Fans allowed back in for Saturday’s match.

[Born again Bill]

Surely the club have had months to get ready for this and with only 2 weeks before we were hoping to get fans in again on a regular basis ,The question is would the club Have been ready for that !!!

[RapidShrimp]

For once, Redrobo, I reckon you’re dead on the nail there, it smacks of lack of communication to me.

It’s the main problem I’ve always had in recent times. As a club, we seem inept at keeping the fans in the loop! This then leads to fans getting frustrated and speculation/rumours arise. Very damaging for the club. Especially when Luton managed to communicate with the fans almost straight after the announcement, whereas we took ages to put anything out.

All it’s led to is massive frustration from all of us who thought we could finally get our hopes up that the club had managed to sort the situation out and we’d been given a ‘golden ticket’ to seeing our team in action again. That hope has been dashed and doesn’t give me much confidence in what the owners are doing.

All of these negatives as we are having such a brilliant spell ON the pitch! Really spoilt the buzz that was around 24 hours or so ago.

Surely the club have had months to get ready for this and with only 2 weeks before we were hoping to get fans in again on a regular basis ,The question is would the club Have been ready for that !!!

That’s what I’ve been thinking. If we’ve not even submitted the legal requirements yet, and it’s already 16th September, is there any confidence that we could meet the October deadline safely?!

[P/T Indie]

Something seems odd all of a sudden Colin and Jason appear from nowhere, last I heard they were buying a new team.

Have they put us forward and not checked with the club.

[RedRedWine]

Looks like an breakdown in communication internally for sure. So frustrating to seemingly have had the rug pulled from under us.... But in all honesty, did anyone expect us to be hosting a game? There has been no documents/protocols that make War and peace look like the hungry caterpillar communicated to fans, and no details about season ticket posting/collection. We obviously aren't ready to host a game yet as confirmed by the clubs statement (safety protocols not approved). Its a mystery why we applied at all in these circumstances.... I sincerely hope that the club is on track with their timetable/plan to host games safely in October - because given the statement yesterday directed at the government/local MP we really need to be!

[al1]

I would not be to critical of the club over this,we have not got enough staff at the club to be able to sort this minefield out quickly!Even the government with all their resources are struggling to cope.I just think that we need to start more fundraising quickly,because unless the premier league clubs give some help financially the efl is going to be decimated.

[HALMA 1983]

Didn't expect to be at the game this Saturday and even though there was a glimmer of hope, I'd much rather be there when everybody else is.
Truth is, nobody should be left out.

[redrobo]

I would not be to critical of the club over this,we have not got enough staff at the club to be able to sort this minefield out quickly!Even the government with all their resources are struggling to cope.I just think that we need to start more fundraising quickly,because unless the premier league clubs give some help financially the efl is going to be decimated.

Very true.

For months due to Covid there was nobody (or very little ) actually working to administer all the protocols needed. Unlike other clubs we have a very small but dedicated team working behind the scenes to run the club. The BoD are all involved in their own businesses and put as much time into our club as they humanly can.

If bigger clubs like Luton can't get all protocols done then we have no chance.

Carlisle as much as we hate to admit it are a bigger club with a bigger administrative operation than we have ever had.

For me our BoD do a superb job but this wobble is firmly down to the owners who have I would suggest didn't check to make sure that we where in a position to partake in the trial game on Saturday.

It's annoying after the earlier news raised all our hopes but if it's anybodies fault that there will be no game for us to attend on Saturday I suggest you all look further afield than Morecambe...

[HALMA 1983]

If folk do the right thing and follow all the rules, it really shouldn't be a problem and being an outdoor event makes it even more manageable.
Meanwhile, you can happily go sit in a confined space drinking pints of beer, non of it makes sense!

[Wild Bill]

This kind of highlights the problems we have as a club in off-field management. Distant owners who do things on a whim, a small number of hardworking but ultimately time poor volunteer directors and no general manager.

You'd like to think that the club would have had everything in place to accommodate at least season ticket holders (after all, we have paid our money) prior to the season beginning, just waiting for the green light to go.

I understand that the directors will have probably been planning for the Port Vale game to get fans back but there must have been a serious breakdown in communication if one of the owners attempted to bring this first match forward without consultation of those in charge of the practicalities.

Still, it's kind of strange that we seem to be getting ever closer to going back, whist all the news is about an increase in cases and the potential for further lockdowns.

[Phil Anderer]

I think it might be a little harsh to criticise the club over this, albeit perhaps communication could have been better. I wouldn't be surprised if most clubs initially put forward what's known in some circles as 'an expression of interest' over holding the test games, but they would have been expecting a bit more notice in order to get things in place for the game, rather than being told on Wednesday 'Oh, we'd like you to let fans in on Saturday'. I think that's where the biggest problem is. I have in the past put in an expression of interest for a tender, then when the tender documents came through realised that, for one reason or another, I didn't want to proceed with tendering, so I politely withdrew from the process. It seems to me that this could well be what has happened here.

[redrobo]

Have you read the club statement on the OWS where one of our owners put the club forward and then decided that we couldn't take up their offer due to issues with SAG.

Surely he should have checked before putting us forward but No...and as a result makes our club look foolish.

Unbelievable.....and this after all the excellent work down by the BoD and Commercial Dept over the last few months

[BerlinWaller]

Hard to blame an owner of a business for wanting to get that business back making money.

[Morecambe Jack]

I think it might be a little harsh to criticise the club over this, albeit perhaps communication could have been better. I wouldn't be surprised if most clubs initially put forward what's known in some circles as 'an expression of interest' over holding the test games, but they would have been expecting a bit more notice in order to get things in place for the game, rather than being told on Wednesday 'Oh, we'd like you to let fans in on Saturday'. I think that's where the biggest problem is. I have in the past put in an expression of interest for a tender, then when the tender documents came through realised that, for one reason or another, I didn't want to proceed with tendering, so I politely withdrew from the process. It seems to me that this could well be what has happened here.

The application was made Tuesday so as nice as this sounds, if you apply Tuesday afternoon and are granted permission Wednesday - I think it is fair criticism that when you applied Tuesday you should have an idea of whether you can be ready in time for Saturday.

Anyway, we move on - let's hope we are fully ready for October.

[al1]

Hull city have also had to cancel letting fans back in as well as us and Luton

[MFC-Manc]

Maybe it was cause of this?

Most areas in Lancashire including Lancaster and Morecambe will be going into lockdown measures on Saturday a government source has confirmed to Lancs Live. This will likely be the same measures currently in place in Preston.

[Freez]

Maybe somebody in the know has tipped The club off, all that work would have gone to waste as we would be back to no fans Saturday after all. Mmm. Bit strange!

[shrimperteer]

I don’t see the problem, it’s sounds like things were moving quickly and maybe things weren’t communicated correctly between all parties. It happens.
What I do know is that if the club had done nothing then there’d be no people attending on Saturday anyway, so I don’t have a problem with them putting us forward if there was even a slight chance of it happening.
If people’s biggest gripe is ‘they got my hopes up’ then that’s a level sensitivity I can’t really feel sorry for.

[RedRedWine]

I'm not sure why this is difficult to understand?!? The club does not currently have approved SAG safety protocols to host a game. This was part of the criteria for hosting test events (Tranmere Rovers did not apply to host a test event because of this). Simply put the club should not have applied in the first place, so it was a monumental cock up that appears to stem from poor communication amongst the board. Also, the EFL shouldn't have accepted the clubs application.... But theyre not the best at checking this sort of thing (e.g. Suitability of owners, see Wigan Athletic).

The question is, why don't we have approved safety protocols yet? The answer is probably for a number of reasons (we are not alone, see Tranmere), but given this, why is the club making statements to the government stating they are ready to host games when they clearly are not? It just makes everyone connected with the club look like massive tits, and undermines the hard work that I'm sure is going on in the background.

I can't believe people are seemingly now trying to spin this into 'perhaps the club got a tip off' in light of impending local lockdown restrictions. Take the blinkers off. We f***** up!

[KenH]

Maybe somebody in the know has tipped The club off, all that work would have gone to waste as we would be back to no fans Saturday after all. Mmm. Bit strange!

No need for tip-offs. The published daily numbers of infections, hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy in Lancashire (including Lancaster/RLI) have been growing for the past couple of weeks. It's no surprise at all that further restrictions were highly likely, and this weeks' figures make it inevitable. The only doubt is what kind of restrictions.

[KenH]

Meanwhile, you can happily go sit in a confined space drinking pints of beer, non of it makes sense!

But the rules are that you should still have been social distancing in the pub if you weren't there with only your household/bubble. You certainly weren't supposed to be getting close to random strangers or people outside your household/bubble.

[redrobo]

I'm not sure why this is difficult to understand?!? The club does not currently have approved SAG safety protocols to host a game. This was part of the criteria for hosting test events (Tranmere Rovers did not apply to host a test event because of this). Simply put the club should not have applied in the first place, so it was a monumental cock up that appears to stem from poor communication amongst the board. Also, the EFL shouldn't have accepted the clubs application.... But theyre not the best at checking this sort of thing (e.g. Suitability of owners, see Wigan Athletic).

The question is, why don't we have approved safety protocols yet? The answer is probably for a number of reasons (we are not alone, see Tranmere), but given this, why is the club making statements to the government stating they are ready to host games when they clearly are not? It just makes everyone connected with the club look like massive tits, and undermines the hard work that I'm sure is going on in the background.

I can't believe people are seemingly now trying to spin this into 'perhaps the club got a tip off' in light of impending local lockdown restrictions. Take the blinkers off. We f***** up!

For me it's an individual based many miles away to blame for not communicating with the Board based in Morecambe who decided to act on his own albeit for the best of intentions. To imply that it was the BoD as a whole to blame is out of order.

[HALMA 1983]

Meanwhile, you can happily go sit in a confined space drinking pints of beer, non of it makes sense!

But the rules are that you should still have been social distancing in the pub if you weren't there with only your household/bubble. You certainly weren't supposed to be getting close to random strangers or people outside your household/bubble.

The point I was making was that it's more likely to be a greater problem indoors all breathing the same air, rather than on an open terrace where it really shouldn't and wouldn't be any problem at all.

[RedRedWine]

Neil - to me it seemed that certain board members were unaware we'd even applied for a test game, whilst others (or at least one) actually applied thus putting us forward for consideration - perhaps they did so not knowing the club didn't have everything in place (I certainly thought they would have done so by now)? Whatever way you look at it, it's poor internal communication by the board (who are a collective).

I don't think there's anything controversial in what I've said. Although improved particularly since the addition of James and Charlie, communication between the club and supporters has been generally poor for years - what makes you think its anything different internally? I thought it was common knowledge that this is a weakness - and something the club are looking to improve. You can appreciate everything people like Rod and Graham do for the club (I do) and yet still raise fair concerns/criticism/observations without being against the club. In fact as a fan base I think we need to be, otherwise we'll walk into another Diego Lemos situation, and/or still continually praise the guy who put us into the situation that nearly bankrupted the club.

[redrobo]

RRW...I think we can agree that it was the actions of one of our elusive owners that has created this mess.

Why didn't he first of all check that the club was in a position to partake in a trial game rather than go ahead and put the club forward for consideration.

Of course we are not the only club to find ourselves having to decline the offer of a trail game, Hull being far bigger than ourselves are also guilty which I would suggest could apply to a growing number of bigger clubs than ourselves.

Let's hope that come October we are able to get back to some kind of normality BUT the news about Covid this pm and the lock down in areas of Lancashire is disturbing and would throw our club into even greater financial melt down.

Worrying to say the very least.....

[Wild Bill]

This match aside, with the recent news it's looking pretty unlikely that any of us will make it inside the ground for the foreseeable future.

Lets just hope that there's a good uptake in Player passes per match to keep the club going. This is probably something that could be pushed more by the club over the coming weeks.