to all who travelled on the Milton Mowbray bus on Saturday.......

[monktonharp]

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]

Hope you're tin hat is on securely mate, I think you're gonna need it!

[Thecat23]

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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]

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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]

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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]

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.

[Thecat23]

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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!

[monktonharp]

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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]

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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?

[Thecat23]

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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.

[Onion]

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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]

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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.)

[monktonharp]

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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!

[CB_NO3]

Dempster really needs to have a word with herself for allowing the A8 near Greenock to get flooded two hours before KO.

[Thecat23]

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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 ;)

[andyf5]

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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]

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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?

[silverhibee]

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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.

[Hibbyradge]

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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...

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.

[PatHead]

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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...

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]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hibs cannot be blamed for the late call off.

Agreed.

[lapsedhibee]

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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?

[monktonharp]

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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

[silverhibee]

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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...

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.

[Famous Fiver]

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!

[B.H.F.C]

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.

[lyonhibs]

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.

[oneone73]

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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.

[lyonhibs]

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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.

[monktonharp]

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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?