The Mini Match Thread

[Harrier94]

There was another game but we were playing Braintree away and...

"Tonight's game at Braintree Town is OFF due to a waterlogged pitch at the Avanti Stadium. New date when we have it."

Still undefeated in 2016

 

[DarkSithLord]

Torquay United v Welling is also called off.

 

[Chris FGR]

Surely Braintree are going to have to start playing at other grounds soon? This is getting ridiculous.

 

[SomeMightShay]

There was another game but we were playing Braintree away and...

"Tonight's game at Braintree Town is OFF due to a waterlogged pitch at the Avanti Stadium. New date when we have it."

Still undefeated in 2016

Should be going to Cheltenham on the 19th nice and refreshed then.

 

[SomeMightShay]

Surely Braintree are going to have to start playing at other grounds soon? This is getting ridiculous.

IRON CALL IN PITCH EXPERTS - Sports Turf Research Institute to look at pitch.

With the on-going problems over recent weeks with the weather, the Club has been working with the National League to ask the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to conduct an independent and expert survey of the Avanti Stadium pitch. It is hoped that the pitch inspection will take place next Thursday, 14th January, to allow the STRI to create a detailed report, which will be shared with The National League. This will then allow the Club to assess remedial works to be carried our in both the short and long-term. More news on that when we have it!

 

[Sparrow]

IRON CALL IN PITCH EXPERTS - Sports Turf Research Institute to look at pitch.

With the on-going problems over recent weeks with the weather, the Club has been working with the National League to ask the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to conduct an independent and expert survey of the Avanti Stadium pitch. It is hoped that the pitch inspection will take place next Thursday, 14th January, to allow the STRI to create a detailed report, which will be shared with The National League. This will then allow the Club to assess remedial works to be carried our in both the short and long-term. More news on that when we have it!

Apparently it's been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

 

[Harrier94]

Should be going to Cheltenham on the 19th nice and refreshed then.

If Cheltenham draw on Saturday the replay is to be played on the 19th. We still maybe undefeated until the 23rd.

Also according to Alan Alger it's now been 46 days and counting since Braintree last played at home.

 

[Chris FGR]

I would advocate the National League introducing a new rule where the postponement of more then 3 consecutive home games at any point will result in a team being forced to switch to a different venue until their ground is fit for purpose. Failure to do so should result in points deductions.

 

[Andy Harrier]

Worst match thread ever.

 

[CTFCfan99]

Odds on Braintree having to fit all their remaining home games into the last week of the season?

 

[Harrier94]

Worst match thread ever.

Na it's an early contender for thread of the year.

 

[Camborne Gills]

How is Plainmoor going to cope next season?

Slightly different circumstances, but Braintree and Torquay really need to think about playing elsewhere.

During a wet spell a few years ago. Truro played home games at Porthleven and St Blazey

 

[Sparrow]

According to the piece about Akinola in the NLP, Braintree have spent £15,000 on pitch covers and rollers. Lee Harding says that they could improve the pitch for £175,000 but it's too expensive BUT WAIT, it's too expensive because they're planning to build a NEW STADIUM!? A new stadium for all 500 of them? The good news about the covers and the pitch, though, is, and I quote: "We don't want to tempt fate, but already it looks like they are working." Laughable.

1. Why did it take this long to get pitch covers?
2. It's already too late now anyway.
3. It's unfair on the teams who still have to play them.
4. Why haven't the league done anything when this happens year after year? Halifax were told to switch grounds within about five seconds not too long ago.
5. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Edit: 6. And as far as I'm aware it's not exactly like their ground is situated on the edge of Niagara Falls.

Tinpotters.

 

[DarkSithLord]

According to the piece about Akinola in the NLP, Braintree have spent £15,000 on pitch covers and rollers. Lee Harding says that they could improve the pitch for £175,000 but it's too expensive BUT WAIT, it's too expensive because they're planning to build a NEW STADIUM!? A new stadium for all 500 of them? The good news about the covers and the pitch, though, is, and I quote: "We don't want to tempt fate, but already it looks like they are working." Laughable.

1. Why did it take this long to get pitch covers?
2. It's already too late now anyway.
3. It's unfair on the teams who still have to play them.
4. Why haven't the league done anything when this happens year after year? Halifax were told to switch grounds within about five seconds not too long ago.
5. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.

Tinpotters.

Cant believe I am saying this but I agree completely with Sparrow on this. Enough is enough with Braintree. We spent over 30,000 on our pitch during the Summer our and our pitch has improved hugely. Ok we have struggling to get our Senior Cup tie on but we have have no postponements in the league at all.

 

[Chris FGR]

All they need to do is sell Akinola and they'll be able to afford sorting out their pitch.

 

[yellow]

How is Plainmoor going to cope next season?

Slightly different circumstances, but Braintree and Torquay really need to think about playing elsewhere.

During a wet spell a few years ago. Truro played home games at Porthleven and St Blazey

I imagine the money Truro pay us (£50k) will be spent on the pitch, while I wouldn't be surprised if Masters pays some more during the season if required to..

 

[Sparrow]

I imagine the money Truro pay us (£50k) will be spent on the pitch, while I wouldn't be surprised if Masters pays some more during the season if required to..

We ground shared with Hayes and Yeading in the first two seasons that we were back in this division. Completely ruined the pitch, even with the money that they were paying us to play there. Nowadays, it's one of the best in the league. Good luck.

 

[yellow]

Ha, well the pitch is shit anyway so we may aswell get some money for it!

 

[iron4ever]

Ha, well the pitch is shit anyway so we may aswell get some money for it!

Hi everyone just had to come on to bring you all up to date with regards the pitch at Braintree. Have to agree with many posts, but here are the facts. We should have done massive improvements 2 seasons ago, but because at that stage a new ground was in the offing it was considered to be a huge expenditure for a relatively short period of time. That together with only 1 league match posponed last season the Club thought we could carry on as before. However it now appears a new ground (the local council having recently given a new 15yr lease to us for the part of the ground we dont own) is something thats not going to go ahead for some time.

Pitch covers and all the ancillary equipment were ordered and the covers arrived mid Dec by which time the pitch was alteady waterlogged. With all the rain since then all we have been able to do is continually take the covers on and off in an attempt to get the pitch playable, but at no time has there been a prolonged dry spell for the pitch to dry out.
Our Chairman has recently brought in at the request of the League (as I am informed) pitch experts to assess what needs to be done to to prevent this happening in the future.
As I am posting this it is pissing down again here.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Hi everyone just had to come on to bring you all up to date with regards the pitch at Braintree. Have to agree with many posts, but here are the facts. We should have done massive improvements 2 seasons ago, but because at that stage a new ground was in the offing it was considered to be a huge expenditure for a relatively short period of time. That together with only 1 league match posponed last season the Club thought we could carry on as before. However it now appears a new ground (the local council having recently given a new 15yr lease to us for the part of the ground we dont own) is something thats not going to go ahead for some time.

Pitch covers and all the ancillary equipment were ordered and the covers arrived mid Dec by which time the pitch was alteady waterlogged. With all the rain since then all we have been able to do is continually take the covers on and off in an attempt to get the pitch playable, but at no time has there been a prolonged dry spell for the pitch to dry out.
Our Chairman has recently brought in at the request of the League (as I am informed) pitch experts to assess what needs to be done to to prevent this happening in the future.
As I am posting this it is pissing down again here.

Welcome to the forum! I commend you for coming on here, giving us the facts and standing up for your club

 

[GTFCfish]

This must be the first ever match thread where not a single goal was scored by any team!

 

[Sparrow]

Worst match thread Garry Hill has ever seen.

 

[Southern Shayman]

I would advocate the National League introducing a new rule where the postponement of more then 3 consecutive home games at any point will result in a team being forced to switch to a different venue until their ground is fit for purpose. Failure to do so should result in points deductions.

Harsh IMO - doesn't take in to account seriously adverse weather.

It should be part of the ground grading for me. Each teams pitch is assessed at the end of a season looking at no. of postponements and clubs are allowed to present extenuating circumstances etc. If the league deem that it's "not good enough" then they should be given x period of time to propose and implement improvements. The same way they do with ground gradings.

Then it can lead to being not allowed entry for future seasons - as the ground gradings should be used.

 

[slaphead]

I have huge sympathy for Braintree, after last Saturday our pitch is now fucked. It doesn't matter how much you spend on your pitch, sometimes you just can't beat the weather. We couldn't get on ours on Monday to do any work on it, after the weekends rain it was under water, the drainage is, quite simply, full and any further water now has nowhere to go. Tuesday it had dried a little bit and we could work on the less damaged areas, but as I type it is hosing down again so God knows what we will find in the morning. To have any chance of it recovering for our next home game we need to get it flat, hope it freezes to firm the ground up so we can get the spiker on it to get some air in to dry it out, but I'm not holding my breath, in the last 53 days now we have had some rain in the 24 hour period. Under the grass there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide forming which is slowly killing the grass root and needs to be aerated asap.

We are lucky that we can call on Chelsea and borrow their machinery when we need it, but I can see a club like Braintree or any of the smaller clubs who aren't as lucky to have the help we have access to, will struggle to do the work needed and the cost involved. Just to get a contractor in to spike the pitch costs about £500 a time and it needs doing every four weeks this time of year. To buy your own machine, it's about £17,000 just for the most basic and then another £200 to replace the tines every time you use it. This is not to even think about the man power required to actually do the work. We have a full time groundsman and a team of 6 or 7 dedicated volunteers (of which I am one) who help when needed, but at this time of year I would guess the pitch needs at least 70-80 mans hours a week on it and that doesn't include moving covers about and clearing water etc. or any other out of the ordinary work that needs doing.

It's an unforgiving task, you've always got someone on your case to get games on when in reality they shouldn't be played, so the next time you see a game called off, don't think it's a case or 'oh, they should buy a new pitch' there are always loads more issues than just that. No point in having a Rolls Royce pitch but having to maintain it with Morris Minor tools.

 

[Luke Imp]

Speaking of mini-match threads, is the only game this weekend us vs FGR?

BBC says so, but wasn't sure whether others had been arranged and they hadn't updated their page.

 

[Camborne Gills]

FA Trophy Luke. eg Truro v Macclesfield

 

[Luke Imp]

Yeah, know it's the FA Trophy, just meant league games.

 

[JaredSUFC]

Having a brief read of this thread, and looking at the issues some clubs are having in getting their FA Trophy ties played, I'm glad Sutton invested in a 3G pitch. I'm still a traditionalist at heart, I miss muddy pitches, and 3G isn't as romantic as grass. But our club has benefited massivly from it. Three years ago we lost two local derbies to the weather around this time of year, losing out on decent (for us) gates, and the added revenue, not to mention a fixture backlog. This season we've had games played in the last couple of weeks that would never have been on the old Gander Green Lane mudbath. Not to mention all our various reserve, academy and kids teams (and Sutton Common Rovers and Wimbledon ladies). Also the quality of the surface is really good, which makes for some exciting games.

3G may not be too everyone's taste, but it is practical.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Going to bump this thread for the one game that is scheduled to take place tonight - Bromley v Grimsby.

Looks touch and go at the moment though. 11.30 Inspection


Bromley FC ‏@bromleyfc 54m54 minutes ago
PITCH UPDATE: 50/50 at moment, all depends on temperature over the new few hours. 11:30 pitch inspection planned. RT

 

[eightiesrobin]

Bognor Regis Town v Altrincham FA trophy 2nd round tonight also, assuming the temperatures allow.