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Barry comes out of hiding and writes an open letter to the people of Oldham.


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Is a riposte the correct response to a wrecking ball of an original statement?

Certain that subtlety is not Barry's strong point!

Fair point - it's not a repost so much as a countenance to the original....

 

Open Letter To The People Of Oldham

 

People of Oldham,

On Thursday 30th of October there was a ‘call to arms’ from our illustrious “voice on the board,” Mr Barry Owen. We will dwell on that message only so long as to say we believe it misguided and unfairly critical of the Oldham Athletic fans in the area and further afield.

 

We hold no claim to speak for all fans, nor would we wish to do so, however we do believe passionately in our Club, its Players and right now (perhaps more than ever) its Manager. We know the love we share for the Club is the same – be we the die-hard season ticket holder, the occasional visitor or those of us who've lost that spark driving us to attend games at the moment.

 

What we can say, as your fellow fans, is that we know how hard it is to support a lower league club in the 21st century. We know that £20 can go far, away from Sportsdirect.com Park. We also know that we share the sheer joy of seeing the Club win. That feeling of unbridled excitement as we steal a goal on the counter attack or our keeper keeps us in the game.

That passion will never go, whether we’re there at every game, or maybe we are at home watching TV, out shopping or playing with our kids – we will still, deep down, revel in that moment.

 

So we ask nothing more of you than to take a moment and think – can I get to a game? Maybe it’s today, maybe its next week? We don’t mind – we just want you back in the ground with us, because as good as the feeling is at home or at the shops, it’s nothing compared to sharing it with your fellow fan right there in the home end!

That’s it. It’s a simple plea – come join us, be part of what really could be a special season for Our Club.

Warmest Regards,

Oldham Athletic Fans

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Im not being funny hes right though out of a possible 200,000 people we can only attract crowds of 4k if i was Corney i would be pissed off and you get the mindless idiots who have a go when we sell our best places no wonder with our crowds

Edited by SavageTheBeast
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I currently work with a tech platform in the US that specializies in single tickets sales, could anyone steer me in the direction of barry, i have tried the trust website but it doesnt let me send! I am a life long latics fan and have a solution to the problem. inbox me at leigh@regalsportinggroup.com. Thanks

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I currently work with a tech platform in the US that specializies in single tickets sales, could anyone steer me in the direction of barry, i have tried the trust website but it doesnt let me send! I am a life long latics fan and have a solution to the problem. inbox me at leigh@regalsportinggroup.com. Thanks

Try Barry.owen@oldhamathletic.co.uk

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Im not being funny hes right though out of a possible 200,000 people we can only attract crowds of 4k if i was Corney i would be pissed off and you get the mindless idiots who have a go when we sell our best places no wonder with our crowds

Again - I don't for one second doubt the truth in the underpinning principals. And I get why Simon would be :censored:ed off - absolutely.

 

But you don't get more people to come by telling them off! You wouldn't go to a car sales room and have the sales person say "You know how much effort we put in to this Ford? It's :censored:ing awesome! You drive a Toyota? Are you stupid? Buy this Ford it's better than we had for years you moron"

 

It's just ridiculous! I honestly can't believe he said it - even by Barry's standards it's just out the beyond the realms of bad ideas.

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Im not being funny hes right though out of a possible 200,000 people we can only attract crowds of 4k if i was Corney i would be pissed off and you get the mindless idiots who have a go when we sell our best places no wonder with our crowds

 

We have had almost seven seasons of dross, It will take more than a bollocking off out of touch Barry to get some back in, He said himself, crowds are on the upturn what the :censored: does he expect 10.000 turning up?

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Im not being funny hes right though out of a possible 200,000 people we can only attract crowds of 4k if i was Corney i would be pissed off and you get the mindless idiots who have a go when we sell our best places no wonder with our crowds

They shouldn't just expect people to turn up, have to give them a reason, it's been 7 years of :censored:e, mainly in a three sided ground, that isn't going to be forgotten on the back of 2 months of decent results.

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Oh dear. Again.

 

 

 

I remember doing a similar post to what HarryB has done here, and Ackey too, to another one of Blatters' balls-up's a while back.

 

Same message, just that I worded it with a positive PR slant instead of the foot-in-mouth original Barry B's version.

 

Surely it's not hard to put a spin on a message that is positive, that isn't so confrontational and doesn't alienate further the people who you are trying to reach?

 

 

I think a large number understand where this has come from, we've seen the attendances and have debated on here plenty of times the various who, what & where's till the cows come home.

I also think a large number on here realise that an open letter, from a club representative - a Board Member and alleged Fans Rep, that is worded as poorly, as confrontationally and is full of attack rather than solutions or new offers, will have only done more harm than good.

 

It is still mystifying that someone, anyone, from the club, hasn't fully read that letter; had a moments thought, taken a step back and thought this through before it was subsequently posted.

 

 

Our Voice on the Board eh? Well, it's not me nor my voice he's representing if that letter is the sum total of what we've got from him recently...

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Im not being funny hes right though out of a possible 200,000 people we can only attract crowds of 4k if i was Corney i would be pissed off and you get the mindless idiots who have a go when we sell our best places no wonder with our crowds

 

I dont get who he is criticising. Of these 200,000 people how many actually like football, and how many who like football actually care about going to watch it live? Then how many can afford to go to these games? And how many will think, Im going to watch City/United (irrelevant that its bnot your home town team, people are entitled to support who they want)? How many see Latics as a noise down the road 'Oooh I see Latics won again, I hope they go up this year'.

Is he criticising all of these people? How do you criticise something that technically doesnt exist? Therefore he can only be criticising the fans who were in attendance. On Saturday Latics had 4200 fans. Thats 1200 more than the Tuesday night game. If I was a Latics fan 15 years ago, who doesnt go anymore, & had got older, had kids, enjoyed other things on a Saturday, would I be enticed back by this ridicule? Nope. Would I be enticed back by a 13 game unbeaten run. Unlikely given I'd not been for years & I'd only really check the result after the game, and given recent years of ups & downs, I'd see it as just a passing phase. Not only that but we still only have 3 stands, he is talking as though the facilities are now outstanding and the match day experience is 10 times better because we havent lost a game recently. Its not, its still the same drab stadium, it just has a lump of concrete next to it.

 

To get fans back in, we need to continue this form, come Xmas if were still up there, some of these fans may come back, not in droves, but possibly so that we had 4500 instead for a similar game. Capitalise on that by offering deals between now & xmas & we could turn that into 5000 regualars by January. The people who pick & choose games, would go to every game because they wouldnt want to miss the action. A few additional fans may join in the bandwagon jumping. SC got it spot on in his interview last week saying he had stopped worrying about attendance it is what it is. He knows fans are outpriced for every game & they will come if we are successful.Telling them they are a disappointment is shooting yourself in the foot, & completely contradictory to what SC said lastw eek. Barry should be dismissed immediately before he ruins anymore of the feel good factor around the club, and someone with half a business brain should be persuaded as our representative.

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Athleticos is right about the back of the stands. What a terrible place to be at half time. They need to put a bit of colour around there to liven it up a bit and some protection from the weather. Chaddy and RRE are both bad for it.

 

 

 

It was as bad, if not worse, when we were getting 18,000.

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Oh dear. Again.

 

 

 

I remember doing a similar post to what HarryB has done here, and Ackey too, to another one of Blatters' balls-up's a while back.

 

Same message, just that I worded it with a positive PR slant instead of the foot-in-mouth original Barry B's version.

 

Surely it's not hard to put a spin on a message that is positive, that isn't so confrontational and doesn't alienate further the people who you are trying to reach?

 

 

He seems to have a massive victim complex.

 

Simon Corney too despite all his good points.

 

Thankfully Lee Johnson doesn't seem to have. Dickov did.

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We can always pull out fans for one-off matches, but half of these are fans of City or United and just turning up with a mate.

 

I really dont think there is that many fans - who are Latics fans first - to tap into and would commit to coming back every week.

 

Twenty years of (mainly) dross, players sold for peanuts and squads ripped apart every season does not give lapsed fans ANY encouragement to return and back us. A win rate of 40% this season over 15 games isnt going to work.... yet.

 

The last time we spiked attendancies, Latics were beating the best teams in the land, City and United were abysmal and Sky Sports had not taken over and brainwashed the next generation of supporter into only following the PL. Plus hey, supporters (I know a few) have passed away.

Edited by AndyGortonsMatches
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We can always pull out fans for one-off matches, but half of these are fans of City or United and just turning up with a mate..

Is that really the case yes we sold out Liverpool at home but we couldnt even do it against everton. I dont think we have ever sold out a play off as well

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It was as bad, if not worse, when we were getting 18,000.

The difference being when you're :censored: you have to put an emphasis on those things.

 

Not to mention when crowds were at their peak there wasn't such a Sky Sports, Soccer Saturday armchair culture to compete with. You have to make attending the football as attractive as being in your warm living room with a cheap crate from the supermarket with the convenience of being able to watch all the goals just hours after the match.

 

But in general I just wonder how many of these fabled stayaway fans exist. How many are willing to get down to BP on a matchday, even if we are winning games and on form? The fanbase has shrunk; too many people still believe there are more Latics fans out there to attract than there actually is.

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Manchester City's average attendnaces haven't gained that much over the last ten years, Why does Barry think the club has the given right to expect thousands more pouring in, on the back of an unbeaten run of 13 games.

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But in general I just wonder how many of these fabled stayaway fans exist. How many are willing to get down to BP on a matchday, even if we are winning games and on form? The fanbase has shrunk; too many people still believe there are more Latics fans out there to attract than there actually is.

 

I think there's a certain element of truth to that.

 

It requires a sustained period of success to build a fan base up beyond its "die-hards". If we were to do well for a few years there'd be a few lapsed fans return, and we might get some younger fans turning up as well, maybe even some people who are a bit on the fence when it comes to football might show up to see what's going on down the road.

 

Barry, you've dropped a bollock here.

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The difference being when you're :censored: you have to put an emphasis on those things.

 

Not to mention when crowds were at their peak there wasn't such a Sky Sports, Soccer Saturday armchair culture to compete with. You have to make attending the football as attractive as being in your warm living room with a cheap crate from the supermarket with the convenience of being able to watch all the goals just hours after the match.

 

But in general I just wonder how many of these fabled stayaway fans exist. How many are willing to get down to BP on a matchday, even if we are winning games and on form? The fanbase has shrunk; too many people still believe there are more Latics fans out there to attract than there actually is.

 

I agree that sprucing the place up would never do any harm but, it really wouldn't matter come April or May if we were playing a match to seal promotion.

 

I'd like to see some stats on how our attendances stack up with other clubs as a percentage of the population of the town/metropolitan borough.

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