This evening’s fans’ forum turned out to be an interesting affair, with both Firoz Kassam and Brian Talbot revealing previously unheard information about goings on behind the scenes. A lot was said by both men, and this report will just be the highlights and salient points. Kassam opened the meeting sounding nervous, but asking that it be positive, constructive and civilised, which, for the most part, it was.

There was a large number of people at the meeting, a fact that Talbot remarked upon immediately, and which he cited as proof positive of the passion that Oxford supporters have for their club. Talbot revealed that he was on the verge of accepting another job when Kassam approached him with the Oxford post, and he was so impressed with the facilities and status of the club that he chose United, although he was somewhat scathing of what he found upon his arrival, with the manager’s office in a mess, and the changing rooms were “disgusting”.

From the questions asked by the gathered throng, we learned that there is no set budget for transfer fees, but there is a wage budget, which will continue to be one of the highest in the division, as it has been for the past two or three seasons. Kassam also stated that if Talbot wanted to spend money then it would be made available.

Kassam then launched into a long explanation of why the Ramon Diaz experiment went wrong, claiming that the five months that they were here cost him almost ?300,000. They were brought in with a view to retaining them in the long term, but right at the outset Diaz had assured Kassam that the Argentineans all had the necessary permissions to work in the UK, and it was this dishonesty that caused the relationship to fall apart. In addition, Jean Marc Goiran had initially claimed that the team would work for ?500,000, but Diaz then refuted this and said he would cost a lot more. Kassam then offered jobs to Horacio Rodriguez and Pablo Fernandez. Rodriguez accepted his offer, but Fernandez wanted the same salary as the manager, and Kassam refused to pay that much for a fitness coach. It appeared that they had initially been misled by Diaz, as they seemed to be expecting a lot more. The reason why the management team wasn’t retained for the final game of the season was that they told the players beforehand, and without Kassam’s knowledge, that they would be leaving, causing Kassam to ask them not to take the team for the Chester match.

The issue was raised that part of the problem with the club was the lack of communication, and that if a lot of this detail had been available at the time then much of the anger might have been dispersed. Talbot later said that he would be happy for fans’ forums to be held on a 3-monthly basis, and that this might eradicate some of the communications problems.

Kassam said that he had invested nearly ?50 million on the Minchery Farm complex, and that when the various businesses start making money he will start investing it in the football club. He announced that he was committed to the football club and that he will not walk away until he decides that he wants to. He announced, to a mixture of boos and cheers, that threats would not drive him away. He finished this statement by saying that if he hadn’t come in six years ago, then United would have been in the same position as Cambridge are now.

On various infrastructure issues, Kassam said that he wasn’t prepared to finance a supporters club, even if suitable accommodation could be found. Talbot explained the training ground situation, informing us that in July and August they would be using Brasenose College sports facilities, but they didn’t have on-site changing rooms. From September until the end of the season they would be using the BMW sports ground for three days a week, plus Trinity College on Fridays. Although this is not ideal, the facilities at both BMW and Trinity are excellent.

On the question of bringing in a CEO, Kassam accepted the need for someone to be based in Oxford to be the face of the club. He was undecided whether this should be a football person or a business person, but he was confident that something would be happening within days or weeks. He had no-one specific in mind, but it was unlikely to be an internal appointment. He also announced his intention to bring in three or four supporters to work with him, but he wasn’t clear how they would be identified.

Moving on to the playing staff, Talbot admitted that there were some players at the club who were not of the required standard, such as Leo Roget, but they were on a two-year contract and have to be paid, as does Dave Mackay whose wife is homesick. When bringing in replacements it’s not important that they be from a higher league, but that they fulfil the criteria for getting out of this division, and Talbot was confident that both Chris Willmott and Stuart Gray fit the bill, both having already proven that they can succeed at this level. Both Talbot and Kassam wanted Tommy Mooney to stay at the club, and Talbot said that he thought the terms offered to Mooney were very good for a player of his age in this division. Kassam said that Talbot had advised him not to increase the offer, because while he didn’t doubt his ability, his commitment was open to question. To try and replace Mooney, Talbot had approached Rochdale boss Steve Parkin with a view to signing Grant Holt, but was told that Dale would want ?300,000 for him. He went on to say that the best player he had ever worked with, and who is available, is Onandi Lowe, which was about as big a hint as you can get.

When asked why, if commitment is so important, he released Paul Wanless, Talbot reiterated that he was acting on advice received from David Oldfield and Darren Patterson that Wanless wasn’t up to it. Although he agreed that Wanny had 100% commitment, it was his decision and he would accept the blame if it proved to be a mistake.

Talbot, who described himself as old-fashioned and a disciplinarian, then used a flip-chart to explain the key attributes that he expects from his players, these being determination (and here he expressed his admiration for both Oldfield and Patterson) and effort. He distributed a pamphlet that had been given to all the players explaining in detail what he expected from them, and outlining that he was trying to bring professionalism to the club. One aspect of that was the scouting, and he admitted that this needed improvement, as using Scout 7, an internet scouting company, wasn’t good enough. He had been given a budget by Kassam to organise his own scouts, and he said that he would top this up with his own money to ensure a good scouting service.

Finally, Talbot listed all the players currently in the squad, and identified the areas of weakness. He wants to bring in another goalkeeper, a right-sided player to make up for Mackay’s imminent departure, and who can also play further up the pitch, another central midfielder, and a striker to replace Mooney. He also revealed that a Premiership club had come in for Craig Davies, but it was felt that it wasn’t right to sell him just yet.

The Rage Online verdict on the evening: Kassam gave some very interesting explanations and answers. The problem is that his credibility has dropped so much that there are many who might not believe him. It is true that we have heard a lot of it before, and while we feel that he does want the best for the club, he needs to learn how to delegate, and he needs to bring in an autonomous CEO, with delegated authority. Brian Talbot certainly talks the talk, and seems to have clear ideas about what he wants from himself and the players. As ever, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, but at least it made for an entertaining evening.