By J Wade
January 9 2005

Liverpool's FA Cup third round tie against Burnley at Turf Moor has been called off due to a water logged pitch. The decision angered both sets of fans, especially the home fans. Burnley had problems with their pitch since their Championship match against Leicester, which was forced to be abandoned after 19 minutes. Everyone at Burnley knew it would be a race to get it ready for their FA Cup tie against the Reds. Burnley groundsmen were so determined to get it up to standards to host Liverpool that they worked none stop every day. Burnley FC believed they could cause an FA Cup third round upset. They were willing to work on the water logged pitch right up untill kick off. Before the game they put a cover over the pitch to stop the rain, however, it seemed to worsen the problem. The referee said " 90% of the pitch is fine" however, the surface of the touch lines on either side of the pitch were unplayable. The game was called off 30 minutes before kick off, which disappointed both managers. Benitez was angry that his team would have to travel to Turf Moor once more which takes up training time. Burnley were devastated at the decision because they relished the chance to play such a big club and were hopeful of an upset.