Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: Filo on March 11, 2024, 07:05:40 pm
-
8am in the morning
-
BBC forecast has rain most of tomorrow, however pitch inspection at 8am, before it starts raining.
-
My thoughts too Alan, hopefully the pitch is either pristine or unplayable at 8am
-
Sounds like the set up for this has postponement written all over it.....
-
Typical, just as we are flying, and they ain't...
-
A few extra days rest for the injured
-
A few extra days rest for the injured
Also, if Swindon's game tomorrow is on, we should be fresher than them on Saturday.
-
BBC forecast has rain most of tomorrow, however pitch inspection at 8am, before it starts raining.
Met office forecast only has rain up to about 2pm tomorrow.
Sounds to me a 1.30 / 2.00 pm inspection would be more accurate as to whether the pitch is fit to play.
That still gives enough time for us to abort our journey before setting off.
-
I take it the players traveled down today and if the game is called off who pays the bill for the overnight stay, travel costs, is there a central fund we claim our money back from ?
-
Absolutely Campsall.
An 8am inspection sounds ludicrous (if that info is correct), if rain is due to stop at around 2pm until kick off an early pm inspection to give travelling support time to get down there would be the sensible option.
The players expended a lot of energy on Saturday ensuring they kept their shape whilst Crewe had the lions share of possession but, we are flying on ‘high octane adrenaline’ at present & I really fancy our chances so for that reason I hope the game goes ahead.
-
I take it the players traveled down today and if the game is called off who pays the bill for the overnight stay, travel costs, is there a central fund we claim our money back from ?
I suspect the early inspection is with the playing staff in mind. Cliff Byrne mentioned the long coach trip in today's prematch interview, so I don't think they're travelled already.
I also saw Tom Nixon in the Ecomoat gym this evening. (Of course that depends if he's in the squad)
I'm guessing with today's bigger squads and coaching staff, overnight stays would cost a small fortune.
-
Hope its on. We are in good form.
Whenever we have a game postponed we get the usual mentions of chance to get some extra rest and get the boys together on the training pitch.
But then the game after we are absolutly woeful and lose.
-
According to Colchester weather met office it’s heavy rain until 4pm. Can’t see this game being on.
-
Think the team travels on the day for a 7-45 kick off
For a 3.00pm kick off they go day before if it is a long trip.
Shorter ones same day.
-
Surely the fact that a pitch inspection is planned and a day of rain points to this being off
-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2652618
-
Just to point out that Colchester doesn’t have a groundsman
-
Hope its on. We are in good form.
Whenever we have a game postponed we get the usual mentions of chance to get some extra rest and get the boys together on the training pitch.
But then the game after we are absolutly woeful and lose.
Then, if it is called off it just means that later in the season we get another two game week instead of just the one game.
-
Their fans say the are ashamed of the postponements
One wrote "we will go down in history to be the only Club trying to finish our fixtures when all the Clubs are half way through their next Seasons fixtures"
-
25 minutes in, have they slept in?
-
8.30 .... how long do they need
-
How long does a pitch inspection take?
-
They might be doctoring the photo to make it better / worse than it is, depending on whether they want to play or not.
-
Local ref forgot to turn up :zzz:
-
No groundsman?
Who cuts the grass and marks out the lines?
-
They might be doctoring the photo to make is better / worse than it is, depending on whether they want to play or not.
Royal family doing pitch inspections now.
-
No groundsman?
Who cuts the grass and marks out the lines?
Danny Cowley or his brother probably
-
They might be doctoring the photo to make is better / worse than it is, depending on whether they want to play or not.
Royal family doing pitch inspections now.
Yep, we still don’t have that tongue in cheek emoji yet.
-
Looking at BBC I posted above and ITV live just now the rain is there now till 18.00
-
Game off.
-
It is OFF
-
Match postponed according to Twitter
-
Cheers ...
-
https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/2024/march/colchester-pitch-inspection/
-
No groundsman?
Who cuts the grass and marks out the lines?
Probably Curly are Larry if there’s no mow. ;)
-
Took some time to get the hosepipe and water onto the pitch
-
It is a no brainer.
If there was a doubt yesterday and it is going to rain heavy for 9+ hrs today, end result, well no marks out of ten for that one.
-
Another game in hand!
-
Their fans say the are ashamed of the postponements
One wrote "we will go down in history to be the only Club trying to finish our fixtures when all the Clubs are half way through their next Seasons fixtures"
There will be others postponed. They can't control the weather, so no shame there.
There's plenty of golf courses closed around here, so even if it were at the Eco, a match would really make a mess of the pitch.
-
We came back from Manchester airport yesterday and the ground every where is sodden , it's got no capacity to absorb any more and bet it's same country wide. Can't imagine it bodes well for farmers and must be ruining crops
-
I
Their fans say the are ashamed of the postponements
One wrote "we will go down in history to be the only Club trying to finish our fixtures when all the Clubs are half way through their next Seasons fixtures"
There will be others postponed. They can't control the weather, so no shame there.
There's plenty of golf courses closed around here, so even if it were at the Eco, a match would really make a mess of the pitch.
Im reminded of Rochdale who could never get Promoted from the basement Division. They used to get postponements multi times a Season due to where they are sighted in the Pennines and they said " their very poorly drained Pitch"
This led them to always seeming to have a backlog of Fixtures and they usually ran out of steam
I got a visit from an EH&S Inspector from there. I saw he had an Up the Dale sticker in his Car and being assigned to look after him I asked a few days in if it was true they had only gained promo once and he said Yes , we finished second in Div 4 and "I expect" he said you know the Champions from that Season. Oh of course says I
Anyway he blamed the lack of promos firmly on the state of the Pitch year after year. Then he said the Club said enough is enough and they decided to upgrade , uprate , improve the drainage generally
When work began (he said) they were in for a surprise as there was no drainage whatsoever and nobody could quite believe it. He loaned me his Book about the 68/9 Season and I only read the Cover and Title then put it in a Draw at work giving him it back after a polite pause of 2 weeks or so
It must have worked drainage wise as they are up to 3 Promotions now within the EFL that is
-
The opening match at their current stadium when it was newly built was against Southend I think and it was at the beginning of the season and the pitch was notable because it was of such poor quality - especially considering that it was so early in the season and the first serious match played there.
The EFL seem to have standards for spectator facilities, yet they allow clubs like Bradford and Colchester to continue to host matches when their playing surfaces mean that they are unable to fulfil fixtures as soon as the weather turns against them. This puts their opponents at a disadvantage, not only by compressing their schedule, but because their preparations are disrupted, not to mention the inconvenience of the fans. Such clubs should be paying compensation all round and if they did, it would perhaps encourage them to be more radical in their measures to improve their pitches.
Another more punishing option would be an obligation to switch the fixture to the visitors’ pitch if it was playable.
-
Both teams are equally disadvantaged with postponements, other than when the visiting side and fans have already travelled/set off.
Clubs can’t control the weather.. Ok maybe drainage could potentially be improved but next winter may be colder/ frostier and snowy. Clubs can’t control the weather nor be prepared for all conditions, at this level.
We will always get disruption so should expect it and live with it.
We don’t complain about fixtures being re arranged due to a cup run do we?
Instead of suggesting the EFL force clubs to deal better with weather, why not permit artificial pitches?
-
Bugger, I was looking forward to watching this on i-Follow tonight.
I bet Bradford City's pitch will be a mess for tonight's game against Forest Green.
-
The opening match at their current stadium when it was newly built was against Southend I think and it was at the beginning of the season and the pitch was notable because it was of such poor quality - especially considering that it was so early in the season and the first serious match played there.
The EFL seem to have standards for spectator facilities, yet they allow clubs like Bradford and Colchester to continue to host matches when their playing surfaces mean that they are unable to fulfil fixtures as soon as the weather turns against them. This puts their opponents at a disadvantage, not only by compressing their schedule, but because their preparations are disrupted, not to mention the inconvenience of the fans. Such clubs should be paying compensation all round and if they did, it would perhaps encourage them to be more radical in their measures to improve their pitches.
Another more punishing option would be an obligation to switch the fixture to the visitors’ pitch if it was playable.
As suggested above, it sounds like you are campaigning for artificial pitches.
There's always been winter/adverse weather, and there's always been postponements. To try and beat the weather would incurr costs clubs can't afford, for the sake of a few games which may be postponed depending on the severity of weather each year.
I certainly wouldn't want an artificial pitch to be imposed on every game, for the sake of a few postponements. I'd rather the fixtures, including cups etc, be looked at to ease congestion in the earlier part of the season, and pitches being worn out too quickly before winter sets in. Of course there are lots of local factors for clubs to consider too, including flooding of surrounding areas, drainage, lack of sunlight etc.
-
Nothing to do with today’s postponement, just a general question, how many grounds people do we have and do they look after the Cantley site and everything at the Eco Power site including the astro turf pitches etc ?
-
TBH it might not be such a bad thing - bearing in mind we had four players replaced on Saturday with various issues/tweaks....
-
Live in that corner of Essex and its been waterlogged here since November. Farmers fields have large populations of mallards happily swimming in them and we're on clay. The water struggles to disperse and just sits on the ground.
It was drying up at the end of last week for the first time in weeks but it rained pretty much all day on Sunday again and its been raining steadily since 8am this morning.
Not sure that BBC LG2 game postpone update with the ColU sprinklers on the pitch is the right pic though...rubbing it in a bit.
-
Their fans say the are ashamed of the postponements
One wrote "we will go down in history to be the only Club trying to finish our fixtures when all the Clubs are half way through their next Seasons fixtures"
There will be others postponed. They can't control the weather, so no shame there.
There's plenty of golf courses closed around here, so even if it were at the Eco, a match would really make a mess of the pitch.
That golf course comment reminded me of Earls Colne, is that golf course still going? Did a lot of work on the new buildings for a certain Eddie Shah, he was just getting it up & running. He took it in good spirit when we were doing the roof near the first tee, watched him tee off, scuff his shot & gave him some stick!
-
They should play this game tonight so that both teams can bring on their subs.
-
Hi Les – If you mean the one on the old Earles Colne Airfield site I think it is. Not a golfer – more interested in the B-26's that flew from there WWII – but the course looks to be still Essex Golf & Country Club. Blimey Eddie Shah eh....
-
Hi Les – If you mean the one on the old Earles Colne Airfield site I think it is. Not a golfer – more interested in the B-26's that flew from there WWII – but the course looks to be still Essex Golf & Country Club. Blimey Eddie Shah eh....
Yes that's the one mate! No not a golfer either, certainly a character Eddie, rolling up in his Bentley Azzure, 1 of 2 he had. Told us the story of winning £100 at cards, invested it, & that was the start for him. Thanks for the info.
-
Sorry know this is drifting badly off topic (Waterlogged pitch to Eddie Shahs golf course!) but what year did you work on that Les?
-
The opening match at their current stadium when it was newly built was against Southend I think and it was at the beginning of the season and the pitch was notable because it was of such poor quality - especially considering that it was so early in the season and the first serious match played there.
The EFL seem to have standards for spectator facilities, yet they allow clubs like Bradford and Colchester to continue to host matches when their playing surfaces mean that they are unable to fulfil fixtures as soon as the weather turns against them. This puts their opponents at a disadvantage, not only by compressing their schedule, but because their preparations are disrupted, not to mention the inconvenience of the fans. Such clubs should be paying compensation all round and if they did, it would perhaps encourage them to be more radical in their measures to improve their pitches.
Another more punishing option would be an obligation to switch the fixture to the visitors’ pitch if it was playable.
As suggested above, it sounds like you are campaigning for artificial pitches.
There's always been winter/adverse weather, and there's always been postponements. To try and beat the weather would incurr costs clubs can't afford, for the sake of a few games which may be postponed depending on the severity of weather each year.
I certainly wouldn't want an artificial pitch to be imposed on every game, for the sake of a few postponements. I'd rather the fixtures, including cups etc, be looked at to ease congestion in the earlier part of the season, and pitches being worn out too quickly before winter sets in. Of course there are lots of local factors for clubs to consider too, including flooding of surrounding areas, drainage, lack of sunlight etc.
I certainly am not after artificial pitches. What might be reasonably expected is a pitch that can remain viable in typical weather conditions - to be as playable as much as the vast majority of the other clubs they play. And I think that it is fair to expect that stadiums that have been put up in the modern era ought to incorporate agronomy (if that’s the right word) to be as durable and playable to at least the level that is typical for the league they are in. Bradford for example has 37 inches of rain a year which might give them some excuse, but Colchester’s ground and general location rather like Doncaster’s, being further east, has only 25 inches. We know this year has been exceptional, but it is country-wide and Colchester’s pitch seems to experience more problems than average every season.
Incidentally there are two golf clubs near Earls Colne, Earls Colne itself and the Essex Golf and Country Club, which is newer, but still at least 20 years old I think.
-
Yes apologies for hijacking the thread everyone. Would have been around late 80s early 90s I think acacia, memories not great!
-
Hi Les – If you mean the one on the old Earles Colne Airfield site I think it is. Not a golfer – more interested in the B-26's that flew from there WWII – but the course looks to be still Essex Golf & Country Club. Blimey Eddie Shah eh....
Were the Greens slightly blue or an orangey colour like his photos when he launched the Paper
-
Question for the stattos, when was the last time rovers had a home game called off due to a water logged pitch ?
-
Only a few years ago but I'm sure somebody will come up with a date and opposition. I was on my way up from Nottingham when it was called off. Aidrian Durham on Talksport was incredulous that a new stadium like ours had a waterlogged pitch, bit rich from a Posh supporter
Edit 2012 MK Dons ?
-
Amazingly, Bradford City's pitch was runner-up as best pitch in EFL League 2 only two years ago!
-
Only a few years ago but I'm sure somebody will come up with a date and opposition. I was on my way up from Nottingham when it was called off. Aidrian Durham on Talksport was incredulous that a new stadium like ours had a waterlogged pitch, bit rich from a Posh supporter
Edit 2012 MK Dons ?
Good shout
-
I doubt they are going to move fast enough to rearrange this side of Easter and we have games on Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 April and season ends on Saturday 27 April, so it is either Tuesday 16 or Tuesday 23 April free for us. Colchester already have a game on Tuesday 16 April though, so I suspect this is heading for Tuesday 23 April.
-
Only a few years ago but I'm sure somebody will come up with a date and opposition. I was on my way up from Nottingham when it was called off. Aidrian Durham on Talksport was incredulous that a new stadium like ours had a waterlogged pitch, bit rich from a Posh supporter
Edit 2012 MK Dons ?
Good shout
There was a game vs AFC Wimbledon at the Keepmoat in 2018 that was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. We'd travelled up from the SW for it :facepalm:
-
People in glass houses and all that. Has everyone forgotten about the state of our pitch in the league 1 championsip season. The Keepmoat was a beach for the last 4 months of the season.
-
People in glass houses and all that. Has everyone forgotten about the state of our pitch in the league 1 championsip season. The Keepmoat was a beach for the last 4 months of the season.
We had heavy snow at end of March in 2013
It was a harsh winter by todays standards. ( not as bad as the old days ) 60’s & 70’s though.
The pitch was awful for those Easter games v Tranmere & Swindon. Both 1-0 wins I think.
-
I doubt they are going to move fast enough to rearrange this side of Easter and we have games on Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 April and season ends on Saturday 27 April, so it is either Tuesday 16 or Tuesday 23 April free for us. Colchester already have a game on Tuesday 16 April though, so I suspect this is heading for Tuesday 23 April.
Ah that would pose me a huge headache. Hope it’s not the 23rd. I have a work commitment I can’t change
-
Only a few years ago but I'm sure somebody will come up with a date and opposition. I was on my way up from Nottingham when it was called off. Aidrian Durham on Talksport was incredulous that a new stadium like ours had a waterlogged pitch, bit rich from a Posh supporter
Edit 2012 MK Dons ?
Yes and it was called off very very late.
I watched football focus and checked the bbc website before setting off for the game at 1.45.
No mention of it being off and only found out when we got to the KM at 2.15.
-
Scunthorpe game at Spennymore called off at 7pm
-
Ours is the only EFL match to be called off which rather proves that the Col U pitch is about the worst of all.
-
Can 't imagine how bad Bradford's is tonight.
-
Ours is the only EFL match to be called off which rather proves that the Col U pitch is about the worst of all.
Or just proves they’ve had the worst weather?
-
The lads at Rambling Rovers had some Colchester fan on last week previewing the game and he said something about their major summer investment being to relay the pitch, or words to that effect. Think their poor pitch set up is not news for them.
-
From their local rag:
Mr Cowling, who confirmed the club has a team of four groundstaff and are currently advertising for a fifth member, says the U's are working with the EFL to ensure they are aware of the measures they are taking to resolve the pitch issues.
They are looking to make improvements to the drainage in the summer.
-
Was it the MK Dons game?
I came over from Bradford and went shopping in the Lakeside with my granddaughter. When we got back with the shopping the cars in front he’d gone. I moved the car and when we got to the ground it was off. A long sad drive home.
-
https://x.com/colu_official/status/1767596536475566223?s=46
Statement from their chairman.
-
Why are they playing on Tuesday 2nd April and not Easter Monday .
-
Ours is the only EFL match to be called off which rather proves that the Col U pitch is about the worst of all.
Or just proves they’ve had the worst weather?
I live in Essex and have attempted to put Col U's position into the appropriate context. Despite being in one of the driest parts of the UK their pitch is not up to standard. As another poster pointed out even their own fans are ashamed of the pitch there.
-
Why are they playing on Tuesday 2nd April and not Easter Monday .
Perhaps the clubs have both agreed to move the fixture like when the Bradford home game was moved from the Saturday to mad Friday in December
-
From the EFL, when they play next and when we play them the pitch will be shorter and narrower to remove the problem areas
https://www.efl.com/news/2024/march/15/efl-statement--colchester-united/
COYR
-
I doubt they are going to move fast enough to rearrange this side of Easter and we have games on Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 April and season ends on Saturday 27 April, so it is either Tuesday 16 or Tuesday 23 April free for us. Colchester already have a game on Tuesday 16 April though, so I suspect this is heading for Tuesday 23 April.
Confirmed for Tuesday 23 April, with 7.45pm kick off.
-
I doubt they are going to move fast enough to rearrange this side of Easter and we have games on Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 April and season ends on Saturday 27 April, so it is either Tuesday 16 or Tuesday 23 April free for us. Colchester already have a game on Tuesday 16 April though, so I suspect this is heading for Tuesday 23 April.
Confirmed for Tuesday 24 April, with 7.45pm kick off.
24th April is a Wednesday
-
I doubt they are going to move fast enough to rearrange this side of Easter and we have games on Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 April and season ends on Saturday 27 April, so it is either Tuesday 16 or Tuesday 23 April free for us. Colchester already have a game on Tuesday 16 April though, so I suspect this is heading for Tuesday 23 April.
Confirmed for Tuesday 24 April, with 7.45pm kick off.
24th April is a Wednesday
Now amended! Definitely Tuesday 23 April.