its pathetic games being called off due to rain

[andyk]

I think its absaloutly stupid that our games are being called of cause of a little rain Im mean I personaly think the fa should fine the club cause the club cant forefill there obligations.

you dont see any league 2 clubs having to have matches postponed due to rain and I bet other confrence clubs still play in the rain.

are the club and players scared of the rain ?

I mean cant they get a cover or something

[shadwellarmy]

As a matter of fact, half of all the Conference South games ended up being postponed on Saturday - and EBFC were the only club to have set a new date for the match, so they should be congratulated for that.

On the other hand, regardless of the reasons for it, it is not aceptable that every other home game is called off due to rain. It's getting to the point where I am worried if I see a player spitting, as that almost certainly means another ten days without football at the Lane. I know things are being done and it will be expensive to sort out, but the poor state of the pitch, and us relying almost entirely on local volunteers to try to get the ground ready, really are signs that, regardless of what the players do between now and the end of the season, EBFC is not yet ready to go up a league. Until we find a source of extra capital, we are simply not able to compete with National Conference clubs; it's not just the poor playing surface (and not being able to afford to sort it out, nor employ staff to keep it in good condition), it's also the lack of players at the club and lack of money to bring in the players that we need to be a serious National Conference team. We don't need many, probably only about three decent players would make us a good National team, with a reasonable chance of being promotion contenders for League Two, and making EBFC the number one team in Sussex, which is what God obviously wants (if he didn't hate BHA, Crawley and Lewes, he wouldn't have made them such total rubbish, or given them the Mujeed brothers to contend with, so it only leave us and Bognor to represent Sussex. Possibly Hastings United coming up on the inside - just look at their last fifteen or so games).

Instead of making donations to the club, maybe the Supporters' Club would be better off buying lots of Lottery tickets and keeping their collective fingers crossed? I can't think of any other way that we'll get a sudden cash injection of a few million quid!

[artiefufkin]

Worried about the loss of revenue at the club with all the cancelled saturday games, midweek crowds are 200-300 less so when you add in loss of burger,drink and raffle sales on top of gate receipts you gotta be looking at being £2000+ down... Times that by 10 matches and its a hefty amount which we cant afford to lose... Fact...

[andyk]

it will get to the point where the club will not be able to forfill the rest of the season fixtures.

mmmm and they say this clubs confrence standard how the hell can it be confrence standard if we cant even play a game on the pitch

[Trevorfuggle]

I don't know who you are Andy K but I suggest you think before you post.

The club are obviously very concerned about the number of postponements, hence them hiring the machine last week which would have sorted it out if we hadn't got another couple of days rain thereafter. Plus the announcement that the club are planning to spend a lot of money on the pitch in the summer.

Take a look at the league table and you will see other clubs have played the same or fewer games than us. Comments such as unable to forfill? (I think you probably mean fulfill) the fixtures are ridiculous and perhaps when you grow up you will appreciate that sometimes things happen which we are unable to control (ie 8 weeks of solid rain) and the club should be commended for doing all they can to get these games on.

In the meantime AndyK, if you are a supporter then support the club, if you are not clear off back to the forum of the club you do follow!

[Bognorian*]

Well if the likelyhood of the game being cancelled then the FA should take some action against your club, just not acceptable for these standards. A bit of rain can't hurt really, can it? For a club pushing for a play-off stop this season, this isn't a great example of ambition.

Hope to see you all tonight.

[Andrew Raeburn]

ellnewman said:

Well if the likelyhood of the game being cancelled then the FA should take some action against your club, just not acceptable for these standards. A bit of rain can't hurt really, can it? For a club pushing for a play-off stop this season, this isn't a great example of ambition.

It's not the rain that's the problem it's the pitch. The fact the pitch is built on marshland doesn't help. The drainage down the flanks is poor but it's not something that can be done mid-season.

Anyway, it's not just Eastbourne. Havant had their game called off last night, Farnborough's game tonight is also off and Horsham v Lewes in the Sussex Senior Cup is subject to a pitch inspection. So not only EB for whom "a bit of rain can't hurt"...

[Bognorian*]

It's not me just critizing your club, your own fans too. Tough time for Boro.

[Andrew Raeburn]

Not saying you were Elliot, just pointing out that it isn't just Eastbourne that suffers with a bit of rain. From the sound of what you guys were saying about the weather at your end of the County, it might be in doubt if it were scheduled for Nyewood Lane.

The Priory Lane pitch has a problem down the flanks, that much is clear. But there are no full-time people working on it, in fact the club relies, IMO, far too heavily on volunteers - but then they'd say they don't have the money to actually employ people even on a part-time basis. You're right - that isn't the attitude of a club supposedly pushing for Conference National football. But then IMO the club isn't ready for that yet, irrespective of how well the team does on the pitch. Jack Pearce has said similar things of Bognor.

The weather we're experiencing now is no different to any other season, and Eastbourne got their games played then. But now with the drainage problems, which can't be fixed until the summer, the pitch is suffering. But the stuff on the BRT forum about EB being fined? Worries over the Senior Cup final going ahead? C'mon, be fair. As I say, Havant had their game called off last night, Farnborough theirs tonight...a little overreaction methinks.

[silverfox]

I hope that something good comes out of this. The fact remains that the pitch has been poor for years and money should have been spent on it by now. The club however (or Les) would rather extend the stand (for our sell out gates??!!) rather than put money into improving the pitch or employing professional groundstaff. Lets face it, how much is this costing now.

Still, hindsite is a wonderful thing.

Perhaps the biggest immediate problem, and this is obvious from the posts on here, is that the fans are pretty hacked off with it, and no doubt other clubs are as well.

Our new commercial lady will need to pull her finger out and rally the local population. It strikes me that far more effort goes into finding new sponsors (who must be really impressed with the pitch situation !!) rather than advertising games and injecting enthusiasm with the local population to boost the gates. Unless you buy the Herald or Gazette where else do you see evidence of the Boro round the town? Where do you see the posters advertising the next game?

I for one am becomming bored of the pitch situation and am definately losing interest, at least for this season.

[shadwellarmy]

I have to agree; if it doesn't improve in the close season I may even change my allegiance to Hastings United - at least then you're guaranteed a game!

[stroller]

I have a feeling someone mentioned in a rent thread how well we had improved the ground?
All these cancellations surely give no credence to such a statement?
An honest opinion

[maz]

shadwellarmy said:

I have to agree; if it doesn't improve in the close season I may even change my allegiance to Hastings United - at least then you're guaranteed a game!

Who's stopping you .
Would you prefer a bowling green of a pitch on top of a marsh.
or would you like astro turf??
and us all standing there in pacamacs getting soaked with no stands?.
Its geography , Hastings ground is on a hill and Boro's is on a marsh.
Hopefully the grant will be in place soon and then you fickle fans can find something else to moan about as theres bound to be something .
You will then most probably moan about spending too much on the pitch during the summer instead of a bigger squad

[sportspool]

silverfox said:

where else do you see evidence of the Boro round the town? Where do you see the posters advertising the next game?

Click here and you will find a fixture poster that you can put up in shops/pubs etc around town. As Andrew has previously said, the club need volunteers. So lets all volunteer and get these posters up!!!!!!

Edit: Link updated for the new poster

[claretnblue]

would love to put the poster up but it is a bit out of date.

[davidb]

I have been following this discussion (and other similar threads) with interest but also a little dismay. I think the most "pathetic" feature of this entire thread was the posting that initiated it.

I am amazed that so many are assuming that nothing has been done to the pitch in recent years when in fact quite the opposite is true. I have photographs of work being carried out during the 2003 close-season (verti-draining) and know that the pitch has been subject to some work every close-season since then.

How many games can supporters remember being lost to the weather last season? I was looking after the website then and certainly don't remember having to make too many "match off" announcements. Indeed the pitch stood up to the season very well, and also hosted the Senior Cup plus three Non League internationals at the end of May. If anything that left comparatively little time to work on the pitch during the last close-season.

Yes, a lot work has been undertaken on improving the ground & spectator facilities ... that were vital for us to move up the Pyramid, and which are the envy of most other clubs in the county and which enable us to stage prestigeous matches. I think that qualifies as having substantially improved the site!

The stand was extended to meet the requirements for 500 seats together, and now meets Conference National standards ... meaning that unlike some other clubs we wouldn't be faced with the problem of having to upgrade the ground in order to be promoted. In addition the creation of a Directors' Lounge within the extended stand was an earlier requirement to be accepted into the Premier Division of the Southern League.

But perhaps some supporters would prefer that all the money had been invested on the pitch instead: allowing them to watch the club play County League football on a billiard table surface?

The current problem is one of gradual compaction over a sustained period of time that (as I understand it) has only become acute this season, and has been compounded by an exceptional period of wet weather that has affected not only our pitch, but many others in the South East as well.

Incidentally, I spoke to LEN Smith (if you are going to criticise Silverfox, at least get the Chairman's name right) early this season about organising a charity game at Priory Lane after the Senior Cup Final but was told back then that the pitch was going to be subjected to major work within days of the final whistle blowing. So the plans for work have certainly not been a knee-jerk response to the current situation.

Of course we want both facilities and a great pitch. We have the facilities and, once the grant is in place, we will have a playing surface to match. The surface we have at the moment is clearly in need of a major overhaul, but it hasn't served us too badly in recent years has it?

Club HAS acted to rectify the problem in the short-term but it is difficult to deal with in mid-season. As you know some £1,500 was spent on a device that enabled the club to play against Farnborough a week ago; the problem was that a) the pitch was simply too wet to get on it any sooner; and be) it then required several days without rain to allow it to dry out sufficiently, which of course we haven't had.

As several people have pointed out this isn't helping the club: lost revenue from the gates & bar; wages and bills still needing to be paid; not to mention a potential fixture backlog (no worse than many other clubs) which is a comparatively minor problem.

However, no matter how frustrated we all are, there is no point in moaning or looking for recrimination: the weather is the weather after all. What it requires is for supporters to get behind the club and its Committee. Yes, there are things that could be better, but compared to many other Non League clubs at a similar level, there is a lot that could be worse as well.

[Trevorfuggle]

Well said David. On the television this evening they said that the rainfall for February is 70% up on the usual levels.

A year ago we were anxiously watching the few teams below us picking up points and I remember a few games when we wished it would rain so the match would be called off - St. Albans rings a bell. At least this year we are comfortably in mid table , the team have played some of the best football we have ever seen at Priory Lane and our real worry is when will we see our next game. I know which I prefer.

I know it is pretty unbelievable but at some point the rain will stop, (if it doesn't I will use the ark I have built in my back garden). the football will start again and the hosepipe ban will reappear.

[silverfox]

Well it must be a year since I have had a healthy debate with Mr be. How good that this subject seems to be beyond the reasoning of the intellectually challenged teenagers who are unable to use proper English!

Apologies for misspelling Mr Smiths forename. The fact remains though that at times our Chairmans dream has driven the committee in 'his' direction without necessarily listening to the opinions of others.

Your post made me realise that one of the problems is a lack of information from the club. There was recent critisism on here with the late posting of postponements (something which should be uppermost in the clubs mind!) and until very recently we have known nothing about the plans for the pitch. How can you blame people for thinking this action is kneejerk when we do not know any better??

I disagree with you about the pitch (and that's what healthy debate is about). It is a fact, is it not, that the club were let down this summer by a contractor who was due to work on the pitch, the club then carried out ad hoc work by itself. Your post mentions work in 2003, hello, its now 2007. As I have said in earlier posts it is easy to make grass look green and lovely after a growing season. Yes it has carried out verti draining and top dressing but this is no different to what some people do to their own lawns. There has been no infrastructure work done apart from a few extra land drains in the corners and I think I am right that this was again done by the 'club' and not contractors. I am not trying to knock anyone here, budgets are budgets, but lets not put our heads in a bucket of sand when perhaps a different approach, maybe consulting professionals, may have avoided the current situation. Ok we have had a lot or rain but the club are now getting a reputation and with such a boggy pitch, can you argue a statement that the club 'could have done better'.

I understand the reasons to increase the seating capacity, but we are not in the Conference yet and I am sure it will not be long before the Conference show some concern over the ability to play our games at home after a few showers. The sarcasm regarding playing County League football on a billiard tabe is uncalled for. I am merely saying that perhaps the balance of expenditure, in hindsight, is questionable. Is that not a reasonable point?

As regards publicity do the club not employ a full time person in this respect. We have an out of date 'poster' section on the web site and I would argue to the end of time that the profile of Eastbourne Borough is very low within the surrounding population.

Finally, with or without the facts, the truth, the plans or the dreams, supporters will get racked off, lose interest and drift elsewhere. That is a fact of life. Yes they will come back, but I feel the club could act now in rescuing a fragile situation for this season.

Thanks for the debate David, good to see your lengthy posts again after such a long time!! I would love to borrow your rose tinted spectacles sometime, I know you are very close to the club and I would expect no other view from you. BUT, there is another view and while I want to see the club progress as much as you I think it good to express those opinions and promote a healthy debate.

[artiefufkin]

Have to agree about the lack of publicity for Boro, when speaking to mates(a have a few) you always get the same questions,- where do they play? what league are they in? Bit rubbish aint they? Wont you get wet? might as well watch park football!! With the quality facilities and performanes we have, should be getting nearer 1000 crowds than 500..

[davidb]

Silverfox, yes it's nice to engage in a reasoned debate. But I am not as 'close' to the club as you might think and certainly do not view issues through rose-tinted spectacles. Having said that I can see how you might think that as I am often galvanised to post as an 'apologist' for the club ... or as I see it, to present a balanced (or if you like, opposing) viewpoint. However, I can assure you that if I felt that criticism was in order I wouldn't hesitate in voicing this.

I don't doubt that there have been errors in judgement and, as I think was said in an earlier post, hindsight is a wonderful thing. Equally, the Club doesn't have a crystal ball either. However, I would like to think that it will learn from this experience although I maintain to a large extent it has fallen victim to the weather.

I wasn't able to attend myself but understood that the pitch and plans for this were outlined and discussed to some extent at the recent Fans' Forum. Yes, perhaps these do need to be more frequent but only if there is sufficient to make them worthwhile ... or the Club considers it prudent to release the information (we know that it sometimes like to keep things close to its chest).

Lack of information does fuel speculation. However, I suspect that like all football fans, Borough supporters thrive on rumour and counter-rumour, and this would continue even if there were daily updates.

With regards not updating the website on a regular basis, I cannot comment specifically as I am no longer responsible for this. What I would say however, based on my own experience over six seasons, is that it is not always possible to update it as soon as one would like for a variety of reasons, particularly during the week when one is working or on a Saturday morning when we may be otherwise engaged with family commitments such as ferrying children around.

I accept that it is not ideal and appreciate that this is frustrating (for the webmaster I am sure, as well as the supporters) but the Club - unlike many Conference and full-time professional clubs - does not employ a full-time webmaster.

With regards the pitch, again I can only comment on the little I have gleaned from conversations in the past. The point I was making about work in 2003 and every season since is that the surface hasn't been entirely neglected as some supporters appear to think, even if it may have been comparatively cosmetic. Equally, there were no serious problems last season although I accept that does not necessarily mean it should have been assumed that there weren't potential problems waiting to happen.

If the Club was let down by a contractor then that is not necessarily a fault of the Club. However, I do believe that subsequently the Club has sought advice from a number of 'experts', all of which have given conflicting opinions!

I think we have to accept that the recent rainfall has been exceptional. Full-time clubs may have the man-power and resources to ensure games are played - for Premiership clubs the potential loss of gate and TV revenue means this is absolutely essential.

Yet, as Len Smith has been quoted as saying: "We have to cut our cloth acccordingly", and we have to bear in mind that there also is the ongoing debate about the rent to consider, not to mention the expense of providing a (quite unnecessary in my opinion) traffic island in Priory Road, all of which has to be budgeted for.

The Club is ambitious but I agree with a previous poster that we may not yet have the infrastructure in place to progress (and more importantly, survive) should we achieve promotion, even if the stadium is OK. This would have to be addressed should it happen: for example a full-time Secretary is a mandatory requirement, and I am sure there would be other stipulations as well.

Having said that, Havant & Waterlooville, a club that is undeniably ambitious and with, I suspect, a far higher budget than ours, has also suffered more than it's fair share of postponements ... not just this season, but others as well if my recollection is correct.

I don't think the Conference would be looking unfavourably at clubs not being able to play fixtures given the current conditions. Perhaps if there was a pattern over successive seasons, but it has never been a major problem at Priory Lane in recent years and one can only have faith that the Club is doing everything it can to ensure that these problems do not re-occur in the future.

I am sure the Club would welcome opinions on what more it can do to raise its profile within the town. However, even posters advertising matches won't necessarily stop people who don't know any better from thinking we are a tin-pot club. Part of the problem is the location, away from the town centre.

Unless someone follows Non League football, they won't necessarily be aware of the Club's status. There are regular updates on local radio, and the press gives the Club good coverage. The club is still one of the best supported in the League, although I agree we need to be close to averaging a four-figure gate to really compete at a higher level.