New Pitch ?

[Boslem's Brazil]

5 hours ago, dishydave said:

6 hours ago, Rockape99 said:

The rumour I heard is Donaldson is buying 49%  of the club and will be joint chair.
The pitch is being funded by  his numerous insurance companies as a sponsorship.
Don’t know how much truth in it but it came from loose talk in Robbie suite on Tuesday 

That just means Carol would get her money back it won't make any difference to the club as some one without a controlling interest isn't going to be putting more money in than the actual owners. As for the new pitch it ain't happening it needs new drains a new pump, tank and water pipes for the sprinklers as well as a storm water storage tank for the new regulations I only know this because I asked the blokes who were doing the training ground in the summer when they are doing the pitch and they said it's not as simple as just digging up the grass.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Donaldson has already put a decent chunk into Vale through sponsorship. Surely if he were to become a 49% shareholder, he would want to swell his asset and invest more? 

[Walka003]

Reading between the lines, it sounds like Donaldson has already put a decent chunk into Vale through sponsorship. Surely if he were to because a 49% shareholder, he would want to swell his asset and invest more? 

According to a sentinel interview he did in 2020, he's got a net worth of more than a billion quid. We'd certainly never have to worry about being cash strapped if he's willing to throw money at us.

[Smallthorne clampet]

1 hour ago, Fosse69 said:

Draining clay at Vale Park has been a problem since 1950, sand and pumps are a cure. Don`t know much about surface drainage in Burslem, certainly not on a flood plain, could the pit shafts be used or would that cause problems elsewhere?

A lot of the pit shafts were filled in with concrete when the new stands were built in the 1990s . I am no expert ,but if you have clay and concrete under a soil based pitch , drainage will be a massive problem . 

[Guitar Ray]

5 hours ago, dishydave said:

6 hours ago, Rockape99 said:

The rumour I heard is Donaldson is buying 49%  of the club and will be joint chair.
The pitch is being funded by  his numerous insurance companies as a sponsorship.
Don’t know how much truth in it but it came from loose talk in Robbie suite on Tuesday 

That just means Carol would get her money back it won't make any difference to the club as some one without a controlling interest isn't going to be putting more money in than the actual owners. As for the new pitch it ain't happening it needs new drains a new pump, tank and water pipes for the sprinklers as well as a storm water storage tank for the new regulations I only know this because I asked the blokes who were doing the training ground in the summer when they are doing the pitch and they said it's not as simple as just digging up the grass.

He’s already putting a significant amount of money into the club without a controlling interest so, while not guaranteed, there’s no reason to think there wouldn’t be further investment we’re this rumour to become truth.

[valefan16]

I like the idea (if true), you can see from twitter he cares about the Vale and has a lot of respect for Carol and I think it would work well, add more financial backing in terms of the long term security of the club, lets be honest most fans, myself included just want a stable club where we can enjoy the football on a Saturday with some success every now and again rather than the soap opera, administrations and drama's of the past 15-20 years! If Donaldson joins Carol you would expect then we could easily ride out most problems fiscally if they arose. I am not asking for millions to turn us into a Premier League club for example.

As it is only another rumour we don't know what truth is in it but its one I would like to see come to fruition.

In terms of the pitch, something needs doing with it, granted we may get some advantage but if you watch the first Derby goal... Smith takes Jones pass and it bobbles so he looses control of it... things like that don't happen, don't need a carpet but just a pitch capable of playing some football on.

[Jacko51]

The FA used to give out grants for ground improvements.  I take it these aren't available any more?

[Guitar Ray]

5 minutes ago, Santa said:

Two questions:

Would a better pitch mean getting more out of the players we have during a season? ie less soft tissue injuries etc 

If a player gets two clubs (one being Vale) offering him the same money, is the pitch a factor he takes into account when he weighs them both up?

Maybe the club have the “science” to back up your first question, who knows, but you’re ignoring the fact that much more of their time is spent on the training ground rather than VP pitch.

Your second hypothetical scenario is obviously a possibility, but I’d say the pitch itself would only be part of the overall equation when considering the stadium and facilities as a whole, and anyway may well be less important than other things, such as location for example, house prices/availability, the impression made by the staff when presenting the club to the player, Carol, fellow players views, etc etc.  certainly not as simplistic as saying the money’s the same but the pitch is a pudding.

[onestepatatime]

14 minutes ago, Jacko51 said:

The FA used to give out grants for ground improvements.  I take it these aren't available any more?

Vale get FA from the FA!

[Rory]

Are we going bump or not?

[Fosse69]

The FA used to give out grants for ground improvements.  I take it these aren't available any more?

Were they not mainly for the conversion to seating or moving to a new ground?

[Fosse69]

Are we going bump or not?

Why do you say that?

[melv]

IF (if) a new pitch is to be layed then I would imagine that it would need to be booked in with which ever company is going to do the job early.They would need to organise Staff,Materials,Equipment.There is a only a short time period when the work can be done(close season). Companies that do such work could be booked up for work during the close season 1,2 years in advance.So unless the wheels have already been put in motion to have the new pitch laid during this close season then there might not be enough time to book someone to do the job.So maybe it would not be this close season but next

[Brian Johnson]

2 hours ago, darren1810 said:

Sheff Utd women aren't even in the WSL so that seems extortionate frivolous thing to do. They are next to bottom in the division below. 

What league are they in?

[philmpv]

Surely if he were to become a 49% shareholder, he would want to swell his asset'

Oooohhh, Matron!

[Rory]

43 minutes ago, Fosse69 said:

45 minutes ago, Rory said:

Are we going bump or not?

Why do you say that?

I'm just a bit intrigued to know what's going on.