For the first time in 40 odd years I will not be renewing my membership as I think the OSC is on it's way out.
Hope I'm wrong but it's nowhere near as good as it used to be.
I think it serves a different purpose now.
I joined in 1979 and was in one of the few outlying branches (Leicester & Rugby) along with Cheltenham & Gloucester, London and a few others. The OSC had a thriving darts and crib league as well as the annual 5 a side tournament at Platt Lane as well as the use of the social club as our home where you got to meet fellow Blues - and not forgetting Howard Yates organising the specials to away games and those organising the coaches too.
The club didn't have any involvement other than the use of the premises and sending players to branches.
Now (especially as I'm writing this as a member of the Tampa Bay branch) the OSC seems to be more about spreading the gospel of St Pep and Co into every far flung corner of the globe. That's not a criticism, the OSC has moved on in the same way the club has.
I watch games at MacDintons pub in Tampa amd am usually the only.Blue not wearing a replica shirt. Members in our what's app group always ask on away day games what shirt are we wearing as they want to wear the same as the team is each game. A great deal have all 3 shirts.
And now we all have to buy a £35 membership to be able to buy a ticket for the one game a season some will attend.
As Johnny Rotten once crooned, "those tourists are money!"
Throw in the world tours that the trophies have done, all the stuff that will be going on with supporters club's in the US during the upcoming US preseason games. The club never used to make a penny from the supporters club. Now they are raking it in with merchandise and membership schemes The greater the number of overseas members the OSC have, the greater number of fans the club has access to and to financially take advantage of. Again not a criticism, it's (to quote The Belle Stars) the sign of the times.
In the meantime, local branches still have access to tickets and the odd supporters club event to keep the natives happy (happyish)