Oldham.

[pinewalker]

I agree that the timing of the postponement should be investigated. It was a certainty given the weather forecast.

As regards a pitch cover, does anybody know if Oldham have one that they have deployed on a previous occasion? Can I point out that just 1 inch or 25mm of rain on a 100 metre by 64 metre pitch which does not include surrounds is 160 Cbm or 160 tonnes of water. So even if you can protect the pitch but have that amount of run off, how do you cope with it?

[halftimet]

I picked up from their forum that the club is in complete disarray and they did not have anyone competent to attend to the pitch. Of course that may just be a dig at the current owners. For the players it is two days wasted and probably now a journey there and back in a day.

We could also face a significantly different side if Oldham bring players in during the transfer window.

[Amber Aleman]

I've been looking at likely dates for the rearranged trip to Oldham. 1st and 22nd February are currently blank Tuesdays for both clubs, but I doubt that we'd want a long midweek trip just a few days after even longer trips to Carlisle or Hartlepool. Given the circumstances of yesterday's postponement, we may have some extra leverage when it comes to agreeing the new date. Both clubs are playing on 8 February and our rearranged trip to Bristol Rovers is on the 15th, so this game could well be pushed back into March. Oldham have games on the 1st and 15th of that month, and we'd probably want to keep the 8th clear in case we get through to the Papa John's semi-final. So if a new date is fixed before we play Harrogate in the Papa John's q-final, I'd hazard that it'll be the 22nd March. The weather should be a little more clement by then!

[jr]

Jan 9, 2022 16:41:32 GMT Stewart said:

It was suggested on their forum, Oldham would have to pay for Sutton’s expenses. Does anyone know if that’s true?

28.4 When a League Match is postponed or abandoned the Visiting Club shall be entitled to receive from the Home Club out of the gate of either game, one set of travelling and/or hotel expenses (at the rate and as determined by The League from time to time) necessarily incurred by a party not exceeding twenty four and which in the opinion of The League are caused solely by the postponement or abandonment. This amount shall be a charge against the gate when calculating the 3% levy under Article 36. A Club shall only be entitled to claim hotel expenses where it would be necessary or desirable for the Visiting Club to leave its headquarters before 9am on the day of the match, alternatively, not be possible to arrive back at its headquarters within five hours travelling time, including a stop of not more than 30 minutes, of the conclusion of the League Match.

[andycapp]

Not any consolation for any sutton fan but at least Oldham can put down a 3g pitch when they get relegated in May.

[os]

My 2 questions would be, can a local ref call off a match if he perceives that the pitch may not be playable by KO time, or can he only state the pitch is playable when he sees it?

Also is there any requirement for a club to work to allow a match to go ahead? There are times when a team may not be particularity worried if the match just happens to fall to the weather?

It may not be cricket but did Oldham do anything wrong by the letter of the law?

[is4]

Question of the day.
Was there a pitch inspection at 11-00.
Or was it just a rouse to allow the 1-15 inspection.

[Andy K]

Jan 9, 2022 13:15:14 GMT tall64 said:

I’d like to see a direct complaint raised by SUFC to the FA for the manner in which Oldham allowed Sutton supporters to commute best part of 500 miles in a day only to be told at a ludicrously time of 1.25pm that the game was now “off”. A full refund for a) the players costs hotel and travelling b) full refund for the cost of supporters coach and c) a fine on them. It was very clear to all Oldham had no genuine interest in getting this game on, instead deliberately left the pitch open to the elements. I do not question the proper referees decision that it was then waterlogged. Fact is if Oldham genuinely wanted to get the game on they would have have protected the pitch with their pitch cover. The fact they lost 0-6 mid-week, are bottom of league facing a 3rd placed club on the day and a likely defeat along with more protests from their irate supporters is their problem not the visiting opposition. What they allowed to happen speaks for itself. Oldham made no announcement that the game was in serious doubt other than announcing there would “be a 1pm inspection”. Who performed the 11am pitch inspection which Oldham never put on their social media because they did not want to lose potential online ticket sales or bar takings. Such behaviour is totally inconsiderate, unprofessional and they should be punished allowing the pitch to remain unprotected and then stringing everyone along until the proper referee assessed the pitch was now useless. If they were top and not bottom of the league would they have done the same?

It's probably worth noting here that only a qualified referee (and preferably the match referee) can call a game off in these circumstances. As match referees don't often get to the ground 5 or 6 hours before kick off, a local referee usually gets called in.

For anyone who was making their way to the match, like I was, and had to seriously adjust their journey (in my case slowing down to 20mph on the M6 along with all the other drivers due to the really heavy rain) probably understand why the game was called off. Everything else is conjecture, and in all honesty one based in sour grapes and a total lack of objectivity.

These things happen (who remembers Barrow a few seasons back). I remember a game v Boreham Wood which was called off 5 minutes before kick off. The distance is irrelevant. These things happen. To imply that a club did "whatever they could" to inconvenience supporters, players and staff to attempt to get a match called off (which they will have to play anyway) whilst still under a transfer embargo (well they certainly were last week) is just nonsense.

[Andy K]

Jan 10, 2022 9:52:24 GMT is4 said:

Question of the day.
Was there a pitch inspection at 11-00.
Or was it just a rouse to allow the 1-15 inspection.

Yes there was an earlier pitch inspection by a local referee (not the match referee).

[davef]

Local referees do not have the authority to make the decisions. In situations where the match referee is not present but an inspection is required a local referee (it should be the most qualified local referee available) can undertake the inspection, but will then explain the position to the match referee over the phone and it is the match referee who then decides what to do.
This has been the case whatever league we are playing in.

[jr]

Jan 10, 2022 10:04:08 GMT Andy K said:

Jan 9, 2022 13:15:14 GMT tall64 said:

I’d like to see a direct complaint raised by SUFC to the FA for the manner in which Oldham allowed Sutton supporters to commute best part of 500 miles in a day only to be told at a ludicrously time of 1.25pm that the game was now “off”. A full refund for a) the players costs hotel and travelling b) full refund for the cost of supporters coach and c) a fine on them. It was very clear to all Oldham had no genuine interest in getting this game on, instead deliberately left the pitch open to the elements. I do not question the proper referees decision that it was then waterlogged. Fact is if Oldham genuinely wanted to get the game on they would have have protected the pitch with their pitch cover. The fact they lost 0-6 mid-week, are bottom of league facing a 3rd placed club on the day and a likely defeat along with more protests from their irate supporters is their problem not the visiting opposition. What they allowed to happen speaks for itself. Oldham made no announcement that the game was in serious doubt other than announcing there would “be a 1pm inspection”. Who performed the 11am pitch inspection which Oldham never put on their social media because they did not want to lose potential online ticket sales or bar takings. Such behaviour is totally inconsiderate, unprofessional and they should be punished allowing the pitch to remain unprotected and then stringing everyone along until the proper referee assessed the pitch was now useless. If they were top and not bottom of the league would they have done the same?

It's probably worth noting here that only a qualified referee (and preferably the match referee) can call a game off in these circumstances. As match referees don't often get to the ground 5 or 6 hours before kick off, a local referee usually gets called in.

For anyone who was making their way to the match, like I was, and had to seriously adjust their journey (in my case slowing down to 20mph on the M6 along with all the other drivers due to the really heavy rain) probably understand why the game was called off. Everything else is conjecture, and in all honesty one based in sour grapes and a total lack of objectivity.

These things happen (who remembers Barrow a few seasons back). I remember a game v Boreham Wood which was called off 5 minutes before kick off. The distance is irrelevant. These things happen. To imply that a club did "whatever they could" to inconvenience supporters, players and staff to attempt to get a match called off (which they will have to play anyway) whilst still under a transfer embargo (well they certainly were last week) is just nonsense.

Fair comments Andy. However having seen several pictures of the immaculate playing surface taken at 2.30pm I think we can question why it was called off at 1.10pm when the players and fans were already in the area. A sensible decision would have been to review the situation a little later given that it had stopped raining and the forecast was much better from then on.

It turned out to be a more expensive day than I imagined but still a good day out in Rochdale at various bars. Our train home was cancelled too but at least we'll get a refund on that!

[is4]

Yes I remember Barrow.
We were at Preston services when J P received a phone call saying the game was postponed again due to a waterlogged pitch.

[Stewart]

Jan 10, 2022 12:19:32 GMT is4 said:

Yes I remember Barrow.
We were at Preston services when J P received a phone call saying the game was postponed again due to a waterlogged pitch.

Was it the pitch or the team unable to get there due to problems on their train journey?

[is4]

Hi Stewart.
Barrow was the pitch.
I think you are thinking of. was it Fylde when we were at the M6 toll services when we were told that the team's train was held up by someone killed by being hit by an earlier train.
I could be wrong!!

[markf]

Barrow was postponed because the middle of the pitch resembled a lake.

For Fylde, the team never left London because of the fatality at Milton Keynes.

My issue with the Oldham fiasco was that the heavy rain was forecast and local knowledge should have come into play and an earlier postponement should have been made.

The problem at Boundary Park, according to one of their staff I spoke to, is one of ownership. Oldham Athletic FC apparently don't own the ground. That is owned by the previous owners of OAFC.

If that is true then any ground staff would be employed by the ground owners not the football club. I am not sure how that dynamic works with regards to pitch maintenance.

It should be said that the ball wouldn't roll too far when the ref tried it hence the postponement.