Blundell Park pitch

Looking at the state of the pitch during last nights game makes me think all the money that was spent last July in improving the playing surface was a complete waste of money. Although during last nights game the ball spent more time in the air than on the ground. Going back to last Saturday the Carlisle pitch was in excellent condition a point that was made by the town management prior to kickoff and this was a pitch that had been completely flooded a few years ago. It was no coincidence that town played some lovely one touch football before Carlisle scored .Surely some of the money that has been secured from our cup run must be invested back into the ground and the pitch must be sorted out , it looks more like a pitch from local Sunday league than a football league club.

Ever since the humps were removed..

Looks like the centre of Osmand goal area has been relaid as well

Quoted from moosey_club

Looks like the centre of Osmand goal area has been relaid as well

The relaid area in the in the Osmond 18 yard box looked dead to me viewing from the upper findus like the previous poster said the Carlisle pitch was in top top condition and they get a lot more rain than we do

Re seeding the pitch was a waste of money . It needed at least 2 summers to bed in before football could be played on it . The weather excuse is Bollox . Carlisle have pretty bad weather ☁️

Quoted from It Bites

Re seeding the pitch was a waste of money . It needed at least 2 summers to bed in before football could be played on it . The weather excuse is Bollox . Carlisle have pretty bad weather ☁️

Expert.
Moaner.

Quoted from chaos33

Expert.
Moaner.

Or opinion giver

Thank goodness it’s not like the old Baseball Ground Derby played on!

Quoted from exiledmeggie

Thank goodness it’s not like the old Baseball Ground Derby played on!

Their dodgy pitch didn’t seem to hold them back when they won the league twice and reached the semi finals of the European cup.

It should be an advantage playing on a pitch that you are used to but it doesn't appear that way

Most of the bigger clubs are now moving towards part synthetic hybrid type pitches that you see in the PL, problem is they’re the best part of 7 figures to lay.

It's just adding to that list of things at BP that need a major upgrade.

I suppose there's relatively little point in major investment in the pitch if we're going to be either moving or redeveloping Blundell Park to a state where either we can't protect the pitch during works or it is going to somehow be moved (thinking those suggestions of having it flipped 90 degrees).

Can't remember seeing it this bad in recent years, perhaps a reason we seem to want to pass the ball around less than we do away from home.

However looking round the leagues there are some absolute states of pitches out there, I think we rank quite low down on the list compared to some. (Salford!)

Quoted from It Bites

Re seeding the pitch was a waste of money . It needed at least 2 summers to bed in before football could be played on it . The weather excuse is Bollox . Carlisle have pretty bad weather ☁️

Your right the heavy PowerRaking removed 12mm of thatch/soil and then was reseeded. They might have got away with it if it wasn't such a wet winter. It will be much better next season.
That is an "ancient lawn" the roots could be nearly a metre deep it will recover, with all that is against it, no sun, no drying wind.
We are lucky that in 1899 the "builders" levelled the pitch pretty well. Liverpool's Anfield pitch was down in one corner, and as it rained quite a lot, it was a quagmire.

If they only went down 12mms. that's the problem. At least 12cms. of tilth is required to sow a football pitch

Quoted from GrimPol

Your right the heavy PowerRaking removed 12mm of thatch/soil and then was reseeded. They might have got away with it if it wasn't such a wet winter. It will be much better next season.
That is an "ancient lawn" the roots could be nearly a metre deep it will recover, with all that is against it, no sun, no drying wind.
We are lucky that in 1899 the "builders" levelled the pitch pretty well. Liverpool's Anfield pitch was down in one corner, and as it rained quite a lot, it was a quagmire.

The roots of lawn / playing field grasses certainly don't grow deep - just a couple of inches which is why they are easy to dig up and suffer from drought easily.

I agree though it should be better next season once it settles down and has some more remedial work done in the close season.

The point is that you only get a short window during the summer break to carry out remedial work and this can be weather dependent. You also have to have try to factor in any adverse weather that may occur during the early part of the season. Periods of heavy rain during late August , September and October could lead to the pitch cutting up badly without any warmer weather to help the grass recover. It's easy to be critical of the ground staffs work to produce a decent playing surface for an 8/9 month period but I am sure they try their best with what they are working with coupled with the modern techniques now available.

Why was it seeded and not turfed ?

On some occasions this season , I have walked into BP to see the pitch being heavily watered from the new sprinklers. This has been after we've had heavy rain for a couple of days. There were large areas of standing water when the teams came out to train/warmup pre-match, and some areas were worn down. Couldn't believe the new pitch was being excessively watered.

If only we'd got the Fentydome built, could have had one of them fancy systems where you grow an entire pitch outside and wheel it into the stadium........

In reality I'm sure sorting a decent playing surface is one of the top items on JS' to do list but there's sod all you can do during a season and not much you can do in the off season.  .

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

The roots of lawn / playing field grasses certainly don't grow deep - just a couple of inches which is why they are easy to dig up and suffer from drought easily.

I agree though it should be better next season once it settles down and has some more remedial work done in the close season.

Dr Google’s says professional football pitches mainly use perennial ryegrass which has a root depth of 75cm when mature which doesn’t  seem shallow

Quoted from HerveJosse

Dr Google’s says professional football pitches mainly use perennial ryegrass which has a root depth of 75cm when mature which doesn’t  seem shallow

Quite right - but the mixture used is usually made up of 4 per. rye grasses. Rye grass is hard wearing but to make it even more so some football pitches are "injected"  with millions of plastic - like fibres ( hybrid pitches) to strengthen the roots and also to help drainage. As I said in a previous post you need at least 5-6 inches of tilth to enable the roots to take hold. Before Hagrid can comment I am an ex- landscape gardener and again for Hagrid's information I did apply for head groundsman at B.P. but was beaten for the post by the excellent Frank Bridge who I had worked with on several occasions .

I may be wrong here , but I think either Stockport or Rochdale used some large lights that were confiscated from a drugs farm, to help the growth of their pitch in certain areas.


(*the police confiscated them not the club!)

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

The roots of lawn / playing field grasses certainly don't grow deep - just a couple of inches which is why they are easy to dig up and suffer from drought easily.

I agree though it should be better next season once it settles down and has some more remedial work done in the close season.

I do beg your pardon, I have rechecked my info and do concur.

Quoted from WOZOFGRIMSBY

I may be wrong here , but I think either Stockport or Rochdale used some large lights that were confiscated from a drugs farm, to help the growth of their pitch in certain areas.


(*the police confiscated them not the club!)

Would be much funnier if the club did it - "scarper lads, leave the weed and hydroponics - Paul Hurst and Luke Waterfall are kicking the door in!"

Pitch inspection tomorrow at 10am.

Quoted from zorro_is_a_Mariner

Pitch inspection tomorrow at 10am.

Club say we've requested, which sounds worrying. Expect it to be off if that's the case.. Our pitch really is knackered these days

Quoted from zorro_is_a_Mariner

Pitch inspection tomorrow at 10am.

The last thing we need is another match-off. BBC and Met Office showing a frost tonight with the temperature rising after 8.00 am; so hopefully, with covers the game should be on.

It’ll be very wet which is more of a concern than the frost imo.

I think we are just covering ourselves, be ine I reckon.

Picking son up from School now, grass is totally fine. How our pitch has become so bad is really concerning

Our pitch isn't great but I think standards have risen a lot over the last couple of decades.

We've all seen the state of the pitches that football used to be played on!

That game v Sunderland in December 1993... it's laughable now that they even kicked off! Times have changed a lot in the 30 years that have followed.

Officials are more inclined to postpone games if there's just one boggy patch. If a small area is still frozen? Game off. Even though it'll likely thaw by 3pm.

So it works both ways. Our pitch has been much worse but standards to get games on are higher than they've ever been.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

The roots of lawn / playing field grasses certainly don't grow deep - just a couple of inches which is why they are easy to dig up and suffer from drought easily.

I agree though it should be better next season once it settles down and has some more remedial work done in the close season.

A wet winter? I can only judge it by the golf course and it has been shut 1 day so far . Usually shut lots more than that

Quoted from supertown

A wet winter? I can only judge it by the golf course and it has been shut 1 day so far . Usually shut lots more than that

It's been dry since mid January.

11.25 and thee temp is minus 2.5 c

Anyone local got any thoughts on whether we’re on or off this afternoon?

Still travelling up for the game so fingers crossed.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Anyone local got any thoughts on whether we’re on or off this afternoon?

Still travelling up for the game so fingers crossed.

It's been frosty overnight, but sun is out, so hopefully clears it! I'm assuming they've requested inspection because of the expected frost

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

It's been frosty overnight, but sun is out, so hopefully clears it! I'm assuming they've requested inspection because of the expected frost

👍

I have no axe to grind with the current groundsman.

However, sadly, time will eventually show that he doesn’t know what he is doing or maybe he just isn’t that good a groundsman. Bit harsh some may say and what is this based on?

Well, he was the groundsman for quite a few years at London Road, Louth and frankly, the football and cricket pitches went from being the best in the county (they were newly laid at a significant cost) to being just like BP looks.

Lots of dead and bald patches, awful flooding and the similarities are too much to ignore.

Look at the old footage of our pitch under previous ground staff, much better and in worse weather conditions.

He  has all the certificates I know - but is not performing at the moment.

Would be calling it out if it was a player and so saying it for another member of staff as their role is key.

Quoted from Lincspoacher

I have no axe to grind with the current groundsman.

However, sadly, time will eventually show that he doesn’t know what he is doing or maybe he just isn’t that good a groundsman. Bit harsh some may say and what is this based on?

Well, he was the groundsman for quite a few years at London Road, Louth and frankly, the football and cricket pitches went from being the best in the county (they were newly laid at a significant cost) to being just like BP looks.

Lots of dead and bald patches, awful flooding and the similarities are too much to ignore.

Look at the old footage of our pitch under previous ground staff, much better and in worse weather conditions.

He  has all the certificates I know - but is not performing at the moment.

Would be calling it out if it was a player and so saying it for another member of staff as their role is key.

Agree wholeheartedly - Mike Phillips did a terrific job for years, mostly with far less investment.

Quoted from Lincspoacher

I have no axe to grind with the current groundsman.

However, sadly, time will eventually show that he doesn’t know what he is doing or maybe he just isn’t that good a groundsman. Bit harsh some may say and what is this based on?

Well, he was the groundsman for quite a few years at London Road, Louth and frankly, the football and cricket pitches went from being the best in the county (they were newly laid at a significant cost) to being just like BP looks.

Lots of dead and bald patches, awful flooding and the similarities are too much to ignore.

Look at the old footage of our pitch under previous ground staff, much better and in worse weather conditions.

He  has all the certificates I know - but is not performing at the moment.

Would be calling it out if it was a player and so saying it for another member of staff as their role is key.

If this is true then how did he get the job? Surely we check backgrounds of people who we employ

Hopefully with 3 away games now and a bit of good weather the pitch will recover and dry out, it showed today how bad it is, credit to the ground staff for getting the pitch playable for today’s game but with both keepers slipping today whilst taking goal kicks and players struggling to hold their footing the pitch is not helping the team.

I seem to think that the long term forecast is for another cold/wet/stormy spell next weekend. That won't help the pitch much. I'd imagine that, with all the games we've got to play, it is going to remain a bit ropey for the remainder of the season.

Although JS has stated that the proceeds from our FA Cup run will be used to strengthen the playing squad next summer, it would be imperative that a sufficient amount was used to improve the playing surface at BP. Surely it's counter productive to get better class players and then expect them to perform at their best on an inferior playing surface?

Quoted from Lincspoacher

I have no axe to grind with the current groundsman.

However, sadly, time will eventually show that he doesn’t know what he is doing or maybe he just isn’t that good a groundsman. Bit harsh some may say and what is this based on?

Well, he was the groundsman for quite a few years at London Road, Louth and frankly, the football and cricket pitches went from being the best in the county (they were newly laid at a significant cost) to being just like BP looks.

Lots of dead and bald patches, awful flooding and the similarities are too much to ignore.

Look at the old footage of our pitch under previous ground staff, much better and in worse weather conditions.

He  has all the certificates I know - but is not performing at the moment.

Would be calling it out if it was a player and so saying it for another member of staff as their role is key.

This wouldn't be the same groundsman that took the position at London Road in 2010 after the sites initial opening in 2008 when the heavily invested pitches & cricket square were failing massively would it? Who then went on to see Louth Old Boys grow from 10 teams to 30, playing 100 games a year on 6 pitches to 530, hosting countless county cup finals & indeed gtfc academy fixtures, winning groundsman of the year several times whilst there & coming 2nd in a industry national award as well as receiving a highly commended award from the fa for pitch quality in 2015, this wouldn't be the same groundsman who successfully developed the ground to allow it to hold the first ever cricket International in Lincolnshire when England played Pakistan women and then frequented the site 3 further times until the sky tv intervention would it? Is it the same groundsman who had the square at London Road consistently in the top 3 in the county for several years is it? Also what certificates does he have Lincspoacher? Just calling it out mate as you seem ill informed !

Steady on. Don't want any facts around here when there is someone to blame.  

Quoted from ginnywings

Steady on. Don't want any facts around here when there is someone to blame.  

My keyboard is a moe reliable warrior than yours!

Quoted from Toothill Totty

My keyboard is a moe reliable warrior than yours!

Moe money, moe problems.

Quoted from ginnywings

Moe money, moe problems.

Haha, typical typo when flexing the knowledge fingers, anyway lincspoacher where are you, let's be having you!

The pitch seems to have gone to pot since we took the humps out.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

The pitch seems to have gone to pot since we took the humps out.

Why has it gone to pot...explain?
Today was the 2nd game in 5 days, anyone about locally yesterday? Notice the weather by any chance? How didthe pitch perform in these 2 games? Was bounce consistent,  did it cutuo and divot or just scar? Did it contribute to any mistakes beyond the players control?
Honestly the lack of knowledge in this thread and others is quite  honesty embarrassing, its embarrassing that so many have uneducated and ill informed opinions without even attempting to understand the social media posts the club have put out regarding the amount of time it will take to improve blundell park with its current construction, so many experts on here!

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Why has it gone to pot...explain?
Today was the 2nd game in 5 days, anyone about locally yesterday? Notice the weather by any chance? How didthe pitch perform in these 2 games? Was bounce consistent,  did it cutuo and divot or just scar? Did it contribute to any mistakes beyond the players control?
Honestly the lack of knowledge in this thread and others is quite  honesty embarrassing, its embarrassing that so many have uneducated and ill informed opinions without even attempting to understand the social media posts the club have put out regarding the amount of time it will take to improve blundell park with its current construction, so many experts on here!

If it makes you feel any better, I played on it in the 90s and I’m now bunioned, blistered and bow-legged.

The fact you manage to grow grass on parts of that pitch makes you deserving of a medal.

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Why has it gone to pot...explain?
Today was the 2nd game in 5 days, anyone about locally yesterday? Notice the weather by any chance? How didthe pitch perform in these 2 games? Was bounce consistent,  did it cutuo and divot or just scar? Did it contribute to any mistakes beyond the players control?
Honestly the lack of knowledge in this thread and others is quite  honesty embarrassing, its embarrassing that so many have uneducated and ill informed opinions without even attempting to understand the social media posts the club have put out regarding the amount of time it will take to improve blundell park with its current construction, so many experts on here!

We have had more postponements, it has been more bare and susceptible to water in those areas. I'm not pleading to be an expert or criticising there, those humps were a quirky part of BP and I was always told they were for drainage.

I believe we got told to level the humps by the EFL after a number of teams complained having playing on it numerous times over a period of about 140 years without complaining.

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Why has it gone to pot...explain?
Today was the 2nd game in 5 days, anyone about locally yesterday? Notice the weather by any chance? How didthe pitch perform in these 2 games? Was bounce consistent,  did it cutuo and divot or just scar? Did it contribute to any mistakes beyond the players control?
Honestly the lack of knowledge in this thread and others is quite  honesty embarrassing, its embarrassing that so many have uneducated and ill informed opinions without even attempting to understand the social media posts the club have put out regarding the amount of time it will take to improve blundell park with its current construction, so many experts on here!

It’s obvious you’re connected in some way and you obviously care about it, but it’s absolutely undeniable it’s currently in the poorest state most of us have ever seen it

Quoted from jamesgtfc

We have had more postponements, it has been more bare and susceptible to water in those areas. I'm not pleading to be an expert or criticising there, those humps were a quirky part of BP and I was always told they were for drainage.

I believe we got told to level the humps by the EFL after a number of teams complained having playing on it numerous times over a period of about 140 years without complaining.

Why how many postponements have we had compared to other years?

Quoted from pontoonlew

It’s obvious you’re connected in some way and you obviously care about it, but it’s absolutely undeniable it’s currently in the poorest state most of us have ever seen it

Unfortunately fella its not is it, why is it.poor explain?
I want ball roll, bounce, goals conceded because of the pitch,  this is what it is marked on not your uneducated opinion on how it looks?  The floor is yours@

I understand that the previous ownership insisted on individual grass seeds being cut in two before planting in order to make a box last twice as long and reduce costs.

I’m not ársed about the pitch, looks fine to me, just seems to be one of those things that’ve become an issue because people just need to have something to moan about.

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Why how many postponements have we had compared to other years?

I'm not scrolling through the fixtures but our pitch was award winning in recent years (2009 and 2016). Furloughing the groundsman during Covid can't have helped matters but it is definitely nowhere near that standard anymore and many fans would like to see some investment in it, which I am sure the ground staff would appreciate too.

If anyone would like to watch league 2 highlights and observe the pitches on show then compare with ours i would be interested to read an educated opinion on them, not just what they look like, its fairly obvious the majority of you warriors don't like how BP looks currently, performance how ever is what counts, to which the old girl has hrld her own!

Quoted from Toothill Totty

This wouldn't be the same groundsman that took the position at London Road in 2010 after the sites initial opening in 2008 when the heavily invested pitches & cricket square were failing massively would it? Who then went on to see Louth Old Boys grow from 10 teams to 30, playing 100 games a year on 6 pitches to 530, hosting countless county cup finals & indeed gtfc academy fixtures, winning groundsman of the year several times whilst there & coming 2nd in a industry national award as well as receiving a highly commended award from the fa for pitch quality in 2015, this wouldn't be the same groundsman who successfully developed the ground to allow it to hold the first ever cricket International in Lincolnshire when England played Pakistan women and then frequented the site 3 further times until the sky tv intervention would it? Is it the same groundsman who had the square at London Road consistently in the top 3 in the county for several years is it? Also what certificates does he have Lincspoacher? Just calling it out mate as you seem ill informed !

😂😂😂 nice to see that our current groundsman is also a member of the Fishy crew

Welcome 😜

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I'm not scrolling through the fixtures but our pitch was award winning in recent years (2009 and 2016). Furloughing the groundsman during Covid can't have helped matters but it is definitely nowhere near that standard anymore and many fans would like to see some investment in it, which I am sure the ground staff would appreciate too.

No crap reply, you insinuated that we have had more postponements this year? How many we had more or additional to other years  you dont need to do any scrolling? Let me know if you struggle ?

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I'm not scrolling through the fixtures but our pitch was award winning in recent years (2009 and 2016). Furloughing the groundsman during Covid can't have helped matters but it is definitely nowhere near that standard anymore and many fans would like to see some investment in it, which I am sure the ground staff would appreciate too.

https://gtfc.co.uk/work-on-the-pitch-has-begun/

Removing 12mm of topsoil in May for August has a lot to do with it.
Apparently its a new species of grass sawn
It only had 2 1/2 months to grow. Just follow the link.

Interesting link and do recall reading that.

Clearly criticising the groundsman is an issue for some and I don’t know they guy, only what I was told last few weeks from some Louth footballers who sit near us.

Hey, if that bit is not true or unfair  - then our pitch will improve and we will get back the resilient and decent surface we had before hopefully.

At the moment, it’s sub optimal though and only going to get worse I fear

UTM

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I'm not scrolling through the fixtures but our pitch was award winning in recent years (2009 and 2016). Furloughing the groundsman during Covid can't have helped matters but it is definitely nowhere near that standard anymore and many fans would like to see some investment in it, which I am sure the ground staff would appreciate too.

They have invested money into the pitch for two close seasons.

The old regime furloughed the groundman.

Quoted from Lincspoacher

Interesting link and do recall reading that.

Clearly criticising the groundsman is an issue for some and I don’t know they guy, only what I was told last few weeks from some Louth footballers who sit near us.

Hey, if that bit is not true or unfair  - then our pitch will improve and we will get back the resilient and decent surface we had before hopefully.

At the moment, it’s sub optimal though and only going to get worse I fear

UTM

Orr dear lincspoacher what a horrific reply, "some louth footballers who sit near us" you insinuated you knee what certificates the groundsman had, how the standard at London road had declined from when he took over when in actual fact he raised the standard in a 12 year stint, i could go on couldn't i but we'll leave it there, you my friend have been revealed for what you are haven't you!
Goodnight!
Goodnight god bless

Quoted from ginnywings

They have invested money into the pitch for two close seasons.

The old regime furloughed the groundman.

I never accused the new regime of furloughing the ground staff.

I missed out the word "more" on the pitch investment. That cost saving we made putting them on furlough has definitely cost us more than it saved.

A gutter on the Findus would surely help that side of the pitch too?

An aging pitch, in an aging stadium…furloughing the groundsman has to be in the top 5 of shite decisions made by the previous idiot?

I suspect our issue this year was a shortened pre season and after that few months neglect, turning it back to how it was will take time.

Most teams lay a new pitch every single pre season, I suspect we’re entering that realm now.

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Unfortunately fella its not is it, why is it.poor explain?
I want ball roll, bounce, goals conceded because of the pitch,  this is what it is marked on not your uneducated opinion on how it looks?  The floor is yours@

Well it is, I can see it with my own eyes. Players slipping constantly in patches where there’s no grass at all, games being played out in a poor manner because neither side can string together a number of passes.

I know the club (and by the sounds of it, you) are doing everything you can and nobody is slagging you off for it, but please don’t deny the obvious.

Quoted from Toothill Totty

Orr dear lincspoacher what a horrific reply, "some louth footballers who sit near us" you insinuated you knee what certificates the groundsman had, how the standard at London road had declined from when he took over when in actual fact he raised the standard in a 12 year stint, i could go on couldn't i but we'll leave it there, you my friend have been revealed for what you are haven't you!
Goodnight!
Goodnight god bless

Thank you Martin  - now sort the pitch out lad and perhaps less time online  

Let’s translate all these qualifications to a better pitch.

You do that, and I will be the first to congratulate you and your team and say well done.

Till then, I am entitled to say the pitch is crap and pass on that it needs to improve.

Quoted from aldi_01

An aging pitch, in an aging stadium…furloughing the groundsman has to be in the top 5 of shite decisions made by the previous idiot?

I suspect our issue this year was a shortened pre season and after that few months neglect, turning it back to how it was will take time.

Most teams lay a new pitch every single pre season, I suspect we’re entering that realm now.

The Top 5 shite decisions Fenty made...that's a new thread in itself.

Newell
Holloway
Furloughing the groundsman
Asking a convicted fraudster to invest
Gambling that the season would get cancelled so signing pub players
Jolley
Banning Radio Humberside

And the list goes on.....

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

The Top 5 shite decisions Fenty made...that's a new thread in itself.

Newell
Holloway
Furloughing the groundsman
Asking a convicted fraudster to invest
Gambling that the season would get cancelled so signing pub players
Jolley
Banning Radio Humberside

And the list goes on.....

Without wanting to drag it all back up again the appointments of Newell, Jolley and Holloway were very well supported by the fans at the time. The downfall of this football club was because of much deeper rooted decisions by Mr Fenty than just managerial changes.

Quoted from jimgtfc

Without wanting to drag it all back up again the appointments of Newell, Jolley and Holloway were very well supported by the fans at the time. The downfall of this football club was because of much deeper rooted decisions by Mr Fenty than just managerial changes.

I agree with you, but every manager appointment was greeted with unreserved joy as we desperately hoped that this was going to be the one who saved us. You have to say that his appointment of Hurst has turned into a masterstroke.

But I do agree with you.