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. The club's League Two clash against Notts County was postponed because the Dean Court pitch was frozen. 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. 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. 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. Mitchell also utilised staff from his own company, Seven Developments, at no cost to the club. 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. And Mitchell was quick to admit he and his fellow board members could have taken more steps to get the game on. He told the Echo: I think myself and the board have let the supporters down. 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. 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. 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. How many times do we get to show the whole country what we can play football like We've let the opportunity slip badly. Mitchell added: To throw away £30,000, as a board, we want our backsides kicked. We're the ones who make the decisions at the club nobody else. 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. Supporters came down and made an effort, and so did my workforce, but it was too late.