[Football] WSL: Chelsea v Liverpool is called off after six minutes due to frozen pitch

[amexer]

Who knows the potential interest while home games take place in Crawley. Fair play to the club for facilitating a WSL team, but why not go all-in on hosting home games at the Amex?

Job to justify with high cost and only £5 a ticket

 

[halbpro]

I don’t even really object to games being called off. It’s frustrating but I understand it. But the way it’s been handled is deeply unprofessional and very poor.

Referee for the Chelsea game reportedly said at 9.30am the pitch wasn’t playable, yet they tried to play and then called it off after 6 minutes. Brighton had a pitch inspection at 2.30, then no communication till 4.10 when the game was postponed. That’s far too late for a game at 6.45.

Improving facilities takes a huge effort both logistically and financially, but these kind of operational and communication issues can be handled in a far better way.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Worked well for them today

But that's up to them.

Our training pitches have got undersoil heating. TB is happy to pay for it. But the rant today from Chelsea's manger shouldn't have been directed anywhere apart from her employers.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

I don’t even really object to games being called off. It’s frustrating but I understand it. But the way it’s been handled is deeply unprofessional and very poor.

Referee for the Chelsea game reportedly said at 9.30am the pitch wasn’t playable, yet they tried to play and then called it off after 6 minutes. Brighton had a pitch inspection at 2.30, then no communication till 4.10 when the game was postponed. That’s far too late for a game at 6.45.

Improving facilities takes a huge effort both logistically and financially, but these kind of operational and communication issues can be handled in a far better way.

I'm sure somebody somewhere will say there'll be an investigation in to this and we will take learning's

 

[dazzer6666]

But that's up to them.

Our training pitches have got undersoil heating. TB is happy to pay for it. But the rant today from Chelsea's manger shouldn't have been directed anywhere apart from her employers.

Not so sure…..suspect there was pressure from others to keep the game on (tv for example), the ref should never have let it start etc.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Not so sure…..suspect there was pressure from others to keep the game on (tv for example), the ref should never have let it start etc.

Then such pressure should be in the ref's report to the league and fa

 

[dazzer6666]

Then such pressure should be in the ref's report to the league and fa

Yep

 

[Bodian]

What's the cost of opening the ground up at Crawley. And why is it 6-figures at the Amex, sounds very high if only one stand is open?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Job to justify with high cost and only £5 a ticket

If You Make It Easily Accessible They Will Come

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

What's the cost of opening the ground up at Crawley. And why is it 6-figures at the Amex, sounds very high if only one stand is open?

Email PB OBE he's on record as saying it is.

 

[chaileyjem]

If You Make It Easily Accessible They Will Come

If they had 25K crowds regularly for the games they do host at the Amex - it’s normally c5K or fewer despite heavy promotion/Euros boost and growing - then it would make sense.
Of course if you think TB should spend his money on this and lose millions then fair enough.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

If they had 25K crowds regularly for the games they do host at the Amex - it’s normally c5K or fewer despite heavy promotion/Euros boost and growing - then it would make sense.
Of course if you think TB should spend his money on this and lose millions then fair enough.

Cheers for timely reminder, appear to have temporarily failed to put BarberOBE's paid lapdog on ignore. Error now rectified

 

[A1X]

How can a professional team of officials allow a match to start on what is clearly an unsafe pitch in the first place?

Sacked in the morning…

 

[chaileyjem]

Cheers for timely reminder, appear to have temporarily failed to put BarberOBE's paid lapdog on ignore. Error now rectified

How come you never say I’m Bloom’s poodle THPP ? Funny that.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Isn't there a cap on how many events the Amex can hold a year? Isn't it something like 26?

Or have I just completely made that up.

No, you haven’t made it up. Planning permission was granted with a cap on games and other events during the year.

 

[Pondicherry]

For those wondering how many people are actually attending games, this gives an indication. Year on year growth is good but its from a very low base. I suspect these attendances and the relatively low entrance prices explain why undersoil heating is not a viable option.

 

[Mr Banana]

The referee wasn’t actually Paul Howard, although he was listed as the official. Don’t think the FA have clarified whether his replacement - Neil Hair, whose name I reckon is out of a Half Man Half Biscuit lyric - made the original decision to call the game on.

Emma Hayes knows quite a lot about business and has said that the WSL needs to work on being commercially viable enough to justify massive stadiums being used.

I think there almost certainly is quite a bit of pressure to get the game played if it’s in doubt but on telly. There was a huge Sky operation for Albion’s game against Chelsea, when there was a monsoon in exotic Crawley about two hours beforehand and the initial inspection looked unpromising. Unfortunately the fans seem to be thought of last again - Liverpool’s supporters left at 5am because it was an early KO.

Lotte Wubben-Moy’s put some money behind a bar in a pub in Crawley for the Arsenal fans who travelled.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Albion giving it the big bollocks on the club site about the wonderful dome keeping the game on only to need over an hour and a half pitch inspection to call it off.

What a shambles, especially with 50% of the crowd travelling from London. Very poor

 

[drew]

Isn't there a cap on how many events the Amex can hold a year? Isn't it something like 26?

Or have I just completely made that up.

There might be a restriction but it would surely be more than 26. If we were in the championship (god forbid) then that would be 23 home games, plus potential home games in every round of the two cups (unlikely but possible).