Irlam FC chairman bemoans weather woes after second successive postponement

Irlam FC’s chairman has lamented the club’s bad luck with the weather after heavy downpours forced a second successive postponement.

The North West Counties Premier Division team were due to take on Atherton LR on 11 November, but their game was called off due to the pitch being deemed unplayable.

This is the second game in a row to be postponed for Irlam FC after the same problem occurred a week earlier when they were set to play Chadderton.

Irlam FC Secretary, Warren Dodd, voiced his frustration about the game being postponed, but conceded it is a common occurrence across the ninth tier of English football.

He said: “If a midweek home match is postponed, there is potential for lost revenue, as the cost of food supplies to sell on the night may have been wasted.”

“The weather is the overriding factor at our level. Clubs plough limited resources into pitch improvements during the season.”

However, the decision to call off the game against Atherton Laburnum just ten minutes before kick-off was annoying for supporters.

More than three hours before kick-off, a local referee cleared the match to go ahead, despite patches of minor flooding being visible across the pitch.

But, after both teams had warmed up, late, heavy downpours of rain led to the match being called off on short notice.

Despite the best efforts of the grounds team who worked tirelessly to make the surface playable, it was announced over the tannoy that the pitch was rendered unplayable just 10 minutes before kick-off and the game is to be postponed to a later date, which is yet to be confirmed.

Dodd continued: “Every club must protect its pitch, as repairing after bad weather is very expensive.

“The weather is the overriding factor at our level. Clubs plough limited resources into pitch improvements during the season.

“Normally, around November, December, we would move to playing just every Saturday. Midweek fixtures are necessary but do disrupt players’ daily work life.

“The league has no input into how to solve postponements. It is purely dependent on the weather. There has been a gradual move towards artificial pitches in recent years. This may make short-term financial sense, but we believe over a ten-year period, a grass pitch is more economical.”

Sixth-placed Irlam are set to host struggling Abbey Hey at The Silver St Stadium, 3pm kick-off.