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The referee blamed the postponement for the Burton game on the area of the pitch in front of Bristows Bench NOT the rest of the pitch which was playable.
The groundsman confirms this is the area of the pitch which is the main problem.
Given that this area was the problem last year and was supposed to have been addressed in the summer its quite obvious that whatever was done to it didn't work.
Noone is saying that given the weather games wouldn't have been postponed anyway but to anyone with half a brain cell its the aforementioned area of the pitch which is causing every home game to be called off.
Plymouth has no doubt had just the same amount of rainfall as Torquay but manage to get their games on.
This has nothing to do with the weather - its because their pitch doesn't have the same problems ours does.

brucie wrote:The referee blamed the postponement for the Burton game on the area of the pitch in front of Bristows Bench NOT the rest of the pitch which was playable.
The groundsman confirms this is the area of the pitch which is the main problem.
Given that this area was the problem last year and was supposed to have been addressed in the summer its quite obvious that whatever was done to it didn't work.
Noone is saying that given the weather games wouldn't have been postponed anyway but to anyone with half a brain cell its the aforementioned area of the pitch which is causing every home game to be called off.
Plymouth has no doubt had just the same amount of rainfall as Torquay but manage to get their games on.
This has nothing to do with the weather - its because their pitch doesn't have the same problems ours does.

No - it is because the put all their eggs in one basket in getting their pitch up to Premier League standards, the world cup bid failed, they went into administration and then never paid for the pitch which then now 'benefit' from.

Richinns wrote: No - it is because the put all their eggs in one basket in getting their pitch up to Premier League standards, the world cup bid failed, they went into administration and then never paid for the pitch which then now 'benefit' from.

Exactly richins

Brucie lacks the brain power to understand logic

If it is thought that a drain collapse may have occurred as a result of building work, rendering the money the Club spent on essential verti-draining work at the end of the season of limited benefit, then it is not something to beat the Club over the head about. If it is diagnosed that this has happened, I would expect the Club may have a compensation claim, for which the builders will be insured, to put it right. However, I wouldn't expect, but have no idea, you could get that done mid-season without undue disruption.

The shade aspect and drainage on the pitch near a new big stand is something other Clubs have a problem with. Recent pictures from Sid James show the pitch below their 'new' stand as the key problem area ahead of a postponed fixture. Not forgetting, of course, that Chris Ralph does also mention there is an area along the Popside that has been causing problems too. Verti-draining work they had done was a good investment, but if there are collapsed drains underneath that, and he's only speculating, it shouldn't take brucie, or the layman generally, much deducing to see that as something that supersedes the positive effects of verti-draining.

The other part of the article in the Herald shows how very sad it is that elements of our support choose to heap blame on the Club, as yet again, it is they who are the biggest losers in all of this. Not us inconvenienced fans desperate to see a game Saturday and Tuesday. They and we are extremely keen to see the games go ahead, but their keenness stretches to their need to pump more money at running costs if the games are called off.

It's really very simple!

Bristow's Bench is a lot heavier than the old wooden grandstand was, so that side of the ground is now lower due to the extra weight it has to support .. thus causing all the water to run over to that side of the pitch.

Simples.

Chris Ralph(Groundsman) is saying that the builders may have damaged the drains when Bristow's Bench was being constructed-given that remedial work was done on the pitch in the summer I can't understand why the drains weren't checked-out then.If they were found to have collapsed they could have been repaired-now such investigations will have to wait to the end of the season.

It's more simple than any of that.

It's due to the fact that almost half of the yearly rainfall has occurred in the last six weeks. I challenge any league two club (that hasn't ignored financial restrictions) to have coped with this.

There is flooding all over the SouthWest of England - rain lines collapsed, roads collapsing, homes flooded and yet there are people on here wondering why the drainage isn't working properly on the pitch?! The drains aren't coping on tarmaced roads, let alone grass!!

I don't want to have a go at the club, either its directors or ground staff, I am simply interpreting Chris Ralph's quotes thusly.
90% of the pitch is draining ok and is playable. The problem areas are on either side, in front of the pop side and grandstand. The problem in front of the grandstand may have been caused by its design/construction. The implication being that had the design been better or the construction been different we wouldn't have the drainage problems in front of the stand and may well not have had any postponements. Even with the exceptional rain we have had.

Every one to a man fully understands the record rain fall, I certainly do not want this to come across as having a go at the club it's not meant that way, but, last Tuesday night Exeter who have been victims of the same record rain fall played, last weekend there were games held at Newton Spurs and Kingstiegnton Ath and some other local grounds around the bay, admittedly most were off, but all were also victims of the same record rain fall.

The record rain fall is the biggest factor here, but so is the drainage problem along side the Bristow's Bench, therefore Brucie actually has made a fair point.

brucie wrote:The referee blamed the postponement for the Burton game on the area of the pitch in front of Bristows Bench NOT the rest of the pitch which was playable.
The groundsman confirms this is the area of the pitch which is the main problem.
Given that this area was the problem last year and was supposed to have been addressed in the summer its quite obvious that whatever was done to it didn't work.
Noone is saying that given the weather games wouldn't have been postponed anyway but to anyone with half a brain cell its the aforementioned area of the pitch which is causing every home game to be called off.
Plymouth has no doubt had just the same amount of rainfall as Torquay but manage to get their games on.
This has nothing to do with the weather - its because their pitch doesn't have the same problems ours does.

So if it wasn't chucking it down with rain we'd still have games postponed? Other than that you sort of have a good point. We've always have problems on that side of the pitch, which is a shame and not sure it's a problem that can be fixed, it's just how the pitch is.

the OS seems to think it'll be on, they've informed us that the away terrace is closed and that there is a happy hour before the game this weekend and before every other game this season

http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 22522.aspx

http://www.torquayunited.com/news/artic ... 72899.aspx

thats the standard reports bixie

just a couple of things, not rained as much as was predicted today and secondly just seeing on the newport fc website they had volunteers putting the covers on their pitch, do our club need help forking the pitch etc?

How difficult is it for people to realise that any combination of things can cause the postponements? This is going to feel to some, like a 'science for idiot's' posting, but too many people are too readily blaming the club, and failing to understand what happens when there is more rain than the water table of a particular area can deal with.

1. RAIN - The rainfall is the big contribution. We have had 25+ inches of rain in the last 8 weeks in the South Devon area. More in such a concerted spell than at any other time in the last 100+ years.

2 - STANDS - The local pitches, whilst having the same rainfall, don't have the excess building development around the sides of the pitches that occurs at a football league ground. The water will always try to drain down, and then towards the edges of the field, when it hit's concrete, or any type of obstacle it cannot get around, it will just start to fill up, and will only drain away naturally, when there is space. If there is no space for it to drain away, then has a swimming pool type effect.

The new stand is impacting on the drainage as the contractors have brought the building/foundations closer to the pitch, possibly without improving the drainage facility, however this is pure speculation as only the contractors know exactly what they did/didn't do.

3. POSSIBLE COLLAPSED DRAIN - Does that really need explaining?

4. VERTIDRAINING - Take a paper cup, with a pencil poke 1 small hole in the bottom and hold it under a running tap. The cup fills up, no? Well imagine this happens where the water is running into sand and mud. At some point, the water is going to come above the surface and not drain away.

5. Do we really need any more examples?

At the end of the day, if it stops raining quite so much, we'll have games ON. If not, and we have more storms/rain, then the games could well be off.

The only thing the club should be doing better on, is it's communications, i.e don't say the games will hopefully be on, and then 2 hours later, call them off.

Worst prolonged rain fall for 248 years Nick, the point on local pitch's stands though, it depends which pitch's we look at, Kingsteignton own their ground(don't have the benefit of council contractors) Do not have the benefit of professional ground staff, equipment, certainly not a big budget to look after their pitch. No, they don't have stands, but their ground is surrounded houses and a road, that's the point got their 1st team game on, this isn't meant as a swipe at the club , but last Tuesday when we should have played Burton, City got their game on, the weather didn't magically avoid Sid James hell hole, hard to believe I know they still have stands.

All some are saying , there's more to this than the weather, and they're right, collapsed drains, a hazard of construction especially around older structures were drains weren't always sunk as low as they are today's world, were they checked at the time ? If not could it have been done ? Just fair points raised by Brucie, and shouldn't be taken as a swipe at the club.

Game will be off, as for brucies comments, the gargs have got a premiership pitch which was free, whats done is done and the club cant help the fact that we have had the worst rain in over 150 years, everything and everyone is suffering at the moment and as much as we all want matches played we have to look at it sensibly.its nobodys fault. The club have done its best in difficult and very extreme circumstances.