Grounds for concern over showpiece pitch

T

HE front page of the Bolton Sport a week last Tuesday no doubt had everyone involved in the local soccer shaking their heads saying, "Nothing changes!"

A different code but the same story. Bolton Mets Rugby League forced to seek a new home base out of town in Kearsley as "a move to New house Farm has proved a disaster because of the poor state of the pitch".

The saga of New House Farm we all know about - or do we? It's been out of action that long that the current playing generation will probably say, "Where?"

Good news is on the way however as Bolton Leisure Services in conjunction with the Lancashire FA have had the site fully surveyed and a grant has been procured to rectify the drainage problems. No less than one third of a million pounds is to be spent getting this facility back in use. Good news did I say? No that's great news!

But elsewhere in town the same old well-founded moans and groans are beginning to surface and we are only in November. Centre pitch Harper Green, Bolton Leisure Services "showpiece ground". Let's qualify that statement: no floodlights, no seated viewing area, it slopes, it is not enlosed; it is "showpiece" by default. It is the best, sorry one and only half-decent, pitch on offer.

Bolton Ambassadors had the centre pitch as their home base but were kicked off two seasons ago, a decision made by the Joint Liaison Committee that the pitch should be saved for cup semis and finals.

Opinions will differ on the wisdom of that decision but the reality is that the pitch is now hardly ever used - or should not be. Ambassadors accepted the decision without quarrel and now play on one of the lesser pitches at Harper Green. Walking past that centre pitch to get to their new base every home fixture must gripe just a little but salt has been rubbed into the wound his season. Player/manager Simon Murphy explains: "When we used the centre pitch we took the goalposts down after every game and stored them away safely. But now they are left up permanently. This means kids are going on the pitch regularly for their own kickabouts so the goalmouths are virtually bare already. It breaks our hearts to see that because when we used the pitch it didn't get damaged at all."

"Last week we had to switch our game midweek to ensure it got played. Our pitch has been ruined for probably the whole season due to heavy machinery. We switched to Brookhouse down at Eccles and the pitches there were fantastic. The grass was mown, the pitch rolled and lined. We dream of such luxury in Bolton!"

Bob Shuttleworth, President of the Bolton Sunday League, says: "Simon has a really good point. The week before last we took the decision ourselves as early as the Thursday to call off games at Harper Green because the pitches were that bad. The decision on saving the centre pitch for finals was made with the Bolton Combination heavily involved. As the Combination is no more now perhaps the situation should be reviewed."