Mariners sell supporters short.... again

[clarence]

f**k i hate capitalism

because of the technological advancements attained through capitalism you are able to type this message sunshine

So true and so never understood by many.

+1.
And not have to travel to the University to log on and read your email.
Or, have to type in DOS Command and Prompt code to get the message across to the recipient, using a genuine 'over the handpiece' modem attachment.

BTW, a top line artificial surface would make sense for Bluetongue. The stadium is never going to host a WC qualifier or be used for any Finals match should Australia ever get the nod for that event (FIFA seem to have issues with artificial turf?), so we may as well adapt the stadium's surface to the best possible artificial surface we can get and stuff the regrowth problems.

 

[Andre_1]

Getting back to the pitch at Kawasaki for a moment, I don't know what type of grass they used etc? But I was there and I can tell you it pissed down for a good 3 hours and that pitch was still perfect after the game. So whatever they are doing is obviously working!

 

[clarence]

Getting back to the pitch at Kawasaki for a moment, I don't know what type of grass they used etc? But I was there and I can tell you it pissed down for a good 3 hours and that pitch was still perfect after the game. So whatever they are doing is obviously working!

That would have more to do with their drainage system than the grass used, Andre. However, their grass also could be a native species and used to getting drenched.

Our grasses used for stadium pitches, I'd guess,  would be non-indigenous grasses - hence the need to sow a winter grass and summer grass.

Bluetongue's drainage system hasn't been the best - in fact, we hold the unenviable honour of being the first and, so far, only A-League match to be postponed due to poor weather.

But that was two seasons ago, not the last. This season the standard of the pitch has just been bloody awful.

If we are going to have problems keeping good grass coverage on the pitch, if there's going to be ongoing problems with the subsoil due to the stadium's location of whatever else the problem is this week, maybe it's better they bite the bullet and roll out the synthetic turf.

The stadium people should be looking at what Bluetongue is currently used for and get the synthetic turf so there's none of this relocated matches (& lost revenue) caper & whining about the scrappy surface.

Their main tenant plays in Spring - Summer, and really, Bluetongue Stadium Management should be looking at engineering ways of accommodating the Mariners rather than throwing their hands up in the air and just admitting defeat and the need to close the stadium.

A technical solution may be available if the synthetic turf is good enough, and the fans and club shouldn't have to be substantially inconvenienced unless the issue of synthetic turf is found to be less than satisfactory.

As far as cost is concerned if changing the surface over to synthetic, then it is a case of they either do it to save face in the future or be damned to a lot of criticism every time the Mariners are forced to apologise for the crap surface or worse.

 

[marinersman]

Good post clarence, especially this part:
"Their main tenant plays in Spring - Summer, and really, Bluetongue Stadium Management should be looking at engineering ways of accommodating the Mariners rather than throwing their hands up in the air and just admitting defeat and the need to close the stadium."

Surely as the one organisation who is fully booked for years ahead, the surface condition should be based around our home games? If not, why not? Why can't a suitable turf for our season be laid and all other sports put up with the fact the Mariners are the major tenant?

Monique Marks, instead of whinging in the media about having to tape up sponsor signs for the ACL, actually do something to fix the surface. You are a disgrace. Tell us why we can't have an acceptable surface. I can't believe our ground hasn't been a real issue in the media. Imagine how the Express Advocate would carry on if it was a CC team in the NRL instead of a HAL team.

 

[clarence]

Thanx for the compliments Marinersman.

IF I had a lazy $50m to throw down on the counter, I'd be in the Mariners office tomorrow morning telling them to go ahead with their Academy plans pronto, but to include a 30,000 seater stadium with it, and tell Monique and her buddies to shove their jobs where the sun doesn't shine. Yes, I'm that sick & tired of the stadium management treating the Mariners like they are an inconvenience rather than a major client.

However, I don't think the Mariners are the only A-League team treated like lepers by their stadium managers.

Remember how shocking the pitch was at the ex Telstra Dome for Melbourne Victory matches last season? Well, have a look at it now when the next AFL match is on and keep in mind that at autumn  -  winter, grasses and a lot of other plants are slowing down in growth or going dormant! The bias is so f**king blatant that it made me mad when I caught an AFL game a week or two back, and I switched it over.

Frankly, if this sort of BS by the stadium managers gets much worse for the A-League, the FFA should step in and call a conference with all these pricks and remind them of the money the A-League is giving to them in their so called off season

 

[Auburn Mariner]

FieldTurf would be a radical idea for Bluetongue. The Seattle Sounders are going well at QWest Field. it clearly provides a BIG home advantage (as does Seattle being the equivalent distance for East Coast teams as Broome is from here). Are there two Moscow teams that play on FieldTurf?

On the Eastern seaboard, I can only think of WIN Stadium and Coogee Oval that are RIGHT at Sea Level, to provide comparison with Bluetongue. WIN is usually pretty good, whilst Coogee is benefiting from better management practices in the past few years, with Randwick RUFC training elsewhere. And Coogee is a public access ground (the scenery at that ground in summer is spectacular, especially if you speak French, German, Swedish, Scouse or Geordie!!).

Clearly, the previous posts about our ground being on a watercourse are relevant here. What is strange is that the ground has been really good. My memory of the 5-4 match is that the game was played on a good surface (and to criticise the Stadium Management for the cancellation is unfair; we had a fair dinkum MONSOON that day & night, I could have swum home to Auburn, and I weigh more than the bloody "Red October"!!).

The management of the Newcastle International Sports Centre have consistently had the Scum play away for 4 weeks on the trot to resurface that ground; recent Knights games have been on an ideal surface.

It is inevitable that the NRL will wake from its dormant slumber and place an NRL team at Bluetongue soon, maybe a transfer like the Chooks, Sharks or even Melbourne. So, Stadium Management, get with the times and do what it takes to the surface right.

Otherwise, bring on the Amarillo y Azul Arena on higher ground at Tuggerah, please.

 

[serious14]

Are there two Moscow teams that play on FieldTurf?

The Luzhniki Stadium has an artificial surface, I'm not sure which type it is though.

*quick check of the Internetz*

From our friends at Wiki - "Luzhniki Stadium is also one of the few major European stadia to use an artificial pitch, as it installed a FIFA-approved FieldTurf pitch in 2002. The pitch is necessary for the cold Russian climate, as regular grass pitches are often destroyed during a typical winter and must be replaced at high cost".

 

[offtheball]

FieldTurf would be a radical idea for Bluetongue. The Seattle Sounders are going well at QWest Field. it clearly provides a BIG home advantage (as does Seattle being the equivalent distance for East Coast teams as Broome is from here). Are there two Moscow teams that play on FieldTurf?

On the Eastern seaboard, I can only think of WIN Stadium and Coogee Oval that are RIGHT at Sea Level, to provide comparison with Bluetongue. WIN is usually pretty good, whilst Coogee is benefiting from better management practices in the past few years, with Randwick RUFC training elsewhere. And Coogee is a public access ground (the scenery at that ground in summer is spectacular, especially if you speak French, German, Swedish, Scouse or Geordie!!).

Clearly, the previous posts about our ground being on a watercourse are relevant here. What is strange is that the ground has been really good. My memory of the 5-4 match is that the game was played on a good surface (and to criticise the Stadium Management for the cancellation is unfair; we had a fair dinkum MONSOON that day & night, I could have swum home to Auburn, and I weigh more than the bloody "Red October"!!).

The management of the Newcastle International Sports Centre have consistently had the Scum play away for 4 weeks on the trot to resurface that ground; recent Knights games have been on an ideal surface.

It is inevitable that the NRL will wake from its dormant slumber and place an NRL team at Bluetongue soon, maybe a transfer like the Chooks, Sharks or even Melbourne. So, Stadium Management, get with the times and do what it takes to the surface right.

Otherwise, bring on the Amarillo y Azul Arena on higher ground at Tuggerah, please.

Play away for a month in a row is fair enough, but don't transfer games to woop woop.

 

[tisk]

That would have more to do with their drainage system than the grass used, Andre. However, their grass also could be a native species and used to getting drenched

.It has everything to do with an extremely efficient subsoil drainage system and nothing to do with turf species used.

Remember how shocking the pitch was at the ex Telstra Dome for Melbourne Victory matches last season? Well, have a look at it now when the next AFL match is on and keep in mind that at autumn  -  winter, grasses and a lot of other plants are slowing down in growth or going dormant! The bias is so f**king blatant that it made me mad when I caught an AFL game a week or two back, and I switched it over.

The Dome damage was brought about by the on ground concert and enormous staging facades used, not by lack of maintenance. Staging of an event that caused so much damage during any existing sporting season should not have happened & not be repeated.
The dome will naturally look good at present, following the normal annual autumn over sowing of winter perennial that's NOT dormant.

Why can't a suitable turf for our season be laid and all other sports put up with the fact the Mariners are the major tenant?

Regardless of stadium use/non-use outside the aleague season, maintenance, and major maintenance in particular, must be done during the growing season. We aren't Europe with a cold temperate climate and cool summers. We aren't north Queensland with a dry and wet season devoid of a cold winter. We can't grow wheat in summer or sorghum in winter. We do what the plants, season and climate dictate.

The transfer of home games by the way, in my opinion, has as much or more to do with a promotional agreement with the FFA as it does BTS maintenance. But i don't want to get into the politics of the situation.

 

[Teddy Bear]

Haven't looked at the draw closely to see if this would work but

Alternatively we could ask Adelaide/NZ to switch a game with us like Qld did with us a couple of seasons ago when they had Elton John or Bee Gees playing at suncorp the same day the mariners were due to play where we swapped home games.

 

[dibo]

Are there two Moscow teams that play on FieldTurf?

The Luzhniki Stadium has an artificial surface, I'm not sure which type it is though.

*quick check of the Internetz*

From our friends at Wiki - "Luzhniki Stadium is also one of the few major European stadia to use an artificial pitch, as it installed a FIFA-approved FieldTurf pitch in 2002. The pitch is necessary for the cold Russian climate, as regular grass pitches are often destroyed during a typical winter and must be replaced at high cost".

UEFA made them cover it for the CL final though I believe with natural turf laid over the top. Could it be this rolled out turf giving way that caused JT to sky his penalty? *plays twilight zone music*

Euro2008 matches at Salzburg's stadium were played on artificial surface last year though and the FIFA u/19 WC in finland a few years ago was largely (if not totally) played on artificial surfaces. Fieldturf is common in the MLS, with at least Seattle, Toronto and NY playing on it. That said, some players and fans are not big fans.

I think in places where grass can be done and done well, it should still be used, but as artificial surfaces get better they've got to be considered an option, especially as the running costs drop, the consistency of play and the ability to take very heavy traffic including events like concerts is taken into account. I'd be perfectly happy to see BTS holding concerts for example if the turf wasn't damaged, and with an artificial surface that's far more likely to be possible. Then add on as many rugby code matches of whatever level, local football finals, other public events... It makes a lot of sense for the stadium management.

Oh, and I reckon it's a lot more water friendly and therefore basically drought proof.

 

[Jesus]

That would have more to do with their drainage system than the grass used, Andre. However, their grass also could be a native species and used to getting drenched

.It has everything to do with an extremely efficient subsoil drainage system and nothing to do with turf species used.

Remember how shocking the pitch was at the ex Telstra Dome for Melbourne Victory matches last season? Well, have a look at it now when the next AFL match is on and keep in mind that at autumn  -  winter, grasses and a lot of other plants are slowing down in growth or going dormant! The bias is so f**king blatant that it made me mad when I caught an AFL game a week or two back, and I switched it over.

The Dome damage was brought about by the on ground concert and enormous staging facades used, not by lack of maintenance. Staging of an event that caused so much damage during any existing sporting season should not have happened & not be repeated.
The dome will naturally look good at present, following the normal annual autumn over sowing of winter perennial that's NOT dormant.

Why can't a suitable turf for our season be laid and all other sports put up with the fact the Mariners are the major tenant?

Regardless of stadium use/non-use outside the aleague season, maintenance, and major maintenance in particular, must be done during the growing season. We aren't Europe with a cold temperate climate and cool summers. We aren't north Queensland with a dry and wet season devoid of a cold winter. We can't grow wheat in summer or sorghum in winter. We do what the plants, season and climate dictate.

The transfer of home games by the way, in my opinion, has as much or more to do with a promotional agreement with the FFA as it does BTS maintenance. But i don't want to get into the politics of the situation.

It is my understanding that their are summer and winter grasses. Apparently originally the problem was cold nights when the summer grasses were going to be grown, instead of warm nights. Hence the lack of cover then. If that was the case, then I do not see how fixtures should be affected, we just have to wait til september/october before we get a decent surface?

If it is not the case then they had no idea/were lying originally. Which makes me think that there is either no reason to believe they know what the problem is yet alone can fix it, or were the cause of the original problem, in which case the mariners should be compensated for having to shift games due to their inability to provide a suitable pitch.

 

[Roy Law]

After watching the football [sic] played today I don't see why we have to play two games at another venue - the ball was never on the deck so the grass would be quite safe.

 

[serious14]

After watching the football [sic] played today I don't see why we have to play two games at another venue - the ball was never on the deck so the grass would be quite safe.

Post of the year.

Take a bow son, that was legendary.

 

[Jesus]

As dibo said in the other thread, this could be a bargaining tool being used by the club with regard to its terms at bluey, especially with the cronulla terms sited.

 

[FFC Mariner]

We arent the major tennant though are we?

Think it through, if they think they have NRL to cream over (and BT is all leagueys) and we start making demands they will probably tell us to get nicked. Its not like we have another ground to go to.

Unless someone wanted to move us to their home district of course............

 

[dibo]

we're the major tenant - we're responsible for the vast majority of spectators through the gates, we pay the damn rent, it's our flags flapping in the breeze on the bridge next to the stadium.

is it time for the mariners management to pull a queensland roar or a carlton and toss the rattle from the pram til we get a better deal on the ground so they *don't* do f**king stupid things like move games?

 

[FFC Mariner]

What I meant was do we have a contract as "major tennant" which gives us rights ? I dont think we do.

I remember EAS have a deal with the Knights and use that as an excuse whenever the scum want anything done?

 

[Bear]

safe to say if the ccm mgmt went "right, f**k you, we are moving all our games, your not getting our cash" then the stadium mgmt would do a backflip and come begging

 

[FFC Mariner]

based on current performances, Pluim would be about big enough next season :-(