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."