10th January 2020

Good morning

 

Please be advised that there will be a pitch inspection at 12 noon today ahead of tomorrow’s Ladbrokes Championship game between Inverness CT and Queen of the South.

 

Kind regards

 

David

David Ogilvie | Competitions Executive The Scottish Professional Football League Limited

Would it have happened if the game was in Dumfries ??

Game is off

If anyone's looking for fixtures this weekend, here's what's on in 50km. However, it's unlikely these'll be on considering were the only one with decent drainage.. 

Questions must start to be asked regarding the pitch and it’s future suitability the last few years we have seen more and more call offs. 
Im afraid sea water, sea air and been open to the elements for twenty years has done untold damage. 
Never should a football pitch been situated on an area that was only suitable for a landfill site.

Dougal
 

Pitch was fine, one of the best before the undersoil heating was put in.

Location wasn't an issue then.

WtF? I can't understand why. Our back garden well up the hill in Scorguie is playable after all the frost.

So no scheduled games at home in January. More reasons for folk to get out of the habit of going to watch.

 

Don't know if this has anything to do with it, but heavy rain allegedly forecast for Saturday according to road sign at the Longman.

Unless anything has changed, a decision is only made based on the condition of the pitch at the time of the inspection.

i.e. Pitch not playable now and, even with optimal conditions, not likely to be playable at the scheduled time for the game.

That's why you will sometimes see an early inspection where they'll say "game on, but further inspection nearer to kick-off".  Even if the rain was bouncing off the ground and forecast to continue, if the pitch was playable at that moment...even marginally...they won't make a decision to postpone.

1 hour ago, Satan said:

Pitch was fine, one of the best before the undersoil heating was put in.

Location wasn't an issue then.

Yep we never had so many postponements back then - and as for location, being near the sea doesn't seem to cause the same problems at Arbroath, still the only ground I've been in where I've been soaked on the terracing by sea water rather than rain water!

All these comments on the postponement are pointless until we know the actual reason for pitch being unplayable. Heavy rain forecast for tonight maybe have been a contributory reason for the postponement as well as the distance QOS have to travel.

Given the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning I thought the game would be in jeopardy.

However I assumed the call off was in anticipation of this (and to save the QOS players from travelling up today as they'd planned). The weather in the last day or two has hardly been extreme.

It does raise questions about the state of the pitch. I understand that there was one area during the Dunfermline game (which I wasn't at) which looked very dicey and perhaps this is the problem. That said, every time I've been to the ground this season I've been impressed by the surface which has looked the best it has for years and seemed to be holding up well after being relaid in the summer. 

48 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

Unless anything has changed, a decision is only made based on the condition of the pitch at the time of the inspection.

i.e. Pitch not playable now and, even with optimal conditions, not likely to be playable at the scheduled time for the game.

That's why you will sometimes see an early inspection where they'll say "game on, but further inspection nearer to kick-off".  Even if the rain was bouncing off the ground and forecast to continue, if the pitch was playable at that moment...even marginally...they won't make a decision to postpone.

That being the case, there must be real concern about the state of the pitch.  We have had a quiet couple of days weatherise but prolonged heavy rain is forecast overnight  and into tomorrow.  The longer range forecast suggests the next 3 or 4 weeks could be wetter than average, so if the pitch is not playable now, it begs the question of when it will be playable.

I have some vague recollection of someone saying something about an aquifer?

There are very real concerns about the state of the pitch.

3 hours ago, CaleyD said:

Unless anything has changed, a decision is only made based on the condition of the pitch at the time of the inspection.

i.e. Pitch not playable now and, even with optimal conditions, not likely to be playable at the scheduled time for the game.

That's why you will sometimes see an early inspection where they'll say "game on, but further inspection nearer to kick-off".  Even if the rain was bouncing off the ground and forecast to continue, if the pitch was playable at that moment...even marginally...they won't make a decision to postpone.

who loves a smart ass?

 

1 hour ago, CaleyD said:

There are very real concerns about the state of the pitch.

CaleyDoom and gloom man

Sorry for trying to be informative ?

The strip in front of the main stand at the home end has been a problem in the last two home games, particularly the Arbroath one when the ball stuck when it landed there. Someone told me they had started to cut the grass and it damaged the pitch, but don’t know if that is the case or not. 

I was surprised to hear of the call off at lunchtime due to the pitch being waterlogged and it does not bode well.

Hopefully it is only the one part that is an issue and it can be sorted but if it is the whole pitch we have  visions of two years’ ago and all the call offs. 

At the time of writing, only two games off across all leagues, including the Highland and Lowland leagues: ours and Fort William’s! 

As Clapham Park is unplayable whenever it rains, the Fort William call off is no surprise, but is our pitch really worse than all the other home grounds tomorrow. If so, that is not good at all. 

Edited January 10, 20206 yr by Robert

2 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

I have some vague recollection of someone saying something about an aquifer?

That's right, and thanks to climate change its level is rising.  If you take a deep divot at the wrong part of the pitch, you get a cold shower.

Rain

 

Now that's a blow jumanji 2 it is then! Unless Buckie v Clachs on decent road trip

Biblical rain last night? It was 0 degrees when I got home last night and still cold when I left at 0600 this morning with frosty roads rather than wet ones. 

I’m in Croy, but can’t imagine the town was much different. 

6 hours ago, CaleyD said:

There are very real concerns about the state of the pitch.

 

5 hours ago, bughtmaster said:

who loves a smart ass?

 

CaleyDoom and gloom man

 

1 hour ago, MorayJaggie said:

Hate to get all smart ass again, but ?‍♂️

13 hours ago, Jack Waddington said:

If anyone's looking for fixtures this weekend, here's what's on in 50km. However, it's unlikely these'll be on considering were the only one with decent drainage.. 

What app or website do you use for this? Looks quite helpful. 

54 minutes ago, ICTPAISLEY said:

What app or website do you use for this? Looks quite helpful. 

It's called Futbology. Mainly a groundhopper app, so you can put in all the games you've been to and it shows how many times you've seen each team and how many times you've visited each ground. Also has a Nearby Fixtures bit, which'll show you any game in a 50/150/300km radius of your location, all the way from the Prem down to the North Caledonian League, as well as nearly all of the other football leagues in the world.

17 hours ago, dougal said:

Questions must start to be asked regarding the pitch and it’s future suitability the last few years we have seen more and more call offs. 
Im afraid sea water, sea air and been open to the elements for twenty years has done untold damage. 
Never should a football pitch been situated on an area that was only suitable for a landfill site.

Dougal
 

Perhaps one day the Aquifer effect will become public knowledge ?