Sun 1st Oct: Ch Elim: Bradford Bulls v York Knights KO 18:30 (Viaplay)

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, Gav Wilson said:

No it doesn't and it hasn't for quite some time. You get 'special dispensation', which is quite different.

If the pitch is now 55m wide, he's correct as that has been the minimum (albeit not "preferred") dimension for a good few years now.

It certainly wasn't 55m wide a couple of years back, and Bradford did get special dispensation at that time, but I think I have read claims that it was widened to 55m by the end of 2021.

It's kind of beside the point though. 68m is the preferred width, and having a 55m-wide pitch has a major negative effect on the overall game play. I'd have less of an issue with the fact that the pitch is also much shorter than the preferred length as that does'nt have such a big issue on the flow of the game , but an ultra-narrow pitch really changes the whole nature of the game and makes it much less open.

 

[Gav Wilson]

4 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

If the pitch is now 55m wide, he's correct as that has been the minimum (albeit not "preferred") dimension for a good few years now.

It certainly wasn't 55m wide a couple of years back, and Bradford did get special dispensation at that time, but I think I have read claims that it was widened to 55m by the end of 2021.

It's kind of beside the point though. 68m is the preferred width, and having a 55m-wide pitch has a major negative effect on the overall game play. I'd have less of an issue with the fact that the pitch is also much shorter than the preferred length as that does'nt have such a big issue on the flow of the game , but an ultra-narrow pitch really changes the whole nature of the game and makes it much less open.

 

Aye, and the 3m in goal areas...

[Bulls2487]

RFL are the leaseholders for Odsal so they should be working alongside the Bulls and Stock Cars to extend the pitch.

[Wolford6]

14 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

I'd have less of an issue with the fact that the pitch is also much shorter than the preferred length

 

That's very important. On Odsal, referees grant 40:20 kicks that are pretty easy to get and not a "True" 40m:20m.

[The Phantom Horseman]

20 minutes ago, Wolford6 said:

That's very important. On Odsal, referees grant 40:20 kicks that are pretty easy to get and not a "True" 40m:20m.

Well okay, that is a fair point, Gaskell's 40-20 against York actually came from inside his own (nominal) 30m line but still travelled well under 40m. But that doesn't impact the whole feel of the game whereas the narrow pitch does.

[Expatknight]

17 hours ago, Ragingbull said:

Ill happily correct you. The pitch does meet minimim standards and has done for quite some time.

What I don’t understand is how the Bulls fans appear to be happy with the situation at Odsal, the pitch may now just meet minimum standards as to width but length and in goal areas are another thing and the proximity of the concrete barriers hardly make for a  good open expansive game. If you are content in watching from a distance a game played on a postage stamp, fine, but it’s not for me. I used to like going to Station Road at Swinton back in the day, that was a pitch that encouraged fast open rugby. 

 

[Roger York]

The problem is what options do they have? If they don’t play at odsal they would probably play outside of Bradford which they probably would not want and as a fan of your club you always defend your ground when people have a go.

The stock track seems to be the issue limiting the pitch but they bring income in and I don’t know if Odsal is viable without the stock racing.

Its a shame because it’s the true fans who suffer from mismanagement in the past.

[Expatknight]

11 minutes ago, Roger York said:

The problem is what options do they have? If they don’t play at odsal they would probably play outside of Bradford which they probably would not want and as a fan of your club you always defend your ground when people have a go.

The stock track seems to be the issue limiting the pitch but they bring income in and I don’t know if Odsal is viable without the stock racing.

Its a shame because it’s the true fans who suffer from mismanagement in the past.

I agree with what you are saying, however, where do you draw the line, if the RFL did not hold the lease that ground would not have been given the dispensation it was given, any other team would have been given very short shrift of that I am convinced. The place is not fit for purpose, sadly, and just because when Super League started they were the big guns, fully embracing the whole ethos, and credit to them for doing that, that was then, now they are like the rest of us with maybe a bit more potential for bringing in some new fans but realistically they aren’t going to go back to the days of five figure crowds so why do they deserve to be treated differently. That was my objection at the time. The club has gone bust at least twice so really the club you see now isn’t even the same as back then.You cannot get away from the fact the place is a dump, the Council won’t invest in it, I am sure the club haven’t got the means and the RFL shouldn’t. As you say it is the fans who suffer as we always do.

[OdsalBull]

21 minutes ago, Roger York said:

The problem is what options do they have? If they don’t play at odsal they would probably play outside of Bradford which they probably would not want and as a fan of your club you always defend your ground when people have a go.

The stock track seems to be the issue limiting the pitch but they bring income in and I don’t know if Odsal is viable without the stock racing.

Its a shame because it’s the true fans who suffer from mismanagement in the past.

Balanced and correct

[Wolford6]

The stock cars call the tune. The sport was obliged to leave Belle Vue and Odsal is now the National Stock Car Track.

[Stan Doffarf]

On 04/10/2023 at 09:22, Expatknight said:

What I don’t understand is how the Bulls fans appear to be happy with the situation at Odsal, the pitch may now just meet minimum standards as to width but length and in goal areas are another thing and the proximity of the concrete barriers hardly make for a  good open expansive game. If you are content in watching from a distance a game played on a postage stamp, fine, but it’s not for me. I used to like going to Station Road at Swinton back in the day, that was a pitch that encouraged fast open rugby. 

 

Trust me, nobody is happy with it, but there seems to be little alternative.