Last night there was an open meeting to talk about the 12th Man, which was held at the Hawkwell House Hotel in Iffley.
Seven people attended the meeting in total, which included Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas.
A number of fans had emailed prior to the meeting to give suggestions on the future of the fund. The suggestions included:
·
Maintaining the current set up for the fund; no change of purpose required
· Using existing funds to pay for marketing material to promote home matches;
· Raising funds for youth development; specifically the idea of investment in a young, promising player and offering them an extended contract, possibly otherwise not available
· Using the fund to pay for a variety of things to improve the match day experience (including TVs in the concourses, a giant 12th Man sign, inside the ground, club crests on the side of the stands, a video scoreboard, general stadium improvements, commemorative images around the concourses)The meeting also discussed the structure of the 12th Man and those in attendance did not feel there was a need for a 12th Man committee. It was also suggested that the 12th Man email address is changed so it is not an OxVox email address in order to differentiate between OxfVox and the 12th Man. Plans for a 12th Man website will also be revisited.
All agreed that any change in the direction of the 12th man should be left open for the fanbase as a whole to decide. So a survey will be created to ask fans if they think the 12th Man has a future and if so what direction it should take. Fans will also be asked if they would like to be part of a 12th Man working group, which would discuss via email/online ideas for the Fund. The club will offer its support by promoting the survey via the official club website, although it is important to note that the club are offering this to enable the 12th Man to reach a wide audience of Oxford United supporters.
Attendees at the meeting: Simon Bradbury, Maurice Earp, John Gould, Michael North, Mark Sennett, Trevor Lambert, Kelvin Thomas
