Oldham game postponed Apparently

[Filo]

Rob Staton ‏@robstaton

Doncaster Rovers game against Oldham is off due to international call ups #drfc

[deebee]

Yes game is off due to Oldham having three players called up for international duty.

[RobTheRover]

Not sure how to greet that news. Disappointed at having to play catch up,  but with our small squad maybe it gives us a bit of a rest and the chance to bring a few more players in (and a bit of time for them to gel) with the loan window reopening?

[afro goal machine]

chuff sake !
Was going to be my 1st game of season
What internationals they got a fijian, a cayman islander and san marianese ! Joke !

[IDM]

2x Northern Ireland Under 21s and a south African.

I wonder what would happen had any of those players picked up an injury today, forcing them to leave the international squads, would our game be back on?

[RobTheRover]

Hmmm,  not sure. In order to postpone a game under the international clause he club has to have 3 or more first teamers on duty. If one pulls out then I doubt they would declare the game was back on once declared off.

[IDM]

I agree Rob, it won't be put back on if one or more of those players gets injured today.  Seems odd then that the postponement was announced before today's fixtures as (and I don't wish injury to anyone) if one had got injured today, then Oldham wouldn't have had 3 international players away next week, hence no postponement!

[adamtherover]

As I go on hols to the far east on Friday I can't say I'm not a little bit pleased I won't be missing the game after all. :-)

[andysly]

I agree Rob, it won't be put back on if one or more of those players gets injured today.  Seems odd then that the postponement was announced before today's fixtures as (and I don't wish injury to anyone) if one had got injured today, then Oldham wouldn't have had 3 international players away next week, hence no postponement!

So in summary Oldham have been a little bit cute in their postponement then, getting it in before any chance of not being able to cancel.

[IDM]

Perhaps, not sure if Oldham requested a postponement or if it happens automatically?

[roversontheup]

I think this probably does us a favour. We have a paper thin squad and a lot of league and cup fixtures.  Depending when it is rearranged for, it gives us chance to get a few more bodies in and get them and others match fit.

[Red wizard]

No home game now until end of September.

[andysly]

I'm sure they'd have to request a postponement.
It says on their website they have been ABLE to call off the game.

To add a little fuel to the fire, their 3 internationals are:

Furman, capt. played all 3 league games so far.
Winchester, played 1 until half time, 2 games unused sub.
Millar, unused sub all 3 league games.

Not really missing a great deal other than their captain then.

[RoversAlias]

Pissed off about this. Two Northern Ireland U21s really? No game for me now for nearly three weeks, and it means a winter Tuesday night game no doubt in the middle of a hefty fixture schedule stretching our players even further.

[RobTheRover]

But by then we could have a handful more in. I'm not overly disappointed with this one,  although I do feel that Oldham have "flexed" the rules somewhat.

[Filo]

Pissed off about this. Two Northern Ireland U21s really? No game for me now for nearly three weeks, and it means a winter Tuesday night game no doubt in the middle of a hefty fixture schedule stretching our players even further.

I thought it only applied to full international fixtures

[roverstillidie91]

Lost revenue for rovers as well

Would sell more tickets on a weekend than a midweek match

[RoversAlias]

Pissed off about this. Two Northern Ireland U21s really? No game for me now for nearly three weeks, and it means a winter Tuesday night game no doubt in the middle of a hefty fixture schedule stretching our players even further.

I thought it only applied to full international fixtures

So did I. It's a bit of a cop out by Oldham. Of course, hopefully it serves them right when they play us in the middle of an amazing winning run. But postponed matches piss me off more than anything else in football I think. They really rankle me.

[Filo]

This is the type of thing that piss`s season ticket holders off, the fixture`s come out, people then decide if it`s cost effective to buy a season ticket given their shift patterns or ability to swap a shift etc, then they find out that suddenly a Saturday fixture in September thats hardly likely to be postponed through adverse weather is off!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I agree far too easy to get games off these days. Last folk to be considered are fans. Glad we never got as far as the promised land having to play games at silly o'clock etc.

[andysly]

After 3 home games in the space of a week it's now over 3 weeks till the next one, no doubt the re-arranged game will be in the middle of some more home games and the attendance will dip due to a rush of fixtures.
Annoying. 

[Superspy]

I agree far too easy to get games off these days. Last folk to be considered are fans. Glad we never got as far as the promised land having to play games at silly o'clock etc.

Although apparently not easy to get them called off if you've got 14 injuries

[andysly]

Fair comment

[CoventryRed]

Great news for me. Booked a holiday before the fixtures were released and of couse I'm away this coming Saturday. It'll mean another Tuesday night, 200 mile round trip but better than missing it all together!

[RTID_Peter]

Gutted is an understatement as i have no chance of making the rearranged fixture  due to univeristy. Oldham would probably still have more players than us anyway with 3 missing

[andysly]

First available Tuesday night is 9th October, which if chosen gives us 3 home games in a week.......

[Alan_Rovers]

First available Tuesday night is 9th October, which if chosen gives us 3 home games in a week.......

That's JPT second round week.

[bobjimwilly]

I'm glad it's off as Im away for a stag weekend next weekend and would have missed it 

[The Red Baron]

I am seething about this- even more so as it seems Oldham have played the rules to the nth degree. Two of the three are fringe players and I'll bet they'd have wanted the game played had they been at home. Instead they dump on another club (who will suffer reduced cash flow as a result) and another set of fans.

The rule did apply only to full internationals but it was changed after one of the Welsh clubs (either Swansea or Wrexham) had half the Welsh U-21 team in their squad. They wouldn't have been able to field a team had they not been allowed to postpone.

I personally think three is too few. It should be five or six. It might make clubs like Oldham think twice before they load up their squad with foreign internationals.

[mushRTID]

Can we appeal? I hate working all week with no game at the weekend.