Monsieur Salut accepts at once that the south of France, with temperatures a hot and sticky 35 or so, is not the best place in which to raise eyebrows at events in Sunderland.
At first, though, I did not believe it could be true that bad weather was likely to force the postponement of a football match at a state-of-the-art stadium in the English Premier League. Lots of rain has fallen, I am quite sure, but did it not do something similar before Coldplay were nevertheless able to play, surrounded by lots of potentially dangerous equipment, back in June?
But I have since read that both managers shared the referee’s assessment that the pitch was unplayable. Since I refuse to believe the SoL drainage system is not up to coping with something that tends to happen in the UK – heavy rain – then it must have been freak weather to have this effect.
Sunderland supporters, and indeed the band of Reading fans who would for the most part have been in the North East by the time the decision was taken, may comment below on just how bad it has been.
It means Adam Johnson will, after all, be available for selection for the first Premier game after signing for us – a warm welcome, Adam – whether or not Martin O_Neill wishes to use him in the league cup game versus Morecambe, more summer rain permitting, on Tuesday night.
And Pete Sixsmith’s worrying choice of attending today’s RL cup final between Leeds and Warrington rather than the first home match of the season does not, after all, cause a rare absence on his part from a SAFC game – and its subsequent discussion on these pages.
so it has been postponed to which date now???
The club said: “An announcement regarding a date for the rearranged fixture will be made in due course and all tickets purchased remain valid.”
All tickets, that is, except those bought for rail, coach and air travel – not to mention petrol bills – by supporters of both clubs.
I wonder what sort of condition Sid James Park was in. Not that it mattered, of course. A very satisfactory result at Stamford Bridge.
£25 mil on players in the past few days, but couldn’t splash out £1,000 on a tarpaulin?
Maybe keeping a pitch dry is more complex than a tarpaulin…..?
Just another thought. I bet if the game had started they still would have had the sprinklers on at half time. Never known them not to!
There I was, in my metaphorical tracksuit, warming up in my role as Sixer’s sub, dreaming up a variety of witty and amusing headlines for tomorrow’s Soapbox when the news came over the radio that the match was off.
My first thought was that had it been the season before last I would have left home at 9.00 am and driven 165 miles when the announcement was made.
Fortunately I had only left home some 45 minutes before and was on the A690, just before the A19 roundabout and was able to get home in time to watch the Rugby League cup final and the second 20/20 match from Cardiff.
It is fair to say we have had some rain again. Since May 1st there have only been 4 days when rain has not fallen on my home so the water table must be high. But last night’s was nowhere near the amounts that have fallen on other days this summer.
I don’t know how bad it was in Sunderland as I never got there so I assume it must have been bad. Whether drainage is to blame or whether it is just the amount we have had this year I wouldn’t know but the groundsman can only work with what he is presented. If there is a drainage problem then it is a problem that must be tackled at a higher level within the club.
On the bright side, as M. Salut points out, it does mean that Johnson will be available and Fletcher has more time to let his injury heal. Every cloud etc.
Feel sorry for the Reading fans who made the trip but also all the Sunderland supporters who travel from all corners of the UK and further.
The Reading manager alluded to the newly laid pitch not being up to snuff – said the game would have been on in Reading. Sounds like we have a drainage problem. Our pitch has always been one of the worst in the PL. Do we need new groundsmen? Shocking that the game is off. Very disappointed. Commiserations to the small band who will have travelled up from Reading.
Of course the game would have been on in Reading. In Sunderland we have torrential, industrial strength downpours blowing in from the North Sea. In Royal Berkshire they have genteel showers.