I PITY anyone attending this weekend’s home game against Perth Glory.

That may seem like a strange thing to say, especially after I waxed lyrical a couple of weeks back about how much I love attending home games. However, thanks to the A-League schedule, this Sunday’s match will be a poor spectacle.

If you didn’t know, Saturday night will see Suncorp Stadium host the Rugby League World Cup Final. Once I stopped laughing at this little sideshow being called a ‘world cup’, I realised that this was no laughing matter.

A whole week of wet weather combined with overzealous rugby players and a 24-hour turnaround between the two games is going to ensure that come Sunday the stadium’s playing surface will resemble the Somme in 1916. As sure as I am that the ground’s curators will try their utmost to repair any damage, I am equally sure that it will all be in vain.

Far be it for me to let pass by what is most probably a completely innocent error of scheduling without apportioning blame. Hence, I choose to blame the governing body. After all, it is not the first time that Suncorp Stadium has hosted a football game so soon after a rugby league match.

Most of you will remember the state of the pitch for June’s World Cup qualifier against Iraq. That night the surface also suffered courtesy of a rugby league game two days earlier. Vince Grella said of the pockmarked field: “We tried to play football on a pitch that is not a football pitch.”

He was absolutely right.

That standard of play was not the usual pass and manoeuvre that we had come to expect. It only passed as entertainment due to the skill and technique of Australia’s best footballers. As much as I love them to bits, I doubt Queensland Roar have the quality amongst their ranks to overcome the same trying conditions.

With average crowds at Roar games down this season, the question must be asked: how can the team be expected to play the passing football that is known to attract fans when the pitch so closely resembles the lunar surface? This match will certainly dissolve into an endless series of long balls - the sort of play that is unlikely to ensure casual fans feel compelled to attend the next home match.

The most puzzling thing about the whole debacle is how easily it could have been avoided. The decision to host the Rugby League World Cup Final at Suncorp Stadium was made some 18 months ago. How difficult could it have been to ensure that Queensland Roar played an away match this weekend?

Even if the problem was noticed after the release of the draw, it still could have been corrected. The game could have been moved to the Thursday or Friday night. The venue could have been swapped with the round four encounter that was played at Member’s Equity Stadium. Perhaps, it could even have been played at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast.

Alas, none of these options were taken up and the quality of Sunday’s match will be a testament to what a bad decision that was by the A-League officialdom. I guess all we can hope for is that the rain will ease; otherwise, it will be a case of welcome to Somme-corp Stadium.