Most liked posts in thread: The Pitch

You might not like it but the marketing campaign this time has been in your face. Unfortunately the best marketing tool is success on the pitch..

 

We have the best sports turf research organisation in the country in the Bradford area I wonder if it was possible to have some sponsorship tie up with them to help with re turfing the pitch

 

The closed season will say a lot about Rupp's commitment and the reality of him trying to get us back to where we were when they purchased the club.
Past history suggests you may be right, for me Stuart has to be given a good player budget and the pitch need doing, it looks very much like he has used the McBurnie money to recoup his losses under Rahic but someone some how has to tell him if he wants to get anywhere near his original investment back we have got to be where he says he wants us to be, a league one club challenging for palace in the Chapionship, and a good playing surface to give the footballing side a chance to achieve his statement.
I'm not sure we have that person to tell him in real terms what's required unfortunatly.

 

The problem I have with a Rupp taking back his losses (payoff to Rahic) is that we wouldn’t be in this mess but for the complete mismanagement of the club during Rahic reign. He was his partner and responsible for the financial backing, so although he states or at least I think he does that he didn’t know what was going on, it was his job to do just that. So the club has to suffer because our collective owners couldn't manage the fairly successful club the bought. So yes it his club, but he also has a responsibility to put us on an even keel as he found us. That pitch was a total embarrassment yesterday. Come and buy your ST at Bradford City and see what a complete wreck we have become.

 

What's Rhodes getting paid for? This is exactly what he should be doing. Whether Rupp will stump up is another question. If Rhodes isn't asking these questions to the owner what is his role in the club?

 

I can't disagree with that but unfortunately Stefan Rupp might, we have discussed this situation many times, we would hope he invests to make Bradford City a better long term proposition if he is open to offers, or he does the least he can with regards investment and we fall even lower from where we were when they purchased the club.
As I replied to @Faithful Bantam IMO this closed season will give us an insight to how much he is genuine and is prepared to back McCall on the pitch and get the likes of the pitch sorted, I hope he's as good as his word.

 

what are you trying to say Stuart??

 

I personally think you should take the best advice given to you. If the cost is prohibitive, but you still need/want the best then you make plans. You can either raise the money from outside the income of the club, or you explain to the fans how much it will cost and explain you will need to put it on the cost of the ST. Of course the owner could give us a low cost loan and have the work done. Failing any of those options we sit wringing our hands indefinitely, and continue asking our ground staff to perform miracles through the winter ad infinitum. What I do not want to here from anyone at the club is either we do the pitch or short change the manager in the quality of the players he brings in.

 

It will continue to be a problem for many many years. Patch up here, relaying here and their.

But the fundamentals of the pitch won't change as we are a basement league club with similar aspiration.

Talk all you want about turf specialists etc but it's been a problem for donkey years. It will continue in the same vein with the fundamentals of the drainage system and the lack of investment from the man who is culpable for our demise to the basement league.

 

It will continue to be a problem while we don't own the stadium.

We need better negotiating on the lease if we are to stay at VP as maintenance is a massive problem for us.

The pitch is a disgrace and will unfortunately continue to be so as we are a buy cheap, buy twice club.

 

We've had every excuse under the sun as to why the grass doesn't grow. Where there's money there's a way.

 

Genuine question.

How deep should the drainage be?

And if ours are deep enough can you suggest why the water isnt draining away in the pipe system that was laid?

This video suggest ours are at least 3ft deep maybe more.

 

Thats pretty much it, the problem is where there is no grass. The surface drains well because there was no chance that game was going ahead on Friday. Putting a fit for purpose surface down in the summer should cure the problem. Pay the money and do it right, that way at least you have a come back if it does go wrong.

 

from what I remember, wasn't the work done on the drainage system? if that's the case then the drainage system worked as there were no heavy areas of standing water like the images that were leaked on friday showed.

if the club decided not to continue with the up keep of the playing surface last summer and reduce the budget for that then the current have to take the responsibility.

 

So what we have to do then is relay the pitch at least twice a season. Summer and winter.

Like @Park bantam says the water is draining, so if the grass isn't growing then unfortunately the pitch has to be relaid twice a season, every season.

If not the we have to spend a hell of a lot of money getting experts in and to fix the problem.

The club are trying to cut corners and as we don't own the stadium and have to pay for maintenance I can't blame them.

 

Did we not win pitch of the year a few seasons back?, these old foundations that are being mentioned must have gone on holiday for 12 months and then came back. We could do with asking the people who were in charge of the pitch then, how they produced this miracle.

 

I doubt that would happen, not merely because our present owner would not want to put more money into the club that is not necessary, but why would Flamingo Land Pension Fund want to sell an asset that gives them such a good return, I believe by law with regards pension funds any transactions must give a better return to the fund, and I think getting a better return than the present deal would be very difficult in this day and age.
I believe there is still 7/8 years to conclude our present agreement and if we did have someone prepared to look into buying it Gordon Gibb/Pension Fund could quote silly figures, was the figure quoted £5m the last time it was brought up, for me Rupp has to bit the bullet and get it done correctly (if it can be) and then the annual upkeep costs, things they/he should have known about when they/he bought the club.

 

We were actually the second placed award which was based on marks given by Referees at each game. I can't exactly remember , it was either my first year on the Board which was season 2009/10 or the year after but I did present the award to Mick Doyle on the pitch at half time in our last home game. Seem to remember Shrewsbury won first prize.
Equally as I recall that was Mick's first season after the previous incumbent, Dave Bedford went to a local golf club, having been in post several years and leaving things in good order.

 

It isn't really. How much grass is being grown in Manningham already?