Worst pitch in league football and the National league

[RailwayRowdy]

There used to be the Football Trust. It gave grants to help clubs implement ground improvements around the time of the Taylor Report. They probably should have carried on with it.

 

One of the reasons it was stopped was re my post #48.

[Conrad]

As Santa says the only way to cure it is to dig down 3 or 4 metres then it would probably need something like 50,000 tones of top soil to fill it in. If there was still clay that far down it would only be a matter of weeks before any rainwater filtered down to the clay then it wouldn’t go any further and it would be back to square one.

You put drainage in, land drains need to discharge somewhere and at that depth the drains would be well below ground level and water won’t run uphill, so then it would have to discharge into sump hole which would then need a pump to pump it out. All of which would be far to expensive so we’re probably stuck with it.

[RailwayRowdy]

As Santa says the only way to cure it is to dig down 3 or 4 metres then it would probably need something like 50,000 tones of top soil to fill it in. If there was still clay that far down it would only be a matter of weeks before any rainwater filtered down to the clay then it wouldn’t go any further and it would be back to square one.

You put drainage in, land drains need to discharge somewhere and at that depth the drains would be well below ground level and water won’t run uphill, so then it would have to discharge into sump hole which would then need a pump to pump it out. All of which would be far to expensive so we’re probably stuck with it.

 

When Smurftwaite’s former mouthpiece Wildes was chairman, he was on Radio Stoke claiming that the pitch was going to be brought up to Greed Is Good League standard at a cost of around £650,000. Make of that what you will. He and Smurfthwaite always remind me of the old joke about two blokes in a pub arguing about who was the biggest liar. As an opening gambit one says “I climbed Everest bare foot last week” to which the other replied “I know, I was there”. And these were the best that Bob Young could come up with. Lord help us.

[Rampant Zebra]

You could build a tank under the pitch with attenuators to control the discharge to the Severn Trent drains, wouldn't need so much infil although you would need some concrete.

 

Sent from my [device_name] using the http://onevalefan mobile app

[Jacko51]

Just consensus Jacko.

 

No it wasn't. Very few posts on hear mention Smurf at all. Most are about the history of the pitch and the neglect over decades. You're imagining things.

[osprey]

Newport seem to have sorted their pitch from being so poor last year

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using onevalefan

[For Us All]

What do the ground staff actually do I was told by 5 players the pitch is that bad they can't pass, run, or simply play any football on it. I know speedy has been here years but the pitch is a disgrace.

 

Hardly the worst pitch, you've obviously not been to Rochdale?

[familystander]

More sand on it than Blackpool beach

[Santa]

Rochdale only had it relaid about a year ago. That was partly why our game got postponed there at the end of Feb.

[WalterJ]

The pitch is beyond a joke. Yes the pitch was worse back in 1970 or 80 odd but other clubs had pitches much worse.

 

Today, there are few other clubs with worse. In fact I’ve not seen a single club this season with worse than Saturday.

 

That means mentally playing at home will always damage confidence as it means for half of the season they will be playing on a better surface and they get to Vale Park and they know it will be poor.

 

Smurf should open his wallet for a new pitch. It is a basic requirement for him to keep the club running reasonably. He should be reported to the FA.

 

plenty of pitches worse and look at the weather we have had! Take a look at Rochdale‘s pitch tonight in FA cup replay it’s a dog! Vale’s pitch in last few matches has been to hard hence the bounce. Speedy does a great job on a big pitch open to the elements. Perhaps we just need better covers?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using the onevalefan mobile app

[Jacko51]

Newport seem to have sorted their pitch from being so poor last year

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using onevalefan

 

Their new pitch has cost £700,000 and has been paid for by the Welsh Rugby Union.

[RailwayRowdy]

Lower league clubs need to be allowed 3g pitches.they 're good enough for world cups,champions league and top divisions across the globe.We would benefit massively from one.The club can use it all year round thus income is all year round.I would have been against them but having seen numerous games on them they are as good as a quality grass pitch.

 

I also watch some Welsh Premier League games and a lot of teams here have 3G pitches. Whilst I accept that they are a million times better than the old QPR/Luton/Preston version, to me it still is not right. It works lower down the leagues(such as WPL) because it can be used 7 days a week and provide a steady income for clubs who would not normally have that continuous financial stream. Llandudno for example have at least 3 teams play on it as their home pitch, albeit at a low level. So as a financial support it works. As a 1st class team surface, I’m not so sure.

[philmpv]

I blame it on gavin gunning being let go. The pitch hasn't been the same since.... ;-)

 

Sent from my [device_name] using the http://onevalefan mobile app

[philmpv]

 

Proper pitch :-)

 

Sent from my [device_name] using the http://onevalefan mobile app

[RailwayRowdy]

Hee Hee. Anyone criticising the pitch would do well to remember the Regis incident and Foyle’s clincher ! Thanks Phil. What a night that was !!