RUFC - What the recent postponements mean

Rotherham United have had more than their fair share of postponements in the last few weeks and, with the games having to be re-arranged for mid-week, they are fast running out of spare days. And, as the home clubs keep all the gate receipts from league games, actually being able to play them is vital for teams in the lower divisions.

Luckily, the Millers have financial stability at the moment in Chairman, Tony Stewart, and, thanks to their current landlords at Don Valley, they don't have to pay for any postponed games. The game being called off early for both Bury games was a godsend too as the club were able to inform service providers early and keep the costs to a minimum.

Speaking to The Advertiser, Chief Operating Officer, Paul Douglas said, 'We're running out of spare Tuesdays to arrange games. We have nine matches next month which includes four on the trot at home. It's nice that we have those four games at home but some people can't afford to come to that many in a short space of time, especially if we aren't winning.

'Tuesday's postponement was difficult for us because we rely on matchday income but luckily we have a financial buffer to get us through that sort of thing. I dread to think what would have happened if this had occured two or three years ago.

'The people at Don Valley have been very reasonable and co-operative and there has been no big charge for wastage. There's people to cancel like the ambulance service, club doctors and security people. But being able to inform them in plenty of time meant losses were negligible.'

Talking about the game at Barnet being postponed last Friday, Mr Douglas said that the club have no complaints. 'They knew we were travelling down on the Friday and they tried to get a referee to look at their pitch early in the day but found it difficult. When the call came that the game had been postponed the team were training at Derby and we were able to cancel the hotel at no cost to us and the only fee we incurred was the bus which we will be able to claim back from game receipts from the re-arranged game.'

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