For you tweeters out there, I understand that there were pictures of our new team bus, with Pools logos, on display today. A Compass Royston bus apparently, is this our normal bus company?

The driver is always the same, he's tweeted this evening actually Chip! Apologising to those that travelled but circumdtances were out of his control.

Basically what he's saying (although he can't directly) is that 'Jedward' dictate set off times and routes and also what gear he drives in at all times.

Oh dear........................this thread could now change direction (no pun intended).
I'm off to bed.
G'night all.

He has, the guy is called Shaun Garbutt by his twitter name.

Pools retweeted it.

Well done everyone. One of the daftest threads I have ever read.

I dont know London very well, but I would wager that there isnt actually a tube station on the M11.

From memory, most bloody tube stations are nowhere near the main roads.

So, if the Pools coach was stuck on the M11, was it?, and the traffic was stopped (which it is automatically with a fatality) then getting off the bloody thing, and walking anywhere is not an option. And I suspect the police at the scene didnt really put Pools need to get to a football match as a priority.

So the driver might have made an error by not checking the traffic updates before they set off.......is THAT actually a crime?

Other than that............its just one of those things.

This thread starts off by slagging off the LO fans and then makes us look even dafter. Well done.

Well said Colonel.

Agreeing with Dibble.

There seems to be a few people with the barebone facts who are making out like they know everything that went on yesterday when they're probably very wrong

You could half understand doing this to exonerate Pools from any blame but it's actually the opposite, bizarre!

..somehow I dont think the F.A. will be reading the Bunker this morning.

I don't know, but we don't even know if they were actually staying in the hotel mentioned!


Whatever the distance you wouldn't under normal circumstances not move in four hours. I don't know if we'll get fined I only know the bare details of the situation.

But it doesn't have to be a 20 minutes drive Chip it has to be done in something like an hour and half.

If Pools left the hotel at 12:35 then they have until 2:00 to reach the ground. This will allow them to meet the rules of handing in the team sheet to the referee.I think it now one hour prior to kick off for handing team sheet in.

Now even if it more than that(and I never take notice when going to away games of routes etc as I don't drive) would they still be expected to make the ground prior to 3:00 for kick off and just getting fine for failure to hand in a team sheet but meeting kick off time.

So the question is could they have reasonably expected to make Brisbane Road in approx 1 and half hours even on a Saturday with the traffic problems you highlight. If that answer is yes then Pools have done everything within their means so they have to fulfill this fixture and rules regarding a game.

Now I'm not looking for excuses but what arrangements had been previously arranged with Orient for the team arriving, did the two teams (for example) agree for the team bus to arrive at a certain time(approx) so Orient staff could be there to meet them ensure all necessary things were in place, so plans were in place which have been affected. What had the police placed in position for the journey.

But as others say it will come out in the wash. Though as you said there's no way this will result in anything more than a fine(IMHO), or a compensation figure for orients match day bills.

If the accident did happen at 7:30 I don't understand how this Orient fans journey doesn't appear to have been affected. I know he doesn't specifically say how long his journey took, but he did set off from a point north of the accident 3 hours after it is reported to have happened.

Certainly looks like the Highways Agency have a lot to answer for on this occasion

Without causing an argument maybe what Cooper said about it taking about 20 minutes should actually be taken with a pinch of salt. How many times have we all heard a woman say she'll be ready in 5 minutes and 45 minutes later she appears. It may have been a similar type of 20 minutes.

And once more not knowing the road(s) as well as some on here, could they have got off the M11 once they got on to it. Is there a slip road which could have been taken to find an alternative route ?, whether that was North, South, East or West (I'll cover all because like I say I don't take notice of the roads ). Is it possible that any slip road that could have been used was in front of the accident ? meaning no way off. And the Police were more concerned with the aftermath of the accident than maybe turning the traffic round and going wrong way on the carriageway to move the stationary traffic. They genuine questions I've had instances where with less traffic to contend with where I've had tailback at RTC's for few miles usually to somewhere like a roundabout where a police officer has been able to get to and close off the road and not for an hour or so(and that not a criticism) could they have closed that road and diverted traffic once man-power permitted. It may have been possible to use a couple police cars(even fire appliances in the fend off position) but use of appliances possibly miles from the accident is usually not a good logistical use of them, equipment to far away. and of course the actual police cars/fire appliances may well have been in front of the accident having proceeded from the opposite carriage and cut across.It is usual practice for any incident on a motorway to send them from both directions this covers a lot of possibilities, traffic back log unable to get past, wrong carriageway given, close to the actual station from the opposite direction etc. Hence the reason the road was closed so long those vehicles would have been getting used in some way at the incident, then needing to do 3 point turn to head correct way up the carriageway. there are simply to many possibilities and that's why we need to wait until all investigations are over and when they are the FA take them all into consideration.

I'm like you Chip I'm guessing at the reasons, but mean one that I'm asking about is the bit you use again from Cooper, namely

2) " as soon we got to the M11 we could see there was an issue " confirms the road was fucked when they got there, and could be interpreted as a lack of planning and preparation, especially as these modern fangled GPRS sat navs are supposed to be able to detect these things.

Its that as soon as we got to the M11, that's the issue in my opinion, they're now on the Motorway, you know the roads where is the first slip road now to attempt to get off it. Is there one from wherever they came from or is it like I asked in my previous post in front of the accident and therefore not accessible to get to due to tailback. I'm not defending anyone here though it reads as if I am. Do they enter the M11 off some other road( a slip road) or would they enter the M11 in much say way as you get on the A1 from the A19 where you don't turn off but just continue and the road numbers have changed.so due to them being in a certain lane they just had to continue. Like I said I useless with roads but hopefully you can see what I asking there even if I got the A1/A19 mixed up.

You did well to last so long!

Has it occurred to no-one that if the M11 was blocked, and reported on the traffic news, that all the other roads in the area, NOT being motorways would be absolutely sneided. With the paralympic thing happening as well??

Ah no, we need to slate Pools and worry about what might happen.

Has anybody anytime for a holiday or some soothing drugs??

Unbelievable

I don't think anyone is slating Pools...?

There will no doubt be an enquiry to find out if Pools did everything they could to get to the ground. Like it or not though and rightly or wrongly the FA or FL or whoever will want to know why Pools left so late and drove onto heavily congested roads.

I hope we have good answers that amount to a bit more than we didn't check the traffic situation, because if that is the only answer we are likely to be fined.....

Yesterday we left Figueras going in the direction of La Jonquera and I was in two minds whether to take the motorway or the old road. When the motorway came in sight the traffic seemed to be moving normally on it, so I said to madame, let's go that way.
We drove at the 120 kph limit for like 3 minutes before being forced to slow down and stop. The distance from Figueras to La Jonquera is maybe 15 km. It took us over an hour to get there on the motorway. Nothing on the radio suggested it was going to take so long and initially nothing on the road suggested it either.
But it did take over an hour.

Just saying like. You don't necessarily know there's a traffic jam just over the horizon.

An accident could happen anything from a few yards infront of you and if it creates an obstruction and the bobbies subsequently decide to shut the road then you're fooked. I can't believe that people think its so unbelievable to fathom that a road closure can occur and the driver can't have control over the ETA.

Pools have played thousands of away games and never been remotely late suggesting the time they set off is pretty accurate. FFS I appreciate chip is an expert on everything but do we really need a five page thread on this bollocks?

If you read up this thread a bit Mr Jonny, you'll see people saying this was avoidable. Arguing about the distances and alternatives. It obviously wasn't avoidable.

And there will be the quintessentially British 'enquiry.'

And again British trains are renowned as being efficient and timely aren't they??

So like I said, if people waited to find out the sodding facts instead of going off on one when armed with little knowledge themselves we wouldn't need all the above bullshit!!!

So were not allowed threads on speculation about signings etc? Can we only comment once its confirmed the player has signed?

Its a friggin message board. Were not making you read this "bullshit"

Maybe for the next away game Chip can sort out the bus drivers schedule to make sure the team gets there, on time, via train, plane or automobile.
Benny Hill couldn't write a better material than what's in this thread.

Its all common sense imo

We will see if we get fined or not.

Was Mr twilight the driver. He came to a halt something about the milky way,mars bar or some such. Next time they could travel down in the Fireball XL5.

They way i see it, there was a bad crash at 7.30. By 9am at the latest it should be known about and reported and plans should then be in place, either a different route or different mode of transport.

Setting off at 12.30 suggests neither.

Well I'm gonna predict we won't get fined just to find out what happens to people who are proved wrong by the Chipmeister.

I'll go one step further and suggest taking the M11 suggests neither!

you are all very dull people

So, basically, everyone will be happy once the coach driver is publicly flogged and Pools have been fined and docked points we don't actually have yet.

Can someone lock this thread cos it's embarrassing.

He's not wrong about the thread being embarrassing though.

One of many lately.

The world authority Chip Fireball strikes again. Must be good never being wrong about anything......

good save their chip i was just settling down to read all 5 pages (not) and get my retaliation in courtesy of mr john smiths

How come a thread with good debate and little abuse gets called embarrasing etc?

Thread is light years above others on here

So basically after years of posting one of the most miserable contributors is finally enthused by a six pager were people who weren't there speculate how a bus could have avoided unforeseen motorway gridlock, a one were even the main contributor to the thread has acknowledged that it is a 'dreadful thread'

Chip i played the back 9 at Throston today and shot 56. Should i hang my head in shame?

I think it has a long way to go before it is saved, it's the type of situation only Poolie of Kent could retrieve, I'd imagine he'd get very melodramatic over this one. He normally goes to Orient away as well!

Isn't Flamingoland in Yorkshire? I could swear you have to go up James Herriot's back passage to reach it. Edinburgh zoo is just full of people re-enacting heroin consumption scenes from Trainspotting and the odd panda smoking opium by way of contrast.

.......pencil the rearranged fixture in for F.A. Cup 2nd Round Saturday, for as sure as .... both teams will go out at the first stage.....on current form.

I go away for two days..!

where IS POK? I hope he's ok

I wasn't going anyway had other plans but a text just as train was due meant had to do something virtually then and there. Just got later and quieter Grand Central to carry on with plans.

let me know where this wall is Chip if it's Flamingoland sure I can lift grand kids over one day

lol 2 the most i think, just generally cant putt. May aswell just hit every putt straight as they dont seem to turn at all and grass is far too long imo.

Priceless

Flamingoland - over the wall out the back of the church, come out in the Aviary.

apparently it's already been tweeted

Or they've turned the aviary into a lion's den now and you made a meal of yourself