General Atmosphere

Everybody in the London road wanted to sing & sung The east stand half can't be arsed, there's your problem
 
Scrongo said:
Everybody in the London road wanted to sing & sung The east stand can't be arsed, there's your problem
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Its a bit of a myth that the London Road was like that every game, but it was definitely was better than the atmosphere at the Kassam (don't know why its just fans in the east stands fault, is it a part of the condition of having slightly cheaper seats that we have to do the singing? On top of the worst view and worst conditions that seems unfair) but then a terrace compared to allocated seating should be louder.

Phones don't help, youngsters spend longer on them than watching the game, but thinking on it if I had to pick one aspect its that the younger supporters have picked up the supporting habits of the older generation around them which is just moaning about everything all the time.
 
SteMerritt said:
With respect, I think that's rubbish. Just about everyone I know who is an Oxford fan comes from OUFC families. I'd suggest the vast majority of our fans were brought up as Oxford.

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I'm more talking about the younger generation though.

Being in school in Oxfordshire not that long ago, most lads who liked football had some interest in Oxford, but barely any of them went to games. Even those who had dads, uncles etc who occasionally would go, they didn't go with them.

I think there's a generational gap in part of our fanbase. You have the older generation who remember the good days of the 80's - some of those still go, which is why we have quite an 'old' fanbase (no offense). Those are the one's who may have sons, grandsons who attend Oxford regularly now. However, many of those that do remember those days stopped going when things hit the fan and have never returned (or make it a rare occurrence). That's a large pool of potential Oxford fans that has been left untapped, or left to support other teams (usually PL teams in my experience).

That's just my perspective based on who I know and have talked to that used to/still do actively support Oxford.
 
Combination of many things, isn't it?

No place to gather before the match and have a few drinks. s**t location. s**t stadium. The ultras being stamped on instead of encouraged. The lack of initiative of our CEO/board. Typically slower build up play rather than end to end football. Youth growing up with smartphones. Other fans wanting to sit in their seat. The list goes on.

Like many things, it's rarely one thing but a combination of many. We've had good atmospheres at the Kassam in the past despite the location and acoustics. I daresay if we had a fans zone in the car park before the game to congregate and we played fast, attacking football with wingers then things would start to pick up. Just one example but it's easy to say and harder in reality.

The ultras really carried the atmosphere for a while and were a credit to the club. We really need a similar group to come through again.
 
The back 6 or 7 rows of the whole East Stand stand up for the whole game.

If you put them all in to block 21 & 20 and everyone standing for a whole game like Blackpool do you’d create a better atmosphere.

You’d then have about 2 sections with about 30 rows of seating all standing from top to bottom.
 
holdsteady said:
Its a bit of a myth that the London Road was like that every game, but it was definitely was better than the atmosphere at the Kassam (don't know why its just fans in the east stands fault, is it a part of the condition of having slightly cheaper seats that we have to do the singing? On top of the worst view and worst conditions that seems unfair) but then a terrace compared to allocated seating should be louder.

Phones don't help, youngsters spend longer on them than watching the game, but thinking on it if I had to pick one aspect its that the younger supporters have picked up the supporting habits of the older generation around them which is just moaning about everything all the time.
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It must be the new generation ,or something then cause , I was in the south stand lower last night on my own no-one near me & I was singing when we sung a few times
 
Common Villager said:
I do agree that there is a bit of a 'missed generation' of fans, most likely caused by the Conference years.
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We were saying last night that there seems to be a bit of a missed generation - a lot of kids, a lot of older people, not so much in between - but then crowds are up on the Manor years, so I'm not quite sure what's going on.
 
billyturleyscurlywurly said:
The back 6 or 7 rows of the whole East Stand stand up for the whole game.

If you put them all in to block 21 & 20 and everyone standing for a whole game like Blackpool do you’d create a better atmosphere.

You’d then have about 2 sections with about 30 rows of seating all standing from top to bottom.
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You’d then have this area as all standing from top to bottom which imo would encourage a better atmosphere. Just a thought.
 

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Common Villager said:
At Rovers on Saturday, I was stood just along from someone who tried to get a few songs going towards the start of the game. I looked around, and not many seemed interested in joining in. Not a huge surprise - it's not the best away end at the best of times, so fair enough, I guess. What wasn't fair, though, was that a chap stood in front of the guy who was singing turned around and instructed him to 'stop shouting and screaming'. Two minutes later we were 1-0 down and the moaning and groaning started. Any slim chance of a song breaking out had evidently completely gone.

If anything sums up our fan base at the moment and why the atmosphere is always so poor - that was it.
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This genuinely infuriates me. Absolutely awful.
 
billyturleyscurlywurly said:
The back 6 or 7 rows of the whole East Stand stand up for the whole game.

If you put them all in to block 21 & 20 and everyone standing for a whole game like Blackpool do you’d create a better atmosphere.

You’d then have about 2 sections with about 30 rows of seating all standing from top to bottom.
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Has been tried. Atmosphere was decent in there but didn't spread to the rest of the stand so overall wasn't an improvement on the bigger games. North Standers feedback was better atmosphere whilst East and South claimed it was worse.
 

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MustardYellow said:
Imo that culture doesn't exist because of who supports us.

Take clubs with those really good atmospheres (like Pompey), a lot of the fans in that away end will have had their dads, grandads etc being huge Pompey supporters, attending most games. It's a generational thing - a line of people who were raised to be 'die hard' fans. How many of the younger lads at Oxford have that?

I'm in my early 20's. My dad was a huge Oxford fan in the 80's/90's, went to most games home and away with his dad and mates. These days it's a miracle if he makes it to 3 home games a season. I was raised with an interest in Oxford but it wasn't till I attended a game in my mid-teens that I really got into being a 'proper' Oxford fan. Out of his big group of friends he used to go with home and away, only 1 still goes to any games at all.

There are obviously some like it, but Oxford doesn't seem to run in family blood to the same extent it does in with some other clubs. I have no idea why, though.
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from a personal standpoint I disagree - my late dad and late uncle ( both ST holders) passed away last year, they were 89 and 80 respectively, both went to a number of away games until poor health prohibited it. My Sister, and nephew and well as me are all ST holders, several family members are OUFC members, my middle grandaughter is a semi regular at Saturday home games . she has a Saturday morning job- in Witney, finishes at 12 midday ... 'thanks' to TVP assistance that the game kicks off at 12.30 she cant make this Saturdays game... my partners son has become a semi regular at home games too, his work clashes often with night games, he works late afternoons to mid evenings, he finishes at 8pm . When my grandsons visit Oxford (from Northern Ireland), they make sure their visit coincides with at least one home game. my eldest and youngest granddaughters have both been to a few home games, both have recently expressed an interest in coming to a few more Saturday games . My youngest lad makes a few home games a season, even though he lives a fair way away and doesn't drive.

Likewise, my Dads late elder brother was a ST holder until he passed away a few years ago. My cousin ( who lives in Nottingham) and her kids too, make it along to a few home games - as well as probably as many, if not more ,away games each season

Im sure others similarly have several generations of the same family- (ongoing)- who are OUFC supporters too

there's more than a few generations of familys who sit close where me n my family members sit at the breeze block

myself and my kids n grandkids (when they're at games) tend to 'join in' singing , albeit sat in SSL towards the fence end, sadly others rarely join in
 
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MustardYellow said:
I'm more talking about the younger generation though.

Being in school in Oxfordshire not that long ago, most lads who liked football had some interest in Oxford, but barely any of them went to games. Even those who had dads, uncles etc who occasionally would go, they didn't go with them.

I think there's a generational gap in part of our fanbase. You have the older generation who remember the good days of the 80's - some of those still go, which is why we have quite an 'old' fanbase (no offense). Those are the one's who may have sons, grandsons who attend Oxford regularly now. However, many of those that do remember those days stopped going when things hit the fan and have never returned (or make it a rare occurrence). That's a large pool of potential Oxford fans that has been left untapped, or left to support other teams (usually PL teams in my experience).

That's just my perspective based on who I know and have talked to that used to/still do actively support Oxford.
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I explain a bit more of what I meant here ^^
Sarge said:
from a personal standpoint I disagree - my late dad and late uncle ( both ST holders) passed away last year, they were 89 and 80 respectively, both went to a number of away games until poor health prohibited it. My Sister, and nephew and well as me are all ST holders, several family members are OUFC members, my middle grandaughter is a semi regular at Saturday home games . she has a Saturday morning job- in Witney, finishes at 12 midday ... 'thanks' to TVP assistance that the game kicks off at 12.30 she cant make this Saturdays game... my partners son has become a semi regular at home games too, his work clashes often with night games, he works late afternoons to mid evenings, he finishes at 8pm . When my grandsons visit Oxford (from Northern Ireland), they make sure their visit coincides with at least one home game. my eldest and youngest granddaughters have both been to a few home games, both have recently expressed an interest in coming to a few more Saturday games . My youngest lad makes a few home games a season, even though he lives a fair way away and doesn't drive.

Likewise, my Dads late elder brother was a ST holder until he passed away a few years ago. My cousin ( who lives in Nottingham) and her kids too, make it along to a few home games - as well as probably as many, if not more ,away games each season

Im sure others similarly have several generations of the same family- (ongoing)- who are OUFC supporters too

there's more than a few generations of familys who sit close where me n my family members sit at the breeze block
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I obviously acknowledge there are families where Oxford is a generational thing, I just don't think it's to the same extent as some other clubs. I know so many people in their 50's/60's that used to go home and away that don't go at all anymore. None of their family go either.
 
WuTang said:
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Has been tried. Atmosphere was decent in there but didn't spread to the rest of the stand so overall wasn't an improvement on the bigger games. North Standers feedback was better atmosphere whilst East and South claimed it was worse.
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If they made Block 20/21 unallocated from this summer for next season could it not work?

Also think people need to stand from row A upwards so both sections are standing from bottom to top.

How many seats are there in block 20 and 21 added together?
 
The second photo kind of backs my point. People sat down in the front looking half arsed. There’s even people sat to the side of the group doing the same.

Block 20/21 need to be unallocated with standing encouragement from row A upwards.
 
Agree wholeheartedly here. I sit in the north stand and would love a few more singers in there. The ultras made a massive difference; is there no way to tempt them back or for somebody else to pick up the mantle?
 
billyturleyscurlywurly said:
If they made Block 20/21 unallocated from this summer for next season could it not work?

Also think people need to stand from row A upwards so both sections are standing from bottom to top.

How many seats are there in block 20 and 21 added together?
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Not in a place where I can check the regs, but from memory you can't have part of a stand unallocated.
 
On the whole our support, especially away, has always made me proud. For most of the last 20 years I’ve been following the u’s I’ve never felt this is an issue - we’ve sang as hard as most. So all this about is being a family club or anything intrinsic to Oxford United I don’t agree with at all. It’s right now that’s the problem, there’s something happening and I don’t understand what it is. I dreamt of pushing for the championship when we were in the conference. But now we are, both at the Kassam and our away support when we travel, are half as loud as when were playing Histon and Kettering. I would do anything to get the ultras back.
 
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