Matches Home Support Attendance.

[Ox4Eva]

Said it previously on this thread and do not say it to try and put anyone down.

But Oxfordshire is not a passionate football area, you see the difference when you spend lots of time in various places around the UK. Elsewhere all you see are the colours off their local team being proudly worn, flags on houses, pictures of the club and it's history in various pubs and a real sense of pride in their club and what it represents.

I am not saying Oxfordshire is alone in it's apathy towards it's local professional club as there are other places like that. But you can really see a difference when you are in a real passionate football area and people live and breathe their team.

In general most folk who may take an interest in Oxfordshire 'claim' to support a plastic premiershit team even though most probably could not find it on a map, these are the ones who sometimes turn up for our bigger games but on the whole they don't really care if we win or lose!

But then there is another group who maybe used to come and follow the U's but for various reasons have stopped coming over the years. These people and their families are the ones I would be looking to try and get back into the fold. There are many of them and we should maybe make more of our clubs history and great moments within our marketing to try and stir some of that old passion.
It's obviously not so simple, I know a lot of community work is being done but I do wonder if the right message is being conveyed?

 

[Gary Baldi]

I can't speak for IL but they did look deeply into who came back, etc and took the fiver/kids for a quid ticket idea seriously. We did the cheap tickets last year for the big 125 and the attendance was good but for me but off of a lot of hard work, it's more than just getting bums on seats a couple of times a year. For one, we are in League One and community engagement has been iffy over the past 20 years. It takes a lot of work to get back to where we were.

If we don't have a stable of stewards ready to go for bigger attendance games, we'd presumably have to use an agency at a cost, etc.

I think Matt Everett's Sunderland idea last season was a good idea - it focused on a game and made it easier to promote consistently. Do we want the club to lose money on cheap ticket games considering the stress caused by us not paying our bills on time?

 

[Fanatica]

The club have done countless discounted ticket offers and being brutally honest, they don't work.

Plymouth "the big game" on Boxing day. Just about scraped 10k after 3 months of marketing, being my best example.

 

[Upthecowboys]

Thought this link was quite interesting, it shows average crowds as percentage of town / city population.

Every League One club ranked by attendance as percentage of population

How well supported are the third-tier clubs when the number of people who live in their towns and cities is taken into account?

www.google.co.uk

Of course this is the city’s population and not the wider county’s population - Oxfordshire is around 690k I think. Highlights the correct strategy of trying to position us as the county’s team.

Our mid table rank in this ‘league table’ shows that 11 other clubs in our division are better at attracting a higher percentage of their local fan base. So it looks like there is more the club / we could do. I say ‘we’ as us current fans are the best promoter of the club.

Interestingly in the Oxford Mail today one of the directors has come out saying he couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be further cash flow issues this season. This may explain why the club doesn’t seem that innovative / willing to give radical ticket initiatives a go i.e they are not willing to take a short term hit for a long term gain. The 6 ticket bundles are a good idea and you can’t criticise the club for offering them but was the main reason to offer those to get more money in to the club coffers in advance? ie keep pushing any potential cash flow issues back? Again no real issues if that is the case.

Improved fan engagement ( not just regular basic messages asking for more to turn up), improved pre match offering can be done and has been previously - we've had pop up bars, that bbq at the school before the Wycombe game. Totally agree that it is not just about the 90 minutes on the pitch, it needs to be more of an event.

I’d be interested to know the take up on the pub partnership offering - pubs didn’t seem to get much for the £200 ish a month ( think that was the cost). If there has been good take up then fair enough but I’d be surprised. I’d have liked to seen the club partner with pubs in different areas of the county for free. No point doing social events at the ground. How about fans forums / ticket giveaways / raffles in a pub in Banbury, Bicester, Witney etc. Get the Oxford United message out there in person, build more goodwill and see if that helps generate more fans.

In terms of atmosphere, no two ways about it but the atmosphere has dipped since the Ultra's packed up. They really helped get things going at the start of matches, particularly with their impressive displays. Massive own goal.

Finally the club moved in the right direction with reducing East Stand prices, as some adults may not be coming because live football is expensive. Two things I'd add, unless needed don't sell tickets in the corners of the East Stands. Try and get everyone in the East Stand close and central, that may help generate more atmosphere. Also I'm not saying we go the whole hog and offer Bradford style prices, but would we attract floating fans to become season ticket holders if an adult season ticket in the East Stand was £150?

There are some really interesting, well thought out posts on this thread and I'm sure the club will see them.

 

[ubermeistervonmeat]

Said it previously on this thread and do not say it to try and put anyone down.

But Oxfordshire is not a passionate football area, you see the difference when you spend lots of time in various places around the UK. Elsewhere all you see are the colours off their local team being proudly worn, flags on houses, pictures of the club and it's history in various pubs and a real sense of pride in their club and what it represents.

I am not saying Oxfordshire is alone in it's apathy towards it's local professional club as there are other places like that. But you can really see a difference when you are in a real passionate football area and people live and breathe their team.

In general most folk who may take an interest in Oxfordshire 'claim' to support a plastic premiershit team even though most probably could not find it on a map, these are the ones who sometimes turn up for our bigger games but on the whole they don't really care if we win or lose!

But then there is another group who maybe used to come and follow the U's but for various reasons have stopped coming over the years. These people and their families are the ones I would be looking to try and get back into the fold. There are many of them and we should maybe make more of our clubs history and great moments within our marketing to try and stir some of that old passion.
It's obviously not so simple, I know a lot of community work is being done but I do wonder if the right message is being conveyed?

Sadly this is so true about plastic Premiershit supporters - to be fair though it was ever thus - stood at Wembley in 86 next to a guy who asked who John Aldridge was !!!
Even in our recent Wembley trips our numbers were swelled massively by glory hunters who forget their Scouse or Manc affiliations just for the day - these types are never really likely to come back whilst we are in L1 or probably even the Championship to be honest - unless we pull Man City, West Ham or whoever else again of course
Its not just in Oxford though - here in Brum they have Villa and City yet huge numbers of locals still sport fake Scouse and Manc affiliations too - the glory hunters who help the Premiershit thrive and destroy the rest of football with their greed

Wasn't it funny seeing one of our supposed great Premiershit teams get 7 stuffed up them at home last night !!!

 

[ZeroTheHero]

With it's 30,000 student population (largely uninterested in the 'local' team) , Oxford is a bit of an odd one to measure in those terms. Take 30,000 off the 150,200 and you get 120,200, which takes the percentage up to 5.5% - 7th on that list.

 

[Discoland]

With it's 30,000 student population (largely uninterested in the 'local' team) , Oxford is a bit of an odd one to measure in those terms. Take 30,000 off the 150,200 and you get 120,200, which takes the percentage up to 5.5% - 7th on that list.

Think the club made a mistake by removing the student option on a ticket. Massive transient population.

 

[RATC]

What is our ( oxon ) main sport then ?

Aunt Sally

 

[Big Ronaldo]

Point taken @Gary Baldi, but incentive has to play a part in a wide ranging assault.
At the risk of being shot down, I have jotted down a few random thoughts...
Financial incentive, publicity, Success, sense of belonging, emphasis on having a fun day out.
Fans days, Social media, YouTube, Community involvement. Match day experience, City council support. Player to fan involvement. Winning!!
All of these factors can play a huge part in growing the fanbase.
Financial incentive has to play its part but the club can do so much more.
Secondary Schools and local colleges (I don’t mean the posh ones in town) need to be targeted heavily to drive up support. Your city, your county, your club attitude.
Shops and businesses need to be encouraged to endorse the club in some way - posters, flags, whatever. Making Oxford United high profile within the county has to be a priority. The club needs to get itself out there into all the towns in the county.
I wonder if there are any fans that might be interested in helping in any way? Season ticket holders perhaps?

Window stickers are naff, but they are publicity. They promote the club subtly (or not??) putting the Ox out there not just in cars but in shop windows and along the street where you live.
Every season ticket holder should get one with their card.
Others have made fine contributions here on how to help move the fanbase upwards.
Some of these things are small, some may work, some not but unless they are given a right go, then we will always struggle to get the fans we need to see us through.

 

[horseman]

i am afraid the powers that be over the years have come across as Rinse the current fans for every pound possible..We beat Peterborough and got "We will refund your ticket if you buy a season ticket" this after the season had only just started and the offer closed mid month not taking into account many people are paid end of Month.
We beat West Ham and in front of you comes give us £100 + for a 6 games bundle, this is just Bonkers and might attract a tiny minority of the "Current" fans but as i've already stated if you're not finding people coming at £20 how on earth do you expect or even believe in your wildest dreams that they will suddenly spend a £100+?
I suggested £1 per game for the next 4 games with a follow up of 50% off an Ipswich ticket because you've got to get people to attend and become hooked before any sales pitch BUT people have to enjoy the "Whole" experience and as others have said have something outside and entertainment inside..If you adopt an attitude of we tried it before and it didn't work so why bother then you deserve what comes ( or doesn't in this case) from such thought process..What is clear is the club need to act fast because if they don't soon engage with and embrace new support it will be too late as they'll all find other things to do---The Clock is Ticking

 

[The Roller]

Another element is that the club is not that easy to access via public transport. The location favours cars and even then it's a nightmare to get out at the final whistle.

It's all a bit pointless talking about as I can't see us leaving the Breezeblock any time soon. How nice would it be to play in a stadium in Headington in a stadium with a mixture of safe standing and seating?

 

[Kiewhite]

Any one no how much of the ifollow money goes back into the club? If it’s a high percentage that could be another way to entice people to part with there money? Life is changing a lot of people work weekends and nights. Me for one work Saturdays and Tuesday nights so I choose to support my club by doing ifollow buying merchandise and having a membership. Will be going to the Doncaster and Portsmouth games as have a week off. But my point is there’s other things the club can promote better to help with cash flow. Took my little girl in club shop the other day and clothes wise there was nothing for kids and a lack off options genuinely. They should improve on this more as well I think

 

[Discoland]

Any one no how much of the ifollow money goes back into the club? If it’s a high percentage that could be another way to entice people to part with there money? Life is changing a lot of people work weekends and nights. Me for one work Saturdays and Tuesday nights so I choose to support my club by doing ifollow buying merchandise and having a membership. Will be going to the Doncaster and Portsmouth games as have a week off. But my point is there’s other things the club can promote better to help with cash flow. Took my little girl in club shop the other day and clothes wise there was nothing for kids and a lack off options genuinely. They should improve on this more as well I think

I believe the proportion to the club is 70% being advertised somewhere last time I was on iFollow but I could be wrong and it could be 80%, which is the figure someone mentioned on here previous (cant find the post, sorry!).

 

[horseman]

Another element is that the club is not that easy to access via public transport. The location favours cars and even then it's a nightmare to get out at the final whistle.

It's all a bit pointless talking about as I can't see us leaving the Breezeblock any time soon. How nice would it be to play in a stadium in Headington in a stadium with a mixture of safe standing and seating?

I've mentioned this a few times, the car park "Dodgems" exit could easily be addressed with a steward or 2 or dare i suggest a couple of the robocop brigade.
When i mentioned that adding an hour to your journey from the train station whilst touring the city via the bus is not great especially with kids + that you can wait up to 20/30 minutes outside for the return bus often in the cold and pouring rain then 4 or 5 suddenly arrive at once and it's like sardines on the journey back which is a safety risk the reply has often been that people will make any excuse not to attend.

 

[horseman]

I believe the proportion to the club is 70% being advertised somewhere last time I was on iFollow but I could be wrong and it could be 80%, which is the figure someone mentioned on here previous (cant find the post, sorry!).

Any one no how much of the ifollow money goes back into the club? If it’s a high percentage that could be another way to entice people to part with there money? Life is changing a lot of people work weekends and nights. Me for one work Saturdays and Tuesday nights so I choose to support my club by doing ifollow buying merchandise and having a membership. Will be going to the Doncaster and Portsmouth games as have a week off. But my point is there’s other things the club can promote better to help with cash flow. Took my little girl in club shop the other day and clothes wise there was nothing for kids and a lack off options genuinely. They should improve on this more as well I think

not when they cannot broadcast in the uk

 

[MarkG]

I used the park-and-ride from Unipart for the West Ham game. The bus drop off and pick up point was Spindleberry Close, between the stadium and the Blackbird. Not really the club's fault, but after the final whistle, I waited a minute to applaud the players then headed off to the bus stop, only to see a double decker drive off with perhaps 15 people on it. Within minutes there was a queue of a couple of hundred people waiting, and it took perhaps 20 minutes for two double deckers to arrive back (I guess one had left pretty much on the final whistle to head to the car park).

 

[BrockBuster]

Another element is that the club is not that easy to access via public transport. The location favours cars and even then it's a nightmare to get out at the final whistle.

It's all a bit pointless talking about as I can't see us leaving the Breezeblock any time soon. How nice would it be to play in a stadium in Headington in a stadium with a mixture of safe standing and seating?

This, bloody nightmare of a ground to get to. From the station just reading the convoluted info gives me a headache:

BY TRAIN
Oxford Station is roughly four miles from the stadium.

Stagecoach route 1 and The Oxford Bus Company route City 5 run at frequent intervals (every 4-10 minutes combined) from the station to Knights Road, a five-minute walk to the ground.

Oxford Plus Bus tickets are valid on both routes. Return or 24 hour passes bought from the driver on route 1 can be used to travel back to the station on the City 5 and vice versa.

Click HERE for the route timetable and prices

Taxis will take around 15 minutes to get to the ground from the rank outside the station.

BY BUS
Direct to the Ground from Oxford city centre and Iffley Road (Saturday and Good Friday games:3A Bus Route from Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach

Two buses per hour operate from Oxford city centre to the stadium on Saturdays and most Bank Holidays.

Return or 24 hour passes bought from the driver on one company can be used to travel back from the ground on the other. For midweek games the 3A stops at the Science Park close to the stadium but please note is not available for the return journey.

3A Timetable

Stopping a short walk from the ground

From rail station, city centre, Cowley Road and Cowley Centre to Knights Road (5 minutes walk):
Stagecoach route 1 and the Oxford Bus Company City 5 route run from Oxford Station through the City Centre to Knights Road which is a five-minute walk to the stadium. In the city centre buses pick up at the Westgate shopping centre (stop M1), Speedwell Street, St Aldates (stop G5) and High Street, Queens Lane (stop K1). Buses will show Blackbird Leys as the destination on the front.

Return or 24 hour passes bought from the driver on one company can be used to travel back from the ground on the other.

From city centre, Cowley Road and Cowley Centre to Plover Drive (5 minutes walk): Stagecoach route 12 runs from the city centre to Plover Drive, which is a 5 minute walk to the ground. Buses pick up at St Aldates (stop G4) and High Street, Queens Lane (stop K2) in the city centre. Buses will show Greater Leys as the destination on the front.

From city centre, Abingdon Road and Donnington Bridge to Carpenter Close (10 minutes walk): Stagecoach route 16/16A runs from the city centre to Carpenter Close, which is a 10 minute walk to the ground. Buses pick up at St Aldates (stop H4) in the city centre. Buses will show Minchery Farm as the destination on the front.

Please note that these services are not operated by the club and are subject to change: please check the relevant bus company website before setting off.

Football Specials

The OX2, OX3 and OX7 services are operated by Thames Travel and bring fans to United home games closer to kick-off times, while continuing to pick up and drop off at the regular points.

The OX2 starts at Didcot and picks up in Steventon, Drayton and Abingdon. The OX3 starts at Carterton and then picks up at Brize Norton, Witney, Eynsham and Botley, while the OX7 picks up at various stops in Kidlington as well as along the Banbury Road, Marston and Headington. Double-decker buses run for all league matches (Saturdays only for the OX2) with cup games decided on an individual basis.

For timetables and fares:

Click here for the OX2 Service

Click here for OX3 Service

Click here for OX7 Service

(Timings subject to variation in the event of a change of kick-off time. Buses run for all league matches only. Cup games will be decided on a match-by-match basis)

 

[werthersoriginal]

This, bloody nightmare of a ground to get to. From the station just reading the convoluted info gives me a headache:

I agree, it’s really hard to explain to people in Oxford how to get there! Almost easier to drive from Abingdon or similar, but then it takes forever to get out

 

[Sarge]

Expect some news being announced, from OUFC , regarding engaging with supporters, as well as involving supporters, including supporters input, with a genuine view to enhancing the current matchday experience in the next couple of days

 

[Kamal]

Think the club made a mistake by removing the student option on a ticket. Massive transient population.

They said it was merged with Young Adult.