Neither good nor lucky, sadly....

[leicesteryellow]

To me there is very little enjoyment anymore, going to towns that are retail parks full of chavs like Stevenage and getting turned over by a team with far less resources than us to face a long trip back home does not seem a attractive option to spend my limited leisure time.

.

i've been supporting oxford home and away for twenty years, shocking thing is i am starting to feel the same way.

[recordmeister]

I don't know where this myth that we have &quotmore resources&quot comes from. Yes, we have much bigger crowds, but don't forget what our rent is. Plus, we only make 50% of income from the stadium on match days. That's the equivilent of a crowd of 2,500.

My biggest fear is that KT feels the same and won't want to continue doing his job next year. He's the best thing that's happened to this club for a long time.

[Mally]

To me there is very little enjoyment anymore, going to towns that are retail parks full of chavs like Stevenage and getting turned over by a team with far less resources than us to face a long trip back home does not seem a attractive option to spend my limited leisure time.

.

i've been supporting oxford home and away for twenty years, shocking thing is i am starting to feel the same way.

A few wins and things will look a whole lot better. Today is definitely the lowest point of the season but things can and will turn round.

The way I see it every dissapointment, broken dream, defeat grabbed from the jaws of victory, etc. is pain in the bank to make the taste of ultimate success all the sweeter. I started supporting Oxford United at the age of 14 just as we got relegated from the old second division. I had to wait a decade for real success but those 8 - 10 years in the wilderness were worth it.

As for this fatalistic &quotwe could get to wembley but .... we’re going to throw away a lead in the semi final and get knocked out by an ex player&quot type comments. What would you think of the players or manager going onto the pitch with thoughts like that? What do you think the result would be?

The best way to (and only way we can) stop those thoughts gettng into the player's heads is keeping them out of our own heads.

Over the last 10 years we've had crap heaped upon crap but we can't keep blaming owners, chairmen managers, coaches and players. All of those have changed dramatically and frequently in that period of time. The one constant is the fans so we have to take some of the reponsibility. Not necessarily at games like last night where we couldn't have supported the team more but at home games where within 30 seconds of the kick off the bloke who sits behind me has started moaning and complaining.

Collectively we've got great fans but there's a lot of individual fans who are anything but supporters.

Believe again and keep believing until this gets through to the team and they believe again. We can play our part in relieving the pressure off the team and rebuilding their confidence, because that is the only difference between our manager and players in September and now. OK apart from the tinkering but hold on a minute isn't that due to a lack of confidence?

[Mally]

I don't know where this myth that we have &quotmore resources&quot comes from. Yes, we have much bigger crowds, but don't forget what our rent is. Plus, we only male 50% of income from the stadium on match days. That's the equivilent of a crowd of 2,500.

My biggest fear is that KT feels the same and won't want to continue doing his job next year. He's the best thing that's happened to this club for a long time.

We get 100% of the ticket revenue. 100% of programme sales, 100% of sponsorship, 100% of merchandise salesa and 100% of the 50:50 profits. The 50% share is on executive catering (not concourse) and pitchside advertising. We do have more resources than almost any other conference club but also have one of the biggest non-playing cost structures. The net of this is we have a very competitive wages budget but not necessarily the biggest in the division. My guess would be just short of £1million this season.

[recordmeister]

I don't know where this myth that we have &quotmore resources&quot comes from. Yes, we have much bigger crowds, but don't forget what our rent is. Plus, we only male 50% of income from the stadium on match days. That's the equivilent of a crowd of 2,500.

My biggest fear is that KT feels the same and won't want to continue doing his job next year. He's the best thing that's happened to this club for a long time.

We get 100% of the ticket revenue. 100% of programme sales, 100% of sponsorship, 100% of merchandise salesa and 100% of the 50:50 profits. The 50% share is on executive catering (not concourse) and pitchside advertising. We do have more resources than almost any other conference club but also have one of the biggest non-playing cost structures. The net of this is we have a very competitive wages budget but not necessarily the biggest in the division. My guess would be just short of £1million this season.

I'd like to do some very simple sums to work out how much profit we make per match on a match day. What was the rent for the stadium per quarter and how many season ticket holders do we have?

[tomoufc]

Ooh you really do bite at everyone's comments if they differ from yours (Wright deate for example). i am not looking through rose tinted glasses but being realistic. We are lacking any creativity and key passes and crosses are being messed up too often so beano and others feed off scraps. We do miss Murray in that respect. What i am saying is we need to turn negatives to positives and (yes blindly) get behind them for 7 games || play offs. Confidence is a fragile thing in sport and can come back as quickly as it goes (eg York). Of course its massively disappointing to throw away the automatic promotion spot but everyone now needs to be realistic (as you wish them to be GY) and focus on hitting some form for the play-offs. What i am saying is that players need even more support when confidence is low.....and by the way GY how you can ever claim that Wright is a poor centre back God only knows! till as long as you, i and everyone is pulling together we might still do it..who knows?

It has nothing to do with &quotbiting&quot Nashy. A ridiculous term introduced when someone doesn't like being disagreed with.

The fact is that if you make an unnecessary unpleasant personal remark, such as saying someone is irritating, then you must expect them to have a right of reply.

And if you present an argument which someone else disagrees with, you must also expect them to have a right of reply.

That isn't &quotbiting&quot, it is discussion.

I ahev no problems supproting OUFC, and your suggestion to the contrary is way off mark. I stood on the terraces last ngiht, no less than begging for Oxford United to score and doing everything I could to encourage them to do so.

That has nothing to do with my comments on this board, which are a reflection of the reality, which you don't seemt o want to acknowledge.

None of us need reminders to support the team we love. That's a given. But that doesn't mean we have to ignore what is actually happening when it comes to writing on forums like this. And doing so makes us no less of a supporter.

GY: for God's sake calm down man!

[ty cobb]

To me there is very little enjoyment anymore, going to towns that are retail parks full of chavs like Stevenage and getting turned over by a team with far less resources than us to face a long trip back home does not seem a attractive option to spend my limited leisure time.

.

i've been supporting oxford home and away for twenty years, shocking thing is i am starting to feel the same way.

A few wins and things will look a whole lot better. Today is definitely the lowest point of the season but things can and will turn round.

The way I see it every dissapointment, broken dream, defeat grabbed from the jaws of victory, etc. is pain in the bank to make the taste of ultimate success all the sweeter. I started supporting Oxford United at the age of 14 just as we got relegated from the old second division. I had to wait a decade for real success but those 8 - 10 years in the wilderness were worth it.

As for this fatalistic &quotwe could get to wembley but .... we’re going to throw away a lead in the semi final and get knocked out by an ex player&quot type comments. What would you think of the players or manager going onto the pitch with thoughts like that? What do you think the result would be?

The best way to (and only way we can) stop those thoughts gettng into the player's heads is keeping them out of our own heads.

Over the last 10 years we've had crap heaped upon crap but we can't keep blaming owners, chairmen managers, coaches and players. All of those have changed dramatically and frequently in that period of time. The one constant is the fans so we have to take some of the reponsibility. Not necessarily at games like last night where we couldn't have supported the team more but at home games where within 30 seconds of the kick off the bloke who sits behind me has started moaning and complaining.

Collectively we've got great fans but there's a lot of individual fans who are anything but supporters.

Believe again and keep believing until this gets through to the team and they believe again. We can play our part in relieving the pressure off the team and rebuilding their confidence, because that is the only difference between our manager and players in September and now. OK apart from the tinkering but hold on a minute isn't that due to a lack of confidence?

There is only so much belief one can have, how long should I keep the faith for - another 10 years? Another season spent in this division will make me believe one thing - I will not waste my time and money by getting a season ticket next season, the payback just doesn't seem worth it, I go to a match feeling happy and come home feeling depressed.

[Nashy]

What Mally was eloquently saying re'believing' is exactly what i was trying to say. I have spent 55 years as boy, man and old git supporting this club and i am deperate for success but it rarely comes -when it does its so sweet. If that is looking through rose tinted glasses so be it!

[Mally]

There is only so much belief one can have, how long should I keep the faith for - another 10 years? Another season spent in this division will make me believe one thing - I will not waste my time and money by getting a season ticket next season, the payback just doesn't seem worth it, I go to a match feeling happy and come home feeling depressed.

Well I've come away from plenty of games feeling happy this season and still haven't given up on a couple of semi-final legs and a final feeling exactly the same.

If in it's totality you don't get a positive experience out of attending OUFC games then fair enough - you'd be mad to carry on going. For me though even with the massive downsides we've had the experience as a whole is a positive one. My glass is still (more than) half full. It may only be a quarter full by the end of the season though but as I've said before it could runneth over.

[John Byrne's Underpants]

i've been supporting oxford home and away for twenty years, shocking thing is i am starting to feel the same way.

A few wins and things will look a whole lot better. Today is definitely the lowest point of the season but things can and will turn round.

The way I see it every dissapointment, broken dream, defeat grabbed from the jaws of victory, etc. is pain in the bank to make the taste of ultimate success all the sweeter. I started supporting Oxford United at the age of 14 just as we got relegated from the old second division. I had to wait a decade for real success but those 8 - 10 years in the wilderness were worth it.

As for this fatalistic &quotwe could get to wembley but .... we’re going to throw away a lead in the semi final and get knocked out by an ex player&quot type comments. What would you think of the players or manager going onto the pitch with thoughts like that? What do you think the result would be?

The best way to (and only way we can) stop those thoughts gettng into the player's heads is keeping them out of our own heads.

Over the last 10 years we've had crap heaped upon crap but we can't keep blaming owners, chairmen managers, coaches and players. All of those have changed dramatically and frequently in that period of time. The one constant is the fans so we have to take some of the reponsibility. Not necessarily at games like last night where we couldn't have supported the team more but at home games where within 30 seconds of the kick off the bloke who sits behind me has started moaning and complaining.

Collectively we've got great fans but there's a lot of individual fans who are anything but supporters.

Believe again and keep believing until this gets through to the team and they believe again. We can play our part in relieving the pressure off the team and rebuilding their confidence, because that is the only difference between our manager and players in September and now. OK apart from the tinkering but hold on a minute isn't that due to a lack of confidence?

There is only so much belief one can have, how long should I keep the faith for - another 10 years? Another season spent in this division will make me believe one thing - I will not waste my time and money by getting a season ticket next season, the payback just doesn't seem worth it, I go to a match feeling happy and come home feeling depressed.

I feel like this at the end of every season, but somehow I still come back for more...

[GodalmingYellow]

Ooh you really do bite at everyone's comments if they differ from yours (Wright deate for example). i am not looking through rose tinted glasses but being realistic. We are lacking any creativity and key passes and crosses are being messed up too often so beano and others feed off scraps. We do miss Murray in that respect. What i am saying is we need to turn negatives to positives and (yes blindly) get behind them for 7 games || play offs. Confidence is a fragile thing in sport and can come back as quickly as it goes (eg York). Of course its massively disappointing to throw away the automatic promotion spot but everyone now needs to be realistic (as you wish them to be GY) and focus on hitting some form for the play-offs. What i am saying is that players need even more support when confidence is low.....and by the way GY how you can ever claim that Wright is a poor centre back God only knows! till as long as you, i and everyone is pulling together we might still do it..who knows?

It has nothing to do with &quotbiting&quot Nashy. A ridiculous term introduced when someone doesn't like being disagreed with.

The fact is that if you make an unnecessary unpleasant personal remark, such as saying someone is irritating, then you must expect them to have a right of reply.

And if you present an argument which someone else disagrees with, you must also expect them to have a right of reply.

That isn't &quotbiting&quot, it is discussion.

I ahev no problems supproting OUFC, and your suggestion to the contrary is way off mark. I stood on the terraces last ngiht, no less than begging for Oxford United to score and doing everything I could to encourage them to do so.

That has nothing to do with my comments on this board, which are a reflection of the reality, which you don't seemt o want to acknowledge.

None of us need reminders to support the team we love. That's a given. But that doesn't mean we have to ignore what is actually happening when it comes to writing on forums like this. And doing so makes us no less of a supporter.

GY: for God's sake calm down man!

Don't read what isn't there.

[Brahma Bull]

I thought our back line was the best they have been for some time.

For the first time, I thought Wright looked very good and he completely neutralised the Yemi threat. The back line looked much more solid with Creighton, so hopefully his injury will be nothing serious.

I would completely agree with that. The return of Creighton was a surprise but he delivered. He was excellent, as was Wright.

I hope in the summer, despite the long contract we have with him, Creighton will forgive the way he has been treated and cements his place back in the team. To capture Jake Wright would be a formidable signing.

The real disappointment was the substitution of Greavise. He was the only one able to tackle and influence the game, we lost it when he went off.

Too many players didn't turn up or understand the importance, exceptions being Clarke, Creights, Wright, Hargreaves, Clist and Constable.

[Baboo]

[
Too many players didn't turn up or understand the importance, exceptions being Clarke, Creights, Wright, Hargreaves, Clist and Constable.

That leaves
- Green who i thought looked as dangerous as Beano. He had a couple of headers that were not that far away.
- Tonkin who I thought did ok. Needed a bit of help coming forward.
- Chapman - again did ok.
- Bulman - been off form for ages
- Deering not at his best by any means.

Think it harsh to blame these 5. The overall peformance is way below par. It's more than just down to individuals.

[Matt D]

i don't think the performance was that bad.

i just felt that after other games, where oxford's players had conspicuously failed to perform (tamworth, hayes, etc,), we all hoped that the occasion would produce a big performance from the team. we felt they owed it, and they knew it.

sadly they failed to live up to that.

but the season isn't over, and we still have a better chance of promotion than this time last season. or the season before.

hugely disappointing, of course. but we could yet be smiling at the end of this season, and this all just seem like a dark night of the soul.

or of course we could be back bemoaning the bollocksness of this club as we fuck it up again, but hey...

[A-Ro]

hugely disappointing, of course. but we could yet be smiling at the end of this season, and this all just seem like a dark night of the soul.

What date would you like me to remind you of this post? - just so I can put it in my diary like.