The lads playing football in World War I had a better surface than this
It's almost 10 years since Chelsea got in some hot water over the state of the pitch at Stamford Bridge before a Champions League clash with Barcelona. At the time the the club denied they had left the surface deteriorate to prevent their visitors free-flowing passing game, but many suspected it was another of Jose Mourinho's plots to rile his opponents.
The 'Special One' admitted that the pitch was like a 'potato field' in 2006, and we're pretty sure that Nottingham Forest would have been happy enough to play in someone's vegetable patch compared to what they were faced with at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon.
Blackpool's pitch for the Championship game,was to put in mildly,in absolute shite. The phrase 'gardening leave' usually refers to someone who is about to depart their job and someone is definitely slacking on the job in terms of keeping the grass on the turf for the basement side in the Championship.
Apparently the club have been using the surface for training sessions recently but even that's no excuse for this.
https://twitter.com/derekquinncomm/status/566608293221924865
https://twitter.com/BBCRNS/status/566608304592678912
Incredibly the game that did go ahead produced a thrilling 4-4 draw as both sides adapted to the conditions.
Speaking afterwards, Forest full-back Eric Lichaj said it was the worst surface he had ever played on.
'I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a game like this one. For one, the pitch wasn't very good for us to play our usual game. I’ve never played on anything like this in my life. I didn't want to pass it back to Darlow because it was really risky and the ball was bobbling up on Henri’s knee at times.'
We imagine the post-match showers and baths were an interesting sight as players experienced what it would be like to play a football game at Glastonbury.
H/T
The Mirror
