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Rochdale - worst pitch in the league

PhantoM47

Well-Known Member
Jun 29, 2013
1,141
1,309
1975 White Hart Lane.



Some cracking barnets on show there, as well as those bloody sideburns on Conn! Loved those 2 saves by Jennings, but looking at that packed sardine crowd gave me some anxiety; can't imagine being packed in there.

Thanks for the vid.
 

Roynie

Well-Known Member
Oct 2, 2007
3,116
3,882
Some cracking barnets on show there, as well as those bloody sideburns on Conn! Loved those 2 saves by Jennings, but looking at that packed sardine crowd gave me some anxiety; can't imagine being packed in there.

Thanks for the vid.

Oi, behave! There was nothing wrong with those sideburns ...... oh wait! :oops::oops::oops:

Actually the second game I went to was the Spurs v Man U game in 1964 (?) where Ron Henry scored the only goal of the game with a 25 yard screamer. There were 52,000 in the ground. I was 12 and had to stand on the base of the pylon in the south west corner, hanging on for dear life all game!

Very happy memories! :D:D
 

Basil Brush

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
1,691
3,080
Even easier would be to just move the match to Wembley. That benefits Rochdale too because they'll make more money from a game at Wembley than they will playing at home. We could even offer to pay for free coaches to bring the Rochdale fans down.

Like I say, easier, cheaper for us, and makes more money for Rochdale. Win-win really. I suppose you can say it's not fair for them to lose their home advantage but surely there has to be some rule about if the home side are unable to provide suitable facilities to host the game then it can be moved elsewhere?
Surely this is the best idea.

I read today that Newport made something like 700k out of their fa cup run (with the wembley match) and their profit last season was 2mio overall. Point being it will make massive financial sense for Rochdale to play us at Wembley.

However maybe they think they can win (or draw) at home and still make the money.
 

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
37,341
87,796
I've played on some hum dingers in my Sunday/non league days, including one almost entirely littered with cow pats... But that's just ridiculous. You'd be safer playing on tarmac.

Offer to lay the pitch... Would just be petty cash to us. If I was a player I'd cover it myself. Then you retain the magic of an away tie to a lower club.
 

tommo84

Proud to be loud
Aug 15, 2005
6,120
11,100
Not sure why the possibility of it being moved to Wembley is even being discussed. It was established (over and over again) in the Newport County thread that the FA closed that avenue a few years ago. If it gets moved (which I don't expect) it will be to Bury/Oldham or whatever stadium up that way is considered the nearest neutral venue. And if its a bigger ground that Spotland, Rochdale will not make any extra money from it because the FA put a stop to that too.

Read the Chairman's latest comments last night. He seems very defensive about it - somewhat understandable - but made it clear he would be receptive to us paying for the pitch to be relaid, which annoyed me a bit. Hopefully none of that is necessary but I still think the original tie will be postponed if the weather forecast is accurate.
 

Hengy1

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2014
2,744
7,424
Not sure why the possibility of it being moved to Wembley is even being discussed. It was established (over and over again) in the Newport County thread that the FA closed that avenue a few years ago. If it gets moved (which I don't expect) it will be to Bury/Oldham or whatever stadium up that way is considered the nearest neutral venue. And if its a bigger ground that Spotland, Rochdale will not make any extra money from it because the FA put a stop to that too.

Read the Chairman's latest comments last night. He seems very defensive about it - somewhat understandable - but made it clear he would be receptive to us paying for the pitch to be relaid, which annoyed me a bit. Hopefully none of that is necessary but I still think the original tie will be postponed if the weather forecast is accurate.
The Fa can overturn the venue for ours in extraordinary circumstances. Not sure where you got the closet stadium thing from.
 

Cheltenham Spur

Re mem mem remember member
Aug 23, 2012
1,018
3,700
I can understand why the Rochdale chairman is being defensive about this. The publicity they are getting is the opposite of what they would hope to get after drawing Spurs in the FA Cup.

As I understand it the Millwall replay was the first home game they have played since January 9th due to the pitch being waterlogged after a long spell of bad weather. In those circumstances its hardly surprising that the pitch looked as bad as it did. If the game had been called off its entirely possible that none of this furore would have happened.

I've been to Rochdale with Cheltenham Town a few years ago and its a friendly, well run club. I'm sure they want what is a big day for them to be memorable for the right reasons but you have to remember that the expense of relaying a pitch for a club of that size is a massive one.

Let's cut them some slack, and hope that Spurs will do the decent thing and help them to stage the game at their ground on a surface that both sides can play football on.
 

cider spurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
9,399
23,731
London Evening Standard:

Rochdale chairman Chris Dunphy insists Tottenham superstars will play on 'perfect' Spotland pitch.

EXCLUSIVE

Rochdale chairman Chris Dunphy insists his club’s controversial pitch should hold no fears for Tottenham’s players despite Mauricio Pochettino’s concerns for their safety.

The Spurs manager was alarmed when he saw pictures of the League One club’s heavily-sanded playing surface, which will stage the FA Cup fifth-round tie a week on Sunday, and suggested that holding the fixture at Spotland was a danger to the health of the players.

Yet Dunphy, whose club are in regular contact with the Football Association, who are very reluctant to consider switching the tie, says he can “guarantee” that the match will not be moved to another venue. “We are in touch with the FA and we will be playing that game at Spotland,” he told Standard Sport.

“We would never do anything that would endanger the safety of our players. It is the referee’s opinion that counts but we do not have a problem for Saturday's League One game against Fleetwood.

“People who are saying the pitch is like a pudding have never been anywhere near it. It has played very well.

“I can guarantee the game will be played at Spotland. The pitch will be perfect for the Spurs superstars.”


Dunphy then joked: “It just depends whether they want to play us!”

The Pennine area, where Rochdale is located, suffered a period of particularly bad weather late last year — and the pitch suffered. To try to ensure it is ready, the playing area will be covered by a ‘tent’ for the whole of next week and warm air will be directed onto the surface to try to improve it.

Rochdale have used the ‘drill and fill’ technique approved by the Football League, which involved drilling more than 100,000 holes into the pitch and filling them with sand in order to drain away the excess water.

The pitch was passed fit for the fourth-round replay against Millwall earlier this week, which Rochdale won 1-0.

Pochettino planned to discuss the matter with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy on Thursday, but the FA are not minded to consider changing the fixture.

They believe that to do so would set a dangerous precedent for future ties, when the bigger club may be unhappy with conditions at a lower-league ground. The governing body provide subsidised pitch protection to clubs involved in the Cup who experience problems with their pitches.
 

WiganSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
15,974
32,682
If they don't want to move it and they're not gonna stump up to relay the pitch then we should just pay to have it done. Better to do that than risk us going out of the cup or getting injuries to key players.
 

Trees

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
1,534
4,203
You reckon Levy is gonna fork out £300k to relay a pitch for another team.

Relaying a pitch this late in the piece could possibly lead to more injuries on the fresh turf. (20 years horticulture experience).


O



L
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
15,014
20,779
I've played on some hum dingers in my Sunday/non league days, including one almost entirely littered with cow pats... But that's just ridiculous. You'd be safer playing on tarmac.

Offer to lay the pitch... Would just be petty cash to us. If I was a player I'd cover it myself. Then you retain the magic of an away tie to a lower club.

We used to have to clear the cows off
our home pitch in my Hull Sunday League days.
playing for British Rail North.
Changing room was, you guessed it
an old railway carriage.
We drew the line at clearing cow pat deposits
and risked it.
I mean same for both sides.
They seemed to have an attraction for the penalty spot.
 

Basil Brush

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
1,691
3,080
Our latest marquee signing, Lucas Moura should do well in that case.
I really wish i knew what that meant.

Does it mean PSG played in a tent formation?

Or does it mean Lucas grew up in a tent?

Sorry, i am confused.
 
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