Chairman's views.

22nd December

Following the late cancellation of the Stockport game, the Supporters Club Chairman Roger Bunce wrote to the Football League (FL) on behalf of those fans who made the abortive trip.

We replicate in full their response below, prefaced with "an apology for the inconvenience caused."

“ The FL issues written advice to clubs regarding early inspection of pitches during the winter months. If there is any doubt about the condition of the pitch, clubs are asked to contact

 a) The League office with an early warning and to seek advice
b) The visiting club to ascertain the travelling arrangements of their team and supporters
c) The match referee, to inform him of the situation and, if necessary, request that he inspects the ground before the visiting club and supporters commence their journey

If the match referee is unable to attend for an early inspection, The League appoints a local official. He makes an inspection and reports the conditions to the Football League and the League would then make a decision as to whether the match would go ahead.

As the rainfall subsided the day before the fixture and with freezing temperatures forecast overnight, the Club was confident that with no more rainfall the pitch would be playable.

Stockport County officials spoke with the ground staff at 9.00a.m. on the day of the game who informed them that there were no issues with the pitch as it had “firmed up”. Swindon Town were then advised of this.

In the afternoon, as the frost softened and the drains clearly backed up water levels in the pitch rose and the surface deteriorated. The ground staff attempted to counteract this by applying a significant amount of sand.

It was only when the match referee arrived that the club became aware of any issues. He went out to inspect the pitch and immediately had concerns about the amount of water within the pitch/sand. He liaised with the ground staff who were unable to treat the sanded area of the pitch as it was too wet. He took out a ball and it would not bounce.

He also obtained a weather forecast which indicated that from 6.00 p.m. onwards rain was expected and would get heavier towards 9.00 p.m..

He again inspected the pitch with the two Managers and agreed that in it’s current state and with heavy rain forecast, the pitch was unplayable. In the interests of player safety the match was postponed.

As no request was made for an early inspection, the League has written to the club reminding them of their responsibilities in adhering to the “ early warning policy”.The Club has subsequently reviewed its policy on pitch appraisal and are undertaking remedial pitch works on the playing surface to alleviate the problems.

We can only re-iterate we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to travelling supporters and hope we have at least highlighted there is a process in place to ensure that these occurrences are kept to a minimum.

Best wishes to you and your team for the rest of the season “

The Football League