A meeting yesterday of League 1 and 2 chairmen supported the idea of the reintroduction of artificial pitches. Report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29376418 I know technology has moved on a lot since the terrible pitches at Loftus Road and elsewhere but I'm not sure about this. For me, football is a game best played on grass, and the pitch at St. Mary's Stadium is always immaculate, whatever the time of year. Am I being inconsiderate to those in the lower leagues by hoping this doesn't catch on?
As Koeman said at some point, he hates artificial pitches. Football should indeed be played on natural grass, but it's expensive to keep in great condition all year round. Pitches of the consistent condition of St Mary's are as rare as hen's teeth. I can see there would be a cost saving after an initial outlay, plus the general standard of play would possibly/probably be raised due to the consistency of the pitches. I am still slightly surprised that L1 and L2 chairman are voting for it though. I would have thought non-league clubs would go in this direction, if any.
teams with plastic pitches may well not be allowed to play thier home games at home in a cup run, as I would be pretty sure that the PL clubs would kick up a stink.
Agree...our lad's delicate tootsies can't be expected to play a proper match on 3G pitches (though I understand they have improved greatly). Didn't someone suggest that Arsenal's high injury rate is due to their pitch being a mixture of grass and synthetic?
Boo..! So that's how they can challenge our pitch for quality that our excellent ground staff put together, season after season. They bloody well cheat..!
I remember that they said we have pitches at Staplewood matching those we are likely to meet in the PL...and they cited the Arsenal pitch as an example.