Source: Daily_Mail
Wigan chief Dave Whelan calls for Premier League season to be extended after big freeze chaos
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan believes the Barclays Premier League season may have to be extended following the recent spate of postponements due to bad weather. Wigan were forced to call off their home fixture against Aston Villa at the last minute on Saturday after a problem developed with the undersoil heating - the second time in three weeks that they have had to postpone a game at the DW Stadium. The visit of Bolton just before Christmas also fell victim to the weather and last weekend's Premier League schedule was almost completely wiped out by snow and ice, with only Arsenal and Birmingham's games going ahead. To Hull and back: Two of Wigan's last three home games have fallen victim to the weatherFixture congestion in the weeks to come looks set to be aninevitable consequence of the many postponements, and Whelan believesthat prolonging the campaign may be the only way to cope with theproblem. 'What I think will happen is the Premier League will extend theseason for an extra week or so,' Whelan told the Wigan Evening Post. The weather's to blame: Wigan chief Dave Whelan 'I think it is an absolute must, because games are piling up for everybody at the moment. 'And I would expect the Premier League and also the Football League to have a look at that. 'Some of these teams are also still in the Carling Cup, the FA Cupand also in Europe, and it's going to be a nightmare for them if theydon't look to extend the season a little bit longer.'Whelan was disappointed to see Saturday's game called off but felt referee Stuart Attwell could not make any other decision. 'Sometimes you just have to accept these things,' Whelan said.'It's not so much a financial consideration, because of course the gamegets played again. 'But we had spent in the region of £8,000-£10,000 clearing the snow away from the surrounding car parks and the roads. 'It's just disappointing to lose the game when you've tried so hard.'Manager Roberto Martinez was also frustrated to see the gamepostponed after club officials had worked tirelessly to try to ensureit went ahead. Snow joke: Arsenal's game against Everton went ahead despite the adverse weather conditions 'The club has worked so hard in these freak weather conditions tomake the area surrounding the stadium safe,' Martinez said. 'I have to congratulate our safety team at the stadium, who worked tirelessly to try and clear the area of ice and snow.' THE INSIDER: Hugo no go as Stoke look set to miss out on Rodallega and Victor Moses close to Manchester City move as Vladimir Weiss heads for the exitPremier League ready to defend snow chaos as clubs face a fixture pile-upFootball fixture list slashed to pieces amid big freeze chaosWIGAN ATHLETIC FC