Rochdale Football Club have again apologised to fans for the late postponement of the Vanarama National League fixture against Boston United on Tuesday night.
“We understand the deep frustration and inconvenience this will have caused to both sets of fans and teams. We also appreciate that this frustration will be compounded by the fact that this was a rescheduled game, and the manner and late timing of the postponement were very regrettable.” say the club
The match referee conducted a pitch inspection upon his arrival and deemed a small section to be unplayable despite the groundstaff working tirelessly since the weekend to prepare the surface
The referee was concerned about the corner of the pitch near the David Kilpatrick Main Stand and Smith Metals Family Stand, and postponed the fixture.
For this particular game, the view of the Club for most of the day was that the pitch had a very good chance of being playable at kick-off and, when compared to the Yeovil Town fixture on Saturday (which was deemed playable), the pitch was only in marginally worse condition and improving.
The club said that they wanted to give the game every chance of being played.
“Given the favourable forecast at the time, we believe it would have been very difficult for a match official to have ordered a postponement earlier in the day. Unfortunately, the forecast was incorrect, and we did see rain late in the afternoon, albeit not as heavy as in recent days. It was, however, enough to slow down the drying process, which involved the use of a ProCore machine and manual aeration, as well as sanding a small area in between the corner of the David Kilpatrick Main Stand and Smith Metals Family Stands.”
At 1pm the Club posted a message confirming that no pitch inspection was planned and that, as things then stood, the match would go ahead as planned. The primary reason for making this post was in response to the BBC website preview of the game, which was left unchanged from the postponed December fixture and which, therefore, incorrectly said the match was postponed.
The club took the view that we needed to correct this as we were receiving phone calls / social media comments asking if the game was postponed, and we wanted to provide clarity on that point.
At that moment in time (1pm), there was no pitch inspection planned, and therefore, the game was still going ahead as planned, as the post stated. With hindsight, in view of what ultimately happened, the post was regrettable, but it was made with good intentions.
Rochdale have stressed that decision as to whether a match is played is solely the referee’s.
“After the referee had inspected the pitch last night, he took the view that the game should be postponed, which is his prerogative. The reason for this was concerns about the ability of the ball to bounce/roll in a relatively small area of the corner between David Kilpatrick Main Stand and Smith Metals Family Stand. There is no criticism of the referee – he has a difficult job to do. There will always be an element of subjectivity on whether a surface is playable or not.
Any alternative venue must be sanctioned by the National League, and an alternate venue remains an absolute last resort at this stage. Weather conditions will naturally improve as we enter the spring, and we believe that a combination of this, plus further remedial work and enhanced pitch covers, should allow us to fulfil our home fixtures at the Crown Oil Arena.
Should further postponements occur, there is still sufficient room in April for these to be rearranged at the time of writing. There is precedent in extreme circumstances for clubs to host on non-standard days of the week. alternate venue.
Notwithstanding the above, we are raising this issue with the National League to ensure that we can be as organised as possible in the (hopefully unlikely) event that an alternative venue does need to be sourced later in the season.
Supporters who requested a refund before Tuesday’s game will be issued payment from today. Everyone with a valid ticket for last night’s fixture will be entitled to attend the rearranged game on production of the valid ticket or, alternatively, be offered a full refund. Any refund will be processed within 48 hours of the fixture concluding on the rearranged date.
Finally the club have consulted with numerous external experts on the matter, and the strong consensus is that any action that can realistically be undertaken mid-season will not solve the fundamental problem with the pitch.
At best, it will only provide a temporary reprieve. All have been surprised at the rate of deterioration in recent weeks.
The work we carried out in the centre of the pitch (which was unavoidable) together with other remedial work to date has cost a six-figure sum and is only a temporary measure.
Their view – supported by the various consultants we have engaged – was that the other problem areas of the pitch did not warrant the same treatment as they were better draining (at the time), had more grass cover and were in lower-used areas of the pitch. Furthermore, it was not a realistic option to use the same approach in the short term in the other areas of the pitch because the financial cost becomes prohibitive. Any long-term solution to fix the pitch would involve digging up all of those areas so the cost is sunk.
The club had intended to Dryject the other problematic areas of the pitch but were unable to do so at the scheduled time because it requires the ground to be fully dry, and it has not achieved sufficient dryness to be able to carry out the work.
The purchase of enhanced pitch covers has been sanctioned to provide further protection in the run-up to future games, as has additional remedial works. We will continue to monitor the situation, take expert advice on future actions and commit to keeping the fanbase informed of plans and progress.
