The pitch

[Jacko51]

5 hours ago, rob1983 said:

Swindon didn't look to bad on our pub pitch or Brentford a few weeks back. Clarke just looking for excuses he's feeling the heat.

I've just looked back over your posting history.  You really are a miserable bugger aren't you?!

[rob1983]

I've just looked back over your posting history.  You really are a miserable bugger aren't you?!

We'll finish top half which is still progression. Sorry if you can't have an opinion on here.

[PV1973]

@robf I believe some players aren’t able to play or train on 3G pitches if they  have a specific injury history. I’m sure ACL might be one of them. 

[Jacko51]

30 minutes ago, rob1983 said:

37 minutes ago, Jacko51 said:

I've just looked back over your posting history.  You really are a miserable bugger aren't you?!

We'll finish top half which is still progression. Sorry if you can't have an opinion on here.

Of course you can have an opinion. I’m just stating mine. 

[ValeForever.]

I know that there's other things going on at the moment, the Lorne St concourse, the Rudgey statue etc but could we as fans potentially get the ball rolling?

It's a monumental task & I'm not by any means suggesting we'd be able to get close to the overall figure required for a brand new surface/drainage etc, but is there a way of us being able to do something constructive?

The cost implications are huge but maybe a point for discussion during this evenings Supporters Club Forum if anybody is able to attend & raise the question?

Has the club reached out to get actual quotes from the experts? What kind of figure are we talking for an all singing & dancing set up. What's the short term & longer term plan to sort out our pitch.

The long term benefits could be huge. Would be very interested to find out exactly what the plan looks like, if there is one. Anybody who can ask something along these lines, be very much appreciated as I'm unable to attend myself this evening.

 

 

[Doha]

As for 3G/4G, If the FA haven't changed their minds by now I doubt they ever will. Best we can hope for is a hybrid one, that's the option lots of top level clubs go for. Lots of automation in the modern day, they have probes buried in the turf measuring chemical composition, water saturation, algorithm driven advice on predicting disease, watering schedules, mowing schedules, when to use those massive racks of portable LED lights for growth. Rochdale have some they use in the very cut up 6 yard boxes, donated by GM Police from a Cannabis grow! Wonder what they had going on in the Leopard...

If we want a future proofed set up, not spending good money after bad and all that, to preserve the playing budget it's either going have to be a commercial loan or a fan campaign to get RW on board IMO. Big cost to a football club, pocket change to the old lad. The net profit to Vale ltd from hosting the gig might pay off the LS concourse but it won't touch a comprehensive pitch replacement and kit upgrade I wouldn't have thought.

What happens with the training pitches remains to be seen if we do move. In a naive dreamworld we identify a site and move, the council donate the freehold and we partially fund the development of the new site by selling off the 5 and a bit acres behind the Bycars for new build housing.

[Rampant Zebra]

I don't think the club owns the training pitches.

[Santa]

Not the freehold, no.

[Paul6754]

6 hours ago, robf said:

I may be stirring the hornet's nest here but I often wonder whether 3G is the answer...

It's used in the National League and seems to be very popular - indeed the clubs that have used it (such as Sutton and Harrogate) have been really reluctant to remove it when they have got League status. 

I think that's because there's fewer cancellations with 3G (as they don't get waterlogged) and as they are hard-wearing it opens up lots of revenue saving things (e.g. you can train on the main pitch / you can have concerts without it cutting up / you can have another teams playing on it without it being ruined).

Here's a quote from an article on Sutton when they had to replace the pitch just showing how useful it was to them as a club:

--

The loss of the artificial pitch will be felt by a host of other sides.

Sutton's academy, three women's and nine girls' teams and three disability sides all made use of the surface.

The pitch at Gander Green Lane was used seven days a week and was available to hire, providing valuable income for the south London club.

"From the point of view of our community setup, it means there are a lot of sides displaced as a consequence," Barry said.

"It is a major factor for us, but we knew what would happen if we were successful on the pitch.

"The usage of the surface will be very reduced.

"We are a community club and are working really hard to rehouse those over the summer. That is going to be a challenge for us."

--

I know one of the arguments will be that "it's not the same as grass" but I think we've advanced a long way from the QPR pitch of the 80's. 

For me, with clubs having to be money conscious it seems that going the 3G route may be a lot more of a money saver (and actually a money generator) but then again I've never played football at a decent level so perhaps the playing disadvantages of 3G outweigh the other benefits and it may be a break from tradition too far for some.

Rob, My experience of 3G pitches is through my son who played club soccer in New England. 3G pitches are still not close in characteristics to grass, football is almost a different game on 3G compared to grass. The  ball bounces higher and travels faster, a ball appears to defy the laws of physics and gain speed as it rolls over the plastic pitch etc!!!  A player has to alter his/her game/touch if playing one week on plastic and the next on grass.

I don't know if there's any stats on injuries but I wouldn't be surprised if the number of injuries on 3G was greater than grass, the 3G surface is harder and "twisting" injuries occurred with players where studs got caught in the mesh of the 3G. And those rubber pellets they got everywhere!!!

I'm not a fan of 3G surfaces for football but if 3G could achieve the same...ish characteristics as grass then there's all the reasons you suggested to have one. I believe there's hybrid pitches these days, grass/plastic, which have similar characteristics to grass, perhaps that's the way to go when the time comes if cost effective.

 

[LancyTony]

11 hours ago, rob1983 said:

Swindon didn't look to bad on our pub pitch or Brentford a few weeks back. Clarke just looking for excuses he's feeling the heat.

When DC came in he criticised the former management for the number of injuries they had; now, he's suffering in a similar way, but with an improved medical team...so perhaps he has started to see the pitch is the lowest common denominator.  We matched Brentford, in many areas...but how much longer did it take  for the players to recover from that exertion? I don't believe he's looking for excuses - and only a total Muppet would suggest he's under any pressure!

[PV1973]

It was the sheer number of hamstring injuries last season. That can’t have been a coincidence that there were so many. 

[LancyTony]

I think,, with DC complaining about it, it will be discussed, at some time. Maybe the owners could be made aware that fans might be willing to do some fund-raising?

[Iron Curtain]

21 minutes ago, LancyTony said:

When DC came in he criticised the former management for the number of injuries they had; now, he's suffering in a similar way, but with an improved medical team...so perhaps he has started to see the pitch is the lowest common denominator.  We matched Brentford, in many areas...but how much longer did it take  for the players to recover from that exertion? I don't believe he's looking for excuses - and only a total Muppet would suggest he's under any pressure!

Waste of breath Tony

 

[onestepatatime]

33 minutes ago, LancyTony said:

I think,, with DC complaining about it, it will be discussed, at some time. Maybe the owners could be made aware that fans might be willing to do some fund-raising?

Some would gladly put hands in pockets. However the Supporters Club have been attempting to raise 100k now for quite some time and are way off that target. 

[ValeForever.]

2 hours ago, onestepatatime said:

Some would gladly put hands in pockets. However the Supporters Club have been attempting to raise 100k now for quite some time and are way off that target. 

We've just splashed out quarter of a mill on a new tannoy system though. Priorities.