The match v Exeter is currently... OFF!!

[kingsgull]

English was never my strongpoint ,

[Louis]

Press release up on our main site, this will link to Facebook and twitter so hopefully as many people as possible will see before setting off.

[Jeff]

A shame for all the fans who had made plans/made the trip for this, and disappointing that we will likely miss out on the revenue from a bumper crowd. But from purely a footballing point of view, this has been an absolute godsend:

- The chances of us facing the greeks with our first choice centre half pairing has gone up massively
- Downes will definitely be available for the Argyle game, so we don't have to worry about 2 young Centre halves in a derby atmosphere. There is a chance a McKenzie/McDonald partnership will have to face Aldershot, but they have the worst home attack in the division. You get no easy games at this level, but if you were going to chose one to play your back up centre halves in, it would have to be that one
- We are more likely to have Bodin, Thompson, maybe even Jarvis (and even Macklin) available for the rearranged game whenever that may be, plus anyone Ling is able to recruit in January
- If Bodin and Thompson were rated as 50/50 for today, there is a greater chance they will be fit for the Argyle game - Bodin in particular I reckon could be a straight swap for Jarvis

There are probably other benefits as well, but like I said from a footballing perspective only this postponement is great news

[AustrianAndyGull]

How is it possible that Accrington, who have one of the worst pitches in the football league, still have their game with Plymouth ON!? Most have gone but that one is still on. Unbelievable. Maybe we should cover our pitch with sand too? :~D

[The Farmers Friend]

Gutted for the club who will no doubt lose out on cash and gutted for the fans travelling down there today

Tis a shame - a mate of mine has come down from Surrey for it, but I think a few fans would have struggled to make it anyway due to the transport disruption. Another mate in North Devon was seriously thinking of not going despite having a ticket as roads and railway are shut. Might actually get a better crowd on a different day.

[Rach]

gutted!! just been told we should play up walls hill as the drainage is better!!

[Neal]

What a waste of a f ing journey that was then! 303 was fine actually but its cost me £50+

[HeavenAndHele]

What a waste of a f ing journey that was then! 303 was fine actually but its cost me £50+

I was on the 303 earlier as well, rushing back from a wedding in Salisbury that we could have taken our time travelling back from... Went straight on to an ominously quiet Plainmoor, nothing on the ticket barriers on the Pop side to say it was cancelled so I found out from the official site on my phone sat outside the ground...

Very gratifying to follow a car with an Exeter City sticker in the back window along Hele Road though!

[Neal]

What happens with the tickets. I guess they will be valid for the game again?

[Scott Brehaut]

A press release from the club:

EXETER GAME OFF - UPDATE
TORQUAY United’s Devon derby with Exeter City has been called off after an official pitch inspection.
Referee Craig Pawson arrived at Plainmoor at 10.30am on Saturday and immediately surveyed the pitch. Unfortunately, despite days of hard work in preparing the playing surface, the decision was taken to postpone the game because of a waterlogged pitch.
News on the rearranged fixture and ticketing arrangements will be released as soon as possible but given the time of year, it is unlikely a decision on the new date will be reached until after Christmas.
“It has been an incredibly busy week for the club and everything has been done to try and get the game on,” said United managing director Bill Phillips.
“The groundstaff from Exeter City came down with some specialist equipment yesterday and there was an army of helpers working on the pitch this morning, but every time we took action, the water was back on the pitch within two minutes.
“There was some hope after a dry day yesterday but the picture changed overnight. The referee came in this morning and he is the only person that can make the final decision.
“We are obviously very disappointed and I’m sure the Exeter fans will be feeling it as well, but the rain is due to last well into this evening, so the referee was eventually left with no alternative.
“The next step is to fix up a new date for the game and we would like to get it played as soon as possible. We must be careful that we avoid playing the game toO close to our trip to St James Park at the end of January.
“The process involves agreeing a date between the two clubs and this must then be ratified by the Football League. It is doubtful this decision will be made until after Christmas.
“As a football club, we can guarantee that tickets purchased for today’s game will remain valid for the rearranged fixture. Any fan unable to attend the new date will be given a full refund and we will process these after Christmas.”

[AustrianAndyGull]

Why does he say that we must avoid playing the rearranged game too close to the away game in january? What difference does that make? I don't understand?

[Jerry]

Why does he say that we must avoid playing the rearranged game too close to the away game in january? What difference does that make? I don't understand?

I believe that the FA frown upon games between the same 2 teams being played too close together as they think this increases the likelihood of any "issues" from the first game being carried over into the next.

[AustrianAndyGull]

They best scrap all cup replays then plus games between teams who get drawn in the cup but also play each other in a league game directly before or after which often happens. They're just making excuses in my book. If there are fixtures that need fulfilling then they should be looking for the best time to play the game for the fans and the clubs themselves and not because of some stupid idea that someone might get p*ssed off in the first game and carry it over to the second. A truly ridiculous statement if you ask me but i'm not getting upset, it's Christmas!!

[PlainmoorRoar]

wanted to see what the screen looked like too

[Southampton Gull]

What a waste of a f ing journey that was then! 303 was fine actually but its cost me £50+

I did the same trip mate. Lucky for me I stopped for a coffee before going on towards Exeter and got a message to say it was off.