Should we try and get them in to sort out the pitch? (;o)

Seriously though, why is the pitch so bad?

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Answers

It's partly because they weren't able to resurface it in the Summer as planned due to the Inter Toto. The only game they had planned for SJP in 2 months was Lee's testimonial. To make matters worse there has been virtually no sunshine since August so even the reseeding they did as a compromise made no difference. The important thing is that we are playing great footie regardless of the surface and not using it as some kind of excuse.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Softie, with our tails up like that, we`d be playing brilliant football in a ploughed field! (:o)

Thanks for the explanation though - I guess they will sort it out this summer then.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

Softie - my understanding is that they reseeded the pitch during the summer, then realised that the InterToto games would come too early for the pitch. They then dug it up again and turfed it instead. It looks to me as though the turf just hasn't established a good enough root system.

The latest word is that the entire pitch is now being relayed prior to our next home game. This is unlikely to root properly at this time of year, and will amost certainly need to be relaid again in the close season.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

We could do a Monaco and just heat it until it's hard and paint it green.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002

I was at working on the new car park at the back of SJP in the summer and saw the turf being laid, it couldn't have been down long before the first game.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2002