OXVOX News - Issue 3

It was twenty years ago today…
A short retrospective to
mark the launch of OxVox
20 years ago.
OxVox was formed just over 20 years ago,
on March 21 2002, with a public launch
meeting at Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre
compered by BBC Oxford’s Jerome Sale
and with speaking contributions from Rosie
and Mike Ford.
2
The kick off
Work to set up the trust had
been going on for some months
with the help of Supporters
Direct, the then national umbrella
organisation for trusts (now the
Football Supporters Association).
The previous FOUL group, whose
sole aim had been to ensure the
club survived the move away
from the Manor, disbanded and a
fluid working group was formed
to establish the aims and remit
of the new group and to get it
going. Help came from former
FOUL members, from individuals
as diverse as Charlie Methven and
the late Andy James (Womble),
and from others too numerous to
mention.
Heated debates ensued, but
none more so than the choice
of a name! OxVox could easily
have been called UFO (for United
Fans of Oxford), TrustUs (for
United’s Trust, I suppose), or
OFT (for Oxford Fans’ Trust).
OUFC programme editor Martin
Brodetsky came to the rescue
with his suggestion of OxVox,
which won
the vote
among the
working
group and
was duly
registered.
Early
attempts
at logos
are
amusing
to look
back on.
Early years
Things moved
swiftly and by
the time of
the first AGM
in September
2002 the trust
had over 150
members and had appointed
its first ‘official’ committee
under Chris Davis as Chair.
Looking back at the first year
achievements a couple of familiar
issues emerge: club dialogue on
ticket prices and ‘Kids for a Quid’
promotions, and the setting up
of a public fans’ forum, along
with a couple of specifics from
the time: getting the fans ‘brick
wall’ in a publicly visible location,
and working on collaboration
between the County Council and
club to launch Oxford Learning
United (a successful study centre
for mid-teens based in the
former Press Box area).
Since that AGM 20 years ago,
the club has had 11 permanent
managers (Ian Atkins, Graham
Rix, Ramón Díaz, Brian Talbot,
Jim Smith, Darren Patterson,
Chris Wilder, Gary Waddock,
Michael Appleton, Pep Clotet, and
Karl Robinson), with only Chris
Wilder and Michael Appleton
securing promotions. Five years
in League 2 were followed by four
in the Conference until James
Constable’s 23 goals in 2009-
10 helped secure promotion
back into the Football League.
Six years later, in 2015-6, Kemar
Roofe’s 26 goals took us into
League 1. Players and managers
have come and gone, and it is a
sobering thought that for fans
under 25 the Grenoble Road
stadium is all they will have
known.
Growth and activity
Over the 20 years, membership
of the trust rose gradually to 600
in April 2016 and more quickly to
1,000 in May 2018, since when,
during the covid pandemic, it has
slipped back slightly and now
stands at just over 950. That’s a
good percentage of our home
support, though we do of course
aim to grow it further.
It is difficult in a short piece to
cover the variety of activities
the trust has been involved
with over the years. Aside from
the regular dialogue with the
club on matters of interest
to fans, from time to time we
have run community events
including five a side football
competitions, quiz nights, food
bank collections, and raffles.
During the Conference years
we created the 12th Man Fund
which raised £60,000 to support
loan players. Sponsorships
have included kit purchases for
local youth football, a scheme
called ‘One of our own’ to fund
tickets for children in care, and
other initiatives including player
sponsorships. More recently
we funded equipment for the
sensory room.