Best pitch comment by Johnson

[Tunley Legend]

I thought the comment by Johnson about Chesterfield's pitch was interesting. He praised the football we played and went on to say that Saltergate was the best pitch we have played on for ages. Presumably he includes our pitch in that assessment. In other words he is saying "give us a decent pitch and we will play decent football on it".

Given his previous comments about rugby being played on our pitch and how rugby affects Rovers pitch I get the impression he will be severely pi$$ed off if Bristol Rugby end up down the Gate. It is obvious to me if we get promotion that we will need to get as many points at Ashton Gate as possible to make life comfortable for ourselves because many potentially difficult away visits beckon.

So the question is "Should we allow anybody other than Bristol City and Bristol City reserves to play on our pitch next season?" I would like to think that the board will make a decision based on purely football reasons but my cynical head says that money will talk.

[Nibor]

The board have already said that if the rugby play there it will be with the new type turf that has plastic strands interwoven to make it more hardwearing however how effective that is remains to be seen. (As does whether Rovers will find £30m down the back of the couch!)

IMO the state of the pitch is due to the 2 weeks of torrential rain we had straight after the rugby was played, not the rugby itself, but I believe GJ should get the overriding say and if the groundstaff can't guarantee him that there will be no difference in pitch condition that say should be no.

[Tunley Legend]

The board have already said that if the rugby play there it will be with the new type turf that has plastic strands interwoven to make it more hardwearing however how effective that is remains to be seen. (As does whether Rovers will find £30m down the back of the couch!)

IMO the state of the pitch is due to the 2 weeks of torrential rain we had straight after the rugby was played, not the rugby itself, but I believe GJ should get the overriding say and if the groundstaff can't guarantee him that there will be no difference in pitch condition that say should be no.

You use the right word Nibor. There has to be a GUARANTEE that any new surface will do the job. Otherwise, as far as I (and I suspect Gary Johnson) is concerned we should look after our footballing interests first - a must if we find ourselves in the Championship. Any money Bristol RFC give us will not significantly fund new and better players.

[Collis]

Rugby - It's just football for fat kids who can't kick a ball!

[RedTop]

You use the right word Nibor. There has to be a GUARANTEE that any new surface will do the job. Otherwise, as far as I (and I suspect Gary Johnson) is concerned we should look after our footballing interests first - a must if we find ourselves in the Championship. Any money Bristol RFC give us will not significantly fund new and better players.

But 'footballing interest' must surely include raising money that could improve the transfer kitty for GJ to bring in new talent, thus improving the quality of the team. So it's not quite so straightforward as it's being presented.

[Ray White]

I don't even think the reserves should play on the hallowed turf of ashton gate should we gain promotion. It should be used exclusively by the first team and by no one else, especially not the egg chasers.

[Tunley Legend]

But 'footballing interest' must surely include raising money that could improve the transfer kitty for GJ to bring in new talent, thus improving the quality of the team. So it's not quite so straightforward as it's being presented.

No point in racing a Rolls Royce on a paddy field. Poor pitches are a leveller and stop decent football being played. How much will Bristol RFC give us and then look at the transfer fee and wages of a Championship standard performer. They might give us enough for half a player realistically plus a half plastic pitch.

[RedTop]

No point in racing a Rolls Royce on a paddy field. Poor pitches are a leveller and stop decent football being played. How much will Bristol RFC give us and then look at the transfer fee and wages of a Championship standard performer. They might give us enough for half a player realistically plus a half plastic pitch.

I just think it's a delicate balance. If the club finances are good then there may be less pressure on GJ to sell a player if an offer comes in, for example. I agree the pitch can make a difference, but equally a decent pitch is no good if you can't afford the players to put on it! To demonstrate that point, bear in mind GJ's comment on the Chesterfield pitch, then look at where they are in the league! A nice surface doesn't necessarily guarantee better results. I'm not disagreeing with you, I guess. Just pointing out that it's not straightforward.

[samo]

But 'footballing interest' must surely include raising money that could improve the transfer kitty for GJ to bring in new talent, thus improving the quality of the team. So it's not quite so straightforward as it's being presented.

IF we were to go up I'd rather we had to built the team with a bit less money than risk damaging our chances of a prolonged stay in the championship in anyway by damaging the playing surface.

I don't think GJ is the type of manager to demand tonnes of cash from his board anyway, just full support, and IMO he'd be happier being able to play on a top surface ever week and having to cut his cloth accordingly than having more money but a less than ideal pitch.

Plus another side point for me is that with our academy starting to produce some technically decent players (Cotts, Plummer etc) I'd rather their development was aided by getting the chance to play on a good quality surface regularly when they break through to the first team. The standard of pitch at most clubs in the division above will aid their development as good footballers, so i'd hope we could give them the oppitunity to develop their abilities on as good a pitch as possible at the Gate too. Just a thought...

[cheshire_red]

I'm sure I have read on here that Reading's pitch has this type of plastic interwoven.......... it's a shocker.

[BIGPHIL]

Whatever financial incentine rugby would offer at the Gate, I doubt the football club would benefit. Lets not forget the the pitch etc are the responsiblity of Bristol City Stadium Ltd (or something like that) and any income derived from letting the pitch would end up in stadium coffers not football club.

[Maesknoll Red]

If I had a vote, it would be used to keep the egg chasers off our pitch, but I have been impressed by the surface at Wycombe, they have one of these pitches with the interwoven synthetic and grass surfaces.

We played them a couple of years back and a lot of other games around the country were called off, our game with them went ahead and the pitch coped very well with the heavy rain and didn't show any ill effects of being shared with Wasps egg chasers.

[pdgifford64]

If I had a vote, it would be used to keep the egg chasers off our pitch, but I have been impressed by the surface at Wycombe, they have one of these pitches with the interwoven synthetic and grass surfaces.

We played them a couple of years back and a lot of other games around the country were called off, our game with them went ahead and the pitch coped very well with the heavy rain and didn't show any ill effects of being shared with Wasps egg chasers.

Looked a good surface to play on during the CC match against Chelsea.

PDG

[Bristolface]

Rugby - It's just football for fat kids who can't kick a ball!

Yea bloody egg chasers.

[A Horse With No Name]

I thought the comment by Johnson about Chesterfield's pitch was interesting. He praised the football we played and went on to say that Saltergate was the best pitch we have played on for ages. Presumably he includes our pitch in that assessment. In other words he is saying "give us a decent pitch and we will play decent football on it".

Given his previous comments about rugby being played on our pitch and how rugby affects Rovers pitch I get the impression he will be severely pi$$ed off if Bristol Rugby end up down the Gate. It is obvious to me if we get promotion that we will need to get as many points at Ashton Gate as possible to make life comfortable for ourselves because many potentially difficult away visits beckon.

So the question is "Should we allow anybody other than Bristol City and Bristol City reserves to play on our pitch next season?" I would like to think that the board will make a decision based on purely football reasons but my cynical head says that money will talk.

It's interesting that two of our finest performances of the season have come at Coventry and Middlesborough, who obviously have billiard table pitches, and two of the worst were at S****horpe and Rovers. Makes me think that if we were to go up this season, we could surprise a few people next year.

[LSR]

Rugby - It's just football for fat kids who can't kick a ball!