Report this comment
  • "We cannot and will not be able to afford to pay 5 more fully signed up pros. Basic economics.

    I do agree the use of the loan system needs to be a wise one but when we took Davies last year Stoke covered the majority of that wage, many higher league clubs do this as it gets their lads game time in a competetive league and not reserve team football. This type of loan, like Adeyemi is very useful.

    The one month Adam Reed type loans did not benefit any of us and in fact kept Richie Jones out of the side or out of position just as he was starting to find his feet in the middle, this type of loan is more destructive than constructive.

    We will never, ever build and develop our own squad from scratch again, very few lower league clubs will apart from maybe Crewe. I do not see 6-10 month loans being a negative, it isn't really much different from signing a player on a 1 year contract, a loan player comes to his 'secondary' club with the intention of playing, playing well and earning either a starting place at his parent club or intersting his 'loanee' club enough to sign him. Or someone else to sign him, no-one comes on loan with the intention of picking up a wage, so maybe loanees may try just a bit harder than those on 3 year deals who can sit back and pick up a wage. Maybe!"
  • This field is mandatory
  • This field is mandatory

  • Please note we will not accept reports with HTML tags or URLs in them.


  • Enter the above word in the box below

Please be fair, courteous and respectful to the views of others so we can build a vibrant community in a safe online environment. You are personal liable for your comments and action will be taken against anyone who offends, ridicules or posts malicious and damaging views. If you wish to complain, please contact us.

Bog off! Bradford City say good riddance to pitch problems

7:00am Thursday 19th July 2012 in Sport Photograph of the Author By Simon Parker , Bradford City Reporter

Dave Baldwin says the improvement work to the pitch at Valley Parade is money well spent Dave Baldwin says the improvement work to the pitch at Valley Parade is money well spent

City have carried out a £50,000 pitch revamp in an attempt to solve Valley Parade’s boggy wings.

The heavy state of the surface on the flanks has been a constant problem in recent seasons. But extensive work through the summer has left the club confident that the issue has finally been resolved.

Director of operations David Baldwin said: “It’s quite an extreme cost but an essential one. It is our stage and worth paying out a sizeable chunk of money.

“We made as much saving as we possibly could in order to generate some more budget availability for this close season.

“Ultimately if you want to do well and entertain, you try to make available the best provisions possible within the resources.

“It will help with the nature of football the manager wants to play without any shadow of doubt. Hopefully it gives him the best opportunity to get us out of this division.”

Work began in late May to resurface the pitch and lay fibre sand along the sides to help with drainage. It should bring it in line with the centre of the pitch, which had already been treated in the same way. The exceptionally wet weather has helped the grass bed in – and also provided it with an early test.

Baldwin added: “The pitch has historically always been a battle. There’s a 1930s massive 30-foot concrete wall underneath, that runs down almost to the depth of Midland Road.

“The backfill of water that used to build on the main stand side of the stadium has been an ongoing problem.

“We spent a lot of money on the pitch a few years back, taking up 200 tonnes of soil to lay 100 tonnes of fibre sand. But that was predominantly run down the crown of the pitch, from the halfway line out to the penalty area both sides.

“As a result of that, the crown dries out much quicker than the flanks. So that becomes very apparent.

“The perfect solution would have been to dig the whole lot out, blow out the concrete wall and start again. If you’ve got £500,000 and time is no objective then that’s fine.

“We’ve had to do it step by step but ultimately to fix the problem we needed to have fibre sand across the whole pitch. We now have that.”

The new-look pitch will get its first work-out in City’s friendly with Bury on August 4. With Barnsley’s visit the following week cancelled because of the Capital One Cup shift, there is a 17-day break before the next home game against Fleetwood.

Baldwin said: “The pitch is looking quite lush at the minute with the weather we’ve had.

“Most importantly, we’ve got an even texture underneath because the fibre sand has covered every parameter.

“We’re talking about a ten-week period to grow the grass back and let it bed down. That is the minimum limit.

“We’re feeling very positive about it. The groundsman, Mick Doyle, really wants to go for that best pitch in the division award again.”

Local Businesses

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree