Jump to content

The Green Green Grass Of Home


delboy
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 649
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Remember this?

The Scottish Premier League banned synthetic surfaces for competition matches in 2005, following a two year experiment by Dunfermline Athletic who installed XL Turf, made by the Swiss firm, XL Generation. The management of Dunfermline were happy with the surface, but the league banned its use due to complaints by visiting clubs such as Rangers and Celtic.

 

Wondering if clubs are afraid they throw the dummy again and complain.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw this and started to think it was maybe a bit baffling we havent opted for an artificial pitch before, given the unsolvable pitch problems we have.

 

Do we shirk common sense in favour of traditionalism too much?

Erm, naw. The gradient which gives approximately a 1.3m drop from all sides to the north west corner puts paid to that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Summer football - problem solved

 

Not really. It rains all the time in typical Scottish summer. Pitches would still be a mess.

 

The only answer is these new 4G pitches.

 

It its good enough for a CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Champions League Semi Final then its good enough for a Motherwell v Falkirk tie on a cold February afternoon.

 

Replace all Scottish grounds with 4G pitches and utilise them for training, youth games etc. Our game would be far better for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't think the rain would affect the playing surfaces to the degree which you are talking. It rains in a Scottish winter too. Rugby league manages it perfectly and its a much more damaging sport on the surface.

 

Average 15 hours daylight, warmer temperatures, all the perfect conditions to allow grass to thrive and regeneration in the average 2 weeks or so between games lasting 1.5 hours. A rain shower in January would have a worse effect on a grass pitch than one in May.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't think the rain would affect the playing surfaces to the degree which you are talking. It rains in a Scottish winter too. Rugby league manages it perfectly and its a much more damaging sport on the surface.

 

Average 15 hours daylight, warmer temperatures, all the perfect conditions to allow grass to thrive and regeneration in the average 2 weeks or so between games lasting 1.5 hours. A rain shower in January would have a worse effect on a grass pitch than one in May.

 

Summer football is totally out of sync with the rest of Europe. What happens when a World Cup or Euro Championships comes along?

 

You could say Russia copes with it fine, but they have to do it as its about -40 in the winter, but they still have to play Euro ties in the winter like everyone else. So they have laid a 4G pitch.

 

The advantages of 4G pitches is huge. I can really see it helping the development of youth football in Scotland. I watched some kids playing an organised game the other week on a muddy, uneven field and all they could do was punt it up in the air. This is happening all over Scotland.

 

Places like Hamilton Palace and Toryglen are the way forward. If we can get 3G and 4G pitches across the country the standard of foorball would rise dramatically I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Johnstone I agree with you with respect to youth development, just not on a senior level. I'd advocate the building of free to use 5 a side artificial pitches throughout the country, you could get community service yobs and/or long term unemployed learning trades to construct them.

 

On a senior level, you still schedule a standard season, starting a little earlier during a Euro or WC year as we know in the previous Oct/Nov if we will be there. If we qualify we book off 6 weeks (3 for the build up and 3 for the initial phase of the tournament) with an option of a further 2 for knock out stages. National boss would no doubt be happy that his team had been playing competitively and were mid season. If we have a tournament that eclipses any in the past 80 years and we get past the first stage then the season continues on a little later no harm done.

 

Scottish Cup and League Cup could be arranged so any teams getting to Europe after Christmas have a good build up, still with a final in the late Spring (maybe the last game before the Scotland team meet up).

 

If we don't qualify no need for changes at the scheduling stage.

 

Benefit include being able to sell our product to a greater market, over time you would hope an increased level of technical ability among our players, more inclusion as kids are more inclined to emulate their hero's after a game when it doesn't get dark to 9 through to 10:30, better environment to go and take kids - Well market themselves as a family club. Finally I really enjoy going to a game in my T-shirt, its just a better atmosphere when the sun is out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With indoor football theres no need to re-arrange what week the season starts and everyone can go wearing T-shirts or whatever they want, and the lights indoors would help the grass to grow so there'd be no need to buy and fancy light rig, and wee could pipe songs from speakers in the wall to create some atmosphere, we could hang a scoreboard from the roof which all stands could see and we could have underground tunnels to the stadium from everyones front door so we wouldn't have to go out in the cold or worry about slipping on some ice and we could have bars with pitchside views so we can enjoy a bacardi breezer or whatever poofjuice is the latest fad.

 

Either that or we could grow a set and quit moaning at a bit of cold/rain and muck. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Erm, naw. The gradient which gives approximately a 1.3m drop from all sides to the north west corner puts paid to that.

 

Well thats what I mean... We have this gradient problem that wreaks havok with the pitch each year... yet we persist with it (possibly due to being to traditional about the pitch being grass) when surely the common sense solution is to plum for an artificial pitch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well thats what I mean... We have this gradient problem that wreaks havok with the pitch each year... yet we persist with it (possibly due to being to traditional about the pitch being grass) when surely the common sense solution is to plum for an artificial pitch.

 

Our slope is no worse than several others in the SPL. Quite a slope at NDP and certainly a substantial one at Tannadice. Notaware of great problems at Tannadice due to the gradient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our slope is no worse than several others in the SPL. Quite a slope at NDP and certainly a substantial one at Tannadice. Notaware of great problems at Tannadice due to the gradient.

 

Regardless. Are there not inherent water level problems that negate any possibility of lovely green grass all year round, no matter what we spend on it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...