Plastic Pitch Anyone ??

[Regiment]

It would appear some clubs are looking at the possibility of bring back astroturf.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15722636.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

the two clubs mentioned on this bbc article are Accrington and Wycombe. i can understand why Accrington would consider it, but thought it a bit strange Wycombe have thrown their name in the pot, especially as they ground share with a rugby team !!

I know today's astroturf has moved on somewhat from the surfaces we saw used in the top flight years ago, at Luton, QPR and Oldham, but how would we feel about seeing professional football played on plastic again ??

personally, i hope it's a non-starter. yes, there is a use for the surface, in terms of training etc, but i was on the books at QPR as a kid, and we played on the loftus road carpet, and it was incredibly bad, and they were in the first division as it was back then. i remember running down the wing once, and my marker suddenly seemed to give up the chase, and had in fact tripped and wiped out due to the corner of one of the "panels" sticking up !!

the U10s team i coach trains on astroturf in the winter, and it's great for us for training, but we played a match on the 3G stuff a couple of weeks ago, and it was awful.

i say keep football on grass - what do you guys think ??

[AlexGulls]

Why would Accrington want one? Since they sorted there pitch out there Home forms dipped abit...

[stevegull]

Terrible idea. Has everyone forgotten that the reason they were ditched is because injuries were more likely and the standard of football was reduced. I really hope this doesn't happen in England. Even that pitch that England played Russia (?) against picked up some criticism and that should be the best of the best if it is hosting international football.

[Father Jack]

Why would Accrington want one? Since they sorted there pitch out there Home forms dipped abit...

Wait till it gets heavy rain on it while playing a match. Be like a beach again by February...

[Dave]

Thing is astro turf has moved on and is so much better than those dark old days, saw some acadmey matchs played on 3rd generation astroturf last season, they were decent games , however the bouce was still a bit all over the place and would not like to see that used in pro football.

That said 4th generation astroturf has been around for a while, not see it my self, it surposed to be as close to grass as you can get, so maybe this could work.

[SteveDeckchair]

I've played on the 4g pitch at Exeter University a few times and although it's good, it's not the same as grass at all. You still get carpet burns and it's harder on your knees than grass.

Grass all the way for me, muddy or not.

Let's face it, money is the only factor here. There is no other reason why a professional club would choose to play on it......

[stevegull]

Agreed, Steve. I've played on it before and it tore my legs to pieces when going for slide tackles!

And i have to admit, i'm a huge fan of the slow motion slide tackle through the mud...

[happytorq]

It'd be fine. It's not like that scratchpan they have down at Clennon Valley. most football pitches over here are 'artificial' and they're really very good. I've played on quite a few of them and had no trouble. Makes sense if they can guarantee that no games will get lost to frozen pitches, etc.

[MidDevon]

I have seen a bit of Scottish footy on plastic pitches over the last 3 or 4 years at Hamilton (before they got in the Premier Division and had to lay turf), Stenhousemuir and Alloa.

Rest assured the pitches used today are far better than Luton's or QPR's of the past. They are more predictable than grass, but I would not say the ball bounches higher or quicker like it used to.

I remember Alloa's being especially realistic, to the point that when a player tackled another, bits would fly up from the grass, which apparently are small pieces of a crumb like structure.

Of course the advantages are tremendous, you can have the pitch used by several teams (indeed when we went to Stenhousemuir, it was East Stirling who were the "home" team), and Stenhousemuirs reserves and youth teams also used the pitch. They higher it out for party's as well which means it is used virtually all the time and becomes a great revenue earner.

Having seen it first hand, I would have few concerns even if Torquay were to decide to go plastic in the future.

Incidentally, if memory serves me correct Torquay were very close to playing away at Durham City in the FA Trophy who play on plastic, but Southport knock them and then Torquay out

[PhilGull]

I understood the modern idea for plastic pitches was still to have grass but with a 'plastic' fibre woven in to the roots. The idea being that it still behaves like a normal grass pitch but doesn't tear up or get worn the same.
If memory serves me correctly we nearly had it at Plainmoor under Bateson, but the grant that was going to pay for it was pulled at the last minute.
I think this is the stuff currently used in the Russian League and other less than warm climbs around Europe.

[SDYellow]

The plastic fibre mentioned above is used by Tottenham Newcastle Arsenal and Man City, as well as wembley. The pitch has 20 million synthetic blades 3% of pitch which i believe statically help the grass to stay upright and give strength to the whole surface. Also it allows for better drainage.

[Regiment]

latest update - look like it could happen in the not too distant................

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16255116" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;