Gamst

I’ve always thought the LT were pretty sympathetic to the club and on the occasions they have been critical it has been entirely deserved. They are not a mouthpiece for the club ultimately. Feel for EJ as he has to thin line the tread between keeping the club onside and reporting the actual events which inevitably reflect poorly on the club. I hope the LT support him as he has a young family and doesn’t deserve to lose his job.

If I were at the club I would be demanding an explanation from the EFL about why the fairest outcome was so impossible to sanction? The EFL statement suggests they’ve ‘comprehensively’ considered all the options and made their decision in order to ‘maintain the integrity of the league’. I would say awarding us the 3 points would be the least fair option followed by the full replay 11v11. Clearly the fairest option would be to play out the remaining minutes 11v10. Surely the fairest option upholds integrity the most? So if they have considered the options ‘comprehensively’ what is it that makes the part replay so impossible to do?

NASA put people into space and the EFL can’t organise a shorter football match.

Really the penalty should carry over. Why be punished for one rule break and not another?

We absolutely should appeal and sue the EFL. This is not like the futile appeal with O’Brien when we just missed the deadline! Due to the weather (drainage issues aside as that’s not the players, fans and coaches fault) we are being negatively impacted and these 3 points could define our season. It’s simply unfair and we should not just take the ruling lying down. Would LFC or Man City accept such an injustice? The EFL claim to have considered all options thoroughly but I fail to see how playing a 15 minute match 10v11 is such a logistical impossibility? How can we be awarded a penalty that now no longer counts? How can the player be suspended if the penalty and yellows no longer count? How are Ipswich being punished for the penalty and yellows now? They broke the rules. Why are the team who face Ipswich next benefiting from the suspension? The EFL shouldn’t need a precedent to do the right thing. If we always needed a precedent then there would never be any progress and as an organisation like the EFL are lacking the courage and imagination to change. They are probably doing this just because they feel it’s the path of least resistance and that is a poor way to run any organisation. They deserve to be sued.

It’s taking them a very long time if their decision is a full replay 11v11. The delay would suggest they are at least considering the options. I said just after the game was abandoned that the sending off and the penalty would make their decision difficult especially considering the precedent where the suspension stands. That’s 2 rule infractions that can’t just be ignored and if you keep the suspension why not keep the penalty and the multiple bookings.

I’d be surprised if they listen but if Nicko is to be believed we are trying to fight our corner and I think that’s a good sign. It’s also good that the EFL are listening to the clubs and allowing them to suggest alternatives. They could have just said straight away that it’s a full replay.

I’m suggesting we appeal and seek legal advice rather than forfeit….although I think I’d prefer a forfeit to losing a replay! Could you imagine Liverpool or Man City accepting such an injustice??

Completely agree. Other teams with promotion hopes will not be happy as a full replay would give Ipswich a massive advantage (as if having their parachute payments isn’t enough of an advantage already…). We should not accept a full replay basically if that’s what the EFL decide.

Whilst I fear you will be right, it would be completely unfair and we would have a strong case for a complaint/litigation especially if it makes a big difference come May! I don’t think this can be compared to any previous events. Has a game ever been called off at 80mins with one team leading and having a man advantage? You can’t go from a win % chance 90% down to ?40% and likely lower by the time the match is replayed. It would be equally unfair to just award us the win when. They have to find a way to play the remaining minutes. I really can’t see how it would be so difficult to arrange and neither side would have a reason to complain.

In fairness to the Venkys, the one thing they are usually quick to do is lawyer up. Look at the O’Brien situation however futile and wasteful it ended up being!

The ref knew the forecast and should have postponed before KO or abandoned at HT when it was 0-0 and 11v11. He made a misjudgement that the pitch would be okay to complete the match and it wasn’t. He represents the EFL so they are not completely devoid of any blame here. Of course when the pitch became waterlogged he was left in a difficult situation and probably had to make the call he did. The ONLY fair conclusion would be to play out the last 10 plus injury time with 11v10. You can never fully match the conditions of the day but this would be far more realistic than restating the whole match 11v11. Clearly just awarding us the 3pts would be very unfair on the opposition….lets be honest, it would be very Rovers to concede one (or 2) in the dying stages against 10 men!

A player could get seriously injured during the first 80 mins of a replay that should be 10 mins long!

Do you really think this will happen?

An unbelievably unfair distraction but what we did learn again today is that we are a lot better than we thought we’d be given the upheaval of the summer. Well done big Val!

I feel we may have some hope given Ipswich were a man down and conceded a penalty both of which need punishing. The FA can’t just ignore that those rule infractions took place and there needs to be a punishment. It’s also the referee who represents the FA who chose to start the second half when the forecast was known and at this point it was 0-0 and 11v11. I hope there is someone at the club making these points to the ref and the FA!

Gobsmacked. Just finish the game ref! This is just totally unfair and we should be on the blower to the FA demanding a win or a replay that lasts 10 mins (we probably don’t care and see it as a chance to make more money from beer sales at the replay). Then again it’s at our own ground and there are no other suspensions locally or at any league club so the club have to take responsibility. Again it’s the fans who suffer and don’t deserve it.

‘Birthday Boycott’ has a nice ring to it.

Is anyone aware of whether we are considering any freebie centre backs? Craig Dawson would be a good shout and scores a few goals. Surely if we had any sense this would be something we are looking into because we currently have only Scott Wharton who has just missed more than a whole season through injury as our only recognised CB available for the Watford match and thats just ridiculous.

We have excelled at receiving good fees for our players this summer! Wrexham are overpaying for a mediocre defender and if we had replaced him then it would have been no big deal. Instead we are now just really low on defensive numbers. It’s week 3 of the season and Wharton is the only available true centre back at Watford and he missed all of last season with injury. If any decision highlights where the owners/boards priorities lie then it’s this. Cash in and jeopardise the clubs chances on the pitch or protect the squad at all costs. Maybe we have a good freebie lined up, but I think we all know that won’t happen. The only positive I can see is that there is literally nobody else to sell and maybe that means the owners will sell up after a colossal summer asset strip. Probably wishful thinking.

Would suggest they couldn’t help but accept a couple of extra million despite knowing there was no time for a replacement. Greed trumped wisdom as per usual. Hyam is Mr Mediocre and if a replacement was found then fair enough. If there’s no replacement then it’s greedy and negligent.

That would be insanity. Toth getting a season ending injury against Watford meaning poor Michalski or Goddard get thrown in game after game is a destruction pathway not a development pathway!

Poor result, but looking a little bit less like relegation fodder.

We were playing in the division higher than Brum last season, why are we not bringing in sponsorship revenue on this scale?

It’s easy to criticise and I’m all for building up the pressure on the owners but I think everyone expected us to lose comfortably today (myself included) but we fought and were unlucky to lose. No points accrued but some hope restored and it gives us an outside chance of staying up this season if we play with that degree of fight. Despite the disappointment today I’m actually a lot less despondent than I was this morning.