www.altyfans.co.uk
General Category => Altrincham FC First Team => Topic started by: robininstockport on February 03, 2018, 01:03:18 PM
-
At what point do we give it up and move games to Stockport Sports, Hyde or a pitch at the Etihad campus.
Plus points, game on, better surface for our style of play.
Minus points, cost, lower gate.
Given what's at stake I'd do it ASAP.
-
Me too.
This is going to cost us in more ways than one.
-
I worry that the pitch could cost us promotion
That is no criticism of the groundstaff. the only thing to blame is Mother nature
-
For me this is a must.And must be looked at by the club very soon.
-
Trafford game on I think. I'd imagine it'd be complicated, but couldn't we arrange something with them short term?
-
How many home games have we had postponed this season?
-
Surely it’s worth putting together some kind of contingency plan.
I worry that the pitch could cost us promotion
That is no criticism of the groundstaff. the only thing to blame is Mother nature
That, and the Witton game going ahead when it never should have done. We will be dealing with the damage for a long time.
-
How many home games have we had postponed this season?
not many
-
Trafford is a great shout,there pitch always in great condition and only down the road,would be great get Tuesday's game ON.
-
It's not just fact games have been postponed (and continue to be) but even when games go ahead it's not an idea surface.
-
Looking at the pictures of the pitch on Twitter The Goal at the Golf road End has had it.I thought this was an area that had been covered.
Agree with everyone else this could cost us Dearly we need a plan B now because looking at the goal area mentioned it is going to take weeks to get it back to any were near playable
And that is weather dependent which at the moment is not looking to clever
Concerning times
-
The bad conditions make it awfull to watch any way also the ball not moving in the mud is frustrating
Like the Witton game
-
It's not just fact games have been postponed (and continue to be) but even when games go ahead it's not an idea surface.
I'd say there's only been two games been played on less than ideal surfaces, Warrington and Witton. The Witton game should never have gone ahead and as a result was a big contributor to the Warrinton game's pitch being poor and I suspect will take some time to recover.
-
I think this option has to be explored.......looking at the pitch if it had gone on today the next 5 games would have be played on a quagmire....
Long term there needs to be an solution.......I wonder if a trench around the pitch with a drainage channel which is then covered over but can be pumped clear into a mains drain would help?
Otherwise it is a massive raising of the pitch with a pumpable drainage system below....clearly the water table is and will always be from now on too high for the pitch to drain?
-
The under 17s play at Flixton. That's would do a job, don't think they have a senior team
-
Flixton or Trafford I think playing the next 5 games should be considered...our pitch gets cut up and damaged every time it's played on and will be poor even in March...that goal area need completely digging out and relaying, the soil underneath is clearly saturated.....even not having played on it a lot in januray it is not recovering and the water table remains too high to take one normal Manchester downpour...
-
The under 17s play at Flixton. That's would do a job, don't think they have a senior team
Actually, they do. Unicorn Athletic play there. While we are thinking of possibilities, don't forget Stalybridge owe us a favour from last season.
If we have to have a temporary groundshare, and we may have to, it's important it should be for the fewest games possible.
-
Bridge's pitch is also fooked I'm reliably informed
-
I’m not sure flixton would have a evostick premier grading to be honest. Witton or the Manchester regional arena would probably be best bet, MRA Holds 6,500. Stalybridge have got pitch problems as have stockport county. Other option would be NSS at belle vue which holds 5,000
-
I don't think that even the great Jack Thorpe could salvage this:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVHKJ7yX4AIgAS6.jpg)
-
good job they never built houses on the pitch , they would be bungalows by now :D
-
Time to think about 4g ?
-
I’m not sure flixton would have a evostick premier grading to be honest. Witton or the Manchester regional arena would probably be best bet, MRA Holds 6,500. Stalybridge have got pitch problems as have stockport county. Other option would be NSS at belle vue which holds 5,000
Flixton is a better ground than half we have played in this season
A more than adequate venue for this level of football
-
Northwich played there 2 seasons ago, in the evo stik league so presume still got the grading for us to play there.
-
I don't think that even the great Jack Thorpe could salvage this:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVHKJ7yX4AIgAS6.jpg)
the pitch seems to be worse than ever despite significant investment not long ago very sad too see
We have had a stupid amount of rain however and for us that is a killer
It turns out we didn't need the sprinklers after all
-
A practical quick fix would be a crowd finder for more tarpaulin. For at least enough to cover all the problem areas, it’d pay for itself
-
I would like to to see a comprehensive survey carried out by professionals to once and for all see if there is a solution to this ongoing problem .
Then if there is a way we could cure this problem and costings be given I would then think it would be worth asking people if they would like to help fund the project .
Covers are ok for frost protection but I feel water will seep up under the covers.
Just a thought
-
The pitch is a huge concern. I could stand corrected but I am sure we didn't relay it last summer? Probably money needed saving for the barriers and player budget. I could be wrong.
It needs digging up in the summer and a drainage system of some sort needs placing a foot or two underneath the surface that runs out the ground into a nearby drainage pipe. A big cost but needs doing.
Could the well talked about sprinklers be leaking underground?
This pitch could ruin our promotion challenge but at the same time playing at another ground would be rubbish.
Might not have a choice.
It is definitely the worst I've seen it.
Buy a load of gazebo's with sides,I bought quite a decent size one for a festival for 45 quid. Around 6 of those will be sweet. You can actually buy the pop up ones but more of a cost. Worth a thought. Keep the frost off too and won't damage the grass as much as sheets.
-
Trafford or Flixton would be the most suitable venues if we need to switch some home games,both in the same borough and only one bus ride from Altrincham. If they are unplayable then Curzon or Etihad Campus as they're both on the tram line but cost could be an issue.
-
Trafford or Flixton would be the most suitable venues if we need to switch some home games,both in the same borough and only one bus ride from Altrincham. If they are unplayable then Curzon or Etihad Campus as they're both on the tram line but cost could be an issue.
Cheadle Town maybe another option
-
Bridge's pitch is also fooked I'm reliably informed
They're playing on it today......
-
I’m not sure flixton would have a evostick premier grading to be honest. Witton or the Manchester regional arena would probably be best bet, MRA Holds 6,500. Stalybridge have got pitch problems as have stockport county. Other option would be NSS at belle vue which holds 5,000
Flixton is a better ground than half we have played in this season
A more than adequate venue for this level of football
Hasn’t valley road been stripped out since Northwich left? I’m not sure it’d have a safety certificate or a grading for evostick premier now. What are the minimum requirements
-
I’ll have a look in when I pass, unicorn use it in the Cheshire league
-
Shaw lane been held 1-1
Grantham losing 1-0
-
Has everyone forgotten that Altrincham got promoted in 1999 on an absoutely dreadful pitch where the drainage issues were a lot worse than the ones experienced so far this season?
-
Shaw lane been held 1-1
Grantham losing 1-0
Ended 1-1 both games. Grantham equalised in the 10th(!) minute of added time.
-
Has everyone forgotten that Altrincham got promoted in 1999 on an absoutely dreadful pitch where the drainage issues were a lot worse than the ones experienced so far this season?
In 1999 games were played on far worse pitches than are allowed now.
-
A practical quick fix would be a crowd finder for more tarpaulin. For at least enough to cover all the problem areas, it’d pay for itself
Covering the pitch doesn't prevent the ground water rising in an area of land that is naturally very wet. I would suggest that water that falls on other areas is collecting in the areas that are causing the problems. I'd be looking at digging a hole behind the goal and pumping the water away.
-
What about Heywood Road?
-
Has everyone forgotten that Altrincham got promoted in 1999 on an absoutely dreadful pitch where the drainage issues were a lot worse than the ones experienced so far this season?
Was going to say the same. And how many many teams do you see full stop, never mind at this level, switch Home games to another ground? It is extremely rare, as it is the nature at this level. Should Shaw Lane be playing at Oakwell given the amount of games they’ve had off?? We’re in a great position, and when we get the home games on the pitch will be in a position to suit us anyway
-
What about Heywood Road?
Swinton play there which wont help
-
Two other considerations, firstly as water finds its level covering parts of a pitch situated on a Moss with a very high water table will not prevent migration of water through the subsoil directly beneath. Also, the water thar runs off the covers goes where? Add on that a covered area cannot dry by wind action as the water is trapped I don't think we have a realistic solution. The geography of the site is what it is.
-
Two other considerations, firstly as water finds its level covering parts of a pitch situated on a Moss with a very high water table will not prevent migration of water through the subsoil directly beneath. Also, the water thar runs off the covers goes where? Add on that a covered area cannot dry by wind action as the water is trapped I don't think we have a realistic solution. The geography of the site is what it is.
I was wondering when someone would point out that Moss Lane is not named by accident, that 'Hale Moss' used to appear on old maps slap bang where the ground is, and that there's not a lot you can do about the basic position of the ground or the fundamental nature of a moss. I'm afraid we just have to grin and bear it. The weather forecast for Tuesday, last time I looked, wasn't exactly promising & the end of the week is supposed to be cold - sub-zero by night - which doesn't bode well for Buxton. We might have to wait a wee while for the next game ... though the Lord knows I hope not! (I speak as one who had to set out before the postponement decision was made & didn't find out until I was walking towards the ground at about 2.20, which was a mite frustrating!)
-
Exactly Mike and SW. it is not called Moss Lane for nothing!!
-
We would be giving up home advantage, playing in front of much smaller crowds with match sponsorships and advertising deals potentially jeopardized, not to mention food and bar takings decimated. All this would probably cost the club tens of thousands of pounds in the process (which would surely hurt any funding to fix the pitch long term). When we talk about the cost as a downside, that particular downside would be huge.
We have no fixture backlog at this stage compared to other teams and we are not the only team to be seeing postponements; hopefully we will be seeing some better weather in the coming weeks too.
I can understand the idea of switching games as a total last resort but the cons outweigh the pros for me for now.
-
Two other considerations, firstly as water finds its level covering parts of a pitch situated on a Moss with a very high water table will not prevent migration of water through the subsoil directly beneath. Also, the water thar runs off the covers goes where? Add on that a covered area cannot dry by wind action as the water is trapped I don't think we have a realistic solution. The geography of the site is what it is.
I was wondering when someone would point out that Moss Lane is not named by accident, that 'Hale Moss' used to appear on old maps slap bang where the ground is, and that there's not a lot you can do about the basic position of the ground or the fundamental nature of a moss. I'm afraid we just have to grin and bear it. The weather forecast for Tuesday, last time I looked, wasn't exactly promising & the end of the week is supposed to be cold - sub-zero by night - which doesn't bode well for Buxton. We might have to wait a wee while for the next game ... though the Lord knows I hope not! (I speak as one who had to set out before the postponement decision was made & didn't find out until I was walking towards the ground at about 2.20, which was a mite frustrating!)
This point is made every time the subject of a wet pitch and postponed games is mentioned.
-
Four pages into this thread, I'm very surprised that none of the usual suspects have blamed the board for getting that lengthy lease from Trafford Council......
-
Four pages into this thread, I'm very surprised that none of the usual suspects have blamed the board for getting that lengthy lease from Trafford Council......
Glad you find belittling the alienated fans amusing.
-
Sorry - on reading my post again, it's badly worded and open to misinterpretation. Apologies to anybody I unintentionally offended (I'm still one of the disaffected myself after all !)
I'm trying to open discussion on whether our long lease, which most of us applauded at the time, is actually a good thing.
Besides the pitch issues, there is a lot about our ground that would need improvement if we were to progress. I would favour 4G if I were to accept that we would never reach the Football League - but I'll never abandon my 60 year old dream.
The CSH is a great asset, but other areas of the ground are old and tired (so am I).
Anyone got thoughts on this ?
-
What a life it would be
If we could play on new 4G
We’d still kick off at five past three...
-
Sorry - on reading my post again, it's badly worded and open to misinterpretation. Apologies to anybody I unintentionally offended (I'm still one of the disaffected myself after all !)
I'm trying to open discussion on whether our long lease, which most of us applauded at the time, is actually a good thing.
Besides the pitch issues, there is a lot about our ground that would need improvement if we were to progress. I would favour 4G if I were to accept that we would never reach the Football League - but I'll never abandon my 60 year old dream.
The CSH is a great asset, but other areas of the ground are old and tired (so am I).
Anyone got thoughts on this ?
Let's say it cost £200k minus all the grants and funding, and it took us 4 years to get to the football league, I'd like to think we could earn 50k a earn in revenue to cover the installation.
We could then rip it up and install grass for our football league season.
I'd rather we have grass...
-
I’d have no issue with us installing a 4g pitch. There would have to be a guarantee that should we be in a position to be promoted to the football league it would be removed without question should it be at a point before the football league allow them, and that the reserves, ladies team, youth team etc are all kept in-house utilising it as much as possible.
-
Sorry - on reading my post again, it's badly worded and open to misinterpretation. Apologies to anybody I unintentionally offended (I'm still one of the disaffected myself after all !)
I'm trying to open discussion on whether our long lease, which most of us applauded at the time, is actually a good thing.
Besides the pitch issues, there is a lot about our ground that would need improvement if we were to progress. I would favour 4G if I were to accept that we would never reach the Football League - but I'll never abandon my 60 year old dream.
The CSH is a great asset, but other areas of the ground are old and tired (so am I).
Anyone got thoughts on this ?
Let's say it cost £200k minus all the grants and funding, and it took us 4 years to get to the football league, I'd like to think we could earn 50k a earn in revenue to cover the installation.
We could then rip it up and install grass for our football league season.
I'd rather we have grass...
I'm pretty sure no one would give a grant to see you rip it up in 4 years!
-
I’d have no issue with us installing a 4g pitch. There would have to be a guarantee that should we be in a position to be promoted to the football league it would be removed without question should it be at a point before the football league allow them, and that the reserves, ladies team, youth team etc are all kept in-house utilising it as much as possible.
That wouldnt work for the juniors - 3G is hard to secure in this area, hence we wouldnt be likely to release any of our current venues/slots if we know the "new" 3G pitch will be ripped up should we reach the football league - we'd be stranded then with no 3G.
-
We wouldn’t need to rip it up, it’ll be allowed in the football league within the next few years, just an understanding that should we some how end up in such a position it would be acted upon without question. We’ve not finished in the top five of the conference for 23 years. And from our current position the likelihood of us needing to remove it in an extreme bare minimum 2 years is beyond unlikely, the chance of it being sanctioned for use in division 3 and 4 in the next two years is very likely
-
As you can play world cup matches on shiity/sandy 3g I too can see the FL allowing these 4g in before long.
People will have landed on Mars before we join the great 92, so it's not an issue for me.
When I see how frequently the 4g is used at Hyde it's a no brainer
-
Sorry - on reading my post again, it's badly worded and open to misinterpretation. Apologies to anybody I unintentionally offended (I'm still one of the disaffected myself after all !)
I'm trying to open discussion on whether our long lease, which most of us applauded at the time, is actually a good thing.
Besides the pitch issues, there is a lot about our ground that would need improvement if we were to progress. I would favour 4G if I were to accept that we would never reach the Football League - but I'll never abandon my 60 year old dream.
The CSH is a great asset, but other areas of the ground are old and tired (so am I).
Anyone got thoughts on this ?
My own thoughts are that if we ever did move, it would be to some industrial or brownfield area within the borough (forget the town) with poor public transport links and nothing residential surrounding it.
This ground's location is its greatest asset, right in the heart of the community, and a short walk from the town centre. Some parts of the ground are very poor but a lot of it is fixable and there are good bits of infrastructure too, notably the CSH and the pitch facing Sponsors Lounge (which some league clubs don't even have and is underappreciated by the club in my view). We are right to stay where we are.
The flip side is I don't think we'd get a 4G pitch for planning reasons, even then I'm not sure how much it would solve the drainage problem.
-
With weather seasons being just generally wetter we may have no choice to look at 4g but I would be gutted. It just isn't the same vibe as grass roots.
Personally I feel the club need to seek professional advice this summer and at the earliest opportunity get the pitch up.
In 30 plus years of watching them the pitch hasn't been a huge problem most seasons, so I wouldn't panic but would most defo look into a drainage system and maybe seek fans donation. I would put up to £30 in the pot.
-
Sorry - on reading my post again, it's badly worded and open to misinterpretation. Apologies to anybody I unintentionally offended (I'm still one of the disaffected myself after all !)
I'm trying to open discussion on whether our long lease, which most of us applauded at the time, is actually a good thing.
Besides the pitch issues, there is a lot about our ground that would need improvement if we were to progress. I would favour 4G if I were to accept that we would never reach the Football League - but I'll never abandon my 60 year old dream.
The CSH is a great asset, but other areas of the ground are old and tired (so am I).
Anyone got thoughts on this ?
No worries,I read it as a dig so cheers for clearing it up. I can't see us ever reaching the Football League in my lifetime never mind yours so 4G is a no brainer for me!!
-
Even if the football league vote against 4g pitches at the agm eventually ,a bit like automatic promotion rather than re election it will come in.Wonder what the cost difference is between having a new pitch and a 4g pitch with a grant ?
-
The reaction to a postponed game is ridiculous. Talk of having to get a 4G pitch is absolute madness. It’s not as easy as just ripping up a grass pitch and laying an Astro. It costs a fortune. We haven’t even got the money for proper gantry for alty tv and radio robins. Bill Waterson talked about an ambition being the football league on the radio the other week. Well, that will go for certain with an Astro.
-
The reaction to a postponed game is ridiculous. Talk of having to get a 4G pitch is absolute madness. It’s not as easy as just ripping up a grass pitch and laying an Astro. It costs a fortune. We haven’t even got the money for proper gantry for alty tv and radio robins. Bill Waterson talked about an ambition being the football league on the radio the other week. Well, that will go for certain with an Astro.
There is more fkn scaffolding in the popular side than there is around the House of Parliament and Big Ben put together.
-
The reaction to a postponed game is ridiculous. Talk of having to get a 4G pitch is absolute madness. It’s not as easy as just ripping up a grass pitch and laying an Astro. It costs a fortune. We haven’t even got the money for proper gantry for alty tv and radio robins. Bill Waterson talked about an ambition being the football league on the radio the other week. Well, that will go for certain with an Astro.
There is more fkn scaffolding in the popular side than there is around the House of Parliament and Big Ben put together.
Its an unsightly mess. If there are any ground improvements in the pipeline, that has to be top of the list. The scaffolding ruins what was a decent view of the game.
-
Its not a reaction to one game being called off...its a reaction to the realisation we have a serious problem...the pitch is in a dreadful state and cannot cope with a normal manchester downpour.
We can carry on and do nothing or find solutions which range from a simple trench to the more drastic moving of home matches to a 4g pitch...
-
Its not a reaction to one game being called off...its a reaction to the realisation we have a serious problem...the pitch is in a dreadful state and cannot cope with a normal manchester downpour.
We can carry on and do nothing or find solutions which range from a simple trench to the more drastic moving of home matches to a 4g pitch...
Given recent weather we haven't been too afflicted.
If it wasnt for the state of the key areas like the goal mouth i'd say majority of this was overreaction.
-
The reaction to a postponed game is ridiculous. Talk of having to get a 4G pitch is absolute madness. It’s not as easy as just ripping up a grass pitch and laying an Astro. It costs a fortune. We haven’t even got the money for proper gantry for alty tv and radio robins. Bill Waterson talked about an ambition being the football league on the radio the other week. Well, that will go for certain with an Astro.
i thought it was quite a good constructive debate tbh