Surprise revelation emerges after Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield Wednesday abandonment | OneFootball

A pitch surface expert gave their verdict on Ewood Park in between their abandoned games against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday

Blackburn Rovers were forced to abandon their game against Sheffield Wednesday due to a waterlogged pitch on Saturday, marking the second time this has happened already this season.

Questions have therefore been asked about the surface at Ewood Park, and whether its drainage is fit and proper for the Championship.

According to Alan Nixon via his Patreon, though, there is no immediate worry about the ground falling under EFL regulations, as Blackburn sought expert opinion from drainage specialists who have worked with both Manchester City and Manchester United on the surfaces at the Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford.

The report states that the Ewood Park pitch is capable of 60% drainage, which passes the drainage expectations in the football league.

Despite this, though, a second abandoned game at Blackburn is a frustrating cause for concern, and the higher-ups at the club are looking to improve the pitch in the short term to avoid something similar happening again.

Ewood Park surface deemed suitable for drainage, despite second abandonment this season

Alan Nixon has reported that Blackburn turned to a drainage specialist following their match's abandonment against Ipswich Town on 20 September.

That game was abandoned with the score at 1-0 in favour of the hosts with 10 minutes left, and forced to be replayed — Kieran McKenna's side left with a point in the rearranged game, which may have been unlikely in the original matchup.

The expert had worked on surfaces at Manchester City and Manchester United, and rated Ewood Park's pitch capable of 60% drainage, which, according to Nixon, is "comfortably above EFL regulations."

Despite this, Blackburn went to work to try and improve the drainage system, installing new holes between the surface and the soil below.

However, Ewood Park's location next to the River Darwen, plus the old infrastructure in the ground, makes it extremely difficult to drain quickly in the midst of a downpour, and referee Ruebyn Ricardo was forced to abandon yet another game in East Lancashire this past weekend.

Rovers released a statement saying that the result of the game against Sheffield Wednesday will be determined on whatever terms and conditions the EFL deems suitable. However, with the precedent set earlier in the campaign with the Ipswich game, there's a likelihood that this may be replayed in full once again.

Valerian Ismael's side, who once again led 1-0 at the time of the abandonment, will be hoping that they can see out the three points if the game is replayed this time around. But in the meantime, work must be done to ensure that this doesn't happen for a third time.

Blackburn Rovers are looking into ways of protecting their pitch after Sheffield Wednesday abandonment

As we've only just moved into December, it's likely that we haven't seen the worst of the weather conditions expected this season.

Blackburn are looking into other ways to protect their pitch against the elements, but Alan Nixon states that there's "no guarantee of success."

The couple of instances already this campaign don't reflect well on Blackburn, though, and if this is a problem which recurs even once more before May, there'll be an expectation that the Ewood Park surface should get some much-needed work done over the close-season.

The weather is unpredictable, and Blackburn will always be disadvantaged due to the River Darwen next to the ground, but a constant rearrangement of games doesn't help with player welfare and makes fans less likely to pay again to come and watch the game.

It's an issue which needs rectifying, and Rovers will be doing all they can to come up with a short-term fix as the winter schedule rolls on.