Match off

[brucie]

Forever - I got to the ground at 2pm to find that the game was off. I looked at the pitch at 2.10pm and it was unplayable. It doesn't need mentioning that the problem area is in front of Bristows bench.
There were puddles of water in on the pitch and the correct decision was made this time. On this occasion I cannot blame the groundstaff.
The pitch is nothing short of a disgrace though - and as you rightly say there hasn't been any rain for ages.
We won't get any home matches played on it next year come winter time.
Like everything else about the club it is an embarassment.
Yes of course we wanted the game played though and at least for once we have made a correct decision in getting the game played before the Morecambe match.
The only chance of salvation is to go into that game off the back of a win against Barnet.

[Dutchgull]

We should do a Plymouth and get a fantastic pitch laid and then not pay for it.....

[Dave]

I don't know how many local games were played know quite a few local footballers and find soon find out across the week, I do know my lad finish a training session this morning at midday on a perfectly playable W.B.B junoir football club pitch.

Brucie, I do not dispute the game being called off was the right call, the pitch indeed was not playable. What has made me so annoyned is the postponement was so avoidable, been raining on and off all week and this weather was forecasted, had the pitch covers been on in all likely hood the pitch would have stood up to the rain, were the pitch covers put on ? Does the club own an earthquaking machine, if not you can have an outside contracter do the pitch at roughly £120 a time etc, etc.

With York winning we are now left us with playing Barnet knowing now, that anything less than a win and we could be relegated next week, no pressure on the game now, barnet can afford to draw the game.

[brucie]

Whats an earthquaking machine?

I don't see its anymore pressure really. York won but Aldershot have blown their game in hand. Its still the same scenario - beat Barnet and its in our own hands. Plymouth could yet be in trouble.
They have a shed load of injuries - have an extra game next week and Banton has been recalled by Crystal palace.

[Dave]

Basicly aids drainage by aerating the pitch Brucie.

[Rach]

Alan Knill said on Radio Devon that Poke was' about 4 days off being fit'; maybe play him at Morecombe?

Yep, spoke to Poke today and he said pretty much the same thing as Alan. Poke's had some injections and is literally 3 or 4 days from returning. He also said that if he played today it would be his season over, so hopefully he should be fit for the Morecambe game.

[nickbrod]

Just back from my 400 mile round trip. Rain got worse after Bristol this morning the further West I drove.
Parked up by 2pm and with the rain lashing down and our pitch in front of Bristow's Bench being prone to waterlogging I wasn't surprised the match was called off.
Certainly there needs to be some time and money spent in the close season to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Listening to TalkSport on way home for latest scores I can't believe Northampton went down; only straw to clutch was hearing about Wycombe's late winner which might just condemn Aldershot to one of the relegation slots.
Tuesday night is going to be even more important now.
For me it's Alan Knill's team talk and tactics versus Edgar Davids.
Being in the bottom two tonight might be the incentive the players need.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Oh yeah, I keep a list of all 108, 219 matches played every Saturday.

What a bloody stupid question.

Matt.

[MidDevon]

I am pretty sure the pitch would have been wet before today's downpour

We were playing Barnet, a team far quicker than us, and it would have been foolish to not keep the pitch wet in the run up to the match.

I guess today's downpour made it go from saturated to flooding

By this posting I am not criticising the club in any way, all clubs water their pitch to suit the style of play of themselves and their opponents, it's what home advantage is all about

[ferrarilover]

I hate it when we're doing badly, every thread just turns into the same old idiots bashing the club and talking shite.

Edd, it's not a valid question, because it's unanswerable. No one is reasonably going to know. It's also irrelevant, weather that extreme so very rarely occurs over more than a tiny area. Amateur games don't matter a fig, so they'll play on almost any surface. This is the biggest game for 10 years for either club, do you really think we want it turned into a lottery with the possibility of a freak bounce in a puddle deciding who stays up and who goes down?

Dave, you're being silly now. Yes, it's been raining, but it's not rain which has caused today's postponement, it's 1/3 of April's average rainfall coming in 4 hours that we cannot cope with. I don't remember Michael Fish (or whoever does the weather forecast these days) saying at any stage this week, "Watch out Torquay, because Saturday morning you're going to have the heaviest rain for 20 years." No one could have seen this coming and you can't cover the pitch all week just in case other wise that's what they'd have done. I'm no horticulturalist, but I'll bet that covering a large living organism (or a large group of very small living organisms) which rely on light to photosynthesise will be in pretty bad shape after a couple of days of being under a thick plastic sheet.

I don't know why some people on here are so quick to jump down the throat of the club. We've had a game called off for a waterlogged pitch following some unseasonably heavy rain just before kick off, that's all. We're not a national disgrace, there won't be questions in Parliament, it won't be mentioned on the CNN World Round-up later tonight. We haven't done it deliberately and we haven't caused it through negligence, it's just one of those things that happens in life from time to time.

I've remarked before and I shall remark once again, I really hope we never have a real national emergency, because you lot would be bloody useless with your wailing and your finger pointing and your meaningless, petty complaints.

Matt.

[nickbrod]

Totally agree with you Matt.
Rain is rain.
For God's sake stop blaming the Club. They wanted the match on as much as everybody else.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I hate it when we're doing badly, every thread just turns into the same old idiots bashing the club and talking sh*t.

Edd, it's not a valid question, because it's unanswerable. No one is reasonably going to know. It's also irrelevant, weather that extreme so very rarely occurs over more than a tiny area. Amateur games don't matter a fig, so they'll play on almost any surface. This is the biggest game for 10 years for either club, do you really think we want it turned into a lottery with the possibility of a freak bounce in a puddle deciding who stays up and who goes down?

Dave, you're being silly now. Yes, it's been raining, but it's not rain which has caused today's postponement, it's 1/3 of April's average rainfall coming in 4 hours that we cannot cope with. I don't remember Michael Fish (or whoever does the weather forecast these days) saying at any stage this week, "Watch out Torquay, because Saturday morning you're going to have the heaviest rain for 20 years." No one could have seen this coming and you can't cover the pitch all week just in case other wise that's what they'd have done. I'm no horticulturalist, but I'll bet that covering a large living organism (or a large group of very small living organisms) which rely on light to photosynthesise will be in pretty bad shape after a couple of days of being under a thick plastic sheet.
I don't know why some people on here are so quick to jump down the throat of the club. We've had a game called off for a waterlogged pitch following some unseasonably heavy rain just before kick off, that's all. We're not a national disgrace, there won't be questions in Parliament, it won't be mentioned on the CNN World Round-up later tonight. We haven't done it deliberately and we haven't caused it through negligence, it's just one of those things that happens in life from time to time.

I've remarked before and I shall remark once again, I really hope we never have a real national emergency, because you lot would be bloody useless with your wailing and your finger pointing and your meaningless, petty complaints.

Matt.

Got no idea why mate but i've just p*ssed myself at that! Another elongated pearler!

[ferrarilover]

Haha, there's something wrong with you, Andy, you're amused by some very strange things. If you're aroused by similarly queer situations, I can only feel sorry for your significant other.

Matt.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Matt, it just sounded like something completely random that maybe Alan Partridge would have said and i found it made me guffaw and chortle a lot. Cheers mate!

[ferrarilover]

I know it's already been posted, but have a look at this, it's absolutely hilarious:

http://www.onlybarnet.com/forum/viewtop ... f=3&t=5061

What a bunch of idiots. Apparently, Barnet is inhabited entirely by amateur grounds- and weathermen.

Look, Bees, we didn't know the weather was coming, no one knew the weather was coming. We were told it would rain, not that half the Atlantic would be dumped on the ground in 11 seconds. We didn't cover the pitch because A) as far as anyone knew, they wouldn't be needed and B) see A.

Honestly, I really hope we never come across like that to other clubs.

Matt.