Postponed Games the way it used to be.

[DoDTS]

Here's one my snippets from eighty years ago :

Saturday 16th January 1926
READING 1-0 SOUTHEND UNITED
A frosty pitch had been covered by five inches of snow, but in the 1920s the Football League disapproved of games being called off and expected clubs to do everything in their power to make games playable. Reading certainly did that, they had an army of men with horses and carts taking away the snow, fifteen minutes before the due kick off clearance was still very much in progress, the lines were cleared and painted over in a vivid blue colour, but behind each boundary line was a wall of snow some four or five high, but the game went ahead just a few minutes late.

A crowd of about 5,000 trampling gingerly ankle deep on to the snow covered banks. If the conditions were bad for the spectators it was no picnic for the team, especially the goalkeepers whose main task was to try and keep warm, and in between shots which went wide had to be retrieved from the mounds of snow. An even and goalless first time showed little difference between the teams, but in the second half Reading gained the upper hand and got the only goal, it could have been more if it hadn’t been for Billy Moore the Southend goalkeeper.

A crowd of about 5,000 trampling gingerly ankle deep on to the snow covered banks perhaps it's right that games are called off for safety reasons!

DoDtS

 

[delr]

4 or 5 inches of snow!
imagine the nightmare journey the team must of had to make the fixture, surely no overnight stays in those days - it would be a mission to get there in this day & age

 

[Wakering ShrimperMan]

Was Cricko there to confirm how cold it was ????????????

 

[DoDTS]

4 or 5 inches of snow!
imagine the nightmare journey the team must of had to make the fixture, surely no overnight stays in those days - it would be a mission to get there in this day & age

Actually they did stay overnight on occassion but generally for long Welsh trips, other times they would go by train, sometimes scheduled to arrive at the train station as late as 23 minutes before kick off, talk about cutting it fine.

For Reading they would have gone by Train, the journey probably taking no longer than it would today, the difference then was that the trains were more reliable, and no-one had heard of "Rail Replacement Buses"

DoDtS

 

[delr]

Actually they did stay overnight on occassion but generally for long Welsh trips, other times they would go by train, sometimes scheduled to arrive at the train station as late as 23 minutes before kick off, talk about cutting it fine.

For Reading they would have gone by Train, the journey probably taking no longer than it would today, the difference then was that the trains were more reliable, and no-one had heard of "Rail Replacement Buses"

DoDtS

interesting that the team stayed overnight - were any of the players full time pro's?

 

[DoDTS]

interesting that the team stayed overnight - were any of the players full time pro's?

Yes they were all full time, with the first and reserves teams played a combined 86 league games a season between them they would have twenty odd professionals plus a few amateurs on their books. Don't forget that footballers were not well paid.

About April time the club would announce the retained list probably eight or nine players and then try and sign the other dozen or so on transfers by the end of the season.

In 1925-26 they only had two goalkeepers, but had a full back who could also play in goal, in the case of injury he would play the full 90 minutes in goal.

DoDtS

 

[canada shrimper]

Was Cricko there to confirm how cold it was ????????????

He was seen in the parking lot knocking 2 bits of flint together trying to start a fire to keep warm

 

[maninasuitcase]

I notice the original post mentions that clubs had to everything in their power to make games playable. This is in the PL rules yet clubs like Fulham and Portsmouth can get away with getting promotion without installing undersoil heating, instead relying on what appears to be some hairdryers and plastic bags to cover the pitch.

Whilst I can understand why a small team like col u didn't put in heating to their new ground, Fulham and Portsmouth rake in £50m a year in tv money along. £500k for a one off payment to install undersoil heating is a small drop in the ocean. Come on guys, you're supposed to have the biggest and best league in the world yet you can't cope with a cold snap.

 

[Uncle Leo]

I notice the original post mentions that clubs had to everything in their power to make games playable. This is in the PL rules yet clubs like Fulham and Portsmouth can get away with getting promotion without installing undersoil heating, instead relying on what appears to be some hairdryers and plastic bags to cover the pitch.

Whilst I can understand why a small team like col u didn't put in heating to their new ground, Fulham and Portsmouth rake in £50m a year in tv money along. £500k for a one off payment to install undersoil heating is a small drop in the ocean. Come on guys, you're supposed to have the biggest and best league in the world yet you can't cope with a cold snap.

Quite right. Especially when a Championship club two and a half miles up the road (QPR) were able to stage their game.