[BlueRover52]

No No No! The topic of plastic pitches has reared it's ugly head with the FA again.Some quarters reckon it will greatly benefit Div 1 & 2 clubs by reducing the number of called off games.I know the technology regarding these type of playing sufaces has improved somewhat since the early days of QPR and Preston etc but NO,NO,NO please NO!.

[JonB]

BlueRover52, on 31 October 2011 - 11:49 AM, said:

No No No! The topic of plastic pitches has reared it's ugly head with the FA again.Some quarters reckon it will greatly benefit Div 1 & 2 clubs by reducing the number of called off games.I know the technology regarding these type of playing sufaces has improved somewhat since the early days of QPR and Preston etc but NO,NO,NO please NO!.

I assume by this they are referring to the "4G" pitches in use by Russian clubs in European competition as well as by Russia in international games. I also believe a couple of clubs in Scotland either have them or have been looking into them and i think they are becoming more and more widespread. A lot of the top clubs have them at their training facilities as well. Around here both Queens Park and Brookfield School have had similar pitches installed and although i've not played on them myself by all accounts they are very very good.

They are a world away from the kind used back in the 80's by the likes of QPR, Luton and Preston and are more or less like playing on grass. No need for tracksuit bottoms and things to prevent burns on legs and things like that.

[Odysseus]

You could see the possible benefits for lower league clubs after the initial outlay it would mean, less maintenance, fewer games called off and a consistent playing surface, but personally I would hate it if we went down that road.

P.S. I am of course assuming the maintenance is less on this type of playing surface.

[BlueRover52]

JonB, on 31 October 2011 - 12:08 PM, said:

I assume by this they are referring to the "4G" pitches in use by Russian clubs in European competition as well as by Russia in international games. I also believe a couple of clubs in Scotland either have them or have been looking into them and i think they are becoming more and more widespread. A lot of the top clubs have them at their training facilities as well. Around here both Queens Park and Brookfield School have had similar pitches installed and although i've not played on them myself by all accounts they are very very good.

They are a world away from the kind used back in the 80's by the likes of QPR, Luton and Preston and are more or less like playing on grass. No need for tracksuit bottoms and things to prevent burns on legs and things like that.

Heard of 3G, is 4G a further development?The ones I've seen have small rubber pellets brushed into them.The surface has been nicknamed "the crumb" at various places,for obvious reasons.Ok for a bad weather training facility but as for a stadium pitch god forbid.

[Duckys Moved]

BlueRover52, on 31 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:

Heard of 3G, is 4G a further development?The ones I've seen have small rubber pellets brushed into them.The surface has been nicknamed "the crumb" at various places,for obvious reasons.Ok for a bad weather training facility but as for a stadium pitch god forbid.

We train on the one at Brookfield and it is excellent, however the little rubber pellets get everywhere and I mean everywhere !!

[Cookie0124]

Duckys Moved, on 31 October 2011 - 05:13 PM, said:

We train on the one at Brookfield and it is excellent, however the little rubber pellets get everywhere and I mean everywhere !!

I've got them stuck in the bottom of my trainers and on the bottom of my socks Still, at least it's not as bad as them that are made like sandpaper (like the ones at Tupton Hall)

This post has been edited by CookieBlue0124: 31 October 2011 - 07:16 PM

[JonB]

BlueRover52, on 31 October 2011 - 04:18 PM, said:

Heard of 3G, is 4G a further development?The ones I've seen have small rubber pellets brushed into them.The surface has been nicknamed "the crumb" at various places,for obvious reasons.Ok for a bad weather training facility but as for a stadium pitch god forbid.

I assume that 4G is a further development of the 3G pitch...although i cant profess to know everything about them. Something here about the one Crusaders in Northern Ireland have installed that backs up the stuff about lower league clubs having them :-
http://www.cottagers...to-lower-league

Reading into it a bit the rubber pellets are there to help the pitch "grass" return to its original state after being stood on. A 4G pitch has the "memory" built into each blade of grass so the pellets etc arent needed.

This is a close up of a 4G pitch :-

[GAC]

Not going to make a difference or prevent matches being called off , They are called off now when a snowflake lands on a pavement near the ground now matter what the state of the pitch.

[BlueRover52]

GAC, on 10 November 2011 - 01:33 PM, said:

Not going to make a difference or prevent matches being called off , They are called off now when a snowflake lands on a pavement near the ground now matter what the state of the pitch.

When it comes to the playing surface it's frost that is the main problem.But we do have frost covers albeit there not much good in ultra severe frost conditions.

[Sammy Spireite]

i dont think its as much to do with lost revenue due to cnacellations, but more to the earning possibilities of a pitch that can be played on daily, for sustained periods with no ill effects.

Certainly, it can be trained on daily, and rented out on a more regular basis and could also be covered between games with boards/sheets without affecting the playing surface for the following saturday.

[Odysseus]

There is a programme on the benefits, or not, of plastic pitches on Sky Sports News, 7.30 pm Monday.

[BlueRover52]

Sammy Spireite, on 18 November 2011 - 08:03 PM, said:

i dont think its as much to do with lost revenue due to cnacellations, but more to the earning possibilities of a pitch that can be played on daily, for sustained periods with no ill effects.

Certainly, it can be trained on daily, and rented out on a more regular basis and could also be covered between games with boards/sheets without affecting the playing surface for the following saturday.

I think this renting out of the pitch idea a bit "pie in the sky".The club wouldn't do it for a "give-a-way fee and I don't think many would hire it on a regular basis.

[Odysseus]

GAC, on 10 November 2011 - 01:33 PM, said:

Not going to make a difference or prevent matches being called off , They are called off now when a snowflake lands on a pavement near the ground now matter what the state of the pitch.

BlueRover52, on 10 November 2011 - 06:16 PM, said:

When it comes to the playing surface it's frost that is the main problem.But we do have frost covers albeit there not much good in ultra severe frost conditions.

Sammy Spireite, on 18 November 2011 - 08:03 PM, said:

i dont think its as much to do with lost revenue due to cnacellations, but more to the earning possibilities of a pitch that can be played on daily, for sustained periods with no ill effects.

Certainly, it can be trained on daily, and rented out on a more regular basis and could also be covered between games with boards/sheets without affecting the playing surface for the following saturday.

BlueRover52, on 04 December 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

I think this renting out of the pitch idea a bit "pie in the sky".The club wouldn't do it for a "give-a-way fee and I don't think many would hire it on a regular basis.

Answers all your questions. http://www.skysports...7355922,00.html

Very interesting to watch, think it would be good for a training pitch but would still like to see us playing on the real thing for as long as we can continue to produce such an excellent surface as we do at the moment. Do you?

[BlueRover52]

Odysseus, on 07 December 2011 - 11:23 AM, said:

Answers all your questions. http://www.skysports...7355922,00.html

Very interesting to watch, think it would be good for a training pitch but would still like to see us playing on the real thing for as long as we can continue to produce such an excellent surface as we do at the moment. Do you?

Agree totally! Grass is King!!