Having followed the site for a good few years i was quite excited when i read Mr Figos thread (this one). He does come across as somebody with good sense.
With 50000 plus hits and over 300 comments I would like to add another.
Stan has been stating the need for our own ground even I believe offering to kick off a fund.
Apologies if anything I say is not correct but Mr Hando persueded him not to continue the crusade.
ever since we moved back to RP its obvious to a blind man that one day we will come a cropper.
My feelings are that the BOD are not interested in our own ground but clinging onto some miracle answer from above maybe. Bearing in mind the comings and goings but a number of our current board have been here it seems from our arrival at RP. Openess comes into question, how many years will go on being told we cannot divulge the dialogue between us the WRU, Council etc.
How many seasons since that magic game against Accrington albeit we were here in the Conference prior to that.
Mr Figo has been pursueded to desist like Stan previously and move across to fund raising instead. we are told only at best half a dozen fans were involved and also "it was clear they were not up to running our club".
Please note what attributes have our current board got in running County, no more than me or you, albeit Kevin has great experience from his days as Argus editor.
what I am trying to say is Stan is spot on, this Focus group is a waste of time as everybody involved at the club seems to have blinkers on. One day we will all be crying as we did when we left Somerton for the final time.
Only hope being a huge lottery winning fan or some Arab with money to burn or a Hollywood film star.
Apologies for going on a bit although one fella albeit sounding very vague is getting some grief here.

bigfan wrote: Mr Figo has been pursueded to desist like Stan previously and move across to fund raising instead. we are told only at best half a dozen fans were involved and also "it was clear they were not up to running our club".

Not the case at all, and I hope my post above didn't confuse you to thinking this? Nobody has been asked to desist, the group is still there and can still talk about what it wants to do. The BoD have simply asked if we can direct assistance elsewhere in the current time. Nobody ever said, "it was clear they were not up to running our club".

One of the problems with RP will manifest soon, when once again we are expected to contribute a third, or possibly half of the Desso costs. That will amount to upwards of £400k, yet Mr Buttress or the WRU will continue to allow the world and its wife to play on the pitch if it means more income for them.
This will be regardless of any consequence and possible objections from the County, the agreement with Cardiff Blues being a prime example.

One of the problems with the RP Desso pitch is that it is the cheaper version.
The Desso Pitch used at the Liberty stadium is the superior version.
Both the Jack and the Ospreys play on it and it fairs much better than RP.
So when the pitch gets relaid both County and Dragons should get together with the WRU and insist on the superior version.
Hopefully this should alleviate some of the problems.

JonD wrote:Didn't Blighty orchestrate the move to Rodney Parade due to problems with the Spytty pitch?

Have those problems since been overcome? (was it compacted clay or something along those lines?)

As I recall it was coke that had been used for drainage and overtime had become compacted.

That said, correcting the problem would probably still leave us with change from what the WRU are likely to be demanding as a contribution to the Desso pitch. Also as Landlords, I would expect the City Council to make a contribution towards any works, as indeed they did for the floodlights when they were upgraded.

The pitch at Newport Stadium had a lot of work done on it very soon after we left. My guess is that it was sheduled with County in mind but the work was done anyway even though we had left. The floodlights there are better than RP's as well.

I didn't want us to leave there because of the loss of independence but had to concede that we couldn't stay because we couldn't develop the ground to permanent EFL standard. That problem still remains. I don't think we left because of the pitch. If we did that didn't work out well did it. My rough calculation at the time was that the move to RP added about 500 to attendances. That was still in non-league of course.

I believe that our new pitch will be a Desso Grassmaster which is superior to the Playmaster we have now. With the Grassmaster the plastic needles are injected in situ, millions of them. This enables the grass roots to entwine around the plastic as the grass grows and this then resists wrenching out by boot studs. With the cheaper Playmaster the plastic is woven into the mat in the factory. It may be that this new one will perform better than the current pitch.

Bristol's Ashton Gate is another ground that is used for both codes, without a problem so far as I am aware. Looking at what they do could be useful.

I don't know whether anyone is interested or not. I have received an interesting email, I will not say who it from. Other than It was an interesting email. Any way I will be pursuing it "we want our own stadium". I work better by myself, as I have previously stated to someone via a private message.

I will give "moderator willthiswork" one last chance to answer my questions and as promised, I will give him one part of my idea. So come on willthiswork the ball is in your court.

I have been banging on about this for the last twenty years. I will try again.

Spytty Park is not suitable for League football.

The stadium at Rodney Parade is suitable however the pitch is not.

On balance therefore Rodney Parade is the better option. But it is the better option only in the sense that being shot is probably a better option than being drowned in a vat of sulphiric acid.

It is a problem that as some stage the board of directors at Newport County are going to to have to deal with. If Chris Blight had listened to my wise words 15 years ago And had we started to develop a football stadium then, we would not have this problem now. If Messrs Ward and Foxall listened to my wise words now we will not have this problem 15 years from now.

Let's not dress it up. We all know what the problem is but since 1989 we have failed to address it.

1989, 32 years ago. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. None of us would have understood the expression 'I'll send you a quick email from my iPhone' and Corona was a bottle of pop.

32 years hense, I'll be dead, those of you now under 40 will probably be looking forward to a summer holiday on Venus, and Newport County will still be playing in a dilapidated stadium on a sh1t pitch.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:I have been banging on about this for the last twenty years. I will try again.

Spytty Park is not suitable for League football.

The stadium at Rodney Parade is suitable however the pitch is not.

On balance therefore Rodney Parade is the better option. But it is the better option only in the sense that being shot is probably a better option than being drowned in a vat of sulphiric acid.

It is a problem that as some stage the board of directors at Newport County are going to to have to deal with. If Chris Blight had listened to my wise words 15 years ago And had we started to develop a football stadium then, we would not have this problem now. If Messrs Ward and Foxall listened to my wise words now we will not have this problem 15 years from now.

Let's not dress it up. We all know what the problem is but since 1989 we have failed to address it.

1989, 32 years ago. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. None of us would have understood the expression 'I'll send you a quick email from my iPhone' and Corona was a bottle of pop.

32 years hense, I'll be dead, those of you now under 40 will probably be looking forward to a summer holiday on Venus, and Newport County will still be playing in a dilapidated stadium on a sh1t pitch.

Actions speak louder than words Brendan

So please tell us what actions you've taken rather than words

To be fair to Stan, he has always put his head above the parapet on this point. His views are clear. He has also spoken to previous board members on this subject as well as offering to put his hand in his pocket to initially start a fundraising set up. Not to speak for him, but I feel that he wants a proper Stadium Trust set up to deal with this and to make that start for our own stadium. Both he and I have spoken and agree that this is the way forward although we differ on the current situation we find ourselves in.

UPTHEPORT wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:I have been banging on about this for the last twenty years. I will try again.

Spytty Park is not suitable for League football.

The stadium at Rodney Parade is suitable however the pitch is not.

On balance therefore Rodney Parade is the better option. But it is the better option only in the sense that being shot is probably a better option than being drowned in a vat of sulphiric acid.

It is a problem that as some stage the board of directors at Newport County are going to to have to deal with. If Chris Blight had listened to my wise words 15 years ago And had we started to develop a football stadium then, we would not have this problem now. If Messrs Ward and Foxall listened to my wise words now we will not have this problem 15 years from now.

Let's not dress it up. We all know what the problem is but since 1989 we have failed to address it.

1989, 32 years ago. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. None of us would have understood the expression 'I'll send you a quick email from my iPhone' and Corona was a bottle of pop.

32 years hense, I'll be dead, those of you now under 40 will probably be looking forward to a summer holiday on Venus, and Newport County will still be playing in a dilapidated stadium on a sh1t pitch.

Actions speak louder than words Brendan

So please tell us what actions you've taken rather than words

Okay.

I offered to put £1,000 into a trust fund ring-fenced set up to develop a stadium.

I was asked to call David Hando. The gist of our conversation was that relations with the then owners of Rodney Parade were at a very low point. That the plan was for the club to return to a re-developed Spytty Park. And could I please be quiet about all this and for put any plans to start a ring fenced fund on hold.

As I later said, I believe that whilst David Hando and been untruthful in that which he had said to me, it was very probably the case that David Hando had himself been duped by person or persons unknown.

Lest anyone think this is a dig at the present board it is not, to the best of my knowledge and belief nobody involved in the administration of Newport County now was involved then. I don't now recall how long ago the above conversation took place, although it was long before the Riverside meetings.

Had a trust fund been set up it is my belief that working together we could have developed a stadium. It is my belief that even the £100 or so spent each month on Euromillions Lotto tickets would be better deployed in a properly administered Trust.

Please do not think the above paragraph is a criticism of your efforts. It is not. Unlikely as it is that you will win enough to build a stadium, it is at least an effort to solve the biggest problem Newport County have. Which is a f@cking site more than any board of directors at Newport County have managed in 32 years.

Stan A. Einstein wrote:

UPTHEPORT wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:I have been banging on about this for the last twenty years. I will try again.

Spytty Park is not suitable for League football.

The stadium at Rodney Parade is suitable however the pitch is not.

On balance therefore Rodney Parade is the better option. But it is the better option only in the sense that being shot is probably a better option than being drowned in a vat of sulphiric acid.

It is a problem that as some stage the board of directors at Newport County are going to to have to deal with. If Chris Blight had listened to my wise words 15 years ago And had we started to develop a football stadium then, we would not have this problem now. If Messrs Ward and Foxall listened to my wise words now we will not have this problem 15 years from now.

Let's not dress it up. We all know what the problem is but since 1989 we have failed to address it.

1989, 32 years ago. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. None of us would have understood the expression 'I'll send you a quick email from my iPhone' and Corona was a bottle of pop.

32 years hense, I'll be dead, those of you now under 40 will probably be looking forward to a summer holiday on Venus, and Newport County will still be playing in a dilapidated stadium on a sh1t pitch.

Actions speak louder than words Brendan

So please tell us what actions you've taken rather than words

Okay.

I offered to put £1,000 into a trust fund ring-fenced set up to develop a stadium.

I was asked to call David Hando. The gist of our conversation was that relations with the then owners of Rodney Parade were at a very low point. That the plan was for the club to return to a re-developed Spytty Park. And could I please be quiet about all this and for put any plans to start a ring fenced fund on hold.

As I later said, I believe that whilst David Hando and been untruthful in that which he had said to me, it was very probably the case that David Hando had himself been duped by person or persons unknown.

Lest anyone think this is a dig at the present board it is not, to the best of my knowledge and belief nobody involved in the administration of Newport County now was involved then. I don't now recall how long ago the above conversation took place, although it was long before the Riverside meetings.

Had a trust fund been set up it is my belief that working together we could have developed a stadium. It is my belief that even the £100 or so spent each month on Euromillions Lotto tickets would be better deployed in a properly administered Trust.

Please do not think the above paragraph is a criticism of your efforts. It is not. Unlikely as it is that you will win enough to build a stadium, it is at least an effort to solve the biggest problem Newport County have. Which is a f@cking site more than any board of directors at Newport County have managed in 32 years.

Thanks for the reply

We also own nearly a grands worth of shares on the message board if you remember I collected it on here from forum members

Sound post Mr.E
Even I would like to put a modest contribution to your idea.
Creativity,flair,imagination will take the club forward..(all of which incidentally I think Mr Flynn et al do not possess)
Think outside the box is an oft used phrase but is what is needed
Playing on a pile of mud for half a season is not the future of the club

Stan A. Einstein wrote:
Spytty Park is not suitable for League football.

The stadium at Rodney Parade is suitable however the pitch is not.

On balance therefore Rodney Parade is the better option. But it is the better option only in the sense that being shot is probably a better option than being drowned in a vat of sulphiric acid.

I’m afraid that the RP arrangements are no longer compliant with the current EFL rules, certainly as long as we continue to share with more than one rugby team. As that is unlikely to change as long as the WRU remain landlords then Spytty remains the only viable alternative.

Does anyone think the demands of financial recovery from the virus will mean the EFL having to rethink its stance on artificial surfaces?