I listened to Radio Oxford when 3CR went out of range. Interesting mix of disbelief and denial. Their summary discussion included the sentence “once again we proved that we were unable to adapt when playing a non-footballing side”.
Also, because he was so late out of his “are you with us or not?” speech to his troops, I got the full force of the Karl Robinson interview (oh how I miss the days when he was on 3CR every week). In fairness, he drew a strong distinction between our collective will to win vs. theirs. But strangely, when asked about the abuse, he asked how anyone could know if it was an Oxford fan or not, because no-one could identify the culprit. He also seemed to claim that one of his players was deliberately impeded when they went into the Family Stand to collect the ball, and mentioned the fan on the pitch, thus leading him to conclude that “there was a lot going on today, and not all from us”.
As for the bloke in the family stand, he just lightly bumped into their player without breaking stride as he walked past - silly, maybe, but quite funny.
He's right about the fan on the pitch, that was not good to see.
The BFP suggesting that the person in question is not a fan of either club and just turned up for the day, and as I said earlier he seemed to be behaving pretty erratically as he was led away so I'm not sure quite what his situation is.
But it was disappointing to hear fans around me cheering him as he cavorted around on the pitch.
Not everyone of course, some were suggesting he should have been allowed to enter the away end to see how that worked out for him
As for the bloke in the family stand, he just lightly bumped into their player without breaking stride as he walked past - silly, maybe, but quite funny.
Silly and quite stupid. Not funny. If we're sharing perceptions.
Uche played for us for about 5 months and scored a few screamers. He doesn't touch Bayo, Tyson or probably several others for achievement or arguably talent at peak. I wouldn't swap Hanlan or Vokes for him right now. He's also had a massive pay rise. Someone asked what the difference is between getting him now and getting him if we get promotion was above , the answer to that is about £6m in TV money.
@StrongestTeam thank you for saving me the trouble of writing what the difference between League 1 and the Championship is. You have more money to spend and need more strength in depth and different options to succeed in a tougher division.
If Uche was offered to us on loan in January, he was keen to come and we only had to pay a part of his wages so we could afford him it would be fantastic to have him. But let’s be honest, that’s unlikely to happen. We have finite resources (particularly in League 1) and money is possibly better used elsewhere.
I love Uche, but I wouldn’t want to break up the options we have up front at the moment. GA likes a smaller squad for the reason that it reduces the risk of players feeling on the fringes, which helps to create a culture of togetherness.
I’d argue we already have areas of fringe now (Horgan, Kaikai), which we’ve never really had under GA. That in many ways is a luxury and a privilege, but needs to be monitored, so adding another attacking option who would expect to get games in my view risks the culture we have.
Aside from loanees who come in for experience and will take the view of ‘every game is a bonus’, I don’t think we’ll be recruiting this month.
The two pitch invaders in the last two games have both been pretty non threatening but my overall fear is how slow our stewards are to react and how open our players are to a more threatening invader. Pathetic to see Oxford players going after him though. They were under no threat and any injury would have been totally their own fault.
The total lack of support from the Oxford fans to the team was very telling. I think I only heard them actively cheer the team on twice in the whole game and instead spent their time with vile abuse to towards our manager, Bayo and Stockdale. Total scum the lot of them
Stewards aren't there to tackle pitch invaders. That's the responsibility of security staff, so maybe it's a question of numbers in that respect? Then again, people get on the pitch everywhere, so it's not like it's exclusively an Adams Park problem.
I think Hanlan is more similar to Uche than people are giving him credit for. He's not better - although he could become so - but he is less erratic, which was Uche's biggest flaw in the sense his teammates quite often didn't know what he was going to do or where he was going to pop up.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Stewards aren't there to tackle pitch invaders. That's the responsibility of security staff, so maybe it's a question of numbers in that respect? Then again, people get on the pitch everywhere, so it's not like it's exclusively an Adams Park problem.
It is a current problem at our ground though and I’d like to see it addressed. If it’s a problem elsewhere that should be addressed to. To simply shrug our shoulders and say it happens everywhere is not a solution.
Having said all that my experience of being at events in recent months is that every single one has seen more extreme crowd behaviour to anything I remember pre COVID. Whether it is excitement, mental health issues or a general breakdown in social interaction norms it’s been a mad few months for me at sport, theatre, exhibitions and work.
Yesterday was the most toxic atmosphere I've experienced at AP since I don't know when. Genuinely felt ever so slightly unsafe leaving the ground, which I don't remember ever feeling at a home game.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Yesterday was the most toxic atmosphere I've experienced at AP since I don't know when. Genuinely felt ever so slightly unsafe leaving the ground, which I don't remember ever feeling at a home game.
Really? Interesting. I was in the terrace and felt nothing but good vibes. Stayed in the Chairboys Village tent for a pint afterwards and there was a bit of a party atmosphere. Had "Oxford get battered everywhere they go" ringing in my ears the whole way home.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Yesterday was the most toxic atmosphere I've experienced at AP since I don't know when. Genuinely felt ever so slightly unsafe leaving the ground, which I don't remember ever feeling at a home game.
Really? Interesting. I was in the terrace and felt nothing but good vibes. Stayed in the Chairboys Village tent for a pint afterwards and there was a bit of a party atmosphere. Had "Oxford get battered everywhere they go" ringing in my ears the whole way home.
According to my good lady, some ferrel Oxford fans were causing trouble at half time near the Vere suite? Not really amazed by the bile at the end of the game TBH.
I don't remember the other pitch invader at AP but I think we are in a bizarre netherworld of rampant offence taken at the drop of a hat AND a lot of people lacking any sort of respect for others being led to believe they can 'do what they want'. A heady mixture both inside and outside football. I saw on the news the other a load of anti-vaxxers doing 'military training' to 'fight a war'.
I was at Whaddon Road yesterday with my Charlton mate for their game (stupidly agreed ages ago and didn’t clock the fixture for us)
Sadly, we both agree that trouble at football matches has got so much worse since the pandemic. Similar issues yesterday with homophobic comments, fans invading the pitch. It’s just getting to toxic levels.
I don’t know whether this is just pent up frustration from 2 years of covid, but I swear people are losing their minds now. It’s worrying.
I certainly found it unpleasant on the terrace yesterday. Once we were ahead, the majority of chants were aimed at the opposition rather than in support of us. This is, of course, a common event, but there seemed more of it y'day than normally. In addition, I was plagued in the second half by a number of mouthbreathing Wilde-wannabes (and never-will-bes) around me intent on shouting unspeakable things at the Oxford keeper or anyone else they thought worthy of their efforts. I put this down to the fact of the large crowd and "derby" atmosphere both of which tend to invite heightened emotions and thoughtless behaviour.
I recognise the mindset behind the emphasis placed in public discourse on comments focused on certain characteristics. But the fact that the BBC has thought fit to report on investigations now being carried out at the club about the stuff Stocko reported and on which others here have made mention here seems to me at odds with the reality which is that large parts of the verbal offerings from a measurable proportion of football fans makes the place an absolute cesspit generally. That some of the bile that comes among that attracts particular opprobrium seems to me to miss that point. My sense is that almost none of those who utter this stuff would dream of speaking or acting in such a way in real life. Something of a social phenomenon, as it were. Not an attractive one but also not necessarily one that says a great deal about the world outside Adams Park and any other football ground that was not already known.
@HCblue said:
I certainly found it unpleasant on the terrace yesterday. Once we were ahead, the majority of chants were aimed at the opposition rather than in support of us. This is, of course, a common event, but there seemed more of it y'day than normally. In addition, I was plagued in the second half by a number of mouthbreathing Wilde-wannabes (and never-will-bes) around me intent on shouting unspeakable things at the Oxford keeper or anyone else they thought worthy of their efforts. I put this down to the fact of the large crowd and "derby" atmosphere both of which tend to invite heightened emotions and thoughtless behaviour.
I recognise the mindset behind the emphasis placed in public discourse on comments focused on certain characteristics. But the fact that the BBC has thought fit to report on investigations now being carried out at the club about the stuff Stocko reported and on which others here have made mention here seems to me at odds with the reality which is that large parts of the verbal offerings from a measurable proportion of football fans makes the place an absolute cesspit generally. That some of the bile that comes among that attracts particular opprobrium seems to me to miss that point. My sense is that almost none of those who utter this stuff would dream of speaking or acting in such a way in real life. Something of a social phenomenon, as it were. Not an attractive one but also not necessarily one that says a great deal about the world outside Adams Park and any other football ground that was not already known.
PS. My experience before and after the game tallies with those reported above. A perfectly happy and normal atmosphere in the tent beforehand and in the bar afterwards. That said, it occurred to me that I would not be in a hurry to leave the ground with the aforementioned epsilons.
Sadly, larger crowds will always attract, and to some degree provide a haven, for those with anti social views and behaviors. It’s one of the back pressures of growth in football, and arguably our biggest challenge if we want regular crowds of 8000+
Having been away from many years I was surprised by the lack of positive chanting. I’ve said before but I just don’t like the new ‘Wanderers’ chant in the style of ‘Argyle’ - it just doesn’t have the energy of the old ‘Wanderers’ chant that we used to sing when the players came out. I also didn’t hear once the ‘Come on you blues’ chant usually at corners, or ‘Chairboys Barmy Army’ to drive the team on. Shame but I guess times move on!
@Quarterman Those other chants were still in the mix at the start of the season, but there's been a bit of a shift in both how much is sung and what is sung since the Great Drummer Purge.
Watched a replay of the game on iFollow and feel pretty similar. We didn’t play brilliant with the ball but a thoroughly professional, streetwise, hard working and physically strong performance. We were well ahead of Oxford in those areas. We have a huge edge psychologically over then and I’d be confident of beating them in the play offs.
I listened to the Oxford commentary over the game. It was genuinely embarrassing listening to them both complain and bicker over the way Wycombe played. At times even sounding condescending and bitter about the fact Wycombe had the audacity to block shots so well, as if defending wasn’t actually part of the game, absolutely pathetic.
On yesterday's showing, I'm not sure Oxford will even finish in the play-offs. I'd have them in there at the moment along with us, MK and one of Rotherham and Sunderland, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them drop out.
@HCblue said:
I certainly found it unpleasant on the terrace yesterday. Once we were ahead, the majority of chants were aimed at the opposition rather than in support of us. This is, of course, a common event, but there seemed more of it y'day than normally. In addition, I was plagued in the second half by a number of mouthbreathing Wilde-wannabes (and never-will-bes) around me intent on shouting unspeakable things at the Oxford keeper or anyone else they thought worthy of their efforts. I put this down to the fact of the large crowd and "derby" atmosphere both of which tend to invite heightened emotions and thoughtless behaviour.
I recognise the mindset behind the emphasis placed in public discourse on comments focused on certain characteristics. But the fact that the BBC has thought fit to report on investigations now being carried out at the club about the stuff Stocko reported and on which others here have made mention here seems to me at odds with the reality which is that large parts of the verbal offerings from a measurable proportion of football fans makes the place an absolute cesspit generally. That some of the bile that comes among that attracts particular opprobrium seems to me to miss that point. My sense is that almost none of those who utter this stuff would dream of speaking or acting in such a way in real life. Something of a social phenomenon, as it were. Not an attractive one but also not necessarily one that says a great deal about the world outside Adams Park and any other football ground that was not already known.
When I started regularly going to football in the late 90s there was all sorts of abuse being hurled around by individuals that with hindsight I'm not proud of having joined in with. I don't particularly think that the issue has got worse that it has been before in football, certain types of abuse are being called out more (which is a positive in my opinion, even if it gives the casual observer the impression that this is a new phenomenon). As for people who think it's ok to talk like that in everyday life away from release of football on a Saturday, there are always the odd individual who do, though they inevitably come across someone who'll knock some literal sense into them.
I've noted before on the Gasroom that the amount of support given to the team, be it concerted singing or general cheering and applauding of good play and defending, is on the 'passive' side. Yesterday was much better in that respect, the "it's not a derby FFS" derby atmosphere no doubt helping spur that on.
The singing of "Oxford get battered..." was tempting fate with the score 1-0 and 41 minutes on the clock, though entirely justifiable as the game wore on.
Comments
I listened to Radio Oxford when 3CR went out of range. Interesting mix of disbelief and denial. Their summary discussion included the sentence “once again we proved that we were unable to adapt when playing a non-footballing side”.
Also, because he was so late out of his “are you with us or not?” speech to his troops, I got the full force of the Karl Robinson interview (oh how I miss the days when he was on 3CR every week). In fairness, he drew a strong distinction between our collective will to win vs. theirs. But strangely, when asked about the abuse, he asked how anyone could know if it was an Oxford fan or not, because no-one could identify the culprit. He also seemed to claim that one of his players was deliberately impeded when they went into the Family Stand to collect the ball, and mentioned the fan on the pitch, thus leading him to conclude that “there was a lot going on today, and not all from us”.
He is the master of deflection...
As for the bloke in the family stand, he just lightly bumped into their player without breaking stride as he walked past - silly, maybe, but quite funny.
He's right about the fan on the pitch, that was not good to see.
The BFP suggesting that the person in question is not a fan of either club and just turned up for the day, and as I said earlier he seemed to be behaving pretty erratically as he was led away so I'm not sure quite what his situation is.
But it was disappointing to hear fans around me cheering him as he cavorted around on the pitch.
Not everyone of course, some were suggesting he should have been allowed to enter the away end to see how that worked out for him
Silly and quite stupid. Not funny. If we're sharing perceptions.
I believe so @TheAndyGrahamFanClub he seemed to point to the big screen when the ref blew....
Uche played for us for about 5 months and scored a few screamers. He doesn't touch Bayo, Tyson or probably several others for achievement or arguably talent at peak. I wouldn't swap Hanlan or Vokes for him right now. He's also had a massive pay rise. Someone asked what the difference is between getting him now and getting him if we get promotion was above , the answer to that is about £6m in TV money.
@StrongestTeam thank you for saving me the trouble of writing what the difference between League 1 and the Championship is. You have more money to spend and need more strength in depth and different options to succeed in a tougher division.
If Uche was offered to us on loan in January, he was keen to come and we only had to pay a part of his wages so we could afford him it would be fantastic to have him. But let’s be honest, that’s unlikely to happen. We have finite resources (particularly in League 1) and money is possibly better used elsewhere.
I love Uche, but I wouldn’t want to break up the options we have up front at the moment. GA likes a smaller squad for the reason that it reduces the risk of players feeling on the fringes, which helps to create a culture of togetherness.
I’d argue we already have areas of fringe now (Horgan, Kaikai), which we’ve never really had under GA. That in many ways is a luxury and a privilege, but needs to be monitored, so adding another attacking option who would expect to get games in my view risks the culture we have.
Aside from loanees who come in for experience and will take the view of ‘every game is a bonus’, I don’t think we’ll be recruiting this month.
The two pitch invaders in the last two games have both been pretty non threatening but my overall fear is how slow our stewards are to react and how open our players are to a more threatening invader. Pathetic to see Oxford players going after him though. They were under no threat and any injury would have been totally their own fault.
The total lack of support from the Oxford fans to the team was very telling. I think I only heard them actively cheer the team on twice in the whole game and instead spent their time with vile abuse to towards our manager, Bayo and Stockdale. Total scum the lot of them
Yes they are not very pleasant and they are so thick they think we let the fireworks off because we beat their invincible team.
Stewards aren't there to tackle pitch invaders. That's the responsibility of security staff, so maybe it's a question of numbers in that respect? Then again, people get on the pitch everywhere, so it's not like it's exclusively an Adams Park problem.
I think teams have been wary of us for a few years, but yesterday I realised they truly fear us. The transformation never ceases to amaze me.
I think Hanlan is more similar to Uche than people are giving him credit for. He's not better - although he could become so - but he is less erratic, which was Uche's biggest flaw in the sense his teammates quite often didn't know what he was going to do or where he was going to pop up.
It is a current problem at our ground though and I’d like to see it addressed. If it’s a problem elsewhere that should be addressed to. To simply shrug our shoulders and say it happens everywhere is not a solution.
Having said all that my experience of being at events in recent months is that every single one has seen more extreme crowd behaviour to anything I remember pre COVID. Whether it is excitement, mental health issues or a general breakdown in social interaction norms it’s been a mad few months for me at sport, theatre, exhibitions and work.
Yep, definitely seems more common now. Have noticed more at top-level games and maybe there's an element of copycat behaviour here.
Yesterday was the most toxic atmosphere I've experienced at AP since I don't know when. Genuinely felt ever so slightly unsafe leaving the ground, which I don't remember ever feeling at a home game.
Really? Interesting. I was in the terrace and felt nothing but good vibes. Stayed in the Chairboys Village tent for a pint afterwards and there was a bit of a party atmosphere. Had "Oxford get battered everywhere they go" ringing in my ears the whole way home.
Oh, I'm talking solely about the away fans.
According to my good lady, some ferrel Oxford fans were causing trouble at half time near the Vere suite? Not really amazed by the bile at the end of the game TBH.
I don't remember the other pitch invader at AP but I think we are in a bizarre netherworld of rampant offence taken at the drop of a hat AND a lot of people lacking any sort of respect for others being led to believe they can 'do what they want'. A heady mixture both inside and outside football. I saw on the news the other a load of anti-vaxxers doing 'military training' to 'fight a war'.
I was at Whaddon Road yesterday with my Charlton mate for their game (stupidly agreed ages ago and didn’t clock the fixture for us)
Sadly, we both agree that trouble at football matches has got so much worse since the pandemic. Similar issues yesterday with homophobic comments, fans invading the pitch. It’s just getting to toxic levels.
I don’t know whether this is just pent up frustration from 2 years of covid, but I swear people are losing their minds now. It’s worrying.
I certainly found it unpleasant on the terrace yesterday. Once we were ahead, the majority of chants were aimed at the opposition rather than in support of us. This is, of course, a common event, but there seemed more of it y'day than normally. In addition, I was plagued in the second half by a number of mouthbreathing Wilde-wannabes (and never-will-bes) around me intent on shouting unspeakable things at the Oxford keeper or anyone else they thought worthy of their efforts. I put this down to the fact of the large crowd and "derby" atmosphere both of which tend to invite heightened emotions and thoughtless behaviour.
I recognise the mindset behind the emphasis placed in public discourse on comments focused on certain characteristics. But the fact that the BBC has thought fit to report on investigations now being carried out at the club about the stuff Stocko reported and on which others here have made mention here seems to me at odds with the reality which is that large parts of the verbal offerings from a measurable proportion of football fans makes the place an absolute cesspit generally. That some of the bile that comes among that attracts particular opprobrium seems to me to miss that point. My sense is that almost none of those who utter this stuff would dream of speaking or acting in such a way in real life. Something of a social phenomenon, as it were. Not an attractive one but also not necessarily one that says a great deal about the world outside Adams Park and any other football ground that was not already known.
PS. My experience before and after the game tallies with those reported above. A perfectly happy and normal atmosphere in the tent beforehand and in the bar afterwards. That said, it occurred to me that I would not be in a hurry to leave the ground with the aforementioned epsilons.
Sadly, larger crowds will always attract, and to some degree provide a haven, for those with anti social views and behaviors. It’s one of the back pressures of growth in football, and arguably our biggest challenge if we want regular crowds of 8000+
Having been away from many years I was surprised by the lack of positive chanting. I’ve said before but I just don’t like the new ‘Wanderers’ chant in the style of ‘Argyle’ - it just doesn’t have the energy of the old ‘Wanderers’ chant that we used to sing when the players came out. I also didn’t hear once the ‘Come on you blues’ chant usually at corners, or ‘Chairboys Barmy Army’ to drive the team on. Shame but I guess times move on!
@Quarterman Those other chants were still in the mix at the start of the season, but there's been a bit of a shift in both how much is sung and what is sung since the Great Drummer Purge.
Watched a replay of the game on iFollow and feel pretty similar. We didn’t play brilliant with the ball but a thoroughly professional, streetwise, hard working and physically strong performance. We were well ahead of Oxford in those areas. We have a huge edge psychologically over then and I’d be confident of beating them in the play offs.
I listened to the Oxford commentary over the game. It was genuinely embarrassing listening to them both complain and bicker over the way Wycombe played. At times even sounding condescending and bitter about the fact Wycombe had the audacity to block shots so well, as if defending wasn’t actually part of the game, absolutely pathetic.
On yesterday's showing, I'm not sure Oxford will even finish in the play-offs. I'd have them in there at the moment along with us, MK and one of Rotherham and Sunderland, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them drop out.
When I started regularly going to football in the late 90s there was all sorts of abuse being hurled around by individuals that with hindsight I'm not proud of having joined in with. I don't particularly think that the issue has got worse that it has been before in football, certain types of abuse are being called out more (which is a positive in my opinion, even if it gives the casual observer the impression that this is a new phenomenon). As for people who think it's ok to talk like that in everyday life away from release of football on a Saturday, there are always the odd individual who do, though they inevitably come across someone who'll knock some literal sense into them.
I've noted before on the Gasroom that the amount of support given to the team, be it concerted singing or general cheering and applauding of good play and defending, is on the 'passive' side. Yesterday was much better in that respect, the "it's not a derby FFS" derby atmosphere no doubt helping spur that on.
The singing of "Oxford get battered..." was tempting fate with the score 1-0 and 41 minutes on the clock, though entirely justifiable as the game wore on.