[Archived] Rovers V Brighton

[Kelbo]

What you need to know is that Accy made huge efforts to improve their drainage over the last couple of seasons and the improvement is remarkable this season. The pitch played immaculately today in spite of the ground surroundings being underwater and the match being played in non stop rain! Buzzer the groundsman got a big round of applause from the Clayton End before the start.

I know precisely about Accys efforts regarding the playing surface and they need applauding for it, however, no one is telling me that their drainage and facilites are superior to that of Rovers, indeed Jack Walker was very careful with the installation of the undersoil heating, drainage and airiation, thats why all four corners of Ewood are open to the elements, remember the old days, because of the River, Ewood used to cut up ever so badly!

I think Steve Patrick over the years has got numerous awards for his keeping of the playing surface at Ewood!!

[Sparky Marky]

Just been speaking to a groundsman who knows Steve Patrick,

What he did say, was the amount of rainfall is not considerably more than that which is put on by the sprinklers and it makes him wonder!!

Has Shebby & Mullan nipped into ewood with the spare keys and sabotaged the sprinklers?

[Gav]

We're getting to the agree to disagree point GAV.

Thats not a problem at all Stuart.

[Paul]

I know I'm 10 miles away but there was a huge amount of rain here overnight and well into this morning. At 10am I was out driving more or less in running water. We have had a lot of rain this year but I don't think I've seen as much as there was mid-morning here. I was keeping an eye out on the BBC website assuming there was a good chance of a postponement.

Yes I don't subscribe to any conspiracy theory I was just surprised when I turned up at Ewood!

[Ossydave]

Come on then experts, what more could have been done to make the surface playable? Pretty sure they will have had the forks out on it and apart from that surely we are reliant on the drainage system which I doubt they can do much to alter?

[Parsonblue]

Like a number of Brighton fans I watched a thoroughly entertaining game at Stanley this afternoon on a pitch which was perfect for football. The same amount of rain fell in Accrington as Blackburn but a club with one groundsman and a fork got a game on while the Rovers couldn't. From what I hear the groundstaff at Ewood were not to blame for the latest farce and did their best under difficult circumstances. The pantomime season at Ewood is clearly in full swing.

[broadsword]

Confusion reigns.

Apparently the same amount of rainfall in Blackburn as Accrington ... am I really to believe that the data is unreliable and that the Ewood area is subject to some metereological freak anomaly?

Steve Patrick has been Rovers' groundsman for donkey's years, I'm sure he knows what he's doing.

Is it just bad luck or has he been asked to do something against his better judgement? Surely they have access to weather forecasts over there.

It's like a bloody soap opera this. Anything goes wrong and the immediate suspicion is foul play, no-one's willing to believe the innocent explanation any more. It just goes to show that trust between fans and club has been utterly destroyed. Very sad.

[Claytons Left Boot]

A far better performance by our defenders, The Seagulls forwards did not get a look in.

Agreed. Whilst I though our midfield was a bit wet and justifiably took torrents of abuse from the home support, our defence soaked up the pressure admirably. No leaks at the back whatsoever. In fact we were as water tight as we've ever been.

Rhodes waded in when asked and both wide men sailed along beating their fullbacks easily. Ok, so Murphy is a bit of a drip but overall I thought we weathered the early storm and finished the game with some flowing football.

[jim mk2]

Well, I don't know what the arguments are about. I'm sitting at home pleased as punch because for once we haven't lost.

Can we have the game called off every week ?

[perthblue02]

A far better performance by our defenders, The Seagulls forwards did not get a look in.

Agreed. Whilst I though our midfield was a bit wet and justifiably took torrents of abuse from the home support, our defence soaked up the pressure admirably. No leaks at the back whatsoever. In fact we were as water tight as we've ever been.

Rhodes waded in when asked and both wide men sailed along beating their fullbacks easily. Ok, so Murphy is a bit of a drip but overall I thought we weathered the early storm and finished the game with some flowing football.

Very good

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Could it just be that the drainage system has failed beneath the pitch?

Shock,shock,horror,horror,shock,shock horror!

[ad0102]

In the past when games have been called off due to a waterlogged pitch then it has been as a result of the river being full. Therefore the drainage does not work. Therefore comparisons to any other ground are pretty invalid.

It's not being raining for 3 days solid, It has been raining since bloody June

[Doug]

Could it just be that the drainage system has failed beneath the pitch?

Shock,shock,horror,horror,shock,shock horror!

Don't start common sense off in this thread for goodness sake!!

[47er]

Just came to check the results and I, for one, am pleased with this one. I'm not joking, either.

Yep----we didn't lose!

[Stuart]

Could it just be that the drainage system has failed beneath the pitch?

Shock,shock,horror,horror,shock,shock horror!

Should be very easy to clear that up. Something has clearly gone tango uniform.

Although it looks to me as though Henning might have been out there having a sprinkle of his own on the Ewood turf!

http://www.rovers.co.uk/news/article/berg-disappointed-221212-556799.aspx

[LDRover]

Could it just be that the drainage system has failed beneath the pitch?

Shock,shock,horror,horror,shock,shock horror!

I shout myself hoarse, at your supernatural force

[Stuart]

I shout myself hoarse, at your supernatural force

Didn't spot that one. Very apt though with Rovers woes seemingy attached to the female of the species!

[bluebruce]

Playing a young untested lad in the sticks is going to cost us. Maybe tomorrow might be the first time.

That's fine, because playing a fat out-of-form bloke in the sticks has already been costing us.

[Rover down South]

Just been reading the comments on North Stand Chat (Brighton), a lot of them annoyed that the decision wasn't made sooner as most had arrived/nearly arrived in B'Burn. I live ten minutes from Brighton. It's not the nicest journey all the way up, especially when you have to turn straight back. 10/11/12 hours have been quoted.

Few commenting that our ground is Premiership standard, so should cope better.

Good friend of mine is Albion through & through. He made the journey today (and is no doubt plastered somewhere in Blackburn!) top bloke, actually came to Selhurst the other month to support Rovers and was probably the loudest there (Brighton hate Palace!), anyway, last Saturday in the pub he was giving me loads of banter for not going up today.........he messaged me earlier, so I had the last laugh!

Salt in the wounds when I go to the rearranged fixture and he can't.

No one can do anything about the weather. England away at Poland the other month. That stadium had a roof!

[USABlue]

Tongue in cheek from my point of view. Do they not do humour in the US these days ?

Yes they do, but as we all know it can't possibly be as good as English humour. How many pages of tongue in cheek does there have to be for it to not be humour?. @#/? it's tongue in cheek.

[JAL]

Maybe the moon is made of green cheese in your world Pafell !!!

It's simple, if you want a game of football played, you pull out all the stops. Accie had the same rainfall - is their pitch better than ours ? is their groundsman better than ours ? do they have more groundstaff and better equipment than us ?

Cryer thought :

Andrew Cryer‏@CryerRovers

Doesnt look as though that predicted deluge has quite come does it. I reckon it could have gone ahead

Don't you think it's strange that little Accie get a game on and we can't and are the only PL/Championship game off.

IMO, we are possibly looking at either incompetence or p1ss poor planning/management which is no surprise in my book where Rovers are concerned.

Given the almost certain shocking attendance and the turmoil of recent days at Ewood, I don't think there would be too many tears shed about a postponement. Having said that, lose the next 2 games, both away, and we might struggle to recover.............................especially if Kelbo's friend is correct and we get points deducted.

.

You can not have points deducted if the referee has called the game off and its raining heavily no matter what.

[roverzee]

Anyone suggesting that this postponement is some sort of devious, conspiritorial plan is questioning either the integrity or the ability of Steve Patrick.

Go and have that discussion with Steve face-to-face, and then come back and post your theories. If you can still speak / type / walk.

Kelbo - your suggestion that Steve would do "what he is told" rather than prepare the Ewood pitch for a game to the best of his ability is an outrage.

[beerwins]

To be fair it is a strange one, there is a fair old possibility that the drainage system backed up due to the amount of rainfall in the main drains and the water not being able to run anywhere but regardless of this there are other options.

I was surprised at the amount of rainfall overnight and today when I took the dog out the field was totally flooded which hasn't happened for years but in saying that I expected Ewood to be clear, it yet again shows a total lack of overall management at the club this lack of leadership is now evident on and off the pitch, the owners just don't want people to have too much power and therefore we have no-one overseeing all aspects of the clubs runnings.

[USABlue]

Has Shebby & Mullan nipped into ewood with the spare keys and sabotaged the sprinklers?

No a friend of mine who has a friend who knows the tea ladys hairdresser said there were men in Ninja suits going over the Riverside stand last night. She's usually spot on, years ago she said Beamish was gonna miss a stitter, and he did.

To be fair it is a strange one, there is a fair old possibility that the drainage system backed up due to the amount of rainfall in the main drains and the water not being able to run anywhere but regardless of this there are other options.

I was surprised at the amount of rainfall overnight and today when I took the dog out the field was totally flooded which hasn't happened for years but in saying that I expected Ewood to be clear, it yet again shows a total lack of overall management at the club this lack of leadership is now evident on and off the pitch, the owners just don't want people to have too much power and therefore we have no-one overseeing all aspects of the clubs runnings.

Maybe it's Jimmy Hoffa clogging up the drains or have we finally found Donald Campbell.

[JAL]

Today has simply rained and rained with very little light all day and as I type its still raining heavily here around Ewood.

If it continues to rain as it is then Blackburn is going to have its own natural lake at this rate now that would be cute .