Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Mitchell takes blame for postponement
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell carried the can as Cherries missed out on a potential £50,000 payday last night.[LNB] The club's League Two clash against Notts County was postponed because the Dean Court pitch was frozen.[LNB] And with the match set to be televised live on Sky Sports, Cherries missed out on a £30,000 broadcast windfall, together with a selection of other match-related revenue streams.[LNB] A Football League spokesperson said there were no guarantees the rescheduled game would be screened by Sky, so the opportunity to boost the club's coffers appears to have gone.[LNB] Mitchell, manager Eddie Howe and assistant boss Jason Tindall joined supporters and club staff in trying to make the pitch playable, with heaters used in a bid to defrost the turf.[LNB] Mitchell also utilised staff from his own company, Seven Developments, at no cost to the club.[LNB] But their efforts proved in vain as referee Gavin Ward deemed the surface unplayable, citing players' safety as being paramount. The call-off came around two hours before kick-off with a number of supporters already at the ground.[LNB] And Mitchell was quick to admit he and his fellow board members could have taken more steps to get the game on.[LNB] He told the Echo: I think myself and the board have let the supporters down.[LNB] I don't think we were equipped. We ask the supporters to help us in every way they can and we are blasé enough to throw away £30,000, assuming everything is going to be all right.[LNB] We knew what the weather would be like. The temperatures were not insurmountable, we knew it was coming for the past week-and-a-half and I forecasted it to the board over the weekend. But I didn't push it hard enough.[LNB] For sure, I want to carry the can. I want the board and myself to realise how important it was to get the game on and we could've done it if we had taken the right precautions.[LNB] How many times do we get to show the whole country what we can play football like[LNB] We've let the opportunity slip badly.[LNB] Mitchell added: To throw away £30,000, as a board, we want our backsides kicked.[LNB] We're the ones who make the decisions at the club nobody else.[LNB] I think we showed how determined we were to make a success of the club, with the manager and assistant manager trying to help clear the pitch.[LNB] Supporters came down and made an effort, and so did my workforce, but it was too late.[LNB]
