We would advise that at 2.15pm today our match versus Dumbarton was postponed due to high winds.
We apologise to all supporters who travelled to Bayview, but unfortunately the situation was
outwith our control.

Thats outrageous cancelling at that stage!!

Weather Watch warned at 11.15 this morning of the severe winds so why wait untill 2.15 to cancel?

Seemingly the ref left the decision to the 2 managers.
Can`t believe they left it this late though.

Im appalled. Why , in the name of god, would you leave a game to be decided whether or not to be played, 1/2 an hour before the game the starts!? Does anyone know if the dumbarton fans already arrived at Bayview before they found out the game was off?

Dumbarton fans were already at the ground and most were too p!ssed to realise the game was off.

Utter disgrace is all I can say.
I feel sorry for the 2 coach loads of fans that travelled today

Just back from Bayview there the now.Cant believe once again there has been another late call off.
Turned up to be told game is off by Tam.
Not impressed by another late call off.
I agree was right decision but surley it could have and should have been called off earlier on this morning tho.

Strong winds but park ok disapointed at such a late call off,feel sorry for dumbarton fans who travelled to bayview, every club should get things right and save supporters money it is happening every year something should be done about it think it time for summer football ,global warming is ruining the game .

This would never have happened in Derrick Brown's day!!!

Why is it that in this bright new era there are insufficient collective brain cells in the heads of club officials to understand that postponements must be made before noon at the very latest?!!!

Next you'll be telling me that you trust the board that they are going to bring in someone with common sense, but that there are other priorities, and it'll be the summer before someone is appointed!!

Face it, the club is an administrative shambles!!!

"This would never have happened in Derrick Brown's day!!!"

Emmm... yes it did, against Dumbarton again a few seasons ago!

The Mole-it happenend 2 or 3 times in the Derrick Brown days!

Aye, OK, but so much for the new era!!!

Shambles! I'm boiling mad!!!

Yer right mole. Ridiculous that they let the weather get worse as the day went on and did nothing about it eh?

The Mole it is a shambles i travelled through only to find out at 2:40 that the game has been postponed and its not the first time thats happenend to us 3rd or 4th time now.
Surley they must have seen the weather getting worse but they nver used any commen sense earlier on to say this is getting worse better call it off to save fans dumbarton fans and some East Fife fans a journey like ourselfs and Angusfifer(im sure theres a lot more to add to that)but no they wait on them arriving to call it off.Totally pissed off about it happening becoming an occurnce with us now!

Follow the money!

If there is the slightest chance of playing, any club and its directors (remember they have a legal duty to the shareholders not the fans ) will be very reluctant to postpone. Revenue loss from all match day commercial streams can be disasterous at this level.

I was fraustrated as anyone when the game was called off today (well maybe not as fraustrated as those who travelled from dumbarton), but I can't agree with some of the criticism posted on this thread.

Can't we just put it down to one of those things?

High winds may have been forecast, but how often are these forecasts 100% accurate? Had the game been postponed at 10am, and the winds not arrived, I bet the same people sounding off above would be complaining about the game being called off!

Very disappointing but there's a bright side, I suppose. Dumbarton's backlog of games is starting to look crippling - might help us in the long run.

I came all the way from Kirkcaldy & no game.
Just think you guys had the chance to break 1000 at your game, with the big team no playing some of us were here.

When I left Bayview at 11.10am,after helping to prepare the pitch,the ground conditions were excellent.It was a bit blowy but not excessively so.There was no reason to think that we should need to cancel.As I posted yesterday,the last thing we would have wanted was to end up as we did.I cannot remember games being called off on an adverse weather forecast,I could be wrong.I feel for everyone who has wasted their time and money today and if there are lessons to be learned from this then I will take them onboard.

I watched the rugby on tv this afternoon and the conditions didn't seem all that bad . How's it possible that on the other side of the water, the game is played? Arbroath's game was also a late call off and their park is also on the sea front so matbe the refs were right.

So now todays game is off, have we decided when the game will be played?

YES NEXT TIME IT,S SUNNY AND HOT

OK, Dave, let's see if you can learn a few lessons on this one. I'm a Dumbarton fan, as you might have guessed!!

First, we phoned you guys at 9.30am this morning, prior to contacting the bus company to let them know it was safe to let the busses 'out' for the day.

I was told the following, verbatim : "Pitch is playable but there may be a problem with wind as the forecast for later in the day suggest strong gale force. But the the game will go ahead."

I asked if the wind situation, given the forecast, should mean that a ref, local or otherwise, should give his opinion. I was told "No, game will go ahead."

Great stuff. Bus company informed. Off we go.

We get to Methil, arrive at the stadium to be greeted by DUMBARTON directors who warn us that the game might not go ahead as the ref had just arrived and was concerned about the wind.

We went upstairs to the bar and watched from there the poor ref trying to kick a ball about a very windy pitch. At that point, having witnessed his efforts, I knew there was no chance of the game going ahead. Time 1.45pm. Still too late in any case.

My point and your lesson? Don't take the paying public for granted as you have done on this occasion (and in the past).

Make an early decision ; use common sense. Forget about your blazer buddies who will get their free meal anyway, think of the paying punter.

Angry? Nope. Livid, would be better.

The decision the ref made was correct ; and no the managers did not decide, that part alone is the ref's. They were asked for opinions, but it was the ref who decided to call the game off.

Early inspections MUST be considered. In fact, it's part of the SFL charter which was clearly flouted here. Any doubt - ANY DOUBT, call it off.

Sons fans now face a midweek journey, and I've no doubt that the numbers will be greatly reduced given the travelling time, and yet again, it's the supporters who suffer here.

When our game against Arbroath was abandoned at half-time, I felt for the Lichties fans ; our board have compnesated their fans for their wasted journey (a bold, but morally correct decision) - perhaps, Dave, you and your board colleagues at New Bayview should consider a similar gesture. It would be the right thing to do.

Fans cannot continue to be treated with contempt.

From our point of view, we worked very hard at filling two supporters buses for today, and with many new faces too. The disappointment, especially amongst the kids, was profound.

We accept the decision of the ref. he was right. But it was made far too late and that responsibility lies squarely with home clubs. Get someone in early, if there is any doubt, and clearly, today, there was doubt. Not about the pitch, but the conditions.

In closing, I would like to thank the ladies and gents of the East Fife backroom team who took our complaints with good grace and with a sense of humour. And of course for the soup and sandwiches before we headed back home.

Ben

Strong Winds !!! That's a joke they've played in much worse than that. Remember the game against Hamilton a few years ago, they lobbed our goalkeeper from their own penalty box.

So who was it that decided that no inspection was necessary, and did said person or persons have experience of running a professional football club, or was the decision made by an amateur?

This is just the latest episode, and surely not the last while the club is "run" the way it is.

Sod off Mole. You are SO tiresome...

Hey Zak were the high winds created by you spouting of hot air as per usual

Agree with Dyker here. New Bayview is a crap venue when it comes to being exposed to the wind. Much of what Ben has said is understandable, especially when they have made a great effort in bringiing along as good a crowd as they did. I do not however go with the "any doubt" bit. The last 2 games at Bayview were no worse in terms of weather and they went ahead. I think the direction of the wind was different. It looked more dramatic with the waves breaking against the sea wall. Different refs will have different opinions as well. I think had today's ref, been at the Berwick or East Stirling games, he may well have called them off as well. When your last two games go ahead in similar weather, can you expect Monty and Dave M to come to any other conclusion than the one they did?

Ben

Superb post.
Extremely well thought out articulated.

Boghead Ben

I am Stadium Director at East Fife and was totally involved in the preparations for the game today.I lined the pitch between 9.15am and 10.30 am and at no time was there a problem. I left at 11.10 am and returned at 12.25 pm and at that time walked the pitch and saw no problem.I was in the lounge soetime after 1.15 pm when I saw the referee doing his checks and immediately realised there was a problem.

At no time was there a decision made to ignore the wind problem by me or any of my collegues I can assure you.That is why I said that if there were lessons to be learnt then I would take them onboard.I totally felt for the supporters plight today but we all know that this sort of thing will happen again despite our best intentions.That is no reason to accept it,perhaps we need to have more solid parameters.
Boghead Ben,as a fan of many years, I have fallen foul of what happened to you and your pals today and if I could have prevented it I would have.

I was out in the morning and over lunchtime in Glenrothes (normally the worst place for bad weather) and did not think then that the game would be cancelled. It was only when I got back to Largo about 13.45 that I became concerned that it would be cancelled, because the weather deteriorated quite a bit in a short time, so I feel sympathy for Dave and the others who must genuinely have thought the game would go ahead earlier in the day. I thought that, the people who travelled thought that and probably most others thought that too. The truth of the matter is that the weather got a lot worse than expected in a very short time and we all got caught out.

Dave - I appreciate your response.

However - I'm sorry if this is going over old ground - but with due respect, i think you are missing the point.

We left Bayview yesterday with conflicting views on what the weather and in particular the wind was like from 9am onwards. Two of the East Fife staff thought that it would be a problem, and several fans also thought that the wind at 1pm was no different to that of 10am.

I understand fully, that unless you have been granted divine status, weather is not something anyone can control. But, I think, given the forecast, some precuation should have been taken. Perhaps I'm still raw after a wasted journey and quite an expense too.

But I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Final question on this for now ; would the East Fife board consider some sort of reduced entry for the fixture when it is finally re-arranged?

Can hear the calls for summer football coming !!
Won't it be too warm for the players with the onset of global warming ? Or will Bayview be lying at two fathoms ?

Ben - did it matter what the wind was like at 9am, 10am or 11am ????

I arrived at the ground at .15pm to be told the game was off. I first thought was that there as a problem with surface water but when I was told it was due to the wind I was shocked! Never ever heard of a game being called off for wind before!
Have to say it is one of the first times a ref has applied some common sense in tht ort of situation.
I am a great believer that refs should cary wind speed guages & if the wind is over a certain stength call the game off. There is nothing worse than a game being spoilt due to strong winds!
That said I have every simpathy with the Sons support, soul distroying & very expensive! In all honesty tho if our game at their ground in December had been called off in similar circumstances I would have been in total agreement!

If any lessons can be learned from this I would say that the fans who travelled should be compensated with a voucher allowing them free or reduced entry when the match is eventually played.
Some of our fans also travel great distances and should be given the utmost consideration - an early morning decision by an SFL official would be ideal in future.

I think decisions like calling in an official should lie with the chief executive rather than vounteers and associate directors. At the end of the day (who said that again?), its a tough decision between losing out on money from a Saturday crowd with corporate hospitality etc and consideration for travelling supporters.

whats goin on having a swipe at the EF backroom staff???? this decision was made by one person and one person only - the ref. What if u had been advised about the possibility of a cancelled game and it had gone ahead???? would u be pissed off at that person? I guess u would.
Now I have great sympathy for the supporters disappointed by the late decision (not just the Dumbarton fans that travelled distance to Bayview by the way) but East Fife staff should not hold any blame for that.

Ben

I will certainly put your question to the Board.

I was on the pitch until 10.30 yesterday morning and at no time did I feel that the wind was a problem.It was no worse than any of the standard windy days we experience here.At 12.10 pm, before leaving home to return to Bayview, I checked with RAF Leuchars weather station which reported wind speeds of 22mph for the rest of the day.

The decision to cancel was right.When I walked the pitch ( immediately after the referee's decision) to bring in the corner flags the wind was fierce.Had I encountered that level at any time earlier then I would have moved to get a cancellation.I said in a post on Thursday that I was mindful of the travelling support in any decision made about any possible postponment and I was sincere in that.

Jeff

There was never a point at which priority was given to hospitality profits over the need to cancel the game.

Dave - you and the volunteers do a great job looking after the pitch and stadium and its much appreciated. I just don't think it should be you who is standing up and taking all the responsibility and making all the apologies on behalf of the club.
If lessons are to be learned, then perhaps some of the directors should be addressing the issue of getting an early inspection if the game is any doubt. Just guessing that corporate money would be weighed up in any board decisions in calling off games.

At 10.15 yesterday i was up ladders tightening the nets up. Yes it was windy but at no stage did i feel it was any worse than many other Saturday mornings. When answering the phone to the many fans who called to ask if the game was on (both home and away) we were advising them to wrap up warm as a cold wind was blowing into the stand NOT because of severe winds. I left the ground around 11am and didnt think the game was in any doubt. I dropped my wife off at the ground at noon and there was no difference in the wind at that time. It was when i returned at 1.30pm that i noticed the parking cones that i had put out at 10am and were still in place at noon, had been blown around. The pitch had been monitored closley all week to give as much warning as possible for any inspections to be carried out. If we had had a pitch inspection at noon yesterday NO referee would have called the match off as there would have been no reason for him to do so.
I didnt feel in danger up ladders putting the nets up at 10 am but it was a different story after 2pm when the game was called off hence the reason the nets were left up yesterday.
There is no way any of us wanted to be at the ground before 9am getting the pitch ready and hanging up kit etc for the game to be called of at 2.15pm.

Think the safty ov the players should also be put in prospective here.I certainlly wouldn't like to run fer 90mins in that wund.Remember the Killie game.4-2 up and the ref cancelled with 7 mins to go because Mcinion fell down with hyprothermia.Feel sorry for EVERY fan who travelled through for the game.Hopefully the Fife will reduce prices for this midweek ficture.

I think the best option to appease the away supporters,is to give them some sort of reduction for the next game.
The supporters club have been given great credit recently with the hospitality for the Stenny fans,and the club reacted honourably by providing soup and sandwiches yesterday.
A goodwill gesture for the next game would be appreciated by everyone.

I travelled through for the game yesterday and was also disappointed the game got called off but even though it was a 180 mile round trip I still think the ref called it right, the weather was horrendous!!! Can't really see what else East Fife could have done in this situation it was a totally different set of circumstances from when the game v Dumbarton was called off few seasons ago due to frost.