By TheLongside.co.uk
January 7 2005

Tonight's game against Liverpool at Turf Moor looks to have been called off due to parts of the pitch being waterlogged.

The match referee, Mark Clattenburg decided to delay his decision to 19:15 which would have been his final decision. If the match went ahead, it would have been delayed to 20:00. However he made his decision at 19:00.

The covers were taken off the pitch at 18:00 but they couldn't prevent the heavy downpours that have fell over Burnley throughout the past few days which made the pitch unplayable in front of the Bob Lord stand in a section of grass which ran parrallel to the stand.

The groundsmen have worked hard over the past week to ensure this match went ahead and The Longside would like the thank them for their effort, it is just unfortunate things havn't worked out.

Details about a new fixture are below and we will bring you news on whether the new game will now be on Sky as soon as we know.

Club Statement: (Source)

"The FA Cup third round tie at Turf Moor between Burnley and Liverpool has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The club did everything in its power, with help from the Football Association, to make sure the game could be played.

Unfortunately, this has not been possible due to the severe weather conditions.

Tickets for the game will be valid for the re-arranged fixture, which will take place on Tuesday January 18 2005.

Supporters are urged to keep hold of their ticket for the game."

A press release to those words has now also been sent out.

Dave Edmundson's comments:

The Chief Executive, Dave Edmundson told the press:

"In my view the pitch is 95% fit to play on. The five per cent in front of the Bob Lord Stand wasn't playable. The staff have worked very hard here during the week and we couldn't have done more to get this game on.
 
"The conditions were not ideal but the pitch had recovered magnificently since the abandoned game on new years day. This postponement has cost Burnley football club £150,000 and is the worst case scenario for us."

"We would like to thank all the fans who bought tickets for their support in this matter and hopefully everyone will come back to the re-arranged game.

"We are extremely disappointed with this decision but it is one we have to respect and abide with.

Steve Cotterill's Comments:

Burnley Manager, Steve Cotterill told the press:

"I've just had a drink with "Rafa" and we were having a joke that we could have played it nine versus nine and reduced the width of the pitch, so I think he saw the funny side of it!

"Seriously though, we're all very disappointed with the decision because everyone had worked their socks off to get the game on.

"There was nothing anyone could do to make that far side any better though.

"We wanted to get the game on because that's two that we've had off over the last few weeks now.

"But it's all about the safety of the players and the referee made the decision in their best interests.

"We've been looking forward to this game for such a long time. It's a great night for us so it's a major, major disappointment because we would have been playing in front of a big crowd and in front of the cameras.

"But we're in the fourth round anyway so we're delighted with that."

Referee's Views:

Referee Mark Clattenburg told the press:

"When I arrived two and a half hours earlier, I felt it had a 90 per cent chance of going ahead.

"Burnley have done very well to get the pitch in this state. When they removed the covers, the pitch looked 98% playable.

"I was very positive when the water machines were on, but in that small area in front of the stand where they became saturated, the situation changed.

"They put a lot of sand on it which became like quicksand. It would have been very difficult for the players to run or turn on.

"I have to think of the players' safety first and they wouldn't have been safe on that side."

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