Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Barton Town Old Boys manager Dave Anderson says the club have a major problem with their pitch
Barton Town Old Boys desperately need a groundsman if the ground-share agreement with Westella VIP is to successfully work, Dave Anderson has said.
The volume of matches taking place at the Euronics Stadium is putting a huge strain on the pitch and it is currently in a bad way. So much so that Anderson expects more postponements.
Barton’s next fixture is meant to be the home match with Cleethorpes Town tonight.
“At the beginning of the season I did echo my concerns about the proposed ground share with Westella and the worry that our pitch would not be able to cope with two teams playing on it all season, especially if we had no groundsman,” Anderson said.
“With the unprecedented bad weather we would still have had games called off, but with still no groundsman as well this has made the situation ten times worse and we should be at least another three games on further from were we currently sit in terms of games played.
“The pitch is unrecognisable to the one it was three to four years ago were it was seen as one of the best pitches in the league. Opposing teams now are commenting on how bad the pitch is and how it has become one of the worst if not the worst pitch in the league.
“Albion Sports (who share Farsley Celtic’s Throstle Nest) have played the most games in the Division and only have six games left so that shows that ground-share agreements can work.
“Handsworth and Worksop have also proved that. So have Bridlington and Scarborough. But the difference is that they have a groundsman, we don’t.
“I understand the financial benefits (of ground-sharing) to the club, but with no groundsman the arrangement is really struggling to work.
“With the fixture pile up now growing we are now starting to look at three games a week which for the everyday working person it is not going to be easy to attend or play.
“Players have started to indicate that they will not be available to play in all the games left with so many in such a short space of time. This will affect results and since Christmas players have been stop start and found it very difficult to get going , Also given the state of the pitch when games have been on it has resulted in very poor games due to the very poor surface.
“It is a very concerning situation in every shape and form and I hope we can find the right solution.”