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[theajaxman]

The only time I've ever visited Marylebone station, until today, was via the monopoly board. What a wasted journey it turned out to be.
If the game was called off due to the concerns of the managers' over the welfare of their players then I can live with that.
However it appears that it was because of namby pampy officials concerned about falling over and grazing their knees. It wasn't icy so what next? Are we going to have games off because it's too chilly or it's starts to rain? Are we going to have matches abandoned incase officials catch a cold?
It's a mans game so let's get these idiots out of the sport now. Over the last few months I have been laid of from work because of the weather and had to put up with countless games being called off. The fact that this country has become a nanny state controlled by health and safety is now so embarrassing I don't know why the government just doesn't close the whole f*****g country down for 3 months and then we can just all bugger off somewhere cheap and sunny for the duration. Atleast we will know where we stand.
   

[doddmeister]

And one of them had the bloodycheek to say to me - "That's Life".  The words "Get one" spring to mind. 

[Gilesy]

I don't for 1 minute blame Harrow Borough, i blame the ref that did the inspection this morning telling the match official the game is not playable, but then the match official drove 90 miles from portsmouth was informed on 68p per mile, to check what the ref had said this morning.

Crpa pure crap!

[doddmeister]

We at the Ryman Leaguel, just love a fixture pile-up.... makes everything so exciting at the end of the season.... 

[Park Life]

I have to disagrre with some as IMO HARROW AND THE REF are equally to blame for this total fiasco.
There are so many questions which need answering from todays events but i will be amazed if they are and any action is taken.

Arriving at the ground at 2:20pm to be told it had just been called off is farcical and my initial response was i will not be spending any money at Harrow at the re-arranged fixture, i still feel the same now. As someone has already said i can't believe this would have happened at PP. At this level of football you bring in a local ref to make a decision because of the amount of people travelling, i would estimate we would have had approx 250+ at todays match. To have an inspection (which seemed very cloak and dagger anyway) at 11:30am and for no decision to be made was totally pointless, the pitch was either playable at that time or not. If this referee was not capable of making a decision what was the point of bringing him in? The contrasting stories now coming from Harrow and the Match Ref are scandalous and without doubt we should be compensated for a total waste of a day.

A POOR SHOW FROM HARROW AND THE REF(S) TODAY.

As far as i am concerned the only way Harow can come out of this with any credit would be if they made the re-arranged fixture free entry.

[Gary Stella]

Shoddy all round! As we arrive, spotted Youngy having a beer on the corner next to coach..so er..smelled a rat. Spoke to 3 or 4 players who all said although they agreed pitch was probably not playable down parts of one side....it was nothing that could not have been solved much much earlier! This weather is now so common-has nobody got any contingency plans? Oh, and I don't want to go all grassy Knoll, but did you notice that the bar had not been bottled up ready for a visit of Hundreds?
Looking forward to getting out of this monkey league and looking forward to a more professional approach-even when cancellations are on the cards!
Grrrrr.

Funny you mentioned the fact the bar had not been bottled up, I said that to my mate as soon as we arrived as we stood their drinking a crap pint of bitter listening to a few Harrow fans laughing and joking at Darts fans who had travelled to their club, I doubt they have ever travelled outside of Harrow!!

 

[rikyb]

As far as i am concerned the only way Harow can come out of this with any credit would be if they made the re-arranged fixture free entry.

League regulations would stop them from doing this though wouldn' t they? admission prices have to be at least £5 I think.

[Gary Stella]

I don't for 1 minute blame Harrow Borough, i blame the ref that did the inspection this morning telling the match official the game is not playable, but then the match official drove 90 miles from portsmouth was informed on 68p per mile, to check what the ref had said this morning.

Crpa pure crap!

Surely Harrow are to blame, they knew their pitch wasn't playable.  The question should be; why didn't they do anything about it!!!

[kst]

have to disagrre with some as IMO HARROW AND THE REF are equally to blame for this total fiasco.
There are so many questions which need answering from todays events but i will be amazed if they are and any action is taken.

Arriving at the ground at 2:20pm to be told it had just been called off is farcical and my initial response was i will not be spending any money at Harrow at the re-arranged fixture, i still feel the same now. As someone has already said i can't believe this would have happened at PP. At this level of football you bring in a local ref to make a decision because of the amount of people travelling, i would estimate we would have had approx 250+ at todays match. To have an inspection (which seemed very cloak and dagger anyway) at 11:30am and for no decision to be made was totally pointless, the pitch was either playable at that time or not. If this referee was not capable of making a decision what was the point of bringing him in? The contrasting stories now coming from Harrow and the Match Ref are scandalous and without doubt we should be compensated for a total waste of a day.

A POOR SHOW FROM HARROW AND THE REF(S) TODAY.

As far as i am concerned the only way Harow can come out of this with any credit would be if they made the re-arranged fixture free entry.

Phil has e-mailed Harrow and demanded back his petrol money. If Harrow are really sorry they should give free food and drink at the rearranged match.

 The other option is if the league is won by the time we play the rearranged match then could we forfeit the match . Give them the 3 points but deny them any gate or bar money ?

[theajaxman]

It's been well publicised that Harrow Borough rely heavily on their bar takings as a very major part of their income.
I don't know if anyone has read "London Fields" by Charlie Connelly a well known author and freelance football writer.
Here's a quote from his book:-

"Earslmead is the archetypical non-league ground. Given that most income comes not through the turnstiles but at the bar, the clubhouse is the dominant feature of the stadium, towering over one end of the ground. With gates hovering around the 200 mark, the bar takings are an important factor in securing the financial future of the club."

We'll from what I saw they didn't do too badly today. I don't know if there was a snack bar in the ground but they were eager to serve bar meals by the notices they distributed on the tables before the rush. As well as a good few pints being pulled there were several burger and chips being served at £4.50 too.

[DA Mikey]

Sounds like similar controversy surrounds the postponement of Hendon v Hastings. The ref arrived an hour late, did not look at the pitch till 2.20 and called it off at 2.30. I think we know how Hastings fans there must have felt.

Not a good feeling being treated like a mug is it? We're only supporters after all.

That sucks serious balls for the Hastings lot.... there's no great cut through London that way and it takes an hour and a half to get to the 25 from there....nearly six hours' travel without a single minute of football for those that drove and made it all the way to the ground.
The late abandonment at Harrow annoyed me - but I'd have gone ape if I were amongst their mob today.

[Silverado]

For all those fans who'd paid to get in before the match was finally declared off, did they get, or is there any chance they will get, their entrance money refunded? S'pose that's too much to hope, is it?

[DA Mikey]

Phil has e-mailed Harrow and demanded back his petrol money. If Harrow are really sorry they should give free food and drink at the rearranged match.

 The other option is if the league is won by the time we play the rearranged match then could we forfeit the match . Give them the 3 points but deny them any gate or bar money ?

Don't think option#2 is viable Kev, what if this gets another team relegated?

Agree there should be some form of recompense, but it's difficult to prove who travelled and who didn't. I guess the really nice thing to do would be a free drink ticket for EVERYONE at the re-arranged game, wouldn't happen in a month of Sundays of course and it's not really the club's fault per se

[King Penguin]

"It's been well publicised that Harrow Borough rely heavily on their bar takings as a very major part of their income."

So what, theajaxman? How do they differ from about 98% of all other non-league teams at or below this level (or even higher)? Even the quote you use to illustrate your point states "Earslmead is the archetypical non-league ground" which rather suggests that HBFC are not exactly alone on this.
They didn't call the game off late - the ref did. So what if they "didn't do too badly today". What are they suposed to do? Are you suggesting that they should have brought the shutters down & turned the ovens off as soon as the decision was made to cancel the game? Why? Imagine the reaction of those Darts fans who might have fancied a spot of refreshment after having made their long and, admittedly, wasted journeys if they were told that "sorry, game's off so beer's off - now sling yer hook!". They have to make money to survive. No-one was forced to spend their money at the ground. Can't imagine PP shutting up shop under similar circumstances.
Blame the ref. Simple. The man is given the position of authority by the football league (or whoever). It's his job. He makes the call and as such MUST take the blame for the farcical situation today. What a ridiculously late time to call a game off. I really feel for those fans who made the trip today. I was almost on my way out the door today but decided to give the forum one last check. Luckily news of the pitch inspection had just been posted and at that point I just knew that it would be called off so decided not to make the 4 hour round trip on my Jack Jones. Thank God for that! I hope that DFC are fully compensated for any incurred costs and that fans at least got their admission back. I also hope that the inevitable strongly worded letter is dispatched to the offices of the Ryman League and that appropriate action is taken to punish such poor officiating.
 
Sadly I doubt the latter will happen   (by the way, who was the ref .... just so we know)

[Gary Stella]

King Pen; you stated

"Luckily news of the pitch inspection had just been posted and at that point I just knew that it would be called off so decided not to make the 4 hour round trip on my Jack Jones"


At waht time did you know then...

I thought the decison was taken at 14:10pm