Poulton Vics FC face four games a week after 'unnecessary' postponements
An amateur football team may have to play four times each week for the rest of the season after claiming several games were called off "unnecessarily".
Poulton Vics FC, who play in Cheshire FA's Wallasey and District League, have seen 10 games postponed since December. A club spokesman said Wirral Council, which runs the league's pitches, had sometimes called off matches "before checking" conditions. The council said the season had been extended to help with the backlog. A club spokesman said games had been postponed without the council waiting "for the referee to make the call" and that due to the number of players who "work Monday to Friday and also shift work", some had now been asked to either take annual leave or arrange cover so that they could play. He said that the club was "frustrated" and had "a paper-thin squad for an important run-in of games". "We believe more common sense needs to be applied to help move [games] early in advance to pitches with better drainage in anticipation of wet conditions." The side are not alone in suffering a fixture pile-up - in the nine-team league, the number of games played by any side ranges from Wallasey Mens FC, who have completed 13 of their 16 games, to Nelson FC, who have only played six. In a statement, the league's organisers asked teams to be "patient" as the fixture secretary had "such a difficult task rescheduling fixtures". A Wirral Council spokesman said games were called off when "weather conditions, usually heavy rain, leave outdoor grass pitches unfit to play on". He said arrangements were in place for teams to "try to rearrange outstanding fixtures", with the football season being "extended for league fixtures from 29 April to 13 May" at the majority of its pitches. He added that two sites, Arrowe Park and Plymyard, would remain open for a further week for league fixtures and any team wanting to use them should contact the council.