Saturdays Game off?

[Sun Tzu]

Apparently kids are playing footy on Stanley Park....whilst the Liverpool game just down the road was postponed over 36 hours ago

Have many turned out to watch them ?

[AthleticoSpizz]

Their mams and dads and the aunty that used to give the snotty nosed John Lennon his dinner.........43000

[Dirk Gently]

It has been implicated that the number of postponements is down to the number of STH's banked money.

In the old days, clubs were dependant on gate-money-on-the-day to pay the wages.............and therefore played

With respect, that's bollocks - no club would ever want to have a match postponed as they almost certainly lose money from it regardless of STs sold.

In all these cases of early postponements, the decision will have been made by the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group).

[Sun Tzu]

Are clubs actually allowed to claim the revenue before they have actually been played. I think I raised this a while ago because there had been issues around things like payment of VAt with clubs saying it wasn;t due until the game had been paid and the Revenue saying it was due when ST were purchased.

[Dirk Gently]

Are clubs actually allowed to claim the revenue before they have actually been played. I think I raised this a while ago because there had been issues around things like payment of VAt with clubs saying it wasn;t due until the game had been paid and the Revenue saying it was due when ST were purchased.

Certainly, over recent years credit card companies have been releasing season ticket money to clubs in tranches as games are played - but that's more about the financial stability of some clubs and the liability of credit card companies.

I do think that clubs do have the option themselves to decide how they account for ST income - either as it comes in or allocating it in portions across the season.

[AthleticoSpizz]

It has been implicated that the number of postponements is down to the number of STH's banked money.

In the old days, clubs were dependant on gate-money-on-the-day to pay the wages.............and therefore played

With respect, that's bollocks - no club would ever want to have a match postponed as they almost certainly lose money from it regardless of STs sold.

In all these cases of early postponements, the decision will have been made by the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group).

and of course with all due respects to you...it was just an implication on national radio.

What is bollox (and I wont bother referring you to some of my earlier posts on the matter elsewhere), is the freedom of choice taken from us.

Nobody forced the tens of thousands to stay at home today instead of going shopping............and indeed they went shopping............their choice.

You no-doubt hail from the same era as me, when some years ago, games such as todays would've gone ahead....................and given the far better transport links, access roads (in comparison to EP) and the under-soil heating, today maybe should've gone ahead.

Now we are faced with the obvious fixture cluster with rearranged games and further financial burden to the fans.


What made Leeds, Cardiff, Norwich etc so different today?

[Dirk Gently]

It has been implicated that the number of postponements is down to the number of STH's banked money.

In the old days, clubs were dependant on gate-money-on-the-day to pay the wages.............and therefore played

With respect, that's bollocks - no club would ever want to have a match postponed as they almost certainly lose money from it regardless of STs sold.

In all these cases of early postponements, the decision will have been made by the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group).

and of course with all due respects to you...it was just an implication on national radio.

What is bollox (and I wont bother referring you to some of my earlier posts on the matter elsewhere), is the freedom of choice taken from us.

Nobody forced the tens of thousands to stay at home today instead of going shopping............and indeed they went shopping............their choice.

You no-doubt hail from the same era as me, when some years ago, games such as todays would've gone ahead....................and given the far better transport links, access roads (in comparison to EP) and the under-soil heating, today maybe should've gone ahead.

Now we are faced with the obvious fixture cluster with rearranged games and further financial burden to the fans.


What made Leeds, Cardiff, Norwich etc so different today?

Agreed - what is the big change from the "good old days" is that much more responsibility for safety lives with outside agencies - mainly the local council, advised by other safety authorities like the police, ambulance and fire brigade.

They've been given this responsibility so as to avoid another Bradford or Hillsborough happening, and they're acutely aware of the fact that they have the legal responsibility and in today's litigious society they'd be sued to smithereens if they said "play the match" and something did go wrong, so they inevitably err on the side of caution.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Thanx Dirk

I could've answered that myself of course, but thought it would sound better coming from you........ if it is just down to H&S etc how did todays fixtures get fulfilled without the same risk of getting hammered by the |"blame and claim" vultures ?



and more to the point. why employ undersoil heating at all?

[Dirk Gently]

Thanx Dirk

I could've answered that myself of course, but thought it would sound better coming from you........ if it is just down to H&S etc how did todays fixtures get fulfilled without the same risk of getting hammered by the |"blame and claim" vultures ?



and more to the point. why employ undersoil heating at all?

Undersoil heating is just really to stop the pitch freezing when there' a frost - it can't do anything to stop large accumulations of snow, of course.

I suspect for the other fixtures they were in parts of the country not so badly affected - Norwich, Cardiff and the Midlands. Not sure about Leeds, but it is noticable that all those grounds are well within cities/urban areas, rather than being out-of-town stadia where access roads are more significant and not likley to be cleared anyway. West Brom, for instance, is right on a major road which is a primary route so would be well-gritted.

Alternatively, the their loal councils are more relaxed about such things....

But seriously, we did get the weather worse than anywhere else this week (most snow on Tues/Weds @ Basingstoke, lowest temperature @ Odiham) so I've no doubts they were right.

[AthleticoSpizz]

as much as it hurts (and in our case) I guess you are right.


However, the likes of Liverpool are under scruitiny right now...apparently their roads and pitch have been fine for days

[Dirk Gently]

Indeed - and maybe a good thing, as I'm not looking forward to driving to Anfield and back on Wednesday when councils are running low on grit, more snow is expected tomorrow and temperatures aren't forecast to rise above zero until Thursday.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

It has been implicated that the number of postponements is down to the number of STH's banked money.

In the old days, clubs were dependant on gate-money-on-the-day to pay the wages.............and therefore played

With respect, that's bollocks - no club would ever want to have a match postponed as they almost certainly lose money from it regardless of STs sold.

In all these cases of early postponements, the decision will have been made by the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group).

You no-doubt hail from the same era as me, when some years ago, games such as todays would've gone ahead.

and when was that era?

go back 25 years or so and games weren't called off on safety grounds. They were called off for snowfall like the kind we've seen recently though.

[AthleticoSpizz]

With respect, that's bollocks - no club would ever want to have a match postponed as they almost certainly lose money from it regardless of STs sold.

In all these cases of early postponements, the decision will have been made by the local SAG (Safety Advisory Group).

You no-doubt hail from the same era as me, when some years ago, games such as todays would've gone ahead.

and when was that era?

go back 25 years or so and games weren't called off on safety grounds. They were called off for snowfall like the kind we've seen recently though.

waited a long time for that Rev.........(your previous post meant nothing)

Go back 30 years or so (the 1970's) when we had snow like what we have just had......I cannot quote the game, but I distinctly remember getting to the game on snow furrowed roads in the back of a Mk1 Ford Escort van.............to be greeted by green and white "dug-out" lines and a white pitch.

"The Big Match" as shown on Sunday afternoons and presented by Brian Moore, would concurr that this was the case in most parts of the country



which of course interjects some yellow liquid into your snowpile

[URZZZZZZZZ]

I just don't understand how the weather has completely decimated the English game, yet there were 6 games in the Scottish cup today. The conditions up there must be as bad if not worse, yet there were games at St Mirren and Partick Thistle that went ahead. How did the likes of Liverpool and the rest of the Premiership not get their games underway? And to a lesser extent the teams in the Championship that have Premiership facilities (that includes us).

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Go back 30 years or so (the 1970's) when we had snow like what we have just had......I cannot quote the game, but I distinctly remember getting to the game on snow furrowed roads in the back of a Mk1 Ford Escort van.............to be greeted by green and white "dug-out" lines and a white pitch.

"The Big Match" as shown on Sunday afternoons and presented by Brian Moore, would concurr that this was the case in most parts of the country

yeah, they used to play in snow, with the orange ball and swept lines.

They didn't, however, play in 6 inches of snow. You couldn't play on snow that deep, whether you'd cleared the lines or not.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Go back 30 years or so (the 1970's) when we had snow like what we have just had......I cannot quote the game, but I distinctly remember getting to the game on snow furrowed roads in the back of a Mk1 Ford Escort van.............to be greeted by green and white "dug-out" lines and a white pitch.

"The Big Match" as shown on Sunday afternoons and presented by Brian Moore, would concurr that this was the case in most parts of the country

yeah, they used to play in snow, with the orange ball and swept lines.

They didn't, however, play in 6 inches of snow. You couldn't play on snow that deep, whether you'd cleared the lines or not.

there was a man on national radio (Bobby Gould) that said they could and did


and besides The madstad pitch apparently does not have even have 6mm

[STAR TRAVEL]

Having spent the best part of the day up at the Mad Stad in the STAR HQ, I can assure you calling the game off was the only decision the club could have made.Snow is piled up and frozen, yes they have cleared a narrow path around the stadium enough for single file walking but the car parks were covered in snow and 18,000 + people trying to negotiate snow & ice was a recipe for disaster. The pitch didn't look too bad from what I could see, but as for steps and seats I can only imagine. When I left at 5.15pm you could have held dancing on ice on the road outside the East Stand, driving down the slope was done very carefully it was absolutely freezing and getting more so by the second, so as much as I love my footy it was the right decision to make. I would imagine that there also would have been a great deal of external pressure on the club from SAG and the emergency services, I am not sure the RBH would have loved an influx of walking wounded and broken bones to deal with. I am sure the only ones rubbing their hands with glee would have been ' the no win no fee' ambulance chasers queuing up to sue the club.

[Dirk Gently]

...... I would imagine that there also would have been a great deal of external pressure on the club from SAG and the emergency services, I am not sure the RBH would have loved an influx of walking wounded and broken bones to deal with.

RBH is (or at least was) working on an emergency admissions-only basis - so they'd not really be in a position to accept anybody.

[Ian Royal]

Wasn't it actually that they'd cancelled non-emergency surgery and outpatient visits, which is a slightly different thing. At leasts that's what I recall from the news, but that was a few days ago.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

which was also incorrect as i found when i called to see if my fathers op for a new pacemaker was on for monday, non emergency, yet they had been doing the ops all week, consultants and surgeons were staying in rooms at hospital.

as always a lot of misinformation out there. The area around the ground will not have been salted after the clearance as the game was called off, so conditions that ST saw were not quite as they would have been had they made the decision to play it, also the movement of vehicles and pedestrians helps to break up the ice and turn it to slush.

Still the right decision by the club, no further need to justify.

I got to Brighton with no problems, and as can be seen by my photos of the Madstad on this thread, they had done a bit more than clear a small path, I wonder how many people are to sue Sainsburt Tesco et al for not closing and making them take a chance of injury on private land?