12th Man Update - Friday 27th November

12th Man Update – 24 November 2009

Onome Sodje

First, we are very pleased to confirm that the 12th Man Fund has enabled a second signing to be made. The Fund will pay for Onome Sodje’s loan period here. Welcome, Onome, and every success during your time with United.

The £10,000 target is smashed!

By 23 November the total cleared funds in the 12th Man account had leapt to an extraordinary £9,462.

This means that in total, including the payment of £5,000 made in respect of Jamie Cook, £14,462 has been banked. The initial target of £10,000 over the whole season has been demolished and it will rise further in the coming days – a tribute to the fans and to everyone involved.

Events update

The Priory Race Night on 21 November and the 6-a-side on 22 November made for a busy weekend and everyone who attended enjoyed themselves. Congratulations respectively to Tim Rackley at the Priory and to Mark Sennett of OxVox for organising these two events so successfully. The victorious United 6-a-side team are pictured – they did not have the strength left to lift the trophy, so you can only see the top of it!

12th Man Christmas Party at the Priory on December 5th: Look out for the announcements this week and next, and please come along after the match against Ebbsfleet. This will be an event for all the family, featuring food, a raffle, and a memorabilia auction.

Sunday 6th December: The second afternoon 6-a-side competition is held, again at Oxford Brookes. Having won the first competition the OUFC team will be going for the double.

Other fundraisers:

Donations: These are picking up now and more are welcomed to boost that total! £10 or more to 12th Man gets you entry into a draw at the end of 2009 for a day at the training ground. £20 or more also gets you a year’s free membership of OxVox. Please donate online, via the OxVox and OxKits websites, or send a cheque payable to ‘The 12th Man’ to 18 Harvest Way, Witney, Oxon OX 28 1EG.

Wristbands: 3,000 wristbands were produced and 2,800 were sold last week. Many thanks to the Oxford Mail and the Club for a strong promotional campaign. Only small numbers remain. There is no immediate plan to re-order at this point. The remainder are being sold around the ground.

12th Man badges: 4,000 were produced of which 3765 have been sold. Only yellow badges remain, and subject to availability will be sold at the club shop and around the ground.

Flag bearer: The flag bearer package for £50 is well established – a few matches remain this season. Please email twelfthman@oxvox.org.uk for details.

OxVox membership: For the rest of the year, supporters’ trust OxVox is donating 25% of all new membership fees to 12th Man. Sign up at www.oxvox.org.uk .

Photos: The 100 limited edition signed photos of Les Phillips and Jeremy Charles in the 1986 Milk Cup run have also sold heavily but some still remain – to reserve yours please contact Greig Box Turnbull at oxfordutd.12thmanpix@yahoo.co.uk .

Looking forward

12th Man doesn’t stop with 2010 arriving. There will be a pause over the festive period, but we already know of several new ideas running up to the end of the season and beyond. If you want to run an event or have a fundraising idea, do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

12th Man sign Onome Sodje

Today Oxford United's Chairman, Kelvin Thomas, thanked the fans once again for their support which is helping to bring in new faces into the club.

The 12th Man Fund yesterday helped Chris Wilder's Oxford United to sign Barnsely striker, Onome Sodje on loan until January 2010. Kelvin said:

"We felt it an important time to strengthen especially with the injuries we have picked up. The 12th Man Fund enabled us to bring in two players rather than just one. It was the fans who enabled us to bring in Onome on loan, just as they helped us to bring Jamie Cook back to the club.

"I am sure that Onome and Franny (Francis Green) will be great assets. The way the 12th Man keeps backing the club is fantastic and is playing a major part in everything we do. The support we receive on a matchday and the financial help from the 12th Man both highlight how the club, the players and the supporters are all pulling in the right direction"

Speaking on behalf of the 12th Man, Trevor Lambert added:

"This is exactly the kind of situation the 12th Man Fund was designed to help with. Fans recognise the importance of adding to the manager's options at this crucial stage of the season. Everyone involved with the fund is very happy to see the fans' money put to good use in signing Onome Sodje, and we wish him and Franny Green every success during their time with the club".

Oxford Mail 12th Man Wristband UPDATE

The Club shop and the Priory are now added to the list of places selling the new wristbands, and sales are going really well with over 600 sold in the first few days. With the vast interest, the 3000 wristbands should be sold sooner than expected.

The bands, launched this week with a fanfare in the Oxford Mail and a series of stories, are now on sale from a number of outlets around the city. A list of the outlets is given below. We have been pleasantly suprised to hear that the outlets are quickly selling out and requesting more stock.

The United ticket office is also selling the bands to personal callers and have sold well in excess of 100 to fans buying future tickets.

Saturday will see a major selling effort for the wristbands around the stadium.

They will also be available on eBay very soon.

Outlets selling the bands:

1. Eidco - Botley Road

2. Acorn - St Nicholas Road, Littlemore

3. Deltys - Blackbird leys

4. Spar - Greater leys

5. Lal News - Barns Road, Cowley

6. Old Mans Premier - Rose Hill

7. Dudaur News - Horspath Road, Cowley

8. Horspath Post office and stores, Horspath

9. Premier, London Road, Headington

10. John Irvin stall, St Ebbes, Oxford

Make sure you get your stocking filler before it is too late!

The Oxford Mail '12th Man' Wristband NOW ON SALE

The new 12th Man wristbands will be launched today, Monday 16th November.

They have been produced with the help of the Oxford Mail and will be promoted by them next week. In addition the Mail has arranged for some of their outlets to display and sell the wristbands. A list of these establishments will appear in the Oxford Mail.

The wristbands will also be available from the club Ticket Office, Monday to Friday, for personal callers paying cash.

The wristbands will be available for a minimum donation of only £1 and all profits will go into the 12th Man Fund.

If you can wait until Saturday, we are arranging for teams of sellers to be around the ground before the Barrow game. Look out for them with their big yellow buckets. The wristbands will be made available in just over a week's time via eBay.

Latest news update

First some dates for your diary.

Saturday 21^st November: Please come along to the Race Night in the Priory pub, from 8pm. Come and enjoy a great evening! All money taken on the tote will be split 50/50 with the 12^th Man fund.

Sunday 22^nd November: The first 6-a-side football competition from 2pm-5pm at Oxford Brookes sports centre off Old Road in Headington. Spectators welcome – come along and watch the OUFC team featuring Chris Wilder and Kelvin Thomas attempt to retain the trophy they won 3 years ago.

Saturday 5^th December: An early evening Christmas party in the Priory shortly after the match against Ebbsfleet. This will be an event for all the family, featuring food, a raffle, a mini-auction, and entertainment. Watch out for further details nearer the date.

Sunday 6^th December: The second afternoon 6-a-side competition is held, again at Oxford Brookes. The OUFC team will be trying for a unique double – winning both competitions!

Money raised

As you can see, the amount declared is now £8,200, meaning that there was £3,200 in cleared funds in the 12^th Man account on 4 November.

This total does NOT include any money from the sponsored walk on 31 October (see picture) for which an almost incredible £5,000 has been pledged, nor does it include a pending cheque for £750 from the Priory to be banked in the next few days. With money to come in from the events above, and other activities such as badge sales and flag bearers, as well as donations, expect to see a sharp rise in the figure very soon.

Other fundraisers:

12^th Man badges: Only a few hundred are left now of both yellow and white versions, please get yours soon to avoid disappointment.

Wristbands: These will be coming soon so keep your eyes and ears open for announcements!

Flag bearer: The flag bearer package for £50 is well established – a few matches remain this season. Please email twelfthman@oxvox.org.uk for details.

Ideal Christmas gift No. 1: The 100 limited edition signed photos of Les Phillips and Jeremy Charles in the 1986 Milk Cup run are selling fast – to reserve yours please contact Greig Box at oxfordutd.12thmanpix@yahoo.co.uk .

Ideal Christmas gift No. 2: Paul Wakeford offers to produce a unique cartoon of you: for each cartoon sold a donation is made to 12^th Man. For details email Paul on doubletake@inbox.com .

OxVox membership: For the rest of the year, supporters’ trust OxVox is donating 25% of all new membership fees to 12^th Man. Sign up at www.oxvox.org.uk .

Donations: Give £10 or more to 12th Man to enter a draw at the end of 2009 for a day at the training ground to meet the players. Give £20 or more to also receive a year’s free membership of OxVox. You can donate online, via the OxVox and OxKits websites, or send a cheque payable to ‘The 12^th Man’ to 18 Harvest Way, Witney, Oxon OX 28 1EG.

Have an idea?: If you want to run an event or have a fundraising idea, do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

12th Man Update - Monday 2 November

Saturday was a remarkable day for the 12th Man.

The sponsored walk organised by William Willmott was a huge success and initial indications suggest a figure approaching £4000-£5000 may have been raised. Special thanks to all the hearty walkers who took to the event, with special praise to both Kelvin Thomas and Les Phillips who not only joined but contributed a massive amount to the monies raised. A full update will be provided once all the monies have been accounted for.

Oxford fan and Mirror journalist Greig Box Turnbull meanwhile was at the ground with Jeremy Charles to greet Les Phillips. Les and Jeremy then proceeded to sign 100 special edition photos of the pair as they sat in the Manor Ground's dressing room celebrating the club's route to success in the 1980's. With well over half of the photos being sold we expect a few to remain in the coming days. Should you wish to secure this fantastic memento then please contact Greig at oxfordutd.12thmanpix@yahoo.co.uk . We expect to see the profits and proceeds into the 12th Man fund over the next few weeks.

12th Man Badges continue to be snapped up week after week. At the weekend John Gould, Sean Wilde, Chris Davis and others sold a further 146 yellow badges and 142 white badges, adding a further £600+ to the fund. Special thanks to OxVox Committee Member Sean, who managed to personally sell 112 badges outside the South Stand and in The Priory. Current stocks are 542 yellow and 214 white, so should you wish to get a supply for Christmas then please email the 12th Man.

The next month or so will see further 12th Man activities. OxVox are running two 6-a-side 12th Man Competitions with the club entering teams into both tournaments. In addition, The Priory will be holding both a Race Night and a Christmas Party. Full details to follow on those events.

We still have another pre-Christmas 12th Man fund-raiser due to be launched and this will see the 12th Man brand hit Oxfordshire, watch this space over the next two weeks!!!!