Winter Sports


“Fans would often prefer to see football retain a sense of the unexpected - and even the unjust - rather than risk sanitising the overall player and spectator experience”


and sentiment is hugely influential, and cannot be overlooked in a debate such as this. Fans would often prefer to see football retain a sense of the unexpected - and even the unjust - rather than risk sanitising the overall player and spectator experience. A quick look at the online message boards reflects this, with fans unhappy at the prospect of the ‘perfect pitch’ taking the fun out of football, and deriding the notion of the ‘hallowed plastic’. There is a similar dispute ongoing about the need for goal-line technology, in which parallels with this debate can be drawn. Those in favour argue that the technology is there, it is already used in other sports, and it would cause minimal fuss to implement, whilst the rewards for clubs could be significant - an incorrectly


allowed/disallowed goal could determine a club’s league position come the end of the season, with clear financial implications. Those opposed to goal-line technology are concerned it will remove the human (read: ‘natural’) element from the game. Goal-line technology and the introduction of artificial surfaces could see clubs benefit economically, yet both face fierce opposition on the grounds of tradition. It is certainly no bad thing to want to hold on to traditions, but sentiment surely cannot act as a barrier to change when the economic realities of life in the Football League are threatening the existence of entire football clubs? A key argument against the


3G surface cleaning at Ipswich Town FC


introduction of artificial surfaces is that they have no place in professional football. The move towards a greater


acceptance of artificial turf is evident, with its prevalence in schools, leisure centres and training facilities across the country. Many professional clubs boast a 3rd Generation pitch within their academy resources, and young footballers are training daily to develop their skills on artificial pitches that are widely acknowledged to encourage a technically superior style of play, as the focus tends towards passing accuracy and a faster, flowing style of football. Yet, still there is a


reluctance to transfer this to the professional game, at least in England. In Scotland and Wales, pragmatism has won over many doubters: the success story of The New Saints FC (TNS) has encouraged other clubs within the Welsh Premier League to introduce artificial pitches, and has proved no barrier to the club’s own domestic and European ambitions, as their FIFA 2* 3G Ligaturf pitch can host Europa League and


Champions League matches, as well as league fixtures. The pitch at Park Hall Stadium is maintained on a regular basis with a combination of regular sweeps, decompactions and remedial works, which has helped to preserve the playing characteristics of the surface to FIFA-approved standards. To be able to host matches at the highest level of European football, it is vital for The New Saints to safeguard their ‘FIFA Recommended’ status, and, to that end, the club has committed to an ongoing maintenance contract over a five-year period. Mike Davies, former


Director of Football at TNS,


■ Regular Sweeping ■ 3G Decompactions ■ Infill Top-Ups ■ Vegetation Treatments ■ Machinery & Equipment ■ Demonstrations & Training ■ Specialist Deep-Cleaning ■ Infill Extraction & Replacement ■ Line Marking ■ Repairs


84 PC APRIL/MAY 2012


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