That's the bit you originally argued with and I subsequently advised you was confirmed by evidence on the news this evening. I don't disagree with what you are saying about the enormity of the problem. I was simply confirming that I had repeated information provided by those who measure the wind speeds; information you were questioning earlier.

At present the situation is very serious IMO. I cannot envison us being granted a health & safety certificate prior to the season starting. Had this second damage not occurred then we could have all rested in our beds believing it was just teething problems the first time. But now it quite clearly isn't. This could be very serious for the club and for our participation in the new season.

I'm just keeping everything crossed that it is either (a) shoddy workmanship or (b) an underestimation of the degree of fastening required for the roof cladding. If this is a structural or design problem then we are fooked.

The brand spanking new grandstand at Epsom Downs racecourse was.

Houses and shops up and down the country had roofs damaged and chimney stacks collapsed. Walls were even blown over. Take a look at some of the pics on the BBC website. Lots of properties were damaged throughout the UK today.

Local stadia are in very sheltered environments. Ours is very exposed on the south side. Maybe that wasn't considered to the degree that it should have been during the design or build phase? Who knows.

hardly in the vicinity is it? god you're pedantic!

You didn't say in the vicinity for goodness sake! 70mph wind gusts can cause structural damage. That is a fact. Some properties elsewhere in the country were damaged as a result of lower windspeed gusts than 70mph. But I'm quite sure there are underlying problems at Langtree Park that need to be resolved in order that the stadium can cope with greater gusts of wind than it can at present.

I wouldn't class the stadium area as being sheltered and would think the wind is stronger down the link road. PC World also lost part of it's roof in recent years in much the same way.

We won't know the degree of the damage until someone gets up there and looks at it but without being OTT I do think the damage is a worry.

If this wind keeps up, the stadium might do a 'wizard of oz'

HAHAAHHH! Now THAT'S Funny! Just imaging the Wicked Witch Of The West - "Okay, now houses I can stomach, but who the hell threw that?"

The wind is due to keep up for most of the night and is bringing heavy rain with it so Saints could wake up to a right ole mess in the morning!

It was there and then it wasn't.

Being serious, I think the Widnes game is in serious doubt.

As i suspected, the MET office doesnt take readings in St.Helens, the nearest observation post is in crosby, on the coast hardly next door to the stadium. It may have got to 70 mph there (it did) but i was in and around the club shop as the roof was damaged and could walk about quite easily outside, thats never 70 mph, ever

You won't leave it alone will you?

Did you walk around the stadium at 7.30 this morning?

The 70mph gusts were around that time and also in the afternoon. And the MET office take readings all over the place, not just in Crosby! Crosby is always going to have higher readings than us because it is on the coast. On Look NW it was cited as having gusts of 73mph in the peak times (early am and mid afternoon).

As I said, gusts in this area peaked at 70mph. You didn't ask about Crosby. In Crosby they peaked at 73mph. You were denying the winds peaked at 70mph locally so I'm not sure which point I was justifying by stating the bleeding obvious concerning Crosby and being on the coast!

Anyway. You wouldn't have wandered cosily around the stadium at 7.30 this morning. That I know for certain. It was hideous at that time.

Well not quite SS.....

I remember many years back when a roof sheet actually flew of the old KR when we (Wire) were playing there, and it just missing Gary Mercers head and embedded itself in the turf. Game was halted for a while, then I think it resumed. Anyone else remember this ??

THE HOOF