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Post by Andy K on Feb 13, 2020 16:46:30 GMT
Just been reading the latest weather report for Saturday for Halifax and it really ain’t good at all, winds up to 50ish and rain most of the afternoon, what’s the betting it gets called off as early as 11.30/12.00 Saturday lunchtime? Depends which source you look at. All of them tend to be different and are constantly updated. BBC says light rain most of the afternoon, Met office says heavier rain for an hour or two. Oddly enough, a stronger wind would potentially help the situation, causing faster evaporation when it's not raining, and meaning that less rain falls directly on the pitch when it is raining. I know the Barrow situation wasn't great, but I thought the Maidenhead one a couple of seasons back was more farcical. Obviously less of an issue because it put the fans out less (and I was one of the ones who was travelling to Barrow when the game got called off, getting as far as Wigan). Weather by it's very nature is hugely unpredictable and even now, 48 hours before, there's no certainty that the forecast now is going to be the same come Saturday afternoon.
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Post by cheshire on Feb 13, 2020 16:57:58 GMT
This may be a quibble, but I'd say the reason we have a 3G pitch is to make the club more sustainable financially. Yes one of those would be to prevent the possibility of postponed games due to weather (which of course affected us more seasons than others - for example I can't think of one game yet so far which would have been called off due to the weather at GGL this season if we didn't have 3G) but more importantly to make the club a full time money generator rather than a once every 2 weeks one. There's probably a number of reasons why the Shay isn't viable for 3G. Aside from their current league position, directly they are not even leaseholders of the ground, and they share it with Halifax Rugby club, which in itself has it's own issues. Sometimes things are not as straightforward as it seems. I do believe of course games can only be called off by a referee, so that would be down to Halifax to arrange that sort of inspection at a point which they feel is going to be the most appropriate. They know the state of the pitch better than anyone. Not suggesting they (Halifax) should put down 3G (yes, they don't own the lease even if they wanted to go that route) and perhaps they don't feel the need for additional income streams in the same way we do. I'm simply thinking of an arrangement that enables them to cover the playing surface when bad weather is approaching, drain off rain water and reveal a mostly dry pitch beneath, would have the simple (one dimensional) benefit of preventing postponements pretty much all of the time. Yes, cost of the initial investment is quite large but postpone a Saturday fixture and lose a chunk of match day income, which is probably not recouped when the match is rearranged on a weekday evening. If this scenario is repeated a few times, the pitch cover pays for itself. What am I missing?
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Post by timall on Feb 13, 2020 17:32:47 GMT
4 home matches cancelled due to weather in the last 5 years at Halifax (possibly more but they are the only ones I found).
March 19 vs Ebbsfleet due to rain, cancelled just 70 mins before kick-off. Not a good precedent.
April 18 vs Gateshead due to snow, cancelled at 8-30 in the morning.
Feb 15 vs Eastleigh due to rain, cancelled the day before.
Jan 15 vs Barnet due to rain, cancelled at 9-30 in the morning.
So 3 out of 4 cancelled sufficiently early not to inconvenience travelling fans, only the most recent being problematic.
4 cancelled matches in 5 years suggests that whilst inconvenient from a matchday income perspective, hardly economic to invest in a large pitch cover (that would have storage costs, and a limited life) I would think.
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Post by Nick the Greek/The Speshul One on Feb 13, 2020 20:45:46 GMT
4 home matches cancelled due to weather in the last 5 years at Halifax (possibly more but they are the only ones I found). March 19 vs Ebbsfleet due to rain, cancelled just 70 mins before kick-off. Not a good precedent. April 18 vs Gateshead due to snow, cancelled at 8-30 in the morning. Feb 15 vs Eastleigh due to rain, cancelled the day before. Jan 15 vs Barnet due to rain, cancelled at 9-30 in the morning. So 3 out of 4 cancelled sufficiently early not to inconvenience travelling fans, only the most recent being problematic. 4 cancelled matches in 5 years suggests that whilst inconvenient from a matchday income perspective, hardly economic to invest in a large pitch cover (that would have storage costs, and a limited life) I would think. Sutton game was cancelled in the last 5 years due to snow, so I would suggest you are missing one if not more. That game was cancelled days in advance. Beast from the East if I’m correct.
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Post by brisfitboy on Feb 14, 2020 12:27:52 GMT
So, the first of the cancellations has been announced. Barnet v Harrogate with a waterlogged pitch, who’s next I wonder?
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Post by Andy K on Feb 14, 2020 15:12:26 GMT
So, the first of the cancellations has been announced. Barnet v Harrogate with a waterlogged pitch, who’s next I wonder? By all accounts the Barnet pitch is not in a good state to start with, as 3 teams play on it (Barnet, London Bees and Spurs ladies). That sort of usage on a grass pitch will make it more vulnerable to extreme weather than others.
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Post by cheshire on Feb 14, 2020 15:31:44 GMT
So, the first of the cancellations has been announced. Barnet v Harrogate with a waterlogged pitch, who’s next I wonder? By all accounts the Barnet pitch is not in a good state to start with, as 3 teams play on it (Barnet, London Bees and Spurs ladies). That sort of usage on a grass pitch will make it more vulnerable to extreme weather than others. And of course as we know, The Shay has 2 teams that use that pitch during the final third of the football season. Debate on the Halifax forum about such an arrangement and if the extra usage in Feb and March will further damage a fragile surface and result in postponements and fixture congestion for a team trying to secure a Play of spot. At least if the pitch could be kept dry...
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Post by Andy K on Feb 14, 2020 15:56:48 GMT
According to their forum, there is going to be a pitch inspection at 8am tomorrow. They also state that the pitch was playable on Tuesday night and they've had no rain since. It is possible of course that it could pass the pitch inspection at 8am and get called off later, but as the team are travelling up on the day and the pitch is currently playable, the early inspection makes the most sense.
Games don't and shouldn't get called off because of what might happen, but the ref will of course be advised by the person who will know the best i.e their groundsman.
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Post by Del on Feb 14, 2020 19:30:24 GMT
Forecast to rain from about 7am tomorrow .
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markf
Top Performer
Posts: 3,182
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Post by markf on Feb 14, 2020 21:39:04 GMT
Fylde also off because of safety reasons. Why are Halifax not doing the decent thing?
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Post by os on Feb 14, 2020 22:09:14 GMT
Fylde also off because of safety reasons. Why are Halifax not doing the decent thing? Have to agree, the game has to be called off on safety grounds. Disagree with AndyK when bad conditions are forecast which don't only threaten the match but the safety of those attending and certainly whether their journeys will even be completed - this match should not go ahead. I understand supporters coach has been called off and the players 10am train has already been cancelled so there are question marks as to whether the team can even get there??
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Post by RobboAccounts on Feb 14, 2020 22:44:50 GMT
Fylde also off because of safety reasons. Why are Halifax not doing the decent thing? Have to agree, the game has to be called off on safety grounds. Disagree with AndyK when bad conditions are forecast which don't only threaten the match but the safety of those attending and certainly whether their journeys will even be completed - this match should not go ahead. I understand supporters coach has been called off and the players 10am train has already been cancelled so there are question marks as to whether the team can even get there?? The team's train has NOT been cancelled in the morning!!!! DaveF in the other thread was talking about the Southbound one in the evening
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Post by os on Feb 14, 2020 23:12:01 GMT
Have to agree, the game has to be called off on safety grounds. Disagree with AndyK when bad conditions are forecast which don't only threaten the match but the safety of those attending and certainly whether their journeys will even be completed - this match should not go ahead. I understand supporters coach has been called off and the players 10am train has already been cancelled so there are question marks as to whether the team can even get there?? The team's train has NOT been cancelled in the morning!!!! DaveF in the other thread was talking about the Southbound one in the evening My apologies train home, although we ain't got to 10am yet - even so silly situation - dangerous conditions forecast.
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Post by pinewalker on Feb 15, 2020 21:36:56 GMT
Why dont clubs invest in large tarpaulins that can be rolled out before the arrival of heavy rain and rolled back afterwards. One thing we know is that weather forecasting these days is pretty accurate and its rarely a shock when heavy rain arrives A playable pitch now is great but means nothing if the worst of the weather which is due at midday on Saturday (after the team and supporters have set off!) ruins everything in the time immediately before KO! They cost a fortune. Few Premier league grounds have them. One that does is Villa Park, because the pitch is sited where there was a lake in a zoo, so the drainage is poor. Villa Park houses the cover on a roller with 3 motors all of which tucks away under a cover at pitch level in front of the Witton Lane stand. The problem is what do you do with the water on it? The Villa Park cover lifts in the centre when in position causing the water to flow towards both touchlines, where special drains have been installed to channel the water into underground tanks for recycling. All that must be beyond the budget of any club in the VNL.
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Post by Del on Feb 15, 2020 22:24:54 GMT
Why dont clubs invest in large tarpaulins that can be rolled out before the arrival of heavy rain and rolled back afterwards. One thing we know is that weather forecasting these days is pretty accurate and its rarely a shock when heavy rain arrives A playable pitch now is great but means nothing if the worst of the weather which is due at midday on Saturday (after the team and supporters have set off!) ruins everything in the time immediately before KO! They cost a fortune. Few Premier league grounds have them. One that does is Villa Park, because the pitch is sited where there was a lake in a zoo, so the drainage is poor. Villa Park houses the cover on a roller with 3 motors all of which tucks away under a cover at pitch level in front of the Witton Lane stand. The problem is what do you do with the water on it? The Villa Park cover lifts in the centre when in position causing the water to flow towards both touchlines, where special drains have been installed to channel the water into underground tanks for recycling. All that must be beyond the budget of any club in the VNL. That's an interesting fact about the ground. As a Villa supporter i have never heard that before.
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