Hampden bosses criticised by FA pitch expert over the cursed surface

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A PITCH expert who works as an advisor to The FA has criticised Hampden bosses for their management of the cursed surface.

 

Work began yesterday at the national stadium to relay the park for the fifth time in seven years ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals, just a month on from it last being done.

 

While the current repair is carried out at no cost to Hampden Park Ltd - the management company who takes care of the stadium’s maintenance - it was reported the previous work ran up to as much as £200,000.

 

Jason Booth, the general manager of the Institute of Groundsmanship, has criticised the business plan that has seen temporary fixes used at the famous ground in recent years.

 

“What is unbelievable is that you are talking about Hampden having this number of returfs. They have done nearly a million pounds in a few years,” he said.

 

“It’s obvious that that business wants to get a certain amount of use out of that pitch. It’s obvious that over the last two to three years, that pitch hasn’t been able to deliver that amount of use.

 

“You would like to think as a business and an organisation, you are looking at options to get that use out of it. A reinforced pitch is the obvious way to look and you would like to think they are looking at options for the long term. From what I’m being told they are using at the minute, it’s not quite working.”

 

It is understood it is 100 per cent natural grass that is used at Hampden instead of ‘hybrid’ pitches that many top clubs now opt for.

 

Knowing this turf only has a matter of a few days to knit together before this weekend’s crunch games – including the Old Firm derby on Sunday – Booth has deep reservations.

 

“It’s not ideal,” said Booth, who as well as working for the FA has also been head groundsman at Headingley cricket and rugby grounds. “The question we all have to ask is ‘Is it natural turf or reinforced?’ If it is the latter then the playability is going to go up, if not then you have the potential to have a few issues.

 

“Going on the quality of turf, you are going to have damage. It’s just how much. If the turf is not of the standard that is required for that level of football, you are going to have issues with ball roll and playability.

 

“They put a lot of water on the pitch at top level football for the ball to skid along at a fast pace. If the quality of the turf is anything below substandard, that water starts to affect players footing as it stays on the surface. It becomes very slippery.

 

He added: “It’s like a car. You don’t try get 100 miles an hour out of a car that can only do 80. You also have to consider who has built it.

 

“It’s not just a matter of if you lay a pitch will it be ready for the Saturday, there are a lot of factors going into it.”

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14420172.Hampden_bosses_criticised_by_FA_pitch_expert_over_the_cursed_surface/