MATCH OFF.

[claptrappers_union]

In think what Rawls means to say is that they should’ve delayed KO to 3pm and play the match behind closed doors

[martin_p]

Bloody hell - doesn't look like they keep orange balls for snow any more?

They are actually playing with the PL ‘winter ball’. It’s rubbish.

[RingoMcCartney]

Sun Nov 28, 2021 7:06 pm


I'm loving this, one person sort of logs off, and then another person replaces him

Its like message board relay

Four hours later and your still here!

Let go of the baton . Its someone else's turn!!

[RingoMcCartney]

Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:57 pm



I think Rowls has decided to take the longest thread award away from that mad one about words

And I've pledged my soul to aid him!

[Rowls]

Half time at Man City was extended by 5 (FIVE) minutes.

It would have take 20 minutes to clear the pitch and play the game today.

[claptrappers_union]

Yes, you’re right. You win. Can we close the thread we’re going round in circles

[Bosscat]

This is going to be like the Adeola thread soon ....

[BurnleyMickSouth]

Mmmmm now let me see, i have read over at least 70 posts on here, and not one of them has said what i am going to say, this match was scheduled for a 2-00pm ko, its not one of Skys live games, so why was the kick off not moved to 3-00pm and like i said its NOT a SKY live match, see if the snow eased off, which it did, then clear the pitch, therefore i think a 3-00pm ko would take place, i live in Surrey, which i am sure is a 528 mile round trip, because i am on my own and am an elderly person i dont do that trip in one day, normally i stay at the PREMIERI INN, so it costs me approx £70 in petrol, about £80 for an overnight stay, 4/5 pints out in Burnley £25, then something to eat,& programme £ 25, then another load of fuel at todays prices to get back to Surrey approx £50, so there you have it, its a lot of miles, money, etc, to travel all that was to find out the bloody match is off....i rest my case, i will be up for the WHU game on dec 11th....any comments are welcome....all they had to do was change the ko to 3-00 why has it to be 2-00 on a Sunday beats me.

[RingoMcCartney]

This is going to be like the Adeola thread soon ....

Not so sure Boss.

There's a thread inspection after lunch tomorrow.......

[Rowls]

I just can't get my head round how people believe this wasn't anything other than an awful decision.

I've wanted to understand that.

I happen to know I'm obsessive. I'm aware that many posters like to think they're goading with me but I'm happy to let them.

I'm done now though.

Shocked and disappointed at the level of apathy towards the decision but every day is a learning day.

[Rileybobs]

Half time at Man City was extended by 5 (FIVE) minutes.

It would have take 20 minutes to clear the pitch and play the game today.

Ok I’ll play. I mean you’re completely guessing that the pitch would take 20 minutes to clear (seems like an incredibly short amount of time to clear 7000+ sq.m of snow), but let’s assume you’re correct. What time did the snow stop falling, and with a 20 min pitch clearance and 30 min warm up for the players what is the absolute earliest we could have kicked off?

Then let’s just consider whether it would have been worth asking all supporters to hang around for that period of time in the hope that the game would go ahead. How much criticism would the referee have got had people waited around for 2 hours only for the game to be postponed?

The very fact that Dyche was supportive of this decision, despite playing the game right now most probably giving us an edge, should tell you that your opinion is off the mark, or at best not as clear cut as you’re making it out to be.

[Rowls]

Ok I’ll play. I mean you’re completely guessing that the pitch would take 20 minutes to clear (seems like an incredibly short amount of time to clear 7000+ sq.m of snow), but let’s assume you’re correct. What time did the snow stop falling, and with a 20 min pitch clearance and 30 min warm up for the players what is the absolute earliest we could have kicked off?

Then let’s just consider whether it would have been worth asking all supporters to hang around for that period of time in the hope that the game would go ahead. How much criticism would the referee have got had people waited around for 2 hours only for the game to be postponed?

The very fact that Dyche was supportive of this decision, despite playing the game right now most probably giving us an edge, should tell you that your opinion is off the mark, or at best not as clear cut as you’re making it out to be.

I'm done now though.

Sorry Rileybobs, game's over now.

It's too risky to continue. Health and Safety reasons.

[Rileybobs]

Sorry Rileybobs, game's over now.

It's too risky to continue. Health and Safety reasons.

You should have waited, you’ll have a blue sky moment of clarity in 90 minutes.

[Rowls]

You should have waited, you’ll have a blue sky moment of clarity in 90 minutes.

lol

[elwaclaret]

So, does anyone know why it was off, and was it the right call?

[Vegas Claret]

if Spurs weren't so vanilla they would have qualified for the Champions League and we would have played on Saturday, not our fault they like getting spanked by Slovenian farmers on a Thursday night

[fidelcastro]

not our fault they like getting spanked by Slovenian farmers on a Thursday night

Don't knock it until you've tried it, Viva!

[dsr]

Mmmmm now let me see, i have read over at least 70 posts on here, and not one of them has said what i am going to say, this match was scheduled for a 2-00pm ko, its not one of Skys live games, so why was the kick off not moved to 3-00pm and like i said its NOT a SKY live match, see if the snow eased off, which it did, then clear the pitch, therefore i think a 3-00pm ko would take place, i live in Surrey, which i am sure is a 528 mile round trip, because i am on my own and am an elderly person i dont do that trip in one day, normally i stay at the PREMIERI INN, so it costs me approx £70 in petrol, about £80 for an overnight stay, 4/5 pints out in Burnley £25, then something to eat,& programme £ 25, then another load of fuel at todays prices to get back to Surrey approx £50, so there you have it, its a lot of miles, money, etc, to travel all that was to find out the bloody match is off....i rest my case, i will be up for the WHU game on dec 11th....any comments are welcome....all they had to do was change the ko to 3-00 why has it to be 2-00 on a Sunday beats me.

Considering the flak refs normally get for leaving it as late as an hour before kickoff to call the game off, I doubt you will get the powers that be to agree that policy. Obviously you would be happy with arriving at 1 o'clock for a 2 pm kickoff and sitting there till 3 o'clock before it's called off, because you've come a long way. More local fans might be a little less pleased.

If the weather forecast was reliable enough to judge how much snow was going to fall, then you could have used it to decide not to travel. But it isn't. You will find plenty on here who will say with hindsight that they knew the snow falling in Manchester at ten past three couldn't possibly have landed in Burnley, but the ref wasn't allowed to use hindsight.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

I had a good look at the EPL rule book in .pdf a bit later and under Section L “kickoffs” there is no proviso for “pushing the game back” “waiting a bit” etc etc.

There is 1 proviso for kicking off late which is basically a team getting stuck in traffic. But apart from that, kick off time is kick off time.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Also

https://youtu.be/swYdKF1MpWg

[Vegas Claret]

Don't knock it until you've tried it, Viva!

[Backofthenet]

I wasn’t suggesting that we should have used them.

I know.. I was agreeing with you.... It was a generic "you" not a personal one.

[Winstonswhite]

Not sure if posted further up but the following was in the Times this morning:

“The referee Peter Bankes has revealed Conte and Dyche were offered the chance to start the game, as ground staff attempted to clear out the marked lines on the pitch, but both thought the possible solution unpractical and unplayable.”

Seems highly unusual that it was the managers who made the decision

[Jimmymaccer]

Crikey, I hope you get back ok. I don’t feel too miffed now about a couple of train fares. Glad you had a good Saturday evening in Burnley. UTC.

And just to round the day off…….flight back delayed 2 hours, then cancelled! 7am and now sat on plane finally going back to Isle of Man….

Never mind, the joys of a travelling fan! See you at the Turf next time!

[TheFamilyCat]

I had a good look at the EPL rule book in .pdf a bit later and under Section L “kickoffs” there is no proviso for “pushing the game back” “waiting a bit” etc etc.

There is 1 proviso for kicking off late which is basically a team getting stuck in traffic. But apart from that, kick off time is kick off time.

Wait, what? Rowls' spent eleven hours of his Sunday demanding something should have happened that wasn't even permissible? Why didn't he just look it up first?

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Not sure if posted further up but the following was in the Times this morning:

“The referee Peter Bankes has revealed Conte and Dyche were offered the chance to start the game, as ground staff attempted to clear out the marked lines on the pitch, but both thought the possible solution unpractical and unplayable.”

Seems highly unusual that it was the managers who made the decision

Referee, plus EPL match delegate will have made the decision, while being sensitive to all stakeholders opinions

[claretonthecoast1882]

Match thread v Palace 3-3 draw 233 replies

Match thread v Chelsea 1-1 draw 297 replies

Match thread v Brentford 3-1 win 281 replies

Match thread v Spurs (match off) 625 replies and counting

[evensteadiereddie]

626 and claretandy STILL hasn't pointed out where I implied stuff about him.

[Billy Balfour]

Match thread v Spurs (match off) 625 replies and counting

I suppose it's better he posts here, rather than from shouting at random strangers in the street.

[Loyalclaret]

Not that it matters but it is very bad around Turf this morning! Drive down from Pike Hill, main road was OK but the paths are like an ice skating ring. Very icey Leyland Road where I park and all the way into town. Few thousand people mooching about yesterday obviously didn't help

[lesxdp]

And just to round the day off…….flight back delayed 2 hours, then cancelled! 7am and now sat on plane finally going back to Isle of Man….

Never mind, the joys of a travelling fan! See you at the Turf next time!

The joys of living on the island and having to travel across with cancelled ferries and flights especially at this time of year. I was living there from 1989 to1994 and still miss the place.

[Eloise Laws]

Cant believe we have a 13 page thread on the match being called off. People getting upset with others for having a different opinion on the whys and wherefores and the should have and have nots……not good for those who were financially impacted but sadly stuff like this happens and we all are at sometimes on the wrong end of other peoples decisions of which we have no control..
It was called off, it was yesterday…..move on

[NewClaret]

I had a good look at the EPL rule book in .pdf a bit later and under Section L “kickoffs” there is no proviso for “pushing the game back” “waiting a bit” etc etc.

There is 1 proviso for kicking off late which is basically a team getting stuck in traffic. But apart from that, kick off time is kick off time.

The game was definitely not playable at the scheduled kick off time, so if the ref didn’t have an option to delay, the right decision was taken. End of thread

[Paul Waine]

Not sure if posted further up but the following was in the Times this morning:

“The referee Peter Bankes has revealed Conte and Dyche were offered the chance to start the game, as ground staff attempted to clear out the marked lines on the pitch, but both thought the possible solution unpractical and unplayable.”

Seems highly unusual that it was the managers who made the decision

The full report in The Times.

Burnley v Tottenham: Antonio Conte and Sean Dyche declined chance to play match with stoppages every 15 minutes before postponement
Martin Hardy, Sunday November 28 2021, 4.30pm, The Times

The Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte and his Burnley counterpart Sean Dyche declined the opportunity for their Premier League game at Turf Moor to be played with stoppages every 15 minutes to clear the amount of snow from the pitch that ultimately led to the game being postponed 45 minutes before kick-off.

Tottenham’s players, fresh from their humiliating Europa Conference League defeat to NS Mura on Thursday, only arrived at the ground an hour before kick-off, as they too had been caught in traffic because of the severity of the snowfall.

The referee Peter Bankes has revealed Conte and Dyche were offered the chance to start the game, as ground staff attempted to clear out the marked lines on the pitch, but both thought the possible solution unpractical and unplayable.

“There was going to be an opportunity to stop the game every 15 minutes but both managers were in agreement that the spectacle wouldn’t have been very good,” Bankes said.

“The ground staff worked as hard as they could. The best thing to do was to call the game off, which we did after speaking to both managers.”

Bankes was unable to make that call until both managers were actually with him, and Dyche then defended the undersoil heating at Turf Moor, which the club have said had been on since Wednesday. Around 40 members of staff were working to clear the snow as it fell heavily for the two hours before its 2pm kick-off time.

“It [the undersoil heating] has been on, it’s just fallen that quick and that heavy, it has just come down too quick for the system to work,” he said.

“We would have had to keep clearing the lines of snow and stopping the game, which the referee explained. It’s a joint club decision from everyone concerned, but there has been a lot of good work from everyone trying to get it on, that’s for sure.

“We were ready for the game and I made it clear if it could be played we wanted it on, as did their manager. I can’t see how it could go ahead the way the pitch is. The pitch re-covers every time they clear it. The referee explained the safety angle as well so it was important to make a decision early.”

Tottenham are now facing a major fixture headache as a result of the late postponement. They have a game in every midweek heading into a typically busy Christmas schedule. Spurs do not have a gap to potentially play the fixture at Turf Moor until January.

Conte agreed, however, that the game could not be played. “I think in these conditions it’s not football,” he said. “I want to play football, I want to have fun, to play and to give emotion. I think in this situation it’s impossible and there is serious risk for the players to take injury.”

Tottenham had sold out their allocation of 2,300 for the game and one Dallas-based supporter had travelled for 30 hours and 4,500 miles to attend the match.

“Would have loved watching it in these conditions,” wrote @SaxyKeN17 on Twitter, having showed details of his trip.

[Backofthenet]

Not that it matters but it is very bad around Turf this morning! Drive down from Pike Hill, main road was OK but the paths are like an ice skating ring. Very icey Leyland Road where I park and all the way into town. Few thousand people mooching about yesterday obviously didn't help

Lots of schools shut in Burnley and Nelson area.... So I'd guess still tricky conditions

[martin_p]

The full report in The Times.

Burnley v Tottenham: Antonio Conte and Sean Dyche declined chance to play match with stoppages every 15 minutes before postponement
Martin Hardy, Sunday November 28 2021, 4.30pm, The Times

The Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte and his Burnley counterpart Sean Dyche declined the opportunity for their Premier League game at Turf Moor to be played with stoppages every 15 minutes to clear the amount of snow from the pitch that ultimately led to the game being postponed 45 minutes before kick-off.

Tottenham’s players, fresh from their humiliating Europa Conference League defeat to NS Mura on Thursday, only arrived at the ground an hour before kick-off, as they too had been caught in traffic because of the severity of the snowfall.

The referee Peter Bankes has revealed Conte and Dyche were offered the chance to start the game, as ground staff attempted to clear out the marked lines on the pitch, but both thought the possible solution unpractical and unplayable.

“There was going to be an opportunity to stop the game every 15 minutes but both managers were in agreement that the spectacle wouldn’t have been very good,” Bankes said.

“The ground staff worked as hard as they could. The best thing to do was to call the game off, which we did after speaking to both managers.”

Bankes was unable to make that call until both managers were actually with him, and Dyche then defended the undersoil heating at Turf Moor, which the club have said had been on since Wednesday. Around 40 members of staff were working to clear the snow as it fell heavily for the two hours before its 2pm kick-off time.

“It [the undersoil heating] has been on, it’s just fallen that quick and that heavy, it has just come down too quick for the system to work,” he said.

“We would have had to keep clearing the lines of snow and stopping the game, which the referee explained. It’s a joint club decision from everyone concerned, but there has been a lot of good work from everyone trying to get it on, that’s for sure.

“We were ready for the game and I made it clear if it could be played we wanted it on, as did their manager. I can’t see how it could go ahead the way the pitch is. The pitch re-covers every time they clear it. The referee explained the safety angle as well so it was important to make a decision early.”

Tottenham are now facing a major fixture headache as a result of the late postponement. They have a game in every midweek heading into a typically busy Christmas schedule. Spurs do not have a gap to potentially play the fixture at Turf Moor until January.

Conte agreed, however, that the game could not be played. “I think in these conditions it’s not football,” he said. “I want to play football, I want to have fun, to play and to give emotion. I think in this situation it’s impossible and there is serious risk for the players to take injury.”

Tottenham had sold out their allocation of 2,300 for the game and one Dallas-based supporter had travelled for 30 hours and 4,500 miles to attend the match.

“Would have loved watching it in these conditions,” wrote @SaxyKeN17 on Twitter, having showed details of his trip.

If only they’d consulted Rowls.

[IanMcL]

Mmmmm now let me see, i have read over at least 70 posts on here, and not one of them has said what i am going to say, this match was scheduled for a 2-00pm ko, its not one of Skys live games, so why was the kick off not moved to 3-00pm and like i said its NOT a SKY live match, see if the snow eased off, which it did, then clear the pitch, therefore i think a 3-00pm ko would take place, i live in Surrey, which i am sure is a 528 mile round trip, because i am on my own and am an elderly person i dont do that trip in one day, normally i stay at the PREMIERI INN, so it costs me approx £70 in petrol, about £80 for an overnight stay, 4/5 pints out in Burnley £25, then something to eat,& programme £ 25, then another load of fuel at todays prices to get back to Surrey approx £50, so there you have it, its a lot of miles, money, etc, to travel all that was to find out the bloody match is off....i rest my case, i will be up for the WHU game on dec 11th....any comments are welcome....all they had to do was change the ko to 3-00 why has it to be 2-00 on a Sunday beats me.

So you went yesterday?

I got to the Oswaldtwistle M65 junction before having to turn round and drive home to Salisbury. I agree that there could have been a delayed start. Over 2k Spurs fans too.


On my way back I was 40 miles from home, doing 70 in the fast lane of a dual carriageway, when suddenly, a small white car decided I wasn't about to fly past and pulls out, doing half my speed.

I anchored with all I had and twisted and turned to not hit the car, which was nearly on my lap, by then.

I would have survived but the white car driver may well not have done. I am not sure the driver even realised I was scrambling to not hit them!

Straight afterwards, I got a kow pressure warning then a red pull over. I had a hole in my front tyre. Tow home took from 7.30 to 11.15! Long long day.
Tyre 226 pounds!

[Quickenthetempo]

That article and both managers interviews shows just how much bullshit the football world come out with to it's fans and wider public.

[Quickenthetempo]

Mmmmm now let me see, i have read over at least 70 posts on here, and not one of them has said what i am going to say, this match was scheduled for a 2-00pm ko, its not one of Skys live games, so why was the kick off not moved to 3-00pm and like i said its NOT a SKY live match, see if the snow eased off, which it did, then clear the pitch, therefore i think a 3-00pm ko would take place, i live in Surrey, which i am sure is a 528 mile round trip, because i am on my own and am an elderly person i dont do that trip in one day, normally i stay at the PREMIERI INN, so it costs me approx £70 in petrol, about £80 for an overnight stay, 4/5 pints out in Burnley £25, then something to eat,& programme £ 25, then another load of fuel at todays prices to get back to Surrey approx £50, so there you have it, its a lot of miles, money, etc, to travel all that was to find out the bloody match is off....i rest my case, i will be up for the WHU game on dec 11th....any comments are welcome....all they had to do was change the ko to 3-00 why has it to be 2-00 on a Sunday beats me.

Mick- if it really cost that much in fuel to get to Burnley then it's probably worth booking trains in advance. If you're an over 65 you should get a very good price, especially if you purchase an over 65s railcard. You should get you Manchester for 30 quid and then Burnley for another 6. Or free on the bus.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Has Fletcher been banned from the club yet. The man's a blowhard and a disgrace

[fatboy47]

Well, I tend to agree with most of Rowls input on this thread.
Not a massive deal if you've just strolled down to the ground from Fulledge or similar....but after 2 flights and 800 miles driving in a round trip I'm left with no option but to suck it up.
Not bleating....no point.. I'm just one of the pariahs that Lee Hoos tried to alienate with his retainer nonsense.

Win some, lose some I guess.

[dandeclaret]

Instead of wasting money on wingers from France, the board should be shot for not installing a retractable roof.

Amateurs.

[fatboy47]

Instead of wasting money on wingers from France, the board should be shot for not installing a retractable roof.

Amateurs.

More unhelpful divisive stuff...as with the OTT responses earlier...

No harm in the club reviewing events and possible future contingencies....eg pitch coverings.. If they deem the situation to have been unavoidable then fair enough..

[arise_sir_charge]

If the article is correct and there is no reason for it not to be, it actually makes it more of a farce as the forecast was for the snow to stop so there would have been no need to stop every 15 minutes anyway!

[dsr]

If the article is correct and there is no reason for it not to be, it actually makes it more of a farce as the forecast was for the snow to stop so there would have been no need to stop every 15 minutes anyway!

If they were going off the forecast, they needn't have had a pitch inspection because the forecast was that there wouldn't be much snow anyway.

Or put another way, they can't go off weather forecasts. There was no way the Met Office could say with certainty that Manchester would have heavy snow at three o'clock but Burnley wouldn't. They aren't that accurate.

If the PL and FA and other football authorities choose to give the referee power to delay postponement until the instant of kick-off or even allow then to delay postponement to an hour or two after the scheduled time, then let them do that. At present, they don't, and there would certainly be outcry from clubs and from fans' groups if they did. Would you really want to hang about on a day like yesterday until 3 o'clock just in case the snow stopped? And if it didn't, and the snow was even deeper by then and the roads were closed, what then?

[Bosscat]

If they were going off the forecast, they needn't have had a pitch inspection because the forecast was that there wouldn't be much snow anyway.

Or put another way, they can't go off weather forecasts. There was no way the Met Office could say with certainty that Manchester would have heavy snow at three o'clock but Burnley wouldn't. They aren't that accurate.

If the PL and FA and other football authorities choose to give the referee power to delay postponement until the instant of kick-off or even allow then to delay postponement to an hour or two after the scheduled time, then let them do that. At present, they don't, and there would certainly be outcry from clubs and from fans' groups if they did. Would you really want to hang about on a day like yesterday until 3 o'clock just in case the snow stopped? And if it didn't, and the snow was even deeper by then and the roads were closed, what then?

Exactly the reason we stayed at home and didn't set off to the game ... as they say hindsight is a wonderful thing ...

But to have a 650 (ish and rising) post thread about a match that didn't take place is this a record

[martin_p]

More unhelpful divisive stuff...as with the OTT responses earlier...

No harm in the club reviewing events and possible future contingencies....eg pitch coverings.. If they deem the situation to have been unavoidable then fair enough..

People keep mentioning pitch coverings but I don’t get how they help when there’s heavy snow right up to kick off time.

[Quickenthetempo]

Looking forward- do we just accept matches will be off on the Turf if we have snow again or are there solutions to postponing in?
I didn't think we would ever see a Premier league game called off for unfit pitches after Desso pitches came in, with added undersoil heating. But snow is a big problem.

Let's be honest, it will have cost the club a few quid in catering and stewards/police bill.
Do the corporate punters get reimbursed or free game for the rearranged meeting?

[martin_p]

Looking forward- do we just accept matches will be off on the Turf if we have snow again or are there solutions to postponing in?
I didn't think we would ever see a Premier league game called off for unfit pitches after Desso pitches came in, with added undersoil heating. But snow is a big problem.

If we have heavy snow leading up to kick off the yes, expect a postponement. Neither Leicester or Manchester had heavy snow leading up to kick off, it only came (and was less sustained) during the game. It takes a lot more for a referee to abandon a game that has kicked off than postpone one.

[wilks_bfc]

People keep mentioning pitch coverings but I don’t get how they help when there’s heavy snow right up to kick off time.

I keep seeing comments about not having covers on as well, both on here and on Twitter.

Even if we did use them, they would have had to have been removed around the time the snow started, so wouldn't have made any difference