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View Full Version : to all who travelled on the Milton Mowbray bus on Saturday.......



monktonharp
07-12-2015, 02:37 AM
A big thank you, and sincere apologies for being put through the situation we were left in. we had to charge everyone on the bus for the cost of getting there and we got there (almost) in good time. we arrived at the venue planned before ,before the start of the game and as everyone on here knows, the situation became farcical. I have complained vehemently by email to Greenock Morton by Email and I immediately called Hibernian fc, on arrival at the club we were booked into. I spoke to a young lady at Hibernian,who declined to give me her name but agreed to take my Email address, and then send me a contact email address at Hibernian. this was done at 12:40pm on Saturday. I have not yet received that address. once again, I do apologise to all, for shelling out their hard earned cash and especially to the group of young lads that spent their pocket money to get to the match. I did receive the message, about someone who had left their scarf on the bus and will contact the company this morning. I will be calling the club again, today and expressing our disgust about the way we were treated. no one can say that "this was outwith the control of the club" in my opinion. the warnings were put out, 2 days in advance and as someone had said in a previous post, All football clubs knew about the real possibility of what could happen and the authorities could have said......let's make it Sunday! and why not??

SausageSurprise
07-12-2015, 06:05 AM
Hope you're tin hat is on securely mate, I think you're gonna need it!

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 06:42 AM
A big thank you, and sincere apologies for being put through the situation we were left in. we had to charge everyone on the bus for the cost of getting there and we got there (almost) in good time. we arrived at the venue planned before ,before the start of the game and as everyone on here knows, the situation became farcical. I have complained vehemently by email to Greenock Morton by Email and I immediately called Hibernian fc, on arrival at the club we were booked into. I spoke to a young lady at Hibernian,who declined to give me her name but agreed to take my Email address, and then send me a contact email address at Hibernian. this was done at 12:40pm on Saturday. I have not yet received that address. once again, I do apologise to all, for shelling out their hard earned cash and especially to the group of young lads that spent their pocket money to get to the match. I did receive the message, about someone who had left their scarf on the bus and will contact the company this morning. I will be calling the club again, today and expressing our disgust about the way we were treated. no one can say that "this was outwith the control of the club" in my opinion. the warnings were put out, 2 days in advance and as someone had said in a previous post, All football clubs knew about the real possibility of what could happen and the authorities could have said......let's make it Sunday! and why not??

What exactly are you complaining about that you think Hibs were in the wrong? Both Morton and Hibs thought the game was on and it was the police that called it off. The late call off was a pain for many and I think it should have been done earlier. But it's not the clubs fault!

You said yourself there was a warning 2 days before so it's up to yourself to take the chance and travel through! I only had to look out the window on sat to know there would be a very high chance it would be off.

I honestly don't know what you think Hibs could have done because like yourself many busses went through knowing it may be off. It's the chance you take.

Onion
07-12-2015, 07:13 AM
What exactly are you complaining about that you think Hibs were in the wrong? Both Morton and Hibs thought the game was on and it was the police that called it off. The late call off was a pain for many and I think it should have been done earlier. But it's not the clubs fault!

You said yourself there was a warning 2 days before so it's up to yourself to take the chance and travel through! I only had to look out the window on sat to know there would be a very high chance it would be off.

I honestly don't know what you think Hibs could have done because like yourself many busses went through knowing it may be off. It's the chance you take.

One of the problems for away fans is that it's rarely in the home clubs' interests to suggest a match is off, until it is. The last thing they want is for the match to go ahead in front of a handful of fans, with no revenue.

The question is, how much liaison was there between Morton and the police on Sat morning, what was said and when did the situation dramatically change to the point of the match being called off ? One thing's for sure, if the home club or police were made to compensate away fans for late call off, such as this, they would make different decisions and earlier too ! It would certainly concentrate minds. As it is, they all simply walk away and leave the fans to foot the bill.

In 2015, there has to be a better system of informing away fans using social media, giving up to the minute details.

greenlex
07-12-2015, 07:25 AM
One of the problems for away fans is that it's rarely in the home clubs' interests to suggest a match is off, until it is. The last thing they want is for the match to go ahead in front of a handful of fans, with no revenue.

The question is, how much liaison was there between Morton and the police on Sat morning, what was said and when did the situation dramatically change to the point of the match being called off ? One thing's for sure, if the home club or police were made to compensate away fans for late call off, such as this, they would make different decisions and earlier too ! It would certainly concentrate minds. As it is, they all simply walk away and leave the fans to foot the bill.

In 2015, there has to be a better system of informing away fans using social media, giving up to the minute details.
I think it's a certainty there was no or little liaison between Morton and the police. I think the grounstaff were on a mission to get the game on as they of course should be but reading between the lines it became a " I told you so" situation after the groundsman's tweets the night before and on the morning of the match. No consideration or consultation was taken on conditions around the ground it indeed the wider travelling area.

blackpoolhibs
07-12-2015, 07:29 AM
I think there are just days like Saturday, where the weather is so severe that it's just not safe enough for folk to be travelling to watch a game of football.

Some of the carnage i witnessed on the way to the game was awful, numerous lorry's on their side and even on their backs upside down on both sides of the motorway, and cars smashed to bits at the side of the road was terrible.

The amount of rain and the strong winds were making it very dangerous for everyone who left their houses, just because a pitch is playable, is not enough to decide the game is on.

The sensible decision on Saturday would have been to call this game off in the morning, sometimes you just have to do the most sensible thing, yes some folk will be upset, but i'd put money on folk who would normally travel not even bothering to leave their house on Saturday.

CB_NO3
07-12-2015, 07:37 AM
Dempster really needs to have a word with herself for allowing the A8 near Greenock to get flooded two hours before KO.

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 07:48 AM
One of the problems for away fans is that it's rarely in the home clubs' interests to suggest a match is off, until it is. The last thing they want is for the match to go ahead in front of a handful of fans, with no revenue.

The question is, how much liaison was there between Morton and the police on Sat morning, what was said and when did the situation dramatically change to the point of the match being called off ? One thing's for sure, if the home club or police were made to compensate away fans for late call off, such as this, they would make different decisions and earlier too ! It would certainly concentrate minds. As it is, they all simply walk away and leave the fans to foot the bill.

In 2015, there has to be a better system of informing away fans using social media, giving up to the minute details.

I totally agree that it should have been done first thing in the morning. I'm not sure Morton can take any blame though as they themselves worked through the night to keep the pitch playable.

The police have clearly ballsed up on this one that's for sure. But as with any game you travel at your own choice and with the weather being as it was on sat I think everyone going through would have known it may be called off. It's crap for us fans who make that journey but sometimes that's the chance we take.

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 07:49 AM
Dempster really needs to have a word with herself for allowing the A8 near Greenock to get flooded two hours before KO.

Surely it's Petries fault ;)

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 07:54 AM
I think there are just days like Saturday, where the weather is so severe that it's just not safe enough for folk to be travelling to watch a game of football.

Some of the carnage i witnessed on the way to the game was awful, numerous lorry's on their side and even on their backs upside down on both sides of the motorway, and cars smashed to bits at the side of the road was terrible.

The amount of rain and the strong winds were making it very dangerous for everyone who left their houses, just because a pitch is playable, is not enough to decide the game is on.

The sensible decision on Saturday would have been to call this game off in the morning, sometimes you just have to do the most sensible thing, yes some folk will be upset, but i'd put money on folk who would normally travel not even bothering to leave their house on Saturday.

Spot on. Imagine if one of our busses was involved in a bad crash or a supporter was hurt on the way into the ground. Folk say "but the people of Morton still have to go out" yes but the volume of traffic is about 20 times more than normal and so is the amount of folk around the ground.

The police issued a warning to all on sat that only travel if you really need too. This surely applies to football fans as well. Again it was bad timing no doubt about it but it was the right call. Safety of the fans must come first!

andyf5
07-12-2015, 08:01 AM
Dempster really needs to have a word with herself for allowing the A8 near Greenock to get flooded two hours before KO.

I think in this case everyone knew there was a storm coming, a lot of folk said the game would be off but the groundsman tweeted "game on". I was travelling when the game was called off. Maybe all those who bought tickets should get double loyalty points? No cost to club and nice gesture?

The police and club should liaise sooner but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Peevemor
07-12-2015, 08:12 AM
I think in this case everyone knew there was a storm coming, a lot of folk said the game would be off but the groundsman tweeted "game on". I was travelling when the game was called off. Maybe all those who bought tickets should get double loyalty points? No cost to club and nice gesture?

The police and club should liaise sooner but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Who says they didn't?

B.H.F.C
07-12-2015, 08:15 AM
Don't think the club can be accountable at all. They faced the exact same problem as us, in that the team bus had to turn round on the M8. It was a matter of public safety and the police should have dealt with it earlier.

1two
07-12-2015, 08:17 AM
The clubs aren't to blame here at all, but for police Scotland to postpone a game 2 hours before when the know the distance away fans are travelling from is a joke.

All the signs were there that this could be cancelled about 2 days before and things hadn't improved by the Saturday morning. An early morning cancellation was in order

lyonhibs
07-12-2015, 08:19 AM
Re: the OP, presumably if the info in the post really was purely for the benefit of those on your bus, that info could have been conveyed via PM/phone call, text message etc without the need for a public thread?

Seems a little bit "look at me, I'm so very enraged" IMO.

From what I can glean from the info on what happened yesterday, unless Petrie has donned his skintight "Storm from X-Men" costume and spent yesterday morning just ****ing the weather up all across the land, the club is blameless here.

Heisenberg
07-12-2015, 08:41 AM
I don't see why Hibs are to blame at all to be honest. Seems quite ridiculous to be losing the rag at the club.

Onion
07-12-2015, 08:47 AM
I totally agree that it should have been done first thing in the morning. I'm not sure Morton can take any blame though as they themselves worked through the night to keep the pitch playable.

The police have clearly ballsed up on this one that's for sure. But as with any game you travel at your own choice and with the weather being as it was on sat I think everyone going through would have known it may be called off. It's crap for us fans who make that journey but sometimes that's the chance we take.

Agree to a point, but some kind of indicator (RAG status or 0 - 100%) from both the clubs & police would have helped folk make a much more informed decision. This could then be updated every 30 mins or so. Instead, folk are left to read message boards and look outside their windows to decide ! Crazy in 2015.

The other thing is what level of interest each of the parties have who are involved in the decision. Morton want the game to go ahead and will do everything they can to make it happen. Hibs may have been a little less keen. The police, on balance, would probably have been happier to have the game called off so they could concentrate on all the other problems the weather created for them.

The question I have, is how hard did Morton press the police for a definitive answer throughout the morning ? If Morton were not pressing the police hard, they should have been. They have a due to the fans, beyond just getting the pitch playable.

Peevemor
07-12-2015, 08:58 AM
Agree to a point, but some kind of indicator (RAG status or 0 - 100%) from both the clubs & police would have helped folk make a much more informed decision. This could then be updated every 30 mins or so. Instead, folk are left to read message boards and look outside their windows to decide ! Crazy in 2015.

The other thing is what level of interest each of the parties have who are involved in the decision. Morton want the game to go ahead and will do everything they can to make it happen. Hibs may have been a little less keen. The police, on balance, would probably have been happier to have the game called off so they could concentrate on all the other problems the weather created for them.

The question I have, is how hard did Morton press the police for a definitive answer throughout the morning ? If Morton were not pressing the police hard, they should have been. They have a due to the fans, beyond just getting the pitch playable.

They would have been pressing alright. The later the match was called off the more money they lost, (wages, catering, etc.)

oneone73
07-12-2015, 09:03 AM
Re: the OP, presumably if the info in the post really was purely for the benefit of those on your bus, that info could have been conveyed via PM/phone call, text message etc without the need for a public thread?

Seems a little bit "look at me, I'm so very enraged" IMO.

From what I can glean from the info on what happened yesterday, unless Petrie has donned his skintight "Storm from X-Men" costume and spent yesterday morning just ****ing the weather up all across the land, the club is blameless here.
Why would you assume everyone on the bus was a .Netter? Or had supplied an email address or mobile phone number? Have you ever been on a supporters bus, caller?
Fwiw, I have sympathy for the OP, but there's no way Hibs were at fault.

flash
07-12-2015, 09:15 AM
Totally baffled as to why the OP is raging at Hibs.

lyonhibs
07-12-2015, 09:36 AM
Why would you assume everyone on the bus was a .Netter? Or had supplied an email address or mobile phone number? Have you ever been on a supporters bus, caller?
Fwiw, I have sympathy for the OP, but there's no way Hibs were at fault.

I have indeed, hence my query. Forgive my ignorance, but if bus convenors haven't been in some form of prior contact with the folk getting on their bus (or at least 1 person per group) then how does one know how many people to actually expect?

Anyway, we digress. Like you say, a fair % of them may not even be on .Net which makes the OP even odder.

Must have been an immensely frustrating afternoon for all concerned, but Hibs are not to blame.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 09:37 AM
Agree that Hibs are in no way to blame for the late call off, I would imagine the team bus would likewise be en route when the match was called off.

My gripe is that Morton fans were tweeting at 10.30am saying there was serious flooding on the A8 at Cappielow and that they didn't know how Hibs fans would get there. A pitch inspection was held at 11am and the announcement was "game on" Hearing that news we set off and were within a mile of Cappielow when news came through that the game was off. As previously posted the weather forecast was for heavy rain to continue throughout the day. So how would anyone expect a road that was nearly impassable at 10.30am improve as the day wore on !! The Police are 100% to blame for the late call off, they said it was in the interest of spectator safety, if that's the case then the game should have been called off before we had to leave the house.

I don't blame Morton either as their concern is the stadium and pitch, its not their job to ensure that access roads are clear.

Geo_1875
07-12-2015, 10:03 AM
Agree that Hibs are in no way to blame for the late call off, I would imagine the team bus would likewise be en route when the match was called off.

My gripe is that Morton fans were tweeting at 10.30am saying there was serious flooding on the A8 at Cappielow and that they didn't know how Hibs fans would get there. A pitch inspection was held at 11am and the announcement was "game on" Hearing that news we set off and were within a mile of Cappielow when news came through that the game was off. As previously posted the weather forecast was for heavy rain to continue throughout the day. So how would anyone expect a road that was nearly impassable at 10.30am improve as the day wore on !! The Police are 100% to blame for the late call off, they said it was in the interest of spectator safety, if that's the case then the game should have been called off before we had to leave the house.

I don't blame Morton either as their concern is the stadium and pitch, its not their job to ensure that access roads are clear.

Of course it's Mortons fault. Imagine building a football stadium where there is only one road in and out. No foresight at all. I can't imagine they get many games played during the winter months.

southern hibby
07-12-2015, 10:06 AM
If the SFA contacted an insurance company to find out about insurance for supporters bus' being insured in case of a game getting called off and having to pay for the bus, then this would be something at least pro active rather than re active from our Governing body.

If you take all our clubs in Scotland that have dedicated branches that go to away games, then I believe the insurance would be cheap enough that most supporter's bus' would join.
GGTTH

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 10:32 AM
If the SFA contacted an insurance company to find out about insurance for supporters bus' being insured in case of a game getting called off and having to pay for the bus, then this would be something at least pro active rather than re active from our Governing body.

If you take all our clubs in Scotland that have dedicated branches that go to away games, then I believe the insurance would be cheap enough that most supporter's bus' would join.
GGTTH

The first question they would ask is why did the bus leave at 10.45am for a 3.00pm kick-off.

Bristolhibby
07-12-2015, 11:04 AM
The first question they would ask is why did the bus leave at 10.45am for a 3.00pm kick-off.
🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍺🍺🍻🍺🍕🍟🍔

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 11:41 AM


I get that, and I'm not making any comment about it as it's perfectly understandable, and makes for a good day out, but no insurance company would pay compensation in those circumstances.

I'm sure they would argue that because they arrived several hours before kick-off, the bus journey wasn't solely for the purpose of attending the football match.

Super_JMcGinn
07-12-2015, 12:04 PM
I can't for the life of me understand why the police are coming in for any kind of stick over this. Police Scotland issued warnings about travelling for everyone in Scotland, not just football fans. I'm petty sure the police would have had their hands full with plenty of weather related incidents before getting round to calling this match off. The blame lies firmly with GMFC and no one else.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 12:12 PM
The first question they would ask is why did the bus leave at 10.45am for a 3.00pm kick-off.

And the answer would be that the Police advised to allow extra time for your journey.

HappyHanlon
07-12-2015, 12:16 PM
Its the groundsman's fault!

He spent the night before the game and the morning off the game banging on about how he's never had a game off and that his pitches are always great.

The creep couldn't see the bigger picture.

southern hibby
07-12-2015, 12:18 PM
The first question they would ask is why did the bus leave at 10.45am for a 3.00pm kick-off.

Your probably correct, but if your affiliated to the SFA's insurance ( if this was started) your bus is leaving Edinburgh to go to let's say Glasgow and the games cancelled then you could argue road works, bad weather, police Scotland advising minimal travelling times.etc,etc

Maybe I'm being stupid here but if we can get insurance for virtually anything now a days I'm sure this ( dependant on supporter's bus' wanting it ) could be implemented.
I actually phoned the SFA to suggest it, was put through to operator in SFA who put me through to mailbox 6028, which is full and no room left in mailbox to leave a message. Nice to know they're busy lol.

Not saying it's ever going to happen but I'd like to think theGoverning body still consider fans in their top 100 things of priorities

GGTTH

hibee_nation
07-12-2015, 12:18 PM
I can't for the life of me understand why the police are coming in for any kind of stick over this. Police Scotland issued warnings about travelling for everyone in Scotland, not just football fans. I'm petty sure the police would have had their hands full with plenty of weather related incidents before getting round to calling this match off. The blame lies firmly with GMFC and no one else.

How can GMFC be responsible, their groundstaff did an excellent job in keeping the pitch playable it was cancelled due to roads flooding. Morton can't cancel a game for that only the police can after talking to both clubs. We always have to look to blame someone in this case it was pretty much done by the book and no single party is at fault.

hibee_nation
07-12-2015, 12:21 PM
Its the groundsman's fault!

He spent the night before the game and the morning off the game banging on about how he's never had a game off and that his pitches are always great.

The creep couldn't see the bigger picture.

Oh so the guy is a creep now for working his butt off to keep the pitch in good nick and using social media to keep everyone informed it has passed a refs inspection at 11am some right numpties on here today.

silverhibee
07-12-2015, 12:23 PM
Dempster really needs to have a word with herself for allowing the A8 near Greenock to get flooded two hours before KO.

It was flooding at 10.30 near Greenock.

HappyHanlon
07-12-2015, 12:24 PM
Oh so the guy is a creep now for working his butt off to keep the pitch in good nick and using social media to keep everyone informed it has passed a refs inspection at 11am some right numpties on here today.

Like yourself :na na:

Every game in the west of Scotland was rightly called off.

The match should have been called off at 9am when there was the pitch inspection.

Beefster
07-12-2015, 12:29 PM
I blame the need to blame someone/anyone for everything that goes wrong these days.

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 12:31 PM
And the answer would be that the Police advised to allow extra time for your journey.

:thumbsup:

It might be worth trying that explanation if you could prove to the insurance company that the departure time had been brought forward in direct response to the Police advise. :wink:

Although, a further complication would be that, if I recall correctly, the Police advise was for people not to travel at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Bloody insurance companies! You pay the premiums faithfully, and when it's time to make a claim, they wriggle their way out. :greengrin

Geo_1875
07-12-2015, 12:33 PM
Like yourself :na na:

Every game in the west of Scotland was rightly called off.

The match should have been called off at 9am when there was the pitch inspection.

The pitch inspection was at 11:00 am and it was playable.

Geo_1875
07-12-2015, 12:35 PM
:thumbsup:

It might be worth trying that explanation if you could prove to the insurance company that the departure time had been brought forward in direct response to the Police advise. :wink:

Although, a further complication would be that, if I recall correctly, the Police advise was for people not to travel at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Bloody insurance companies! You pay the premiums faithfully, and when it's time to make a claim, they wriggle their way out. :greengrin

You could argue that as you had already bought a non-refundable ticket your journey was necessary.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 12:37 PM
:thumbsup:

It might be worth trying that explanation if you could prove to the insurance company that the departure time had been brought forward in direct response to the Police advise. :wink:

Although, a further complication would be that, if I recall correctly, the Police advise was for people not to travel at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Bloody insurance companies! You pay the premiums faithfully, and when it's time to make a claim, they wriggle their way out. :greengrin

So by your reckoning the Police should have closed all the major shopping areas like the Gyle, The Fort etc to prevent people travelling unnecessary to go Christmas shopping.

Hibeewilly
07-12-2015, 12:37 PM
How can GMFC be responsible, their groundstaff did an excellent job in keeping the pitch playable it was cancelled due to roads flooding. Morton can't cancel a game for that only the police can after talking to both clubs. We always have to look to blame someone in this case it was pretty much done by the book and no single party is at fault.
That sums it up perfectly:top marks

silverhibee
07-12-2015, 12:37 PM
Its the groundsman's fault!

He spent the night before the game and the morning off the game banging on about how he's never had a game off and that his pitches are always great.

The creep couldn't see the bigger picture.

Or he wasn't privvy to Morton giving a couple of players late fitness tests. :cb

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 12:50 PM
It was flooding at 10.30 near Greenock.

According to some random on Twitter, it was. I wouldn't want games postponed on the basis of what folk say on social media.

Now that you mention it, every Hearts game for the foreseeable future could be postponed...:hmmm: :greengrin

Let's assume that the Police had nothing else to do during Storm Desmond, but read Twitter. That's the Inverclyde Police, remember.

Even if they had read the tweet about the A8 starting to flood at 10.30 (if it existed), inspected it immediately cos they had nothing else to do, they would then have to contact both clubs. That wouldn't have been done by the Policeman on the scene so further delay would ensue.

Morton, I assume, would be fairly easily contactable at Cappilow, but getting in touch with Hibs officials, who were already on their way, might have delayed things further. Then, they make their decision and publicise it.

It would still have been way too late to stop the Milton Mowbray bus from leaving. And the Police will have had other things to do.

I understand people being frustrated, but the weather is the only thing to blame on this occasion, imo.

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 12:55 PM
So by your reckoning the Police should have closed all the major shopping areas like the Gyle, The Fort etc to prevent people travelling unnecessary to go Christmas shopping.

Eh?

How did you infer that from what I said? :hilarious

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 01:01 PM
How can GMFC be responsible, their groundstaff did an excellent job in keeping the pitch playable it was cancelled due to roads flooding. Morton can't cancel a game for that only the police can after talking to both clubs. We always have to look to blame someone in this case it was pretty much done by the book and no single party is at fault.

I agree.

The Celtic and Partick games was postponed because of waterlogged pitches.

Morton's surface remained playable.

My_Wife_Camille
07-12-2015, 01:01 PM
The pitch inspection was at 11:00 am and it was playable.

Pitches were playable at Tynecastle, Celtic Park, Starks Park and Falkirk among others but it wasn't about the pitches, it was the dangerous weather conditions caused by the storm. The difference between those teams and Morton though are that they took the responsibility and called off their games in good time without the police having to step in, especially Hearts and Celtic.

Greenock Morton and their groundsman are to blame. They could have called it on friday like Hearts and Celtic did but their own vanity got in the way. The tweets from the groundsman boasting that he's never had a game called off for rain prove that. The police did the right thing in calling if off when they did.

I've no idea what Hibernian are supposed to have done wrong though

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 01:03 PM
Like yourself :na na:

Every game in the west of Scotland was rightly called off.

The match should have been called off at 9am when there was the pitch inspection.

His job was to make sure the pitch is playable. Nothing more nothing less! The police issued severe weather warnings friday night saying do not travel unless you have too.

It's nothing to do with 'the creep' who's worked his arse off all night doing his job.

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 01:09 PM
Pitches were playable at Tynecastle, Celtic Park, Starks Park and Falkirk among others but it wasn't about the pitches, it was the dangerous weather conditions caused by the storm. The difference between those teams and Morton though are that they took the responsibility and called off their games in good time without the police having to step in, especially Hearts and Celtic.

Greenock Morton and their groundsman are to blame. They could have called it on friday like Hearts and Celtic did but their own vanity got in the way. The tweets from the groundsman boasting that he's never had a game called off for rain prove that. The police did the right thing in calling if off when they did.

I've no idea what Hibernian are supposed to have done wrong though

Tynnie was floods so was Celtic park. That's why they never went ahead as pitches we not playable. How can you blame the Groundsman when he's been told to make the pitch playable. He's done his job and done it very well.

Time to just move on and be happy everyone made it home safely.

PatHead
07-12-2015, 01:13 PM
According to some random on Twitter, it was. I wouldn't want games postponed on the basis of what folk say on social media.

Now that you mention it, every Hearts game for the foreseeable future could be postponed...:hmmm: :greengrin

Let's assume that the Police had nothing else to do during Storm Desmond, but read Twitter. That's the Inverclyde Police, remember.

Even if they had read the tweet about the A8 starting to flood at 10.30 (if it existed), inspected it immediately cos they had nothing else to do, they would then have to contact both clubs. That wouldn't have been done by the Policeman on the scene so further delay would ensue.

Morton, I assume, would be fairly easily contactable at Cappilow, but getting in touch with Hibs officials, who were already on their way, might have delayed things further. Then, they make their decision and publicise it.

It would still have been way too late to stop the Milton Mowbray bus from leaving. And the Police will have had other things to do.

I understand people being frustrated, but the weather is the only thing to blame on this occasion, imo.

I tried to phone Morton all morning and got an answerphone message saying the office was not open on a Saturday. It was not that easy to contact them.

In addition you are making a large assumption that Hibs did not make an attempt to have the match called off earlier due to the dangerous travel conditions.

Pretty much the whole way through on the M8 was covered with new speed limit of 40mph. The road was awful. By the time we reached Port Glasgow the road was flooded and I was very worried the car would not get through however there was no way to turn back as it was a dual carriageway.

Morton have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that fans are safe at a football match.

To me that means when fans are travelling to and from the match as well. The "be all and end all" is not how good the pitch has held up despite the rain or how many pies get wasted or the loss in hospitality bookings. Fans safety is paramount at all times.

Morton lost sight of that and wanted the game to go ahead as the conditions would have been a leveller and they stood to lose money by the game being off. I wonder if they had been playing Alloa with a few dozen visiting supporters if they would have been so keen to play the match.

With regard to the police having other things to do they will have been aware of the traffic conditions all morning. They are there to keep the public safe and failed in that regard. The Police knew there was an event on in Greenock and should have intervened earlier. Maybe they were expecting Morton to do the sensible thing.

Hibs cannot be blamed for the late call off.

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 01:20 PM
Pitches were playable at Tynecastle, Celtic Park, Starks Park and Falkirk among others but it wasn't about the pitches, it was the dangerous weather conditions caused by the storm. The difference between those teams and Morton though are that they took the responsibility and called off their games in good time without the police having to step in, especially Hearts and Celtic.

Greenock Morton and their groundsman are to blame. They could have called it on friday like Hearts and Celtic did but their own vanity got in the way. The tweets from the groundsman boasting that he's never had a game called off for rain prove that. The police did the right thing in calling if off when they did.

I've no idea what Hibernian are supposed to have done wrong though

Where do these stories come from?

All the games were called off on Saturday morning.

Celtic Park was waterlogged. Falkirk's stand collapsed and the Hearts game was postponed after an inspection at 7.30am. They were first to cancel. Raith Rovers had a positive pitch inspection at 9.30, but brought a second inspection forward to 11.00 and postponed then. Rangers fans are moaning about was too.

6 league games went ahead, plus Scottish Cup ties.

Jack
07-12-2015, 01:21 PM
In my opinion the fault lies with the police and in particular the match commander.

It's him, or her, who is responsible for policing the match and he should have have been aware of the circumstances affecting supporters travelling to the match.

PatHead
07-12-2015, 01:23 PM
Pitches were playable at Tynecastle, Celtic Park, Starks Park and Falkirk among others but it wasn't about the pitches, it was the dangerous weather conditions caused by the storm. The difference between those teams and Morton though are that they took the responsibility and called off their games in good time without the police having to step in, especially Hearts and Celtic.

Greenock Morton and their groundsman are to blame. They could have called it on friday like Hearts and Celtic did but their own vanity got in the way. The tweets from the groundsman boasting that he's never had a game called off for rain prove that. The police did the right thing in calling if off when they did.

I've no idea what Hibernian are supposed to have done wrong though

Celtic game was called off following a pitch inspection at 9.30 by Craig Thomson. Don't know about the others.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 01:23 PM
Eh?

How did you infer that from what I said? :hilarious

You said, Although, a further complication would be that, if I recall correctly, the Police advise was for people not to travel at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

As long as the shopping centers remained open people were going to travel to them, so to prevent anybody travelling unnecessarily the Police should have closed them in the interest of public safety :wink:

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 01:31 PM
Celtic game was called off following a pitch inspection at 9.30 by Craig Thomson. Don't know about the others.

Hearts was 7:30 in the morning, so he's clearly just making stuff up.

JimBHibees
07-12-2015, 01:34 PM
Hearts was 7:30 in the morning, so he's clearly just making stuff up.

Pretty sure I saw on saturday morning that the Hearts game was called off due to high winds rather than waterlogged pitch.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 01:35 PM
Hearts was 7:30 in the morning, so he's clearly just making stuff up.


A total of nine matches have been postponed due to the adverse weather.

The games at Celtic, Hearts, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Morton, Raith Rovers, St Mirren, Albion Rovers and East Stirlingshire have been called off - new dates will be confirmed in due course.

Ladbrokes Premiership
Celtic P-P Hamilton Accies - GAME OFF after 9.30am pitch inspection
Hearts P-P Inverness CT - GAME OFF after 7.15am pitch inspection
Partick Thistle P-P Motherwell - GAME OFF after 9.15am pitch inspection

Ladbrokes Championship
Falkirk P-P Livingston - GAME OFF due to structural damage
Morton P-P Hibernian - Game OFF due to safety concerns
Raith Rovers P-P Rangers - GAME OFF after 11.00am pitch inspection
St Mirren P-P Queen of the South - GAME OFF after 9.45am pitch inspection

Ladbrokes League 1
Albion Rovers P-P Stranraer - GAME OFF after 9.00am pitch inspection

Ladbrokes League 2
East Stirlingshire P-P Clyde - GAME OFF due to flooding

Read more at http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/pitch-inspection-at-celtic-park/#HPgBcs80LdLjg1EZ.99

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 01:36 PM
I tried to phone Morton all morning and got an answerphone message saying the office was not open on a Saturday. It was not that easy to contact them.



Well there you are. You strengthen my point about how long it would have taken for the Police to postpone a game.




In addition you are making a large assumption that Hibs did not make an attempt to have the match called off earlier due to the dangerous travel conditions.



I'm not making any assumption.




Morton have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that fans are safe at a football match.

To me that means when fans are travelling to and from the match as well.



Hibs have undersoil heating which allows games to be played even in very cold temperatures.

Using the logic of your argument, you're saying that Hibs would be to blame if a game was played when the streets around Easter Road were icy and someone slipped in front of a bus.

I disagree with that. A football club's responsibility lies inside its grounds. Outside is the responsibility of the public and the police.



Morton lost sight of that and wanted the game to go ahead as the conditions would have been a leveller and they stood to lose money by the game being off. I wonder if they had been playing Alloa with a few dozen visiting supporters if they would have been so keen to play the match.



The first sentence is a very big assumption. The second is speculation. I do know that 9 games went ahead in Scotland on Saturday. Most of them didn't have big travelling supports.




Hibs cannot be blamed for the late call off.

Agreed.

lapsedhibee
07-12-2015, 01:37 PM
Morton have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that fans are safe at a football match.

To me that means when fans are travelling to and from the match as well. The "be all and end all" is not how good the pitch has held up despite the rain or how many pies get wasted or the loss in hospitality bookings. Fans safety is paramount at all times.

The Morton groundsman should have taken the trouble to find out where all the visiting team's fans were coming from and personally trialled their chosen routes to the ground to make sure they were all ok. Shirley that would have been in his contract of employment - or if not why not? :grr:

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 01:39 PM
You said, Although, a further complication would be that, if I recall correctly, the Police advise was for people not to travel at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

As long as the shopping centers remained open people were going to travel to them, so to prevent anybody travelling unnecessarily the Police should have closed them in the interest of public safety :wink:

You've lost it. :crazy:

:greengrin

My_Wife_Camille
07-12-2015, 01:42 PM
Hearts was 7:30 in the morning, so he's clearly just making stuff up.

Its possible to make a mistake without making things up! I was of the understanding that both Hearts and Celtic were called off on the Friday but I obviously just got mixed up with their pitch inspection announcements which were made on Friday afternoon!

Kojock
07-12-2015, 01:43 PM
You've lost it. :crazy:

:greengrin

You cant lose what you never had in the first place :aok:

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 01:45 PM
You cant lose what you never had in the first place :aok:

You and me, both.

PatHead
07-12-2015, 01:45 PM
The Morton groundsman should have taken the trouble to find out where all the visiting team's fans were coming from and personally trialled their chosen routes to the ground to make sure they were all ok. Shirley that would have been in his contract of employment - or if not why not? :grr:

Nothing to do with the groundsman. He did his job getting the pitch playable and seemed to take great pride in it.

The match commander should liaise with the police to make sure it is safe for the match to take place.

iwasthere1972
07-12-2015, 01:46 PM
Well here's my tuppence worth.

I travelled on the bus mentioned and to be completely honest, when I got up at 7.30 on Saturday morning I had my fingers crossed that our match in Greenock would have been called off or least a message saying that it was doubtful to go ahead. We know that there was flooding in the area at 10.30am at the latest by a post that a Greenock Morton fan had made. To get the news at 11am that the game was on came as a surprise to me but by that time our bus was already en route, albeit still in Edinburgh.

Most of us, especially the ones who were travelling I would say, were well aware of the weather forecast for Saturday afternoon kick off time. Heavy rain pissing down and 55mph winds added to the fact that we, the away fans, weren't even in any of the sheltered areas of the stadium. Regardless of the flooding to the immediate area surrounding the ground, or the pitch being deemed playable, the match should have been postponed early that morning. Although I decided that I wasn't going to be a wimp and went, I was pretty relieved that the match had been postponed when we were a few miles from the ground.

It should never have taken until 12.35pm to be called off. Far too late for anyone who was going. The weather was never going to improve between Saturday morning and the afternoon. In fact it was forecast to be worse. Even Michael Fish knew that.

That's me done or maybe not. :greengrin

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 01:47 PM
Its possible to make a mistake without making things up! I was of the understanding that both Hearts and Celtic were called off on the Friday but I obviously just got mixed up with their pitch inspection announcements which were made on Friday afternoon!

Fair do's, I take that back! I do agree though the game was left late and should have been done around 9. But that's up to police Scotland not Morton as the pitch was playable.

PatHead
07-12-2015, 01:54 PM
Well there you are. You strengthen my point about how long it would have taken for the Police to postpone a game.

The match commander would have contact details with the local police commander



I'm not making any assumption.





Hibs have undersoil heating which allows games to be played even in very cold temperatures.

Using the logic of your argument, you're saying that Hibs would be to blame if a game was played when the streets around Easter Road were icy and someone slipped in front of a bus.

I disagree with that. A football club's responsibility lies inside its grounds. Outside is the responsibility of the public and the police.

Seem to remember a game being called of at Easter Road because the surrounding streets were unsafe which was a police decision



The first sentence is a very big assumption. The second is speculation. I do know that 9 games went ahead in Scotland on Saturday. Most of them didn't have big travelling supports.

Why else would Morton have been desperate for the game to go ahead. They had no regard for the safety of fans trying to get to the match.

The bottom line, to which we both appear to agree, is that Hibs were blameless in this matter.

Lessons should be learnt though for future occasions.

Agreed.

Agreed

truehibernian
07-12-2015, 01:55 PM
In my opinion the fault lies with the police and in particular the match commander.

It's him, or her, who is responsible for policing the match and he should have have been aware of the circumstances affecting supporters travelling to the match.

He/she did their job - their job is to support Morton's staff on the day however their wider remit is to protect life and property - which they did.

Police advised of adverse weather, there were numerous weather warnings on the national news and online, the game was postponed well before kick off allowing fans to return home safely albeit unhappy and inconvenienced.

Had the flooding got worse then you have congestion, fans possibly stuck in Greenock for longer, risk to those who are infirm, disabled or young/elderly.

It was a game of football that was cancelled - jeez there are folk currently unable to leave their homes and the army boating up and down streets - a wee touch of reality and perspective needs applied here eh !

Kojock
07-12-2015, 01:55 PM
Fair do's, I take that back! I do agree though the game was left late and should have been done around 9. But that's up to police Scotland not Morton as the pitch was playable.

Ive not spoken to anyone who thinks it was the wrong decision to call the game off, its the way and the late hour it was done that has got people annoyed.

Thecat23
07-12-2015, 01:59 PM
Ive not spoken to anyone who thinks it was the wrong decision to call the game off, its the way and the late hour it was done that has got people annoyed.

Which I was agreeing with if you read my posts. It should have been done earlier that is clear. But it's not the fault of the Groundsman as some have suggested. He's not in charge of surrounding roads.

The police did give a weather warning the night before to only travel if you really have too. But I think they should have called it off soon as they noticed the flooded roads which many posted was from 9 onwards. Either way anyone going to the game must have had doubts it would be binned. It's the chance you take.

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 02:06 PM
Agreed

That game at ER was called off when it was icy by the Police, not Hibs. you said that road safety on Saturday was Morton's legal and moral responsibility. It's not.

I don't know how desperate Morton were for the game to go ahead on Saturday.

They wouldn't have been able to call the game off anyway, desperate or not. A referee would have to decide that and the pitch was playable.

That storm was a freak of nature. It brought record levels of rain to the UK. Waterfalls which hadn't flowed in living memory, sprung to life. Have you seen the state of Cumbria?

The need for so many folk to blame someone for a wasted journey is baffling, to be honest.

Baldy Foghorn
07-12-2015, 02:13 PM
Sympathise with OP, and can empathise with all who travelled.

However, in no way can any blame be apportioned to Hibs or Morton on this.......The match commander should have seen the road earlier, and looked at the bigger picture of the safety of fans before and after the game. If this call was made earlier then no-one would have minded, but the fact it two two hours after the orginal message, saying there were flooding on roads is the galling part for me.............

iwasthere1972
07-12-2015, 02:14 PM
He/she did their job - their job is to support Morton's staff on the day however their wider remit is to protect life and property - which they did.

Police advised of adverse weather, there were numerous weather warnings on the national news and online, the game was postponed well before kick off allowing fans to return home safely albeit unhappy and inconvenienced.

Had the flooding got worse then you have congestion, fans possibly stuck in Greenock for longer, risk to those who are infirm, disabled or young/elderly.

It was a game of football that was cancelled - jeez there are folk currently unable to leave their homes and the army boating up and down streets - a wee touch of reality and perspective needs applied here eh !

I think we are all aware that there are worse things in life and that it was just an inconvenience to us who made the journey through to Greenock. Nobody got killed or injured. What we are saying is that Police Scotland were also aware of the weather conditions and could have called the game off earlier than they did. Yes 12.45pm is before the kick off time but most fans were already pretty close to arriving in Greenock or enroute. The fact that matches at Tyncastle and Celtic Park had already been called off earlier that day told me that our match would follow suit and be called off but until that time I was still going.

We can hardly call ourselves :gwa: if we don't turn up for a game that's still on. I won't be losing sleep over it either. Just an inconvenience that could have been avoided.

tartanhibee
07-12-2015, 02:17 PM
I'll just throw my tuppence worth in here. I was due to leave for Greenock after dropping my son off at 1230. I never left for the game causing no inconvenience at all I thought that 2 and half hours would be ample time to get to the game even with the weather. I will also point out that I stay near Falkirk.

CallumLaidlaw
07-12-2015, 02:26 PM
I'll just throw my tuppence worth in here. I was due to leave for Greenock after dropping my son off at 1230. I never left for the game causing no inconvenience at all I thought that 2 and half hours would be ample time to get to the game even with the weather. I will also point out that I stay near Falkirk.

I was lucky really. I spoke to my dad at 9.30 and we decided not to go to the game, even although we had tickets. Living in Rosyth, we were planning on leaving at around 11am to go via Kincardine where it was sure to be absolutely heaving, so we would have been quite a long way into our journey by 12.45 and would have had to turn round and do another long journey back across the Kincardine. We just felt at 9.30 that there was stilla very good chance the game would be called off so wasnt worth the hassle.

truehibernian
07-12-2015, 02:28 PM
Sympathise with OP, and can empathise with all who travelled.

However, in no way can any blame be apportioned to Hibs or Morton on this.......The match commander should have seen the road earlier, and looked at the bigger picture of the safety of fans before and after the game. If this call was made earlier then no-one would have minded, but the fact it two two hours after the orginal message, saying there were flooding on roads is the galling part for me.............

BF, agree with you that it's very nippy and inconvenient fans had to turn back but two Sunday's ago I was in a wee place outside Blairgowrie. At 9am it was fine, wee bit frosty and cold. We then had breakfast and in that short time the snow started - by 11 the road one way (to Braemar) was closed and the other way to leave was getting horrendous. I even got stuck on a hill climb as I drove through Blairgowrie - thank god they eat their porridge there 'cos a few folk had to push my car up the hill 😀.

Point being the weather can turn in a very short space of time.

I don't really blame anyone - thankfully we all got home safe and sound and we are just inconvenienced (and agreed, out of pocket which is a nippy one to take for most).

Better than being stuck in Greenock though 😀

Kojock
07-12-2015, 02:48 PM
Which I was agreeing with if you read my posts. It should have been done earlier that is clear. But it's not the fault of the Groundsman as some have suggested. He's not in charge of surrounding roads.

The police did give a weather warning the night before to only travel if you really have too. But I think they should have called it off soon as they noticed the flooded roads which many posted was from 9 onwards. Either way anyone going to the game must have had doubts it would be binned. It's the chance you take.

I wasn't disagreeing with you I was just reiterating the fact that everyone I have spoken to agrees the game should have been called off. To blame the groundsman is ludicrous. His duty was to get the green rectangle playable. The access roads were not his problem.

Baldy Foghorn
07-12-2015, 02:51 PM
BF, agree with you that it's very nippy and inconvenient fans had to turn back but two Sunday's ago I was in a wee place outside Blairgowrie. At 9am it was fine, wee bit frosty and cold. We then had breakfast and in that short time the snow started - by 11 the road one way (to Braemar) was closed and the other way to leave was getting horrendous. I even got stuck on a hill climb as I drove through Blairgowrie - thank god they eat their porridge there 'cos a few folk had to push my car up the hill .

Point being the weather can turn in a very short space of time.

I don't really blame anyone - thankfully we all got home safe and sound and we are just inconvenienced (and agreed, out of pocket which is a nippy one to take for most).

Better than being stuck in Greenock though 

Fair point........

Having seen the scenes in Cumbria, I suppose we should count ourselves lucky really.......

Kojock
07-12-2015, 03:03 PM
BF, agree with you that it's very nippy and inconvenient fans had to turn back but two Sunday's ago I was in a wee place outside Blairgowrie. At 9am it was fine, wee bit frosty and cold. We then had breakfast and in that short time the snow started - by 11 the road one way (to Braemar) was closed and the other way to leave was getting horrendous. I even got stuck on a hill climb as I drove through Blairgowrie - thank god they eat their porridge there 'cos a few folk had to push my car up the hill .

Point being the weather can turn in a very short space of time.

I don't really blame anyone - thankfully we all got home safe and sound and we are just inconvenienced (and agreed, out of pocket which is a nippy one to take for most).

Better than being stuck in Greenock though 

The point is though that the weather didn't turn in a short space of time, everyone was aware that there was to be heavy rain and howling gales on Friday night and continue all day Saturday. The section of road on the A8 is notorious for flooding and if reports are to be believed there was serious flooding at 10.00am. To wait till 12.30 to call the game of was ludicrous as the conditions were only going deteriorate as the day wore on.

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 03:10 PM
We might be reaching some sort of a consensus on this - could be a first for hibs.net! :greengrin

99.99% of people think Hibs were blameless. They were necessarily heading to fulfill their professional obligation and had no say in the decision or its timing.

Morton were not a fault. They had no authority to postpone the game, and responsibly made their pitch as playable as possible should the game have gone ahead.

Then there's the Polis. They will point out that the road only became impassable at midday and the game was called off when that happened. Should they have postponed the game earlier? They will say that they had many priorities other than worrying about a match that wasn't going to take place for another 5 hours. They will suggest that postponing a game between 2 central belt teams 2 and a half hours before kick-off is perfectly timely. They will also say that, although they may be talented in other areas, they don't have a crystal ball.

If none of those arguments impress you, they will simply point out that they told you the night before not to travel unless it was absolutely necessary because something nasty might happen.

So that leaves Petrie! :grr:

lapsedhibee
07-12-2015, 03:54 PM
I blame the need to blame someone/anyone for everything that goes wrong these days.

Shirley Polis England or Arsenal's groundsman must be up in court after this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35026367

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 03:59 PM
Shirley Polis England or Arsenal's groundsman must be up in court after this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35026367

I think Sunderland FC have to shoulder some of the responsibility, tbh.

lucky
07-12-2015, 04:52 PM
2 &1/2 hours notice is not to bad notice to call a game off. Most left a bit early due to the weather or had prearranged drinks/social. The reality is that it was a day to be traveling or standing in an open terrace to watch football. I was in Glasgow when came was called off and was not to disappointed. Hibs , Morton or the police were not at fault as insurance companies say it was an act of God. It happens sometimes here in Scotland that the weather is not good enough for our infrastructure to cope

HUTCHYHIBBY
07-12-2015, 05:04 PM
That game at ER was called off when it was icy by the Police, not Hibs. you said that road safety on Saturday was Morton's legal and moral responsibility. It's not.

I don't know how desperate Morton were for the game to go ahead on Saturday.

They wouldn't have been able to call the game off anyway, desperate or not. A referee would have to decide that and the pitch was playable.

That storm was a freak of nature. It brought record levels of rain to the UK. Waterfalls which hadn't flowed in living memory, sprung to life. Have you seen the state of Cumbria?

The need for so many folk to blame someone for a wasted journey is baffling, to be honest.

Why are you that bothered when you were not going anyway?

PatHead
07-12-2015, 05:27 PM
To me the main point is that fortunately no-one was hurt this time but has anything been learnt to stop it happening again?

The more often this happens the more likely it is for a car or bus to be in an accident. Morton knew the current weather on Saturday morning, they knew the forecast both before the match and afterwards and they knew what effect this would have had on the surrounding streets.

They also knew that these conditions would make the match farcical and a large percentage of the support would not have any shelter. This is the 21st century and we should not have facilities like these in this day and age.

The club match commander should have discussed this with the police and instead only worried about the pitch being okay.

I would hope Hibs would take a different attitude and call it off earlier. We will see when this happens again.

silverhibee
07-12-2015, 05:52 PM
According to some random on Twitter, it was. I wouldn't want games postponed on the basis of what folk say on social media.

Now that you mention it, every Hearts game for the foreseeable future could be postponed...:hmmm: :greengrin

Let's assume that the Police had nothing else to do during Storm Desmond, but read Twitter. That's the Inverclyde Police, remember.

Even if they had read the tweet about the A8 starting to flood at 10.30 (if it existed), inspected it immediately cos they had nothing else to do, they would then have to contact both clubs. That wouldn't have been done by the Policeman on the scene so further delay would ensue.

Morton, I assume, would be fairly easily contactable at Cappilow, but getting in touch with Hibs officials, who were already on their way, might have delayed things further. Then, they make their decision and publicise it.

It would still have been way too late to stop the Milton Mowbray bus from leaving. And the Police will have had other things to do.

I understand people being frustrated, but the weather is the only thing to blame on this occasion, imo.

Correct that the weather is to blame for all this fuss, Police warning folk not to travel because Storm Desmond was going to hit us, Friday night there were signs that the weather was going to be very bad over the weekend.

So, why did the SPFL/SFA not make a decision on Saturday Morning that due to severe weather conditions and information from the Police advising people not to travel unless necessary did they not just call off all games being played in Scotland.

Scouse Hibee
07-12-2015, 06:00 PM
FFS the game was called off for safety reasons, as far as I am aware everyone made it back home safe on Saturday. Job done and nothing really to argue about. Much worse has happened over a game of football than a few people feeling pissed off because they were inconvenienced!

Kojock
07-12-2015, 06:03 PM
I think Sunderland FC have to shoulder some of the responsibility, tbh.

Cheap shot and totally unnecessary.

Famous Fiver
07-12-2015, 06:03 PM
Back (again) to the famous Hibs Man U friendly when we were one of the few grounds in UK to have undersoil heating. Pitch was playable (just) but I remember slipping up and down the old Dunbar Road terracing for 90 minutes because the surrounds were a death trap.

I thoroughly enjoyed the occasion and would do it all again in a minute.

Can't remember the Police having either an opinion or any influence in proceedings that day. No elf'n'safety in them days!

Hibbyradge
07-12-2015, 06:06 PM
Cheap shot and totally unnecessary.

Eh?

It was entirely in keeping with the tongue in cheek post I quoted.

Kojock
07-12-2015, 06:09 PM
Shirley Polis England or Arsenal's groundsman must be up in court after this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35026367

No need for such a flippant comment. Some poor family has lost a dad, grandad, great grandad.

cabbageandribs1875
07-12-2015, 06:50 PM
that's a poor shame for the old guy, i had read an article about it on saturday night, then it was updated to say he was on way to the footy

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:08 AM
I totally agree that it should have been done first thing in the morning. I'm not sure Morton can take any blame though as they themselves worked through the night to keep the pitch playable.

The police have clearly ballsed up on this one that's for sure. But as with any game you travel at your own choice and with the weather being as it was on sat I think everyone going through would have known it may be called off. It's crap for us fans who make that journey but sometimes that's the chance we take.I totally disagree, with all you have said! I tried on Friday, and also several times on Saturday morning to contact Morton. their standard message on the phone,which was NEVER answered, kept telling me that the office hours were blah blah and open on Mon.Tues. Thurs.and Fridays!!!!! I also emailed them and all we had was tweets from a superefficient groundsman telling us that it was "firm" and can take "lots more rain" an hour before the cancellation. I have now received a mail from Greenock Moeton, and have invited me to discuss things, if I leave my number. I eagerly await the call in the morning!

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:11 AM
Spot on. Imagine if one of our busses was involved in a bad crash or a supporter was hurt on the way into the ground. Folk say "but the people of Morton still have to go out" yes but the volume of traffic is about 20 times more than normal and so is the amount of folk around the ground.

The police issued a warning to all on sat that only travel if you really need too. This surely applies to football fans as well. Again it was bad timing no doubt about it but it was the right call. Safety of the fans must come first!where, and when did the Police issue this warning?

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:12 AM
Spot on. Imagine if one of our busses was involved in a bad crash or a supporter was hurt on the way into the ground. Folk say "but the people of Morton still have to go out" yes but the volume of traffic is about 20 times more than normal and so is the amount of folk around the ground.

The police issued a warning to all on sat that only travel if you really need too. This surely applies to football fans as well. Again it was bad timing no doubt about it but it was the right call. Safety of the fans must come first!where, and when did the Police issue this warning? did they take the courtesy of informing the said football clubs?

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:18 AM
Re: the OP, presumably if the info in the post really was purely for the benefit of those on your bus, that info could have been conveyed via PM/phone call, text message etc without the need for a public thread?

Seems a little bit "look at me, I'm so very enraged" IMO.

From what I can glean from the info on what happened yesterday, unless Petrie has donned his skintight "Storm from X-Men" costume and spent yesterday morning just ****ing the weather up all across the land, the club is blameless here.see my most recent posts. both clubs would answer their respective phones. should I have spoke tae the new high heid yin of Police Scotland?

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:32 AM
Pitches were playable at Tynecastle, Celtic Park, Starks Park and Falkirk among others but it wasn't about the pitches, it was the dangerous weather conditions caused by the storm. The difference between those teams and Morton though are that they took the responsibility and called off their games in good time without the police having to step in, especially Hearts and Celtic.

Greenock Morton and their groundsman are to blame. They could have called it on friday like Hearts and Celtic did but their own vanity got in the way. The tweets from the groundsman boasting that he's never had a game called off for rain prove that. The police did the right thing in calling if off when they did.

I've no idea what Hibernian are supposed to have done wrong though:agree:with the proviso, that Hibernian fc, could not answer a simple phone call

monktonharp
08-12-2015, 12:37 AM
I tried to phone Morton all morning and got an answerphone message saying the office was not open on a Saturday. It was not that easy to contact them.

In addition you are making a large assumption that Hibs did not make an attempt to have the match called off earlier due to the dangerous travel conditions.

Pretty much the whole way through on the M8 was covered with new speed limit of 40mph. The road was awful. By the time we reached Port Glasgow the road was flooded and I was very worried the car would not get through however there was no way to turn back as it was a dual carriageway.

Morton have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that fans are safe at a football match.

To me that means when fans are travelling to and from the match as well. The "be all and end all" is not how good the pitch has held up despite the rain or how many pies get wasted or the loss in hospitality bookings. Fans safety is paramount at all times.

Morton lost sight of that and wanted the game to go ahead as the conditions would have been a leveller and they stood to lose money by the game being off. I wonder if they had been playing Alloa with a few dozen visiting supporters if they would have been so keen to play the match.

With regard to the police having other things to do they will have been aware of the traffic conditions all morning. They are there to keep the public safe and failed in that regard. The Police knew there was an event on in Greenock and should have intervened earlier. Maybe they were expecting Morton to do the sensible thing.

Hibs cannot be blamed for the late call off.the Polis were also busy, with west coast burglars going about in scuba gear

Ronniekirk
08-12-2015, 09:30 AM
Well it's a perfect day today through here on the west coast and it's to be dry tonight Hibs wanted the game on tonight and presumably factored in the weather as it was pissin it doon last night and will be tomorrow night so that window of opportunity has gone . just saying like :rolleyes: