Airdrie’s pitch

[boag1874]

Would never have known it was plastic on first viewing, probably the best one I’ve seen. If they were all looked after that well then there would be no controversy over them.
 

Kilmarnock & Livi should be absolutely ashamed of themselves that a team who’ve been out the top flight for decades have an artificial surface that looks like that when you look at the state they’ve let their pitches get into.

[chrisyboy7]

Was how a plastic pitch should be

[TheBigO]

Yep.  I genuinely didn't know it was plastic until after the game (watching on telly with sound down).  Of course, I guess that doesn't 100% add up to it being a great playing surface but got the impression it was.

 

I'm a fitba on grass kinda guy.  I think 99% of players seem to be too.  However, I always say, rather than just plain outlawing artificial surfaces, it should perhaps be more of a minimum standard type thing.  Killie and Livvy's wouldn't meet it.  My kids play on better stuff than 2 pro teams in our top division, it's actually shameful.

[William H. Bonney]

I had no idea either. Certainly didn't look like one on TV. 

[Swanny17]

You could still see the black pellets kicking up all the time. 
 

Should not be allowed in professional football. 
 

I’d not be surprised if it was a contributing factor to Halketts injury. 

[blairdin]

I got to go on this pitch at the end of last year. It's absolutely magnificent. 

 

It would be wrong to outright ban artificial surfaces due to lack of money lower down the leagues in Scottish football. Some clubs rely on them As someone says above, a minimum standards approach is the way to go.

 

 

[BigCGilmour]

someone mentioned that Celtic ladies play there and it has recently been resurfaced.

 

[Ray Gin]

Good example of an artificial pitch done right.

 

Livi and Killie's are a disgrace.

 

[kingantti1874]

Armadale Juniors have one at the same standard of airdries one. Still not a fan of plastic in general but if we have to have it . 
 

As OP said livi and Killie are a disgrace 

[I P Knightley]

10 minutes ago, Swanny17 said:

 

I’d not be surprised if it was a contributing factor to Halketts injury. 

Add in the fact that they trained through the week on the plastic at Oriam.

Not a great formula for someone coming back from serious knee work

[TexasAndy]

Looked great on TV, much better than Killie and Livvie.

[RustyRightPeg]

Astro's of a high standard allow you to play at a good tempo. Both teams did it yesterday. Was a really good game to watch. 

[GBJambo]

Nope still awful and possibly caused the injury to Halkett. 

[Shooter McGavin]

First decent game I can remember watching on astro turf

[John Findlay]

I think alot of people need to go to Specsavers on this thread😉

[davemclaren]

I thought it took our players quite a while to get used to the pace the ball came off it at.  Certainly better than the ones at Livi or Killie though. 

[Hearts_fan]

The bounce after Vargas’s brilliant first touch took the ball away from him unnaturally. I felt he had controlled the ball superbly, despite what every commentator said.

[poultry]

I remember last season going to Netherdale to watch Gala Fairidean v cumbernauld colts, fantastic artificial pitch just the same as last night. So what does that say about Killie and Livingston ? Still don't like them but if small teams can get it right then surely SPFL teams can do it.

[RustyRightPeg]

23 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

Nope still awful and possibly caused the injury to Halkett. 

 

Would you rather watch a game of hoofball on a pitch like Partick's or Morton's on Friday night?

[Bazzas right boot]

9 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

I thought it took our players quite a while to get used to the pace the ball came off it at.  Certainly better than the ones at Livi or Killie though. 

 

It was wet as well, same things happen on grass tbh  hard/dry v soft/ wet. Ball skids , bounces different etc. 

 

Grass is preferable but if artificial grass is to be  used then it should be of that standard, not the play mats killie use.

 

How loads of folk never noticed it wasn't grass tho!

 

 

[mr fox]

1 hour ago, boag1874 said:

Would never have known it was plastic on first viewing, probably the best one I’ve seen. If they were all looked after that well then there would be no controversy over them.
 

Kilmarnock & Livi should be absolutely ashamed of themselves that a team who’ve been out the top flight for decades have an artificial surface that looks like that when you look at the state they’ve let their pitches get into.

Funny we could not work out at first as it looks superb.Agree with above spot on.

[XB52]

A top quality plastic pitch is better than a bad grass pitch. There has to be a minimum standard applied in the top flight though

[Harry Potter]

1 hour ago, boag1874 said:

Would never have known it was plastic on first viewing, probably the best one I’ve seen. If they were all looked after that well then there would be no controversy over them.
 

Kilmarnock & Livi should be absolutely ashamed of themselves that a team who’ve been out the top flight for decades have an artificial surface that looks like that when you look at the state they’ve let their pitches get into.

Was rather lovely, livi take note, killie getting a new one soon.

[David McCaig]

1 hour ago, chrisyboy7 said:

Was how a plastic pitch should be

 

To be honest the Airdrie surface is so good, its better than the vast majority of grass pitches.  Certainly vastly better than the ploughed field awaiting us at Cappielow!!

[Francis Albert]

39 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

I thought it took our players quite a while to get used to the pace the ball came off it at.  Certainly better than the ones at Livi or Killie though. 

3 up after 20 minutes suggests it did not cause us too much trouble.

 

 

 

[davemclaren]

Just now, Francis Albert said:

3 up after 20 minutes suggests it did not cause us too much trouble.

 

 

 

I agree, might have against a better team though.  

[jtkb]

Folk blaming pitch for Halks Injury are being silly. Him carrying a lot of timber and the fact he has constantly been injured for years now is the reason. Unfortunately do not think he will get back to being a brilliant defender for us. Him in his prime and franky Kent together would have been like mcliesh and Miller thou shall not pass . But he will hopefully be useful through a season if the bench if he can get semi fit again you could see the sweat pouring of him after 10mins sad to see.

[John Findlay]

1 hour ago, davemclaren said:

I thought it took our players quite a while to get used to the pace the ball came off it at.  Certainly better than the ones at Livi or Killie though. 

I think they learned quite a bit from Spartans pitch in the previous round.

[tiger Rudi]

1 hour ago, Hearts_fan said:

The bounce after Vargas’s brilliant first touch took the ball away from him unnaturally. I felt he had controlled the ball superbly, despite what every commentator said.

Yes I saw that too. His first touch was sublime, a normal "grass" bounce would have seen us talking about that goal and finish for a long long time. 

[By The Light..]

1 hour ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Astro's of a high standard allow you to play at a good tempo. Both teams did it yesterday. Was a really good game to watch. 

 

I thought that as well no random bounces like I've seen at Dunfermline, Killie or Livi.

 

McFayden commented on the quality of it before k/o

[Super_Hans]

It's the fault of the SPFL that not all artificial surfaces are like this. If they allow the use of them then they should have impose a standard one (Airdrie's, if that's the best) that all clubs should install.

Not a mish mash of various quality  throughout the leagues.

[innerjambo]

Yeah would never have known. I don't think it's so much about maintaining the pitch, as the quality of pitch they buy in the first place. Obviously the quality is improving as time goes on, but Livingston and Hamilton pitches are a disgrace. 

[Cruyff]

It's still a plastic pitch and they should be outlawed in the game at professional level. 

[davemclaren]

1 hour ago, John Findlay said:

I think they learned quite a bit from Spartans pitch in the previous round.

Good point. 👍

[Chuck Berry]

1 hour ago, XB52 said:

A top quality plastic pitch is better than a bad grass pitch. There has to be a minimum standard applied in the top flight though

 

This.    Airdrie, Spartans, Gala, all top quality and well maintained.

 

3g pitches don't all come out of the same factory, there are different manuafacturers and slightly different ways to lay them. Also they generally play better during the first 5 years of their lifespan.  Usage and maintenance has a big part to play in how quickly they need replaced.

 

I was at Caley Braves v Hearts B on Saturday, the 3g was shockling. Clearly a Council maintained facility and it just hasn't been maintained at all by the looks of it and probably over used. The worst thing that can happen with a 3g is the individual plastic grass blades snap and fold over so the surface changes into what we all hate ie variable bounce and hard.

 

As part of the SFA Licence, these pitches need to pass a FIFA test on a regular basis, consistency of play, bounce etc.  I have no idea how the Caley Braves one passes it TBH, its the type of pitch that gives 3g a bad name.

[Chuck Berry]

42 minutes ago, Super_Hans said:

It's the fault of the SPFL that not all artificial surfaces are like this. If they allow the use of them then they should have impose a standard one (Airdrie's, if that's the best) that all clubs should install.

Not a mish mash of various quality  throughout the leagues.

 

I have nothing against 3g pitches, but this is a fair point.  There needs to be an "approved" supplier almost and perhaps also a self life imposed before replacement.   3g lasts around 10/12 years, but in the second half of that even the best maintained pitches can deteriorate badly, particularly with heavy use.

 

At Premiership level maybe a 6 year limit before replacement, and must be installed by an approved manaufacturer(s)

[Dazo]

17 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

It's still a plastic pitch and they should be outlawed in the game at professional level. 

I agree but since it is allowed it really should be top quality and highly maintained. With that pitch not even 2 years old I’m not sure we are at the stage where they deserve any credit as yet for the the state of it. 
 

I’d also add how the hell didn’t people know it wasn’t grass ? Ffs you could see straight away it was plastic. 😂

[Cruyff]

10 minutes ago, Dazo said:

I agree but since it is allowed it really should be top quality and highly maintained. With that pitch not even 2 years old I’m not sure we are at the stage where they deserve any credit as yet for the the state of it. 
 

I’d also add how the hell didn’t people know it wasn’t grass ? Ffs you could see straight away it was plastic. 😂

I certainly agree with that. 

Livi and Killies are a joke. 

Thankfully Killie are ripping theirs up at the end of the season and putting in a hybrid pitch and building a new training facility. Nice to see. 

[John Findlay]

15 minutes ago, Chuck Berry said:

 

This.    Airdrie, Spartans, Gala, all top quality and well maintained.

 

3g pitches don't all come out of the same factory, there are different manuafacturers and slightly different ways to lay them. Also they generally play better during the first 5 years of their lifespan.  Usage and maintenance has a big part to play in how quickly they need replaced.

 

I was at Caley Braves v Hearts B on Saturday, the 3g was shockling. Clearly a Council maintained facility and it just hasn't been maintained at all by the looks of it and probably over used. The worst thing that can happen with a 3g is the individual plastic grass blades snap and fold over so the surface changes into what we all hate ie variable bounce and hard.

 

As part of the SFA Licence, these pitches need to pass a FIFA test on a regular basis, consistency of play, bounce etc.  I have no idea how the Caley Braves one passes it TBH, its the type of pitch that gives 3g a bad name.

My laddie was playing on Gala's pitch yesterday, and it is very good for an artificial grass surface. More chuffed as his team won 1-0.

[Thomaso]

2 hours ago, RustyRightPeg said:

 

Would you rather watch a game of hoofball on a pitch like Partick's or Morton's on Friday night?

You can bet yer boots Imrie will have the pitch like a ploughed field for our tie!

[D4nny_]

Thought the pitch was excellent. It’s how a plastic pitch should be. Even the bounce and run of the ball looked a million times superior to Killie and Livi’s pitches.

[Fozzyonthefence]

3 hours ago, GBJambo said:

Nope still awful and possibly caused the injury to Halkett. 

Was it really?  And what caused all his other ones?  You know, the umpteen he got playing on grass?  Much more likely down to his chocolate legs unfortunately. 

[Fozzyonthefence]

21 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

You can bet yer boots Imrie will have the pitch like a ploughed field for our tie!

And guaranteed they won’t play as open as Airdrie did (hope they do though). 

[GBJambo]

3 minutes ago, Fozzyonthefence said:

Was it really?  And what caused all his other ones?  You know, the umpteen he got playing on grass?  Much more likely down to his chocolate legs unfortunately. 

“Possibly”

[Dallas Green]

I've played on it and it isn't that great a surface, again compared to decent grass, but it is 100% better than Livi or Killie's.

It looks better too because the fake grass is in better condition and the lines are ****ing luminous! At the game though you could see all the black pellets firing up with every bounce and watching it back on TV you could see it as well.

They have their place and for a just promoted championship side, it's decent for them. Livi and Killie, not so much.





 

[jtkb]

Fortunately the jobby that would not flush .

Livingston .

Will get flushed this season and that terrible pitch and team will hopefully never play in the spl again.

Airdrie with far lessor budget has put them to shame.

Not a big fan of these pitches but Airdrie one looked and played decent.

[No Idle Talk]

As far as plastic pitches go it looked pretty good. My view on plastic pitches remains unchanged though. They have no place in our top division.

[gar jambo]

6 hours ago, TheBigO said:

Yep.  I genuinely didn't know it was plastic until after the game (watching on telly with sound down).  Of course, I guess that doesn't 100% add up to it being a great playing surface but got the impression it was.

 

I'm a fitba on grass kinda guy.  I think 99% of players seem to be too.  However, I always say, rather than just plain outlawing artificial surfaces, it should perhaps be more of a minimum standard type thing.  Killie and Livvy's wouldn't meet it.  My kids play on better stuff than 2 pro teams in our top division, it's actually shameful.

Best one I have seen in Scottish football 

[I P Knightley]

5 hours ago, Hearts_fan said:

The bounce after Vargas’s brilliant first touch took the ball away from him unnaturally. I felt he had controlled the ball superbly, despite what every commentator said.

Good observation. The ball appeared to accelerate when it hit the ground. 

 

Mind you, as others have said, if it had been on a freshly ploughed field at Cappielow, who know where it might have gone? 

4 hours ago, jtkb said:

Folk blaming pitch for Halks Injury are being silly. Him carrying a lot of timber and the fact he has constantly been injured for years now is the reason. Unfortunately do not think he will get back to being a brilliant defender for us. Him in his prime and franky Kent together would have been like mcliesh and Miller thou shall not pass . But he will hopefully be useful through a season if the bench if he can get semi fit again you could see the sweat pouring of him after 10mins sad to see.

There's a combination of factors and it's widely accepted that playing on a synthetic pitch does nobody's knees any favours. The outdoors one at Oriam (where I believe they trained last week) is alright but doesn't look as good as Airdrie's. 

 

If he were to train and play on only grass surfaces until the end of the season, you remove one risk factor and give him a greater chance of a full and lasting recovery. 

 

Also, if he is carrying more weight than is ideal, surely the club should be looking at the decision to have played him. They can measure that easily and will know what the risk to his knees is of carrying that extra timber. If it's the case that he's overweight, then, whatever the surface, he shouldn't be on the park; not when there's adequate replacements. It would be another risk taken unnecessarily.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Was impressed by their pitch compared to other plastic dross. Killie and Livi should be banned from premier as theirs are absolutely shite compared to that.