How much longer will the WPL honeymoon last?

[ty cobb]

When the likes of Crawley Town can beat us to the signing of two players then what does this say about the ambition of the owners of this club. Previous regimes would have been lambasted had we been stuck with such a small squad reliant on youngsters. I fail to understand the general acceptance of the way things are with WPL, a good whack of money is going out on their wages every year and we are paying interest on the money they have thrown away, all the while we have been hovering around mid-table in non-league.

It is time for a fans forum so the owners can state their future plans for the club, and this includes plans for the stadium. If they no longer have an interest in the club then it’s time for us to stop paying their wages and for them to look to sell up. If they simply want us to break even every year (and nothing wrong with that) then lets hear their plans for reducing the debts and owning the stadium.

Getting a new manager in may very well deflect attention from the poor season on the pitch but I feel it is time we were able to ask some tough questions directly to the people who own our club as I am astonished that teams like Crawley and Torquay are able to sign players ahead of us when we have 4 times the crowds they get – just where is the money going?

[Myles Francis]

When the likes of Crawley Town can beat us to the signing of two players then what does this say about the ambition of the owners of this club.

In my opinion, it says absolutely nothing about the ambition of the owners of OUFC. As ever, what goes on at other clubs can rarely be used as a reliable benchmark. In Crawley's case, the more pertinent question is &quotwhere is the money coming from?&quot. It seems apparent that they are taking a &quotplay-offs or bust&quot approach and there are plenty of rumours of murky dealings around the club at the moment. The latest is that the club are likely to be fined for failing to produce a programme for their New Year's Day game against Woking. This, alledgely, occurred because they haven't paid the printers for some time (the figure of £16,000 has been mentioned) and the printer's decided enough was enough. I've also heard that Chalmers' wages are still to be paid by Aldershot, so at zero cost to Crawley (although I find that hard to believe).

That aside, I agree with the need for the fans' forum to get some clarification of WPLs position. It's often said that they have effectively stopped funding the club, but Kelvin Thomas pretty much denied this, but the rumour continues.

[Matt D]

That aside, I agree with the need for the fans' forum to get some clarification of WPLs position. It's often said that they have effectively stopped funding the club, but Kelvin Thomas pretty much denied this, but the rumour continues.

no idea whether we'll be left satisfied with the answers, but kelvin thomas and chris wilder were on radio oxford this morning, and thomas reiterated the promise of a fans' forum this month - although still no date. i'd say it's going to happen though.

[Snake]

In answer to the original question, I thought the honeymoon period ended after the penalty shoot-out with Exeter City?

We’re now in the period of struggling to pay the rent and other huge bills, the husband has been spotted coming out of a lap dancing club and his rich benefactor has cut him off completely and moved to Wigan.

No one talks of divorce, as things are still being sorted out, but should an attractive rich suitor cast his eye in our direction then things may change..

[ty cobb]

Well the honeymoon between WPL and the fans lives on - chants of Merry give us a wave are still heard occasionally.

Maybe a better question should be - what good have WPL done for Oxford United?

To my mind they have loaded us with debt, taken us down to the lowest level we've been in recent time, made a pigs ear of sorting the stadium out (leaving FK with all the cards) and taken a load of money out of the club in wages.

I can't think of one good thing that has come out of them taking over - can anyone else?

[Snake]

I can't think of one good thing that has come out of them taking over - can anyone else?

In order of importance…

Installed a proper Chief Exec.

Some better marketing.

Rented a semi-permanent training ground.

Got us on telly (Setanta) more often than we were.

Reducing the prices because we’re so crap.

Indirectly increased the membership of OxVox because we’re so crap.

Keeping the details of the finances secret for as long as possible so we as fans don’t worry about the club’s money situation.

Not being Firoka.

Given us the joy of entering the FA Trophy and Setanta Shield.

[Pe├▒a Oxford United]

And they gave us the head of the pig's head on a stick, on a stick.

[ty cobb]

I can't think of one good thing that has come out of them taking over - can anyone else?

In order of importance…

Installed a proper Chief Exec.

Some better marketing.

Rented a semi-permanent training ground.

Got us on telly (Setanta) more often than we were.

Reducing the prices because we’re so crap.

Indirectly increased the membership of OxVox because we’re so crap.

Keeping the details of the finances secret for as long as possible so we as fans don’t worry about the club’s money situation.

Not being Firoka.

Given us the joy of entering the FA Trophy and Setanta Shield.

To address your points in order

1. What benefit has this had on the club? We're poor on the field and losing millions off it.

2. We're now paying for a marketing manager and have fans working for free - I would hope that the marketing has got better. However, have the benefits outweighed the negative of paying a marketing mans wage? Crowds don't seem to have increased as a result of this - I would suggest these are linked to what happens on the field more then anything else.

3. I haven't seen any benefit in this - we seem to be just as bad on the pitch, same with the overnight stays, much was made of these increasing but we still lost many of our our away games - including Wrexham.

4. This has been a pain and resulted in myself (and a couple of others) not renewing season tickets as the mucking about of fixtures as a result of this made me realise I'd miss too many games to make it worthwhile.

The other points don't really need commenting on do they?!?

I've just had enough of the lack of clarity about our future and our continued decline on the pitch. Instead of pushing for promotion and getting in proven players, as others are doing, we're bringing in kids who have only played at the level below us. We're by far the biggest club in this division, yes the rent is an issue, but we should still have the biggest wage budget and still be able to break even. If WPL have given up on us then they should look to sell up.

Why are we losing so much money - our squad is paper thing compared to other teams just where on Earth is the best supported team in the divisions money going?

[OUFC4eva]

Crawley &quotfined&quot for not producing a match programme ?

That's new on me - who does the &quotfining&quot I wonder?

The WPL honeymoon did end 18 months ago imho.

[Myles Francis]

Crawley &quotfined&quot for not producing a match programme ?

That's new on me - who does the &quotfining&quot I wonder?

Not sure if it's the FA or the Conference, but it is part of their rules that a programme is produced for first team fixtures. Fisher Athletic stopped all media activity just before Christmas as part of their protest against an FA transfer embargo. They managed to avoid a fine when AFC Wimbledon fans produced a programme for their fixture instead.

[Snake]

I can't think of one good thing that has come out of them taking over - can anyone else?

In order of importance…

Installed a proper Chief Exec.

Some better marketing.

Rented a semi-permanent training ground.

Got us on telly (Setanta) more often than we were.

Reducing the prices because we’re so crap.

Indirectly increased the membership of OxVox because we’re so crap.

Keeping the details of the finances secret for as long as possible so we as fans don’t worry about the club’s money situation.

Not being Firoka.

Given us the joy of entering the FA Trophy and Setanta Shield.

1. What benefit has this had on the club?

2. We're now paying for a marketing manager and have fans working for free - I would hope that the marketing has got better. However, have the benefits outweighed the negative of paying a marketing mans wage? Crowds don't seem to have increased as a result of this - I would suggest these are linked to what happens on the field more then anything else.

4. This has been a pain and resulted in myself (and a couple of others) not renewing season tickets as the mucking about of fixtures as a result of this made me realise I'd miss too many games to make it worthwhile.

1. When I said a “proper

[Baboo]

The WPL honeymoon did end 18 months ago imho.

It will never end for some. No Kassam = honeymoon.

[Brahma Bull]

When the likes of Crawley Town can beat us to the signing of two players then what does this say about the ambition of the owners of this club.

Previous regimes would have been lambasted had we been stuck with such a small squad reliant on youngsters. going?

I think at this moment in time, the CEO could be applauded for running the club within its means. After all, I'd rather miss out on these two 'loans' and remain within the wage budget than pushing the clubs expenses further out of control.

For what its worth, I think Shaw and maybe Chalmers may arrive in the Summer once the squad is in a position to have some major surgery.

The small squad is as a result of the previous managers decision making, quality over quantity. The Board obviously backed his decisions at the time. It would appear that KT and CW have a completely different idea about the make-up and size of the squad compared to that of DP. That being demonstrated by Guy departing, with three players coming in.

[Snake]

The WPL honeymoon did end 18 months ago imho.

It will never end for some. No Kassam = honeymoon.

True to some extent, but the goodwill groundswell that initially rode WPL into town is diminishing, and increasingly people are slowly realising that we now have two problems rather than one.

The highpoint of WPL’s reign was Rosie announcing to the crowd on Jim and Nick’s (who we were told was the new owner) first home game - “Mr Kassam has left the Stadium!

[Baboo]

[quote=&quotSnake&quot][quote=&quotBaboo&quot]The highpoint of WPL’s reign was Rosie announcing to the crowd on Jim and Nick’s (who we were told was the new owner) first home game - “Mr Kassam has left the Stadium!