Home Match Day Thread +++ 01/02/2020 L1 OUFC V Blackpool FC +++

If we go up I’d rather be Burton than Yeovil.

As many have said before on this forum we are at the extremities of how far we can get up the pyramid with this ground ownership structure .

As for the little toe rag who allegedly abused Robinson words fail me.
 
I thought he spoke well and sounded straightforward. He said that the players were sold to cover costs for things like the training ground. I appreciated his honesty though I was disappointed at his low key attitude to promotion.
Which was very contrasting to what he and the chairman said at the last open fans forum (held at traing ground, chaired by jerome sale & broadcast live on radox &social media), ..... they also stated no players were sale unless an expeptional offer was made

Are oufc supprters meant to believe what board members state publically at fans forums? If yes, then, imo those statements were very very misleading to say the least

I dont trust any of the board to be honest. Yet if they were honest and open they would probably find most oufc supporters will accept situations. As long as the board are of course, open and honest. On recent 'form' porkies have been told imo
 
The main issue *appears* to be a contradiction in statements. At the start of the window and prior we were being told we had lots of targets for each position, KR was urging us to ‘act big’ and we didn’t have to sell. That’s all wonderful, until the last 72hrs on January.

If we are limited in what we can do, then fine...probably best not to make big optimistic statements. Especially when it’s transpired that realistically, with operating losses of 3mill a year, we do need to sell...which once again is ok and a perfectly sensible way to run the club...just don’t say we don’t have to sell. It’s comes across a bit incompetent and an element of just saying what they think the fan base want to hear.

Whilst the Zaki interview didn’t contain what we wanted (iemoney to spend etc) at least he is being straight up with the reality of the situation...which I think is what the fans want. It was a stick or twist window, we have appeared to have chosen to stick whilst giving the impression we were going to twist.
While this is all true and I am in agreement, I would say are that it wasn’t just the first few days of this window where the club was making those kinds of noises, it’s been all season. Coupled with the undervalued sale of Baptiste (I know this can be disputed, but it really was), it seems to me (famously, no expert) like something came up late on in January that had not been anticipated (Someone on this thread of the Jan Trf Wdw thread mentioned something about an outstanding charge to Eales needing to be satisfied in the near future?). So this wouldn’t make the initial noises misleading, as they were true at the time, but does raise questions about organisation behind the scenes. I don’t think KR, for example, would have made these comments about ‘big club’ and long shortlists of players had there really been no money to spend, and indeed by all accounts it does seem like we tried to spend on players.

Also, I wonder if we would be having this reaction as a fan base had we had an absolutely stonking January and were still in the auto places. As football fans we’re extremely reactionary and I suspect had we just seen off Rotherham, Ipswich and Newcastle we’d all have waved off Baptiste with good graces. It’s the fact that we’re now a good few positions lower than we were at the beginning of the window (despite having probably a better squad) coupled with this perceived lack of ambition that is fuelling this backlash.
 
While this is all true and I am in agreement, I would say are that it wasn’t just the first few days of this window where the club was making those kinds of noises, it’s been all season. Coupled with the undervalued sale of Baptiste (I know this can be disputed, but it really was), it seems to me (famously, no expert) like something came up late on in January that had not been anticipated (Someone on this thread of the Jan Trf Wdw thread mentioned something about an outstanding charge to Eales needing to be satisfied in the near future?). So this wouldn’t make the initial noises misleading, as they were true at the time, but does raise questions about organisation behind the scenes. I don’t think KR, for example, would have made these comments about ‘big club’ and long shortlists of players had there really been no money to spend, and indeed by all accounts it does seem like we tried to spend on players.

Also, I wonder if we would be having this reaction as a fan base had we had an absolutely stonking January and were still in the auto places. As football fans we’re extremely reactionary and I suspect had we just seen off Rotherham, Ipswich and Newcastle we’d all have waved off Baptiste with good graces. It’s the fact that we’re now a good few positions lower than we were at the beginning of the window (despite having probably a better squad) coupled with this perceived lack of ambition that is fuelling this backlash.

Very true re: Baptiste and the charge, but surely the charge isn't something that just crops up? If you have agreed to something surely it's something that you need to satisfy and as such should be on the club's radar? Its best if we leave Zaki and Tiger to the running of the club, we have Thomas doing analyst stuff then we need a DoF to actually negotiate. I have said it before, but would Peterborough have allowed Baptiste to leave for that money? I think the statements various folk have said were true at the time but this happens every window...it doesn't give a great impression that everyone is on the same hymn sheet.

We are actually still in a good position, next 3 games obviously crucial but maybe this window has just highlighted a few things. Eg...we are properly committing to a player trading model that will rely on one (most probably) leaving each window. We can, as fans, accept that if the fee we get is sensible and there is a decent amount of talent coming in. We can look ahead to the summer now and it already looks clear there will be a reasonable squad turnover. I know players (even outside of Brannagan/Dickie) that are being tracked by other Championship clubs which will always be the case as we have a good track record.

Fwiw I think as long as we are in the hunt come the last 10 games then we will be able to have a good run in.
 
As a hypothetical, if we WERE to go up, and in the summer the board were to say, we’re literally not in a position as a club (lack of stadium ownership, delayed rewards of an improved youth setup etc) to sustain in that division and so we’re not going to break the bank with signings and we fully expect to come straight back down, would people be happy with that / accept it?
You’ve gone too extreme there. If they were to say it’s going to be very difficult, we aren’t in a position to gamble but we will invest as wisely as we can while staying within our necessary budgets, give it a go and see what happens, then absolutely yes I would personally accept that. Virtually every club that gets promoted to the Championship now does so with the sole aim of trying to stay in the division and nothing more. The amount of yo-yo-ing certain clubs have done in recent years tells you how difficult it is. Anybody expecting anything other than a bloody battle to try to retain Championship status would be fooling themselves. The squad is bolstered by loans anyway - we’d have a shot at even better loan players in that division versus being in L1. A good few of the players we own and will sell next anyway are capable of playing there. Baptiste and Fosu just went there, Brannagan and Dickie will be next, Gorrin is looking every inch capable of playing there - why not assume that even with minimal investment on what we already have that we couldn’t at least make a fist of it?

Promotion should never, for a variety of reasons, be feared or passed up by anybody. It’s all about perspective. Anyone buying into the idea that promotion is the devil is a strange fish.
 
Very true re: Baptiste and the charge, but surely the charge isn't something that just crops up? If you have agreed to something surely it's something that you need to satisfy and as such should be on the club's radar? Its best if we leave Zaki and Tiger to the running of the club, we have Thomas doing analyst stuff then we need a DoF to actually negotiate. I have said it before, but would Peterborough have allowed Baptiste to leave for that money? I think the statements various folk have said were true at the time but this happens every window...it doesn't give a great impression that everyone is on the same hymn sheet.

We are actually still in a good position, next 3 games obviously crucial but maybe this window has just highlighted a few things. Eg...we are properly committing to a player trading model that will rely on one (most probably) leaving each window. We can, as fans, accept that if the fee we get is sensible and there is a decent amount of talent coming in. We can look ahead to the summer now and it already looks clear there will be a reasonable squad turnover. I know players (even outside of Brannagan/Dickie) that are being tracked by other Championship clubs which will always be the case as we have a good track record.

Fwiw I think as long as we are in the hunt come the last 10 games then we will be able to have a good run in.
And if we AREN’T in the hunt come the last few weeks of the season morale will plummet, attendances will drop and the board will be blamed for short-sighted decisions. I can understand why the Brentford boys left us, but why we didn’t BUY the required players astounds me.
 
And if we AREN’T in the hunt come the last few weeks of the season morale will plummet, attendances will drop and the board will be blamed for short-sighted decisions. I can understand why the Brentford boys left us, but why we didn’t BUY the required players astounds me.

Because our targets didn't want to move south or the clubs weren't willing to sell/loan to us.
 
Because our targets didn't want to move south or the clubs weren't willing to sell/loan to us.

Again, not advocating signing someone for signings sake...but surely you learn if someone is willing to move south as early in the process as possible? Seems like an important part of the scouting process.

I can understand us not signing someone, the the last day O’Donnell/Grigg scrabble didn’t look great.
 
Whether we are sustainable in the Championship or not, clearly we should strive to get there. If we do, regardless of how we fare there next season, we will have a better chance of keeping those of our current players who are capable of playing there than we will if we remain in League 1. If as a team and a club we are not trying to be the best we can be, then the only way is down. Much like life generally.
However, getting to the championship is one thing; staying there is altogether another matter. But we have to try. Eales admitted he couldn't afford it. I see no evidence that the current owner can either. We are punching above our weight as it is, which is a credit to all concerned, but we need to become sustainable as a club to achieve steady progress and as we all know, that all comes back to resolving the stadium issue. Having said all that, I will be delighted if we get promotion. Can we stay there long enough to achieve the sustainability to keep us there? Who knows. The journey continues !
 
Again, not advocating signing someone for signings sake...but surely you learn if someone is willing to move south as early in the process as possible? Seems like an important part of the scouting process.

I can understand us not signing someone, the the last day O’Donnell/Grigg scrabble didn’t look great.

Hypothetically, the club may have got indications for most of the month off his agent that he was interested but the time was taken negotiating with Kilmarnock rather than the player. But at the end the player got cold feet about moving south as I doubt he'll have trouble getting a club in the summer in Scotland if that is what he wants. All guesswork as it is for all of us but as reasonable an explanation as us flogging a dead horse chasing O'Donnell.
 
Sorry, I thought this was a match day thread, not an analysis of our success / failure in the shopping mall. There is a thread breaking world records somewhere else on the forum. Try to find that please.
 
If we go up I’d rather be Burton than Yeovil.

As many have said before on this forum we are at the extremities of how far we can get up the pyramid with this ground ownership structure .

As for the little toe rag who allegedly abused Robinson words fail me.

Who apparently abused Robinson?
 
You’ve gone too extreme there. If they were to say it’s going to be very difficult, we aren’t in a position to gamble but we will invest as wisely as we can while staying within our necessary budgets, give it a go and see what happens, then absolutely yes I would personally accept that. Virtually every club that gets promoted to the Championship now does so with the sole aim of trying to stay in the division and nothing more. The amount of yo-yo-ing certain clubs have done in recent years tells you how difficult it is. Anybody expecting anything other than a bloody battle to try to retain Championship status would be fooling themselves. The squad is bolstered by loans anyway - we’d have a shot at even better loan players in that division versus being in L1. A good few of the players we own and will sell next anyway are capable of playing there. Baptiste and Fosu just went there, Brannagan and Dickie will be next, Gorrin is looking every inch capable of playing there - why not assume that even with minimal investment on what we already have that we couldn’t at least make a fist of it?

Promotion should never, for a variety of reasons, be feared or passed up by anybody. It’s all about perspective. Anyone buying into the idea that promotion is the devil is a strange fish.

And the same for relegation e.g. those that think it’s a good idea to rebuild and come back stronger!!

In my eyes, if you’re in a relegation battle you do everything within your powers to avoid it, even if it’s on goal difference!

The same can be said about promotion, if you’ve got a chance, go for it.
 
Yes, b****r off, how dare you give an opinion on a forum, this is 2005 you know. This forum wasn't set up simply for you to give an honest assessment of whats going on at the moment. These true supporters, who do they think they are????[emoji1787]

You’re right, he does have a right to his opinion
And I have a right to tell him that his opinion sucks

True supporters don’t go round spreading paranoid innuendo about our board
A board btw, if didn’t exist, our club wouldn’t exist
 
You’re right, he does have a right to his opinion
And I have a right to tell him that his opinion sucks

True supporters don’t go round spreading paranoid innuendo about our board
A board btw, if didn’t exist, our club wouldn’t exist

True supporters would legitimately question the motives of people tasked with running the club. As I said, I'll judge on actions...selling two assets on Deadline day when you've previously talked about taking a tilt at promotion isn't an action I'd applaud.
 
Lot of Zaki fans on tonight. Read the original post. No wallowing at all.

I’m not referring to your original post it’s the last one, it just sounds to me like you’re hearing what u want to hear. Why can’t u just give them the benefit of the doubt?
The club is in a great situation, we’re obviously over-achieving and it’s a nice problem to have.
Certainly we will have over achieved if we go up.
 
True supporters would legitimately question the motives of people tasked with running the club. As I said, I'll judge on actions...selling two assets on Deadline day when you've previously talked about taking a tilt at promotion isn't an action I'd applaud.

You’re in a big minority, any straight thinking fan sees that on balance we have strengthened our midfield and walked off with 3 or 4 million. You really think we were gonna carry that many midfielders?
We made big attempts to get a couple of defenders in that fell thru. Strikers don’t fall out of the sky in January. Wasn’t this good enough? What other actions would you have liked to have seen?
Have you ever run a business? You can be prudent and ambitious at the same time.
 
You’re in a big minority, any straight thinking fan sees that on balance we have strengthened our midfield and walked off with 3 or 4 million. You really think we were gonna carry that many midfielders?
We made big attempts to get a couple of defenders in that fell thru. Strikers don’t fall out of the sky in January. Wasn’t this good enough? What other actions would you have liked to have seen?
Have you ever run a business? You can be prudent and ambitious at the same time.

There is, in my mind, questions still, around timing of the deal and how January as a whole was handled (long story short, not good enough). This is a matchday thread so I won't put them here, but I've posted plenty in Jan Transfer thread.
 
You’re right, he does have a right to his opinion
And I have a right to tell him that his opinion sucks

True supporters don’t go round spreading paranoid innuendo about our board
A board btw, if didn’t exist, our club wouldn’t exist

No, we might have ended up with Sartori and his millions, until eels pulled the plug, and didn't seem to let the deal go through.
"paranoid innuendo?" Sorry, but the facts seem pretty clear. KR, wasn't able to do the business he wanted, and we sold players in the dying embers of the window, after being told we didn't need to sell players.

Go to the other end of the scale, the same end as Sartori being in charge, having a board prepared to invest in players as many teams did to better themselves. We are in pole position to push on with the addition's KR wanted. Now that task is made very much harder.

A once in a generation opportunity, in a league with no dominant teams, that may be lost because of a board looking to develop the Oxford brand in South East Asia, that still thinks it can pull the wool over Oxford United fans, as shown by zaki's pre-match interview.
 
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