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Match day thread: Oxford

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  • As has been noted before, if you know we’re going to ruin your match plan by taking ages retrieving balls, why not a) have some spares and b) get some ball boys on duty.

    Bizarre how ‘the gaffer’ was introduced before the teams - I assumed he won manager of the month or something.

    Nice of the RAF to organise some sort of fly-past for the big derby match.

  • @arnos_grove said:
    As has been noted before, if you know we’re going to ruin your match plan by taking ages retrieving balls, why not a) have some spares and b) get some ball boys on duty.

    Bizarre how ‘the gaffer’ was introduced before the teams - I assumed he won manager of the month or something.

    Nice of the RAF to organise some sort of fly-past for the big derby match.

    I’ll give Robinson the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t request that introduction, and that it was just the guy with the mic sensing an opportunity to say something, but he does seem to be sour in any interview he does about Wycombe, whilst still somehow suggesting that he gets on really well with GA.

  • @jessvl1 said:

    Only 1 minute but you can see how much we live in Robinson’s head. Strange of him to profess how good they are too, you shouldn’t have to state that as a manager if you really believe you’ve got a good squad

    It's quite surreal watching that. It's like impersonator Darren Farley is doing an impression of Karl Robinson.

  • @StrongestTeam said:

    @eric_plant said:

    Very good, and he's spot on about the "2-1 on your big day out" chant. Mind-numbingly stupid

    A bit of siliness, not 100% accurate but they were always going to get stick for us beating them and I like how he acknowledged any attempts for them to have a go at how we did in the championship were a self own.

    "I get that some people like that big-muscle aesthetic, but you have to question how it helps his professional career" he does add though of Akinfenwa rather nonsensically as if he's a kid just starting out that might want to cut out the gym work and concentrate on running rather than a 40 year old coming to the end of a solid career with a huge following

    RE the point on Akinfenwa, as good as the blogger is at writing, he clearly doesn’t like Bayo. You can read his write-up of the playoff final to see that.

    I guess when you haven’t watched many Wycombe games over the past 3 / 4 years and haven’t been looking at his goal stats, most people will have that view of him, certainly there were those at Wycombe who doubted him early on.

    But we know the truth, and more importantly, Bayo knows it too and has made a career out of thriving on proving those people wrong.

  • The thing about Bayo, particularly as an.impact sub is that he steadies the ship if the forward players have tired and things have become disjointed. Like it or lump it (forward) everyone knows what they've got to do once the big man is on the pitch.

  • But > @Username said:

    @micra said:
    Apart from Kingsmeadow and Kenilworth Road, the Kassam was the away venue I dreaded most. It would have been the most dreaded if the journey hadn’t been so short and beer in the sun on that grassy area just outside the “stadium” so enjoyable. No Special ‘K’ there.

    Don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting on the special K for the football, although I suspect we're referencing very different things

    I refer to things @Username; it’s easier than referencing. But, yes, I was referring to a breakfast cereal which probably no longer exists. Got caught out on here ages ago for not knowing what ketamine was (a very special ‘K’ apparently) and it sounds like I may have betrayed my ignorance of ‘the drug scene’ once again.

    I do know quite a bit about anti-coagulants and beta-blockers though.

  • @micra It certainly does still exist! I actually like it, although it doesn't bear much resemblance to how it was years ago, think the recipe has changed at least twice over time.

  • May have been mentioned already but I thought it was poor planning to have the singing (basically standing) section towards the middle of the stand. This meant people sitting to the right were obscured. Surely it should have been the rear seats or the block furthest right?

  • @micra said:
    But > @Username said:

    @micra said:
    Apart from Kingsmeadow and Kenilworth Road, the Kassam was the away venue I dreaded most. It would have been the most dreaded if the journey hadn’t been so short and beer in the sun on that grassy area just outside the “stadium” so enjoyable. No Special ‘K’ there.

    Don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting on the special K for the football, although I suspect we're referencing very different things

    I refer to things @Username; it’s easier than referencing. But, yes, I was referring to a breakfast cereal which probably no longer exists. Got caught out on here ages ago for not knowing what ketamine was (a very special ‘K’ apparently) and it sounds like I may have betrayed my ignorance of ‘the drug scene’ once again.

    I do know quite a bit about anti-coagulants and beta-blockers though.

    Keep it clean son, this is a family forum.

  • @LX1 said:
    May have been mentioned already but I thought it was poor planning to have the singing (basically standing) section towards the middle of the stand. This meant people sitting to the right were obscured. Surely it should have been the rear seats or the block furthest right?

    Spot on.
    As well as ensuring some aggro with the Oxford lot right near them, anyone sitting in the end of the block right next to them surely lost a bit of the pitch?

  • edited September 2021

    @Username said:
    Don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting on the special K for the football, although I suspect we're referencing very different things

    I used to have a QPR supporting mate who regularly would.

  • @Malone said:

    @LX1 said:
    May have been mentioned already but I thought it was poor planning to have the singing (basically standing) section towards the middle of the stand. This meant people sitting to the right were obscured. Surely it should have been the rear seats or the block furthest right?

    Spot on.
    As well as ensuring some aggro with the Oxford lot right near them, anyone sitting in the end of the block right next to them surely lost a bit of the pitch?

    I found it hard to appreciate the match as I was perched on the right end of a standing row. If I looked to my right there were people trying to watch the game past me which was a bit awkward.

  • @LX1 said:

    @Malone said:

    @LX1 said:
    May have been mentioned already but I thought it was poor planning to have the singing (basically standing) section towards the middle of the stand. This meant people sitting to the right were obscured. Surely it should have been the rear seats or the block furthest right?

    Spot on.
    As well as ensuring some aggro with the Oxford lot right near them, anyone sitting in the end of the block right next to them surely lost a bit of the pitch?

    I found it hard to appreciate the match as I was perched on the right end of a standing row. If I looked to my right there were people trying to watch the game past me which was a bit awkward.

    I can only think it's something along the lines of what @Username suggested earlier. Some sort of police/club decision, maybe to cut down the marshalling or something?

    I'm trying to remember what they did 2 seasons ago, I thought that was more the whole of the back section across blocks, rather than one single block from front to back rows?

  • And the ketamine didn't help either.

  • @arnos_grove said:
    Nice of the RAF to organise some sort of fly-past for the big derby match.

    @arnos_grove, I believe that was the only airworthy B-17 Flying Fortress in Europe, based at Duxford, with an unidentified American fighter bringing up the rear.

    It may have been flying over Dalton Barracks, formerly RAF Abingdon, where they are filming the Hanks/Spielberg mini-series Masters of the Air. They have mocked up a B-17 there for ground shots.

  • @Malone, as I recall 2 seasons ago it was basically a scrum towards the back of probably the 2 blocks nearest the middle. I think they were specifically sold as signing section but I may be wrong.
    They clearly had more people in those areas, 2 seasons ago, than had seats and it was not marshalled very well.
    At least they tried something different this time, but in my view it still didn't work. I too was standing on the very end of a row, not very high up, and was conscious I was probably blocking the view of people to my right. But no way could I sit down without obscuring my own view of the penalty area/touchline/corner flag.
    It's why I asked this very question yesterday, just before the incident with the "village idiot" came to light.
    Now if they had 4 sides to the ground you could have standing blocks on a terrace at one end and it works quite well. Why didn't anyone ever think of doing this at a football ground?

  • edited September 2021

    @Twizz said:
    @Malone, as I recall 2 seasons ago it was basically a scrum towards the back of probably the 2 blocks nearest the middle. I think they were specifically sold as signing section but I may be wrong.
    They clearly had more people in those areas, 2 seasons ago, than had seats and it was not marshalled very well.
    At least they tried something different this time, but in my view it still didn't work. I too was standing on the very end of a row, not very high up, and was conscious I was probably blocking the view of people to my right. But no way could I sit down without obscuring my own view of the penalty area/touchline/corner flag.
    It's why I asked this very question yesterday, just before the incident with the "village idiot" came to light.
    Now if they had 4 sides to the ground you could have standing blocks on a terrace at one end and it works quite well. Why didn't anyone ever think of doing this at a football ground?

    You do wonder why they haven't at least put a token gesture terrace in behind that stand.
    Surely wouldn't cost much, and you could easily have 400-500 in there. It must be soulless for those Oxford players attacking an empty end every other week.

    And designating one particular seating area as "singing", a thinly, but legally managed way of implying "standing" is always dodgy, and will always get more people cramming into rows, as it's quite hard to see from afar, so the stewards are in an awkward position.

    Even when stewards were checking tickets as people entered, we all know those checks get more flimsy as kick off gets closer.

  • @Malone said:

    You do wonder why they haven't at least put a token gesture terrace in behind that stand.
    Surely wouldn't cost much, and you could easily have 400-500 in there. It must be soulless for those Oxford players attacking an empty end every other week.

    That's the crux of the issue for me - if a terrace was made available to visiting fans then instances of people standing inconsiderately in seated sections would dwindle to next to nothing. When's the last time anyone made a nuisance of themselves at Adams Park for standing in a home seated area because they preferred standing at the football?

  • The rationale I believe for putting the singing block where they do is so that the safety officials can watch this section closely from a gantry that protrudes from the empty strip left between away and home fans. That was certainly the case yesterday although looks like it’s main function was to monitor for booze, drugs and racial taunts rather than correct seating or safety issues.

  • edited September 2021

    @ReadingMarginalista said:

    @Malone said:

    You do wonder why they haven't at least put a token gesture terrace in behind that stand.
    Surely wouldn't cost much, and you could easily have 400-500 in there. It must be soulless for those Oxford players attacking an empty end every other week.

    That's the crux of the issue for me - if a terrace was made available to visiting fans then instances of people standing inconsiderately in seated sections would dwindle to next to nothing. When's the last time anyone made a nuisance of themselves at Adams Park for standing in a home seated area because they preferred standing at the football?

    At least at Adams Park, which does only offer seating to away fans, you're behind a goal, so not blocking anyone's views looking length wise.

  • @jessvl1 said:

    @arnos_grove said:
    As has been noted before, if you know we’re going to ruin your match plan by taking ages retrieving balls, why not a) have some spares and b) get some ball boys on duty.

    Bizarre how ‘the gaffer’ was introduced before the teams - I assumed he won manager of the month or something.

    Nice of the RAF to organise some sort of fly-past for the big derby match.

    I’ll give Robinson the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t request that introduction, and that it was just the guy with the mic sensing an opportunity to say something, but he does seem to be sour in any interview he does about Wycombe, whilst still somehow suggesting that he gets on really well with GA.

    You are giving Robinson too much credit. I was at their last home match (I couldn't make it to Sunderland) and they did the same thing then. He has delusions of grandeur and/or a serious self-esteem issue

  • @Steve_Peart nice one. Despite working for an aerospace company I’m hopeless at identifying planes.

    The fella behind me who claimed the small plane was a Spitfire is going to be disappointed.

  • @arnos_grove, to me it looked too square to be a Spit. I suspect it was one of the Duxford Americans. Looking at what flew in their summer show this year , possibly a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt or a Grumman FM2 Wildcat, although that was more Navy. It didn't look like one of their Mustangs. Not that I'm an expert!

  • Do people need to stand to sing? That's a new one on me!??

  • @EwanHoosaami said:
    Do people need to stand to sing? That's a new one on me!??

    Good point. Look at Val Doonican...

  • The lesson of Saturday is while it’s a good idea to have a singing section, it needs to be seats side to side at the back not seats front to back.
    There are several “more senior” supporters who would like to go to these games but are now avoiding them due to the seat problems. It shouldn’t be the case.
    As you enter the seating area you either go up the staircase or down to the seat rows at the front. Those seats should be kept for older supporters, those with mobility issues & families with small children.
    To achieve that you need to talk to your supporters & not rely on an online ticket distribution policy. The singers etc should be at the back, those who need a quieter life at the front and others in the middle. We had 1,757 tickets to sell so it shouldn’t be too hard to sort out. And one last thing - most away fans at Premier League games stand up. The higher up the leagues you go the more common this will be. However, there is a perfectly workable compromise to keep everybody happy.

  • edited September 2021

    Surely it cant be that hard to allocate the singing section by row rather than block. Could have a few rows of "sitting section" at the front for older fans and families to go for, with the rest in the middle for people with no preference

  • @perfidious_albion said:
    The rationale I believe for putting the singing block where they do is so that the safety officials can watch this section closely from a gantry that protrudes from the empty strip left between away and home fans. That was certainly the case yesterday although looks like it’s main function was to monitor for booze, drugs and racial taunts rather than correct seating or safety issues.

    As alluded to above, keeping it by block means the stewards can effectively’kettle’ the singing fans who are (rightly or wrongly) considered to be those most likely to get out of hand - IF trouble broke out in the row system there is no way they could get to the culprits in the middle of a block say six rows from the back.

  • But the flaw in all these ideas are they seem to assume that everyone - singers or not - will sit in their allocated seats. How many games does that happen?

  • @Doob said:
    But the flaw in all these ideas are they seem to assume that everyone - singers or not - will sit in their allocated seats. How many games does that happen?

    Why not sit in your allocated seat? We do on planes, trains, theatre etc.

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