The pitch (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Nick
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Otis
Well-Known Member
I've seen a lot, lot worse around the leagues.
Don't see how we can use that as an excuse myself.
westofrayne
Well-Known Member
No excuse, we were not good enough to beat a well drilled but far less skillful team today.
The issue with the pitch is that the landlords broadcast to the world how good it was going to be, but in reality its as bad as previous seasons, the landlords should be asking questions to the contractor as to how it has degraded so badly. if no replacement is planned for the summer we had better start playing hoffball as there are a number of concerts in the summer meaning the pitch will have a covering on it during the growing season, the sub soil will also be compressed, meaning drainage will be reduced.
rupert_bear
Well-Known Member
It's pissed down almost every day for weeks and Tuesday we played in a deluge what do you expect ? And it's the same for both teams it's a case of adapting properly to any conditions we come across.
SkyBlueRuffian
Well-Known Member
It is a 3G pitch no? They laid it last summer I thought?
Johnnythespider
Well-Known Member
The pitch yesterday was no worse than the pitch at Crewe, we played alright there.
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skybluetony176
Well-Known Member
Isn't their groundsman our old groundsman?
CJ_covblaze
Well-Known Member
It's bad but no where near as bad as it was a few years ago. In our last season before we moved out I remember putting both feet down without standing on or near a single blade of grass.
TheParsonsHose
Member
Perhaps Burtons training regime for this game was on a rugby pitch.
Hobo
Well-Known Member
Or they just turn up and roll their sleeves up and get on with the job. They didn't park the bus like I thought they would and attacked us. They looked like a side who wanted to win but also knew a draw would suite them just fine. They always looked solid defensively. They can go all the way which would be a great achievement.
sw88
Chief Commentator!
westofrayne
Well-Known Member
No mate, it has a 20-30 astro infill carpet then the grass grows through, there are a number of football teams that use this especially when the grass does not get the sunlight it needs in a lot of the new stadium.
Basically (depending on who installed the pitch) they prepare the ground, sow the grass seed then lay the porous matting that has the 20-30% astro within, then the topsoil (there are plenty of website of the companies who do this with video explanation).
There are a number of teams that use a 3G pitch rather then grass in the UK, especially in Scotland, I though L1 & L2 could use one, but can't remember if it was voted against last year. The plan from the FL was to allow 3G for L1 & L2 teams to reduce pitch maintenance cost and allow the clubs to use hire it out to gain further income. I know there is at least 1 Rugby team that plays on 3G.
Not saying its the answer, but the current pitch design has not proved to be successful
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
They should definitely be getting on to the contractor to find out what has gone wrong. This was supposed to be a state of the art pitch and its not lasted half a season.
The problem now is will there even be time to lay a replacement over the summer with the events planned? Didn't our pre-season game at Oxford get moved because their new pitch needed more time to bed in, no pre-season games at the Ricoh either. There will only be about 6 weeks to get the work done.
I_Saw_Shaw_Score
Well-Known Member
I can't remember the last pre season friendly at the Ricoh.
Was it Marcus Halls testimonial!? 5 years ago ish?
Didn't go but did we play WBA or Everton?
Nick
Administrator
It could be, or the one where we had that winger who came on, was amazing for 10 minutes but then nearly needed an Oxygen mask. Francis Laurent was it?
DazzleTommyDazzle
Well-Known Member
letsallsingtogether
Well-Known Member
Maybe the wettest December in a long time had something to do with it?
Especially as it is newly laid so maybe the soil underneath is not bedded down properly.?
Not a groundsmen so wouldn't really know.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
Can't see it not being bedded down, that would be part of the job of the contractor - to have it ready in time for the season. Not too sure how much blame can be placed on the weather either unless the weather in Coventry is massively different to Leicester.
The Gentleman
Well-Known Member
Or maybe its the millions of pounds more that Leicester and the other PL teams that have been mentioned get to actually spend on pitches like that. I'm sure that our pitch looks ok in relation to some other league 1 teams. Lets not forget it's looked a lot worse when just football has been played on it with less rain so with that in mind, maybe what was done at the start of the season has done some good. As some more sensible people on here have said, it is the same for both teams and if I remember correctly, didn't Walsall's number 10 completely run the game by playing technical passing football on the very same pitch? But hey, if it's another reason to have a childish go at Wasps, knock yourselves out.
Before we start trying to blame other things, maybe it's the fact that we have came up against better teams that us in the last 2 matches and our level in this league is about 5th or 6th.
Nick
Administrator
It was a substantial investment less then 6 months ago wasn't it? I'd say it isn't wasps fault, it's the people who did the work and now maintain it.
After a summer of being covered up it's not going to be the best
letsallsingtogether
Well-Known Member
How much did they spend on their ground then and don't they have our old groundsman?
That's where I would be looking.It was a substantial investment less then 6 months ago wasn't it? I'd say it isn't wasps fault, it's the people who did the work and now maintain it.
After a summer of being covered up it's not going to be the best
The Gentleman
Well-Known Member
It was a substantial investment less then 6 months ago wasn't it? I'd say it isn't wasps fault, it's the people who did the work and now maintain it.
After a summer of being covered up it's not going to be the best
Cricket pitches are covered all of the time and they are fine. As some have said, I would put some of the blame on the wettest December we've had for an age. Considering how some pitches look at this time of year, I'd say ours isn't too bad and it's not like other teams with worse pitches than ours haven't done work on their pitches too.
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
Well the suggestion was that the weather was the cause. If that was the case you'd expect Leicester to be having similar problems.
So lets look to cost. A top end pitch is £800K (well at least that's what both Aston Villa and Man Utd have paid), Wasps stated "This is a major investment for Wasps and demonstrates their total commitment to ensuring the Ricoh Arena has the best possible playing surface for both the rugby and football clubs". They are a top level team and supposedly the richest club in Europe so have they cut corners on the playing surface?
They also said "To ensure the new pitch is kept in premium condition, the installation company will also be appointed as the maintenance contractor using their turf specialists. In addition, the installation company will be providing a specialist agronomist to work full time with the current ground staff to improve the pitch between now and the end of the year, and they will then have an on-going consultancy role until the end of the season.". Eastwood went even further telling the Telegraph the pitch would be in the same condition in May as it was on the first day of the season.
If I was Wasps and had made a significant investment in what was supposed to be a state of the art pitch that could stand up to dual use I would be far from happy and want to know what was being done to sort the issue.
Its not having a go at Wasps, if SISU had a new pitch laid and it was falling apart I would expect them to be doing something about it as well. In the current situation its not our responsibility, our landlords should be sorting it.
The Gentleman
Well-Known Member
Are you really comparing football and rugby and also PL teams with League 1? You see, despite rugby coming on leaps and bounds in terms of professionalism, it is a known fact that rugby pitches in their top league are inferior to the ones in the PL. So comparing Wasps with Man U is a bit silly. Rugby is played mainly through the hands whereas football, especially the teams in the PL need pitches like bowling greens so they are conducive for playing football on the deck. So I doubt if Wasps spent that on their pitch. Isn't there a saying that goes 'you get what you pay for'?. Simple fact is, we've had horrendous weather and the pitch is nowhere near as bad as it has been in the past when just football was played on it so something must be working?
Do you have the figure for what Wasps paid?
letsallsingtogether
Well-Known Member
I blame those stupid coloured boots they all wear make them all wear black boots with proper studs in.
Fuck sake HR had some horrendous pitches but they still managed to play football on them.
I remember the likes of Wallace and Furgie up to their knees in mud never stopped them playing good football and scoring goals.....
PUSB
Fuck sake HR had some horrendous pitches but they still managed to play football on them.
I remember the likes of Wallace and Furgie up to their knees in mud never stopped them playing good football and scoring goals.....
PUSB
Hobo
Well-Known Member
It takes the right conditions to lay a pitch, plus time for it to settle. It has barely stopped raining since October, the ground is full, I can tell from just walking the dogs.
The pitch is not bad all things considered and certainly nothing like the Baseball ground in the seventies.
P.S. Derby won the Leaue on it.
The pitch is not bad all things considered and certainly nothing like the Baseball ground in the seventies.
P.S. Derby won the Leaue on it.
Otis
Well-Known Member
I remember that. It was truly, truly shocking. Surely wouldn't be allowed these days.
westofrayne
Well-Known Member
The pitch is not up to the standard you would expect after a major investment (does anybody know what they paid?? was it for a top grade pitch or bargin basement). The landlord needs to raise the issues with the pitch contractor the pitch has been looking piss poor for a for months now, yes we have had a lot of rain but pitches have very good drainage. They didn't just lay new turf as far as I'm aware they dug down and re-installed drainage layer, new subsoil, astro carpet with grass seed and top soil, if done correctly then this pitch should be far better then it is. It has not been too sunny over the last few months but thats what the lamps are for, the stadium has them but are they being used???
I would (and I have build 3 pitches for junior football, therefore have some basic knowledge) be seriously asking questions of the build quality, it's not WASP's fault, it's the contractors.
I'm not aware of plans to re-lay this pitch again during the summer, and it shouldn't be planned for a further 2 seasons for this type of pitch, come start/mid June the surface will be covered with boarding to allow for the concerts, this will compress the top, sub soil, reduce drainage and remove air space within the soil that the grass roots need to grow, basically the pitch come August will look good but will go down hill rapidly.
To state the obvious, football, Rugby and Concerts on a grass surface don't mix.
if you want info on the type of pitch that was supposed to be laid, see below, Pitchcare is a company I have used for advice on maintenance of pitches of the years
https://www.pitchcare.com/magazine/hybrid-pitch-reinforcement-systems.html
This company laid one of the pitches at the Ricoh, not sure if it was the first season or last season, but the product was the Xtragrass pitch
http://premierpitches.com/pitch-types/xtragrass/
I would (and I have build 3 pitches for junior football, therefore have some basic knowledge) be seriously asking questions of the build quality, it's not WASP's fault, it's the contractors.
I'm not aware of plans to re-lay this pitch again during the summer, and it shouldn't be planned for a further 2 seasons for this type of pitch, come start/mid June the surface will be covered with boarding to allow for the concerts, this will compress the top, sub soil, reduce drainage and remove air space within the soil that the grass roots need to grow, basically the pitch come August will look good but will go down hill rapidly.
To state the obvious, football, Rugby and Concerts on a grass surface don't mix.
if you want info on the type of pitch that was supposed to be laid, see below, Pitchcare is a company I have used for advice on maintenance of pitches of the years
https://www.pitchcare.com/magazine/hybrid-pitch-reinforcement-systems.html
This company laid one of the pitches at the Ricoh, not sure if it was the first season or last season, but the product was the Xtragrass pitch
http://premierpitches.com/pitch-types/xtragrass/
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
What I am saying is quite simple. The pitch is not in good condition, we are not responsible for the pitch as we rent (I would expect a decent pitch when paying over £17K a game) therefore the people we rent from should be doing something about it. In turn they should be speaking to the people who they paid to lay the pitch who they also pay to maintain it.
I have no idea how much they spent on it (did see that Saracens pitch cost £600K so rugby clubs do seem to spend a similar amount as football clubs) but they themselves said it was a major investment and that they had a total commitment to ensuring the Ricoh has the best possible playing surface.
I mentioned Man Utd and Aston Villa as they have the most expensive pitches I can find reference to at £800K. Top groundsmen are reported to earn in the region of £40K so if Wasps have made a major investment into the pitch surely they as much as anyone will want to know why it is in the state it is in. Oxford had a new pitch in the summer, they are in League 2 and have had snow as well as rain yet have no issues with their pitch so I'm not buying that we should accept a poor pitch as we are in League 1.
Greenfields said:
Eastwood actually said you would struggle to tell the difference between the pitch at the start of the season and in January.
So assuming what they said to be correct the pitch should be in a lot better condition than it is. If it was my money that had been spent I would want some answers and a fix to ensure the problem doesn't happen next season.
Hobo
Well-Known Member
Derby winning the league? I would hope not!