Army FA games cancelled

[Harlow Massive]

It appears the Army FA have now cancelled all their upcoming games at The Rec.....

[Silasgoldeen]

to be fair this had to happen didn't it?

[chimpster99]

Graham Brookland, who heads up the Army FA, has put a very pointed post up on social media about it. Initially implies they are doing the club a favour taking pressure of the pitch, although this will obviously cost the club. He also states (in a roundaboug way) that the Army will be reducing their use of the Rec in future.

If anyone knows how our pitch behaves it's Graham. No blame on our groundstaff volunteers whatsoever, but it's obvious something has gone very wrong. Any contractor worth their money should be managing drainage, so the main drain blockage is unforgivable. The fact that the laterals have apparently now failed suggests that the problem has been there for a very long time.

[Josh]

It feels like we like to do some things on the cheap. Bring in the income but then don't invest. You reap what you sow.

[Peter macdonald]

Does this football club ever do anything right?

[anonymouse]

Graham Brookland, who heads up the Army FA, has put a very pointed post up on social media about it. Initially implies they are doing the club a favour taking pressure of the pitch, although this will obviously cost the club. He also states (in a roundaboug way) that the Army will be reducing their use of the Rec in future.

If anyone knows how our pitch behaves it's Graham. No blame on our groundstaff volunteers whatsoever, but it's obvious something has gone very wrong. Any contractor worth their money should be managing drainage, so the main drain blockage is unforgivable. The fact that the laterals have apparently now failed suggests that the problem has been there for a very long time.

Chimpster, in fail read it could also mean collapse which could happen any time, read the two links that Turnkey has put about Rochdale and how much it could cost to repair.

[Turnkey]

Any contractor worth their money should be managing drainage, so the main drain blockage is unforgivable. The fact that the laterals have apparently now failed suggests that the problem has been there for a very long time.

The contractors can only do what their budget allows them to do, and I suspect they’ve been given a budget to do the bare minimum, stuff like drainage issues will always be an extra cost. Even when we had Nunny at the club full time there was always extra jobs that cropped up and needed extra funds such as an additional vert-drain or more fertiliser.

The area of the pitch that’s knackered has been an issue since before I started volunteering in 2008, I’m guessing putting in the extra lateral drainage was a calculated gamble to try and alleviate the problem there. Anyone at the Bradford FA cup game would have seen that area of the pitch flooded first then overwhelmed the rest. The only way to completely fix it will be a complete reconstruction and, as mentioned in the Rochdale links I posted, this will cost hundreds of thousands and isn’t going to happen.

[chimpster99]

Any contractor worth their money should be managing drainage, so the main drain blockage is unforgivable. The fact that the laterals have apparently now failed suggests that the problem has been there for a very long time.

The contractors can only do what their budget allows them to do, and I suspect they’ve been given a budget to do the bare minimum, stuff like drainage issues will always be an extra cost. Even when we had Nunny at the club full time there was always extra jobs that cropped up and needed extra funds such as an additional vert-drain or more fertiliser.

The area of the pitch that’s knackered has been an issue since before I started volunteering in 2008, I’m guessing putting in the extra lateral drainage was a calculated gamble to try and alleviate the problem there. Anyone at the Bradford FA cup game would have seen that area of the pitch flooded first then overwhelmed the rest. The only way to completely fix it will be a complete reconstruction and, as mentioned in the Rochdale links I posted, this will cost hundreds of thousands and isn’t going to happen.

That's fair enough Mr Key. The experience that you and Mr Mouse have gained at the Rec far outweighs any expertise I can offer. I guess the next question is: how can the club improve the drainage without the full re-construction. More regular verti-drains? More laterals? Desperately hoping that with a drier spell and some TLC the pitch can recover and withstand the next downpour.

[Turnkey]

Any contractor worth their money should be managing drainage, so the main drain blockage is unforgivable. The fact that the laterals have apparently now failed suggests that the problem has been there for a very long time.

The contractors can only do what their budget allows them to do, and I suspect they’ve been given a budget to do the bare minimum, stuff like drainage issues will always be an extra cost. Even when we had Nunny at the club full time there was always extra jobs that cropped up and needed extra funds such as an additional vert-drain or more fertiliser.

The area of the pitch that’s knackered has been an issue since before I started volunteering in 2008, I’m guessing putting in the extra lateral drainage was a calculated gamble to try and alleviate the problem there. Anyone at the Bradford FA cup game would have seen that area of the pitch flooded first then overwhelmed the rest. The only way to completely fix it will be a complete reconstruction and, as mentioned in the Rochdale links I posted, this will cost hundreds of thousands and isn’t going to happen.

That's fair enough Mr Key. The experience that you and Mr Mouse have gained at the Rec far outweighs any expertise I can offer. I guess the next question is: how can the club improve the drainage without the full re-construction. More regular verti-drains? More laterals? Desperately hoping that with a drier spell and some TLC the pitch can recover and withstand the next downpour.

As any sport ground contractor will tell you, the ideal way of keeping your pitch in good nick is to use it as little as possible. You will always get spells of exceptionally wet or cold weather that inhibit recovery time, so not playing extra games on it is key. The fact we played extra games and let Reading use it, all for an extra few quid, has damaged it quite severely. Hopefully it stays reasonably dry between now and Hartlepool and if gets a chance to dry and allow the ground team get on it and do some remedial work.

[Harlow Massive]

It feels like we like to do some things on the cheap. Bring in the income but then don't invest. You reap what you sow.

Agree Josh, what did happen to all that money earned last year in the cup games? Perhaps the awaited latest accounts will give us some idea............

[HackJowarth]

It feels like we like to do some things on the cheap. Bring in the income but then don't invest. You reap what you sow.

Agree Josh, what did happen to all that money earned last year in the cup games? Perhaps the awaited latest accounts will give us some idea............

Not just the Cup games, there were 2 reasonably high profile transfers as well. The club cannot operate without a properly funded and functioning pitch. It’s one of the most basic and essential component parts of any full time professional football club.

[AFC197273]

Does this football club ever do anything right?

Not recently, BOD need to go,ruining a great club

[shotsboy66]

It's not like the club have been starved of £££ this past year.

Player sales, home gates up 1,000, FA Cup at WBA, tv coverage at Stockport etc.

The Rec pitch was a thing of beauty up until this season.

All this talk of Wembley...at this rate we might have to play our home league games there!!

[Roger D]

Does this football club ever do anything right?

There's an interesting story doing the rounds in Isthmian circles. A Conference National side reportedly sent a player on loan to Hendon two weekends ago but wrote Bracknell Town on the loan form. Hendon spotted this and sent the form back. Unfortunately the Conference National club then returned the form with the end of loan date as 29/2/2025. Hendon were then unable to register the player in time to play...

Hendon were seriously unimpressed.

[chimpster99]

Does this football club ever do anything right?

There's an interesting story doing the rounds in Isthmian circles. A Conference National side reportedly sent a player on loan to Hendon two weekends ago but wrote Bracknell Town on the loan form. Hendon spotted this and sent the form back. Unfortunately the Conference National club then returned the form with the end of loan date as 29/2/2025. Hendon were then unable to register the player in time to play...

Hendon were seriously unimpressed.

Could that be our B-team defender Freddie Stanley who was announced as a Hendon player (on loan) a week ago??

https://x.com/HendonFC/status/188673535 ... WQ1fA&s=19