Keith Hackett calls for end to ‘abject nonsense’ amid Leicester vs West Brom postponement latest
A host of EFL games were abandoned due to the icy conditions over the weekend.
In the Championship alone there were three matches called off on Saturday, with Portsmouth against Ipswich, Hull against Watford and Oxford United’s trip to Sheffield United all falling foul to the weather.
West Brom play Leicester City on Monday night, with Ryan Mason facing the sack at The Hawthorns as his side continues to struggle this season.
Mason is expected to make a host of changes against Leicester, as Albion look to end a miserable run of form that has seen them suffer three defeats from their last four league games.
Keith Hackett blasts EFL officials over last-minute match abandonments
Given the weather conditions across the country at this moment in time, there have been fears that West Brom’s clash with Leicester will be abandoned.
There remains a yellow snow and ice weather warning from the Met Office across large parts of the country on Monday, including the midlands, with temperatures forecasted to be around -2°C come the 8pm kick-off time at the King Power.
As such, there will likely be a pitch inspection taking place in the build-up to the scheduled kick-off time, with referee Stephen Martin in charge of making any decision on the status of the game.
As things stand, there is no indication that the much is going to be postponed, but that could change – just as it did with those aforementioned fixtures over the weekend.
Speaking exclusively to West Brom News, former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett said he is confident Martin will be doing everything in his power to ensure the game goes ahead, but has called for officials to stop calling games off minutes before kick-off.
“The playing surface has underground heating so that will not be a problem if it is working efficiently.
It’s important for the ground staff to ensure that the perimeter of the pitch will take a stud and is not frozen,” Hackett said.
“The areas around the stadium should be safe. Stephen Martin the referee in charge is very experienced and will I am sure want to get the game on.
“I hope that Leicester City, with a weather warning, get the referee to be at the ground early so that he can have discussions with the Met Office and get a good local forecast with regard to the weather.
“Let’s hope that every effort is made to get the game on. However, let’s stop this abject nonsense of calling a game off minutes before kick-off. That tarnishes the image of the game and costs fans a great deal of money.”
History books don’t point towards West Brom win vs Leicester
Should the game indeed go ahead on Monday night, then it’s one that could have huge implications on the respective futures of Mason and Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes.
Both managers are under significant pressure to turn around what has so far been hugely disappointing campaigns, with Leicester currently sitting 14th after suffering Premier League relegation last season, whilst West Brom occupy 18th place.
- Leicester have only lost three of their 12 games at home this season
- The Foxes have won one of their last four league games, with a 3-1 loss to Sheffield United last time out
- West Brom have lost 10 of their 13 away games this season, with just nine of their 31 points coming on the road
Leicester have largely dominated this fixture in recent times, though, with the Foxes winning five of the last six meetings in all competitions.
West Brom haven’t beaten Leicester in any competition since November 2016, when Albion ran out 2-1 winners in the Premier League.
The last meeting did end in a 1-1 draw, however, with a 93rd-minute own goal by Nat Phillips cancelling out Samuel Iling-Junior’s 10th-minute goal, denying Albion all three points.
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