pitches or bitches

[passerrby]

is it far comment doing the rounds at the moment that pitches are in very poor condition or is is sour grapes by managers looking for reasons his side did not win and if it was a winter league would they be any better

[HulaHoop]

Tolka is in bits - upside down egg carton like.

[superfrank]

Managers will always make excuses.

[sligoman]

Showgrounds pitch is a disgrace. Worst I've seen so far this season and last season too.

[pineapple stu]

Kildare pitch was supposedly in tatters last night - one of the Kildare lads was saying seven games of football were played on it between their games on Friday and on Monday.

[Peadar]

drogs pitch looked ok tonight.
There isn't much football played on it though.
None tonight anyway.

UCD are still refusing to cut their grass.

[Poor Student]

UCD are still refusing to cut their grass.

Actually we use a cunning team of researchers to give it extra growth for Cork's arrival. RRS.:cool:

[Dr.Nightdub]

We moved to summer football what, three or four years ago? The sun has shone strongest in the summer time for somewhere around 5 million years. And no-one's made the connection?

Don't remember these complaints last year or the year before.

Next: Nutsy complains that Pats have an unfair advantage playing beside a river, thus having a pitch with a higher water table. The rest of youse, away off down to B&Q and get some hoses. :rolleyes:

[A face]

The Cross is perfect, what a pitch !! ;)

[Sumac]

Terryland Park looks good but has been very bumpy this year so far. Not that we are using that as an excuse for the crap defending or complete lack of defending at times

[bray boy]

the carlsile is perfect really good standard.......cant say that for all grounds tho

[mcgonigle]

Agree with hulahoop there, tolka is the worst I've seen so far, cant play any football on it, theres better pitches in the LSL and thats at the lower end. Mons pitch is bad as well.
Oriel is holding up well, still nice and flat :cool: :D

[Magicme]

Was disappointed to see the state of Tolka. Last season it was like a snooker table but now its rough. Have the cutbacks extended to the groundsmen & hoses?

[monutdfc]

the carlsile is perfect really good standard.......cant say that for all grounds tho
Bray spent a lot of money on their pitch about 5 years ago. Unfortunately, when it comes to spending scarce resources the pitch is low down the list of priorities for clubs. Getting them done properly costs a lot of money.
Can't disagree about our pitch, it's not good.

What do people think watching football at Oriel? I've seen a few games there and it's ok, but a bit like watching indoor athletics or short course swimming - very similar to the 'real' thing but just not quite the same.
What do players think of it, players from visiting sides?
Should other clubs consider following Dundalk's lead?
Are any clubs considering it?

[Footsoldier]

Ours looks the business! Then again, we haven't played too many games on it. Seanie O'Shea (ground manager) is doing a cracking job. Keep up the good work!

[passerrby]

Actually we use a cunning team of researchers to give it extra growth for Cork's arrival. RRS.:cool:

why not just put guinness on it and it will come up half cut. must agree century homes very bumpy, tolka the worse ive seen around

[Mark Breen]

Agree with hulahoop there, tolka is the worst I've seen so far, cant play any football on it, theres better pitches in the LSL and thats at the lower end. Mons pitch is bad as well.
Oriel is holding up well, still nice and flat :cool: :D

Work is starting on the pitch this week.

A new water storage and irrigation system is being installed.

http://forum.shelbournefc.ie/chat/viewtopic.php?t=8407

So hopefully it will be brought back up to a good standard.

[harpskid]

Finn Park is a disgrace at the moment

[ForzaWexford]

Ours looks the business! Then again, we haven't played too many games on it. Seanie O'Shea (ground manager) is doing a cracking job. Keep up the good work!

Ours looks good alright but it's after getting awful hard and a little bit bumpy. I'd say it's still one of the better pitches around, but it badly needs some water!

[Risteard]

The RSC is easily the worst of the bunch.
I'm unsure if they do but it seems like they actually do all the shot putt and stuff on the pitch.
Terrible place for a game of ball but then again
is sour grapes by managers looking for reasons his side did not win
:(

[charliesboots]

The RSC is easily the worst of the bunch.
I'm unsure if they do but it seems like they actually do all the shot putt and stuff on the pitch.
Terrible place for a game of ball but then again
:(

It seems there were a few hurdles in the RSC that Cork City couldn't get over earlier this season alright.

[Jerry The Saint]

Have the cutbacks extended to the groundsmen & hoses?

Pitches ain't sh!t but hose and tricks.

[pete]

Turners Cross is usually a bit "grassy" at the start of the season but after about a month they seem to cut the grass lower & the surface is great then. Looked excellent on tv on Monday although sometimes seems to be too dry & lacks pace.

Richmond Park pitch looks much improved this season but then again the whole ground seems to been cleaned up or something.

IMO while the surface is generally flat the Belfield Park grass is always too long & was no different a few weeks ago. Long grass slows down the ball so makes passing football more difficult. However it holds up long balls except when wet.

The RSC is usually the worst in the Premier & haven't heard its changed this year.

Over the last few years 3 best & worst would be: (no order)
Best - Dalymount, Turners Cross, Tolka or Brandywell
Worst - RSC, Belfield,

[pineapple stu]

Don't remember these complaints last year or the year before.
In fairness, it's been mentioned a couple of times in the past few seasons. From Pat Fenlon's "farmer's field" comments to thread on here asking clubs to water their pitches - this season's nothing new.


Worst - RSC, Belfield,
Awww...is our curiously long yet slippery grass still causing you bother? :p

[noby]

I'm not going to try to defend the state of the RSC pitch, or the state of football we play on it, but there seems to be a 'situation' going on.
The club rent the ground from the corpo. Up until a couple of years ago the club also had a groundsman who took care of the pitch. It seems he was doing some council worker out of a job; union threw their weight around, and now the club aren't allowed do the ground maintenance. Negotiations are 'on going', as they say, but as principal tenant I hope the club are kicking up a stink.

[Sam_Heggy]

Finn Park is a disgrace at the moment

In fairness its a sh!t load better now than in pre-season. But its still in bad shape all the same.
whats worse is that our team are in worse shape than the pitch :rolleyes: they are incapable of playin "hoof football" or most other styles of football too :mad: :p

[harpskid]

In fairness its a sh!t load better now than in pre-season.

I thought that too until i walked across it on Friday night. It looks better from the terrace alright, but it's woeful when you're actually on it

[iceman]

Have to say United Park is a billiard table , its immaculate and great credit due to the groundsman. Had the pleasure of walking on it last Friday and it is even better than it looks. Heard talk that when the Drogs move to their new stadium the plan is to lift the pitch and take it with them.

[gufct]

Terryland is very bumpy too many games on it each year and all the junior/juvenille league club finals yet to be played on it.Because its played on year round the groundsman doesnt get a right go at until the junior season finishes and by late June it should be up their with the best in the country.


The change to Summer Soccer never actually allowed for pitches to at their best as the saeson starts when the work should be starting on sorting out the pitches after the winter break

[galwayhoop]

Terryland is very bumpy too many games on it each year and all the junior/juvenille league club finals yet to be played on it.Because its played on year round the groundsman doesnt get a right go at until the junior season finishes and by late June it should be up their with the best in the country.


yeah and with the ongoing contaminated water noel will be able to water and fertilise the pitch all at once ;) :D :D

[sonofstan]

Pitches ain't sh!t but hose and tricks.:D - no one else seems to have noticed but i thought it was funny

[BohsPartisan]

:D - no one else seems to have noticed but i thought it was funny

Yeah nice one - Junkeez With Attitude! :D

[DmanDmythDledge]

UCD are still refusing to cut their grass.


IMO while the surface is generally flat the Belfield Park grass is always too long & was no different a few weeks ago. Long grass slows down the ball so makes passing football more difficult. However it holds up long balls except when wet.
Have yoy noticed that you seem to be the only two people to have ever "noticed" this?:rolleyes:

[Poor Student]

Have yoy noticed that you seem to be the only two people to have ever "noticed" this?:rolleyes:

I'll save them the handy quip of saying it's because Cork are the best footballing side blah, blah, blah.

[smellyfeet]

Ours looks good alright but it's after getting awful hard and a little bit bumpy. I'd say it's still one of the better pitches around, but it badly needs some water!

Wexfords pitch is very good, well it was the day Limerick 37 played there but the wind was brutal and ruined any chance of football been played. Is it always windy up there.?

[passinginterest]

Wexfords pitch is very good, well it was the day Limerick 37 played there but the wind was brutal and ruined any chance of football been played. Is it always windy up there.?

I'd say the wind is the reason the pitch is getting so hard. It's very exposed and with the weather lately it'd take a ton of water to keep it from drying out and burning up.

[neutrino]

Showgrounds pitch is a disgrace. Worst I've seen so far this season and last season too.

rovers pitch has always been shocking. never seen it being good. might always look decent on top but it's ridiculously bad. just a field basically

[khoop]

There's a rather excellent pitch in Tallaght. Unfortunately though, we aren't allowed use it until the stadium is finished - and that may take a while.

[TonyD]

Richmond Park doesn't seem in the best of nick this season. it looks ok but there are a lot of bad bounces and bobbles. Brian Kerr admitted as much recently. He did say however that some major work is due to be done to imporve things. As for the rest, United Park did look very good on the TV last night, also agree with Neutrino re Sligos pitch. Always been poor.

[galwayhoop]

There's a rather excellent pitch in Tallaght. Unfortunately though, we aren't allowed use it until the stadium is finished - and that may take a while.

actually drove past it about a week or so ago. hadn't been to tallaght for years and it just struck me what a shame the whole mess is. your club will seriously flourish when ye can finally settle there. population, sense of belonging, ease for public transport .... all the elements are there - except one: Rovers, keep the faith and hopefully ye will have a full time home shortly!!

[iceman]

There's a rather excellent pitch in Tallaght. Unfortunately though, we aren't allowed use it until the stadium is finished - and that may take a while.
Drive past there every morning and always comment to myself about the quality of the playing surface. Someone is obviously putting some effort in keeping it in shape. It was mowed and rolled last week and looks immaculate.

[Risteard]

Out of curiousity, why would it be kept in shape?
Is their LSL teams playing there?

[pete]

I don't know if any non-Bray fans have already commented on but the Carlisle ground was an absolute disgrace last night. Horribly hard and bumpy pitch. Looked hard not seen water for weeks. Bumpy pitch suits long ball play but makes passing very difficult. There would have been smaller bounch in the car park. :(

The FAI have introduced licencing to bring up minimum standards but they do not have seem to have set minimum pitch standards.

[passerrby]

the fai have introduced licensing not to improve things but to give the illusion that things are getting better

[pete]

the fai have introduced licensing not to improve things but to give the illusion that things are getting better

It removed Dublin Cty from the league. How is that not a success?

[pineapple stu]

It didn't - Dublin City was the greatest failure licencing. Dublin City going broke removed them from the league.

[Superhoops]

I don't know if any non-Bray fans have already commented on but the Carlisle ground was an absolute disgrace last night. Horribly hard and bumpy pitch. Looked hard not seen water for weeks. Bumpy pitch suits long ball play but makes passing very difficult. There would have been smaller bounch in the car park. :( ....

The great anti-Cork conspiracy theory rolls on!

It was fu*k all to do with the pitch. Cork last night were at best ordinary!. Even with getting the benefit of some terrible refereeing decisions, they still never looked like breaking down a poor Bray team.

[pete]

The great anti-Cork conspiracy theory rolls on!

It was fu*k all to do with the pitch. Cork last night were at best ordinary!. Even with getting the benefit of some terrible refereeing decisions, they still never looked like breaking down a poor Bray team.

Please stay on topic as I never even mentioned the result.

:rolleyes:

Is your pitch good enough? Yes or No?

[CollegeTillIDie]

To get back on topic to pitches, one of the reasons some people opposed summer soccer was this very reason bone dry rock hard pitches and so it has finally come to pass. One of the major problems with the close season is it coincides with the months of zero grass growth which means pitch overhauls now have to take place during the League season for the ELOI club concerned.

That means waiting for a window where you have two away games back to back and hopefully an away draw in one of the cups before the club can get any work done on their playing surface. If you happen to be the Tolka Park groundsman no such luck, two teams playing there means a game every week. And beside the bulldozers will be in there in 12 to 18 months so what's the point?

[ColinR]

you can only blame summer soccer if all pitches are bone dry etc - they are not, some clubs have excellent pitches as the groundmen have done good jobs of watering etc when required, other clubs don't seem to have put any effort in their pitches.

if it was a winter season, you can be gauranteed that the clubs with the bad pitches now, would be the clubs having the matches postponed for unplayable pitches - which as memory serves happened an awful lot back in the dark old days of the winter seasons.

[off topic - now that the attendances are up, can it be said that it is due to summer soccer, just as summer soccer was being blamed last season for low crowds??]