First there was the fuel crisis, then the rain and snow came, while this weekend MId Cheshire football was hit by frost. NICK SMITH looks at how the various organisations are trying to prevent their fixture backlogs spiralling out of control

MID CHESHIRE SUNDAY LEAGUE

WITH only 14 Sundays left until the end of April the Mid Cheshire Sunday League faces a race against time to complete all divisions and cup competitions.

Some clubs have still only played six games, and even re-arranged fixture dates such as New Year's Eve were lost in the snowfall.

But secretary John Poole is hopeful that facilities and dates can be used to the full.

He said: "The Sunday Premier has the biggest backlog because those teams go the furthest in the cups, so they could be playing Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday.

"It's fairly normal for the Premier League, but some players play for the likes of Barnton, Middlewich and Lostock, who have the same problems as we've got.

"The Premier will be playing midweek and Easter Sunday, while Divisions One, Two and Three should be finished by the end of April, but the league can formally go through to the third week in May.

"One problem we have is that normally Moss Farm and Knight's Grange close on the last Sunday in April, but there's a possibility they may stay open a couple of weeks longer.

"We're also asking teams to look at other grounds to see if they can be left open."

Poole is a trustee of Seddon Street, Middlewich Town's ground, one which will be made available for outstanding fixtures to be fulfilled.

MID CHESHIRE YOUTH LEAGUE

THE Mid Cheshire Youth League, following a committee meeting on Thursday, is confident of getting the season finished on time.

However, they have devised an alternative system if any more weekends are lost to the weather.

There was talk before Christmas that some divisions may have to go the same way as others in the country, and scrap all results to start again with a new system.

Fortunately, such a drastic measure looks like being averted.

"We're optimistic we can get the season finished with the co-operation of team managers," said secretary Steve Hartley.

"We are using every free day we've got left for cup games and teams not involved will have a fixture.

"At the end of March we can play two or three games a week when the clocks change.

"We've got clubs coming in for a meeting on January 28 and that's what we will be putting to them."

Should the crisis deepen, the contingency plan involves doubling up fixtures between teams who haven't yet played each other this season.

For example, if Witton were playing Northwich and Witton led 1-0 at half-time this would be classed as a result, with the second half starting from 0-0. The score at the end of this half would then be classed as the result of the second game.

Hartley added: "This was the only thing we could come up with which would at least give a fair decision on who wins the division and gets relegated. But it's only if absolutely necessary, it won't apply across the board.

"This way we make sure everyone has a chance to play for all the points.

"At the moment we hope we can carry the season through to the finish on May 6, but if we lose much more to the weather we have to look at Plan B.

"There are people that it won't please, but we're never going to please everybody. But I think 60 to 70 per cent of the teams will be happy with that arrangement.

"We've sounded out one or two clubs about it and they will give us their thoughts at the next meeting."

GREEN MID CHESHIRE LEAGUe

THE last time the Green Contract Services Mid-Cheshire League had a full Saturday of fixtures was October 14.

Since, there has been a constant stream of games falling foul of the weather to give secretary Brian Redmond his biggest headache in 10 years in the job.

Mid Cheshire District and Cheshire cups provide an extra burden, especially with replays on the following Saturday taking precedence over league games.

Still, the league will maximise free dates to bring the season to a conclusion before the FA deadline of May 5.

When the Guardian spoke to Brian Redmond on Friday afternoon, he was sitting in his kitchen trying to re-organise the fixtures..

Redmond, who is also fixture secretary of the North West Counties League, said: "I've never known anything like it.

"The worst we had was in 1963 when we went six weeks without kicking a ball. It's one of those things with our climate.

"Last Tuesday night, four different clubs phoned to tell me of games that were off.

"The only thing we can do is arrange them week by week, and hope and pray we get some decent weather. But it's in the lap of the gods.

"Another problem is that some lads play cricket and leave at the end of April to join those clubs.

"But even if we have to play three or four times a week, the league must be finished by the FA date."

MOSS FARM

MID Cheshire football can expect the full backing of Cheshire County Council should they need to prolong the use of their facilities this season.

Moss Farm operations manager Paula Jamieson said: "We're in contact with secretaries of different leagues. We normally take the posts down around the second or third week of May, FA Cup final weekend.

"I'm sure if a league so wishes we can extend the season for one or two weeks. The possibility is there, but it's whether the leagues need it and we are working in conjunction with them.

"If we can help out then that's what we'll do."

KNIGHT'S GRANGE

KNIGHT'S Grange officials have still to decide whether they will keep pitches open to accommodate an extended Sunday League season.

Vale Royal Borough Council's head of leisure services Chris Bottomley said: "Until we know how the league wants to handle things we're not saying yes or no. They want to get their games in but we want pitches to be ready for the 2001-2002 season.

"We will come up with an appropriate strategy once we know the extent of the problem but we can't put in jeopardy next year's fixtures by playing on the pitches in the summer."