with five of my friends and chat about the game etc, now all of our seats have gone, so in the best interest of the game I won’t attend. And just so those who don’t approve this will be my 15th season as a ticket holder (this time) and have only missed two home games since..

You could still buy tickets and sit with your friends?

 

[BigAlan]

You could still buy tickets and sit with your friends?

The decision of us all is to give it a miss.

 

[nick68]

Seems an unpopular decision to make on the back of the club recovering from the poor decisions of last season, it's like they try and make it hard for themselves.
Of course we can all select another seat but as mentioned before you get used to the people who sit around you and that becomes part of your match experience, mostly you only see these people inside the stadium so arranging to sit elsewhere isn't exactly possible given availability is constantly changing.
Just wish the club was up front and say what they were doing rather than try and sell it on the back of cheaper tickets and hide the bad news.

 

[Scotchegg]

I don't think it will be difficult to find plenty of space for friends to all sit together, even if they book separately.

 

[nick68]

I don't think it will be difficult to find plenty of space for friends to all sit together, even if they book separately.

It's easy to say that but if the club start looking at the FA Cup as an inferior competition along the lines of the PJT then soon fans will follow suit and also treat it accordingly.
They have already got rid of replays and moved the Cup Final to accommodate the Premier League and however minor you think this is it gives the impression the club also don't value it.

 

[Scotchegg]

It's easy to say that but if the club start looking at the FA Cup as an inferior competition along the lines of the PJT then soon fans will follow suit and also treat it accordingly.
They have already got rid of replays and moved the Cup Final to accommodate the Premier League and however minor you think this is it gives the impression the club also don't value it.

How many people do you think will attend, even if all stands were open?

We had 3,600 against Exeter in the second round last season. I would think that we'll do well to get 3,000 against Maidenhead in the first round this year.

So it's not the club that are devaluing the competition, it's them responding to reduced demand. Are we as fans are devaluing the competition by not turning up?

It's not been managed well though poor communication, which is an ongoing problem. But let's not make this into something It's not.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

What are the club playing at, look after your customers!

 

[uptheus]

Why are the directors box seats not showing available for this match? One rule for one and another rule for others.

Another own goal by the club.

 

[Osei Yaw]

I imagine this will be a bit like the Pizza Trophy where nobody really bothers until we reach the final.

 

[Manorlounger]

I think it's a fairly reasonable decision badly communicated on the whole.

However, there are implications for wheelchair accessibility, the family zone and the sensory room.

It's awful, but I don't actually know if there is lift access to the boxes, but it would have been a nice touch if a box or two could have been made available for wheelchair users, and another as a safer space/sensory room. It doesn't look like these boxes are all being used and would at least show that alternative measures were being considered.

There is

There is a lift in the South stand which was used by many including wheelchair users to access the upper areas. Unfortunately, this lift was deemed unsafe for wheelchair users some time ago hence the move to the North stand. The lift is still used by those of limited mobility and those unable to climb the steps. I am unaware of what provision has or, will be made for wheelchairs but, with the closure of the North stand, there are very few options. It is worth mentioning that the current Chairperson of the OUSP is a wheelchair user so I would imagine he is involved in getting this sorted.
As to the family area and sensory room, it appears to be a case of "tough, it's closed and that's that" Whichever way you look at this, it's another communication cock up by those charged with supporter relations.

 

[FAB Admin]

I've been in touch with the club to share this and other feedback.
Communications will be updated today to provide clearer information.
Information on buses will also be provided later today.

 

[Londox]

I'm a bit shocked at how attached people are to "their" seat, is it really that big of a deal?

Hopefully the club can 'creatively' market this one. £10 adults? Something to get a decent crowd in.

 

[Essexyellows]

I'm a bit shocked at how attached people are to "their" seat, is it really that big of a deal?

Hopefully the club can 'creatively' market this one. £10 adults? Something to get a decent crowd in.

Look after the people who stump up £400 or so before a ball is kicked.

Creative marketing is something the Club really struggles with. A little effort around reduced prices, family tickets etc etc could easily double the crowd.

Instead we now have several irked ST holders, people being inconvenienced, and a bit of a damper on things.

Great work by the "commercial team".

 

[OxfordYankee]

I'm not attached to my seat, though I have chosen to sit in in for the last 20 years.

However, I am attached to the people around me. Family, friends and people I know only through sitting next to them all add to my joy at watching the games.

One game apart from them isn't going to kill me, but I don't understand why the club have chosen to do this. If it's a cost saving measure, I wonder how healthy the finances are, given that the saving would be a few thousand pounds.

It would be good to hear from them on this policy.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I'm a bit shocked at how attached people are to "their" seat, is it really that big of a deal?

Hopefully the club can 'creatively' market this one. £10 adults? Something to get a decent crowd in.

It's £12 for adults which is pretty good.

I'm not attached to my seat, though I have chosen to sit in in for the last 20 years.

However, I am attached to the people around me. Family, friends and people I know only through sitting next to them all add to my joy at watching the games.

One game apart from them isn't going to kill me, but I don't understand why the club have chosen to do this. If it's a cost saving measure, I wonder how healthy the finances are, given that the saving would be a few thousand pounds.

It would be good to hear from them on this policy.

£12 for adults is decent. Once they decided to close half the ground they had to make season ticket seats unreserved really, especially if they expected a lot of people not to take them up. I agree that you get used to being in a particular place with particular people, and it can be a faff buying a group of seats in a new location.

 

[PottersRightBoot]

I'm a bit shocked at how attached people are to "their" seat, is it really that big of a deal?

Hopefully the club can 'creatively' market this one. £10 adults? Something to get a decent crowd in.

Yes, it is a big deal.

 

[holdsteady]

The joys of an ageing fan base of boomers, what's next weeks meltdown going to be about?

 

[OxfordYankee]

The joys of an ageing fan base of boomers, what's next weeks meltdown going to be about?

Ageism and the lack of empathy on football message boards.

 

[windmill]

How many people do you think will attend, even if all stands were open?

We had 3,600 against Exeter in the second round last season. I would think that we'll do well to get 3,000 against Maidenhead in the first round this year.

So it's not the club that are devaluing the competition, it's them responding to reduced demand. Are we as fans are devaluing the competition by not turning up?

It's not been managed well though poor communication, which is an ongoing problem. But let's not make this into something It's not.

How do we know the demand? There are two weeks to go. It's the FA Cup for goodness sake. The premier Cup. The others don't matter.

 

[werthersoriginal]

The joys of an ageing fan base of boomers, what's next weeks meltdown going to be about?

One of the fun things about sites like this is having a moan about things, and laughing at people whose moans are different from yours.

 

[Scotchegg]

How do we know the demand? There are two weeks to go. It's the FA Cup for goodness sake. The premier Cup. The others don't matter.

It didn't matter to many fans either (rightly or wrongly). Last season we had 7800 at home against the mighty Forest Green in the league. The week after saw only 3600 against Exeter in the 2nd round of the FA Cup.

So we can predict that demand will be lower, and not just because of season tickets being moved.

 

[Wallop]

It didn't matter to many fans either (rightly or wrongly). Last season we had 7800 at home against the mighty Forest Green in the league. The week after saw only 3600 against Exeter in the 2nd round of the FA Cup.

So we can predict that demand will be lower, and not just because of season tickets being moved.

If the club opened the whole ground for what is likely to be a c.3,000 crowd, they'd be accused of 'wasting money on stewards' and 'killing any chance of an atmosphere' - they can't win.

 

[Older Shotts]

How do we know the demand? There are two weeks to go. It's the FA Cup for goodness sake. The premier Cup. The others don't matter.

Everyone knows the League Cup is the big one, the important one...

 

[Londox]

Everyone knows the League Cup is the big one, the important one...

You couldn't win anything bigger in the 80s.

 

[SteMerritt]

You couldn't win anything bigger in the 80s.

You could in the 50s, look at the size of this beauty we won. Now THAT is a trophy, got to be 4 foot tall...

 

[Scotchegg]

You could in the 50s, look at the size of this beauty we won. Now THAT is a trophy, got to be 4 foot tall...

View attachment 16386

Liam Kelly's grandad captained that side but regretted opting to stand between the shield and the keeper!

 

[NottsYellow]

I'm don't normally like "kids for a quid" promotion. But surely this is the ideal match. Open up the North Stand for families, kids £1.
Extend this offer to Maidenhead as well, you never know, with Maidenhead not that far away, we might convert the odd family to being an Oxford supporter.
If you are going to open up only a few blocks then surely you would generally choose the most popular blocks. So why is block 8 corner of SSL and block 9, corner of SSU being open. The view from block 8 is terrible, some of the seats in there are probably behind the goal line.

 

[Oxymoron]

I'm a bit shocked at how attached people are to "their" seat, is it really that big of a deal?

An Englishman's season ticket seat is his castle......

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I'm don't normally like "kids for a quid" promotion. But surely this is the ideal match. Open up the North Stand for families, kids £1.
Extend this offer to Maidenhead as well, you never know, with Maidenhead not that far away, we might convert the odd family to being an Oxford supporter.
If you are going to open up only a few blocks then surely you would generally choose the most popular blocks. So why is block 8 corner of SSL and block 9, corner of SSU being open. The view from block 8 is terrible, some of the seats in there are probably behind the goal line.

At a guess it will be due to the lay our of the concourses? This is purely based on trying to believe the club were thinking logically when making these decisions...