The postponed Carling Cup semi final will now take place on Tuesday January 19th (home), and Wednesday January 27th (away).

It is with regret that the club can confirm that due to extreme weather conditions in the North West of England, the Carling Cup semi-final first leg tie against Manchester United scheduled has been postponed.

After discussions with the relevant parties including Greater Manchester Police, the Safety Advisory Committee, the Football League and Manchester United, the decision was unanimously reached that the game should be re-scheduled due to safety concerns ,particularly with regard to travel for supporters.

The North West Ambulance Service has declared the region as a major incident area and Greater Manchester Police are now responding to emergency calls only. The Met Office was also consulted and with projected temperatures of minus four tonight, due to drop to minus 6 on Wednesday evening, all parties agreed a postponement was the only solution. Knowing this now, it would be irresponsible to wait for tomorrow, when up to 47,000 fans would be at risk in addition to 900 staff many of whom would need to set off early, some from long distances, in advance of the decision to postpone.

“It is a huge disappointment for everyone that we have had to postpone the tie but we have had the kind of harsh weather unseen in this part of the world for years and years,” explained City CEO Garry Cook.

“We pursued every avenue possible in search of a solution and whilst the pitch is still playable, what was paramount in our thinking was the safety of fans travelling to and from the game especially in light of the sub-zero temperature forecast for Wednesday night.

“In the end everyone who was part of the discussions was unanimous that it would have been too dangerous to play the game as scheduled.”

We apologise for the delay on this story reaching the site, but this was  through technical difficulties not of our own making.The Premier League match at Stoke City will now be re-arranged.