game off

[doc]

 

[York Street Pilgrim]

It might sound like a silly question, but I'd like to know what a pitch inspection actually involves. This part of the game is very much "behind closed doors", and is something which supporters never get to see.

The nearest I've ever come to seeing a pitch inspection was for the Poland versus England international a few months back on live TV. This was the one where the authorities failed to shut the stadium roof and the ref kept appearing from the tunnel, bouncing the ball in the puddles a couple of times, shaking his head and then disappearing again behind the scenes. If that's what is involved and if the same thing has happened this morning at York Street, then I'm not really sure how a pitch inspection can take place whilst there is still snow on the pitch.

Does anyone know exactly what will will have happened this morning to reach this decision?

[B Grimes]

Theref probably looked out his window, it would work for me. i wouldn't have thought unless it has poured with rain and melted the six inches of snow any NL games woul be on...would imagine it will be a very thin NL paper tomorrow

[Ken Fox]

Wimps these footballers. I'm just about to head off to run in the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park as the course inspection this morning declared it will still be on. Will probably be knee deep in snow and mud. Great fun. 

[Pilgrim86]

They would clear an area of the pitch, to inspect what it is like if all the snow was to be cleared. I would guess that the snow from earlier in the week has waterlogged the pitch after melting, and the snow overnight made it worse...

[York Street Pilgrim]

They would clear an area of the pitch, to inspect what it is like if all the snow was to be cleared. I would guess that the snow from earlier in the week has waterlogged the pitch after melting, and the snow overnight made it worse...

Clearing one area of the pitch though surely wouldn't be sufficient to form a judgement on the whole pitch? There are always areas which get churned up more than others - affected by factors such as where the goalmouths are and the amount of sunlight blocked out by the stands in different areas of the pitch. Wouldn't a pitch inspection therefore require multiple areas to be cleared (if not the whole pitch)?

[Crazy Neil]

They also take into account crowd safety,both travelling to and from the ground and the state of the terraces ...

Also found this which explains it better

http://www.middlesexfa.com/referees/pitch-inspections

[Scouse Pilgrim]

Wimps these footballers. I'm just about to head off to run in the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park as the course inspection this morning declared it will still be on. Will probably be knee deep in snow and mud. Great fun. 

watch out for them coyotes Ken. They 're pretty nippy and hungry in this weather :dan

[Ken Fox]

Wimps these footballers. I'm just about to head off to run in the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Knowsley Safari Park as the course inspection this morning declared it will still be on. Will probably be knee deep in snow and mud. Great fun. 

watch out for them coyotes Ken. They 're pretty nippy and hungry in this weather :dan

Fortunately the Siberian tigers never got onto the course or we would all have been dead meat. That was easily the toughest run I've done to date. It was ankle deep, gloopy mud and snow all the way round each of the three 4km laps. Trying to run on it was a totally new experience for me. Just couldn't get up any speed. No matter where you put your feet they disappeared into the icy mud and you hoped there would still be a shoe on them when you lifted them out. Feet soon turned to blocks of ice. Couldn't feel my toes at all. Finished in 468th out of 583 finishers, so just about respectable for a 54 year old traffic modeller against the North of England's elite senior athletes.  On reflection it was a good challenging run and I like nothing better than a good challenge. Took a couple of hours before I regained the feeling in my feet, but I still seem to have a complete set of toes. Bring on the Nationals in Sunderland next month!

[Ernie100]

Bloody hell Ken, you're a glutton for punishment what with all this cross-country running and watching Boston United!!!