SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9
Leighton Town 0 Guildford City 6
AFTER checking the game is on, I turn up at Aylesbury and soon find my way into the clubhouse to enquire after today's programme. The girl behind the bar sorts out a couple and I stash them in the car. By the time I return to the clubhouse, not five minutes later, the match has been called off!
Now bear in mind, the players have been warming up on the pitch, there hasn't been any rain all morning nor has there been a devastating earthquake or meteor strike, so how come this referee has deemed the ground unfit without even putting on his boots while another official considered it perfectly playable a couple of hours ago?
Something must be done about these pointless late postponements. Everyone understands that if conditions deteriorate then there is nothing that can be done. This wasn't the case at Aylesbury as nothing had changed in between inspections.
The League should at least drag in the two referees concerned and ask why each came to their decisions: only then might we get a bit of consistency.
But nothing will be done and we will all continue to waste time, effort and money in incomprehensible cases such as this one. Harrumph!
So, after a dash up the A148, I am paying £8 at Leighton Town and another £1.50 for the perfunctory programme. This is a revisit for my unhappy Hopping travelling companion. It comes as no surprise that the pitch is in a far worse condition than the one at Aylesbury!
The ground is full of ramshackle charm: I love it. I stand near the tea bar behind one goal but soon have to move before I commit pensionericide. Three Muppets (Waldorff, Statler and A. Friend) are at the match officials before a ball has been kicked!
They pour forth a continual stream of verbal diarrhoea and I can still hear them when I reach the main stand alongside the touchline. If only they could hear themselves.
The entertaining match is a stroll in the mud for visitors Guildford City. They net six goals but double figures would have been a truer reflection of their domination.
sad.hopper@ntlworld.com
