posted Jan 12, 2009

I think that Fulham should forfeit the game being played on their pitch and the replayed fixture be played at Ewood, then the Fulham management would know how to look after their pitch in future!

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 12, 2009

I dont think anyone can take all the blame for this.

I think the solution is for the FA/ Premier League to have a system in place to compensate fans who travel to abandoned games.

This is the only fair way because Fulham covered the pitch to try and protect it and the ref left the inspection until 1.30 to give the game every chance of being played.

Perfectly justifiable actions from both but the fans are still left up the creek.

You can then debate whether under-soil heating should be a pre-requisite etc. but this is looking at the situation that actually arose on Saturday.

I mean, the ref cant call it off at 9am because if the covering works and the pitch is fine by 3 o'clock then it would be ridiculous.

But at the same time, if they are going to leave inspections until late, they need to compensate travelling fans... simple as.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 12, 2009

exactly right.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 12, 2009

First of all this is a message I received from the club:

'Firstly, may I say that we are very sorry for any inconvenience that you suffered following Saturday's postponement.

It is always disappointing whenever a game needs to be called off and it goes without saying that a late cancellation is highly regrettable. In the build-up to the game we certainly weren't complacent in our preparations. The pitch was covered in the week leading up to the game and we continued to monitor both weather forecasts and the condition of the playing surface on a regular basis.

A lot has been made of the fact that the Club do not currently operate an undersoil heating system at Craven Cottage. In some leagues, for instance the SPL in Scotland, this is a mandatory requirement. North of the border, they do of course consistently endure far harsher winters than here in the south of England.

The English Premier League stipulate that "each club shall provide and maintain at it's registered ground an undersoil heating system or other adequate system of pitch protection to the reasonable satisfaction of the board."

At present we utilise a pitch cover in cold weather and that works in conjuction with a system of gas powered blowers. As Saturday was the first fixture to fall foul of the weather at Craven Cottage since our return to the Premier League, it seems fair to assert that in normal circumstances the system can reasonably be considered fit for purpose.

As we now know, last Saturday was the coldest that Central London has endured in over a decade. It's worth noting that the best projections of the Met Office did not forsee such a cold snap descending.

The playing surface was in good condition on Friday, and all of the weather projections pointed towards there being no problems with the fixture going ahead as planned. We employed the services of a team of groundstaff who stayed at the stadium and worked through the night to monitor the condition of the pitch. As of Saturday morning we continued to be confident that the game would proceed.

In view of the temperatures we made the decision to keep the pitch covers in place for as long as possible prior to the kick off. As I'm sure you can appreciate, it does take quite some time to remove the covers, the blowers and the fittings that go along with them. The covers were removed shortly after 11am and for the most part the playing surface was in good order.

Unfortunately with the temperatures continuing to drop and the soil now exposed to the elements, it quickly became apparent that some small areas of the field were beginning to be affected by frost. The Club contacted the match referee Mr. Styles, who then reported to the Cottage and carried out a formal inspection.

His own views have subsequently been reported widely in the media, where Mr Styles confirmed that "I had a phone call from Fulham to say that they were taking the covers off and they had some concerns. I got here and had a good walk around; I’ve got every sympathy for them, 98% of the field is playable but parts of it are unplayable and the weather is not getting any better."

In view of the plunging temperatures we could not then in all conscience provide assurances that the pitch would be in a safe condition later that afternoon. After the decision had been taken by Mr. Styles to postpone the fixture we moved quickly to announce this information to supporters. In addition to stadium announcement, a notice was placed on the Club website. Our match day stewards and staff were also deployed in the area around Bishops Park and the ground and updates were provided on all train and bus routes that serve the stadium.'

Secondly,well done to the club for giving away all the pies and food to all the Blackburn fans that had reached Craven Cottage. They certainly deserved them. We were drinking in the local pub with some of the Blackburn fans and they were a really good bunch.

Lastly, I look forward to the rescheduled game. Although I still hope we win.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 12, 2009

One comment about coal mines and you all go crying and screaming to the moderators. What was big, strong, Kev `the real Man` Davis saying? Gary Megson`s responsible for dragging the reputation of english football through the mud. That`s southern mud by the way, not northern mud because that full of lumps of coal.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 13, 2009

eh? am i missing something? what a bizaar comment.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 13, 2009

cheers for the explanation from fulham trish, it seems crazy to call it off when ''98% of the pitch was playable'' though.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 13, 2009

I think the random comment was from an Arsenal fan who seemingly thinks Blackburn & Bolton are the same club.

Nous sommes deux différentes équipes!

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 13, 2009

"98% of pitch was playable"... but they cant mess around with a frozen pitch.

I'm sure many amateur players have had an experience of playing on a frozen pitch and it is not very much fun at all.

Even light falls and you can do a pretty serious injury.

I think there is a case to answer for Fulham to be honest. I posted earlier justifying their actions and the referees on the day but it is a seperate issue as to whether it is acceptable that a Premier League club cant get their playing surface fit for a match.

Yes it was the 'coldest day in London for 10 years' but it was only -7 and whilst bloody cold it is hardly Antarctic.

The fact is over the weekend 8 of the 10 home teams managed to get their pitches playable and it is unacceptable that Fulham and Portsmouth did not.

Whilst I think that the referee and Fulham were right to give the game every chance of going ahead... they should still face the consequences of failing to succeed.

add comment | complain about this comment

posted Jan 14, 2009

I seem to recall Blackburn having a home game frozen off a couple of years ago (Christmastime, Newcastle?). I presume that does not count.

add comment | complain about this comment