Manager/Coach Karl Robinson - Will he walk

That is a preposterous statement! Sabotage of a season because they don't want to be promoted??????

We only sold Fosu and Baptiste! Our season wasn't built around these two players. Results were on the slide before the sales. We had a team that was second in December and brought in reinforcements early in the window.

Irrespective of these actions, recent results are the domain of the manager, coaches and players not the board!

But did the board support KR in January? And with how KR hijacked NMW five minute fan forum does seem to demonstrate that there are problems between the board and the management.
 
But did the board support KR in January? And with how KR hijacked NMW five minute fan forum does seem to demonstrate that there are problems between the board and the management.
No it doesn't. It showed that when things were tough the manager stood up to be counted rather than leaving NMW to take the flak.
 
No it doesn't. It showed that when things were tough the manager stood up to be counted rather than leaving NMW to take the flak.
And the words between Zaki and Kr after the end of the match? He was kissed with announcing that Fos and Bap were sold especially after he announced he received an email to say they had been sold!
 
But did the board support KR in January? And with how KR hijacked NMW five minute fan forum does seem to demonstrate that there are problems between the board and the management.

They brought in Holland, Kelly and Browne and bids were made for others. They hardly hung him out to dry.

Discontent between the board and manager can happen but it shouldn't spill onto the pitch and wouldn't explain our form for the past month and a half.

However, it is the suggestion that the sale of players was a form of sabotage to stop us being promoted is nonsense.
 
And the words between Zaki and Kr after the end of the match? He was kissed with announcing that Fos and Bap were sold especially after he announced he received an email to say they had been sold!
There were words between KR and a muppet in the SSU after Blackpool missed the sitter. KR was still pumped when Zaki spoke to him at the end. They didn't have words!!!
 
They brought in Holland, Kelly and Browne and bids were made for others. They hardly hung him out to dry.

Discontent between the board and manager can happen but it shouldn't spill onto the pitch and wouldn't explain our form for the past month and a half.

However, it is the suggestion that the sale of players was a form of sabotage to stop us being promoted is nonsense.

I think most sensible know that’s bull s**t, out of the midfield we had when Fos and Bap were here and we had to sell two then it would be those two.
 
There were words between KR and a muppet in the SSU after Blackpool missed the sitter. KR was still pumped when Zaki spoke to him at the end. They didn't have words!!!
Well they spoke! So yes there were words!!!
 
Neither am I Ricky. What Zaki is actually saying is that this is what it's going to be like for the foreseeable future so stick with us all you fans. Yuk!! His famous interview with Jerome Sale will go down in history.
Perhaps he can get some media training from Prince Andrew o_O
 
And the words between Zaki and Kr after the end of the match? He was kissed with announcing that Fos and Bap were sold especially after he announced he received an email to say they had been sold!
There were no words between KR and Zaki - KR was having words with a "supporter"
 
There were no words between KR and Zaki - KR was having words with a "supporter"
Not according to Radox yes he may have strong words with the w****r in the crowd but he also spoke to Zaki, Spoke = words
 
Very good post. Some of the recent negativity has been embarrassing. I've seen people post if we have enough points to avoid relegation, or saying that Robinson should go!

We've had a really good season so far, that could become great with playoffs and more, or simply good if we fade out at this stage. But it's not very long ago that we were worrying about the bills being paid or looking at every lost point being nearer to relegation.

We are making huge progress on and off the pitch, and whilst I still think the playoffs are a very real possibility, we are better placed to go into next season stronger still.

For what it’s worth - I think most would agree that, had we been offered this at the start of the season, most would have taken this situation in a heartbeat.

However, you’ve watched Oxford for a long time - surely you must at least understand some of this negativity. The Championship has been ‘the goal’ of the club for a long time. Fans were told it was the reason we had to leave our beloved Manor Ground and ship off to our concrete wind tunnel, 3-sided hellhole of a new home in the first place. You must know that, for clubs like Oxford, genuine chances to reach the Championship are precious and few. It isn’t hard to see how many fans could perceive that we, as a club, ‘cashed in’ one of those opportunities in January - rather than actively pursue it. Again, it’s not my money and I would much prefer us not to be saddled with piles more debt. But I can fully understand some of the negativity - when season ticket sales and 10k crowds were needed we were an ambitious, Championship-chasing club. But when push came to shove in January it was proven that, right now, we are not. Whether one accepts and understands the reasons or not...the apparent cashing in on something we as a fan base have been waiting almost 20 years for means I definitely get why fans are disappointed.

The second reason, I perceive, for this negativity is fan fear that rather than ‘building for the future’, this is a team at the end of its cycle. Baptiste, Whyte and Fosu gone. Eastwood, Brannagan and Dickie likely to follow in the summer. Mackie and Mousinho up there in years. How much will it take to prise Gorrin or Sykes away? It would be easier for fans to accept ‘building for the future’ had we not just sold a major asset, under long-term contract, on the last day of the window for a deal which - according to many sources of varying reliability - was market rate/decent / but hardly mind-blowing (and detrimental to our own short-term prospects to boot).

The issue, as I see it, is that there is currently as much evidence to service the fearful/negative agenda as there is to further your well-reasoned but I’m sure you’d freely admit, enormously positive one. My own view is that, whether intentional/disingenuous or not - the board certainly allowed the ‘ambitious, championship-seeking’ part of their agenda come to the fore whilst season tickets were needed, and through the first half of the season - and this ‘sustainability message’ has been more prominent since the turn of the year.

If nothing were to happen with us and we end in midtable irrelevance this season I certainly won’t be too disappointed. As I’ve said in other posts - for a club who weren’t in the football league a decade ago, big matches at the business end of League One are a joy to watch. But I certainly understand the frustration. No tangible news on the stadium (right now), a once in two decades chance of championship football frittered away, a team that is just as likely to be at the end of its cycle as it is being ‘built to the future’.

I can’t shake the feeling that this feels a whole lot like Daryl & Mapp’s last season. (But, again, I will freely concede there is as much evidence for that as there is for any other interpretation!!)
 
If anyone doesn't Twitter, here is the series of Tweets Zaki sent out, tidied up into one:

I fully understand why fans feel frustrated with the recent results and many feel the board should have done things differently in January. I just want to reiterate openly again where we stand:
1. We firmly believe in our squad & the entire coaching team & feel they’re more than capable of achieving what we set out at the start of the season. We must all stick together until the last game of the season.
2. The togetherness within the club has not & will not change & with the support of the wider community I know we can have a strong push towards our objectives.
3. We are absolutely ambitious & have a clear vision for where we want to take this football club. There are many ways to achieve it, but we chose to do it sensibly & incrementally without getting ahead of ourselves & without drowning the club with huge debts which then makes the long term future of the club less certain.
4. When we make decisions, whether football or non football, we do think about the long term future of the club. We have made huge improvements this year by buying assets & working on improving the commercials of the club. Put simply, this will boost the club revenues & reduce its losses allowing us to continue to invest in a more stable organisation.
5. Finally, we believe transparency is key and we are constantly engaged with OxVox and others. We recognise nothing can be achieved if we do not have an inclusive approach. We will continue to operate this way.

Personally I would like to know:
1. What DID we set out to do at the start of the season? What were the targets? Presumably - given the context - these are on-pitch objectives.
2. Again, what are 'our objectives'?
3. What are these ambitions and this clear vision? If we knew, perhaps we would be more forgiving of what seem to be some odd decisions lately.
4. Of course commercial activity is important. An extra sponsor here or there is not to be sniffed at. I would also say that we have also SOLD assets of greater value than we have bought this season, haven't we? But there is a big grey animal in the room here...
5. Well (as a life member) over to you OxVox. Let's hear what they have been telling you. And if it has been told to you in confidence - stop it. You are OUR representative, not the club's. If they are keeping you from publicly questioning them by drip feeding bits of information (true or false) then that has to stop. And also OUFC, who are these 'others' you are also keeping in the loop? IMO an 'inclusive approach' would actually be including the support much more. Yes, I know you make sure we are patted on the head in all the interviews, but let us know what your intentions are.

I don't think this (presumably very considered) set of tweets actually answers anything at all.
 
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If anyone doesn't Twitter, here is the series of Tweets Zaki sent out, tidied up into one:

I fully understand why fans feel frustrated with the recent results and many feel the board should have done things differently in January. I just want to reiterate openly again where we stand:
1. We firmly believe in our squad & the entire coaching team & feel they’re more than capable of achieving what we set out at the start of the season. We must all stick together until the last game of the season.
2. The togetherness within the club has not & will not change & with the support of the wider community I know we can have a strong push towards our objectives.
3. We are absolutely ambitious & have a clear vision for where we want to take this football club. There are many ways to achieve it, but we chose to do it sensibly & incrementally without getting ahead of ourselves & without drowning the club with huge debts which then makes the long term future of the club less certain.
4. When we make decisions, whether football or non football, we do think about the long term future of the club. We have made huge improvements this year by buying assets & working on improving the commercials of the club. Put simply, this will boost the club revenues & reduce its losses allowing us to continue to invest in a more stable organisation.
5. Finally, we believe transparency is key and we are constantly engaged with OxVox and others. We recognise nothing can be achieved if we do not have an inclusive approach. We will continue to operate this way.

Personally I would like to know:
1. What DID we set out to do at the start of the season? What were the targets? Presumably - given the context - these are on-pitch objectives.
2. Again, what are 'our objectives'?
3. What are these ambitions and this clear vision? If we knew, perhaps we would be more forgiving of what seem to be some odd decisions lately.
4. Of course commercial activity is important. An extra sponsor here or there is not to be sniffed at. I would also say that we have also SOLD assets of greater value than we have bought this season, haven't we? But there is a big grey animal in the room here...
5. Well (as a life member) over to you OxVox. Let's hear what they have been telling you. And if it has been told to you in confidence - stop it. You are OUR representative, not the club's. If they are keeping you from publicly questioning them by drip feeding bits of information (true or false) then that has to stop. And also OUFC, who are these 'others' you are also keeping in the loop? IMO an 'inclusive approach' would actually be including the support much more. Yes, I know you make sure we are patted on the head in all the interviews, but let us know what your intentions are.

I don't think this (presumably very considered) set of tweets actually answers anything at all.

Trawling through our Vice Chairmans calculated but very, very late twitter comments I keep hearing this (below) as the soundtrack to Zaki's comments :unsure: :oops::rolleyes:.....


 
If anyone doesn't Twitter, here is the series of Tweets Zaki sent out, tidied up into one:

I fully understand why fans feel frustrated with the recent results and many feel the board should have done things differently in January. I just want to reiterate openly again where we stand:
1. We firmly believe in our squad & the entire coaching team & feel they’re more than capable of achieving what we set out at the start of the season. We must all stick together until the last game of the season.
2. The togetherness within the club has not & will not change & with the support of the wider community I know we can have a strong push towards our objectives.
3. We are absolutely ambitious & have a clear vision for where we want to take this football club. There are many ways to achieve it, but we chose to do it sensibly & incrementally without getting ahead of ourselves & without drowning the club with huge debts which then makes the long term future of the club less certain.
4. When we make decisions, whether football or non football, we do think about the long term future of the club. We have made huge improvements this year by buying assets & working on improving the commercials of the club. Put simply, this will boost the club revenues & reduce its losses allowing us to continue to invest in a more stable organisation.
5. Finally, we believe transparency is key and we are constantly engaged with OxVox and others. We recognise nothing can be achieved if we do not have an inclusive approach. We will continue to operate this way.

Personally I would like to know:
1. What DID we set out to do at the start of the season? What were the targets? Presumably - given the context - these are on-pitch objectives.
2. Again, what are 'our objectives'?
3. What are these ambitions and this clear vision? If we knew, perhaps we would be more forgiving of what seem to be some odd decisions lately.
4. Of course commercial activity is important. An extra sponsor here or there is not to be sniffed at. I would also say that we have also SOLD assets of greater value than we have bought this season, haven't we? But there is a big grey animal in the room here...
5. Well (as a life member) over to you OxVox. Let's hear what they have been telling you. And if it has been told to you in confidence - stop it. You are OUR representative, not the club's. If they are keeping you from publicly questioning them by drip feeding bits of information (true or false) then that has to stop. And also OUFC, who are these 'others' you are also keeping in the loop? IMO an 'inclusive approach' would actually be including the support much more. Yes, I know you make sure we are patted on the head in all the interviews, but let us know what your intentions are.

I don't think this (presumably very considered) set of tweets actually answers anything at all.

1. On pitch objectives were/are promotion. This was stated several times by Tiger, Zaki and Robinson at the beginning of the season and reaffirmed since January. Admittedly, the tone has changed from quietly confident to a little more hopeful, but promotion is still a real target (but not s**t or bust).

2. As above, and this Zaki is saying that the playing squad remain focused on this target. Various comments get twisted to suit, but whilst Eastwood sounded a little downbeat, Mous and others have sounded much more optimistic in recent interviews.

3. Financial management is key, and building sustainable success has to be the most important objective. No one has ruled out promotion, and the idea that the club is actively against it is bizarre. However, that doesn't mean that stupid money would be thrown at promotion now. We all know that there is a limit on how far we can go without owning or fully controlling our stadium. Tiger, Zaki and NMW have all indicated that work is taking place to resolve this (all giving different takes on timeframe immediately). The clear vision is a successful and sustainable club, on and off the pitch and at the highest possible playing level. That would indicate that promotion and the stadium issues are very much part of this vision.

4. Reducing costs and increasing income are massive if we are to become sustainable. FFP only allows us to spend what we bring in, so increased attendance, sponsorship dealers and player sales are all we have. That is why we had to consider all options in January to enable us to continue to grow. Investing in the infrastructure, training facilities, youth development etc are just as important as buying players at the top of their game. So whilst we have sold Whyte and Baptiste (Fosu came and went), we have also invested in Gorrin, Moore, Agyei, Forde and Atkinson, whilst looking to develop further those already with us. The fact that we have brought in more cash than what we've spent is testament to a good business model.

5. This is the one area that I'm not sure Tiger and co. have ever really got right. There has been much better communication but words like growth, sustainable, transparency, vision, objectives etc are very different from having a clear business plan. The counter to this is that the club then becomes a slave to timeframes and every word gets analysed and twisted to be used against them. I would hope that whatever happens this season, the club takes the time to put together a very clear vision moving forward. For example, giving a 5 year plan on becoming a stable Championship team. This may include a bounce between the leagues or more gradual organic growth year on year in league 1, but hopefully the end goal would be the same. Equally, 5 years to take fully financial control over our stadium could mean a better leasing agreement, buying the Kassam or moving elsewhere, but again the objective would be the same.

I think there are plenty of positives to take from these tweets and the general engagement of the board this season. But those wanting action rather than words will always get frustrated with comments at this stage, because this will never be a quick fix.
 
Can’t say this won me over particularly, this season financially should have been great for us with lots of unexpected income from the cup runs plus selling Whyte et al. so I really don’t see how putting some money in for reinforcements in key areas (even if it’s a promising youngster) could be considered not sustainable

Did that extra money even cover the losses of the previous year which included the additional Kassam arbitration money which DE started, expenditure on the training ground, additional spending on the Academy etc?
 
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