General Fans Forum - Questions List

[Front Post]

Questions

1. (TW) You have spoken previously about the aim of the club is to become a "top 30 club".
Which areas of the club do you feel are working at, or closest to being in the mould of a top 30 club?
And which areas do you believe need a lot more focus and attention to get there?

2. (GF/TW) Please explain how the ownership structure will work at the new stadium and how will OUFC be protected?

3. (TW) A year ago, around the time Mr Robinson left his post as manager, you stated that the club doesn't need a Director of Football / Sporting Director and that the head of recruitment was basically the same role. Do you still think that and - if so - can you explain why?

4. (GF/TW) In the interests of transparency, please can you outline the Return on Investment strategy the investors are using in respect of the club and stadium?

5. (TW) Is there a minimum performance requirement for the team this season woven into Des' contract?

6. (TW) When you said that the club were doing a good job at communicating with the fan base how do you come to this conclusion when the general feeling is that fans feel more distant from the club than ever?

7. (GF) Why did the club fail to bring in a suitable assistant for Des when he first joined and how did we end up with the confusion of Chris Hackett’s role at the club? What is the plan going forward in regards to 1st team staffing structure? Will Des be given further support in his role to succeed?

8. (GF/TW) Does it concern you that long standing staff members who are life long fans of the club are leaving? From a fans perspective it looks like there is a cultural problem that is forcing so many to leave in such a short space of time.

9. (GF/TW) What was the thinking behind raising shirt prices for the Joey shirts instead of the club contributing some of the donation itself?

10 (TW) Jim Goddard dismissed concerns about general cleanliness as the customers fault for not reporting the issues to a steward, if these issues are reported on social media enough for Jim to notice, then why are walkarounds not performed every hour (at a minimum), so that these issues can continuously be monitored by employees?

11. (TW) What positive contributions are you most pleased with from Adam Benson since his arrival?

 

[unification]

I'll be attending and hopeful to ask these:

On 18th January, the Oxford Mail ran a story that said Firoz Kassam was 'open to Oxford United staying' at the Kassam Stadium. Furthermore, the article claimed that he had never been approached by those at OUFC about renewing the lease. Do you have a response to these claims?

Should the new stadium not be ready by 2026, will the club look to negotiate a short term extension at the Kassam Stadium or seek a groundshare with a local EFL club?

 

[bazzer9461]

Directed at the two members on the board and their new buddy “ Will you resign? “

 

[TailsWeWin]

Question for Tim.

How come lots of employees don’t like you. Majority of staff are fed up and are looking elsewhere.
Groundstaff leaving, cleaning staff leaving, media leaving, physios leaving, head of performance leaving. And many more around the corner.

Why?

And why are YOU still here, Mr Williams?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Have we approached MK Don's about a potential ground share ?

We have not.

Things change.

There are some seriously big questions that need answering. What happens if there is not a stadium ready to go in just 2.5 years, regardless of why or whose fault that would be? Has Oxford United held even informal discussions with any other EFL club - MK Dons, for example - about potentially ground sharing on a temporary basis?

 

[MustardYellow]

I'd like to know if the board have noticed a change in the atmosphere around the club and if so, what they think about it.

No doubt it would be met by some politician-esque 'everything's going well' but worth a try.

 

[billyturleyscurlywurly]

The AFL guys were saying at the stadium launch thing in Kidlington that they had spoken to Wycombe.

Milton Keynes is another 15-20 miles, bloody hell!

 

[Manorlounger]

It takes no more than a brief look at the forum to realise that there are many, many questions relating to the stadium development. All of them pose major queries over finance, ownership, cost etc. etc. Far more questions than could be answered, properly, in the limited timescale of a 1 1/2 hour Fans Forum. Perhaps a better structure in which to approach the forum would be following a comprehensive response from the Board and CEO detailing the points that have already arisen. This would allow everyone to see if the answers to their questions had been answered and then pose follow up questions at the forum proper.
No doubt many of the desired responses would fall under the usual confidentiality camouflage net but at least some time would be freed up to pursue specifics. Something for @OxVox & @OUSP to follow up?
Of course, if the Board and CEO had any intention of communicating with us low-lifes, this would already have happened.

 

[MiddleBartonYellow]

I won’t be going, all the ones that I have been to have ended up with people shouting from the back and ruining it.

 

[TailsWeWin]

I can’t attend unfortunately.
But I’d love to hear afterwards that people got really angry with Williams and showed it.
He needs to know the strength of feeling against him.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

The AFL guys were saying at the stadium launch thing in Kidlington that they had spoken to Wycombe.

I believe they’ve spoken to both tbf, but my understanding is that neither club are particularly keen.

Ultimately there is no obligation for any club to help us and the EFL can’t force anybody to take us in. It would come down to whoever was most willing, and I’m not sure that’s currently Wycombe Wanderers. I don’t doubt that it would be the club’s preferred choice, but that means nothing unless they say yes.

Time will tell.

 

[SteMerritt]

I believe they’ve spoken to both tbf, but my understanding is that neither club are particularly keen.

Ultimately there is no obligation for any club to help us and the EFL can’t force anybody to take us in. It would come down to whoever was most willing, and I’m not sure that’s currently Wycombe Wanderers. I don’t doubt that it would be the club’s preferred choice, but that means nothing unless they say yes.

Time will tell.

I'm sure it could be overcome by a pile of cash if desperate - which we would be if it comes to it.

 

[holdsteady]

I believe they’ve spoken to both tbf, but my understanding is that neither club are particularly keen.

Ultimately there is no obligation for any club to help us and the EFL can’t force anybody to take us in. It would come down to whoever was most willing, and I’m not sure that’s currently Wycombe Wanderers. I don’t doubt that it would be the club’s preferred choice, but that means nothing unless they say yes.

Time will tell.

Know any reasons why they are not keen?

 

[SteMerritt]

Know any reasons why they are not keen?

They are worried about the cost of the fireworks they would need for every "home" defeat we had whilst playing there.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

I'm sure it could be overcome by a pile of cash if desperate - which we would be if it comes to it.

As long as someone is willing to spend the amount of money that is demanded. The club loses millions per year as it is, without having its revenue streams cut to a fraction of what they would normally be. One season outside of the county would cost many millions of pounds. Guess that would be a good reason not to be committing to any guaranteed player contracts beyond 2026…

I think you and I both know where this is going anyway. You tell that brother of yours that as well as accepting all of our young players on loan, as and when we see fit, he’ll be ripping up that pitch in good time for our arrival.