Todays game is OFF

[Old Bob]

I was responding to SteveyAsp’s comment by highlighting that bit from yesterday’s announcement.

I’m not sure how it could have been inspected thoroughly with the covers still on….They should have had someone there when they were removed this morning.

Well the thinking goes that the condition will improve throughout the day. So at 9am everything's cold and hard so you have to decide if it's going to get better. Last week it did. They also had the advantage of having had the covers down earlier this week, which should have counted for something. So you can see why we ended up where we did. The rest of the ground was fine so they assumed that between midday and kickoff the bit in front of the south stand would thaw out. Like it did last week. But clearly the ref disagreed.

Wouldn't you expect a good competent referee to factor individual opinion into his thinking? I would. I would expect a good referee to say "I think it is playable and/or likely to thaw before kick-off BUT the match offical could well think otherwise. It's in that margin of error."

If that's the case, better to call it off early rather than later.

[Old Bob]

What about the colder temperatures the expected then ?, you'll never beat the weather.

Les, at 11.25am the club tweeted a totally unambiguous message about the game being on, how green the pitch was etc. I bought my tickets at 12.15pm having left it late given the weather as a result. This is entirely on the club and the poor communication which simply can’t be defended.

.....but it was the Referee who called it off, always a possibility.

Jeez, are you really as dumb as you make out? I can't imagine you are. You must be on a wind-up.

"A totally unambiguous message about the game being on" means, if you need it explaining, the possibility of the referee calling it off has been discounted.

[Richard Petty]

I was responding to SteveyAsp’s comment by highlighting that bit from yesterday’s announcement.

I’m not sure how it could have been inspected thoroughly with the covers still on….They should have had someone there when they were removed this morning.

Well the thinking goes that the condition will improve throughout the day. So at 9am everything's cold and hard so you have to decide if it's going to get better. Last week it did. They also had the advantage of having had the covers down earlier this week, which should have counted for something. So you can see why we ended up where we did. The rest of the ground was fine so they assumed that between midday and kickoff the bit in front of the south stand would thaw out. Like it did last week. But clearly the ref disagreed.

This is a pretty good summery.

There was no difference of opinion among those involved this morning, ground staff, volunteers (some with years of experience) and Club staff were "All"satisfied that the pitch was either thawed out or in some areas thawing at a steady rate that would provide a playable surface in all areas by 3pm.

There was one very big difference between last week and this week that I think may have had an impact on the decision and that was how the referee made the decision.

Last week the Ref turned up much earlier walked the pitch judged how it was and then waited an hour to do a second inspection which was so that she could judge not just how the pitch was at that moment but what the thaw rate was so she could reasonably predict what it would be like by 3pm.

Today the Ref turned up at just before 1pm walked the pitch and called it off. He did nothing wrong from a regulation point of view so no grounds for complaint but perhaps had we had last weeks Ref the outcome may very well have been different. Unfortunately we will never know but the club staff, groundstaff and many hard working volunteers some regulars but also some one off's who turned up this morning did absolutely everything they possibly could have done to get the game on and to have it called off like that is not just a dissapointment for everyone coming but a kick in the teeth to all those who had put so much effort in.

[Old Bob]

So whatever OB, you didn’t get to the EBB Stadium/Electrical Services Stadium/Rec/Revreation Ground today then?

I did, Tim. Fully expecting to see a game. According to Les Briley of this parish (not the real one), I am some sort of mental retard for expecting that.

[Fuggletim]

So whatever OB, you didn’t get to the EBB Stadium/Electrical Services Stadium/Rec/Revreation Ground today then?

I did, Tim. Fully expecting to see a game. According to Les Briley of this parish (not the real one), I am some sort of mental retard for expecting that.

Sorry to hear about the wasted trip. Fortunately my Daughter called me as I was just passing through Bordon so I hadn’t got too far into the journey. Very frustrated today.

[supershots]

So whatever OB, you didn’t get to the EBB Stadium/Electrical Services Stadium/Rec/Revreation Ground today then?

I did, Tim. Fully expecting to see a game. According to Les Briley of this parish (not the real one), I am some sort of mental retard for expecting that.

Harsh but fair assessment

[Aldershot_Rob]

Another with a wasted journey. A 200 mile round trip for nothing.
I took the optimistic post this morning as a green light.

Thems the breaks I guess. I'm not angry, just disappointed. The club made themselves look foolish with their announcement which gave everyone false hope.

Thanks to all those who mucked in to try and get the game on.

[Les Briley]

Les, at 11.25am the club tweeted a totally unambiguous message about the game being on, how green the pitch was etc. I bought my tickets at 12.15pm having left it late given the weather as a result. This is entirely on the club and the poor communication which simply can’t be defended.

.....but it was the Referee who called it off, always a possibility.

Jeez, are you really as dumb as you make out? I can't imagine you are. You must be on a wind-up.

"A totally unambiguous message about the game being on" means, if you need it explaining, the possibility of the referee calling it off has been discounted.

....oh well, a 5th tier game got postponed in January, I'm sure you'll get over it.

[Old Bob]

.....but it was the Referee who called it off, always a possibility.

Jeez, are you really as dumb as you make out? I can't imagine you are. You must be on a wind-up.

"A totally unambiguous message about the game being on" means, if you need it explaining, the possibility of the referee calling it off has been discounted.

....oh well, a 5th tier game got postponed in January, I'm sure you'll get over it.

Thanks for confirming that you are a wind-up merchant. I figured as much.

[Turnkey]

Today the Ref turned up at just before 1pm walked the pitch and called it off. He did nothing wrong from a regulation point of view so no grounds for complaint but perhaps had we had last weeks Ref the outcome may very well have been different. Unfortunately we will never know but the club staff, groundstaff and many hard working volunteers some regulars but also some one off's who turned up this morning did absolutely everything they possibly could have done to get the game on and to have it called off like that is not just a dissapointment for everyone coming but a kick in the teeth to all those who had put so much effort in.

As you know Richard, I spent a good few years working on the pitch and our golden rule was never to say anything if there was any kind of element of doubt whether the pitch would be fit or not. That fact that the South Stand side remained covered until late suggests to me there WAS an element of doubt, therefore the Club shouldn't have put those tweets out saying game on, and having done so, really need to take some ownership of this situation. As seen just from this thread, quite a few people brought tickets and made journeys of the back of those tweets, and IMHO deserve and apology for their inconvenience. For them to still sit on their hands and say nothing doesn't sit well with me.

[Silasgoldeen]

I’m not sure how it could have been inspected thoroughly with the covers still on….They should have had someone there when they were removed this morning.

Well the thinking goes that the condition will improve throughout the day. So at 9am everything's cold and hard so you have to decide if it's going to get better. Last week it did. They also had the advantage of having had the covers down earlier this week, which should have counted for something. So you can see why we ended up where we did. The rest of the ground was fine so they assumed that between midday and kickoff the bit in front of the south stand would thaw out. Like it did last week. But clearly the ref disagreed.

This is a pretty good summery.

There was no difference of opinion among those involved this morning, ground staff, volunteers (some with years of experience) and Club staff were "All"satisfied that the pitch was either thawed out or in some areas thawing at a steady rate that would provide a playable surface in all areas by 3pm.

There was one very big difference between last week and this week that I think may have had an impact on the decision and that was how the referee made the decision.

Last week the Ref turned up much earlier walked the pitch judged how it was and then waited an hour to do a second inspection which was so that she could judge not just how the pitch was at that moment but what the thaw rate was so she could reasonably predict what it would be like by 3pm.

Today the Ref turned up at just before 1pm walked the pitch and called it off. He did nothing wrong from a regulation point of view so no grounds for complaint but perhaps had we had last weeks Ref the outcome may very well have been different. Unfortunately we will never know but the club staff, groundstaff and many hard working volunteers some regulars but also some one off's who turned up this morning did absolutely everything they possibly could have done to get the game on and to have it called off like that is not just a dissapointment for everyone coming but a kick in the teeth to all those who had put so much effort in.

Thanks. I was the tall one in the black coat. (another Richard). Will be happy to help out however I can in the future.

[Les Briley]

Jeez, are you really as dumb as you make out? I can't imagine you are. You must be on a wind-up.

"A totally unambiguous message about the game being on" means, if you need it explaining, the possibility of the referee calling it off has been discounted.

....oh well, a 5th tier game got postponed in January, I'm sure you'll get over it.

Thanks for confirming that you are a wind-up merchant. I figured as much.

...Mr negative is spoken

[Richard Petty]

Today the Ref turned up at just before 1pm walked the pitch and called it off. He did nothing wrong from a regulation point of view so no grounds for complaint but perhaps had we had last weeks Ref the outcome may very well have been different. Unfortunately we will never know but the club staff, groundstaff and many hard working volunteers some regulars but also some one off's who turned up this morning did absolutely everything they possibly could have done to get the game on and to have it called off like that is not just a dissapointment for everyone coming but a kick in the teeth to all those who had put so much effort in.

As you know Richard, I spent a good few years working on the pitch and our golden rule was never to say anything if there was any kind of element of doubt whether the pitch would be fit or not. That fact that the South Stand side remained covered until late suggests to me there WAS an element of doubt, therefore the Club shouldn't have put those tweets out saying game on, and having done so, really need to take some ownership of this situation. As seen just from this thread, quite a few people brought tickets and made journeys of the back of those tweets, and IMHO deserve and apology for their inconvenience. For them to still sit on their hands and say nothing doesn't sit well with me.

The covers were left on in front of the South Stand because as you know from your time as a volunteer they absorb heat so assist with warming that area of the pitch, the rest of the pitch had sun on it so didnt need any help. They are nearly always left on until later than the others.

[Richard Petty]

Well the thinking goes that the condition will improve throughout the day. So at 9am everything's cold and hard so you have to decide if it's going to get better. Last week it did. They also had the advantage of having had the covers down earlier this week, which should have counted for something. So you can see why we ended up where we did. The rest of the ground was fine so they assumed that between midday and kickoff the bit in front of the south stand would thaw out. Like it did last week. But clearly the ref disagreed.

This is a pretty good summery.

There was no difference of opinion among those involved this morning, ground staff, volunteers (some with years of experience) and Club staff were "All"satisfied that the pitch was either thawed out or in some areas thawing at a steady rate that would provide a playable surface in all areas by 3pm.

There was one very big difference between last week and this week that I think may have had an impact on the decision and that was how the referee made the decision.

Last week the Ref turned up much earlier walked the pitch judged how it was and then waited an hour to do a second inspection which was so that she could judge not just how the pitch was at that moment but what the thaw rate was so she could reasonably predict what it would be like by 3pm.

Today the Ref turned up at just before 1pm walked the pitch and called it off. He did nothing wrong from a regulation point of view so no grounds for complaint but perhaps had we had last weeks Ref the outcome may very well have been different. Unfortunately we will never know but the club staff, groundstaff and many hard working volunteers some regulars but also some one off's who turned up this morning did absolutely everything they possibly could have done to get the game on and to have it called off like that is not just a dissapointment for everyone coming but a kick in the teeth to all those who had put so much effort in.

Thanks. I was the tall one in the black coat. (another Richard). Will be happy to help out however I can in the future.

Thanks for your help this morning, I do remember you from your description, your right you are tall

[Northcampshot]

I'm annoyed. Made the trip from Christchurch game was on at 12.45 well so the BBC said. I guess I'm partly to blame too as I didn't check on the club webiste before I left, but the club were confident that the game was on and then find that the game wasn't called off until about 1.30 is a joke. Spent and hour in Costco instead, not quite the same but we did need some loo roll.