| The pitch 15:20 - Mar 28 with 10015 views | 442Dale |
What has happened? It's always drained so well recently, yet today it isn't. |  |
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| The pitch on 18:35 - Apr 3 with 1572 views | pcolly |
I would imagine this is due to it being shaded for large parts of the year. Lower light levels with colder conditions cause for thinning of the grass and lower recovery rates. Some clubs have overcome this with the introduction of lighting rigs coupled with undersoil heating. Nice if you can afford it! |  | | |
| The pitch on 18:42 - Apr 3 with 1540 views | 442Dale |
| The pitch on 18:35 - Apr 3 by pcolly |
I would imagine this is due to it being shaded for large parts of the year. Lower light levels with colder conditions cause for thinning of the grass and lower recovery rates. Some clubs have overcome this with the introduction of lighting rigs coupled with undersoil heating. Nice if you can afford it! |
Would the use of the frost covers on the colder nights not help improve this issue down the main stand side? [Post edited 3 Apr 2015 18:43]
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| The pitch on 18:45 - Apr 3 with 1521 views | macro |
| The pitch on 17:01 - Apr 3 by pcolly |
Too much sand? In a fibresand pitch?
I'm guessing whoever told you that doesn't know much about turf science and pitch construction. |
Too much sand is what I'm told - it clogs the drainage |  | | |
| The pitch on 18:57 - Apr 3 with 1494 views | pcolly |
No offence to who told you that but they are just plain wrong. | | | |
| The pitch on 19:01 - Apr 3 with 1481 views | pcolly |
This is an interesting one in my opinion. Obviously you want to cover grass for the least amount of time as covering reduces light to the grass and encourages disease. Also with low temperatures the grass plant can freeze to the covers meaning severe damage can be done when removing the covers. But yeah in theory you want to keep as much warmth in the soil as possible. Not easy to manage! | | | |
| The pitch on 19:10 - Apr 3 with 1453 views | 442Dale |
| The pitch on 19:01 - Apr 3 by pcolly |
This is an interesting one in my opinion. Obviously you want to cover grass for the least amount of time as covering reduces light to the grass and encourages disease. Also with low temperatures the grass plant can freeze to the covers meaning severe damage can be done when removing the covers. But yeah in theory you want to keep as much warmth in the soil as possible. Not easy to manage! |
Cheers for that, interesting stuff. Reading the link below, the ease with which the newer covers can be put on would indicate that using them ahead of the Orient game may have helped both short and longer term.
http://daletrust.com/news/?p=2072
"1) Were the roll-on covers (the thicker ones that take only a few minutes to put each one on) those that the Trust helped to buy?
Yes
2) How long do these covers take to remove?
We’re told that the new covers can be put on or taken off by two or three people in about 30 minutes.
3) What temperatures do these covers protect against and exactly how much of the pitch do they cover?
The new covers will protect to minus 4C for short spells…perhaps two or three nights. Longer spells of freezing temperatures may still result in a frozen pitch. However, it’s important that the grass be uncovered when possible to allow air and natural light to get to the grass. The new covers cover about 40% of the pitch i.e the part nearest the Main Stand that does not get any sunlight at all in Winter.
4) On what days since the Stoke game were these covers used?
As far as we’re aware they have not been put down at all since the Stoke game." | |
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| The pitch on 19:18 - Apr 3 with 1438 views | pcolly |
This assumes that the covers would have protected against the prolonged sub zero temps. History shows this isn't always the case. They are actually pretty ineffective over a prolonged cold period in my opinion. But that's all it is...my opinion. | | | |
| The pitch on 19:27 - Apr 3 with 1410 views | 442Dale |
| The pitch on 19:18 - Apr 3 by pcolly |
This assumes that the covers would have protected against the prolonged sub zero temps. History shows this isn't always the case. They are actually pretty ineffective over a prolonged cold period in my opinion. But that's all it is...my opinion. |
Yeah, that was why I mentioned the longer term effects. Even if they hadn't saved the Orient game, the bit earlier about colder conditions contributing to the thinning of grass could have been partially averted by regularly using the covers, especially overnight when they're so easy to get on and off. | |
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| The pitch on 19:38 - Apr 3 with 1388 views | pcolly |
| The pitch on 19:27 - Apr 3 by 442Dale |
Yeah, that was why I mentioned the longer term effects. Even if they hadn't saved the Orient game, the bit earlier about colder conditions contributing to the thinning of grass could have been partially averted by regularly using the covers, especially overnight when they're so easy to get on and off. |
But covering the pitch every night could encourage disease due to conditions caused under covers eg lack of air flow. To be honest you'd be better talking to the groundsman on that ....have you ever tried talking to or contacting him? | | | |
| The pitch on 20:01 - Apr 3 with 1352 views | 442Dale |
| The pitch on 19:38 - Apr 3 by pcolly |
But covering the pitch every night could encourage disease due to conditions caused under covers eg lack of air flow. To be honest you'd be better talking to the groundsman on that ....have you ever tried talking to or contacting him? |
Those questions and others were sent in via the Trust. Presumably the answers came after consultation with ground staff. It's only subjects in this thread that have raised the further questions, with another being what the actual benefit of covers are if using them has negative effects to the extent that they apparently weren't used during the cold weather after the Stoke game (see q4 in the link).
It's good to get an educated view on it all, because as fans we sometimes don't consider the specifics you've raised. For a layman, if using covers helps against colder weather and the potential longer term effects on grass growth, fans would probably want them used during a cold snap, but there are obviously other considerations which have been explained well. | |
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