Breaking News Oldham v Southend postponed due to frozen pitch

[rigsby]

Thats a tough ask OBL. Somehow, we managed it in the late 80's until the late 90's??...and beyond...So why such an issue now,??....20 years later??

As for asking a ref to call off a match early, actually in the early hours of the morning, around 7 hours before kick off, is a stupid idea. It was -2 at that time, yet it was +6 by the time of kick off. If it was Charlton or Gillingham, fair enough. But our lads set off for a long away journey up north at the crack of dawn.

Again, your missing my point, you can only blame Oldham for this.!!....poor pitch, poor planning, & poor communication.

When you take into account printing thousands of progammes, ordering in food and drink etc... let alone stewards and other match day officials, this will hurt them more than us. We won't even take half the fans we were going to on a Saturday afternoon, as we will now know only a hanfull of that number will do the 900 mile round trip on a Tuesday work night in winter.

However in hindsight, if they knew what I think they had known, they should have advised us the night before.

On reflection. I think the game should have gone ahead. But asking the ref to call it off at the time he did, was a bad call. I think he should have had another look at the pitch at 3pm, considering the distance we traveled, and they were pouring boiling water on the pitch.

Let's stop grumbling against the postponed game (again) that never happened...

Instead.... Let's just all of us focus on Walsall, & 3 massive points at the weekend.

UTB

:happy:

900 mile round trip? Are you planning to pick up the Glasgow Shrimpers on the way.:winking:

Oldham did ask the ref to arrive early and it was his choice to call it of when he did. No point in waiting until 14:00. Games called are frustrating for players and fans alike but just part of football.

No point in blaming clubs or sacking groundsman over the weather. Either the league make stricter rules for things like underfloor heating, warm covers etc, or we go down the 4G artificial pitch route.

We could ask for a more money from the big boys but that would take pressure from us the fans or even a government with some spine. Having said that SUFC turnover about £4m per year and struggle to present a decent professional pitch or usable toilets.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Thats a tough ask OBL. Somehow, we managed it in the late 80's until the late 90's??...and beyond...So why such an issue now,??....20 years later??

As for asking a ref to call off a match early, actually in the early hours of the morning, around 7 hours before kick off, is a stupid idea. It was -2 at that time, yet it was +6 by the time of kick off. If it was Charlton or Gillingham, fair enough. But our lads set off for a long away journey up north at the crack of dawn.

Again, your missing my point, you can only blame Oldham for this.!!....poor pitch, poor planning, & poor communication.

No. They have an area of their pitch which remains in the shade, just as we do with the end in front of the South stand. The temperature of the ground there was -5, they knew it was unplayable and did nothing additional to the overnight covers other than a publicised watering with boiling water! They knew that bit of their ground was likely to remain well below freezing, rock solid and dangerous.

A 9 o'clock inspection, knowing the conditions ahead, should be perfectly reasonable, especially if away supporters are travelling a distance. I agree that a 2nd inspection at 11 might work for matches where the away club is less than 100 miles away.

Our supporters coaches like to arrive early enough for the users to have a good drink, maybe they ought to rethink that one for some games if there is the chance of a postponement as then they might have left late enough to have waited for the results of an inspection had one happened at 9 a.m. - or at least, turn around without having got too far!

 

[Member]

No. They have an area of their pitch which remains in the shade, just as we do with the end in front of the South stand. The temperature of the ground there was -5, they knew it was unplayable and did nothing additional to the overnight covers other than a publicised watering with boiling water! They knew that bit of their ground was likely to remain well below freezing, rock solid and dangerous.

A 9 o'clock inspection, knowing the conditions ahead, should be perfectly reasonable, especially if away supporters are travelling a distance. I agree that a 2nd inspection at 11 might work for matches where the away club is less than 100 miles away.

Our supporters coaches like to arrive early enough for the users to have a good drink, maybe they ought to rethink that one for some games if there is the chance of a postponement as then they might have left late enough to have waited for the results of an inspection had one happened at 9 a.m. - or at least, turn around without having got too far!

Messing around with the departure times of coaches isn't going to happen tbh.

I agree that trying to get an early inspection is a good idea along with some clear communication from the clubs, but given the swing in temperature it isn't unreasonable to think that a frozen part of a pitch may unfreeze over a few hours, so I sympathise a little for the club (assuming they have done everything possible to try and get the game on) and the ref that they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. No one wants a game called off early (at 9am) that with the benefit of hindsight could have been played because the pitch defrosted by 3pm, but that leads to the reality of people travelling a long way only for a game to be called off.

 

[Somerset Ex-TTB]

Lets hope Walsall fans dont suffer the same fate on Saturday!

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

Lets hope Walsall fans dont suffer the same fate on Saturday!

That was just what I was thinking; already we have a few long trips away to the NE and Plymouth to further tire a fairly small (and old/injury prone) squad and extra fixture backlog is to be avoided.

 

[The Big Dady]

I honestly do not get this namby-pamby, mollycoddled game football has now become.

If the pitch at Oldham was 3/4 unfrozen and the other 1/4 was being shielded by the South Stand so a bit harder, so what.

At 11.00am it was a beautiful sunny winters day and the temperature was +5C

Teams always used to play on frozen, waterlogged, muddy, and snow covered pitches in the past.

It is a winter sport, get on with it.

 

[eastling]

I honestly do not get this namby-pamby, mollycoddled game football has now become.

If the pitch at Oldham was 3/4 unfrozen and the other 1/4 was being shielded by the South Stand so a bit harder, so what.

At 11.00am it was a beautiful sunny winters day and the temperature was +5C

Teams always used to play on frozen, waterlogged, muddy, and snow covered pitches in the past.

It is a winter sport, get on with it.

Agree but I think the problem now is that football boots aren't the solid no nonsense type they were (think more athletic slipper) and insurance that covers the players for injuries.

 

[1966 and all that]

Messing around with the departure times of coaches isn't going to happen tbh.

I agree that trying to get an early inspection is a good idea along with some clear communication from the clubs, but given the swing in temperature it isn't unreasonable to think that a frozen part of a pitch may unfreeze over a few hours, so I sympathise a little for the club (assuming they have done everything possible to try and get the game on) and the ref that they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. No one wants a game called off early (at 9am) that with the benefit of hindsight could have been played because the pitch defrosted by 3pm, but that leads to the reality of people travelling a long way only for a game to be called off.

A frozen turkey takes at least 24 hours to defrost (OK in a fridge). That's why we always buy fresh. (Just saying.)

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

I honestly do not get this namby-pamby, mollycoddled game football has now become.

If the pitch at Oldham was 3/4 unfrozen and the other 1/4 was being shielded by the South Stand so a bit harder, so what.

At 11.00am it was a beautiful sunny winters day and the temperature was +5C

Teams always used to play on frozen, waterlogged, muddy, and snow covered pitches in the past.

It is a winter sport, get on with it.

I remember seeing a game (well, I think I do) at Roots Hall against Birmingham where the whole pitch was frozen. I think the players wore trainers and I think we won 1-0.

Things have gone namby-pamby. I also remember playing footie on pitches as hard as concrete. Personally, I thought the old artificial pitches were a bigger risk of injury.

 

[kaymac]

Seen a few very wet pitches in my time at RH but never a match on a waterlogged or frozen surface.

 

[Rattus Norvegicus]

I remember seeing a game (well, I think I do) at Roots Hall against Birmingham where the whole pitch was frozen. I think the players wore trainers and I think we won 1-0.

Things have gone namby-pamby. I also remember playing footie on pitches as hard as concrete. Personally, I thought the old artificial pitches were a bigger risk of injury.

I think it was 27th January, 1993 - computer says we won 4-0!

 

[RobM]

I think it was 27th January, 1993 - computer says we won 4-0!

Att 4065, goals from Sussex, Collymore, Tilson, Scully.

 

[turkishm]

Do feel sorry for the fans that traveled , only to be called off, but as the ref was saying, players running from a good surface at top speed, onto a frozen surface, could well have had a nasty injury.

 

[ESG]

It was frozen solid and with the wind chill that was blowing through was dangerous and was never going to improve. The referee had no option.

 

[Up the Shrimpers]

I remember seeing a game (well, I think I do) at Roots Hall against Birmingham where the whole pitch was frozen. I think the players wore trainers and I think we won 1-0.

Things have gone namby-pamby. I also remember playing footie on pitches as hard as concrete. Personally, I thought the old artificial pitches were a bigger risk of injury.

A more recent game was the FA cup replay v Bury in 2012 where the whole pitch was frozen. That was probably the worst I have seen in recent times.

 

[blue pilot]

Slightly off topic, but for the re-arranged Rochdale & Oldham games... maybe the club can make use of the new Flybe route from Southend to Manchester... fly up the morning of the game, fly back the following morning, probably better than a long coach trip?

 

[rigsby]

Slightly off topic, but for the re-arranged Rochdale & Oldham games... maybe the club can make use of the new Flybe route from Southend to Manchester... fly up the morning of the game, fly back the following morning, probably better than a long coach trip?

That's what some fans did on Saturday. A few of us are already booked for the Blackburn game so I hope there is no chance of the weather or sky interfering etc.

 

[DCC]

Simon Wood?

Very good! Unfortunately the Masterchef winner couldn’t use his culinary skills to thaw out the pitch - maybe one of those kitchen blowtorches would have been more effective than a watering can?!