Matches Lack of supporters

SteMerritt said:
To be honest, no I haven't. Can imagine that getting tasty however.
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Very reminiscent of the North Stand door incident with Villa.
Milwall went through a bit of fence at the back of the stand,then much videoing, much pavement dancing and bottle chucking. :rolleyes:
 
Mellowyellow said:
Whitehawk is the one to visit in East Brighton, up behind the marina. At one point bus drivers refused to drive there as they were shot at. Moulscomb Primary, had a fair of some sort, quite a few years ago, to celebrate the opening of a new building housing amongst other things a new toilet block. The caretaker informed the headteacher the following morning that all of the pull chains from the cisterns had been removed during the fair. Oh and if we ever play at the Amex, avoid one of the closest pubs to the ground, Rubys, formerly the Hikers Rest. Even Millwall turned tail from there.
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Ian Rush's company (well part owner and w****r) killed off Whitehawk FC in the same way they did Abingdon Town.
 
Mellowyellow said:
Whitehawk is the one to visit in East Brighton, up behind the marina. At one point bus drivers refused to drive there as they were shot at. Moulscomb Primary, had a fair of some sort, quite a few years ago, to celebrate the opening of a new building housing amongst other things a new toilet block. The caretaker informed the headteacher the following morning that all of the pull chains from the cisterns had been removed during the fair. Oh and if we ever play at the Amex, avoid one of the closest pubs to the ground, Rubys, formerly the Hikers Rest. Even Millwall turned tail from there.
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I heard Ruby`s was refurbed and went "posh" in 2018/19?
Friend has a ST at the Amex and has taken me to the Fox on the Downs a couple of times, nice pub, nice grub bit pricier than "The North" though!
 
Still waiting for the buzz of football being back to hit me! pre lockdown I done majority of games but yet to attend a home game, done QPR & Wimbledon but was more swayed by the day out rather than footy. Guessing a few in the same boat looking at our attendances? Im sure normality will return!
 
There is no getting away from the fact that our home, matchday experience is pretty poor. I'm not overly surprised at the attendance levels.

Taking off the OUFC tinted glasses for a second and looking at the 'day out' in the cold light of day, it's not great. Actually Saturday aside where we didn't win, the team are doing all they can on the pitch to entice people in (Our home form so far this year has been good).

Beyond what is happening on the pitch, where is the enticement to get the casual U's fans back through the turnstiles? Outside the ground, the stadium most certainly is not a thing of beauty with the graffiti strewn across the North and East stands. Meanwhile, if you happen to be stuck in the overflow car park you can kiss good buy to 45 minutes of your evening after the match.

What is happening with 'Olly's Den'? I've not seen 'Olly' out in force this season and there doesn't seem to be any kind of fanfare for the children (the next generation of supporters and arguably the most important customers). There simply has to be initiatives to get children engaged with OUFC and entice Ma or Pa to bring them back again and again. For children aged 11/12 and below, relying solely on the football match to get them hooked is probably, a slightly outdated concept in the day and age of instant entertainment via Xbox and Play Station. What are the club doing to encourage more children to attend? (I don't have children so genuinely don't know).

On Saturday, we had McGuane and Holland sat behind us prior to the match, first and second half. Why don't the players not in the 18 man squad, take a walk around to the family stand and meet some of the kids? Alternatively, why don't they have a chat with supporters in the quadrangle before the game? Speaking on a personal level, a little additional player interaction goes a long way to building strong player/supporter relationships.

For the adults, why cant we do a Priory style marquee with a band pre/post-match? I remember after a game in circa 2011 'The Inflatables' played in the priory marquee and it was rammed and the atmosphere electric. Something similar outside the quad (or even inside in the suite on the first floor) would be excellent.

Why not on occasions, reach out to a beverage supplier and see if a deal can be struck whereby fans can get a free drink pre-match? Leicester City have done this on a number of occasions at the King Power and the people hand out drinks as you walk around the ground before the game. At Leicester, the cost is subsidised by the owners and the lager is a South Asian offering (I'm sure they sponsored Leicester for a bit).

Inside the ground, i know that the catering guy's have only just secured the contract, but charging £4 for a warm can of Carlsberg is bordering on scandalous (at least Dick Turpin wore a mask!). Is there any opportunity at all to get actual pumps in the ground? so that customers can have the option of paying a premium price for a proper pint of larger or bitter? (Cider too, of course!) instead of a warm can for which you can purchase 4 cans in a supermarket for the price of 1 in the ground.

As i mentioned in another thread, a singing section/approach the ultras with the metaphorical tail between the legs needs to be considered. There is no getting away from the fact that the atmosphere so far inside the ground has been pretty dire.
 
All of these things require action some form of action by the club, it’s easier just to assume that the fans will just turn up irrespective of what’s been offered
 
ECYellow said:
There is no getting away from the fact that our home, matchday experience is pretty poor. I'm not overly surprised at the attendance levels.

Taking off the OUFC tinted glasses for a second and looking at the 'day out' in the cold light of day, it's not great. Actually Saturday aside where we didn't win, the team are doing all they can on the pitch to entice people in (Our home form so far this year has been good).

Beyond what is happening on the pitch, where is the enticement to get the casual U's fans back through the turnstiles? Outside the ground, the stadium most certainly is not a thing of beauty with the graffiti strewn across the North and East stands. Meanwhile, if you happen to be stuck in the overflow car park you can kiss good buy to 45 minutes of your evening after the match.

What is happening with 'Olly's Den'? I've not seen 'Olly' out in force this season and there doesn't seem to be any kind of fanfare for the children (the next generation of supporters and arguably the most important customers). There simply has to be initiatives to get children engaged with OUFC and entice Ma or Pa to bring them back again and again. For children aged 11/12 and below, relying solely on the football match to get them hooked is probably, a slightly outdated concept in the day and age of instant entertainment via Xbox and Play Station. What are the club doing to encourage more children to attend? (I don't have children so genuinely don't know).

On Saturday, we had McGuane and Holland sat behind us prior to the match, first and second half. Why don't the players not in the 18 man squad, take a walk around to the family stand and meet some of the kids? Alternatively, why don't they have a chat with supporters in the quadrangle before the game? Speaking on a personal level, a little additional player interaction goes a long way to building strong player/supporter relationships.

For the adults, why cant we do a Priory style marquee with a band pre/post-match? I remember after a game in circa 2011 'The Inflatables' played in the priory marquee and it was rammed and the atmosphere electric. Something similar outside the quad (or even inside in the suite on the first floor) would be excellent.

Why not on occasions, reach out to a beverage supplier and see if a deal can be struck whereby fans can get a free drink pre-match? Leicester City have done this on a number of occasions at the King Power and the people hand out drinks as you walk around the ground before the game. At Leicester, the cost is subsidised by the owners and the lager is a South Asian offering (I'm sure they sponsored Leicester for a bit).

Inside the ground, i know that the catering guy's have only just secured the contract, but charging £4 for a warm can of Carlsberg is bordering on scandalous (at least Dick Turpin wore a mask!). Is there any opportunity at all to get actual pumps in the ground? so that customers can have the option of paying a premium price for a proper pint of larger or bitter? (Cider too, of course!) instead of a warm can for which you can purchase 4 cans in a supermarket for the price of 1 in the ground.

As i mentioned in another thread, a singing section/approach the ultras with the metaphorical tail between the legs needs to be considered. There is no getting away from the fact that the atmosphere so far inside the ground has been pretty dire.
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Great post, 2 things not a lot we can do about the car park the biggest in the EFL and free. Traffic management were brought in and twice last season I parked in the car park due to restrictions on numbers, the first game as per 4 lanes trying to merge into 1 but was managed by the traffic management and worked great. The 2nd game they were there but stood around and did bigger alll and the mess of the situation was plain to see.
I emailed Niall McWilliams about this and he said he would look into it but last Saturday the mat wasn’t evident.
The other thing on your post I liked and should be implemented was players not in the match day squad to go around the stadium before and at half time to meet the fans.
 
The match day experience is truly awful. I'm a ST holder and I'm choosing not to go tonight simply because I don't want to. I am genuinely getting my haircut instead. The atmosphere against Gillingham was probably the worst I've ever seen at Kassam.
 
The atmosphere on Saturday was crap it hasn’t been great all season to be honest at home
I honestly think that the football club do just think fans and Casuals will turn up if the football is good but the match day experience is so rubbish there is nowhere to drink around the stadium the traffic is horrendous getting out at the end the only fans that turn up week in week out are the die hards unfortunately and until things change (hopefully when we get promoted/ new stadium) it’s not going to improve as for paying £4 for warm beer nah sod that
 
Kamal said:
The match day experience is truly awful. I'm a ST holder and I'm choosing not to go tonight simply because I don't want to. I am genuinely getting my haircut instead. The atmosphere against Gillingham was probably the worst I've ever seen at Kassam.
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It was poor but for it to get better is to get the fans back and back the club, yes I was there Saturday and it was poor I agree but I will be there tonight and will do my bit and hope others do their bit as well.
 
Kamal said:
The match day experience is truly awful. I'm a ST holder and I'm choosing not to go tonight simply because I don't want to. I am genuinely getting my haircut instead. The atmosphere against Gillingham was probably the worst I've ever seen at Kassam.
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Any regrets? 😊
 
As we walked across the puddle strewn car park in the pouring rain the sewer stink gently wafted across us. Pitch black as usual as Kassam presumably thinks it’s ok to switch the car park lighting off despite how dangerous that is.
I thought that’s some of the reasoning as to why people don’t come.
2 hours later I knew the reason that we keep going! Games like that make it all worth it.
 
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werthersoriginal said:
If you dont enjoy it, then fine. I do and was very sorry to miss it. A lot comes down to who you go with, though people are making good points about the overall match experience.
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oufc1991 said:
The atmosphere on Saturday was crap it hasn’t been great all season to be honest at home
I honestly think that the football club do just think fans and Casuals will turn up if the football is good but the match day experience is so rubbish there is nowhere to drink around the stadium the traffic is horrendous getting out at the end the only fans that turn up week in week out are the die hards unfortunately and until things change (hopefully when we get promoted/ new stadium) it’s not going to improve as for paying £4 for warm beer nah sod that
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When we were at the manor for Saturday games do we would be in the supporters club at 12.30 and Leave for the game at 2.50 then stay in Headington for most of the night in various pubs, now we get to the bird at 1.45 for about an hour and clear off straight after the game, theres nothing near to keep you there, and that’s part of the football day. Even a supporters club could entice people to stay a bit longer.
 
Cass63 said:
When we were at the manor for Saturday games do we would be in the supporters club at 12.30 and Leave for the game at 2.50 then stay in Headington for most of the night in various pubs, now we get to the bird at 1.45 for about an hour and clear off straight after the game, theres nothing near to keep you there, and that’s part of the football day. Even a supporters club could entice people to stay a bit longer.
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I agree when the priory was open you could get in there at 12 have a few beers walk over to the stadium and then back for a few more after the game (on a Saturday) but now there is nothing and I appreciate the catering company are trying to make a living but I wouldn’t pay over the price for warm beer in the stadium I’m afraid hopefully when we get a new stadium it’s designed better so we can make more of a day of it instead of just the 90 mins
 
Anyone mention the fish and chip shop..... that never has any fish and chips cooked?

And the air around the ground really stank last night.

If the toilets at the stadium become any worse, we will see Swindon children bathing in the corners of the urinals using the yellow bars as loofahs

The location is crap, we all know it. There is close to nothing that can be done to improve the site short of a nuclear device. (in my opinion)
 
I don't want to get into the nitty gritty of Firoz and Council bashing (as it's too easy)

However, you take one look at the area and it screams out loudly "they just didn't give a toss".

It's really sad and criminal to have a position of care / responsibility and shovel out Grenoble Rd
 
theWizard said:
Anyone mention the fish and chip shop..... that never has any fish and chips cooked?
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They’re very consistent in that. They also have a great system where they take 20 orders while the chips are cooking, then don’t remember who was first or who wanted what, so everyone has to give their order again while making a run for the counter. Sometimes this results in them realising that they didn’t cook the other item, only the chips, so people have to wait again. Then they act really surprised when they’re out of chips having just taken a boat load of orders, sometimes before they’ve even managed to fulfil all of the orders they just took, which means some people can wait the best part of 20 minutes for some chips and a sausage. Then the cycle starts all over again.

It’s good that the process doesn’t haunt me.
 
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