Bloody rumours

[Oufc2009]

I'm not sure if it's just me but is any one else getting extremely excited/confused with rumours that float around on Twitter? Supposedly there is "Huge" news up and coming, but the amount of rumours that come from it is just silly; club for sale, new players, buying the stadium, administration!? If anyone actually has useful information that would be great but surely it's not just me that gets driven crazy by rumours.

[Jimski]

I've seen the "club for sale" rumour, but with absolutely no supporting evidence given at all.

[SmileyMan]

Anyone who did know anything like that would have signed a non-disclosure agreement. It's people speculatively punting stuff out there, so that if by a small chance it happens to come true, they can pretend they were 'in the know all along.'

[Kernow Yellow]

There are whole threads of fanciful speculation on The Other Side (Kassam wants the stadium site for development so will build us a new ground somewhere else etc), most of which appears to be extremely wishful thinking. And certainly with no supporting evidence given at all.

I think the internet age just can't cope with these news vacuums in the close season, so random theories just spring up to fill the gap. I guess it beats reading Gary Waddock's reaction to the fixtures coming out (Yeah, I'm buzzing, we have to play everyone home and away and we even get some games around Christmas, bring it on)

[OUFC4eva]

I was relieved in a way that Gary Wadd was still alive and breathing
given the apparent lack of any worthwhile news content coming out of the club
with regards to transfer activity.

As for the club rumours doing the rounds in the other place - I can't help but
think something may be going on behind the scenes. It just
has that feel about it to me. Just my gut feeling.

Lenagan must surely get to a point where his personal wealth can't be drained
for too much longer.

I do feel for him.

[theox]

I guess it beats reading Gary Waddock's reaction to the fixtures coming out (Yeah, I'm buzzing, we have to play everyone home and away and we even get some games around Christmas, bring it on)

[Kernow Yellow]

As for the club rumours doing the rounds in the other place - I can't help but
think something may be going on behind the scenes. It just
has that feel about it to me. Just my gut feeling.

Looks like you might be right:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28018779

[Mooro]

Have anyone established whether the 'local consortium' is i) Bridle ii) Rosenthal and pals iii) Kelvin and pals, iv) FK, v) AN Other?

[SWA]

I would say v) AN Other

[GodalmingYellow]

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker....

This is all usual mid-summer rubbish. The same stories get re-hashed every year.

[Snake]

As my cat is an OV member I asked him to check for any emails about these rumours but there was nothing in his inbox about it. He can’t talk but when I showed him this link I knew he was thinking that his membership money would have been better spent on some fresh fish.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfor ... s/?ref=mac

[theox]

It was quite entertaining following Twitter and Yellows Forum last night (more entertaining than the France game anyway).

Those 'in the know' were posting 'live' updates from the negotiations to the point when Mark Ashton (get ready with your pantomime villain boos) signed an agreement (with Kassam looking on in an evil genius style) to buy the club and the heroic local businessman were left with their dreams of a new stadium in Water Eaton and Premiership football in tatters.

You couldn't make it up.......oh, wait.........

[ty cobb]

Something is clearly happening but only a few people seem to know what and they're not saying anything of too much substance. OxVox seem to be out the loop which is worrying and calls into questions the supposed good relationship with IL, ain't much use having his ear on catering issues if the club can just be sold to anyone with no input of the fans group.

Would probably explain the lack of transfer activity on the pitch so far as well, without knowing who the owners are going to be we're surely not going to know what the budget is for next season - not ideal.

Personally I hope he'll sell, provided it's to the right people, his reign has been an absolute disaster for OUFC, he took over a mid-table league two club £2m in debt from a owner who had the common interest of owning the stadium and club, we are still a mid-table league two club but now have debts of £8m+ and the stadium situation is slowly killing us.

I'd put him in the Robin Herd style of chairman, interests of the club at heart but has no idea how to marry off the field financial stability with on the field success, I would argue he's failed at both.

[GodalmingYellow]

Something is clearly happening but only a few people seem to know what and they're not saying anything of too much substance. OxVox seem to be out the loop which is worrying and calls into questions the supposed good relationship with IL, ain't much use having his ear on catering issues if the club can just be sold to anyone with no input of the fans group.

Would probably explain the lack of transfer activity on the pitch so far as well, without knowing who the owners are going to be we're surely not going to know what the budget is for next season - not ideal.

Personally I hope he'll sell, provided it's to the right people, his reign has been an absolute disaster for OUFC, he took over a mid-table league two club £2m in debt from a owner who had the common interest of owning the stadium and club, we are still a mid-table league two club but now have debts of £8m+ and the stadium situation is slowly killing us.

I'd put him in the Robin Herd style of chairman, interests of the club at heart but has no idea how to marry off the field financial stability with on the field success, I would argue he's failed at both.

I'm not remotely convinced that Lenagan wants to go.

Yes the club debt has risen way too much in his tenure, and most of it to Lenagan himself. Let's counter balance that from his perpective by the fact that by owning OUFC his other business interests get a not insignificant subsidy from OUFC in sports science (Replay Analysis Limited) which would otherwise run at a bigger loss than the £25,000 deficit that its latest accounts show, and Animalates (Animalates UK Limited), which softens the blow of him bank rolling the club.

For me Lenagan has run the club pretty well, until the last year or so. He has brought new ideas and he recognises the benefit to club and community of OUFC as more than just a first team playing league football (although interestingly he has set up a new company for the women's team (Oxford United WFC Limited). But the tiller has been all over the place this season just ended, and I wonder if he is starting to run out of fuel and interest and may now be more interested in just holding on for the aforementioned subsidies.

The lack of new signings is a concern (although often announcements on these are cynically made just before a season ticket deadline to encourage more sales), the loss of our best player is even more of a concern, and the appointment of a manager seemingly incapable of motivating the team is even more of a concern.

I forsee very choppy waters ahead unless Lenagan re-awakens his desire to run the club properly.

[Snake]

Still mental on the other side (browsing it between the World Cup games from 7 till 9 fills in a footballing gap for me). Dunno how Mark Sennett finds the time to keep monitoring it and posting his reactions.