Anyone go to the Wasps game today? (2 Viewers)

[Thenose]

To be fair, it is a million times better than the ploughed field that was in place before Wasps replaced it. My analogy would be your rusty 20 year old Skoda is in for repairs and they give you a Ford Mondeo as a courtesy car and you complain its not a Merc...

The pitch doesn't discriminate between home and away teams...

 

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[Nick]

To be fair, it is a million times better than the ploughed field that was in place before Wasps replaced it. My analogy would be your rusty 20 year old Skoda is in for repairs and they give you a Ford Mondeo as a courtesy car and you complain its not a Merc...

The pitch doesn't discriminate between home and away teams...

But making out at the start it's a ferrari in the press and how much it will help, I wouldn't say it's better at all

 

[italiahorse]

But making out at the start it's a ferrari in the press and how much it will help, I wouldn't say it's better at all

In reality what would the old pitch be like now ?

 

[stupot07]

To be fair, it is a million times better than the ploughed field that was in place before Wasps replaced it. My analogy would be your rusty 20 year old Skoda is in for repairs and they give you a Ford Mondeo as a courtesy car and you complain its not a Merc...

The pitch doesn't discriminate between home and away teams...

It really isn't a million times better.

Must. Not. Criticise. Wasps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - so please excuse any spelling or grammar errors

 

[Thenose]

At least there is some grass out there now

 

[bigfatronssba]

Why don't sisu pay for the pitch to be relayed?

They didn't mind doing that at Northampton.

 

[Nick]

At least there is some grass out there now

When it's been picked up and put back you mean?

 

[Nick]

In reality what would the old pitch be like now ?

Probably the same as it is now.

What happened to all the posts and statements acting as if Wasps were doing CCFC a massive favour?

 

[Intheknow]

The revenue from all those free tickets must be huge!

You are right. The owner of Wasps must have decided that losing £3m a year was unsatisfactory so he thought he would spend millions more on a stadium and let everyone in for free.

 

[Nick]

You are right. The owner of Wasps must have decided that losing £3m a year was unsatisfactory so he thought he would spend millions more on a stadium and let everyone in for free.

So there aren't loads of free tickets and free tickets for anybody last game?

 

[Intheknow]

But making out at the start it's a ferrari in the press and how much it will help, I wouldn't say it's better at all

i'm sure I read that this was a temporary fix and a new pitch would be laid in the summer?

 

[Nick]

i'm sure I read that this was a temporary fix and a new pitch would be laid in the summer?

I am sure when Wasps / You were going on about how Wasps were doing CCFC a favour the one reason given was this new pitch that is probably worse than the one already there. Looked good for the cameras though didn't it?

 

[Intheknow]

So there aren't loads of free tickets and free tickets for anybody last game?

I am sure that there were free tickets. I might hazard a guess that the majority pay. I might even hazard a guess that free tickets are viewed as an investment.

If I was a betting man, I'd have a pound that both ACL and Wasps show vastly improved accounts at the end of their next financial year.

 

[Intheknow]

I am sure when Wasps / You were going on about how Wasps were doing CCFC a favour the one reason given was this new pitch that is probably worse than the one already there. Looked good for the cameras though didn't it?

Rome wasn't built in a day. And in fact the cutting up of the pitch looks crap on TV. Let's see how matters look at the start of next season. And then half way through the season.

 

[chiefdave]

You are right. The owner of Wasps must have decided that losing £3m a year was unsatisfactory so he thought he would spend millions more on a stadium and let everyone in for free.

Or maybe the plan was to give away tickets for the first three games as they stated when they moved here with the expectation that those who had attended would then become paying customers. As that doesn't appear to have happened they have continued giving out literally thousands of free tickets every game.

i'm sure I read that this was a temporary fix and a new pitch would be laid in the summer?

Funny because I seem to remember that when we were being told what fantastic landlords would be (before they kicked us out of our dressing room) the example that kept being given, in fact the only example, was that they'd re-laid the pitch for our benefit.

If I was a betting man, I'd have a pound that both ACL and Wasps show vastly improved accounts at the end of their next financial year.

So you're saying Tim Fisher is correct and the viability of ACL as an ongoing business is dependent on the football club as a tenant.

 

[Moff]

Rome wasn't built in a day. And in fact the cutting up of the pitch looks crap on TV. Let's see how matters look at the start of next season. And then half way through the season.

How about towards the end of the season as well to see how it lasted through the winter.

 

[Thenose]

Funny because I seem to remember that when we were being told what fantastic landlords would be (before they kicked us out of our dressing room)

Kicked us out of their dressing room. Having a monk on about it doesn't change it.

Perhaps TF instead of behaving like a spoilt child who lost his toys to the big boys, should now grow up and learn to play nicely with others...

 

[Grendel]

Kicked us out of their dressing room. Having a monk on about it doesn't change it.

Perhaps TF instead of behaving like a spoilt child who lost his toys to the big boys, should now grow up and learn to play nicely with others...

Yeah you are right. He should hunt down some loss making business half owned by a charity and buy for half their purchase price.

Even fisher probably wouldn't stoop that low.

 

[Thenose]

Yeah you are right. He should hunt down some loss making business half owned by a charity and buy for half their purchase price.

Even fisher probably wouldn't stoop that low.

Or better still, not pay the rent, move out and take your landlord to court whilst all the while saying "we don't need your stinking stadium, we build our own" ["said in sleezy voice"]

 

[Grendel]

Or better still, not pay the rent, move out and take your landlord to court whilst all the while saying "we don't need your stinking stadium, we build our own" ["said in sleezy voice"]

So wasps have always paid everyone on time have they?

 

[hutch1972]

So wasps have always paid everyone on time have they?

Has anyone confirmed they have paid anything at all yet ?
with the rumours being thrown around about lack of money I am very surprised that neither ccc or wasps have cleared this up.
If there was no truth in it then I would at least expect a little warning regarding possible libel issues.

 

[Grendel]

Has anyone confirmed they have paid anything at all yet ?
with the rumours being thrown around about lack of money I am very surprised that neither ccc or wasps have cleared this up.
If there was no truth in it then I would at least expect a little warning regarding possible libel issues.

I'm sure In The Know will know - but he's got problems at the moment.

 

[Nick]

I'm sure In The Know will know - but he's got problems at the moment.

I heard he had 99 problems and the pitch is one?

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Thought I'd just bump this thread instead of a new one.

Anyone know how the pitch is looking for tomorrow, I'm hoping it will be better with no match on it for the last 10 but I'm not really sure what they can do to it other than damage limitation now.





Looking further to next season, the new pitch will be laid be xtragrass which I think laid the original one in 2005 and the replacement one earlier this season.

http://www.greenfields.eu/sports-news/greenfields-uk-awarded-contract-pitch-replacement-ricoh-arena/

I know the common one for the UK is desso, I read a comment the other week that they can't find another joint rugby/football pitch which uses xtragrass so do we think the new pitch next season will be up to scratch next season?

 

[chiefdave]

Not being used for a while will help but it will probably still cut up badly as they won't have been able to do much past patching it up. Was watching Reading the other day, who share with London Irish, and their pitch didn't look good either.

Will wait and see what happens next season but I'm not confident to be honest. One issue that could be a problem is that I was reading rugby clubs like to have longer grass than is generally used for football but hopefully if that's the case it doesn't impact too much on how Mowbray, or whoever is in charge by then, wants to play.

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

Not being used for a while will help but it will probably still cut up badly as they won't have been able to do much past patching it up. Was watching Reading the other day, who share with London Irish, and their pitch didn't look good either.

Will wait and see what happens next season but I'm not confident to be honest. One issue that could be a problem is that I was reading rugby clubs like to have longer grass than is generally used for football but hopefully if that's the case it doesn't impact too much on how Mowbray, or whoever is in charge by then, wants to play.

Isn't the plan to have a semi-synthetic pitch like Saracens? So a combination of astro-turf malarkey and real grass? I thought what has been done already was only a short term fix given the state of the grass when Wasps arrived?

 

[Raggs]

Sarries is a completely artificial pitch, not allowed for football. Reading with London Irish is a Desso I believe, but well overdue replacement. Same with Wycombe and Wasps, Desso coming to the end of it's lifecycle.

From what I've understood Desso introduces plastic fibre to an already established pitch, Xtragrass is a ground up system where the plastic is laid as a carpet, with fibres coming up, the soil is then added, grass planted, and the roots wrap around the plastic right from the start. In theory could be even better than Desso.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Sarries is a completely artificial pitch, not allowed for football. Reading with London Irish is a Desso I believe, but well overdue replacement. Same with Wycombe and Wasps, Desso coming to the end of it's lifecycle.

From what I've understood Desso introduces plastic fibre to an already established pitch, Xtragrass is a ground up system where the plastic is laid as a carpet, with fibres coming up, the soil is then added, grass planted, and the roots wrap around the plastic right from the start. In theory could be even better than Desso.

Xtragrass is what was installed at the Ricoh when it first opened in 2005 so its been around for a while and not exactly a new idea, the fact that everyone else seems to still be using desso despite xtragrass being available for at least the last 10 years (probably longer, I can't be bothered to look at what they did before the Ricoh) would suggest to me it isn't as good.

I'd guess the reason xtragrass is being used again is that a lot of the underlying work/structure may already be in place from before making it easier to install rather than using a different system which would probably have to start from scratch rather than xtragrass being better than desso.

I'm not sure if it will now have to be done differently to how it was laid in 2005 to accommodate both sports and the science has probably moved on since then as well making it better than the one that was installed 10 years ago but I'm not sure on how it will hold up.
https://www.pitchcare.com/magazine/plenty-of-xtra-grass-to-cut-at-the-ricoh-arena.html

Do you know of any examples of xtragrass being used as a dual rugby/football surface at a top/professional level?

I'm hoping it will be quality but if it doesn't last its going to be an absolute nightmare again like this season.

 

[Intheknow]

So you're saying Tim Fisher is correct and the viability of ACL as an ongoing business is dependent on the football club as a tenant.

Not saying that at all. From what is in the press, the rent paid by CCFC is not significant. I just suspect that there will be investment in the ACL business when this might now have been the case in recent years.

 

[Johhny Blue]

In the '70s they used to use plastic mud in the goal areas

 

[Raggs]

Xtragrass is what was installed at the Ricoh when it first opened in 2005 so its been around for a while and not exactly a new idea, the fact that everyone else seems to still be using desso despite xtragrass being available for at least the last 10 years (probably longer, I can't be bothered to look at what they did before the Ricoh) would suggest to me it isn't as good.

I'd guess the reason xtragrass is being used again is that a lot of the underlying work/structure may already be in place from before making it easier to install rather than using a different system which would probably have to start from scratch rather than xtragrass being better than desso.

I'm not sure if it will now have to be done differently to how it was laid in 2005 to accommodate both sports and the science has probably moved on since then as well making it better than the one that was installed 10 years ago but I'm not sure on how it will hold up.
https://www.pitchcare.com/magazine/plenty-of-xtra-grass-to-cut-at-the-ricoh-arena.html

Do you know of any examples of xtragrass being used as a dual rugby/football surface at a top/professional level?

I'm hoping it will be quality but if it doesn't last its going to be an absolute nightmare again like this season.

You're possibly right about the infrastructure from before, but these things have natural lifespans anyway, normally around 10 years, so it could just be it's the best solution too.

From what I can tell from promotional videos and this site: http://premierpitches.com/pitch-types Desso is injected into an already established pitch (and then further introduce their own grass), whereas Xtragrass is completely from the ground up. The pitch there at the moment clearly isn't a decent quality pitch, and is probably a grass type for rapid growth rather than long term root strength.

I'm certainly not concerned about it holding up though.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

So your confident the pitch is going to be excellent then next season? I'm hoping so as we actually have a decent manager who wants to play attacking football now

 

[Raggs]

Well Wasps want to play fast running rugby, so will very likely have exactly the same goals in mind. I don't know if I'd say excellent, since that's quite a lofty aim, but confident that it'll be good .