Angry scenes after Wanderers match abandoned (From Bucks Free Press)

The only question I have... can we see a picture of the lightening damage ? just to put our minds at rest. Or was this a little bit of a dodgy shout ?

did anyone mention damage caused by the lightening? the article above certainly doesn't!

Lightening strike was the reason Wycombe gave for the health and safety guy calling the game off. Surely you would like that to be proven ?

and flooding! the health and safety of the players and the fans is all that they were concerned by. the ref agreed...

I am interested now, would the health and safety guy have got away with this if Wycombe had been 3-1 up ?

all what ifs and maybes - completely irrelevant as the decision was made! need to move on!!

Can I ask, did you see the lightening strike the stand ?

no, however i am not the safety officer at WWFC nor was i at the game!

I was, it did not. I had a soft spot for Wycombe before today but I feel they have let themselves down very badly today, will health and safety officers sart this type of gamesmanship from today? Only time will tell I guess.

which stand were you in?

Dreams, the one that should have a large burn mark or hole in it!

ah, so presumably you could not see the top or the sides or the back of the stand? in all fairness, im still going with the decision made

Absolute negligence by WWFC. The away supporters in the stand that was supposedly struck by lightning must have been in grave danger for the game to be postponed, yet they weren't evacuated immediately. In fact, they were locked in the unsafe stand. It sounds to me that the Rovers' supporters were helping Wycombe, by dismantling the stadium, that the stadium safety officer has deemed unsafe.

would have been perfectly safe if they had sat on their plastic seats!!!

Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Oh dear - get some focus! The town of High Wycombe generally couldn't give a rats a*?s about WWFC so I doubt very much whether or not it cares!
I'm pretty sure that if the scoreline was reversed you wouldn't be so concerned about the decision made!
Q. A bad case of sour grapes?
A. It's a pig if you're a Rovers fan!

Furthermore, why were the Rovers' substitutes allowed to warm-up on the pitch during the time when the decision was being made? The whole situation was a farce. I guess it goes to show that sportsmanship has left the game and clubs like WWFC are happy to act in such a corrupt way. What a shambles of a club.

Gas-Ed wrote:
Furthermore, why were the Rovers' substitutes allowed to warm-up on the pitch during the time when the decision was being made? The whole situation was a farce. I guess it goes to show that sportsmanship has left the game and clubs like WWFC are happy to act in such a corrupt way. What a shambles of a club.

Perhaps we should take some lessons from yourselves - what's the quickest way to rip hoardings down and abuse ticket office staff?
What a club!!

Focus? You had a lucky day, it might yet bite you and your team on the bum. Your guy lied and got away with it ( at the moment ) . i would wish you luck for the season, but I am sure you already know you have had more than your share already. :0)

I thought the football ground was a bastion of 'family entertainment' but after reading about the 'angry scenes' that took place there this afternoon and seeing the picture that accompanies this news article it would appear there is a bubbling undercurrent of hooliganism.
~
I was shortly going to attend a match to see how things have changed and support my local club but after this afternoons events I am having second thoughts. Thank heavens we didn't build a new stadium at Booker if this is the sort of behaviour of the fans....
~
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “BLOGS” link at the top of the page.

Ivor, you only need to not cheat and the fun will come back.

Time for sleep, long day and all that. Have a nice life and try to get that health and safety guy sorted Freedom of the town for him after today eh ?

ivor wrote:
I thought the football ground was a bastion of 'family entertainment' but after reading about the 'angry scenes' that took place there this afternoon and seeing the picture that accompanies this news article it would appear there is a bubbling undercurrent of hooliganism.
~
I was shortly going to attend a match to see how things have changed and support my local club but after this afternoons events I am having second thoughts. Thank heavens we didn't build a new stadium at Booker if this is the sort of behaviour of the fans....
~
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “BLOGS” link at the top of the page.

Oh Ivor - I wondered how long it would take you to crawl out of the woodwork!
You have proved, yet again, you know nothing about anything of any significance! i very much doubt that a few portly west-country gasmen shouting the odds strikes of 'underlying hooliganism'!
The lack of stadium at Booker was due to ignorance and unfounded slur campaigns by this town, yet again, failing to support the good things we have to offer!

jinnyhill wrote:

ivor wrote:
I thought the football ground was a bastion of 'family entertainment' but after reading about the 'angry scenes' that took place there this afternoon and seeing the picture that accompanies this news article it would appear there is a bubbling undercurrent of hooliganism.
~
I was shortly going to attend a match to see how things have changed and support my local club but after this afternoons events I am having second thoughts. Thank heavens we didn't build a new stadium at Booker if this is the sort of behaviour of the fans....
~
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “BLOGS” link at the top of the page.

Oh Ivor - I wondered how long it would take you to crawl out of the woodwork!
You have proved, yet again, you know nothing about anything of any significance! i very much doubt that a few portly west-country gasmen shouting the odds strikes of 'underlying hooliganism'!
The lack of stadium at Booker was due to ignorance and unfounded slur campaigns by this town, yet again, failing to support the good things we have to offer!

In a properly controlled and safe environment there should be no trouble or 'angry scenes' at all.
~
The stadium was cancelled because it was not necessary, with poor gate attendances it would have been far too large for the crowds the football club attracts.
~
'Angry scenes' and reports of hooliganism will do nothing to bring the crowds back indeed after today's events I would fear for my safety if I went over there.
~
Have you read Ivor’s blog today? Click on the “BLOGS” link at the top of the page.

jinnyhill wrote:
would have been perfectly safe if they had sat on their plastic seats!!!

exactly, so no danger at all. thanks for admitting that.
players could easily stayed off the pitch until the storm passed and everyone knows thunder storms dont last long. infact the thunder/lightening stopped during the 10 minute break. so whats the problem? why abandon the game? ahh, it was because you were losing 1-3.
if you were winning 3-1, the safety officer wouldnt of stopped the game thats for sure. its not right that a club official should be allowed to decide the fate of the game.

jinnyhill wrote:
and flooding! the health and safety of the players and the fans is all that they were concerned by. the ref agreed...

oh and if the game was abandoned due to flooded pitch which it wasnt, that would be the refs decision not the safety officer. ref controls the pitch. safety officer controls everything around it. hense why the game was abandoned due to the lightening 'apparently' hitting the stand not the pitch flooding.

It was too dangerous for the game to continue, yet safe enough for fans to remain in the stands, safe enough for subs to warm up on the pitch and safe enough for a bloke to wonder the pitch with a metal pitch fork.

grade d wrote:
Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

Clearly some, if not all the Bristol Rovers supporters felt the match should have continued despite the bad weather and the potential risk, (or no risk as some will say). With Bristol being 1-3 up they obviously stood a very good chance of winning the match and getting the 3 points and let’s face it 3 points at the end of the season could make a big difference between promotion and or relegation.

What ever you views are on whether the match should have continued, it’s not every day that a match is abandoned and I’m sure a report will have to be submitted to the Football League. However for people to say on a public forum, that WWFC’s H&S man lied and made the decision to prevent Wycombe loosing the match is inflammatory and potentially libellous.

I understand that the Bristol fans were upset by the decision as I’m sure Wycombe fans would have been had the shoe been on the other foot however something that has been totally missed here is the behaviour of some, and I will say some, of the Bristol fans. I don’t care how upset they were at the match being called off, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, gave them the right to behave the way they did. Apart from the damage to the stand, ticket office staff were subjected to a torrent of foul and abusive language. And when they were asked to calm down because there were children present they just kicked off even more, and at on stage even picking things up from the counter and threatened to throw them at the staff.

Im sure the Bristol fans who have commented on here will join me in condemning those fans, and I use the term loosely, who have tarnished your clubs name, and will support my call for any one identified to be given a lifetime ban. This type of behaviour is the exception rather than the rule but clearly has no place in the game and should be stamped out at every opportunity.

Oh the joys of football.
Had heard the Health & safety guy was from Bristol, Ashton Gate way.

30 comments about a football match!
.
It's a shame many of the real issues in the area don't generate so much response.

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote:
Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

Tell us more - where can we read it up Edgar? I always thought that conductive objects, particularly small sharp metal ones in prominent positions (like lightning conductors) attracted lightning strikes and this was the reason people playing golf in a high location are told to keep away from bags and bag trolleys and umbrellas with metal tips. What happened the last time lightning struck the middle of a football pitch?

gotanybiscuits? wrote:
30 comments about a football match!
.
It's a shame many of the real issues in the area don't generate so much response.

Tell us more - where can we read it up Edgar? I always thought that conductive objects, particularly small sharp metal ones in prominent positions (like lightning conductors) attracted lightning strikes and this was the reason people playing golf in a high location are told to keep away from bags and bag trolleys and umbrellas with metal tips. What happened the last time lightning struck the middle of a football pitch?

gotanybiscuits? wrote:
30 comments about a football match!
.
It's a shame many of the real issues in the area don't generate so much response.

Yes indeed I suppose this the reason there is so much enthusiasm for sport in the BFP - the BFP bosses have worked out that there is a guaranteed audience of enthusiastic but (not too brainy) people for anything to do with ‘sport’. This is probably the reason that only sport reports are accompanied by background commentary on the online BFP – watching sport is a passive activity and if the sports fans can listen they only have to react and not to read each letter in a word under their breath and then try to work out what the word is.

Mr Stape wrote:

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote: Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

Tell us more - where can we read it up Edgar? I always thought that conductive objects, particularly small sharp metal ones in prominent positions (like lightning conductors) attracted lightning strikes and this was the reason people playing golf in a high location are told to keep away from bags and bag trolleys and umbrellas with metal tips. What happened the last time lightning struck the middle of a football pitch?

Try doing your own research; Google something like "lightning strike hits football field," and see if you feel quite so smug, after reading (and viewing) some of the events.

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote:
Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

we care more about the 3 points as there was simply NO danger to anyone. the game was played through the thunder/lightening from 45mins - 67mins. if there was danger why wasnt the players taken off when it started or any time in the 22 minutes. but instead your safety officer waits until the thunder/lightening stops to get the ref to have a 10 minute break. during that 10 mins there was NO thunder/lightening at all. if there was danger why would they allow the groundsman with a metal fork be on the pitch? why let the subs go out and warm up? NO DANGER AT ALL. therefore quite right we are more interested in the 3 points. yu=ou also admit there was no danger to the fans. so why else should the game be abandoned? just wait 10 more mins for the sun to come which actually happened. thunder storms dont last long and the game was played throughout that storm. so again why abandon the game? maybe think before you reply as players/fans were safe. just because you were losing thats why. if you were 3-1 up then game would not have been stopped by this wycombe club official. very wrong that the club official of the losing team can decide the fate of the match with a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

Nice try Eddie

Try doing your own research; Google something…

LOL - Surely it’s your research - YOU’RE the one touting safety issues – surely you ought to be telling us what you know - not this bit of work-avoidance BS ‘Try doing your own research;’

You tell us what you know (if anything) about this and the references for it - you mentioned it after all.

gashead83 wrote:

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote:
Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

we care more about the 3 points as there was simply NO danger to anyone. the game was played through the thunder/lightening from 45mins - 67mins. if there was danger why wasnt the players taken off when it started or any time in the 22 minutes. but instead your safety officer waits until the thunder/lightening stops to get the ref to have a 10 minute break. during that 10 mins there was NO thunder/lightening at all. if there was danger why would they allow the groundsman with a metal fork be on the pitch? why let the subs go out and warm up? NO DANGER AT ALL. therefore quite right we are more interested in the 3 points. yu=ou also admit there was no danger to the fans. so why else should the game be abandoned? just wait 10 more mins for the sun to come which actually happened. thunder storms dont last long and the game was played throughout that storm. so again why abandon the game? maybe think before you reply as players/fans were safe. just because you were losing thats why. if you were 3-1 up then game would not have been stopped by this wycombe club official. very wrong that the club official of the losing team can decide the fate of the match with a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

... a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

You put it rather well there in those few words - I wonder if Edgar does know anything about footballers being struck in the middle of a field by lightning.

Mr Stape wrote:

gashead83 wrote:

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote: Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

we care more about the 3 points as there was simply NO danger to anyone. the game was played through the thunder/lightening from 45mins - 67mins. if there was danger why wasnt the players taken off when it started or any time in the 22 minutes. but instead your safety officer waits until the thunder/lightening stops to get the ref to have a 10 minute break. during that 10 mins there was NO thunder/lightening at all. if there was danger why would they allow the groundsman with a metal fork be on the pitch? why let the subs go out and warm up? NO DANGER AT ALL. therefore quite right we are more interested in the 3 points. yu=ou also admit there was no danger to the fans. so why else should the game be abandoned? just wait 10 more mins for the sun to come which actually happened. thunder storms dont last long and the game was played throughout that storm. so again why abandon the game? maybe think before you reply as players/fans were safe. just because you were losing thats why. if you were 3-1 up then game would not have been stopped by this wycombe club official. very wrong that the club official of the losing team can decide the fate of the match with a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

... a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

You put it rather well there in those few words - I wonder if Edgar does know anything about footballers being struck in the middle of a field by lightning.

http://topnews.in/25
-hurt-lightning-stri
kes-austrian-footbal
l-field-2189188
Since you're too idle to do it yourselves, try this, and you'll find many others, if you can be bothered to stir your lazy bodies into action.

still doesnt answer my questions though. you admitted yourself no risk/danger to the fans. even though this is 1 of 2 reasons why the safety officer stopped the game. therefore you have already disagreed with this safety officer. the other reason was danger to the players which you claim there was. so like my other comments, please answer 1) if there was a risk/danger to anyone on the pitch, why was the groundsman allowed to go on the pitch with a metal fork during the 10 min break? 2) if there was a risk/danger to anyone on the pitch, why was the subs allowed to stay on the pitch during the 10 min break? 3) if there was a risk/danger to anyone on the pitch, why was the rovers manager and players allowed to return to the pitch and applause the fans for their support? only 1 answer you can give and that is ALL 3 WERE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN BECAUSE THERE WAS NO DANGER/RISK. therefore the 2 reasons this 'biased' safety officer gave to end the game are unfounded. i look forward to your HONEST answers.

add to my above comment, it was a thunder storm. thunder storms do not last long. yesterdays only lasted 27 mins and 22 of those mins the game was still going on. next question... 4) if there was a risk/danger to anyone on the pitch, why was the 2nd half allowed to start? 5) why was the 2nd half allowed to continue for 22 mins if the thunder/lightening was so unsafe?
ANSWERS ON A POST CARD ME THINKS!

Are you telling me that footballers actually played in the rain? They didn't cry and run off the pitch! Whether or not the ligthning actually struck the stand is irrelevant. If the danger was there that it could then they made the right decision. I know what some of your comments would be if the story was reporting that fans were injured or even died due to lightning stricking the stands.

Is it not the INDEPENDENT referee provided by the league that makes the final decision on a match being abandoned? What significant gain did he have from agreeing that the area was flooding and the lightening was a danger? I imagine he has the power to call it off if he feels in any kind of danger from the storm... I am pretty sure his health and safety training would advise an abandonment if lightening is in close proximity? I don't know.. Just thinking that it may have been common sense?

Edgar Brooks wrote:

Mr Stape wrote:

gashead83 wrote:

Edgar Brooks wrote:

grade d wrote: Find me one person whon saw it hit and I will buy you a ticket for the next game ! I know it and Wycome as a town knows it..... no lightening hit that stand. This is why we are very upset with your health and safety guy and all those at the club that went along with this get out of jail card. Not good for Wycombe or football as a whole.

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance. Those of you in the stands were relatively safe, but the players were not; try engaging brain, before opening mouth.

we care more about the 3 points as there was simply NO danger to anyone. the game was played through the thunder/lightening from 45mins - 67mins. if there was danger why wasnt the players taken off when it started or any time in the 22 minutes. but instead your safety officer waits until the thunder/lightening stops to get the ref to have a 10 minute break. during that 10 mins there was NO thunder/lightening at all. if there was danger why would they allow the groundsman with a metal fork be on the pitch? why let the subs go out and warm up? NO DANGER AT ALL. therefore quite right we are more interested in the 3 points. yu=ou also admit there was no danger to the fans. so why else should the game be abandoned? just wait 10 more mins for the sun to come which actually happened. thunder storms dont last long and the game was played throughout that storm. so again why abandon the game? maybe think before you reply as players/fans were safe. just because you were losing thats why. if you were 3-1 up then game would not have been stopped by this wycombe club official. very wrong that the club official of the losing team can decide the fate of the match with a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

... a BS story that doesnt add up at all.

You put it rather well there in those few words - I wonder if Edgar does know anything about footballers being struck in the middle of a field by lightning.

http://topnews.in/25

-hurt-lightning-stri

kes-austrian-footbal

l-field-2189188
Since you're too idle to do it yourselves, try this, and you'll find many others, if you can be bothered to stir your lazy bodies into action.

I clicked on this link and we have a football match where no one was hurt three years ago to justify:

Interesting that you care more for three points than the lives of the players who represent your town. Try reading up about what can happen (and has happened) when lightning strikes the middle of the pitch, while players are still in attendance.

It was a stark choice between three points and human life was it? I think you checked this after the event Eddie – you were too idle to ascertain the truth of the matter and this is the only information you could get afterwards to justify your rubbish

People who post on the internet should check their facts Eddie and not expect others to do it on their behalf.

.. you'll find many others, if you can be bothered to stir your lazy bodies into action

Like most BFP readers I have just the one body but if I had two neither one would be available to do your work for you.

Kyber5 wrote:
Are you telling me that footballers actually played in the rain? They didn't cry and run off the pitch! Whether or not the ligthning actually struck the stand is irrelevant. If the danger was there that it could then they made the right decision. I know what some of your comments would be if the story was reporting that fans were injured or even died due to lightning stricking the stands.

the danger was there from 45th min to 67th min when the thunder and lightning was going on. ref played on. then the thunder and lightning stopped meaning the danger had gone. so no problem. get on with the game. but then safety officer spoke to the ref and ref stopped the game for a 10 min break. so why was the game then stopped for 10 mins? the danger had passed. 10 mins after the announcement it was sunshine!

gashead83 wrote:

Kyber5 wrote:
Are you telling me that footballers actually played in the rain? They didn't cry and run off the pitch! Whether or not the ligthning actually struck the stand is irrelevant. If the danger was there that it could then they made the right decision. I know what some of your comments would be if the story was reporting that fans were injured or even died due to lightning stricking the stands.

the danger was there from 45th min to 67th min when the thunder and lightning was going on. ref played on. then the thunder and lightning stopped meaning the danger had gone. so no problem. get on with the game. but then safety officer spoke to the ref and ref stopped the game for a 10 min break. so why was the game then stopped for 10 mins? the danger had passed. 10 mins after the announcement it was sunshine!

This needs to be looked into by an independent observer - possibly the FA - as at the moment there is too much to be reasonably claimed on both sides of the argument to be certain whether it was right to end the match.

holly4 wrote:
Is it not the INDEPENDENT referee provided by the league that makes the final decision on a match being abandoned? What significant gain did he have from agreeing that the area was flooding and the lightening was a danger? I imagine he has the power to call it off if he feels in any kind of danger from the storm... I am pretty sure his health and safety training would advise an abandonment if lightening is in close proximity? I don't know.. Just thinking that it may have been common sense?

anything to do with the pitch then yes the ref makes the decision. anything outside the pitch is out of his remit and falls on the shoulders of the H&S officer. the ref didnt abandon this game. the H&S officer did. ref was happy with the flooding on the pitch. believe it or not but games have continued in worse flooding. pitch conditions had nothing to do with the abandonment of this game. the decision from wycombes safety officer was purely on the thunder/lightning saying too dangerous for fans/players. but as all my comments above have shown, his reasons dont make sense compared to the events happening around. on the football forums even decent wycombe fans have admitted they are embarrassed over the reasons given and agree it looks biased and dont make their club look good. thats even more weight added to the poor decision.

Imperturbable Lawrence wrote:

gashead83 wrote:

Kyber5 wrote:
Are you telling me that footballers actually played in the rain? They didn't cry and run off the pitch! Whether or not the ligthning actually struck the stand is irrelevant. If the danger was there that it could then they made the right decision. I know what some of your comments would be if the story was reporting that fans were injured or even died due to lightning stricking the stands.

the danger was there from 45th min to 67th min when the thunder and lightning was going on. ref played on. then the thunder and lightning stopped meaning the danger had gone. so no problem. get on with the game. but then safety officer spoke to the ref and ref stopped the game for a 10 min break. so why was the game then stopped for 10 mins? the danger had passed. 10 mins after the announcement it was sunshine!

This needs to be looked into by an independent observer - possibly the FA - as at the moment there is too much to be reasonably claimed on both sides of the argument to be certain whether it was right to end the match.

i hope it will. of course it wont change the fact a rematch needs to be arranged in a busy fixture list and refunds to be paid to those who cant or wont attend the rematch as will be a weeknight and those with kids and work may not be able to attend, but where does this end??? does it mean every time it rains the wycombe H&S officer and stop the game as it can become too dangerous??? he will have to if he wants to show consistancy. doubt it though!

AS a starters the Ref should have taken the players off the pitch until the storm had past.

Health and safety, the stand should be earthed up to meet health and safety to get a licence. for the safety of fans

Would be more dangerous to ask fans to leave the ground where as people could get struck by lightening.

Wycombes health and safety guy needs to be repremanded, as for the Bristol fans 3-1 up and this happens not good on Wycombe and i live in Wycombe

At the end of the day the ref should have carried the game on after the storm had passed, sounds very dodgy by the new owners of wycombe

stevet123 wrote:
AS a starters the Ref should have taken the players off the pitch until the storm had past.

Health and safety, the stand should be earthed up to meet health and safety to get a licence. for the safety of fans

Would be more dangerous to ask fans to leave the ground where as people could get struck by lightening.

Wycombes health and safety guy needs to be repremanded, as for the Bristol fans 3-1 up and this happens not good on Wycombe and i live in Wycombe

At the end of the day the ref should have carried the game on after the storm had passed, sounds very dodgy by the new owners of wycombe

evenin' Steve Hayes. I'm sure you realise that Richard Stanford was your man all those years, no point trying to blame the trust for one of your appointments!

I might be missing something here, but I thought Rovers fans were experts in stinking of gas rather than authorities on lightning and conductivity.
Though I suppose the safety officer couldn't win - if the match played on and some Rovers players were injured or worse by a bolt of lightening, they would be baying for his blood.

billsheppard wrote:

stevet123 wrote:
AS a starters the Ref should have taken the players off the pitch until the storm had past.

Health and safety, the stand should be earthed up to meet health and safety to get a licence. for the safety of fans

Would be more dangerous to ask fans to leave the ground where as people could get struck by lightening.

Wycombes health and safety guy needs to be repremanded, as for the Bristol fans 3-1 up and this happens not good on Wycombe and i live in Wycombe

At the end of the day the ref should have carried the game on after the storm had passed, sounds very dodgy by the new owners of wycombe

evenin' Steve Hayes. I'm sure you realise that Richard Stanford was your man all those years, no point trying to blame the trust for one of your appointments!

bill sorry i am deffo not him

billsheppard wrote:
I might be missing something here, but I thought Rovers fans were experts in stinking of gas rather than authorities on lightning and conductivity.
Though I suppose the safety officer couldn't win - if the match played on and some Rovers players were injured or worse by a bolt of lightening, they would be baying for his blood.

the safety officer did win. his team didnt lose and his team get a 2nd chance to win the game!
the safety officer could of won if he kept the players in the changing rooms instead of allowing the 2nd half to start and continue for over 20 mins while the thunder/lightning was actually going on. if he had done that then i dont think any rovers fans would of complained as it would make sense to stop the game when the lightning started. its that simple.
unfortunately he didnt stop it but instead allowed the players to continue with that danger. once the danger had passed he then stopped the game and abandoned it saying too dangerous when danger had already passed. just dont add up.
also everyone knows thunder storms pass quickly. could of easily delayed the 2nd half until the lightning passed, which it did pass and sunshine came out just 10 mins after the game was abandoned. sounds like he was in a hurry to abandon the game before the sun came put. his actions has as a result put himself in a no win situation.

I don't want to introduce a frivolous note into an argument about football but this reminds me of a story about General Montgomery (the son of a Church of England bishop).

Montgomery is supposed to have quoted the words of Jehovah from some part of the Old Testament at a conference of generals during the Second World War and one of the other generals said to Montgomery: ‘who said that General?’ Montgomery replied: ‘God said that actually General’ and Montgomery then turned around and said with great seriousness: ‘gentlemen you will all be reassured to know that He is in complete agreement with ME in this matter’.

(And obviously it's good to know God supports WWFC.)

Clearly it is very unusual for a game to be abandoned for a lightning storm, and indeed in golf the game is merely temporarily suspended. If this was the last game of the season and WWFC needed a point to avoid relegation then clearly we should all be suspicious but all thats happened is the 3 points for Bristol have been deferred until the replay. Is the safety officer connected to a Far East betting syndicate ? Hardly !!

The BOF wrote:
Clearly some, if not all the Bristol Rovers supporters felt the match should have continued despite the bad weather and the potential risk, (or no risk as some will say). With Bristol being 1-3 up they obviously stood a very good chance of winning the match and getting the 3 points and let’s face it 3 points at the end of the season could make a big difference between promotion and or relegation.

What ever you views are on whether the match should have continued, it’s not every day that a match is abandoned and I’m sure a report will have to be submitted to the Football League. However for people to say on a public forum, that WWFC’s H&S man lied and made the decision to prevent Wycombe loosing the match is inflammatory and potentially libellous.

I understand that the Bristol fans were upset by the decision as I’m sure Wycombe fans would have been had the shoe been on the other foot however something that has been totally missed here is the behaviour of some, and I will say some, of the Bristol fans. I don’t care how upset they were at the match being called off, nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, gave them the right to behave the way they did. Apart from the damage to the stand, ticket office staff were subjected to a torrent of foul and abusive language. And when they were asked to calm down because there were children present they just kicked off even more, and at on stage even picking things up from the counter and threatened to throw them at the staff.

Im sure the Bristol fans who have commented on here will join me in condemning those fans, and I use the term loosely, who have tarnished your clubs name, and will support my call for any one identified to be given a lifetime ban. This type of behaviour is the exception rather than the rule but clearly has no place in the game and should be stamped out at every opportunity.

Why is it the conduct of the Bristol fans is being brushed over. I was in the office with two 11 year olds girls when these yobs from Bristol came in shouting the odds, I am ashamed that these two children had to witness such abusive and threatening behaviour and one, my daughter now has a distinct dislike of Bristol. Whatever the right or wrongs of the abandonment, there is absolutely no need for this type of behaviour.

If the Bristol chairman now feels the need to file a complaint to the FL, then he should also feel the need to make a public apology to the fans of WWFC for the appalling behaviour of some of their so called fans.

I am the secretary of a local community voluntary run football club, in this we are held responsible for the behaviour of our spectators and have been heavily fined in past even though we no control over who attends our games (games are played on an open public park), Bristol should be made accountable for the damage their fans have caused to AP.

Oh, and in my opinion the game was becoming a farce when the players were taken off with the conditions probably giving WWFC a better opportunity of scoring.

Is this going to be another club that wycombe will be attached to, for history, like Reading fc from the 60's.
Colchester fc from 70's.
now Bristol rovers from 2012, could be who knows you decide

Imperturbable Lawrence wrote:
I don't want to introduce a frivolous note into an argument about football but this reminds me of a story about General Montgomery (the son of a Church of England bishop).

Montgomery is supposed to have quoted the words of Jehovah from some part of the Old Testament at a conference of generals during the Second World War and one of the other generals said to Montgomery: ‘who said that General?’ Montgomery replied: ‘God said that actually General’ and Montgomery then turned around and said with great seriousness: ‘gentlemen you will all be reassured to know that He is in complete agreement with ME in this matter’.

The reason I put this story here wasn't that I am completely lacking in judgement - it was because there it was originally preceded by two earlier posts – the first by someone saying that God was obviously working on the side of WWFC by producing a thunderstorm during the Bristol/WWFC match and the second post by me - humorous in tone (I think) - but with a serious intent saying that it would be good if God's judgement were to be confirmed by an independent authority like the Football League.

The mental processes of BFP employees has interested and perplexed me since the days of Alan Cleaver but I am a bit baffled by why the first two posts were removed and this one was left in when it no longer had any relevance. The story about Montgomery makes no sense on its own and if the BFP was going to remove the two posts that led up to it they should have removed the Montgomery story as well.

Some years ago I had an exchange of letters with Steve Cohen about ‘improvements’ like this that change the meaning of what a contributor has said sometimes so that the contribution makes no sense. During the exchange I said:

With the greatest respect I think you are a little too eager to edit people's letters.

and

The editor of any newspaper should have more respect for the commonsense and the intelligence of people who read and write letters to the newspaper.

but obviously to no avail.

I think the BFP should now remove this post and the post about Montgomery that I put up at 1:00am on Tuesday 28 Aug so as to avoid wasting the time of people who see it and spend a few seconds wondering what the hell it is doing in the middle of all this straightforward stuff about the abandoned match.

This would also apply to my post a few minutes later at 1:07am on Tuesday morning where I expressed agreement with the person who said God was on the side of WWFC:

(And obviously it's good to know God supports WWFC.)

What was the reason the BFP removed these posts – are they afraid of a Christian fundamentalist backlash from WWFC supporters or perhaps from football-supporting radical clerics in the Wycombe area?

Anyway it's good to see there is going to be an FA enquiry now into events - I hope it produces conclusions that everybody can agree with.

Sack waddock, losing to southend, whats he like

Sack waddock, losing to southend, whats he like