CHELSEA will rip up their Stamford
Bridge pitch this weekend - and demand it is relaid for free.
The champions are furious at the condition of the new £130,000
surface that was only put down in mid-December.
And now the club have demanded that York-based Inturf replace the
pitch without charge after Saturday's FA Cup fifth round tie with
Norwich or Blackpool.
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Jose Mourinho described the playing surface as the club's "new
enemy" after the FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest.
Three days later, Ashley Cole slipped with no Blackburn opponent
near him and suffered the ankle injury that will keep him out for
two months.
And, while the Blues cannot make a direct link between Cole's
injury and the playing surface, the shocking condition of the pitch
during last weekend's win over Middlesbrough confirmed the need for
immediate action.
A club source said: "The pitch has died and we're not very
impressed."
It is the third year running that Chelsea have had pitch problems.
But the pitch suppliers pointed a finger at the Blues for demanding
a new pitch be installed at the worst possible time of the year and
suggested the failure of the surface to take was inevitable.
Inturf's managing director Stephen Edwards said: "The first game on
the new pitch was against Reading on Boxing Day, when there was
torrential rain.
"The devastation that would have on a new pitch is incredible.
There were a few pitches around that time having problems.
"Also, those two weeks at the end of December are the worst in the
year for turf to take root, so you are always going to have
problems."