Dale looks into pitch protection following match postponement

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Dale ground staff removing water from the water logged pitch

Rochdale Football Club has released a statement regarding the match postponement at the Spotland Stadium- almost a week after the club’s game against Southampton was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.

The crux of the statement is about what the club is doing in terms of looking for better pitch protection and it states that the match was postponed because of “amount of rain that fell in a short period of time.”

The statement comes in the wake of an editorial piece published on the Rochdale AFC Fans Forum which spoke of the fans’ “disappointment” about the lack of response from the club on the matter.

The piece on the forum questioned why Rochdale was the only team to have their game postponed, and queried if the problems had arisen because the Rochdale Hornets played on the pitch six days prior to the Southampton clash. 

A snippet from the story reads: “Did the Hornets game six days earlier do sufficient damage to the pitch that it was unable to drain away the surface water? Was the referee simply hasty by postponing a game at 9.30 with half an eye on the travelling supporters? Are the drains that the clubs paid out for two summers no longer functional? Was it circumstances beyond the control of the club, with the local water table at such levels that they were no longer accepting further draining water? We just don't know. 

“And it's this which disappoints me as much as anything - this lack of any sort of statement on the whole matter from the club. We've been in difficult situations before, such as demands to turn up in front of the High Court, but at least once news of such events has come out, the club have often acted swiftly to placate the supporters. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that every single time that the Chairman has released a statement, it has been greeted with almost 100% approval from the supporters. We are a fan base that understands, so why have we not been entrusted with any sort of information since Saturday?” 

In light of the story on the fans forum a statement appeared on the Rochdale Football Club explaining the reason for the postponement. 

The statement begins by issuing an apology to any supporter who was “inconvenienced” by the postponement. 

The statement reads: “The club recognises that some supporters may have been inconvenienced by the postponement of the match and that many more supporters from both teams will have been disappointed as they were looking forward to the long awaited league match between Rochdale and Southampton at Spotland Stadium.

“Unfortunately the worst 12 hours of weather in the week fell over Friday night and Saturday morning and the heavy rain left the Spotland pitch with standing water, when the match referee looked at the pitch it was still raining quite heavily and there was standing water already on the pitch, the club and the referee consulted the weather forecasts and the league before the referee postponed the game.

“The postponement of the match against Southampton highlights the need for the club to look at its options regarding the pitch itself and the protection that can be given to it. Even prior to the latest postponement the club have been looking at options for both below the surface and protection on top. The last three winters have demonstrated that there is a change in the global climate with heavy snowfalls over the last two Christmas and New Year periods. Cold spells now seem to be colder and last longer, last winter we experienced freezing temperatures well in to double figures and as recently as the end of January we again experienced freezing temperatures that were also in double figures. In addition when the weather is milder the rainfall seems to be heavier and for longer.”

The statement continued: “Prior to the Southampton postponement the ground staff had conducted sample tests on the drains that were constructed in the summer of 2006, at the time approximately £50,000 was spent on a new drainage and an irrigation system, the sample tests concluded that the drains were working well, however these tests will be extended to all lateral drains to confirm that they are all working correctly before considering other options. Last summer a further £50,000 was invested in a new pitch which included a fibre-sand top to assist with the drainage but also to give the pitch more stability.

“The club have for a number of years had frost covers to help protect the pitch from freezing temperatures, the cost of these covers was approximately £15,000, two years ago there was a further investment in frost covers when double skinned covers were purchased to cover the Main Stand side of the pitch and this gives us double protection on an area of the pitch where the sun doesn't shine during the winter months. There is no doubt that the investment in the covers has saved some games from both snow and frost but they are sadly limited in their effectiveness and will only work to certain levels

“Following our F A Cup match against Football Club United of Manchester the club looked in to the possibility of purchasing some covers similar to those used to protect the pitch from the rain in the lead up to the game. The covers were provided at a subsidized rental from the Football Association by a company called Sports and Stadia Services (SSS) and they use a cover known as the Macleod Cover, which protects the pitch from snow, rain and freezing, the latter done with the assistance of hot air blowers. The Macleod covers can be rented from SSS but the cost is substantial and to buy these outright would be in excess of £200,000.

“The club have become aware of another cover similar to the Macleod cover and this is from a company in Holland, the cost of this cover is a lot more affordable at around 85,000 Euros, what is not known is whether it will in fact do the same job as the Macleod cover. The club have been in contact with this company and are currently in communication with them about exploring the possibility of this cover being suitable for the British climate. We have to be sure that the company we are dealing with can provide the cover and support it with service and maintenance and that the cover will do what we need it to do and we have requested the opportunity to see this working before progressing the matter further. Our interest in this product has gone as far as looking in to financing this over a five year period and we will pursue this option until we have a conclusion one way or the other.”

The statement concluded with: “On Saturday our game against Southampton was postponed due to the amount of rain that fell in a short period of time, obviously we have had other postponements this season due to snow and a frozen pitch as well as the abandonment of the Oldham game due to a waterlogged pitch. These are the reasons why we have for some time now been looking very seriously at our options with regards to the pitch and its makeup below the ground and our options to protect it on top.

“We trust the above information gives supporters some idea that we are not complacent about our responsibilities to ensure that we do everything we can to ensure a game goes ahead as scheduled, with the climate changing we have to look at options that are viable and obviously affordable and we will continue to do this.”