Rugby lines

[Redland]

Why is it that we  do such a poor job of painting out the rugby markings when City are playing? Other clubs including I think Swansea, Hull City and Reading also have rugby matches but seem to do a much better job of painting out the lines so they are not visible. At Ashton gate they stand out and I think it makes us look a bit amateurish -  like we are playing football in a rugby ground. After the away leg at Man City Pep Guardiola commented ' what are those markings on the Bristol City pitch? ' which say's it all really. 

[Tipps69]

3 minutes ago, Redland said:

Why is it that we  do such a poor job of painting out the rugby markings when City are playing? Other clubs including I think Swansea, Hull City and Reading also have rugby matches but seem to do a much better job of painting out the lines so they are not visible. At Ashton gate they stand out and I think it makes us look a bit amateurish -  like we are playing football in a rugby ground. After the away leg at Man City Pep Guardiola commented ' what are those markings on the Bristol City pitch? ' which say's it all really. 

What difference do the lines make? The playing surface is still like playing on a bowls green so it shouldn’t affect anyone!

You won’t notice the lines at Hull recently because they have rugby league on their pitch & their season finished months ago.

[Port Said Red]

18 minutes ago, Redland said:

Why is it that we  do such a poor job of painting out the rugby markings when City are playing? Other clubs including I think Swansea, Hull City and Reading also have rugby matches but seem to do a much better job of painting out the lines so they are not visible. At Ashton gate they stand out and I think it makes us look a bit amateurish -  like we are playing football in a rugby ground. After the away leg at Man City Pep Guardiola commented ' what are those markings on the Bristol City pitch? ' which say's it all really. 

It's interesting that DH made a joke of the idea that Pep thought they were some sort of tactical marking, but in reality they really could be useful to the players. i noticed that when Steele hit one of his goalkicks that Flint was shouting something to him about where it was aimed, Steele pointed towards the edge of the pitch and drew a square in the air to indicate that he was aiming for an agreed area. If you look in that area you can see the markings which I think are for line outs and could be used in conjunction with the normal lines to indicate a square. 

The 22 yard line could also be used by defenders and defensive midfield players to judge their place on the pitch. I wonder if they are used, but the Management team are understandably coy about making it public? This would explain why they don't seem to be making as much effort to "colour match" the lines into the playing surface.

[Redland]

16 minutes ago, Tipps69 said:

What difference do the lines make? The playing surface is still like playing on a bowls green so it shouldn’t affect anyone!

You won’t notice the lines at Hull recently because they have rugby league on their pitch & their season finished months ago.

I think it's about how we are perceived as a club. Last nights match would have been shown around the world and I would have preferred a pristine playing surface with football markings rather than a shared or part time appearance - regardless of the quality of the playing surface itself. Thanks for the clarification on Hull. 

[Fiale]

It's easier to repaint them if you leave them a little darker green than the rest of the pitch - anyway, it does not look that bad, thought the pitch looked really god for Late January

[Tipps69]

11 minutes ago, Redland said:

I think it's about how we are perceived as a club. Last nights match would have been shown around the world and I would have preferred a pristine playing surface with football markings rather than a shared or part time appearance - regardless of the quality of the playing surface itself. Thanks for the clarification on Hull. 

But it makes absolutely no difference to the playing surface, look at the state of some of the other teams pitches, most other clubs would be over the moon to have a pitch as good as ours & if the worst things people can say about us is that we have visible rugby lines in the pitch then I can handle that.

As mentioned above, it could be that the lines are used as a tactical advantage, as LJ has stated plenty of times, those small margins, that extra 1% advantage could make all the difference, so if a line helps our keeper to know where to aim a clearance or our defence & midfield where to position themselves so their distances are too far apart or too close, then it’s helping us.

Sorry but it all feels very nit-picky, things are going well on the pitch & off the pitch so what can we moan about? Some lines that make no difference to how a performance is played out!!

[KevP]

Bristol Sport can't even get hot water in the toilets so WTF  do people expect??

[Reigate Red]

Speaking to a Man City fan in the hotel last night and he didn't even notice the lines and was surprised that rugby was played at AG given the quality of the surface.

[ApplePress]

I didn’t notice the lines but that might be as a result of them being there often during the rugby season and the fact that one of the best teams in the world were at AG. But I do understand what the OP means,  however the world had a peek at us and said “gutsy” and have now moved on to the main attraction. 

[spudski]

1 hour ago, Port Said Red said:

It's interesting that DH made a joke of the idea that Pep thought they were some sort of tactical marking, but in reality they really could be useful to the players. i noticed that when Steele hit one of his goalkicks that Flint was shouting something to him about where it was aimed, Steele pointed towards the edge of the pitch and drew a square in the air to indicate that he was aiming for an agreed area. If you look in that area you can see the markings which I think are for line outs and could be used in conjunction with the normal lines to indicate a square. 

The 22 yard line could also be used by defenders and defensive midfield players to judge their place on the pitch. I wonder if they are used, but the Management team are understandably coy about making it public? This would explain why they don't seem to be making as much effort to "colour match" the lines into the playing surface.

You're not allowed to score unless the ball is inside the 22 yard line...oh hang on a minute...that's Subbuteo ;-)

Joking aside...the lines are actually good for knowing your positioning...especially when defending.

[RedM]

Did anyone see Wasps playing at the Ricoh at the weekend on tv, Coventry haven’t got a hope. Actually I think they are in a playoff spot or thereabouts so maybe they do. Pitch was awful though even dismissing the bad weather.

[wesco]

I think the visibility of the lines vary depending on your elevation in the stands. I would doubt that the players really notice them during the game but it could be useful when analysing a game perhaps as they are clear on TV.

[Redland]

1 hour ago, Reigate Red said:

Speaking to a Man City fan in the hotel last night and he didn't even notice the lines and was surprised that rugby was played at AG given the quality of the surface.

Yes the quality of the playing surface is excellent and the grounds staff deserve immense credit for that. I am only referring to the  markings which are not obvious at pitch level but stand out like a sore thumb on TV - which is how most people would have seen us last night. Some may think it nitpicking but I think such details can be important  in terms of projecting our image to the wider world. 

[Bris Red]

Just watching the highlights on tv and they are very clear to see. Is a shame as i cant help but think it looks un professional to be honest.. i wish Ashton Gate was just ours again 

[phantom]

I wouldn't be surprised if we were using the lines to our advantage, it has to be useful when either pressing up the pitch or where to defend the line

But saying that they were almost invisible against Norwich so not something we use each game

[The Bard]

50 minutes ago, wesco said:

I think the visibility of the lines vary depending on your elevation in the stands. I would doubt that the players really notice them during the game but it could be useful when analysing a game perhaps as they are clear on TV.

Excellent point. It affects those watching more than the players.

[The Bard]

9 minutes ago, Redland said:

Yes the quality of the playing surface is excellent and the grounds staff deserve immense credit for that. I am only referring to the  markings which are not obvious at pitch level but stand out like a sore thumb on TV - which is how most people would have seen us last night. Some may think it nitpicking but I think such details can be important  in terms of projecting our image to the wider world. 

Couldn't care less about that.  Some Chinese kid with OCD thinking he doesn't like Bristol City because of the pitch markings???

[MichaelRobartes]

I don't really notice the lines while the game is going on to be honest. Agree with those who say they could be useful for defensive positioning, I'd be surprised if we weren't taking advantage of that.

[Aizoon]

I'm not keen on the lines, but the pitch was as near perfect as you could hope for in February.

[Redland]

40 minutes ago, The Bard said:

Couldn't care less about that.  Some Chinese kid with OCD thinking he doesn't like Bristol City because of the pitch markings???

Fair enough. But I don't think you would ever see a credible premier league team playing on a pitch marked out for a rugby game. Like another poster has said it does not look professional. 

[The Bard]

24 minutes ago, Redland said:

Fair enough. But I don't think you would ever see a credible premier league team playing on a pitch marked out for a rugby game. Like another poster has said it does not look professional. 

You're looking at this in completely the wrong way.  It's a credit and something that should be publicised.  Our pitch is that good that it's grass and can be used for both football and rugby matches played close to each other (some games on successive days), yet it stays in an excellent condition.  When you consider the recent weather as well, it's a credit.  As others have pointed out, Coventry's ground is in a right state as it's not coping with both.

[RedM]

1 hour ago, phantom said:

I wouldn't be surprised if we were using the lines to our advantage, it has to be useful when either pressing up the pitch or where to defend the line

But saying that they were almost invisible against Norwich so not something we use each game

They were invisible as we hadn’t played at home since before Christmas. The only home game since was last Friday when we were up at Derby

[Rossi the Robin]

2 hours ago, wesco said:

I think the visibility of the lines vary depending on your elevation in the stands. I would doubt that the players really notice them during the game but it could be useful when analysing a game perhaps as they are clear on TV.

Yes, it’s the height of the cameras I think

So many people on Twitter were commenting on the height of the camera angle being filmed from a skyscraper 

 

[Bris Red]

35 minutes ago, The Bard said:

You're looking at this in completely the wrong way.  It's a credit and something that should be publicised.  Our pitch is that good that it's grass and can be used for both football and rugby matches played close to each other (some games on successive days), yet it stays in an excellent condition.  When you consider the recent weather as well, it's a credit.  As others have pointed out, Coventry's ground is in a right state as it's not coping with both.

Its unprofessional mate end of.. what top clubs play on pitches with rugby lines on them? Im not saying the grounds staff dont do a good job but using a lower league outfit such as Coventry as the benchmark is pretty small time.. we should be aiming higher than that.

[View from the Dolman]

14 minutes ago, bris red said:

Its unprofessional mate end of.. what top clubs play on pitches with rugby lines on them? Im not saying the grounds staff dont do a good job but using a lower league outfit such as Coventry as the benchmark is pretty small time.. we should be aiming higher than that.

Old Trafford doesn't make the Super League Grand Final rugby lines invisible either: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvRG2rVWAAAfn--.jpg

[Bris Red]

6 minutes ago, View from the Dolman said:

Old Trafford doesn't make the Super League Grand Final rugby lines invisible either: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvRG2rVWAAAfn--.jpg

United dont share there ground permanently with a rugby league club though do they.. this is something we have to live with week in week out.. its on the TV where it looks the worst and with us being on the box more and more to nation and worldwide viewers it cant be seen as anything but unprofessional surely. 

[RedRock]

Worried this would be a problem when the egg-chasers were invited to set up camp at AG. 

Hoped with the funds available, quality of groundsmanship and technological assistance such a basic issue of removing some powder lines off a pitch could be addressed. Clearly not. 

Someone needs to sort this, as setting aside it looking a mess to us supporters, TV companies and their audiences are going to get pretty fed up continually looking at something you see in a second rate multi-use Council sports hall.

As a temporary fix, use the bit of grass that LJ measures in his machine and nip down to B&Q and get them to paint mix a matching colour. Can’t be that difficult.

 

[Redland]

25 minutes ago, View from the Dolman said:

Old Trafford doesn't make the Super League Grand Final rugby lines invisible either: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvRG2rVWAAAfn--.jpg

They are not invisible but are a lot less visible than the lines at Ashton Gate. How hard can it be to mix a masking colour that blends with the pitch?

[RedM]

I didn’t really notice last night, I watch both sports so it’s equally annoying to be at rugby games and seeing football markings. I just think to myself that we have the rugby team and depriving the other lot of rent. I also look at the drinks etc being purchased and am glad the stadium is bring used more than 20 odd times a season. Small price to pay for a lot of income I think.

 

[Redland]

1 minute ago, RedM said:

I didn’t really notice last night, I watch both sports so it’s equally annoying to be at rugby games and seeing football markings. I just think to myself that we have the rugby team and depriving the other lot of rent. I also look at the drinks etc being purchased and am glad the stadium is bring used more than 20 odd times a season. Small price to pay for a lot of income I think.

 

I agree 100%. I attend rugby matches too and always shout "penalty' when a Bristol player is tackled in the box!

Just think we should do a more professional job of painting out the lines between matches so you watch rugby on a rugby pitch and football on a football pitch.