FA Cup 2023-24 FA Cup R1 Draw

[Scotchegg]

will lead to a pretty carp experience for those who do go.

At least Cam will be happy!

 

[MarkG]

The sort of game that is relatively easy to promote - the FA Cup still has its "magic" for many.

ST Holders - £5 a ticket as a thank you for your investment. Seat reserved until this Saturday.
All adult tickets £10.
Kids (Under 16) for a £1.
Ticket stub gives you priority for the next round.

Easy get 7k+ without even thinking about it.

Instead we have conspired to encourage folk to go and do something else, ticked off some ST holders, and shut most of the ground which will lead to a pretty carp experience for those who do go.

Remember the ticket prices have to be agreed with the away team.
I don't think prices of £12 or £15 compared to your suggestion of £5 or £10 will put fans off who are considering whether to go, when compared to match day prices of £25+ on a normal day, when you could choose to sit in the best seats in the house in SSU.

 

[Carpy]

will lead to a pretty carp experience

You called?

 

[Londox]

I'd rather they filled it with people on cheap tickets

I believe a club in Germany recently made all tickets free for one game. https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bunde...-fans-free-tickets-at-future-home-games-23327

 

[m]

Well I'm going in the SSU for only the 3rd time ever.

I'll be dragging down the average IQ, and also the social status.

 

[Coffin Dodger]

25 stewards x £10 ph x 3 hrs = £750 + NI

A drop in the ocean if the seats we lose are filled with paying punters.

I think you're underestimating the cost of stewards, you're paying them less than minimum wage and I believe they are agency staff and would be double your prices if not more.

 

[tonyw]

The sort of game that is relatively easy to promote - the FA Cup still has its "magic" for many.

I mean you say that, but the data suggests otherwise (at least for the first two rounds)

Looking back at every game we've played since getting back into the football league, the biggest FA Cup 1st or 2nd round crowd we've had at home was a smidge over 5,000 for Rovers a couple of years ago (and we know that they always bring a few). Most have been somewhere in the 3,000s. Hell, even the record-breaking Dorchester game in 95/96 had a crowd in the 3000s so this is not a new phenomenon.

It's certainly fair to argue that the club should bear the costs of keeping the whole ground open in order to offer the best service possible to its most loyal customers.

But we Oxford fans have done very little over the years to suggest to the club that we're going to turn out in numbers for a 1st round Cup tie against Maidenhead!

 

[Basham Wonderland]

If the last few days of this thread could be summed up in one image:

 

[NottsYellow]

25 stewards x £10 ph x 3 hrs = £750 + NI

A drop in the ocean if the seats we lose are filled with paying punters.

There are a lot of stewards lining up outside North Stand at 12.30pm "clocking in" and I assume they finish at 5.30pm. So it is 5 hour shift for a lot of them. I guess agency staff would be circa £15+ p/hr.

 

[Scotchegg]

Remember the ticket prices have to be agreed with the away team.
I don't think prices of £12 or £15 compared to your suggestion of £5 or £10 will put fans off who are considering whether to go, when compared to match day prices of £25+ on a normal day, when you could choose to sit in the best seats in the house in SSU.

The "magic" of the FA Cup is not only about pitching smaller teams with bigger teams where shocks can happen, but that these smaller clubs also benefit financially out of it.

It's not long ago that we would have been grateful for any additional income and would have been pissed if the home club incurred unnecessary costs by keeping a full stadium open with 75% empty seats, or selling tickets for £5 for adults and £1 for kids.

I completely understand those who are unable to be accommodated elsewhere, especially wheelchair users and those you use the sensory room. And I agree that the decision to restrict access to some areas was badly communicated and needed the intervention of OUSP to get resolved. This is all far from ideal.

But I honestly don't see it as the shambles that others do or an indication that the club can't be arsed with the FA Cup. But we do all see things differently I guess.

 

[Manorlounger]

I completely understand those who are unable to be accommodated elsewhere, especially wheelchair users and those you use the sensory room. And I agree that the decision to restrict access to some areas was badly communicated and needed the intervention of OUSP to get resolved. This is all far from ideal.

But I honestly don't see it as the shambles that others do or an indication that the club can't be arsed with the FA Cup. But we do all see things differently I guess.

I have to say that I do see it as a shambles and, further exasperated by the ongoing lack of any proper promotion by the club. Then, there is the intervention of the OUSP, it should be the other way around, as agreed by the club with the OUSP from the outset. I quote here from the Memorandum of understanding which, as then Chair of OUSP, I signed with Naill McWilliams (on behalf of OUFC) as follows:
Matters deemed sufficiently important for mandatory consultation with the Supporters’Panel include: Key heritage matters to include any changes being considered to club name, colours,crest, or kit designs Items that significantly impact fans in relation to match day arrangements. Changes in pricing, format, terms and conditions, and availability of tickets (bothindividual and season tickets)

The last section should have been sufficient for the club to have consulted the OUSP before making any change to normal arrangements. It couldn't really be any clearer. I'm beginning to wonder if some sections of the club are out of touch.

 

[Marked Ox]

Yeah, but you've got to feel a bit sorry for their goalkeeper...



Getting caught in the middle of a Briggs, Shotton, Charles sandwich? Ouch!

Revenge for poor Jeremy's elbow.

 

[Bath Yellow]

Perhaps the idea is there is a better atmosphere if fans are grouped together rather than spread out?
I often see it on "away fans" pictures that fans are grouped into limited blocks rather than allowed to sit where they want and are dotted around an empty stand.
However, it is a point that needs considering for the Triangle.
I haven't read all of the debate, but some people are saying we should have home fans right next to away fans, which would presumably need a line of 25 or so stewards more than the handful we currently have operating the segregation in the North Stand. Is this an expense the club wants to incur?

 

[Bath Yellow]

Fans should be kept well apart, my daughter and grandson are Birmingham City ticket holders and were at the game last season when Millwall fans rioted, they had to climb over seats to leave from the back of the stand for safety as the stewards were over ran. I am more than happy at the way we control the away fans in the North Stand.

 

[Colin B]

Fans should be kept well apart, my daughter and grandson are Birmingham City ticket holders and were at the game last season when Millwall fans rioted, they had to climb over seats to leave from the back of the stand for safety as the stewards were over ran. I am more than happy at the way we control the away fans in the North Stand.

Although what your daughter and grandson experienced was not good, I suspect it is the only time this has happened?

Birmingham have had all sorts of issues with their stadium not being fit for purpose, and had to close half of it last season, to bring it up to standard, so I'd guess this was a factor too. Virtually no other club has the ridiculous segregation that we have and it says more about the inefficiency of our stadium, and those "managing" it, than it does about anything else.

If you're happy for us to lose up to 1,000 seats in our new stadium to segregation, then I think you're on your own, and I include the club in that. No way are they building a 16,000 seat stadium to have only 15,000 of them able to be occupied. Modern day segregation methods do not need this.

 

[GRB]

Tickets booked.

 

[nick68]

If the last few days of this thread could be summed up in one image:

View attachment 16401

Sorry to be a pedant but isn't that 4 images?

 

[Bath Yellow]

Fans should be kept well apart, my daughter and grandson are Birmingham City ticket holders and were at the game last season when Millwall fans rioted, they had to climb over seats to leave from the back of the stand for safety as the stewards were over ran. I am more than happy at the way we control the away fans in the North Stand.

With the current situation at St. Andrews only parts of the stands in question have been completed allowing some season ticket holders to reclaim their seats, my daughter and grandson included, i believe it will take most of this season to complete the job.