Bradfords Pitch

[Filo]

What a disgrace

https://x.com/james_bfp/status/1760369227398033776?s=61&t=DCRm1C_BBr5pt7J45jXUsA

[Spud]

Working away, it's on in the pub. Shocking, I'd love to hear the reasoning, don't give me big stand.....

[mushRTID]

It really is an embarrassment for a professional football club.

[In the box]

It really is an embarrassment for a professional football club.

Nowt wrong with playing old school style. They should think themselves lucky they don’t us lace up footballs as well . Should be a great game 

[Silkscarf]

Looks likes the Baseball Ground 1970s.

I thought all football clubs at a reasonable level had the same sort of pitch these days. ‘Desso Grassmaster’ and the like.

Do Bradford not have this kind of standard of pitch? The grass in Bradford parks probably looks better than that.

[TheFunk]

Let's not forget we won League 1 playing on a beach.

[Metalmicky]

Looks like Wycombe are enjoying the sand..... just scored

[redwine]

Bradford on Sea?

[TonySoprano]

That's just rolled mud

[idler]

I’m sure that they spent half a million or so either last year or previous on a drainage system at Valley Parade.
According to ex manager Phil Parkinson they also pay £500,000 a year to ex director Gordon Gibb to rent the ground.

[RoversInSpain]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

[Donnywolf]

Glad we weren't beaten by the Winners

[Campsall rover]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

I was really surprised at those attendances.
Think we got over 12.000 for the semi final 2nd leg v Crewe in 2007

How many fans will Posh and Wycombe take to Wembley fit the final. 
I can see there being less than 25.000

The interest in this competition seems to be decreasing season on season.
A re vamp it needs. You’re not kidding.
1st thing is to get rid of the Premier league U21 teams.

[ncRover]

How about a trophy with L1, L2 and Vanarama National for a little bit of cup magic?

Then, if the non-league teams do well it’s an argument for 3 up 3 down between the EFL and non-league.

Not sure if 70 teams could work in a tournament though, unless someone is better at maths than me.

[Campsall rover]

How about a trophy with L1, L2 and Vanarama National for a little bit of cup magic?

Then, if the non-league teams do well it’s an argument for 3 up 3 down between the EFL and non-league.

Not sure if 70 teams could work in a tournament though, unless someone is better at maths than me.

I would go for that also cnRover
Think the argument for 3 up from the National League should not need re enforcing.
The fact is it should happen immediately. Well maybe next season of course when DRFC are a long way above 22nd in the league.   

[drfchound]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

I was really surprised at those attendances.
Think we got over 12.000 for the semi final 2nd leg v Crewe in 2007

How many fans will Posh and Wycombe take to Wembley fit the final. 
I can see there being less than 25.000

The interest in this competition seems to be decreasing season on season.
A re vamp it needs. You’re not kidding.
1st thing is to get rid of the Premier league U21 teams.

League one and two clubs would take a significant financial hit if PL u21 teams were excluded from the competition Camps.

From The Guardian: (yes, The Guardian)

“The Premier League has presented a plan to increase financial redistribution to the English Football League by £358m over the three seasons to 2025-26, with a series of strings attached.

Under the terms of the deal, EFL clubs would receive an extra £88m this season, an extra £101m next season and an extra £169m the season after. Those figures would continue to rise over the following three years of what would be a six-year agreement. Championship clubs would get 75% of the money paid by the Premier League, League One clubs 15% and League Two clubs 10%.
One of the Premier League’s caveats for providing additional funding is that its under-21 clubs invited to play in the EFL Trophy – 15 are participating this season – must be guaranteed more matches. Another is that League One and Two clubs must set aside part of their allocation for facilities, meaning it could not all be used for transfer fees or player wages. The Premier League is also insisting that parachute payments must continue in the face of EFL opposition.”

[ncRover]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

I was really surprised at those attendances.
Think we got over 12.000 for the semi final 2nd leg v Crewe in 2007

How many fans will Posh and Wycombe take to Wembley fit the final. 
I can see there being less than 25.000

The interest in this competition seems to be decreasing season on season.
A re vamp it needs. You’re not kidding.
1st thing is to get rid of the Premier league U21 teams.

League one and two clubs would take a significant financial hit if PL u21 teams were excluded from the competition Camps.

From The Guardian: (yes, The Guardian)

“The Premier League has presented a plan to increase financial redistribution to the English Football League by £358m over the three seasons to 2025-26, with a series of strings attached.

Under the terms of the deal, EFL clubs would receive an extra £88m this season, an extra £101m next season and an extra £169m the season after. Those figures would continue to rise over the following three years of what would be a six-year agreement. Championship clubs would get 75% of the money paid by the Premier League, League One clubs 15% and League Two clubs 10%.
One of the Premier League’s caveats for providing additional funding is that its under-21 clubs invited to play in the EFL Trophy – 15 are participating this season – must be guaranteed more matches. Another is that League One and Two clubs must set aside part of their allocation for facilities, meaning it could not all be used for transfer fees or player wages. The Premier League is also insisting that parachute payments must continue in the face of EFL opposition.”

Not sure why Championship clubs need 75% when a lot of them have benefitted from parachute payments and regularly indulge in multi-million pound signings.

[Campsall rover]

Who is running the EFL

Sounds like the Premier league are.

[Pancho Regan]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

I suspect like many others, for me this competition was hugely devalued when the ridiculous decision was made to allow Premiership clubs' U21's to join.

I stopped attending games in the competition because of that (although I confess I'd have gone to Wembley had we made the final, so I'm a bit of a hypocrite!).

Fortunately, once again this season no U21 team has made the final, but imagine if two such teams contested the final at some point. That would underline how ridiculous the decision was to allow them to compete.

If Premiership clubs want competitive fixtures for their U21's, why not create a competition between them and the Championship clubs' U21's?

Back to the topic of the thread, the pitch at Bradford City really is a disgrace. Our upcoming game there could be a bit of a lottery.

[Pancho Regan]

Terrible attendances at both semi finals 6k at Blackpool and only 6.9k at Bradford (who have superb attendances for lg2)
For a match which can send you to Wembley too!
If ever a competition needed a revamp.

I was really surprised at those attendances.
Think we got over 12.000 for the semi final 2nd leg v Crewe in 2007

How many fans will Posh and Wycombe take to Wembley fit the final. 
I can see there being less than 25.000

The interest in this competition seems to be decreasing season on season.
A re vamp it needs. You’re not kidding.
1st thing is to get rid of the Premier league U21 teams.

League one and two clubs would take a significant financial hit if PL u21 teams were excluded from the competition Camps.

From The Guardian: (yes, The Guardian)

“The Premier League has presented a plan to increase financial redistribution to the English Football League by £358m over the three seasons to 2025-26, with a series of strings attached.

Under the terms of the deal, EFL clubs would receive an extra £88m this season, an extra £101m next season and an extra £169m the season after. Those figures would continue to rise over the following three years of what would be a six-year agreement. Championship clubs would get 75% of the money paid by the Premier League, League One clubs 15% and League Two clubs 10%.
One of the Premier League’s caveats for providing additional funding is that its under-21 clubs invited to play in the EFL Trophy – 15 are participating this season – must be guaranteed more matches. Another is that League One and Two clubs must set aside part of their allocation for facilities, meaning it could not all be used for transfer fees or player wages. The Premier League is also insisting that parachute payments must continue in the face of EFL opposition.”

I wasn't aware of that  - sounds a bit like blackmail doesn't it hound?

[drfchound]

You could say that but taking those figures apart shows how much the difference between what L1 clubs and L2 clubs got from the first £88m payments is.
L1 clubs get £550,000.
L2 clubs get £365,000. (The article says £350,000).
The coming years will have an even bigger difference.
Relegation from L1 makes a big difference to nett income.

[pib]

How about a trophy with L1, L2 and Vanarama National for a little bit of cup magic?

Then, if the non-league teams do well it’s an argument for 3 up 3 down between the EFL and non-league.

Not sure if 70 teams could work in a tournament though, unless someone is better at maths than me.

That's the way this competition used to work before about 2005-ish. It was good! And it was good after then when it was just L1 and L2 teams. Then they ruined it.

[ncRover]

I understand your point hound and the money is of course to be welcomed.

But it’s shouldn’t be a binary choice of us getting the PL fund or not and having the trophy returned to its original or better format.

The PL already benefits from a strong EFL with loanees and poaching its talent.

I would also imagine that in their arrogance the PL probably expected their academy teams to be far more competitive and more people come out to watch them. Are they really benefitting from that stipulation?

[GazLaz]

They played on it when it started to freeze during a night game. Killed most of the grass completely.

[VivaRovers]

Let's not forget we won League 1 playing on a beach.

Was about to reply with something similar... the Keepmoat pitch looked like this during the first few months of 2013. Not the clearest of pictures, but here it is when we played Portsmouth in March that year. And it was even worse than that when the Belles played on it the following day.

[selby]

  The gap between u21s football and lower league football has widened over the last few years, the style of play in u21s is sterile  and shows when young players come into the league system many struggling to adapt as we know from our own experiences, a few adapt and push on, most fall by the wayside.
  The top national League sides would be a different proposition, as they are in the FA cup, but money talks, it is what it is and the rich clubs have the rest over a barrel.
   As for the final at Wembley being a poor attendance, if Portsmouth and Derby had got there it could have sold out, it just depends who gets to the final, and to be fair the prize money we have gained this season has been welcome and not to be sniffed at,
   Our little run might have awakened some interest in our supporters, we need to do it again next season.
  As for Bradford I am pleased they lost and would like us to go there in a few weeks put a result over them and if possible put a couple out of action for their run in for the rest of the season and kick lumps off them at the same time.

[Campsall rover]

  The gap between u21s football and lower league football has widened over the last few years, the style of play in u21s is sterile  and shows when young players come into the league system many struggling to adapt as we know from our own experiences, a few adapt and push on, most fall by the wayside.
  The top national League sides would be a different proposition, as they are in the FA cup, but money talks, it is what it is and the rich clubs have the rest over a barrel.
   As for the final at Wembley being a poor attendance, if Portsmouth and Derby had got there it could have sold out, it just depends who gets to the final, and to be fair the prize money we have gained this season has been welcome and not to be sniffed at,
   Our little run might have awakened some interest in our supporters, we need to do it again next season.
  As for Bradford I am pleased they lost and would like us to go there in a few weeks put a result over them and if possible put a couple out of action for their run in for the rest of the season and kick lumps off them at the same time.

Brian, I understand how you feel after our game at Bradford in the BSM Trophy but there is no way I want to see our team resort to over physical tactics.
Let’s go there and beat them by playing football. Yes we need to match them physically but kicking lumps out of is not the way I want to see our team play.

[andy didcott]

Bentley park looks better.

[Filo]

Bentley park looks better.

Bentley has a park? 

[Donnywolf]

Yeah but its Krap