And whilst unlike Sparrow's Lane in which on one pitch you literally needed a dingy last week, its not looking good. I'm no referee, but parts looked unplayable.
Cover it in sand (if the buget will stretch), perfect playing surface. Been done in the past by one of the top sides in the world and was ok to prem football on.
We may as well get it played if we can and move on. I know it didn't look great for the Sheff Wed game but Paddy only had three days to try and sort it out. A bit of sun and it will be like a bowling green again...
Cover it in sand (if the buget will stretch), perfect playing surface. Been done in the past by one of the top sides in the world and was ok to prem football on.
Cover it in sand (if the buget will stretch), perfect playing surface. Been done in the past by one of the top sides in the world and was ok to prem football on.
Cover it in sand (if the buget will stretch), perfect playing surface. Been done in the past by one of the top sides in the world and was ok to prem football on.
Did we not play on one? lol
I remember that one...Jimmy Floyd tripping over a discarded bucket and spade to win a penalty.
Was Chelsea's pitch not covered in sand due to the fact that they were relaying it mid-way through the season? I can see why covering a wet pitch in sand may help the movement of the ball, however it's only going to be a temporary fix and I can't see the league allowing it to stay like that for the rest of the season.
This was the pitch inspection at Selhurst Park before the Norwich game. Proves beyond all doubt that our pitch is not fit for football and a shame on the current owners .
Based on what I saw this morning I'll "stick my neck out" and say not a hope in hell of it being played. If it can't be played next week then switch it to Oxford ? I can see major problems and a fixture backlog looming. (Not normally this pesimistic, think I might need a lie down !)
When the referee makes his decision, is he allowed to factor in the possibility that playing the game may irreversibly damage the pitch for future matches? Or is he only permitted to consider whether the pitch is playable or not?
My understanding is that future use of the pitch doesn't come into the decision. The safety of the players (and the supporters) is the first consideration, and the referee will check if the ball runs freely and/or bounce true ie: does it gets get stuck in puddles/not bounce back up having hit the ground. If the latter, then he should postpone the game.
As LAMH (what a great name) said, the referees only factor in postponing a game is the safety of the players, or in extreme cases like the Doncaster match, whether it is physically possible to play the game at all! As to the future state of the pitch, as far as refs are concerned, that's for the club to sort for themselves, not the referee's responsibility - though if he was genuinely concerned it could endanger players but not to the point of calling the game off (e.g. slippery but playable) he would make a note of this.
This is what a friend who is training to be a ref said when I raised the question, he could well be talking out of his arse. (In which he'd fit right in round here. )
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We are screwed for the next few months if it keeps raining
I know it didn't look great for the Sheff Wed game but Paddy only had three days to try and sort it out. A bit of sun and it will be like a bowling green again...
http://forum.charltonlife.com/utility/thumbnail/8023/~cf/FileUpload/d1/274839c9262443bf4d10b09d613aa3.jpg
Still think it is academic. They might as well call it off now.
This is what a friend who is training to be a ref said when I raised the question, he could well be talking out of his arse. (In which he'd fit right in round here.
So the game is saturday and if the forecast you've seen is right, there's heavy rain both thursday and friday!