v Millwall (h) - Saturday 19th February

[AllRoverAsia]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

The pitch was more than playable. All back up by the ground staff, Both clubs CEO, managers and players all said the game should have gone ahead. We have seen worst pitches than the Saturday one at Ewood Park over this season and the last 30 years. 

The only person to blame is the ref to be honest. 

No JH, you want to keep blame the club for the pitch not being playable when every body wanted to play it and thought the pitch was more than playable. Look at Scott Wharton's comments that Darrenrovers posted. 

That pitch was not unplayable and it was then how did the PNE game go ahead. 

I've not bother about other teams getting their games on and who didn't. I am bother about Rovers. 

You are obsess with blaming Rovers staff and the owners at every time you can. I don't and won't unlike its necessary 

Could it possibly be, however unlikely, that the pitch at Deepdale has been better maintained over the past decade and invested in than that at Ewood?

I am not levelling any criticism at the ground staff, soley aimed at the owners and those in any position of power at Rovers.

The Ref looked at the pitch with the snow removed, tested it and made his call.

[chaddyrovers]

2 hours ago, had.e.nuff said:

why are people comparing conditions with Preston etc when other ground or in different location with different weather conditions and at different altitudes, before now i have driven through Preston with no snow and there has been a few inches in Blackburn,people just looking for someone to blame, if it had been played and we had lost they would be complaining that it shoud not have been played . It was postponed get over it.

I was talking about the Home game against PNE on the 4th of December. 

1 hour ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Could it possibly be, however unlikely, that the pitch at Deepdale has been better maintained over the past decade and invested in than that at Ewood?

I am not levelling any criticism at the ground staff, soley aimed at the owners and those in any position of power at Rovers.

The Ref looked at the pitch with the snow removed, tested it and made his call.

Guys, I was talking about the Preston home game on the 4th December at Ewood Park which was played in worst conditions than Saturday pitch. 

The pitch was totally playable as the Rovers ground staff, Both clubs CEO, managers and players. 

I have seen worst pitches being played on league 1 and 2 level even Conferfence north level. 

 

[DaveyB]

A couple of weeks ago I read a Portsmouth News article about Hayden Carter and ever since Facebook keeps suggesting other articles for me. 

Anyway, this one about the late postponement of their game at Crewe on Saturday seems like it has many parallels with the situation at Rovers and might be of interest to others:

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/portsmouth-fc/a-front-row-seat-at-theatre-of-absurd-what-happened-on-day-of-farce-for-pompey-3576986?fbclid=IwAR0UNZAuTo7t9OUcI0rclgkrsU_p10J9xXOreZJf7uLdQURerUyBFtvuyAs

[Mattyblue]

3 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I have seen worst pitches being played on league 1 and 2 level even Conferfence north level. 

That our pitch peer group these days?

[rigger]

19 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I was talking about the Home game against PNE on the 4th of December. 

Guys, I was talking about the Preston home game on the 4th December at Ewood Park which was played in worst conditions than Saturday pitch. 

The pitch was totally playable as the Rovers ground staff, Both clubs CEO, managers and players. 

I have seen worst pitches being played on league 1 and 2 level even Conferfence north level. 

 

Just because games have been played on worse surfaces doesn't make it right. If the ref thinks it is the right decision to call off the game. Then it is the right decision, as it's his decision. It would be nice for the ref to give a statement, as to why he came to his decision. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by rigger

[JHRover]

41 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

I was talking about the Home game against PNE on the 4th of December. 

Guys, I was talking about the Preston home game on the 4th December at Ewood Park which was played in worst conditions than Saturday pitch. 

The pitch was totally playable as the Rovers ground staff, Both clubs CEO, managers and players. 

I have seen worst pitches being played on league 1 and 2 level even Conferfence north level. 

 

Would you be able to direct me towards any quotes from any member of staff at Rovers who said the pitch was 'totally playable' on Saturday?

From what I can see no member of the Rovers groundstaff has publicly commented and Mowbray has had a moan and talked about wanting to play but I note he doesn't actually say the ground was fit to play.

The only person who i can see has said the pitch was fit to be used was the Millwall CEO. There's a reason games aren't held or cancelled on the views of CEOs who unless I'm mistaken aren't qualified in pitch management and aren't paid to make difficult decisions based on player safety like a referee is.

[AllRoverAsia]

Firstly let me day that imho the standard of refereeing in English football is at a low ebb, perhaps the most noticeably lowest in my lifetime with so much TV and internet coverage.

However the refs who called games off at a late hour were dealt a bad hand. Call it off and be damned, play the game and abandon and be damned, play the game and it's a farce or a player gets seriously hurt due to conditions and it's their neck on the block and not some club CEO or manager who doubtless will be in full culpability denial mode.

I cannot visualise a ref calling a game off late as part of some ego trip. They seem more inclined to strut their stuff on field where the cameras are pointed.

Not even Etherington, who I view in the same way as I view the likes of Ward, only slightly ahead of the robot like rubbish now emerging from whatever passes as ref training courses.

 

[chaddyrovers]

35 minutes ago, JHRover said:

Would you be able to direct me towards any quotes from any member of staff at Rovers who said the pitch was 'totally playable' on Saturday?

From what I can see no member of the Rovers groundstaff has publicly commented and Mowbray has had a moan and talked about wanting to play but I note he doesn't actually say the ground was fit to play.

The only person who i can see has said the pitch was fit to be used was the Millwall CEO. There's a reason games aren't held or cancelled on the views of CEOs who unless I'm mistaken aren't qualified in pitch management and aren't paid to make difficult decisions based on player safety like a referee is.

I've posted what Ben Benson said to me. Also posted what Steve Waggott and Tony Mowbray said to media Another poster posted what Scott Wharton said. Plus another posted what the ground staff said before the game. 

Plus Rovers goalkeepers did a full warm up on the pitch after it was called off. 

Surely if it was unfit to play on would Mowbray allow his goalkeepers to do a full warm up on it. 

How much more do you want? What evidence have you got that the pitch was unfit to play on? Given 2.45pm the ground was in Sunshine for over hour and half surely the game should have gone ahead?

Also surely Rovers groundstaff are the pitch experts? 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by chaddyrovers

[Bigdoggsteel]

Maybe another ref would have played on it. At the end of the day, he made the call and its pointless discussing it to death. It's done and dusted. Onto Sheffield. 

[chaddyrovers]

1 minute ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Maybe another ref would have played on it. At the end of the day, he made the call and its pointless discussing it to death. It's done and dusted. Onto Sheffield. 

Agree 

[1864roverite]

15 hours ago, tomphil said:

Exactly.

Ultimately it's the match official whose head this is on but as i said in an earlier post maybe his report will say he didn't feel the club had taken the right steps and acted quickly enough.

Still, very little excuse not to at least just delay kick off a while but was that even suggested i wonder ?  Police will have had their say no doubt on that with the prospect of hundreds of Millwall loitering about.

I beg to differ his report will be due to adverse weather conditions player safety was the primary decision and deemed the pitch unplayable it will not reflect on the club as they wanted the game to go ahead 

[Hasta]

The two arguments here aren't mutually exclusive.

Despite my anger on Saturday, it now does appear like the clubs wanted to play and they felt they could play but the referee decided he didn't want to risk it due to 'player safety'.

However we know the ground and it's staff have been under-invested over the last 10 years and, had that not been the case, it probable that the game could have gone ahead.

 

 

[1864roverite]

3 hours ago, AllRoverAsia said:

Could it possibly be, however unlikely, that the pitch at Deepdale has been better maintained over the past decade and invested in than that at Ewood?

I am not levelling any criticism at the ground staff, soley aimed at the owners and those in any position of power at Rovers.

The Ref looked at the pitch with the snow removed, tested it and made his call.

No it’s because dumpdale has 4 outlets to send the overflow of water to all of which are a lower level to the ground and all are lower than the riverside at Ewood

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Keep going lads, we might get to 30 pages with a bit of luck.

[had.e.nuff]

lets discuss drainage types and water out lets ,soil types and the height of water tables around grounds in the efl.

[rigger]

My back-garden is waterlogged.

[only2garners]

27 minutes ago, rigger said:

My back-garden is waterlogged.

Obviously a complete failure to invest appropriately.

[bluebruce]

2 hours ago, rigger said:

Just because games have been played on worse surfaces doesn't make it right. If the ref thinks it is the right decision to call off the game. Then it is the right decision, as it's his decision. It would be nice for the ref to give a statement, as to why he came to his decision. 

Wait, so your argument is that the ref making a decision makes it the right decision? I suspect virtually all football fans would disagree with you, as we have seen refs make decisions before...

[RevidgeBlue]

Find it disappointing that as a key member of the Fans Forum you're treating the matter so flippantly John.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bigdoggsteel]

On 17/02/2022 at 16:00, jim mk2 said:

There is no "implication" to that effect at all. You made it up

So you didn't want to sign a striker who scores goals? Make your mind up man! 

Not much point signing one who can't. We signed Markanday as a calculated gamble and unfortunately he got injured. I have given examples of average players who moved for £5 million plus.  Whatever about during the summer, a team will struggle to find an available goalscorer in January. Even the top teams. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Bigdoggsteel

[Darrenbot]

I've never seen a patch of grass been discussed for this long before lol Working out who was to blame won't change the fact the game was postponed,The Sheff Utd game can't come quick enough.

[roversfan99]

14 minutes ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

So you didn't want to sign a striker who scores goals? Make your mind up man! 

Not much point signing one who can't. We signed Markanday as a calculated gamble and unfortunately he got injured. I have given examples of average players who moved for £5 million plus.  Whatever about during the summer, a team will struggle to find an available goalscorer in January. Even the top teams. 

The 2 examples that you gave where players that would have massively improved us, but ones who were so dear that they became instantly irrelevant to the conversation anyway aside from attempting to make out that it was impossible for us to compete.

There would have been scope for a signing, yes it wasnt a straightforward task and yes it may well have had to be a loan. 

[Fraserkirky]

We thinking March 2nd for replacement date?

[Mattyblue]

Or the midweek after. I would think the fact the ‘Final 5’ ticket kicks in on the 12th would suggest it’s pencilled in to be played pre that weekend…

Edited February 21, 2022 by Mattyblue

[Darrenbot]

2 minutes ago, Fraserkirky said:

We thinking March 2nd for replacement date?

I'd make it sometime in April,better chance of BBD being fit for it.