Did the club make enough effort yesterday ?

[Horney]

Noticed on tv this afternoon that Gillingham had their pitch covered with 3-4 layers of matting. Despite an even colder night than friday, the pitch was playable.
Watched from the Sportsman, saturday lunchtime, as our single plastic sheeting was peeled back to reveal frost underneath.
1) Either our covering is totally useless or 2)The groundstaff failed to cover the pitch at the appropriate time ( the frost must have lifted during the day, friday.
3) There was little or no willingness shown by the club to play the game - arriving at the ground at 12.30 it was obvious that no-one connected with BHA wanted it on.
If frosty conditions made the South Stand unsafe, then that is a seperate issue but as far as the playing surface is concerned, then I feel efforts made by the club leave a lot to be desired.
Having won at Swindon, I would have thought that it was vital to keep some impetus going but now its another week until the next game.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Think the problem with Withdean is that the frost doesn't lift during the day due to the trees, it being low-level, angle of the sun etc. So unless you were to cover it BEFORE there was any frost (not sure how practical this is to do), I think you're fecked.

 

[Don Quixote]

I think they delayed it on purpose!!!!! So Micky can bring in some new signings then destroy them

 

[The Large One]

Noticed on tv this afternoon that Gillingham had their pitch covered with 3-4 layers of matting. Despite an even colder night than friday, the pitch was playable.
Watched from the Sportsman, saturday lunchtime, as our single plastic sheeting was peeled back to reveal frost underneath.
1) Either our covering is totally useless or 2)The groundstaff failed to cover the pitch at the appropriate time ( the frost must have lifted during the day, friday.
3) There was little or no willingness shown by the club to play the game - arriving at the ground at 12.30 it was obvious that no-one connected with BHA wanted it on.
If frosty conditions made the South Stand unsafe, then that is a seperate issue but as far as the playing surface is concerned, then I feel efforts made by the club leave a lot to be desired.
Having won at Swindon, I would have thought that it was vital to keep some impetus going but now its another week until the next game.

Unless you are a groundsman, I suspect you haven't got the first clue of what you are on about, especially as the Withdean pitch is normally in excellent condition.

 

[mona]

mmm the fact that Withdean is north-facing and gets little sun "might" be a factor.

 

[dougdeep]

I don't think there was any way possible to keep the pitch playable, but there should have been an earlier inspection.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

out of interest what do Prem clubs use to keep their pitches playable? I read something somewhere that under-soil heating is now a thing of the past due to the way it affects the grass/pitch/mud etc....so what do they use as few Prem games are cancelled.

 

[Spearritt of the Albion]

out of interest what do Prem clubs use to keep their pitches playable? I read something somewhere that under-soil heating is now a thing of the past due to the way it affects the grass/pitch/mud etc....so what do they use as few Prem games are cancelled.

They use loads of money (something we haven't got!) to ensure the game goes on. I'm sure ITV will have helped Gillingham out as well. It would probably have cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds if the game hadn't gone ahead.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

They use loads of money (something we haven't got!) to ensure the game goes on. I'm sure ITV will have helped Gillingham out as well. It would probably have cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds if the game hadn't gone ahead.

What is it they actually do/use though?

I'm not suggesting Brighton should follow as I doubt we have the finances.......I'm curious as to what they now do given under-soil is seemingly outdated.

 

[mona]

1 Being in an urban location helps. The south-facing, sun-affected Goldstone would have been playable yesterday if covered overnight.
2 Prem clubs have better insulated covers.
3 Perhaps they use heaters with the covers.

 

[Easy 10]

Forest Green Rovers had covers AND fan heaters to get their game on with Derby yesterday.

 

[Del Boy]

Forest Green Rovers had covers AND fan heaters to get their game on with Derby yesterday.

Bigger clubs like them can afford it!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Was there any early notification that there would even be a pitch inspection?
Might have saved some people a wasted journey. First I heard about it was on here.

 

[Taybha]

There was no offical announcement of a inspecton,1st i knew of it was the bus stops info boards in hove flashed up the game was off at 12.50,wich was fooking amazing seeing as the official time of the 2nd inspection was 1pm

 

[champion7]

Think the problem with Withdean is that the frost doesn't lift during the day due to the trees, it being low-level, angle of the sun etc. So unless you were to cover it BEFORE there was any frost (not sure how practical this is to do), I think you're fecked.

1) You are correct about the sun,it disappears before it has time to do anything good to the pitch.
2) You can only stick pitch covers on 2 days before a game,anything more than that and the pitch starts to sweat and go brown due to the heat generated.

 

[clapham_gull]

Yes since apparently some brave stewards had laid themselves across the pitch in an unsuccessful attempt to use their body temperature to defrost it.

As reported by a steward on here yesterday.

 

[champion7]

Yes since apparently some brave stewards had laid themselves across the pitch in an unsuccessful attempt to use their body temperature to defrost it.

As reported by a steward on here yesterday.

I'd better clear this up,what i meant was myself and 20 stewards looked at the pitch and noticed it was covered.

 

[NMH]

Let's not forget that the metallic stands at Withdean, when covered with a frost that wasn't going to melt in the end, are a real hazard to the fans.
We have some staunch and very old supporters that can barely walk - yet make it to the game (!!)(and could, sometimes, probably do a better job of playing!).

If postponing a match due to conditions keeps one avid supporter from ending up in a wheelchair - then all your whingeing will have been worthwhile!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

FFS! It's the WEATHER! Sometimes it's colder, wetter, hotter, dryer than you think it's going to be.

And some clubs have massive ££££ incentives to get the game on, like live TV coverage.

A game was postponed. Get over it. It's not going to ruin our season.

 

[clapham_gull]

Nothing wrong with postponing the game, just wished the ref had made his mind up earlier and saved me the £20 train fare.