I hate prejudging but that makes Limerick look bad. Although at 7.20 that only gives Limerick 25-30 mins to warm-up. What were the officials doing during this?
Two things, 7.20 is far too late to offer it to a team to do a warm up, and why does Wallace have a problem with teams using the main pitch? All across football teams do this and the fact Wallace has had two requests in one week should tell him something.Originally Posted by Gareth
Can any Youths fans can firm what sort of state the back pitch is in? Is the surface of the same quality as the main pitch? Is it properly lit by floodlights?
Last edited by jebus; 06/10/2008 at 7:39 PM.
Its an interesting one, Limeirck just issued a press release on the situation...
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They just announced about it their on MNS.
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WTF? Not sure of the rules but somebody better get fined serious money for this.
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Both sides blaming each other, it will be interesting to read what the ref puts in his report. I would have thought the ref has the casting vote on issues like this. If Wexford were instructed to allow Limerick the use of the main pitch then they would be obliged to comply.
ewwww, where was Wallace when this was going on.
We haven't played Sligo in a couple of seasons, and last time we were there we were told to train on the back pitch. Think we went ahead and trained on the main pitch though.
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I'm with LImerick on this one - who does Wallace think he is? It a patch of grass, not the holy mmount or anything. And if that has always been the situation in Wexford, then shame on all other clubs who gave in to this crap
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Could you post it up here if you have it?
I'll answer as honestly as I can. The other pitch is a perfect mirror of the main pitch and would be the envy of many premier league teams. The lighting would not be great
Told or asked? All teams train on pitch now anyway.
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Limerick 37 would like to confirm that prior to their rescheduled match with Wexford Youths at Ferrycarrig Park this evening, Monday October 6th the team were informed that they would be unable to carry out their pre match warm up on the main playing surface.
As the alternative warm up area suggested was deemed unsafe for health and safety reasons due to poor lighting, Limerick 37 made a request to warm up on the main playing surface to the match referee. The match referee confirmed he had absolutely no issue with the team warming up on the main playing surface.
Despite this assurance from the referee the Wexford Youths stewards refused access to the pitch to the Limerick FC players and management. Limerick 37 were therefore left with no choice but to refuse to carry out the fixture as they were not afforded the opportunity to complete the pre match warm up which is a vital element in ensuring player welfare. It is extremely disappointing for all concerned with the club especially considering the majority of our squad are semi professional and had to take half days from work in order to make themselves available for the fixture.
If the lighting isn't great then we shouldn't have to warm up on it, simple as that. Our manager is high up on having the best standards for the players (since their wages are poor), he insisted on us paying out to UL to use their top class facilities, he is the one pushing to have changing rooms revamped and if he thought the back pitch wasn't suitable then I'm inclined to believe him.
What's Wallaces reasons for sending teams down to a darkened pitch by the way?
Forty minutes is cutting it tight alright, but I'm sure the kick-off could have been delayed 15-20 minutes to facilitate the warm up. Not ideal I know, but the 500+ people present would have preferred that than what ended up happening.
The surface of the back pitch is as good as our main pitch. It's what is used by the club's U18's and U20's for most of their home games.
There is little or no lighting on the back pitch. I know that there are lights at one end, but half the time these are facing out into the car park. Not sure if they were facing in or out, but they wouldn't be of a good standard anyway.
Edit: Wallaces reasons are that he wants to protect the playing surface of the main pitch.
Mick's comments
Limerick were offered the usage of the back pitches were teams would normally warm-up but refused on the grounds of health and safety.
At 7:20pm, Mick Wallace decided to allow Limerick warm-up on the main pitch in the interest of getting the game played, but Limerick allegedly refused this offer, as it was too late, and went home on the coach back to Limerick.
Mick Wallace spoke to extratime.ie afterwards and explained the situation as he saw it.
"This is a total joke and an event like this puts the game into disrepute. No other team this season has had a problem with this warm-up setup and no other team bar Derry City have warmed-up on the main pitch, including Wexford ourselves"
"At twenty past seven, I said they could use the main pitch but they said it was too late and they went home on the bus."
"It's a real shame too, as there was a big crowd here to watch the game despite the bad weather."
Correct, the lighting is not great but it's good enough to warm up on. Why not keep the pitch in perfect condition for the game.
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That's all I need to know. Our players safety comes before Wallace's precious pitch, we should not have to go down to a pitch with substandard lighting in this darkness and perform our warm up. At 7.20 Wallace was offering it to pay lip service to be honest, it's way too late to get the players properly warmed up, and if the match official did indeed say what our press release is saying then I think the brunt of the backlash is gonna hit Wexford Youths
If the lighting on the back pitch were not of a decent and safe standard then im with Limerick on this one.
Roddy Collins, the biggest <insert as appropiate> in Irish Football.
there are lights on it, it's perfectly good to warm up on, afaik our lads train on it all yr round.
A man can have no greater love than give 90 minutes to his friends
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