Terry dismisses Addicks’ complaint about pitch

CHELSEA defender John Terry has insisted that Charlton’s players were actually looking forward to playing on the Stamford Bridge “beach” — as they believed the appalling surface could suit them better.

Terry has dismissed Charlton’s appeal to the Premier League for their weekend game to be replayed on grass because of the state of the pitch, insisting they had “nothing to argue about.” Indeed, he claimed the surface was actually better against Charlton than it was against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup a week earlier as five tonnes of sand had at least ensured it was flat.

Chelsea will therefore contest Charlton’s attempt to force a replay, insisting that referee Mike Dean gave his clearance and that no complaints were received by the visitors before kick-off. They will also tell the Premier League that they did not, as Charlton have claimed, train on the pitch in the build-up to the match, which they won 4-1. Terry insisted: “We only saw the pitch on the day of the game at about 1.30pm and the last time that we trained at Stamford Bridge was on Christmas Day.

Terry nevertheless admitted that the Stamford Bridge surface, which has again been relaid this week, had been a cause for concern for several years now. “It’s always been a problem. Even as a youth team player, I remember the pitch being a problem and it must have cost the club a few quid,” he added.

Meanwhile manager Alan Curbishley yesterday insisted that “little old Charlton” must stand up for themselves.

Accusing Chelsea of discourtesy by not giving Charlton advance warning that there was a problem, Curbishley claimed that if Arsenal or Manchester United had been the opposition they might have been treated with more respect. Premier League chiefs will meet today to consider how to deal with Charlton’s complaint and Curbishley claimed they have a good case because they were made to play on what was an artificial pitch.

“It reminded me of a piece of land ready to have a patio laid on it,” said the manager. “I’ve got no complaints about the result or the performance from Chelsea because it was first class and they deserved to beat us.

“Our complaint is that that was not a football pitch as we know it. It was 100 per cent sand. There was no grass there at all. We had no inkling what we were walking into.” He questioned what Chelsea’s response would have been if the roles had been reversed and said: “We’d have heard it all the way back to the Kings Road. Little old Charlton have got to stand up for themselves. I should probably have kicked up more but little old Charlton came along and got on with it. If it had been Manchester United or Liverpool it would have probably been the live Sky game and they’d have had to do something about it.

“Our complaint is that during the week while Chelsea were changing the structure of the pitch they didn’t phone the Premier League or advise Charlton. To play on a sand pitch you need different footware, to adjust to the different bounce and everything else. The more we’ve looked at the evidence the more we feel we have been totally disregarded in the process, we were not part of the decision on the day, not part of the decision beforehand. That cannot be right. I think the commission will find the way we have been treated was disgraceful.”