Home Match Build Up 25/05/2023: L1 - OUFC v Cheltenham Town

[oufc1991]

The running of the club this past 12 months reminds me of a workplace I use to work at, a bigger wealthier company took over and it turned in to a sour workplace where it felt you were just a number and all the time the top bosses were cutting corners and trying to cut costs.

Relegation is not my biggest fear this season, falling out of love with the club due to the ones running the show is. Owners need to sort this s**t out before crowds really do dwindle next season.

I have to say I can't remember the last time I felt so disconnected to our football club it really feels like a them and us scenario if we get relegated I will still buy a ST but I worry if we go down I wonder how long we will have a football team to support

 

[bazzer9461]

Brunch? mmmm? I can't actually see a menu, a full english with fresh orange juice and nice coffee would be superb but I suspect it will be more like a bacon or sausage cob/bap/roll with luke warm coffee.

Glad you said that with such a diverse fan base Scotland, north England and even Seattle so they should be able to work that out although you did miss Barm out from your list.

 

[bert]

The running of the club this past 12 months reminds me of a workplace I use to work at, a bigger wealthier company took over and it turned in to a sour workplace where it felt you were just a number and all the time the top bosses were cutting corners and trying to cut costs.

Relegation is not my biggest fear this season, falling out of love with the club due to the ones running the show is. Owners need to sort this s**t out before crowds really do dwindle next season.

I don't think I'll ever come to that. I'd watch the yellows play at North Leigh if things went to s**t.

I can easily fall out with owners (and have) but never the team or club.

 

[Chippy]

Just can’t see us winning. You have to score to win!

0-0 draw or 1-0 defeat I’m expecting but would love to be proven wrong.

As for the marketing, well, what can be said that hasn’t been already? It’s a complete farce and is indicative of the football club we have become over the last 9/12 months. A rudderless, directionless and rag tag organisation.

The fact that the ground will have 4,000 empty seats in it tomorrow, for arguably the biggest home game since Wycombe at home (2016) is beyond the pale. It’s absolutely disgusting how the club has been allowed to decay and something needs to give, and fast!

I fear for us if we are relegated. Really really fear for us and our future.

What has happened to our new top appointment Adam Benson? Chief commercial and marketing manager?

Never hear a word, and marketing almost non existent. As you have said we should be throwing everything at trying to get bums on seats for our last 2 home games, and especially tomorrow as it’s so important. The communication from our club has been as poor as the on the pitch performances this season

 

[OX14]

I have to say I can't remember the last time I felt so disconnected to our football club it really feels like a them and us scenario if we get relegated I will still buy a ST but I worry if we go down I wonder how long we will have a football team to support

That's the problem. I haven't felt this disconnected to the club since near the end of the Kassam era.

I haven't decided if I will renew my season ticket next season regardless of what league were in. I leave games feeling depressed and it ruins my weekend.

The fact that owners are trying to get permission for a new stadium probably saves them from alot of criticism from the fanbase.

 

[TailsWeWin]

Wonder if the board will start getting some chants if, god forbid, we lose!

Nope. The customers are far too polite.

 

[OX14]

I don't think I'll ever come to that. I'd watch the yellows play at North Leigh if things went to s**t.

I can easily fall out with owners (and have) but never the team or club.

I wonder how many customers North Leigh's ground could cater for?

 

[Swaby39]

Astonishing that the approach from the club is to upsell and capitalise with a poxy brunch when the priority should be filling seats at all costs. Whether it’s an apology, a thank you or more importantly a way to build support inside the stadium, they’ve missed the brief on all fronts. Who the f*ck thought that was the best idea available?

It also astounds me that they’d focus on the Accrington game which could be completely redundant if we lose the next 2 - who’s going to enjoy their bacon sarnie if it tastes like relegation? A joke. Pathetic.

Someone seriously needs to wake these idiots up from hibernation. Manning is self-marketing with little/no rapport with fans. Poor bloke. If that was in the job description, why on Earth did they overlook Appleton who was a walking ticket to 10k home crowds. We would’ve got the same or better results and made a few more quid along the way. Harsh, unfair on Manning, but true.

Anyway, get out of this with a win or else. It’s that simple. Anything less will add insurmountable pressure. This is our biggest game in as long as I can remember. I’ll be there, I wouldn’t miss it. I’m praying.

 

[Oufccraig45]

Quite right - massive "disconnect" between the club & the real fans.

Why do we actually bother attending games as the club can't be bothered to promote games

 

[werthersoriginal]

I'm shitting it for tomorrow already. Already getting the "it's only a game" from my kids FFS.

We need to score and, based on recent form, that looks unlikely - but we've had chances. I really, really hope we can fluke a goal or two in the first half and hope that Eastie continues with his recent form for great saves when we come under pressure.

Chances? We’ve had so many chances in the last two home games and if anyone could shoot straight we’d be safe by now. Manning has at least got us creating chances and he can’t magic up a finisher at this point. We just need Bodin and Joseph to keep their heads when they get an opportunity.

 

[bert]

I wonder how many customers North Leigh's ground could cater for?

Doesn't matter, I'd bring sandwiches.

I know what you're saying, I really do. No matter what happens though, I'll be supporting the yellows.

Like you, I used to work for a [relatively] small [Oxfordshire] company that were taken over by a bigger investor. In fact, they became a billion dollar company during the dot com bubble and made me redundant when the bubble burst.

However, I still follow that company and love them and the same is true of OUFC wherever they end up. Hopefully, a top 30 club as suggested by the current owners!

 

[Oufccraig45]

I will tell you one thing they can do with that offer they can stick it up there a**e

There must be a problem at the club where everyone is now taking the P**s this is how low the club has become LISTEN where is the advertising

 

[WokinghamYellow]

Given we can’t score goals we need the fans in the ground to suck the ball in the net (for one half only) the club should be offering discounted tickets to get buns on seats in my
Opinion

 

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

We know the club read this forum so perhaps we can help toward next season with a few marketing ideas and appropriate slogans?

Trying to flog season tickets this summer:
"Stump up your dosh. We need to pay Josh".

Kit release:
"Get the new threads. Modelled by our 'good as new' starting LB Sedds".

Meet and greet with The Chairman in the Boardroom:
"You'll be in the room. He'll be on Zoom".

Season ticket holders get to bring a friend for free to the opening home game:
"Bring a mate. To Harrogate".

 

[yellowbow]

Doesn't matter, I'd bring sandwiches.

I know what you're saying, I really do. No matter what happens though, I'll be supporting the yellows.

Like you, I used to work for a [relatively] small [Oxfordshire] company that were taken over by a bigger investor. In fact, they became a billion dollar company during the dot com bubble and made me redundant when the bubble burst.

However, I still follow that company and love them and the same is true of OUFC wherever they end up. Hopefully, a top 30 club as suggested by the current owners!

I’m calling it now. We’ve no chance of ever being a top 30 club with Williams as CEO.

 

[Hackney Jack]

I’m calling it now. We’ve no chance of ever being a top 30 club with Williams as CEO.

More chance of Andy Williams making us a top 30 club.

 

[Sir Winston]

I’m calling it now. We’ve no chance of ever being a top 30 club with Williams as CEO.

I’d be happy just to be a top 68 club at the moment.

 

[tonyw]

Chances? We’ve had so many chances in the last two home games and if anyone could shoot straight we’d be safe by now. Manning has at least got us creating chances and he can’t magic up a finisher at this point. We just need Bodin and Joseph to keep their heads when they get an opportunity.

The one guy we have who can finish - as evidenced by 26 goals from midfield over the last two years - is Cam, only he's currently playing a role in which he never gets into the box.

I understand why Manning has done what he's done over the past seven games - we were an utter shambles under KR, so he's tightened everything up, got us a couple of decent points and would have gotten us a couple of wins if any of our forwards could finish.

But there's no more decent points from now on - draws achieve very little for us over the next three games (there is literally no realistic combination of results where six points gets us relegated but seven sees us safe......and five points could be enough to save us, but gives MKD, Cambridge and even Morecambe an opportunity to overtake us, so cannot be the aim).

So we have to set up to score and to win, and I think that means giving Cam more license to get into the box.

Since Ipswich, I've thought that 5-3-2 is the best way to achieve this, and I still do. But if Manning insists on sticking with his version of 4-3-3, then two out-and-out holding midfielders (which is what we've been doing) is now too much of a luxury. We simply have to take the handbrake off, push forward and play with less fear (unless we're ahead in the second half, in which case fine......)

 

[Sir Winston]

More chance of Andy Williams making us a top 30 club.

Just waiting his rerelease of “The Impossible Dream”

 

[Foley]

For some reason Manning doesn't seem to trust Smyth as a holding midfielder player.
I agree that playing him back with McGuane and pushing Brannagan forward would certainly give us a better chance of scoring.
Bodin playing as well, but against Pompey he looked nowhere near fit enough to play a whole game