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The state of the Gayfield pitch, once among the finest in Scotland, continues to give concern. After the wettest winter on record, it made a poor playing surface for the last home game. Cost aside, should Arbroath look to install one? - view external link
Not for me,the game was founded on grass and should remain so.What surprised me at the last home game was no one was out at half-time forking the pitch where the divots were and in the second half when Wilson was in a good position to cross the ball took an unexpected bauble and the cross was not as he had meant.However back to the subject matter.
When we played at Airdrie a few seasons back I think it was Baxter then Busch had both to be substituted before half-time because of the playing surface then of course there was Kerrs horrendous knee twist at Emmerdale a few seasons later.
And of course there are the the unexpected bounces or the lack of them we have all witnessed at Alloa and Montrose.
Not for me, not at all. Please no.
One drawback is that they don't last forever and would be expensive to replace. A properly looked after grass pitch should last forever. Plastic can be a nice little earner as the fermers will testify but there was serious concern when a flare was thrown on at the Linlithgow cup tie. On balance not for me.
The way I see it;
Good Grass pitch > Good plastic pitch > Bad plastic pitch >>>>Bad grass pitch. If you're trying to cultivate a football side, it might be a little easier to do when playing on a pitch that is going to be relatively consistent throughout the season.
On balance, I think plastic will become the majority in Scotland and there are financial benefits that can be gained from it.
However, I would not be in favour of it at Gayfield. If we were to move to a new location in the other side of town for example, I think it'd be much easier to back. I say this because a lot of the revenue that can be generated from such a facility is from allowing recreational teams to use it and I'm not sure people would be that keen to play when there is a freezing gale blowing in from the sea.
Outside the financial benefits, it would perhaps allow the club to make a real attempt to become a more 'local' team as they can base training in Arbroath and that would also apply if there ever b
Grass for me on Gayfield but i think it would be great for Arbroath FC to get involved with this new venture in the town a Seaton Park where a brand new all-weather pitch is being built, imo if Emmerdale and Scumtrose can make their players train at least one night a week in their town then so should we, disagree with LL i reckon in the Tayside area we should at least be able to have the at least half of our squad being from this area, Sir Albert Henderson managed it, Dave Baikie managed it, John Brownlie managed it and so did John McGlashan and to a certain extent so did Paul Sheerin. Baikies squad was a classic with the likes of Flo/Gubby/Tins/McWalter/Sellars/Coops/Spink/both McGlashans/Scott etc etc add top players from outwith like Hinchie/Arbuckle/Cusick/Rowe/Thompson/McAulay/Galls/Mercer/Mallan he had a good balance.
In my view, it would be a particularly bad move at Gayfield. The ball always seems to move faster on a plastic pitch, so imagine how difficult it would be to keep the ball on the park on a typical windy day.
In addition, away fans consistently vote Gayfield as their favourite away trip. They often complement the club on having the best "traditional" terracing/stand configurations in the country. Part of that charm relies on having a well maintained pitch & buildings. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but it just wouldn't be the same with a green plastic rectangle in the middle.
As others have suggested, plastic might be a good idea if we ever moved away from Gayfield or if we were to contribute to a shared training facility, but I wouldn't support installing plastic as long as the home pitch remains where it is.
I spoke to someone who is very well informed on the pitch at Gayfield and he has a very interesting theory which may explain the state of the pitch.
He is aware that there used to be a drain running from behind the goal at the Plesh end out to the sea. But during the rebuilding of the sea wall this drain may have been blocked off, leading to far less drainage taking place.
Maybe something for the current ground convenor to research??
no chance lets keep the plastic for Cher's face
Interesting to hear the idea that the drains might be responsible for thw worst state of the pitch, especially coping with heavy rain. However I'd also point out that Nov-Jan have been the wettest on record in Scotland so it may be the pitch has never had to handle such conditions. I thought the seaside section at the Harbour looked particularrly cut up which is a different side to the drain you mention.
That said, even in good weather, the pitch is not what it once was. It used to regularly be mentioned as among the best in the country to play on. No longer I fear - it seems more uneven in places (the goals sit on a mound) and even the grass density less.
Since grass pitches are also prone to more postponements, despite all the purists and nostalgia seekers here, the real question is? Can Arbroath afford to maintain a grass pitch to a decent standard. The answer increasingly seems to be no, and climate change makes it likely we face wetter winters in years to come so,