Why do people keep saying they are embarrassed? Are you getting mixed up with 'annoyed'? I'm annoyed that the game's not on, but would rather that than another Doncaster. I get embarrassed if I trip over or if I have to stand up and talk in front of strangers. I don't get embarrassed if a referee calls my team's game off...I get annoyed.
We're embarrassed for the club! We've been ridiculed on Talksport
How have we been ridiculed on Talksport?
Every League One and Two game went ahead, every conference game went ahead - how can a Championship club not get the pitch playable! The club should be embarrassed!
Surely we're looking at fine from the league seeing as we cut costs at the beginning of the season rather than fix the issue? Especially after the state our pitch got in last season?
The club should be embarrassed, people look forward to the weekend and those poor Barnsley fans will have spent 8 hours in a coach for no reason!
The games were going ahead in Charlton Park ffs!
have you not read the numerous stories about the pitch? the drains are broken. when it rains there is nowhere for the water to go. it is irrelevant what happens on other pitches as the drains aren't broken there.
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
From Club statement "The ground staff did not deem it necessary to call in a match official to conduct a preliminary pitch inspection on the Friday prior to the game against the Tykes, as they were confident the surface was in a better condition than at a comparative stage before the recent matches against Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield Wednesday." There is an error of judgement here; either the referee or the Club!
Sounds like someone higher up the food chain is trying to blame the ground staff (Bradshaw - Slater even as he's still there?).
I'm sure that in previous similar situations we've had more 'corporate' statements like 'The Club did not deem it necessary' etc - rather than singling out particular groups of staff?
Notice CP says "possible game" in reference to Oxford on Tuesday. They might as well call that off now.
Clem, what I would say to that is , were the Groundstaff asked by Senior Management if it needed inspecting ?
Don't get wrong (and as you'll hopefully see from my other posts on this thread) I'm not blaming the ground staff. I just read that statement as saying "it isn't our fault, our ground staff called it".
Agree with others that have said it, the buck stops with Bradshaw.
Why do people keep saying they are embarrassed? Are you getting mixed up with 'annoyed'? I'm annoyed that the game's not on, but would rather that than another Doncaster. I get embarrassed if I trip over or if I have to stand up and talk in front of strangers. I don't get embarrassed if a referee calls my team's game off...I get annoyed.
We're embarrassed for the club! We've been ridiculed on Talksport
How have we been ridiculed on Talksport?
Every League One and Two game went ahead, every conference game went ahead - how can a Championship club not get the pitch playable! The club should be embarrassed!
Surely we're looking at fine from the league seeing as we cut costs at the beginning of the season rather than fix the issue? Especially after the state our pitch got in last season?
The club should be embarrassed, people look forward to the weekend and those poor Barnsley fans will have spent 8 hours in a coach for no reason!
The games were going ahead in Charlton Park ffs!
have you not read the numerous stories about the pitch? the drains are broken. when it rains there is nowhere for the water to go. it is irrelevant what happens on other pitches as the drains aren't broken there.
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
The dome was on the pitch last night, fully inflated and was taken off this morning
Why do people keep saying they are embarrassed? Are you getting mixed up with 'annoyed'? I'm annoyed that the game's not on, but would rather that than another Doncaster. I get embarrassed if I trip over or if I have to stand up and talk in front of strangers. I don't get embarrassed if a referee calls my team's game off...I get annoyed.
We're embarrassed for the club! We've been ridiculed on Talksport
How have we been ridiculed on Talksport?
Every League One and Two game went ahead, every conference game went ahead - how can a Championship club not get the pitch playable! The club should be embarrassed!
Surely we're looking at fine from the league seeing as we cut costs at the beginning of the season rather than fix the issue? Especially after the state our pitch got in last season?
The club should be embarrassed, people look forward to the weekend and those poor Barnsley fans will have spent 8 hours in a coach for no reason!
The games were going ahead in Charlton Park ffs!
have you not read the numerous stories about the pitch? the drains are broken. when it rains there is nowhere for the water to go. it is irrelevant what happens on other pitches as the drains aren't broken there.
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
Are you suggesting that their are drains in place at the Charlton Park pitches ?
the pitch according to that statement was in the same condition or comparable as Brighton and Sheff weds , both games played , how can the ground staff be held accountable for the not calling of an official
its the ref who determined the postponement if we had the same ref as those 2 games the game may have been played
there is a massive over reaction, I can really understand the frustration and annoyance plus the pain of costs involved to those that travelled for no reason ,
but it is easy to say it should've been called off earlier , but if the ground staff thought it was the same as the last 2 home games that played then they are not responsible
they knew the cup game was worse and they actioned an earlier call off they will do the same I would say for Tuesday
The Dome was on all night and taken off this morning. Groundstaff thought it was better than the Sheff Wed game yesterday so they thought it was playable. That's all I know !
But the ref said there was standing water! Where has that come from if the dome has been on all week and protected the pitch from last night' s rain ??.
the pitch according to that statement was in the same condition or comparable as Brighton and Sheff weds , both games played , how can the ground staff be held accountable for the not calling of an official
its the ref who determined the postponement if we had the same ref as those 2 games the game may have been played
there is a massive over reaction, I can really understand the frustration and annoyance plus the pain of costs involved to those that travelled for no reason ,
but it is easy to say it should've been called off earlier , but if the ground staff thought it was the same as the last 2 home games that played then they are not responsible
they knew the cup game was worse and they actioned an earlier call off they will do the same I would say for Tuesday
All good points but has it not been reported that the ball wouldn't bounce when the ref tried ? If that can be confirmed then I doubt the pitch was in fact in the same condition. ?
I'm disappointed that the club have singled out the ground staff in its communication. It is a club error and as a club collective responsibility should be taken publicly. Behind closed doors the club can allocate blame to management, ground staff and lack of process.
I fear for Colin, who may become the fall guy, in his testimonial year.
Why do people keep saying they are embarrassed? Are you getting mixed up with 'annoyed'? I'm annoyed that the game's not on, but would rather that than another Doncaster. I get embarrassed if I trip over or if I have to stand up and talk in front of strangers. I don't get embarrassed if a referee calls my team's game off...I get annoyed.
We're embarrassed for the club! We've been ridiculed on Talksport
How have we been ridiculed on Talksport?
Every League One and Two game went ahead, every conference game went ahead - how can a Championship club not get the pitch playable! The club should be embarrassed!
Surely we're looking at fine from the league seeing as we cut costs at the beginning of the season rather than fix the issue? Especially after the state our pitch got in last season?
The club should be embarrassed, people look forward to the weekend and those poor Barnsley fans will have spent 8 hours in a coach for no reason!
The games were going ahead in Charlton Park ffs!
have you not read the numerous stories about the pitch? the drains are broken. when it rains there is nowhere for the water to go. it is irrelevant what happens on other pitches as the drains aren't broken there.
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
Are you suggesting that their are drains in place at the Charlton Park pitches ?
obviously not. but that is essentially a field with natural drainage that you get with any ground. if it were below the water table it would have been unplayable. as it is on a hill it is fine. the valley is a specially built pitch in which the drains are a key part. it won't have the natural drainage that charlton park has. so when the drains fail there is a problem. my point is that comparing the valley to other places is not comparing like with like and i'm not sure why we are surprised that it happened.
as i said, the real issue is going forward and providing better communication
It is just possible that the ground staff made a bad error of judgment, and that Bradshaw (or whoever) asked them the right questions (like "What makes you so confident?) and was satisfied with the answers.
Short of going onto the pitch himself with a ball, I'm not sure why it would be improper to trust the ground staff.
Do we know how well it bounced in those areas against the other 2 teams SHG, it may have been the same, the need for a Charlton Life scapegoat when things goes tits is getting insane
This club has under invested in the pitch for seasons and seasons and seasons
But do you know what, I make them right thinking about it , if we had the bare minimum to pay the leccy and staff as has been suggested the pitch spend had to reduce
Why do people keep saying they are embarrassed? Are you getting mixed up with 'annoyed'? I'm annoyed that the game's not on, but would rather that than another Doncaster. I get embarrassed if I trip over or if I have to stand up and talk in front of strangers. I don't get embarrassed if a referee calls my team's game off...I get annoyed.
We're embarrassed for the club! We've been ridiculed on Talksport
How have we been ridiculed on Talksport?
Every League One and Two game went ahead, every conference game went ahead - how can a Championship club not get the pitch playable! The club should be embarrassed!
Surely we're looking at fine from the league seeing as we cut costs at the beginning of the season rather than fix the issue? Especially after the state our pitch got in last season?
The club should be embarrassed, people look forward to the weekend and those poor Barnsley fans will have spent 8 hours in a coach for no reason!
The games were going ahead in Charlton Park ffs!
have you not read the numerous stories about the pitch? the drains are broken. when it rains there is nowhere for the water to go. it is irrelevant what happens on other pitches as the drains aren't broken there.
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
Are you suggesting that their are drains in place at the Charlton Park pitches ?
Natural drainage with the many feet of soul underneath. Don't quote me on it but our pitch probably doesn't even have that luxury. The Valley wasn't a naturally grassed area as far as I'm aware.
The Dome was on all night and taken off this morning. Groundstaff thought it was better than the Sheff Wed game yesterday so they thought it was playable. That's all I know !
But the ref said there was standing water! Where has that come from if the dome has been on all week and protected the pitch from last night' s rain ??.
There was no standing water. I stood on the pitch myself. Was puddingy (if that's the right word) in places but that's all.
Singling out ground staff on a statement is unprofessional. Not the most unprofessional thing that has happened today, but anyway. I've no idea but the impression is of a complete lack of any chain of command.
I guess yesterday the pitch could have been playable and the Ground staff were happy for the match to go ahead... Unfortunately though if the Dome went back on Thursday the pitch would have been hit by the rain that arrived late last night (Got soaked in Bexleyheath / Welling around 10pm) and thats what could have done the damage, had that rain stayed away we could have been fine.
I feel for the Barnsley fans as would hate for it to happen to us yet I dont agree with their Chief Exec. complaining to the Football League about the situation, am sure they've not got the most amazing pitch up at Oakwell themselves and if they complain they could have silly cancellations like this themselves in years to come
The Dome was on all night and taken off this morning. Groundstaff thought it was better than the Sheff Wed game yesterday so they thought it was playable. That's all I know !
But the ref said there was standing water! Where has that come from if the dome has been on all week and protected the pitch from last night' s rain ??.
I don't think the ref has said anything about standing water, just that it was muddy:
Think the dome is a bit of a red herring and could be more of a hindrance. With no drainage below the turf the only way to soak up is with sunlight or heaters?
Think the dome is a bit of a red herring and could be more of a hindrance. With no drainage below the turf the only way to soak up is with sunlight or heaters?
The club statement clearly blames the ground staff. If true, they should be punished severely
The statement could also be read to imply that what happened today was the result of a random judgement made by the referee, although all the evidence suggests that the pitch was in no fit state to allow play. I struggle to believe that yesterday anyone could look at that pitch and not have even some doubt about it being good for today's game. The decision not to accept an early inspection yesterday was clearly ridiculous and the lack of communication contemptible. Barnsley have every right to approach the Football League about what has happened. I suspect we have not heard the last of this one and I fear the consequences of further postponements as the weather inevitably worsens.
For the last time The Dome was ON all night and has been any time it has rained since Sunday !
yes but, the water in the already soaked pitch has nowhere to go. Under a dome it will just form condensation. Nothing will dry the pitch except dry windy days.
See that the statement is all in the third person - 'Charlton Athletic would like to apologise...' and 'The club was confident...' etc.
And, as others have said, the only ones with the finger being pointed at them are the ground staff.
Obviously it is a time of big change, but it might have come across as a being a bit more meaningful if someone with some level of responsibility had been willing to put their name to it.
Comments
there is an issue of why the previous owners, who knew it was a problem, did nothing to rectify the situation. there is an issue about how today's abandonment was communicated because it could clearly have been been dealt with better. there is a big issue as to what can be done going forward and what remedial work can be carried out.
we might be embarrassed that this has happened but it isn't really a surprise. the only thing is the false hope that the dome gave us that the pitch would be playable. as it doesn't appear to have been over the pitch last night when it rained it is hardly surprising that the pitch is now back to where we were last weekend, given that nobody mended the drains.
the new regime need to get its communication sorted out quickly and whatever investment it will take to get us to end of season. i would have thought that a reasonable plan is to cancel tuesday's game, take whatever the consequence is of that, and then spend two weeks trying to get it sorted.
I'm sure that in previous similar situations we've had more 'corporate' statements like 'The Club did not deem it necessary' etc - rather than singling out particular groups of staff?
Agree with others that have said it, the buck stops with Bradshaw.
Are you suggesting that their are drains in place at the Charlton Park pitches ?
its the ref who determined the postponement if we had the same ref as those 2 games the game may have been played
there is a massive over reaction, I can really understand the frustration and annoyance plus the pain of costs involved to those that travelled for no reason ,
but it is easy to say it should've been called off earlier , but if the ground staff thought it was the same as the last 2 home games that played then they are not responsible
they knew the cup game was worse and they actioned an earlier call off they will do the same I would say for Tuesday
waterboarded?
I fear for Colin, who may become the fall guy, in his testimonial year.
as i said, the real issue is going forward and providing better communication
Short of going onto the pitch himself with a ball, I'm not sure why it would be improper to trust the ground staff.
This club has under invested in the pitch for seasons and seasons and seasons
But do you know what, I make them right thinking about it , if we had the bare minimum to pay the leccy and staff as has been suggested the pitch spend had to reduce
What annoys me is There was no standing water. I stood on the pitch myself. Was puddingy (if that's the right word) in places but that's all.
Sorry to any Barnsley reading.
I feel for the Barnsley fans as would hate for it to happen to us yet I dont agree with their Chief Exec. complaining to the Football League about the situation, am sure they've not got the most amazing pitch up at Oakwell themselves and if they complain they could have silly cancellations like this themselves in years to come
http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20140111-referee-outline-reasons-for-postponement-1287759.aspx
And, as others have said, the only ones with the finger being pointed at them are the ground staff.
Obviously it is a time of big change, but it might have come across as a being a bit more meaningful if someone with some level of responsibility had been willing to put their name to it.