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Post by amershamdave on Aug 20, 2014 15:08:52 GMT
At the beginning of each season, we all have dreams of United 'going places'. We hope we'll have new, better players from the previous season, better tactics, better results and better crowd figures. This season, even with the new people in charge, I personally thought of nothing but bad news for us fans. A couple of signings and a bunch of untried kids. Wow. Big deal. Sorry if it upsets you people, but........for f*ck's sake! Three played....three lost. We've all said this: If Crawley, Wimbledon and the like can get players like Tubbs, etc, then why can't we (who took over 33,000 fans to bloody Wembley) get some well-tried and tested players? Surely, we are a big enough club to attract the sort of players we so badly need?
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Post by ox4eva on Aug 20, 2014 15:22:45 GMT
Still hope we see things turned around, its where we finish and not where we start and last season is the perfect example of that!
What i would say is there is literally hundreds of decent pro's looking for a club, i know we don't have much money but i am sure there are some free agents who would join the U's..
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Post by oufcrealist on Aug 20, 2014 15:33:25 GMT
Careful, you'll have the 'blind optimist' brigade out in force after you!! Once again I feel the fantastic OUFC fanbase has been hoodwinked. The kids may come good at some point but they are no match for some of the big ugly L2 brutes they are facing. Plus they are almost certainly quite cheep with their parent clubs paying all or a big chunk of their wages. Burton and Wimbledon to name two have done the right thing and signed some experienced players at this level, add Pompey as well. Question is, are the funds really there? I am starting to doubt it.
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Post by ianmoore82 on Aug 20, 2014 15:37:35 GMT
It's not where we were, it's where we are.
Those days are our history, great to look back on but not so much as to be detrimental to,the future.
These days we are in a position where money is obviously tight - as with a load of other clubs - and there's nothing we can really do but lend our support to the club.
Not necessarily the owners, who are transient, but the club.
If ou want to go down memory lane, just remember the trips to the shit holes in the Conference and how long we had to put up with that when everyone expected a swift return to the FL.
Yes, we may well be in a bit of a trough at the moment, but having Pompey coming to visit on Saturday is better than Barrow.
isn't it?
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Post by Robin Shater on Aug 20, 2014 15:46:31 GMT
At the beginning of each season, we all have dreams of United 'going places'. We hope we'll have new, better players from the previous season, better tactics, better results and better crowd figures. This season, even with the new people in charge, I personally thought of nothing but bad news for us fans. A couple of signings and a bunch of untried kids. Wow. Big deal. Sorry if upsets you people, but........for f*ck's sake! Three played....three lost. We've all said this: If Crawley, Wimbledon and the like can get players like Tubbs, etc, then why can't we (who took over 33,000 fans to bloody Wembley) get some well-tried and tested players? Surely, we are a big enough club to attract the sort of players we so badly need? Sorry Dave, but outside of Oxfordshire we are really not considered to be a big club anymore. A club with potential? maybe.
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Post by sox on Aug 20, 2014 15:47:14 GMT
... And how long have the new team been at the helm?
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Post by mcf86 on Aug 20, 2014 15:53:59 GMT
It's not where we were, it's where we are. Those days are our history, great to look back on but not so much as to be detrimental to,the future. These days we are in a position where money is obviously tight - as with a load of other clubs - and there's nothing we can really do but lend our support to the club. Not necessarily the owners, who are transient, but the club. If ou want to go down memory lane, just remember the trips to the shit holes in the Conference and how long we had to put up with that when everyone expected a swift return to the FL. Yes, we may well be in a bit of a trough at the moment, but having Pompey coming to visit on Saturday is better than Barrow.
isn't it?[/b] TBH, No. It matters not to me who the opposition is, I want to see 'My' team playing some decent football, and winning a few matches in the process. Losing to Real Madrid, Or Accrington Stanley is still a loss, and both would be a disappointment.
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Post by ianmoore82 on Aug 20, 2014 16:00:08 GMT
So, you would prefer to watch Oxford occasionally beat up some teams in the Conference then settle for a mid table spot in L2 for the time being?
Wow!
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Post by amarillo on Aug 20, 2014 16:16:32 GMT
What did you expect exactly? I tend to be optimistic about OUFC, it keeps me going, but I can't believe anyone really expected much this season after whats been going on.
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Post by trolleysnatcha on Aug 20, 2014 16:17:48 GMT
What is actually wrong with signing of "Kids" as everyone seems to keep on saying? Very very derogatory...
Sent from my HTC One using proboards
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Post by mcf86 on Aug 20, 2014 17:09:30 GMT
So, you would prefer to watch Oxford occasionally beat up some teams in the Conference then settle for a mid table spot in L2 for the time being? Wow! Hell no, I didn't say that! I said, a defeat hurts no matter who the opposition, which is very different. { TBH, No. It matters not to me who the opposition is, I want to see 'My' team playing some decent football, and winning a few matches in the process. Losing to Real Madrid, Or Accrington Stanley is still a loss, and both would be a disappointment.}
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Post by amershamdave on Aug 20, 2014 17:25:11 GMT
What is actually wrong with signing of "Kids" as everyone seems to keep on saying? Very very derogatory... Sent from my HTC One using proboards I totally support bringing in younger players. But basing our attack totally on youngsters? What happens if/when Paris Hilton whatever his name is, is unavailable?
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Post by behindthegoal on Aug 20, 2014 17:37:15 GMT
The new management team came here very late pre season...there's alot of adjusting and catching up to do to get up to date with other clubs, where most clubs were getting settled we were just starting!!! what did you expect? For goodness sake we'll get it right soon, give them time!
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Post by wizzard on Aug 20, 2014 17:39:28 GMT
Its all about having a blend of youth and experience surely? Its good to have the youngsters in,but they need on the field support and guidance from an older player. I would also choose a different captain too Jake Wright whilst being a good defender,usually,never strikes me as being a good leader/motivator. My choice would be Mullins.
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Post by Cardiff Yellow on Aug 20, 2014 20:33:38 GMT
Rome wasn't built in a day.
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Post by tonto on Aug 21, 2014 0:32:11 GMT
No but Fleetwood was!
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Post by kassamatemyhamster on Aug 21, 2014 7:45:57 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one.
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Post by amershamdave on Aug 21, 2014 14:11:49 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start?
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Post by reedie8610 on Aug 21, 2014 17:42:31 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start? Dave you are in danger of being considered sensible on this forum. Agree with every word. At times like this I'm glad I live 200 miles away and can't get to games very often
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Post by Junior on Aug 22, 2014 7:37:23 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start? Amen.
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Post by Robin Shater on Aug 22, 2014 7:45:02 GMT
Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start? Dave you are in danger of being considered sensible on this forum. Agree with every word. At times like this I'm glad I live 200 miles away and can't get to games very often The day that happens, then I know for certain that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
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Post by victor1986 on Aug 22, 2014 9:27:55 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start? Yes Dave - totally agree with every word you say. The recruiting of at least 2 (adult) players is now becoming a bit of a farce. In the OM today Appleton refers to our "bad start" as "putting some players off" coming to Oxford. Well, bad result tomorrow then & he might as well give up? Some of those "available" will also look back at the way we messed up the end of last season as well. I seriously don't think we have the funds to attract the right sort of players.
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Post by oufcrealist on Aug 22, 2014 9:51:32 GMT
Going back to what Mr. Ghost said about us not being a big FL club; any club getting 7500 supporters at their home games in this crappy division is relatively well-supported. We were getting that figure 4 seasons ago. The reason we've seen a drop in our attendances, to me, are quite obvious. Crap players on high (for this standard of football) wages. Crap playing strategy. Lack of decent, sensible investment of players. Too many (by far) loan players. OUFC keeping a blind faith in its under-achieving manager and coaching staff. Not owning our f*cking pathetic, p*ss-taking 3-stand poor excuse of a stadium, which still bears the name of Ka-Ka-Curse Him. Signing players who had killed innocent people through their illegal negligence. In case there are people who still wonder why we are where we are, the words running a p*ss up in a brewery come to mind. FFS, will someone suggest/plead/demand that we buy some better players...............for a start? Yes Dave - totally agree with every word you say. The recruiting of at least 2 (adult) players is now becoming a bit of a farce. In the OM today Appleton refers to our "bad start" as "putting some players off" coming to Oxford. Well, bad result tomorrow then & he might as well give up? Some of those "available" will also look back at the way we messed up the end of last season as well. I seriously don't think we have the funds to attract the right sort of players.I agree. But if the funds aren't there, why not. Several big earners have gone to be replaced by mainly kids. The take over was 'bigged up' by the new owners and more money was supposed to be available, where is it? I have been told (reliable) that we have recently missed out on a proven goalscorer for the sake of a few hundred quid a week, he is still a free agent. There are clubs in L2 who must have a smaller or very similar budget to us that have signed decent experienced players at this level. I can see a struggle looming if 2 or 3 experienced players are not brought in soon. Kids are fine, but they have to be good enough, and mentally and physically strong enough. A blend is needed.
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Post by tomox on Aug 22, 2014 11:16:19 GMT
Unbelievable how Wimbledon have ended up with Akinfenwa and Tubbs up front! I would definitely have taken that!
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Post by m on Aug 22, 2014 11:39:01 GMT
We're not paying the requisite wages yet others are?
And we're racking up a million a year in debt?
Where does it all end?
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Post by undisputed on Aug 22, 2014 12:09:28 GMT
If you strapped MApp, MA & DE to a table and tortured them then they would probably admit that this season wasn't going to lead to promotion, but they would never admit that freely. Doesn't mean it wont, and I for one am certainly still optimistic that it will be (we are only 3 games in after all). One of the first comments they made was about the recruitment process actually beginning properly in January of this year. That to me has always looked as though the current squad is a temporary measure before MApp can bring in his desired targets. I actually think that was a PR disaster for the club as it has probably affected a number of players who know that come January they could be on their way out.
One thing that has probably caught them by surprise is that they probably expected us to have picked up points by now, especially when you look at how well we played at Bristol City. Granted Morecambe look immense this year, and Mansfield is a horrible place to go, but even then I think they expected to have gotten off the mark. Is it MApps fault that we haven't won in the league, yeah of course it is but I honestly believe the football has been good. Other than 20 mins against Burton we looked good, we looked great at Bristol, even better at Morecambe (even their manager agreed). We were shocking at Mansfield and that should not be covered. Ok we haven't had the rub of the green, but id be much, much more concerned if we were playing rubbish as well, which we really arent.
It would be naive to think a win would turn everything around, but there is no signs that this is a rot where a team winning would be against the grain (like Waddocks one win last season). Far from it.
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Post by Bue Guado on Aug 22, 2014 13:21:20 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Absolutely spot on, I would far rather watch any funds being invested in securing the stability of the club than on getting us immediately out of this division. How exactly do people expect us to cope in League One yet anyway when we're in so much annual debt? If we're struggling to invest in a competitive squad at this level, then surely if we did go up we'd more than likely drop straight back down? Screw being a yo-yo club, I'd far rather the stadium situation get sorted (from what I gather the new powers that-be-are seriously looking into this matter) and that, for the time being, remaining finances get installed into the youth set ups (which have seen a lot of growth of late, this is undeniable). Yes, true, our youngsters aren't seeing as much pitch time as the likes of Morris and Jakubiak are just yet, but the loan boys are going to be far cheaper than the Akinfenwas and Tubbs of this world. Sure they're not the same level, but they give us some strength in a position we're particularly weak in while we continue our search for a top draw striker with reasonable wage demands (usually reduced rates in January window). I'd happily settle for another 3 seasons in League Two if it means coming out the other side owning a stadium (be it the Ka$h-shack or elsewhere, as long as we are not paying extortionate rent and are generating our own advertising revenue), a solid youth system that has churned out 3 years' worth of graduates competing for a first team start and the financial stability to annually invest in one or two decent players. So once upon a time we played in the higher divisions and even won the League Cup. So what? Once upon a time Britain had an empire, it means Sweet FA now other than to serve as memories for those who witnessed it. For players looking at joining the club, at least 10 other teams in our division (at a quick glance) have played at a higher level within the last decade. Yes, we took 33,000 to Wembley and smashed the Conference attendance record on more than one occasion, but thousands of those were glory fans turning up to watch us play in matches where we were practically guaranteed success, and who have not attended a game before/since. We are no bigger than anybody else. We have no divine right to go up. We can only hope that the club is investing wisely for its own stability and that we can build from there. 3 early defeats is no direct call to panic. Take some time, the squad will settle and things will come good. We probably won't get promoted this season, but we won't get relegated either. Just as one of the reasons England always under-perform at international tournaments is because of the players' inability to handle pressure from media and fans, so I feel Appleton's having to handle our fans' demand for promotion. Ease off the bloke, let him implement his style of football and enjoy watching some (refreshingly) attractive football from the U's. P.S. Apologies for spilling my guts in this reply, but as my actual posts on this forum are as rare as an accurate Emiliano Diaz pass, I thought I might as well give a full account of my view of the situation.
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Post by charliesghost on Aug 22, 2014 16:44:08 GMT
As Charlie's Ghost wrote in a different, we're NOT a big club when it comes to the FL but there's a potential for growth if the right choices are made in terms of marketing the club and moving to a new ground. I would prefer to see us focus financial resources in those areas for the next few seasons, whilst developing younger talent (with more experienced players brought in to assist them). The problem with some of the youngsters brought in this season is that they will only be with us until January, and then we'll be back to square one. Absolutely spot on, I would far rather watch any funds being invested in securing the stability of the club than on getting us immediately out of this division. How exactly do people expect us to cope in League One yet anyway when we're in so much annual debt? If we're struggling to invest in a competitive squad at this level, then surely if we did go up we'd more than likely drop straight back down? Screw being a yo-yo club, I'd far rather the stadium situation get sorted (from what I gather the new powers that-be-are seriously looking into this matter) and that, for the time being, remaining finances get installed into the youth set ups (which have seen a lot of growth of late, this is undeniable). Yes, true, our youngsters aren't seeing as much pitch time as the likes of Morris and Jakubiak are just yet, but the loan boys are going to be far cheaper than the Akinfenwas and Tubbs of this world. Sure they're not the same level, but they give us some strength in a position we're particularly weak in while we continue our search for a top draw striker with reasonable wage demands (usually reduced rates in January window). I'd happily settle for another 3 seasons in League Two if it means coming out the other side owning a stadium (be it the Ka$h-shack or elsewhere, as long as we are not paying extortionate rent and are generating our own advertising revenue), a solid youth system that has churned out 3 years' worth of graduates competing for a first team start and the financial stability to annually invest in one or two decent players. So once upon a time we played in the higher divisions and even won the League Cup. So what? Once upon a time Britain had an empire, it means Sweet FA now other than to serve as memories for those who witnessed it. For players looking at joining the club, at least 10 other teams in our division (at a quick glance) have played at a higher level within the last decade. Yes, we took 33,000 to Wembley and smashed the Conference attendance record on more than one occasion, but thousands of those were glory fans turning up to watch us play in matches where we were practically guaranteed success, and who have not attended a game before/since. We are no bigger than anybody else. We have no divine right to go up. We can only hope that the club is investing wisely for its own stability and that we can build from there. 3 early defeats is no direct call to panic. Take some time, the squad will settle and things will come good. We probably won't get promoted this season, but we won't get relegated either. Just as one of the reasons England always under-perform at international tournaments is because of the players' inability to handle pressure from media and fans, so I feel Appleton's having to handle our fans' demand for promotion. Ease off the bloke, let him implement his style of football and enjoy watching some (refreshingly) attractive football from the U's. P.S. Apologies for spilling my guts in this reply, but as my actual posts on this forum are as rare as an accurate Emiliano Diaz pass, I thought I might as well give a full account of my view of the situation. Your general theme - which is that it is too early to pass judgement on the playing side - is surely correct. However, there are some other issues which need some qualifying! 1. Neither I nor anyone else has seen any evidence that the new Board is well up on the stadium side of things. Indeed, they themselves have said that they are miles behind everyone else on this issue. Don't know where you got your view to the contrary from. 2. Unfortunately, lack of immediate ambition does not, in this instance, equal financial stability. Let us examine the situation. They say that they are planning to lose "at least" £1.5 million on average attendances of 6000. An average attendance of 6000 means an average home crowd of 5700. We got 5000 against Burton, and look like getting 4200 or so tomorrow. If those figures persist, then we will be losing an extra 30k every home game - £600 k over the season. So a loss of £2.1 million, rather than £1.5 million. And as opposed to losses of under £1 million a year in the last five years. I struggle to see how losing twice as much money is financial stability. Perhaps you can enlighten? 3. I fear very much - and have told anyone who will listen this - that our broader fanbase has decided that it cannot stomach League 2 football. So we will see crowds dwindle alarmingly as long as we are not looking like a promotion-winning League 2 side. In conclusion, the hope - my hope - is that Michael Appleton is a football genius, who can make the rest of us worriers and lower league habituees see that actually it IS perfectly possible to coach a bunch of inexperienced, not very well-paid players into beating more experienced, better-paid players. It is a beautiful challenge - Moneyball writ large - and if he manages to turn this squad into a winning team challenging for promotion then we've got a heck of a manager on our hands, and hats will be doffed to Mark Ashton for a brilliant selection.
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Post by dabigfella on Aug 22, 2014 17:18:01 GMT
Half a million a year in ground rent might have something to do with the underinvestment on the playing side.
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Post by yellowblood on Aug 22, 2014 17:31:30 GMT
Absolutely spot on, I would far rather watch any funds being invested in securing the stability of the club than on getting us immediately out of this division. How exactly do people expect us to cope in League One yet anyway when we're in so much annual debt? If we're struggling to invest in a competitive squad at this level, then surely if we did go up we'd more than likely drop straight back down? Screw being a yo-yo club, I'd far rather the stadium situation get sorted (from what I gather the new powers that-be-are seriously looking into this matter) and that, for the time being, remaining finances get installed into the youth set ups (which have seen a lot of growth of late, this is undeniable). Yes, true, our youngsters aren't seeing as much pitch time as the likes of Morris and Jakubiak are just yet, but the loan boys are going to be far cheaper than the Akinfenwas and Tubbs of this world. Sure they're not the same level, but they give us some strength in a position we're particularly weak in while we continue our search for a top draw striker with reasonable wage demands (usually reduced rates in January window). I'd happily settle for another 3 seasons in League Two if it means coming out the other side owning a stadium (be it the Ka$h-shack or elsewhere, as long as we are not paying extortionate rent and are generating our own advertising revenue), a solid youth system that has churned out 3 years' worth of graduates competing for a first team start and the financial stability to annually invest in one or two decent players. So once upon a time we played in the higher divisions and even won the League Cup. So what? Once upon a time Britain had an empire, it means Sweet FA now other than to serve as memories for those who witnessed it. For players looking at joining the club, at least 10 other teams in our division (at a quick glance) have played at a higher level within the last decade. Yes, we took 33,000 to Wembley and smashed the Conference attendance record on more than one occasion, but thousands of those were glory fans turning up to watch us play in matches where we were practically guaranteed success, and who have not attended a game before/since. We are no bigger than anybody else. We have no divine right to go up. We can only hope that the club is investing wisely for its own stability and that we can build from there. 3 early defeats is no direct call to panic. Take some time, the squad will settle and things will come good. We probably won't get promoted this season, but we won't get relegated either. Just as one of the reasons England always under-perform at international tournaments is because of the players' inability to handle pressure from media and fans, so I feel Appleton's having to handle our fans' demand for promotion. Ease off the bloke, let him implement his style of football and enjoy watching some (refreshingly) attractive football from the U's. P.S. Apologies for spilling my guts in this reply, but as my actual posts on this forum are as rare as an accurate Emiliano Diaz pass, I thought I might as well give a full account of my view of the situation. Your general theme - which is that it is too early to pass judgement on the playing side - is surely correct. However, there are some other issues which need some qualifying! 1. Neither I nor anyone else has seen any evidence that the new Board is well up on the stadium side of things. Indeed, they themselves have said that they are miles behind everyone else on this issue. Don't know where you got your view to the contrary from. 2. Unfortunately, lack of immediate ambition does not, in this instance, equal financial stability. Let us examine the situation. They say that they are planning to lose "at least" £1.5 million on average attendances of 6000. An average attendance of 6000 means an average home crowd of 5700. We got 5000 against Burton, and look like getting 4200 or so tomorrow. If those figures persist, then we will be losing an extra 30k every home game - £600 k over the season. So a loss of £2.1 million, rather than £1.5 million. And as opposed to losses of under £1 million a year in the last five years. I struggle to see how losing twice as much money is financial stability. Perhaps you can enlighten? 3. I fear very much - and have told anyone who will listen this - that our broader fanbase has decided that it cannot stomach League 2 football. So we will see crowds dwindle alarmingly as long as we are not looking like a promotion-winning League 2 side. In conclusion, the hope - my hope - is that Michael Appleton is a football genius, who can make the rest of us worriers and lower league habituees see that actually it IS perfectly possible to coach a bunch of inexperienced, not very well-paid players into beating more experienced, better-paid players. It is a beautiful challenge - Moneyball writ large - and if he manages to turn this squad into a winning team challenging for promotion then we've got a heck of a manager on our hands, and hats will be doffed to Mark Ashton for a brilliant selection. Excellent post - I completely agree. I could accept a slow start to a season if I believed we were trying to build a "footballing" team out a group of inexperienced players, however, our squad (apart from defence) is not only inexperienced, it is also thin on the ground. If we had another 4-5 young loanies or inexperienced players adding competition I would feel more confident that we would improve throughout the season. However, there is hardly even competition for places at the moment or players giving a slightly different option to the team. Playing passing football is all about confidence as well. If we continue to lose, will players still have the confidence to continue to play attractive football, or will desperation drive them to route one. As above I hope Appleton has the skills and determination to stick to plan and achieve glory through good football and not reliance of "expensive" individual players.
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