Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 1:14 am  

cougarbar member wrote:

. Shame about the pitch.
The sooner Silsden move back to their own ground the better. The grounds man must be fed up.

To be honest ,much as I hate the round ball game, ,its fair to say the pitch would have been the same on Thurs regardless to what had taken place on there prior to the game ..it was a rainstorm that no groundsman could have planned for...

I was at the ground all day Thursday and Mark ,the groundsman,had the pitch come 2pm in the afternoon looking spot on,marked out n ready to play...

Like I say my hatred of soccer ,(and believe me I'd love to put the responsibility for the state of the field down to Silsden n all the 'Beckham' Wannabes who moan about the state of the ground..part time prima donnas) , but unlike those idiots from Sky who failed to get their facts right ( 'Silsden only 'rent' the ground from Cougars n do not share it (,a la Rochdale Hornets n Rochdale AFC , Doncaster Rovers n Doncaster RLFC etc etc).. I Can see that the state of Cougar Park was down to the great man up above with the long white beard ..nothing more nothing less

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:51 am  

Point taken Rach. What i was trying to say was Silsden were not helping. The pitch was like that Wednesday so
i was told. Watched the Wigan game last night , their pitch was perfect. And don't forget soccer is played
on there. I will admit that the heavy rain did not help. It's been a bad winter this time,so that will not
have helped.

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:07 am  

Not wishing to pick a fight with you Rach but the fact that Silsden have been using the pitch during the winter has significantly affected the surface and its ability to drain - ask any decent groundsperson and I'm sure he/she would agree, they would rather 'rest' the turf prior to any season. Cold temperatures, a foot of snow and winter play will have all played their part in destructuring the soil and inhibiting drainage.

The pitch has received significant investment over the past 20 years,with drainage and plenty of sand applications. If the pitch wasn't used for anything else other than rugby and training sessions - it would stand up to the inch of rain that has fallen over the past ten days.

Whilst I more than appreciate the need for extra income, I am sure that the money raised from the rent of the pitch would not cover the cost of aeration/sand required to deal with the rigours of play and persistent rainfall.

My heart goes out to Mark as does it to all the groundsmen who entertain 'duel purpose' sports grounds. It must have been heart breaking to see the pitch degrade in to a mud bath 'live' on TV. And let us not forget, it has to be returned back to a reasonable condition for the next home game - which ever sport that is.

Consider this - When I prepare for a televised tournament, I have the abilty to close areas of the course and indeed, the televised tournaments I have delivered have been during peak growing conditions.

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:12 am  

Astro turf

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:15 am  

Whinger© wrote:

Not wishing to pick a fight with you Rach but the fact that Silsden have been using the pitch during the winter has significantly affected the surface and its ability to drain - ask any decent groundsperson and I'm sure he/she would agree, they would rather 'rest' the turf prior to any season. Cold temperatures, a foot of snow and winter play will have all played their part in destructuring the soil and inhibiting drainage.

The pitch has received significant investment over the past 20 years,with drainage and plenty of sand applications. If the pitch wasn't used for anything else other than rugby and training sessions - it would stand up to the inch of rain that has fallen over the past ten days.

Whilst I more than appreciate the need for extra income, I am sure that the money raised from the rent of the pitch would not cover the cost of aeration/sand required to deal with the rigours of play and persistent rainfall.

My heart goes out to Mark as does it to all the groundsmen who entertain 'duel purpose' sports grounds. It must have been heart breaking to see the pitch degrade in to a mud bath 'live' on TV. And let us not forget, it has to be returned back to a reasonable condition for the next home game - which ever sport that is.

Consider this - When I prepare for a televised tournament, I have the abilty to close areas of the course and indeed, the televised tournaments I have delivered have been during peak growing conditions.

Like you know anything about it

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:20 am  

guess who wrote:

Like you know anything about it

I read it in a book.......

Re: Batley Game : Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:24 pm  

Oh and Rach, what's all that about blaming the man with the long white beard...
...what's Gandalf got to do with it???