Matt Scrafton column: Blackpool are facing a packed fixture list after midweek postponement

I’ve never known a fixture postponed so late in the day, with the official call from referee Christopher Sarginson coming at 6.58pm, just two minutes prior to kick-off.

Once the news was relayed on social media, the 7pm kick-off time had already been and gone.

The players had returned to the changing rooms and you could see the likes of Chris Maxwell milling around in the tunnel, kitted up and waiting to come out.

The decision was made after Blackpool boss Neil Critchley and his Burton Albion counterpart Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had engaged in extensive deliberations with Sarginson, the ground staff and club officials.

The pitch was, by and large, absolutely fine but concerns were raised by Burton players, as Hasselbaink admitted himself post-match, over a small area of the surface.

There were two or three barren patches which were hardening and freezing over, with Burton players claiming to have slipped on them during the warm-up.

While the referee was satisfied with the pitch at 6pm, during the following hour he says the surface deteriorated to the extent that safety could be compromised.

Hasselbaink was in an animated, defensive mood, probably wary of the accusations that were being thrown Burton’s way.

While I’ve no doubt Burton wanted to play – they had beaten Hull City at the weekend after all and will have been wanting to claim another win to aid their fight against relegation – they didn’t appear quite as keen as Blackpool to get the game on.

However, having walked on the area of the pitch in question later on, I completely understand why the decision was taken.

While it was only a couple of small patches, they were certainly hardening and, given the temperature was only going to drop, chances are they would only have worsened. There’s also the possibility that other patches would have frozen over too.

Ten, 20 or 30 years ago, chances are the game would have gone ahead and there would have been no issues whatsoever.

However, had a player slipped, fallen and injured themselves on one of the hard patches, questions would inevitably have been raised about why the game was allowed to go ahead. It’s not ideal, but there we go.

Given it was the second time this fixture has been postponed, the first following a Covid-19 outbreak among the Burton squad in January, the frustration was completely understandable.

That frustration was only compounded when Fleetwood Town managed to get their game on against Doncaster Rovers just seven miles down the road.

The Seasiders have had five games called off this season and, with just two free midweeks remaining once the Burton game is rescheduled, Blackpool could soon be looking at a situation where they’re struggling to get all their games in.

They can ill afford to have any more postponements otherwise, unless the season is extended – which seems doubtful – Pool might have to play Saturday-Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, which would be utterly ridiculous. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Nevertheless, some of the criticism and abuse that was sent in Burton’s direction on social media was well over the top.

While it’s frustrating to have a game called off close to kick-off, it is just a game of football after all.

Abuse of that nature is unforgivable, especially when there are so many other important things going on in the world right now.

The postponement actually managed to overshadow some news that emerged just a few hours before kick-off.

I’m referring to the scrapping of the salary cap, which has been ruled unlawful following a claim from the PFA.

This is a major development given the salary cap, introduced at the beginning of the season, has had a major impact on how clubs operate and do their business.

Only in recent weeks we’ve heard from Critchley about how the Seasiders have to plan ahead for the summer with one eye on squad restrictions and how much money they’ll be able to spend on wages.

This comes as a huge blow for the EFL, who are developing a bit of a tendency to lose out in fairly significant court cases.

I agree with a salary cap in principle, something had to change given the previous rules – which we’ve now returned to – were unfit for purpose and did nothing to stop recent cases such as Bury.

The new rules did seem rushed through and there was vocal opposition from some of League One’s bigger clubs such as Sunderland and Portsmouth, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’ve been challenged through the courts.

As for Blackpool, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond to this news.

Given the investment we’ve already seen from Simon Sadler, chances are they’d be able to offer higher wages than a lot of other clubs in League One – so this could come as welcome news.

There’s a bigger picture at play here and Blackpool did vote in favour of salary caps when they were discussed during the summer.

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