Post by ryaniobirdio on Feb 3, 2011 12:28:43 GMT
As some of you will no doubt be aware, April 20th represents the 25th anniversary of a rather famous Wembley victory for the club. On April 23rd the team will be playing a home game against Chesterfield, so with this in mind I thought it would be a great opportunity for the club to have a big blow out.
There are a number of things that could be done to make the day special and provide an experience that everyone will not only remember but want to be a part of. Here are just a few ideas:
Set up a big screen in the Quad bar before the game and play the Milk Cup DVD, starting at around 1pm. The cup itself could also be on display so that people can see it, hold it, have their picture taken with it etc. The success of this would almost certainly hinge on the club being able to take a cut of the bar takings for the day, but if there was a lot more business than usual then this is something that may be able to happen through talks with the stadium company. A lot of fans would probably be happier than usual to have a pint or two in there knowing that the club were directly benefitting financially, as well as being able to join in the occasion, though I do respect that this could take business away from the Priory which is a very well respected establishment that has a very real sense of community among supporters, and rightfully so. Perhaps there is something that could be done with this idea that includes the Priory if this were a stumbling block?
Produce a special anniversary edition of the programme that looks back on United's successful 85/86 cup campaign, full of pictures, articles, match reports and interviews with players of the time etc. If the overall match day experience is full of extras then hopefully there will be a decent size crowd which will mean more people than usual who might buy programmes, while the collectable nature of the issue could bump the general percentages up. Instead of a 7,000 crowd buying around 2,000 programmes as has been the norm this season, you could end up with a 9,000 crowd buying 4,000 programmes.
Although a difficult and slightly awkward area due to the Just Sport deal, perhaps there could be a 25% sale on all items in the club shop, keeping in with the 25th anniversary theme. Again, if the day is really built up and marketed well then a bigger crowd combined with a decent sale could see a really nice increase in customers. It's also a good way of shifting shirts and kits because with Chesterfield being the second to last home game they will be just weeks away from becoming old stock. In fact, rather than going for a clean 25% off sweep, could they make shirts £25 for the day, which would still keep in with the '25' theme? Also a good way of shifting copies of the Milk Cup DVD if there are any left, or perhaps an excuse to order more?
Invite players from the famous squad, such as Briggs, Charles, Hebberd, Houghton, Aldridge, Judge, Brock etc and have them as guests for the day. They could parade the trophy ten minutes before kick off and then watch the game from the directors box, while the club could also throw a special dinner in one of the Conference rooms after the game. Fans could purchase tickets for the night which would include a meal and after dinner speeches from various members of the squad. Jim Rosenthal could also be involved in this due to his involvement on the day from a media standpoint.
It could be too late for this or perhaps such an idea would violate FL rules, but could the club produce a special kit for the day, perhaps based around the design of the 85/86 kit? If not is there any way that they could have a special something ironed/stitched on for the day, like they did with the poppy shirts a few months ago and also the Wembley shirts last season? Maybe a little Milk Cup with the date of the final and in turn the date of the Chesterfield game? If so, could they produce some of these for sale in the shop? Luton did something similar for their 125th anniversary this season when they wore a pink and blue kit for their game against Bath; their original colours. They had hundreds available to fans and they sold out completely, although to be fair they did have that in the pipeline since the summer.
Perhaps most interestingly, could they run some sort of competition to be registered as a player and be allocated the number 86 shirt? Whether it's a case of everyone who buys a ticket for the game being entered into a draw or some sort of individual lottery, with proceeds being donated to charity or even Dave Langan seeing as he was such a vital member of the winning squad and is now disabled. Either way, there must be something in this.
These are just a few ideas. They may work, they may not, but there must be something that can be done for this game. We already missed out on the 50th anniversary of the club changing its name to Oxford United at the start of the season, so I'd really like to see something a little bit different done for this match. I think it could generate a really special atmosphere for the day, and if the team is still in the play-off hunt at that point then it could be truly amazing.
Any ideas of your own that you think could work, or is it something that you feel would just be a waste of time?
There are a number of things that could be done to make the day special and provide an experience that everyone will not only remember but want to be a part of. Here are just a few ideas:
Set up a big screen in the Quad bar before the game and play the Milk Cup DVD, starting at around 1pm. The cup itself could also be on display so that people can see it, hold it, have their picture taken with it etc. The success of this would almost certainly hinge on the club being able to take a cut of the bar takings for the day, but if there was a lot more business than usual then this is something that may be able to happen through talks with the stadium company. A lot of fans would probably be happier than usual to have a pint or two in there knowing that the club were directly benefitting financially, as well as being able to join in the occasion, though I do respect that this could take business away from the Priory which is a very well respected establishment that has a very real sense of community among supporters, and rightfully so. Perhaps there is something that could be done with this idea that includes the Priory if this were a stumbling block?
Produce a special anniversary edition of the programme that looks back on United's successful 85/86 cup campaign, full of pictures, articles, match reports and interviews with players of the time etc. If the overall match day experience is full of extras then hopefully there will be a decent size crowd which will mean more people than usual who might buy programmes, while the collectable nature of the issue could bump the general percentages up. Instead of a 7,000 crowd buying around 2,000 programmes as has been the norm this season, you could end up with a 9,000 crowd buying 4,000 programmes.
Although a difficult and slightly awkward area due to the Just Sport deal, perhaps there could be a 25% sale on all items in the club shop, keeping in with the 25th anniversary theme. Again, if the day is really built up and marketed well then a bigger crowd combined with a decent sale could see a really nice increase in customers. It's also a good way of shifting shirts and kits because with Chesterfield being the second to last home game they will be just weeks away from becoming old stock. In fact, rather than going for a clean 25% off sweep, could they make shirts £25 for the day, which would still keep in with the '25' theme? Also a good way of shifting copies of the Milk Cup DVD if there are any left, or perhaps an excuse to order more?
Invite players from the famous squad, such as Briggs, Charles, Hebberd, Houghton, Aldridge, Judge, Brock etc and have them as guests for the day. They could parade the trophy ten minutes before kick off and then watch the game from the directors box, while the club could also throw a special dinner in one of the Conference rooms after the game. Fans could purchase tickets for the night which would include a meal and after dinner speeches from various members of the squad. Jim Rosenthal could also be involved in this due to his involvement on the day from a media standpoint.
It could be too late for this or perhaps such an idea would violate FL rules, but could the club produce a special kit for the day, perhaps based around the design of the 85/86 kit? If not is there any way that they could have a special something ironed/stitched on for the day, like they did with the poppy shirts a few months ago and also the Wembley shirts last season? Maybe a little Milk Cup with the date of the final and in turn the date of the Chesterfield game? If so, could they produce some of these for sale in the shop? Luton did something similar for their 125th anniversary this season when they wore a pink and blue kit for their game against Bath; their original colours. They had hundreds available to fans and they sold out completely, although to be fair they did have that in the pipeline since the summer.
Perhaps most interestingly, could they run some sort of competition to be registered as a player and be allocated the number 86 shirt? Whether it's a case of everyone who buys a ticket for the game being entered into a draw or some sort of individual lottery, with proceeds being donated to charity or even Dave Langan seeing as he was such a vital member of the winning squad and is now disabled. Either way, there must be something in this.
These are just a few ideas. They may work, they may not, but there must be something that can be done for this game. We already missed out on the 50th anniversary of the club changing its name to Oxford United at the start of the season, so I'd really like to see something a little bit different done for this match. I think it could generate a really special atmosphere for the day, and if the team is still in the play-off hunt at that point then it could be truly amazing.
Any ideas of your own that you think could work, or is it something that you feel would just be a waste of time?