Reply to Silverfox

[maz]

There are 13 teams in Conference South who have played the same or less league games at home than Eastbourne Borough.
Will the League intervene Silverfox, I dont think so

[silverfox]

Believe me Maz if we have to keep calling games off while others are able to play (like yesterday) then they will. I truly hope they don't and in reply to those who doubt my intentions I really am a true supporter.
I keep reading excuses, like those replying to the Bognor fans, which whine about the fact that our pitch is built on marshes. Hello, have we only just realised this?
I may have rattled a few cages but I am not trying to have a go at the club, they are trying so hard to solve this problem. My whole point was simply to say that as the pitch has never been that good, and because it is built on a marsh, maybe the club should have had more foresight and directed their funds in a different way.
Looking at the current state of affairs I don't know how anyone can have a problem with that opinion.

[maz]

We have only got 10 games to go on it and this grant was put in place over a year ago . Its hardly worth spending money on a pitch thats going to be dug up in a few months is it .
Yes its built on a marsh and yes there is drainage in place but the ground in compacted, how many times do we have to tell you .
We cant dig it up and relay it for the next match can we
Would you spend loads of money on your garden to stop flooding if yours was being rectified in a few months.
Hindsight is a good thing and your ranting is doing the opposite

[davidb]

I think we are going around in circles a bit here. Yes, we know the pitch is laid on marshland but the Club has neverthess completed a phenomenal amount of work over the years to get the pitch to the condition it was prior to the start of this season - you only have to compare the drainage with that of the old pitch adjacent to the Clubhouse to see that.

We also all accept that the Club has done a tremendous job on a relatively limited budget over the past twenty years. This is by no means a bottomless pit: priorities have had to be set and balanced based on our income relative to expenditure, both of which have changed quite dramatically on a sesonal basis as we have moved up the Pyramid. The pitch has had money spent on it, but equally grants had to be sought and funds allocated to develop the stadium as well - grading requirements are based on the ground not the condition of the pitch.

Accordingly, now we have the stadium facilities pretty much sorted out, attention has been directed at the playing surface. Again, grants have been sought as a means to aid the funding of this. But this procedure takes time. I would add that one thing that the Club has proved particularly adept at, is identifying and securing grants for work. Without this I doubt we would have anything like the facilities we have today.

I believe the Club had long intended to 'refurbish' the pitch but a) had to wait for the grant to be approved; and be) was delayed due to the home internationals last season. It is simply unfortunate that the degree of the chronic compaction had not really become evident, and indeed, developed into an acute problem until the recent biblical weather that we have encountered.

We simply have to put up with it, and get on with sorting out the problem as soon as possible. As I have stated before, this is no time for recriminations and stating what should have been done with the benefit of hindsight. Had grants been sought for the playing surface and valuable funds allocated for that work, it is entirely possible that we may not have been playing in Conference South at the present time.

[kent]

You keep going on about marshland Mr? Silverfox, have you considered that most of Langney is marsh! So where exactly would you have proposed they should have built LANGNEY SPORTS CLUB ! Old town perhaps

[silverfox]

This is all getting very silly and you guys are twisting things and inventing things that I have never said.

Maz, where on earth did I suggest that they should dig up the pitch now. Infact has anyone been silly enough to suggest that? I know what the problem is and I know that the club are doing all they can in the short term, so whats your problem? Don't try and put words in my mouth.

Kent, it was not me who started moaning about it being built on a marsh. I think you will find it was convertedeagle in another thread along with Ken McEwan on the back page of the Herald.

I am all for a bit of constructive debate but get your facts right guys before you try and have a go!

[sam]

I can only assume the lack of footballing action has lead to so many ludicrous postings about the pitch. Far larger than average rainfall coupled with unforeseen problems with the pitch has lead to several postponements. Nobody's fault but frustrating for everybody involved. Plans are already in place to rectify the problem. End of story.

[Bognorian*]