Monday 27 July 2009
12th Man Badges and 12th Man Squad Photo Auction Update
Further to the 12th Man Raffle and subsequent eBay auction, we are pleased to announce that the winning bidder was Mr C Simmonds (who paid £620.00). A special thanks to all that contributed to the 12th Man Raffle and subsequent eBay auction. We raised a substantial amount of money for the 12th Man - updated total to be announced soon.THE 12TH MAN TODAY announces the launch of special edition (limited edition) 12th Man Badges. The badges will be on sale in Oxford for the first time this Friday, before the pre-season friendly against QPR. Volunteers, including some from OxVox, GE09, and the Ultimate Yellows, will be out and about selling the badges from about 6.30pm, and will aim to be by the turnstyles as kick-off approaches.The badges are priced at a minimum of £2, although with all profits going to the 12th Man Initiative, we won't turn down any higher offers you might think these highly sought-after items are worth!The badges will also be available to purchase through our eBay account in the coming days. With the serious business of the season fast approaching, the 12th Man Initiative is gathering momentum as Oxford supporters do their bit to show they are the 12th Man of Oxford United. So wear your badge and show that you're a part of this! The profits will all go into the growing 12th Man Fund.
EBAY AUCTION UPDATE - Wednesday 15 July 09
12th Man seat back on the market! The 12th Man raffle drawn at the Oxford United Open Day, for which the prize was inclusion in the official club squad photograph to represent the fans, was won on Saturday by Jonathan Tudge. The raffle raised more than £800 towards the 12th Man fund. Together with other fund raising initiatives in the very first week of the 12 th Man’s Fund existence, supporters have already raised more than £1,000. Thanks to all of you that bought tickets and all of your kind words of support for the 12th Man concept. Jonathan, the winner, is based in Brazil and bought his ticket online, and not surprisingly is not able to take up the prize in person. However, we need a fan in the picture to symbolise the supporters as the team’s 12th Man. Jonathan has therefore kindly offered the prize back to the fans, and it is being offered over the next five days via an eBay auction which runs until Sunday 19 July. This allows fans who may not have participated in the raffle (and fans who did, to have a second chance of winning), by making an auction bid. It will raise a little more for the 12th Man fund, which has been set up to supplement the club’s playing budget with a view to the January transfer window. The fans groups involved in 12th Man suggest fans make bids if they wish. The item can be found on ebay by searching for ‘12th Man Oxford United’ and will be publicised on websites in the next day or so.This is the first of what we hope will be many fan generated fund raising initiatives for Oxford United throughout the coming season. The aim is to raise money for the club and equally importantly, to have some fun while doing so!
OPEN DAY REPORT - Monday 13th July
Members of different supporters' groups staffed the 12th Man stall, was besieged by fans buying tickets for the seat raffle to be in the first team photo representing the fans.The winner of the 12th Man Raffle, the ticket being drawn by Kelvin Thomas and Chris Wilder was Jonathan Tudge.Jonathan is a Us fan of long standing and is a professor at the University of North Carolina, who bought his tickets online last week. Jonathan splits his time between North Carolina and Brazil and is rarely in England.Jonathan emailed us before the draw to say that if he won the draw he would put the place in the photo up for bids, given that he is currently in Brazil. We'll be sorting that out with him next week and we've just emailed Jonathan to tell him he's won.The Prize will be featured on EBAY and will be available to bid on for 1 week, starting from 14 July 2009.An approximate figure for the sum raised by the raffle is around £850 (exact figure tbc) with £505 taken today and the rest online. Magnificent effort by the fans. Fans' group Giallo Esercito held a very busy penalty shootout today too, and gave a proportion of their takings to 12th Man, adding another £50 or so (again exact figure tbc).A running total for the amount raised by 12th Man will be posted regularly on websites, including this one.
Thursday 9 July 2009
12TH MAN LAUNCHED
The new 12th Man Initiative from Oxford United fans gets underway today, with the launch of an exciting and unique raffle which gives every United fan the chance to win a place in the official first team squad photograph for the 2009-10 season. Fans can buy tickets for £5 each to enter a draw to be held on the pitch at the Kassam Stadium at the end of the club’s Open Day on Saturday July 11th. The winning fan will meet the players at their photo call before the season starts, and will sit alongside the United players wearing the symbolic number 12 shirt, as the fans representative. Money raised from the raffle will go into the new ‘12th Man’ fund which has been set up to boost the club’s playing budget and to increase the chances of the club returning to the Football League. The 12th Man fund will be administered by a small committee of two fans’ representatives and two representatives from the club, Chairman and Manager, Kelvin Thomas and Chris Wilder. Payments will be made to cover costs which are additional to the standard playing budget – and will be primarily aimed at assisting with transfer fees, emergency loan player’s wages and the like – amounts which are not within the normal budget but might give the club an edge. Particularly in what is likely to be the crucial January transfer window. All fans’ groups are working together on the project. The fans involved in the Twelfth Man launch are working on fundraising events over the coming weeks, and we also encourage other fans to come up with ideas and events that will help. But we want to emphasise that the ‘12th Man’ is for every United fan, whether or not you are a member of any fans group. Club Chairman Kelvin Thomas on the 12th Man Initiative: “When I was first approached regarding this initiative I was impressed by the thought process and the level of detail that was put into it. I think it is a great idea and just shows once again what great fans this club has. We are happy to support the initiative and will help the fans in any way.” Tickets for the raffle are available online via the websites of Giallo Esercito, OxVox, Rage Online and Ultimate Yellows, and can also be purchased by sending a cheque payable to 12th Man Initiative to 18 Harvest Way, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1EG (include a phone number or email address). Tickets will be on sale at the Open Day up until the last minute prior to the draw.
Wednesday 1 July 2009
12th Man Raffle
12th Man announces raffle for squad seat! 01 July 2009 DO IT FOR THE SHIRT! JOIN THE FIRST TEAM SQUAD
See below for details of 12th Man's exciting raffle for your chance to appear in the official team photo this season representing the fans, the 12th Man of Oxford United.To buy a ticket for £5 online, click on the button below and pay with a credit or debit card, or via a PayPal account if you have one. We will email you your ticket number before the draw takes place on July 11th at the end of the Open Day.
See below for details of 12th Man's exciting raffle for your chance to appear in the official team photo this season representing the fans, the 12th Man of Oxford United.To buy a ticket for £5 online, click on the button below and pay with a credit or debit card, or via a PayPal account if you have one. We will email you your ticket number before the draw takes place on July 11th at the end of the Open Day.
OXFORD MAIL
OXFORD MAIL - Friday 26th June BACK PAGE ARTICLEJon Murray reported the new initiaitive in the Oxford Mail when announcing that Oxford United were to 'RETIRE' the Number 12 Shirt in recognition of Oxford United Supporters. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/oxfordunited/4460963.Oxford_United_retire_No_12_shirt/
OXVOX ARTICLE
OXVOX ARTICLE - Thursday 25th June 09There will be no player in the number 12 shirt in the United squad next season. Or rather, there will, but number 12 will be us, the fans. At a meeting organised by OxVox on Wednesday evening, around 30 fans including some from OxVox, Rage Online, Giallo Esercito and Ultimate Yellows met to discuss the launch of a new fans’ initiative, the 12th Man, which will, we hope, raise appreciable extra funds to supplement the existing playing budget. The aim is to provide a funding stream which United can use to enhance the budget for players, in areas such as transfer fees and loan player salaries. Fundraising will not be a simply a matter of asking for donations; the plan is to organise events and activities across the board appealing to different people, and raise money for the cause. OxVox for its part has already got the Cult Zeros T-shirts up and running, and is planning a 5 a side fans tournament for August 2nd, details of which will be available in the next few days. Club Chairman Kelvin Thomas and Commercial Manager David Jackson attended the meeting and the Club is lending the initiative its full support. Although started by OxVox, the idea is to establish a very broadly-based activity, involving fans connected with any supporter group and none, all around the 12th Man theme. Further announcements will follow, along with a formal launch in the coming days and weeks. A meeting is being organised next week to discuss and plan further. Meanwhile, forum debate will help the process of giving this idea the best possible chance of success.
RAGE ONLINE ARTICLE
RAGEONLINE ARTICLE - Wednesday 24th June 09It's an old cliché that football supporters can be the 12th man when it comes to cheering on their team to victory, and often in the past Oxford fans have lived up to that billing. Well, there's a new initiative that takes the adage one step further, and makes it a reality.At a meeting held tonight (Wed 24th June 09) a group of supporters, including representatives from OxVox, Ultimate Yellows, Giallo Escercito, Rage Online (of course), and a number of others met to discuss the launch of The 12th Man initiative, the purpose of which is to raise funds upon which United can call to put towards the costs of bringing in new players, whether that be a transfer fee, wages, or signing-on fees.The idea was supported by everyone present, who included United chairman Kelvin Thomas and Commercial Manager David Jackson. Indeed, Oxford have agreed to 'retire' the No 12 shirt, which won't be worn by any player but will instead be reserved as the fans' shirt. Initial fundraising ideas included a fans' five-a-side tournament and production of various items of merchandise, but more will be forthcoming when a committee, formed from some of those present tonight, meets next week to discuss taking the initiative forward.The idea is to give all supporters the chance to directly affect the quality of the team by providing a ring-fenced fund that the club can draw on to fund transfers, in addition to the money already budgeted by the club. More information will be released shortly, as fundraising gets underway with an eye on the January transfer window
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