Drogs match called off

[Straightstory]

Referee unhappy with the floodlights apparently. Didn’t look much different from the way they were last year. Feel sorry for Harps fans. Long trip back to Donegal. Not exactly a common sense decision from ref.

[KeepersBall]

Bit of an over reaction by the referee John McLaughlin.
There were a number of bulbs on the lights not working, but there were sufficient still working for the game to be played.
A number of refs played pre season games under them and as far as i am aware never mentioned it to the club as a problem.
There are plans to install new lights in the next few weeks anyway.
There are a couple of things puzzle me, from what I know no bulbs blew on the night so therefore when the ref did his pitch inspection say around 6-6.30 the problem was there.
Why therefore did he wait until the teams were in the tunnel before calling it off.
Secondly as a former referee myself, albeit at a lower level, we were always advised make the club aware of the problem,if they cannot solve it do your best to play the game, but make them aware that the next home game will not take place unless the problem is resolved.
Surely the game could have been played and the ground inspected the day before the next scheduled home game to ensure everything is in order.
Just been told that as the FAI own the ground and are responsible for its upkeep the club felt they could not do any remedial work

[Finlay Harp]

It’s farcical. Floodlighting is part of the licence requirements and over half the bulbs are out. How did it pass? Why install new lights next month when it should have been done before the season started. Costly night out. Got entrance refunded but nothing else. Down about €30.00.

[NeverFeltBetter]

If FAI responsible for upkeep they should subsidise tickets for away fans for replay.

[Nesta99]

Its a complete fallacy that the FAI are responsible for routine maintenance under the terms of the lease (unless the lease has been changed since 2012 which I doubt!!).

[pineapple stu]

There was a big push from the FAI on floodlights recently too. Won't be looked on too kindly at all...

[NeverFeltBetter]

How much do floodlight bulbs go for?

[Ezeikial]

How much do floodlight bulbs go for?

They are fairly expensive in February, but great value in the March sales

[Longfordian]

How much do floodlight bulbs go for?

They’re a couple of hundred quid each I think. Plus you may have to hire a cherry picker to get up there and put them in.

[Scrufil]

Could Drogheda not ask Airticity to sponsor the bulbs? It looks really bad that a league sponsored by a power company has a game called off due to an electric related problem.

[Ezeikial]

https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAsdAAAAJDM3YTQxMGIyLTVmNDItNDU5MS05YW EwLTFiOGIwMTIxMGMzZg.jpg

[Battery Rover]

How much do floodlight bulbs go for?

When I was involved with Athlone they were about €800 a pop.

[Olander]

A Cork reporter is saying that Cobh Ramblers have moved their home game against Galway United to a 3.00pm kick off (this is unconfirmed as of yet). It seems this Drogheda problem might have a knock on effect. The lights at St Colman's are very poor from memory and I think they actually played games earlier in the day last year to avoid this issue also. Not good.

[Duggie]

9.00am kick offs all round from now on. Avoid the issue.

[disgruntled]

If the lights weren't up to standard then a licence shouldn't have been granted or
Drogheda should have been made to their games at another stadium until the matter was corrected.
It has been said & I can't substantiate the information that the problems got worse since the licence was granted & that the FAI were notified.
The problems were there before the licence was granted so should have been fixed before now.
The FAI should cover Harps expenses for the game & give subsidised tickets to their fans when the game is eventually played.
This shows once again what a complete failure the FAI are.

[sbgawa]

A club who are responsible for the staging of games in the stadium don't replace blown bulbs and it's the fai's fault ?? Too easy to blame them for everything.

[nigel-harps1954]

Well, when the FAI own the ground, and granted a licence to Drogheda United (despite a floodlight test being part of licencing process) they have to be held accountable some way.

[sbgawa]

I'm sure when they filled out their application they said they would replace the light bulbs.

[CorribsideSteve]

It's genuinely hard to believe that Drogheda would let a situation like this slide by and not make an effort to fix things, or is it that they feel the FAI should be doing all the maintenance seeing as they own it?

[Longfordian]

Apparently they didn’t think it was a big issue and the game could have been played but the referee felt otherwise.

[Straightstory]

The idea that the players' safety was an issue is laughable. Very shoddy from the club, but the game could - and should - have been played.

[oriel]

When I was involved with Athlone they were about €800 a pop.


Seems exceptionally expensive, would that not be the cost of all bulbs in one of the usual 4 pylons per side? You’d almost be looking for insurance in case one blew if that was the case.

Dundalk replaced the lighting in the YDC pre season or end of last and I think I heard a figure of 30k mentioned, these things are not cheap.

[ToberonaTornado]

interesting listen..

Drogheda United Chairman Fiachra Kierans and Cathal Dervan of The Irish Sun joined David to discuss the circumstances behind Friday's game with Finn Harps being called off.

https://soundcloud.com/lmfmradio/sunday-sport-shedding-light-on-drogheda-postponement

[Duggie]

interesting listen..

Drogheda United Chairman Fiachra Kierans and Cathal Dervan of The Irish Sun joined David to discuss the circumstances behind Friday's game with Finn Harps being called off.

https://soundcloud.com/lmfmradio/sunday-sport-shedding-light-on-drogheda-postponement

Not as bad as first thought really. The plans are in place just taking a little bit of time.

[Eminence Grise]

When I was involved with Athlone they were about €800 a pop.

How much were the ones that weren't battery-operated?

[Comic Book Guy]

A Cork reporter is saying that Cobh Ramblers have moved their home game against Galway United to a 3.00pm kick off (this is unconfirmed as of yet). It seems this Drogheda problem might have a knock on effect. The lights at St Colman's are very poor from memory and I think they actually played games earlier in the day last year to avoid this issue also. Not good.
Confirmed now by the club. The club spent 7k on replacing bulbs last season but it seems that the problem is the cabling inside the masts which is a bigger job.
A 3pm ko is a pain in the arse but better that than having a game pulled at short notice by a ref especially with a team traveling a long distance.
Anyway if the weather is going to be as bad as people say a 3pm start might be academic. We'll see.

[disgruntled]

This problem has been known for ages.
If the lights were borderline then why not play the games on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon until the lights are brought up to spec.
This is just pure farce.
The FAI are a pure joke.

[oriel]

17/64 bulbs needed replacing Drogs chairman said, it was obvious they didn't have the money, hence the wait for the grant.

Their next home FD game will be a 3pm Sunday ko.

[Mr A]

The bit I really don't get is why not reschedule the game for a Bank Holiday Monday and give people a better chance of getting there? Especially when a decent crowd of away fans missed out this time.

[disgruntled]

The bit I really don't get is why not reschedule the game for a Bank Holiday Monday and give people a better chance of getting there? Especially when a decent crowd of away fans missed out this time.

Remember this is the FAI you are dealing with here.
The fans don't come into it.