Fan's View FAN’S VIEW: 24/25 – No.19 MIDDLESBROUGH AT HOME

Yes, of course there are always exceptions and I were with someone in the same situation I would of course go as well. But looking to the right out of the East Stand at half time there was a steady stream of people wandering off - call me cynical, but I suspect not all of them had a sudden pressing appointment elsewhere or a family member who needed to leave.

Nobody is perfect of course - I have left matches a few minutes early (whatever the score) if I am playing a gig that night and have to get home in good time, and once managed to get to cup match at Brentford very late and managed to miss us scoring three goals!!!

Yep totally agree. The optics aren't good.

I've said this before and have been chastised for doing so, but other than a few thousand extremely loyal fans I think our general fan base isn't very 'sticky', hence why attendances have fluctuated significantly over the years.

It's frustrating when we can attract 35,000 plus to Wembley trips, yet (other than this season) have had pretty poor average gates, truth be told, otherwise.

We've all seen the new faces on a match day, and the new day trippers do seem fairly obvious.
I really hope they become loyal fans, but I have my reservations.
 
Yep totally agree. The optics aren't good.

I've said this before and have been chastised for doing so, but other than a few thousand extremely loyal fans I think our general fan base isn't very 'sticky', hence why attendances have fluctuated significantly over the years.

It's frustrating when we can attract 35,000 plus to Wembley trips, yet (other than this season) have had pretty poor average gates, truth be told, otherwise.

We've all seen the new faces on a match day, and the new day trippers do seem fairly obvious.
I really hope they become loyal fans, but I have my reservations.

Have our crowds been poor for a side that went twenty five years without playing in the top two divisions? Hasn’t played top flight football for 37 years (and then only for 3 years), that played in non league football up until the 60s and had a spell back there as recently as the late noughts?

Clubs always take more to Wembley, clubs always have bigger crowds when they are doing well, no exceptions, clubs always have fans leave early when they are getting smashed, again no exceptions.

I know we lost 6-2 at the weekend, everyone gets turned over occasionally, but the doom spiral on here can get a bit much.
 
Have our crowds been poor for a side that went twenty five years without playing in the top two divisions? Hasn’t played top flight football for 37 years (and then only for 3 years), that played in non league football up until the 60s and had a spell back there as recently as the late noughts?

Clubs always take more to Wembley, clubs always have bigger crowds when they are doing well, no exceptions, clubs always have fans leave early when they are getting smashed, again no exceptions.

I know we lost 6-2 at the weekend, everyone gets turned over occasionally, but the doom spiral on here can get a bit much.

No doom spiral from me. One loss doesn't change my overall view. Why do you read my post as being negative?

I'm very pleased we are attracting more fans at the moment. I'm just pointing out what I see is us having a significant proportion of casual fans.
 
No doom spiral from me. One loss doesn't change my overall view. Why do you read my post as being negative?

I'm very pleased we are attracting more fans at the moment. I'm just pointing out what I see is us having a significant proportion of casual fans.

Its not exactly positive, although its not just you so it was more of a reaction to the overall (fairly understandable reaction) in the last few days.

In what way are we different than any other club in the attendance respect? Especially one that has been through a similar situation? What were Wrexhams crowds up until very recently? What were Readings pre new ground and what has happened since they slipped? Even Leeds and Sunderland, bigger clubs with far more history saw big drop offs. Loads more examples.

We are no different than any other club.
 
Yep totally agree. The optics aren't good.

I've said this before and have been chastised for doing so, but other than a few thousand extremely loyal fans I think our general fan base isn't very 'sticky', hence why attendances have fluctuated significantly over the years.

It's frustrating when we can attract 35,000 plus to Wembley trips, yet (other than this season) have had pretty poor average gates, truth be told, otherwise.

We've all seen the new faces on a match day, and the new day trippers do seem fairly obvious.
I really hope they become loyal fans, but I have my reservations.
I'm sorry, but you're wrong here.

The statistics show that our crowds, when we have been doing poorly, have held up remarkably well compared to almost all other clubs. Our lowest ever average, is higher than many supposedly "bigger" clubs, when they were at their lowest ebb, and this has always been a factor at Oxford United.

I think your comments are pretty insulting actually, and one thing Oxford United fans are not is flaky. You may want to re-think your comments.
 
We've all seen the new faces on a match day, and the new day trippers do seem fairly obvious.

Do they?

What I've actually seen is plenty of old faces attending with more regularity (I've personally bumped into multiple old heads that I hadn't previously seen for  years).

These are not day trippers. These are people who went to Droylsden, Farsley and Barrow. They stood on the LR. They were on the pitch at full time in the Rushden 2nd leg.

It's odd. There are some folk at OUFC who seem to regard any face that hasn't been sat next to them every game for the last 25 years as a 'day tripper'.

Up in the SSU there are plenty of faces around me that are long term ST holders, but, if we hadn't moved over to the SSU a few years ago I wouldn't have recognised (they don't do away games, don't drink in pubs pre-game etc). Ironically these can be deemend 'day trippers' - they turn up, sit on their hands and go home again without making a peep?

Whereas plenty of the lads I've seen are passionate supporters who have been off having a family or moved away etc etc.

Just because you don't personally recognise someone doesn't mean they are a day tripper.
 
I'm sorry, but you're wrong here.

The statistics show that our crowds, when we have been doing poorly, have held up remarkably well compared to almost all other clubs. Our lowest ever average, is higher than many supposedly "bigger" clubs, when they were at their lowest ebb, and this has always been a factor at Oxford United.

I think your comments are pretty insulting actually, and one thing Oxford United fans are not is flaky. You may want to re-think your comments.

'Insulting' is a little strong, Colin. We're discussing the fact that a lot of people can't understand why so many fans leave early, after all.

'Flaky', as you put it, isn't that strong an accusation, considering the context, surely?
 
Do they?

What I've actually seen is plenty of old faces attending with more regularity (I've personally bumped into multiple old heads that I hadn't previously seen for  years).

These are not day trippers. These are people who went to Droylsden, Farsley and Barrow. They stood on the LR. They were on the pitch at full time in the Rushden 2nd leg.

It's odd. There are some folk at OUFC who seem to regard any face that hasn't been sat next to them every game for the last 25 years as a 'day tripper'.

Up in the SSU there are plenty of faces around me that are long term ST holders, but, if we hadn't moved over to the SSU a few years ago I wouldn't have recognised (they don't do away games, don't drink in pubs pre-game etc). Ironically these can be deemend 'day trippers' - they turn up, sit on their hands and go home again without making a peep?

Whereas plenty of the lads I've seen are passionate supporters who have been off having a family or moved away etc etc.

Just because you don't personally recognise someone doesn't mean they are a day tripper.
Exactly this. We have a large pool of fans, as is proved whenever we get to Wembley (and indeed by ST sales this year). Many of us have have been fans for years, but life circumstances dictate that we can't attend regularly - I now have a 450 mile round trip to Oxford, 3 kids and a full-time job. I've only been to one home game so far this season and a couple of aways. But I would feel very insulted if anyone thought of me as a 'casual fan' or 'day tripper'. There are thousands like me. And I sing up, and don't leave early!

The idea that we have a hardcore of a few thousand super loyal fans and the rest of us are somehow 'lesser' is insulting. Why is this hardcore not selling out all our away games? Everyone makes life choices. But we're all fans, and doing what we can.
 
'Insulting' is a little strong, Colin. We're discussing the fact that a lot of people can't understand why so many fans leave early, after all.

'Flaky', as you put it, isn't that strong an accusation, considering the context, surely?
I was responding to the bit I highlighted from your post, where you said specifically that our attendances "have fluctuated significantly over the years" and were "pretty poor".

My post is nothing to do with leaving early, that is a separate issue.

I feel offended by those comments, so yes, insulting fits the bill. We don't have the highest attendances in the league, but we do have a very loyal fanbase, who have stuck with the club through thick and (mostly) thin. We have had attendances to be proud of during these times, not to be criticised as poor by someone who hasn't really thought it through.
 
Do they?

What I've actually seen is plenty of old faces attending with more regularity (I've personally bumped into multiple old heads that I hadn't previously seen for  years).

These are not day trippers. These are people who went to Droylsden, Farsley and Barrow. They stood on the LR. They were on the pitch at full time in the Rushden 2nd leg.

It's odd. There are some folk at OUFC who seem to regard any face that hasn't been sat next to them every game for the last 25 years as a 'day tripper'.

Up in the SSU there are plenty of faces around me that are long term ST holders, but, if we hadn't moved over to the SSU a few years ago I wouldn't have recognised (they don't do away games, don't drink in pubs pre-game etc). Ironically these can be deemend 'day trippers' - they turn up, sit on their hands and go home again without making a peep?

Whereas plenty of the lads I've seen are passionate supporters who have been off having a family or moved away etc etc.

Just because you don't personally recognise someone doesn't mean they are a day tripper.

Maybe regular away game goers can recognise a decent amount of those that go away, although as those numbers have grown that must be getting harder but no one can tell if a person has been going years or not amongst our home crowds, far to many people and you are there to infrequently, for to short a time and are to spread out.

Always find the claim that people know who is a regular and who is a day tripper (as if there are not a lot grades in between that) just by looking at them as a bit deluded and fantastical, that they know every true Oxford fan somehow personally. I have worked at the same place as someone for nearly a year before we realised we both had season tickets in the east stand before, wouldn't even have known he was an Oxford fan before that.
 
I was responding to the bit I highlighted from your post, where you said specifically that our attendances "have fluctuated significantly over the years" and were "pretty poor".

My post is nothing to do with leaving early, that is a separate issue.

I feel offended by those comments, so yes, insulting fits the bill. We don't have the highest attendances in the league, but we do have a very loyal fanbase, who have stuck with the club through thick and (mostly) thin. We have had attendances to be proud of during these times, not to be criticised as poor by someone who hasn't really thought it through.

Well, I'm sorry if you feel offended. It certainly wasn't the intention!

I respect your opinion, as ever. It's a shame because it doesn't really feel like you respect mine, for whatever reason.

Let's move on.
 
Would be a bit weird if anyone knew all 9000 Oxford fans at a game.

Everyone is a day-tripper for their first game, it's the way the club will grow. If people want to leave early, that's up to them, but at least they bought a ticket in the first place.
 
All the talk of day trippers and low attendances just highlights the issues that have plagued OUFC for decades. The Manor, character? - yes, by the bucket load but, was it comfortable? Did it have modern safety and seating? Of course not. The Kasstad. Character? Not in a good way. Comfortable? Concrete wind tunnel, no hot water, only 3 stands, in dire need of renovation and modernisation (Now that's something that a 20 year old building shouldn't need, not to the extent that it does)

So, a family looking for a day out, the footy - excitement, footy food a good time for all. Not much chance when the toilets are dire, no hot water, catering is haphazard, seats are wet after a shower, car park is badly lit and overgrown by weeds etc, no public transport connections worth mentioning. A car park that serves an entertainment complex and sees a free for all to get away from.
No, that's not an attractive proposition. The Triangle will see all of that change. A modern, purpose design and build. Public transport. Lots of hospitality options. Well lit, heated concourses and toilets. Family friendly, inclusive to all. Believe me, that will see 16,000 supporters every game. I can even imagine a waiting list for season tickets. And, of course, it won't be just match days nor even just the men's first team, all sorts of activities will see folk congregating and utilising the stadium and surroundings.
 
Well, I'm sorry if you feel offended. It certainly wasn't the intention!

I respect your opinion, as ever. It's a shame because it doesn't really feel like you respect mine, for whatever reason.

Let's move on.
It's not that I don't respect your opinion mate, it's that you said something (that our attendances fluctuated significantly over the years) which was factually incorrect, and I felt the need to put that right.

As you say, let's move on.
 
It's not that I don't respect your opinion mate, it's that you said something (that our attendances fluctuated significantly over the years) which was factually incorrect, and I felt the need to put that right.

As you say, let's move on.

That's totally fine. By making unsubstantiated claims like that I appreciate I leave myself open to being challenged. It's absolutely your domain and I defer to your greater knowledge in the area.

You go on stats, I was merely going on 'feel'.

I'm actually glad I'm wrong, and hope the fanbase can continue to prove me wrong in future.
 
Thing is, it’s not the cinema, it’s not just for ‘entertainment’, you’re meant to be a supporter, and the protagonists can see if you’ve sloped off. Fair enough that people have stuff going on and car issues etc, and letting in six is a special case, but I bet fans in hotbeds like Newcastle and Sunderland don’t all leave if they’re losing. I can walk home and i always want to see what happens, I’m not claiming any personal moral superiority.
"fans in hotbeds like Sunderland"...

I watched Sunderland v Leeds on tv this season, Sunderland were 2-1 down, and with around 25 minutes to go Sunderland fans were streaming out of the stadium, I couldn't believe how many, especially with such an exciting game also the score so evenly poised.

By 15 minutes to go the stadium was over half empty.

Sunderland equalised with a less than half full stadium - the stadium was full at the start of the match.
 
Chris Foy : ref's view
Penalty and a yellow card.
Not sure why the video caption says it is our defender "Matthew Clarke" rather than Elliot Moore.
 
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