Tolka Pitch Shames League

[pete]

I seem to remember numerous Shels fans criticising almost every other league pitch a couple of months back.

Pitch at Tolka on tv last night looked like had Tractor Racing on it.

:rolleyes: :eek:

[Roo69]

I seem to remember numerous Shels fans criticising almost every other league pitch a couple of months back.

Pitch at Tolka on tv last night looked like had Tractor Racing on it.

:rolleyes: :eek:


Yeah it was shocking alright, nearly as bad as the one we had to play on down in cork.

Whats happened to it ? It was like a carpet at the start of the season, why so bad now ?

[BohDiddley]

I seem to remember numerous Shels fans criticising almost every other league pitch a couple of months back.

Pitch at Tolka on tv last night looked like had Tractor Racing on it.

:rolleyes: :eek:
Seem to remember that myself -- Fenlon was at it too. What have you to say now fellas?

[EnDai]

Apparently the Tolka River has been running dry lately, effectively causing a mini drought. It did look poor, and that was a shame - no denying that.

[Gareth]

It was a shame. It wa sdoing great but when you have no source of water pitches die quickly esp in this heat. Fire Brigade?

[tiktok]

Looked terrible alright, clearly needed watering
Having said that, it seemed to play alright :confused:

[GavinZac]

a word of explanation from the commentators would have been nice, whether it was the rugby game or the drought.

[A face]

It did look unprofessional to be fair !!

Can remember a few years back, there were four teams playing on it for a whole season and it didn't look that bad !! :eek:

[LFC in Exile]

Yeah the pitch looked awful - but wouldn't say it shamed the league. Its summer time. And it seems petty to focus on the pitch - one downside - on a fantastic night for eL football. But when were eL fans ever positive about anything. :(

[GavinZac]

Yeah the pitch looked awful - but wouldn't say it shamed the league. Its summer time. And it seems petty to focus on the pitch - one downside - on a fantastic night for eL football. But when were eL fans ever positive about anything. :(


what we're worried about is "when were barstoolers ever positive about anything to do with the eL"

[BohDiddley]

it seems petty to focus on the pitch - one downside - on a fantastic night for eL football. (
It would be petty if the club in question hadn't made a song and dance about other pitches in the recent past. I would have thought that was obvious. (Manfully resists temptation to use rolleyes button).

[Éanna]

Wasn't the little git fenlon demanding that clubs be sanctioned (even docked points) for having a poor pitch only a few weeks back. Can't hear ya now you little rodent :rolleyes:

[pete]

I only mentioned this tongue in cheek just to highlight that clubs shouldn't be so quick to criticise others before they get their own act together.

When I was looking at thought had been playing rugby league with all those lines across the pitch.

Can't shels use a hose to water the pitch & not steal from the river? ;)

[superfrank]

Pitch at Tolka on tv last night looked like had Tractor Racing on it.

:rolleyes: :eek:
How do you know bout that?? :D

They can look forward to playing on a proper match tomorrow night. All the Shels lads seemed to be more focused on the match tomorrow night. :eek:

[Bald Student]

Can't shels use a hose to water the pitchHere, Here. If the river was low a sprinkler could have ben used. If that is the reason, it's an example of unprofessionalism.

[pineapple stu]

Yeah the pitch looked awful...It's summer time.
Don't forget that we were all told summer football would mean much better playing surfaces. Seems nonsense now. Even Belfield Park - normally one of the best surfaces in the leaguae - had bald patches on Friday. Summer/drought/etc doesn't hold any water with me to be honest. Sprinklers and hoses are widely available, as Pete pointed out. Yet more unprofessionalism in the league...

[LFC in Exile]

Don't forget that we were all told summer football would mean much better playing surfaces. Seems nonsense now. Even Belfield Park - normally one of the best surfaces in the leaguae - had bald patches on Friday. Summer/drought/etc doesn't hold any water with me to be honest. Sprinklers and hoses are widely available, as Pete pointed out. Yet more unprofessionalism in the league...

Absolutely. Pitches are better in the summer if they are minded. Summer football does mean better playing surfaces if clubs take care of their pitches. However bad the pitches might be now - at least they are still better than during the winter.

[pineapple stu]

However bad the pitches might be now - at least they are still better than during the winter.
Are they?

They should be - no doubt - and some pitches certainly became boggy fields, but are they actually any better now?

[De Town]

cant argue that Flansiro is always like a carpet :cool:

[sligoman]

cant argue that Flansiro is always like a carpet :cool:

Yeah, a brown carpet:p :D

Sorry, couldn't resist :o

[Troy.McClure]

Apparently the Tolka River has been running dry lately, effectively causing a mini drought.

Christ, if its not too much then its too little! :D

Thought Rugby League was played on it too, the lines seemed to look like it.

[Schumi]

Can't shels use a hose to water the pitch & not steal from the river? ;)
Fingal Co Co had a water warning recently saying not to use water to wash cars or water gardens. Maybe this covers football pitches too, wouldn't want Ollie falling foul of the law again. :D

[De Town]

Yeah, a brown carpet:p :D

Sorry, couldn't resist :o
get your coat :rolleyes: :D

[garykelly]

water shortage ?? :eek: come over to the wessst and have some. plenty here for everyone. i wud have thought they cud have found a way to water the pitch. even with the drouts. they should have a reserve tank full of water for backup. we'd never have a water problem here, with our weather. hence all the ducks i suppose :D :D

[LFC in Exile]

Are they?

They should be - no doubt - and some pitches certainly became boggy fields, but are they actually any better now?

Of course they are. Unless you know of some matches postponed that I haven't heard of? :ball:

[LukeO]

Christ, if its not too much then its too little! :D

Thought Rugby League was played on it too, the lines seemed to look like it.


I think the lines are just the drainage system that was put in after the floods a couple of years ago. They seem to become very noticeable when the pitch gets bad.

That Felon ****** had some cheek when he was on the RTE panel for the Bohs-Rovers game at the start of the season to have ago at the Dalyer pitch considering Tolka has been a disgrace for the past few seasons and is a disgrace yet again.

[pineapple stu]

Was never a huge problem anyway, was it? You had Harps last season (during summer soccer). Kilkenny and Shels suffered flooding - summer soccer won't avoid that. I remember one game being cancelled for frost.

Anyway, the point about better pitches was that they would make for better passing football, not that fewer games would be called off. The pitches haven't improved to that extent yet. Where they were bogs, they're not hard beaches. No real improvement really.

[kevincronin2000]

I must say for the setanta cup game v shels at tolka earlier in the year the pitch was like a snooker table, while ours resembled dollymount strand,find it hard to belive a pitch can deteriorate so much due to the lack of rain. After all this is an island.

[Troy.McClure]

I think the lines are just the drainage system that was put in after the floods a couple of years

Interesting. Where does the grass go?

[Bald Student]

Here, Here. If the river was low a sprinkler could have ben used. If that is the reason, it's an example of unprofessionalism.I was critical last week but fair play to whoever minds the pitch for Shels. There was a massive improvement in the space of a week.
Well done.

[Drumcondra Red]

Interesting. Where does the grass go?

yeah, the lines for the drainage system were not put in deep enough apparently!

[jorge]

Well im sure it wont need sprinkling today.

[dancinpants]

Heres what Fenlon said last April: Taken from elevenaside .com


Fenlon slams surface standards

Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon feels that clubs around the country should have been able to do more to improve the standard of their playing pitches before the start of the new season.
Shels’ Tolka Park venue is in good condition at present, with the club preventing First Division side Dublin City – who had been tenants at Tolka Park – from playing games at the venue in recent weeks in order to ensure a best possible playing pitch for the Reds’ games.

But some pitches elsewhere have been in a lamentable state, with plenty of sand in evidence at many venues across the country – and Fenlon has spoken out after seeing the quality of the surfaces at Derry’s Brandywell, Turners Cross in Cork and Dalymount Park, which is being shared by Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers this season.
He told the Irish Sun: “We played on an awful pitch against Derry at the Brandywell on Friday night but it’s not as though it’s something new to us.

“For all of our away games in either the league or the Setanta Cup, the pitches have been poor and that is very disappointing when you consider it’s the start of the season.

“We seem to be the only ones making an effort to get our pitch right – and that’s not right.”

Filed: 4/11/2005

What a gobsh!te, he ain't sayin' much now!! :mad:

[EnDai]

In fairness though, it was poor for one game - it was very quickly rectified by those working at the club.

[Slash/ED]

Heres what Fenlon said last April: Taken from elevenaside .com



What a gobsh!te, he ain't sayin' much now!! :mad:

He probably is, given it's back to near perfect condition again :)

[jorge]

Heres what Fenlon said last April: Taken from elevenaside .com



What a gobsh!te, he ain't sayin' much now!! :mad:
Fcuking eegit,he deserves a kick up the arse

[ThatGuy]

Oh how funny is this. Shels see the Dalymount pitch as yet another attempt to make a PR attack at the club. Now the pitch in Dalyer is like a carpet and the pitch in Tolka is a mess.

Somehow I doubt that Gareth Farrelly and Feilim O'Rielly will be going to the press to embarass Shelbourne.

[Slash/ED]

the pitch in Tolka is a mess.


Not seen it latley have you? It was a mess for one game and is back in fine shape now.

[sullanefc]

It doesn't matter how good the pitch is. Shels play the ball in the air anyways. It's not as though they are playing passing football :rolleyes:

[BohDiddley]

It doesn't matter how good the pitch is. Shels play the ball in the air anyways. It's not as though they are playing passing football :rolleyes:
Nice one! :D

[Slash/ED]

Hard to argue with it. The standard of football we play given the players we have is inexusable.

[pete]

I see the Tolka pitch in a mess last week again.

:rolleyes:

[EnDai]

Only the goalmouths really looked poor. The rest didn't seem too shabby! Or did mein eyes deceive me?!