Matches Stop Knocking the Supporters Rosie.

[Berliner]

Everything the RadOx team say, whether relentlessly positive, barbs from Rosie or whatever, should be taken with a huge pinch of salt. It's no doubt a good marker of the game for the listeners, but when you pair it up with IFollow you realise just how wrongly they've seen things. Above all refereeing decisions...sometimes a shocking (partisan, of course) lack of understanding about the laws and how they are used.

Nonetheless, I am glad we have them.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Rosie is right to call out some fans. This forum is a depressing place at times and some bring that to games. I hear people moaning before a ball has been kicked. Others who can only scream "forward" every 3 minutes! Those that still coat off Murphy despite him being head and shoulders above most others in recent weeks. And especially those who scream abuse at players and the manager in a manner that is frequently disgusting and wouldn't be accepted in any other walk of live.

There will always be those who rush on to say "I pay so I can say what Iike", but take some responsibility for your own actions. We are supporters, we support. So get behind everyone from the first minute to the last. Sing, even if only "Yellows, Yellows". Encourage. We have 9 games to get in the playoffs and then it's pot luck about potentially getting to Wembley and the Championship.

Someone guessed that Bolton will be right up for the game tomorrow. But the one thing that I can guarantee is that the fans of the clubs around us will be right up for it and you won't find the negativity and flat atmosphere at Stevenage, Blackpool, Lincoln or Leyton Orient.

Stop pointing at others and start looking at yourself and how you can improve the atmosphere and help get the results that we so desperately want.

I'm not a fan who thinks "I pay so I can say what I like.", I never would dream of swearing at a player or being abusive. However, I really hope you can understand how frustrating this level of football is to supporters, having seen what the team can do earlier in the season.

I'm ok with losing (if I wasn't, god knows how I could have been a Yellow for 20 years), but I refuse to clap the players off after a shocking and headless performance.

I don't really buy the "we are supporters, we support" argument either. Two of the best posters on here (Colin B and RyanioBirdio) are clearly huge supporters whilst also holding the club to account. We cannot mindlessly support what we see on and off the pitch because "we are supporters", part of being a supporter is demanding the best from the club.

I would not be surprised at all if Ryanio is correct about OUFC being used as a vehicle for sportswashing and the problems that could bring in the future, I'm also highly, highly concerned that we have a manager on a long-term contract, who we paid a lot of money to get, who seems utterly uninspiring. From what I can tell, the only time we look good is when we abandon the gameplan and go hell for leather.

I'm not having the "just be happy we are up there" argument either. Last season was an absolute joke considering our budget and this season is less than average. What is Stevenage's playing budget? We are doing just about acceptably but no better than that.

I have no doubt you're a nice guy and clearly love the club, but I don't get this thing of berating moaners all the time. People support the club in different ways, we should accept each others point of view and move on rather than every match descending into "moaners v positivity".

I agree with you terms like "Des lovers" is stupid but also fans can't turn a blind eye to problems on and off the pitch like sometimes it seems you want them to.

 

[Yellow River]

I think most of the criticism is aimed not at critics in themselves but the constant, repetitious labouring of the same points.

This.

I guess we are all guilty of it from time to time especially when we want to get a point across or feel a post has got ‘lost’, but some of the constant repetition by some posters adds nothing to a healthy, interesting debate. It’s just mind numbingly boring. I pity the mods who have to keep reading it.

Before anyone mentions, yes I do know how to use the ignore button, and yes I do see the irony of me moaning about the moaners!

 

[Oxymoron]

Actually hope more smoke bombs are thrown in the east stand, .

So just as we reach a critical phase in getting plans approved, we hand opposition groups a meal on a plate......

 

[WEYellow]

I don't agree with the comments that better football = better atmosphere. We were top of the league under Manning at one point, and the atmosphere was still dreadful.

The new generation of our fan base are loud on social media, but absolutely silent at grounds unless it comes to singing about X being a sex offender, or the awful 'football in a library' chant. Also, our songbook is way below the standard of other clubs, generic chants about a player which have been rinsed and repeated, other than Yellow Submarine, we rarely hear a song about Oxford United anymore. Contrast that to e.g. Portsmouth at Fratton Park; "Blue Army" ringing round all 4 stands, it may be basic but it makes the atmosphere infinite times better - sometimes it really is that simple.

PRB is right to call out the fan base for atmosphere, it has noticeably dropped off, I can pluck out a couple of times recently where the atmosphere has been anything above average; Orient (A) which was an away end full of older heads and Burton (A) last season which was just hate fuelled against KR, it did make it a better atmosphere though.

 

[RgYellows]

Well you could decide to do something about it instead of waiting for something to fix it for you The fans can actually make an improvement if enough of them get together and decide to do it - as we saw with the Ultras. It isn't purely down to how the team is doing at this moment in time, that's too simplistic.

Didn’t the club fall out with the Ultras? Seems a bit rich for them to then complain that me not behaving like an Ultra is costing the team.

 

[SteMerritt]

Didn’t the club fall out with the Ultras? Seems a bit rich for them to then complain that me not behaving like an Ultra is costing the team.

Yeah they did, and I agree with you. That was one of the biggest missteps the club has made in a long time. As much as I say we can improve the atmosphere ourselves irrespective of the football on display, we need the club to back any initiatives. Hopefully when the new ground arrives, along with safe standing, something can be done to improve matters.

 

[Jonny G]

I was $hit on Saturday. Negative from the outset, when we scored I couldn't be bothered to cheer or stand up - I stood and clapped for the winner, but very half heartedly... It just felt like the season was already gone and it didn't really matter. If that is common then we probably do need to buck our ideas up a bit, just to try and make the chore of every other Saturday (and Easter Monday) a little less painful over the next six weeks, but the atmosphere is certainly rubbish this season and even was in Aug - Nov when were top two.

 

[holdsteady]

I was $hit on Saturday. Negative from the outset, when we scored I couldn't be bothered to cheer or stand up - I stood and clapped for the winner, but very half heartedly... It just felt like the season was already gone and it didn't really matter. If that is common then we probably do need to buck our ideas up a bit, just to try and make the chore of every other Saturday (and Easter Monday) a little less painful over the next six weeks, but the atmosphere is certainly rubbish this season and even was in Aug - Nov when were top two.

You don't cheer when we take the lead? Don't know if I could be bothered to go if things got to that stage.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Look at the last 10 minutes on Saturday. Suddenly the tempo of the football rises, there's an urgency, no backwards passing, every ball a probing one, wingers doing what wingers should do and getting to the by line. Surprise surprise, the noise level increases massively amongst the fans and, for once, there's a unitedness that results in a winning goal. We aren't talking about an hours worth of attacking football to get the fans going, we are talking minutes, if not seconds, one challenge might even do it. The fans aren't being greedy, we aren't asking the earth, we are asking for some urgency and intent from the team to give us something to respond to - it is that simple.

I'm shocked if Rosie - and the club for that matter - haven't noticed that the crowd are mirroring the intensity of the play. There have been a few times under Des when we've been doing alright and chosen to pussyfoot around with it - the Reading games being the finest example. In these games the crowd, in general, have remained patient mainly because we've been leading in two derby games but it's been literally like watching a tennis match inside a morgue. Your head moving gently from side to side as we watch Moore, Brown, Bennett, Stevens/Long and Cumming having their own little game of keep ball at walking pace. It's been deathly silence around me, just waiting for something to trigger the merest of emotion that might raise the level of support a decibel or two.

Forget your ears Rosie, it's your eyes you need and the answer is right there in front of you.

 

[uptheus]

Just think the product needs to be better. The support/noise rose once the team started to play on the front foot, but at the moment the noise/atmosphere is matching the product on the pitch which isn’t that entertaining/dynamic.

Yes, there’s time when the fans need to get behind the team e.g. you can clearly see the team are trying and playing attacking football, but maybe under the cosh so need that extra help/support. A bit like Pompey fans did at their place when they clearly knew the team needed that extra support to get them over the line. But when the football generally has been pretty tepid and not that entertaining for the majority of games, then the fans seem to mirror what’s happening on the pitch.

At the beginning of the game I think the fans need to get the team hyped up, but if they don’t see a response then they can quickly sit back and just go through the motions.

I think the vacuum from the club prior to the fans forum didn’t/doesn’t help either which they’ve admitted to, but as others have said before, it’s odd that we’re on the verge of the play-offs with the possibility of having the go ahead of a new stadium, yet the atmosphere/whole experience is pretty dire.

So to me the team/entertainment needs to improve vastly, plus the club need to do more in terms of engagement to get that togetherness back, then I think the atmosphere will improve.

 

[uptheus]

Well you could decide to do something about it instead of waiting for something to fix it for you The fans can actually make an improvement if enough of them get together and decide to do it - as we saw with the Ultras. It isn't purely down to how the team is doing at this moment in time, that's too simplistic.

Do you think the football’s shite because the fans are quiet?

Why is the tempo so poor, but needs a setback to liven the team up? The fans haven’t changed, so what’s suddenly got them going with more urgency, desire and passion etc?

Like I said, the fans should be loud and proud at the beginning and ideally throughout the whole of the match, but if the product that is being served up is pretty boring then it seems harder to keep that momentum/support/loudness going.

Personally I think modern football is getting pretty stale, so would love to see attacking wingers/fullbacks overlapping, crosses, shots, tackles etc, than a stale 1-0 win. It’s a balance e.g. attacking/entertaining football verses results, but is it too difficult to have both? Yes, I know we’ll lose some, but I would generally think we were unlucky if we played attacking/entertaining football e.g. Pompey away, but I think it would make me feel more optimistic, whereas, all Saturday did for me was press the reset button again.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Oxford United make the same mistakes game after game

Oxford United fans point out after each game its the same mistakes

Some on YF fans are repeating themselves

When we stop sitting back on one goal leads and giving away stupid goals, fans will stop pointing it out.

 

[LowerSouth]

Go to the away games Rosie. Portsmouth for example. Bit of support from the South Stand would help

That’s B*****s

 

[LowerSouth]

Didn’t the club fall out with the Ultras? Seems a bit rich for them to then complain that me not behaving like an Ultra is costing the team.

Here’s what happened back in 2019.

Club statement as Head of Crowd Safety steps down at the U's

18 February 2019

Following Saturday’s game against Peterborough United the club have reluctantly accepted the resignation of Ian Mixter, Head of Crowd Safety.

Ian has been a friend and colleague to all of us at the club and has worked tremendously hard to ensure the safety of supporters. His innovative ‘Ox Rails’ initiative is typical of Ian’s forward thinking and there are countless systems and changes that he has helped to implement around the ground - many of which will go unnoticed by fans but have certainly been appreciated by the safety authorities who continue to hold Ian in very high regard.

Ian told us

“I took over at a time when the club faced safety critical challenges; the club are now in a position where they have the trust and confidence of the regulatory authorities. I have always tried to balance my responsibilities for safety with the expectations of the fans. I have worked with some good people over the years and wish Oxford well for the future. In my position supporters are entitled to their opinion on my decisions and I have always been happy to debate such matters face to face whether at a forum, meetings with supporters groups or one to one meetings with fans. However, the level of personal vile abuse received by myself over the last 24 hours coupled with previous direct threats on the safety of my family has caused to me to resign with immediate effect as Head of Crowd Safety."

Niall McWilliams added

"On behalf of Oxford United Football Club, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude for the work that Ian has undertaken and completed, often in difficult circumstances. Without exception, Ian has worked in a professional manner in dealing with all issues surrounding safety at Oxford United.

“From a club perspective, we are extremely disappointed that one of our colleagues has not been treated with the respect they deserve. Whilst we appreciate that this has been a difficult season for us, it is clearly not right for our hard working staff to feel threatened either in person or online. As an organisation that has respect at the centre of all we do, we feel strongly that this should not happen; it is not behaviour we will tolerate.

We wish Ian all the best for the future and thank him for his hard work for the club

At the same time we thought it was important to explain events on Saturday.

Under the terms of our contract with the stadium company we gain access to the ground at midday for all Saturday 3pm kick offs*. This means that all staff are allowed in at 12 o’clock to start the build up to the game, with the one exception being the safety team who are allowed in earlier to ensure that the club complies with the regulations set out in the Green Guide.

At around 10.00 am the Ultras arrived to put up their flags and banners at the back of the East Stand. The Ultras were then asked by Ian and Michael Doyle the Stadium Manager to return at noon to erect the flags and speak to Niall McWilliams who would explain the situation. From our perspective the meeting between the Stadium Manager, the OUFC Safety Officer and the Ultras was polite and amicable; at no stage were the Ultras banned from putting up their flags.

However, a tweet was sent out from that group that stated ‘Unfortunately there will be no flags on the back wall today. Stadium manager and Head of Security informed us they are not allowed up when we arrived at 10:30.”

There is an ambiguity to this tweet and we would like to make clear that the decision not to put up flags was made by the Ultras, not by the Stadium Company or the club who fully appreciate the fact that the group gave up so much of their spare time time, voluntarily, to try and help create colour and atmosphere at matches.

Could we have explained all of the above on Saturday?

We took, as a club, a decision that we needed full reports from everyone involved so we were in possession of the full picture before we could comment. Matchdays are so busy for all members of staff that this was not possible until after the match.

What will we do next?

We learned yesterday that the Ultras have disbanded. We would like to thank them for ten years of colour and atmosphere at games and we know they will continue to support the club as individuals. Talks are already under way with Oxvox and the Stadium Company to find a permanent solution at the back of the East Stand which will add the same colour as the flags. We will continue to work closely with the Stadium Company and adhere to the midday on Saturday agreement.


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[SteMerritt]

Do you think the football’s shite because the fans are quiet?

No I don't think that. But I also don't think it is purely the standard of football that is the problem, and we actually have really noisy fans but those bloody players are stopping us from singing by the way they are performing.

 

[Ox4Eva]

What has Rosie that's not true?

I get slammed for saying about the lack of passion within our support and wish I was proved wrong, but it's true

 

[holdsteady]

What has Rosie that's not true?

I get slammed for saying about the lack of passion within our support and wish I was proved wrong, but it's true

You don’t work for the club? At the end of the day those fans pay to go, if they don’t want to sing it is up to them, it’s not compulsory.

 

[dickwalton1964]

No I don't think that. But I also don't think it is purely the standard of football that is the problem, and we actually have really noisy fans but those bloody players are stopping us from singing by the way they are performing.

You might be confusing 'standard' with intensity. I don't think it's the standard that raises the crowd. Under KR, for example, we weren't always top drawer in terms of performance level but our identity under him was always a team that wanted to have a go, that wanted to try and take the game to the opponent and subsequently you saw crowds that reacted to that approach.

Under Des, it's the polar opposite. We don't play with intensity, we don't want to take the game to the opposition. We sit back and, to be honest, so do the crowd. Nothing to do with the standard. Everyone loves a trier and will generally forgive ability if we can see that the players and team are leaving everything out there in terms of trying to achieve the result. I think we very obviously did that under KR, under LM that fire in the belly was slightly diluted but masked by a clear identity and lots of positive results. Under Des, it seems every ounce of passion has been sucked out of the players and been dreadfully exposed by chaotic tactics, no clear playing style, an awful points return culminating in falling from the automatics to 7th.

 

[Chris on a Bike]

I remember reading that report at the time and wondering about the ambiguity of the Ultras post and their immediate dissolution (was that the same game they all p!ssed off to the Blackbird at halftime?) and thinking "that's not very Ultra"