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Football Diary
by Patrick O'Connor
'BE careful what you wish for' is an English idiom which means if you get things that you desire there may be unforeseen or unpleasant consequences.
That came home to me last weekend when the team that I support, Championship side Derby County, were one of only SEVEN clubs in England to stage a match because of the snow and freezing conditions.
As the 'matches off' list grew by the minute in the lead up to Saturday, I kept hoping that Derby County's home game against Scunthorpe would go-ahead. There is nothing more frustrating for a fanatical football than to be deprived of his expected 'entertainment'.
Derby's Pride Park stadium has undersoil heating so the main threat to the game was whether the surrounding areas would be declared safe to cope with 28,000 plus fans converging on the ground.
The club pulled out all the stops to clear the paths immediately surrounding the ground and all the access roads to Pride Park were well gritted and perfectly passable.
All was set then, even though a flurry of heavy snow half an hour before kick-off, caused a few worries.
So far, so good but when the match kicked off, Derby, who have lost their last two home games, were simply dreadful.
As they slumped to a dismal, wearying 4-1 defeat, many a fan was heard to say "I wished the damn game had been called off!" Sitting through such dire offerings, in sub-zero temperatures could hardly be described as entertainment.
The Arctic conditions over the last few weeks have decimated the English football programme and of course lack of gate revenue could not have come at a worse time.
With several clubs already teetering on the brink, a prolonged spell of inactivity could be catastrophic.
The nightmare scenario would be a repeat of the winter of 1962-63 in which 385 matches were postponed by February and the season had to be extended by two weeks. Those few Premier League clubs with the wherewithal to weather that financial famine could face a different dilemma.
An end of season fixture pile-up would coincide with many players have one eye on the impending World Cup in South Africa. Who would want to get injured that close to a once-in-a-lifetime sporting bonanza?
The freezing conditions did, however, produce one heart-warming tale. Arsenal will pay the travel costs of Bolton fans who made the trip to London for last Wednesday's postponed Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium.
Bolton say they sold about 400 tickets for the trip to north London, but the match was called off less than five hours before kick-off after heavy snow.
The pitch was playable but there were safety issues affecting fans and concerns about transport. Arsenal insist they did all they could but will pay the costs as a gesture.
Nice one Arsenal.
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