Chance to get rid of plastic pitches

[er yir macaroon]

Now that there is only one club with a plastic pitch in the SPFL, there would appear to be a good chance to get a winning 11-1 vote to ban them. Should this be attempted?
Kilmarnock wouldn’t have conceded the the second goal last night on a grass pitch. Burke caught his feet on it and the ball trickled out of play for a corner... 

[Rolling hIlls]

Totally agree. You will never hear a player or manager within a team that has a plastic pitch say that though. Someone on another thread saying it is down to economics. That is a crap argument. We never trained on our grass pitch. We used local community places. And we were not a premier team. So that economic argument is a load of p....

[vanderark14]

16 minutes ago, Rolling hIlls said:

Totally agree. You will never hear a player or manager within a team that has a plastic pitch say that though. Someone on another thread saying it is down to economics. That is a crap argument. We never trained on our grass pitch. We used local community places. And we were not a premier team. So that economic argument is a load of p....

It's actually a very good argument for keeping them. For some clubs every penny is a prisoner, if plastic pitches enable them to save money then I say let them do it. 

It's not a big issues for me

[Diamond Scot]

42 minutes ago, Rolling hIlls said:

Totally agree. You will never hear a player or manager within a team that has a plastic pitch say that though. Someone on another thread saying it is down to economics. That is a crap argument. We never trained on our grass pitch. We used local community places. And we were not a premier team. So that economic argument is a load of p....

You cant make money from a grass pitch though. It literally sits there doing nothing for 13 days out of 14. 

An astro pitch can be bringing in 100 quid an hour, every day other than a few hours either side of the match. 

Plus your youth teams can all use it amd therefore no additional cost.

Then you have the fact that maintaining an astro pitch is considerbly cheaper than grass.

Financially they 100% make sence.

[Rolling hIlls]

13 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

You cant make money from a grass pitch though. It literally sits there doing nothing for 13 days out of 14. 

An astro pitch can be bringing in 100 quid an hour, every day other than a few hours either side of the match. 

Plus your youth teams can all use it amd therefore no additional cost.

Then you have the fact that maintaining an astro pitch is considerbly cheaper than grass.

Financially they 100% make sence.

Ask a football player or manager that. How do junior clubs survive without plastic pitches. Easy answer. They train in local community. Anyone that has ever played the game knows that plastic pitches are shite. When I was up at livingstone two years ago I spoke to the chairman.  They never get a booking as the local community centres are a 5th of the price. A waste of money which no player, and I mean no player wants to play on.

[Rolling hIlls]

19 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

You cant make money from a grass pitch though. It literally sits there doing nothing for 13 days out of 14. 

An astro pitch can be bringing in 100 quid an hour, every day other than a few hours either side of the match. 

Plus your youth teams can all use it amd therefore no additional cost.

Then you have the fact that maintaining an astro pitch is considerbly cheaper than grass.

Financially they 100% make sence.

A 100 quid an hour? Which planet do you live on? Would you pay that when you can get your local community centre for £10 an hour? And even then they will only be used at certain times of the week by old codgers or a local side who train two nights a week.

[vanderark14]

33 minutes ago, Rolling hIlls said:

Ask a football player or manager that. How do junior clubs survive without plastic pitches. Easy answer. They train in local community. Anyone that has ever played the game knows that plastic pitches are shite. When I was up at livingstone two years ago I spoke to the chairman.  They never get a booking as the local community centres are a 5th of the price. A waste of money which no player, and I mean no player wants to play on.

The local pitches around here are used regularly as are plastic pitches back home. Plenty of platers play on them and have no problem with it. You're speaking out of your arse as always 

[morrie21]

It really depends on the size of club and how active they are in their local community whether or not having an astro field works for them. Along at Stenny the pitch is astro and they also have two 6-a-side pods at one end which they hire out to bring in additional revenue. As for the main pitch itself it gets used for training and all their age group teams use it also. Again makes sense from a revenue point of view for a small community club. When the main pitch isn't in use they run a Twilight Football programme for local youngster to come along and use the facilities for free, so giving a bit back to the community in that respect. 

 

[er yir macaroon]

Astroturf gives you shin splints, and is bad for the joints. I think there could be a few insurance claims from ex-players on the horizon.

For fans, the product is diabolical. The bounce is all wrong, as is the pace of the ball on the deck. I hate watching Livingston and it makes the league look Mickey Mouse level. If teams can’t afford it they’re in the wrong league, and it disadvantages clubs who make the effort to keep a grass one. 

[Diamond Scot]

2 hours ago, Rolling hIlls said:

A 100 quid an hour? Which planet do you live on? Would you pay that when you can get your local community centre for £10 an hour? And even then they will only be used at certain times of the week by old codgers or a local side who train two nights a week.

The pitches get split into thirds and are normally about 30 quid per third. They are often hired out for kids tournaments etc.

The question wasnt about whether players or managers like them. It was about money. Astro pitches make money where grass pitches cost money. Its as simple as that.

Itd funny the Livi chairman told you that as ive played 3 full day tournamanents there over the past 3 or 4 years alone. Ive also played a good few times at Airdrie which seems to always have a healthy booking sheet.

Im not sure what planet you can get a full pitch for £10 an hour but please send the details as im sure clubs up and down the country would love to know for training and games.

[Rolling hIlls]

2 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

The pitches get split into thirds and are normally about 30 quid per third. They are often hired out for kids tournaments etc.

The question wasnt about whether players or managers like them. It was about money. Astro pitches make money where grass pitches cost money. Its as simple as that.

Itd funny the Livi chairman told you that as ive played 3 full day tournamanents there over the past 3 or 4 years alone. Ive also played a good few times at Airdrie which seems to always have a healthy booking sheet.

Im not sure what planet you can get a full pitch for £10 an hour but please send the details as im sure clubs up and down the country would love to know for training and games.

There are at least 3 astro pitches at the back of the macaroni stadium which livingstone own. These are booked by local kids teams. They won't book the main pitch as too big. And old timers who play five a sides wouldn't book the main pitch either. Look. Everyone has different points of view on this. But players and supporters hate them. That is the main thing. The economic argument is nonsense. Youth clubs etc won't pay £100 per hour when there is one next door for a fraction of that. When I took my school team up for the Scottish Cup livingstone gave us the park for free. It was a great experience for the kids and myself as a coach. And we won. But livingstone never made a penny out of that. Every school now has astro so no need to hire a senior clubs pitch. And most schools can rent them out at night. So. There is no economic argument and they should not be allowed in top flight football.

[Scotland1234]

19 minutes ago, Rolling hIlls said:

There are at least 3 astro pitches at the back of the macaroni stadium which livingstone own. These are booked by local kids teams. They won't book the main pitch as too big. And old timers who play five a sides wouldn't book the main pitch either. Look. Everyone has different points of view on this. But players and supporters hate them. That is the main thing. The economic argument is nonsense. Youth clubs etc won't pay £100 per hour when there is one next door for a fraction of that. When I took my school team up for the Scottish Cup livingstone gave us the park for free. It was a great experience for the kids and myself as a coach. And we won. But livingstone never made a penny out of that. Every school now has astro so no need to hire a senior clubs pitch. And most schools can rent them out at night. So. There is no economic argument and they should not be allowed in top flight football.

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Scotland1234
Mistake

[Rolling hIlls]

3 minutes ago, Scotland1234 said:

Livingston don’t own anything. West Lothian council own the stadium. They put the plastic pitch in. It is their pitch to install or remove. The pitches behind the stadium are again not owned by the football club but the council. 
700 children each week play on the pitch because it is Astro turf. It’s incredible. 
 

the argument for it looking Mickey Mouse to me is not even touching the sides. 
so much about Scottish football isn’t “ great to watch” to the outside but I don’t wanna be like the premier league in England. All that money. No thanks. I happen to love Scottish football for all it’s ups and downs. Maybe plastic isn’t the best but it serves a purpose and if it helps clubs to support their communities then I don’t have an issue with it.

while FIFA allow these pitches I can’t see in law that they could force them to be removed. Could be wrong though but it could become messy. 
 

there are 16 plastic pitches in the Scottish football professional leagues. 

Good post.  I assumed livingstone owned them. But you have to admit. As players and fans plastic pitches are not ideal in top flight football. I have been up to livingstone on a Sunday morning and plenty of kids at the back parks but none inside the stadium. Watching football live on TV at the like of killie and livingstone is like watching a training session. IMO but also in just about every professional player and manager. They can't all be wrong.

[Diamond Scot]

2 hours ago, Rolling hIlls said:

There are at least 3 astro pitches at the back of the macaroni stadium which livingstone own. These are booked by local kids teams. They won't book the main pitch as too big. And old timers who play five a sides wouldn't book the main pitch either. Look. Everyone has different points of view on this. But players and supporters hate them. That is the main thing. The economic argument is nonsense. Youth clubs etc won't pay £100 per hour when there is one next door for a fraction of that. When I took my school team up for the Scottish Cup livingstone gave us the park for free. It was a great experience for the kids and myself as a coach. And we won. But livingstone never made a penny out of that. Every school now has astro so no need to hire a senior clubs pitch. And most schools can rent them out at night. So. There is no economic argument and they should not be allowed in top flight football.

You keep saying that players, managers and supporters hate them. I dont think anybody is disagreeing with that. 

The point im making is in responce to them being economical. 

You highlighted Livi. Im saying that ive personally been involved in tournaments on that pitch where its been paid for.

Other stadiums like Airdrie dont have the areas outside so they exclusively hire out the actual pitch.

And ive not said a youth club would pay 100 quid for the pitch. Im saying the whole pitch can generate that. Ie 3 youth clubs hiring out a 3rd each which is what happens more often than not.

My team train on an astro pitch for 2 hours. We hire half the pitch and it aint cheap. 

If the astro pitches arent cheaper to run and dont bring in money then why do clubs install them?

[dandydunn]

56 minutes ago, Diamond Scot said:

You keep saying that players, managers and supporters hate them. I dont think anybody is disagreeing with that. 

The point im making is in responce to them being economical. 

You highlighted Livi. Im saying that ive personally been involved in tournaments on that pitch where its been paid for.

Other stadiums like Airdrie dont have the areas outside so they exclusively hire out the actual pitch.

And ive not said a youth club would pay 100 quid for the pitch. Im saying the whole pitch can generate that. Ie 3 youth clubs hiring out a 3rd each which is what happens more often than not.

My team train on an astro pitch for 2 hours. We hire half the pitch and it aint cheap. 

If the astro pitches arent cheaper to run and dont bring in money then why do clubs install them?

We train on an Astro pitch too, it’s at an academy and fully booked every week night from about 5pm until 10pm, mostly by our club, who split it into 1/3rds, but some other slots are used by others. It’s also used by the majority of our younger teams for 7 & 9 aside games too. When you compare the surfaces of that to some of the excuses for football pitches around Aberdeen, it’s a no brainer to use it. We’re using it as our home pitch as of next season. 

[dj mick]

Everytime My team is involved in a plastic pitch i know the game is going to be awful,, that said,, wasn't too clever on grass either this season so.....But personally I can't stand watching games on them but i do understand why teams have them.

[Blantyre_Braveheart]

Most plastic pitches at any decent professional level are detested and hated by players and managers alike. They are nightmare to play on and it can massively alter your game.

At semi-pro and lower league it is a bit different. It can be a bit of a game changer for clubs of that level and help them be sustainable. 

 

I'm not a fan of them in our top tier but tbh Accies wasn't too bad and Killies was more about the size of it.

Livi on the other hand have a horrific plastic pitch, that desperately needs redone. I don't think I'd ever heard of an all weather pitch having a game cancelled before. Was it 2 they cancelled and 1 pitch inspection?

 

 

 

[Diamond Scot]

12 hours ago, Blantyre_Braveheart said:

Most plastic pitches at any decent professional level are detested and hated by players and managers alike. They are nightmare to play on and it can massively alter your game.

At semi-pro and lower league it is a bit different. It can be a bit of a game changer for clubs of that level and help them be sustainable. 

 

I'm not a fan of them in our top tier but tbh Accies wasn't too bad and Killies was more about the size of it.

Livi on the other hand have a horrific plastic pitch, that desperately needs redone. I don't think I'd ever heard of an all weather pitch having a game cancelled before. Was it 2 they cancelled and 1 pitch inspection?

 

 

 

Livi's pitch is by far and away the worst modern astro ive ever played on. Its actually uneven. Im not even sure how thats possible. Its literally covered in the wee black balls to the extent the football doesnt roll normally.

Airdrie's is decent but the best one ive played on is Spartans. It was top notch and ball was very true. Actually enjoyed it more than playing on grass.

I dont think they should be allowed in the top flight but I can see why clubs do it. 

We should have hundreds more of them indoors though.