artifical pitches

[Bungay Canary 0]

The football league are about to vote on the reintroduction of plastic pitches in the league whos for or against . the 3g are far better than what were produced in 90s but for me football should be played on grass or in our case 70% grass we certainly dont want to go back to Loftus road ,kenniworth road of the 90s

[chicken 0]

I did knee ligament damage playing on a 3g pitch. Wen''t down knee first and virtually hit straight through to the hard stuff at the bottom.It''s not as safe as turf.Then there is the point that the Football League can bring it in, but it still not be accepted in the Prem and in FIFA / UEFA competitions.Personally I think it''s pretty poor that any team in this climate cannot maintain a grass pitch. I hope they don''t vote it in.

[? 0]

Bungay, our pitch is 100% grass now, that semi artificle grass was removed a few years ago.

[Gaz 0]

Shouldn''t have to be used in the professional game. But makes sense using it for amateurs

[Molly Windley 76]

[quote user="Ron Manager"]Bungay, our pitch is 100% grass now, that semi artificle grass was removed a few years ago.[/quote]I thought we had a Desso pitch installed not long ago, was it removed?

[Gainer the Gopher 0]

Bungay, our pitch is 100% grass now, that semi artificle grass was removed a few years ago. - Ron Manager

I thought he was being funny in that the areas in front of goal often look worn down to dirt leaving about 70% of the CR pitch with a grass surface.

[? 0]

Molly, yes it was removed, don''t knw exactly when but this and last season the pitch was totally re-seeded.

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

There was a feature on what was called "fake grass" on the radio the other day, Jeremy Vine I recall.

 

Apparently this stuff is now far advanced from the Astroturf of old and Vine himself admitted that he had difficulty distinguishing it from the real stuff.

 

Having a big lawn area myself and considering mowing it the worst of all my chores, I later Googled "fake grass" and got all the gen needed.

 

It''s very sophisticated (and quite expensive) but I got the impression that all the arguments of old about artificial pitches might now be invalid in view of such progress. There is also a selection of ''grass'' types to chose from.

 

Smaller clubs would save a minor fortune on ground maintenance, after their initial outlay

[Dave 0]

Artificial pitches are a lot better than the luton/qpr days but still not perfect.

I can understand why smaller clubs want it, as they can rent the ground out all week without damage rather than the ground being used no more than twice a week.

Sometimes it''s difficult to tell the difference on modern artificial surfaces but the signs are still there, I never thought it would be possible to play rugby on an artificial pitch but that is now done.

I think that within the next 20 years there will be more artificial pitches than grass in the professional game

[mfosterftw 0]

We have them at all levels over here.  They tend to not be used in baseball (despite their origin being born out of necessity when they built Houston''s Astrodome then had to paint to glass ceiling to reduce the glare), but pro, college, and high school football teams have them, as well as a number of MLS and other soccer clubs.  I''ve walked on the one at my kid''s HS, and it absorbs a lot more impact than they old types.  If they need more absorption, you just spread more rubber into the base - it''s a lot like sanding a green - something you have to do every few years anyway.

[Redders Right Foot 22]

I''ve played 4 years, 8 seasons, on the new stuff in an indoor league, and it''s not too bad I must admit. using Normal (hard ground) mercurials on them feels fine, and our outdoor rec pitches use them too. not noticed any flooding once but the negative side is when it''s hot, it''s hot, and you feel it through the boot.

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="chicken"]I did knee ligament damage playing on a 3g pitch. Wen''t down knee first and virtually hit straight through to the hard stuff at the bottom.

It''s not as safe as turf.

Then there is the point that the Football League can bring it in, but it still not be accepted in the Prem and in FIFA / UEFA competitions.

Personally I think it''s pretty poor that any team in this climate cannot maintain a grass pitch. I hope they don''t vote it in.
[/quote]

 

agreed with this, 3g surfaces are rubbish... they play havoc on your ankles as the pitch doesnt have the "give" of grass... the only benefit they have is that they are pretty much all weather and dont need maintenence every week.

I''d like to see figures relating to the number of  movemement related (so non tackled) ligament injuries on 3g compared to other surfaces?

[morty 0]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]

[quote user="chicken"]I did knee ligament damage playing on a 3g pitch. Wen''t down knee first and virtually hit straight through to the hard stuff at the bottom.It''s not as safe as turf.Then there is the point that the Football League can bring it in, but it still not be accepted in the Prem and in FIFA / UEFA competitions.Personally I think it''s pretty poor that any team in this climate cannot maintain a grass pitch. I hope they don''t vote it in.[/quote]

 

agreed with this, 3g surfaces are rubbish... they play havoc on your ankles as the pitch doesnt have the "give" of grass... the only benefit they have is that they are pretty much all weather and dont need maintenence every week.

I''d like to see figures relating to the number of  movemement related (so non tackled) ligament injuries on 3g compared to other surfaces?

[/quote]I would have thought that if such figures existed, then the football league wouldn''t even be considering it as an option. My lad played on a 3g pitch in Thorpe this weekend, and I think it really helped with the quality of the game, as it was a much truer surface than the pitches he normally plays on. So at the lower levels of football, I can see the point. But at league level, if clubs are not willing to spend a few grand extra a year to provide a good grass surface to play on, then thats a poor show.

[splutcho 173]

Unfortunately, with football as imbalanced as it is, even for some league clubs, a few grand extra a year is a real drain.

[gravycanaries 0]

Ron manager. We do still have the plastic grass. I played there last season on 2 occasions and wherr the goalmouth is warn down you can see all the plastic grass still there.

[Mello Yello 2,281]

artificial pitches=artificial football......