potty trained Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 As manager of the team, should Archie be going to our board and demanding that serious investment be made in ensuring we have a pitch capable of allowing football to be played on it? Regardless of what division we are in, regardless of cost, surely the most important thing is the pitch? You can have the best players available, spend all your budget attracting star names. But it counts for nothing if these guys can't make accurate passes to feet on the grass. There is something not right, be it the under soil heating, how it is used or how the pitch is maintained, that is leading to Firhill being a mess. Grass doesn't grow over night, there's no quick fix to repairing the state it's in. If we are a club which is going to use our style of play as a way of attracting and keeping new fans, the players need a pitch to play on. Otherwise we have to watch rubbish, high ball punts for 90 minutes. And no one will want to keep watching that! Should we be moving away from under soil heating all together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 On the BBC highlights the pitch looks brown, like we're playing on red blaze! It's ridiculous! It was only just relaid in order to improve the overall condition, but it looks worse than when we had rugby being played on it! I can't understand why people would prefer this to an artificial turf. At least with that, we would have a permanent surface our players could get used to playing on, and have a wee advantage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 The pitch is a disgrace. I have always been against it, but seeing some of the current artificial pitches I am beginning to change my stance. It would eventually make the club money and it would mean Firhill being used 7 days a week and extra income via the hire and if they opened a bar in the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fearchar Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 To be fair, the pitch looks in a much better state than the one in our national stadium, and I'd say it's much better than it has been in the past, and until about Christmas it held up much better than we could expect. If players can't pass to team-mates' feet, that isn't entirely due to an uneven pitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 But the Hampden pitch was front-page news as a NATIONAL DISGRACE!!! after those diddies played there last week. Are we supposed to be happy if we can get half a season out of the grass before it goes to farmland hell? Change is desperately needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Firhill has had a poor playing surface for as long as I can remember - I recall Gordon Strachan saying it was his least favourite away ground to play at for that reason...that must have been over 30 years ago. When Jim Oliver was first involved, he identified problems with the drainage and there was some improvement. The ground sharing with Clyde, Hamilton and particularly Glasgow Warriors caused real problems. Fans complain with some justification about the type of football played on artificial surfaces but even the worst of those is better than Firhill at present. If there is a solution that can be found, it's certainly an investment that the Board should give priority to. In Cricket, the home team has the pitch prepared to suit their own strengths - for example, a hard, bouncy surface if they have really quick bowlers. We are doing the opposite - a bumpy rutted surface which makes quick pass & move football difficult and forces us into hoofs to small strikers - we used to do this to Shaw & McGlashan. It might also help if the SPFL didn't arrange additional midweek games in January - it's cold, people are short of money, the playing surfaces are poor and don't get the chance to recover - why don't we play more games in April and May rather than January? Do the Board have a view on this...or indeed on anything? It's supposed to be an entertainment - surely the game should be played on a decent playing surface. No wonder crowds are down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 (edited) On the BBC highlights the pitch looks brown, like we're playing on red blaze! It's ridiculous! It was only just relaid in order to improve the overall condition, but it looks worse than when we had rugby being played on it! I can't understand why people would prefer this to an artificial turf. At least with that, we would have a permanent surface our players could get used to playing on, and have a wee advantage? Not worth hijacking the thread to start yet again going on about what's wrong (or right) with artificial pitches. Besides it's not addressing the OP's points. Artificial surfaces aren't exactly conducive to good football. The pitch is poor and I agree there's no reason why it should be so relatively poor. The quality of football we play should be a priority and provided it's a sustainable we need to invest in the playing surface. Edited February 8, 2015 by lady-isobel-barnett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 In regard to the OP then, should we remove the undersoil heating completely? Does that contribute to the poor state of the pitch, and would removing it mean a better, longer lasting surface? When was the pitch completely relaid? Last Summer or the Summer before? I forget. But that must have been a substantial investment ... which hasn't done much good. Did we keep the receipt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simoncordiner Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 The pitch at St Johnstone was even worse... Freezing conditions and undersoil heating destroy the pitch. And grass doesn't grow for 5 months during the winter. I'd rather a plastic pitch than playing on that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fawlty Towers Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 As manager of the team, should Archie be going to our board and demanding that serious investment be made in ensuring we have a pitch capable of allowing football to be played on it? Regardless of what division we are in, regardless of cost, surely the most important thing is the pitch? You can have the best players available, spend all your budget attracting star names. But it counts for nothing if these guys can't make accurate passes to feet on the grass. There is something not right, be it the under soil heating, how it is used or how the pitch is maintained, that is leading to Firhill being a mess. Grass doesn't grow over night, there's no quick fix to repairing the state it's in. If we are a club which is going to use our style of play as a way of attracting and keeping new fans, the players need a pitch to play on. Otherwise we have to watch rubbish, high ball punts for 90 minutes. And no one will want to keep watching that! Should we be moving away from under soil heating all together? The pitch does seem to have suffered since the start of the year but I would have to say Inverness seemed to be able to pass it on the deck so although a factor I don't think it is the total reason for the high balls played yesterday. I would not be against an artifical surface as long as it was one of the top level ones. Do we know how much these cost and how we would afford it - are grants available if there is an element of community usage or would the Weirs help out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 To be fair the whole ground is falling into disrepair. Decaying,half empty main stand, the bing is a total mess, the pitch not much better, filthy seats in the two other stands and although the JHS looks great, it's just too big for our fanbase. With the cameras in the JHS, the ground looks dreadful. Very little atmosphere in the ground as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 part of the problem seems to be an excess use of sand nowadays, both in laying of pitches and repairing them during season. basic simple thinking leads to fact that grass knits better and has a stronger hold when bedded in earth, than sand. how do you expect grass to recover, and form a strong knit with the ground, when there is more sand than earth in places? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerjag Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Although a better pitch would suit our style of football it wouldnt paper the cracks of the actual team. And I hate anyone make exuses for a bad pitch as its same for both teams, you have to adapt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda-jag Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 this thread reminds me of the contradiction i noted from archies comments last frday, when the day after the game when i looked at the bbc "as it happened" page and match report page on the st mirren game. in the "as it happened" page ..... 19:25 "The groundsmen have done a good job. We're delighted with it (the pitch). in the match report page ..... "You've got to play to the conditions and the pitch didn't make for playing neat passes in the middle of the pitch" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billko Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 this thread reminds me of the contradiction i noted from archies comments last frday, when the day after the game when i looked at the bbc "as it happened" page and match report page on the st mirren game. in the "as it happened" page ..... 19:25 "The groundsmen have done a good job. We're delighted with it (the pitch). in the match report page ..... "You've got to play to the conditions and the pitch didn't make for playing neat passes in the middle of the pitch" It could be that the first quote is due to how close the game was to being called off. The pitch was hard and bumpy mainly through the middle and wasn't the best surface to play a passing game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyo Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Pitch is definitely a problem. Maybe not a coincidence that Thistle's form generally (not just at Firhill) has dipped through the winter months for the last few seasons. In fact this season hasn't been as bad as the two previous. We're a footballing side and need decent pitches to play our most effective game. Yes, we have recently resorted to hoofing it, and unfortunately we're not very good at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simoncordiner Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Did anyone see the pitch at the Queen's game, looked great. Better than Killie's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billko Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Did anyone see the pitch at the Queen's game, looked great. Better than Killie's. Yes and it didn't look like they struggled to play good football on it. The latest generation pitches are pretty good and although a long way to go to match a top quality grass pitch, at this time of year these top quality grass pitches are quite rare. I believe it's the way forward for alot of teams here unless we play Summer football which isn't going to happen anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davie Thistle Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Did I say before? Canny mind, Oh aye, Summer Fitba!!! 8-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Did anyone see the pitch at the Queen's game, looked great. Better than Killie's. I seem to remember Queen Of The South were the first club in Britain to get a 5G pitch laid. Someone may confirm or correct me on that. Looks like it is a lot better than previous generations but I believe it costs a lot more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jag Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 I seem to remember Queen Of The South were the first club in Britain to get a 5G pitch laid. Someone may confirm or correct me on that. Looks like it is a lot better than previous generations but I believe it costs a lot more. Forgot I had an internet and could check myself. http://www.qosfc.com/new_newsview.aspx?newsid=1878 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 I seem to remember Queen Of The South were the first club in Britain to get a 5G pitch laid. Someone may confirm or correct me on that. Looks like it is a lot better than previous generations but I believe it costs a lot more. Thought the Palmerston pitch played well from what I saw of the highlights on Saturday. Pretty sure the club investigated this a few years back but decided it was out of reach financially. An approach to the Weirs could be a possibility, did they not pay £750,000 for Largs Thistle to get an all weather pitch? We could agree to pay them back from the profits of having the place and bars open and working 7 days a week. Pretty sure there would be plenty of interest in playing 5 a sides etc at Firhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willjag Posted February 9, 2015 Members Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 The artificial turf still needs maintenance remember and would need replaced at some point too. So obviously there are pro's and cons, maybe the Management team have decided we're better suited to playing on grass. Who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billko Posted February 10, 2015 Report Share Posted February 10, 2015 The artificial turf still needs maintenance remember and would need replaced at some point too. So obviously there are pro's and cons, maybe the Management team have decided we're better suited to playing on grass. Who knows? I think they do prefer grass Will but the pitch at Firhill has deterioated pretty bad recently after being in great condition just a couple of months back. The artificial pitch is worth looking at though especially that latest version at Palmerston if it's financially beneficial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediocre Pundit Posted February 11, 2015 Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 Are there not two problems with the Firhill pitch - both the antiquated USH and the fact that it sits below the canal? I'm sure the water-level under the pitch has been the cause of most of the bad drainage in the past which no doubt has an impact on the condition of the pitch through the season. If so then, although I'm not a huge fan, an artificial pitch (if we could afford one) could be an improvement. Wasn't the reason given for not progressing with this previously the Warriors tenancy money - not such an issue anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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