It's not the clubs who call games off

What really happens when it comes to a pitch inspection in bad weather

The view of many last weekend

This current spell of cold weather certainly appears to have gotten under the skin of more than a few on my Twitter/X timeline over the past few days. Anything from ‘running scared’ to ‘a few injuries’ just a couple of the reasons why ‘clubs’ postponed games over the weekend.

Never let a good conspiracy theory get in the way of real reasons why we didn’t see much action over the 48hr period, it seems everyone knows exactly how to be a groundsman or being able to predict the weather suitably enough to ensure every game can be played.

Let’s take that a little bit further and give a better account of what really goes on and having been in conversation with a PMGOL match referee over the course of the past weekend to ensure I understand how the system works.

I’ve had some dealings in the past, many years ago my late father was a groundsman, not so many years ago I was a Step 6 club secretary, I know my way around but I don’t profess to know 100% because I’m not a professor of the turf, nor as a meteorologist able to predict how quick a football pitch can defrost itself.

If you’re keen to read on and see exactly what the process is via a referee then please grab yourself a subscription for the full article or feel free to keep yourself in the dark, for some I’m sure that might be more fun!