Astro Park

[passinginterest]

OK I know it's not quite a different sport but didn't see where else I could post this.

I've been playing out in DCU on Monday evenings for the last few weeks and I have to say I think the pitches out there are great. The surface is made up of rubber chippings rather than sand and I find it's much easier on the joints than the astro parks in Coolock or Tallaght. Plus the ball runs at a more regular pace.

Thought I'd mention this as there seems to be plenty of free pitches out there every week if anyone is looking for somewhere to play. I know a lot of the other astro places around seem to be fully booked up.

Anyone else like this kind of surface or do you prefer the sand based pitches? Is this similar to what they use for full size pitches like the one in Dundalk?

[gilberto_eire]

OK I know it's not quite a different sport but didn't see where else I could post this.

I've been playing out in DCU on Monday evenings for the last few weeks and I have to say I think the pitches out there are great. The surface is made up of rubber chippings rather than sand and I find it's much easier on the joints than the astro parks in Coolock or Tallaght. Plus the ball runs at a more regular pace.

Thought I'd mention this as there seems to be plenty of free pitches out there every week if anyone is looking for somewhere to play. I know a lot of the other astro places around seem to be fully booked up.

Anyone else like this kind of surface or do you prefer the sand based pitches? Is this similar to what they use for full size pitches like the one in Dundalk?

no they defo dont use this for proper football it wouldnt be legal!!.... ya we play on them down here too(on mondays) and obviously there better then sand..... the sand ones are only really there for hockey to be also played on them too(to maximise revenue) and arent suited to football at all when you think of grip on them in wet(and dry for that matter)
very dangerous also if you took a fall on one when you consider they are as hard as concrete.... we play a inter-firm league(on wednesdays) on a sand one and the dangers would be there(in your mind) when you go into a tackle.
the ball doesnt bounce right on them too goes too high when it hits.

[NeilMcD]

Best ones to me are the ESB ones at Sportsco in Dublin 4

[DmanDmythDledge]

no they defo dont use this for proper football it wouldnt be legal!!....
:confused: Eh Dundalk.

[smellyfeet]

:confused: Eh Dundalk.

Also the AFL in Dublin use the same thing...
It is legal.

[Wolfie]

OK I know it's not quite a different sport but didn't see where else I could post this.

I've been playing out in DCU on Monday evenings for the last few weeks and I have to say I think the pitches out there are great. The surface is made up of rubber chippings rather than sand and I find it's much easier on the joints than the astro parks in Coolock or Tallaght. Plus the ball runs at a more regular pace.

Thought I'd mention this as there seems to be plenty of free pitches out there every week if anyone is looking for somewhere to play. I know a lot of the other astro places around seem to be fully booked up.

Anyone else like this kind of surface or do you prefer the sand based pitches? Is this similar to what they use for full size pitches like the one in Dundalk?


Thanks for the tip-off. We've been playing every week at Coolock Astro for a year and its been dodgy on the joints alright. DCU aint too far away.

The injuries might have something to do with being completely unfit and over 30 though.

We'd be brutal regardless of what pitch we're on!!! :)

[gilberto_eire]

Also the AFL in Dublin use the same thing...
It is legal.

the stuff with all the rubber isnt legal!!

[DmanDmythDledge]

the stuff with all the rubber isnt legal!!
It is. It's everywhere. Dundalk use it on their main pitch, AFAIK Longford and Sligo use it on their all-weather pitches and loads of schoolboy teams in Dublin use it.

If you still think it's illegal prove it.

[gilberto_eire]

It is. It's everywhere. Dundalk use it on their main pitch, AFAIK Longford and Sligo use it on their all-weather pitches and loads of schoolboy teams in Dublin use it.

If you still think it's illegal prove it.

well you cant wear studs on it so i rest my case..... you think when you play in the oriel you can only wear blades or astros??... even blades rip it up... the stuff in cages in way cheaper.....you sayin junior clubs etc... can afford same thing as pro clubs??

[DmanDmythDledge]

well you cant wear studs on it so i rest my case.....
First of all how would that make it illegal? Secondly you can wear studs.


you sayin junior clubs etc... can afford same thing as pro clubs??
Eh no, stop being an arsehole, you know I didn't say that. What's that got to do with this anyway? Doesn't matter if it's different quality it's not bloody illegal.

Again I'll ask you show proof that it's illegal.

[gilberto_eire]

First of all how would that make it illegal? Secondly you can wear studs.


Eh no, stop being an arsehole, you know I didn't say that. What's that got to do with this anyway? Doesn't matter if it's different quality it's not bloody illegal.

Again I'll ask you show proof that it's illegal.

ya well any of the ones around galway, you cant wear studs on them!. and the way he described it, it was the same type of pitches with the bits of rubber.... ooh so your allowed play a proper match on a pitch you cant wear studs on??
i know you didnt say that i wasnt saying you did, i was pointing out that the stuff the councils build/junior clubs is not the same stuff..... its a way cheaper standard..... prove it how?... we're on a internet forum!.
if its provable you prove it since your asking that!

[SligoBrewer]

ya well any of the ones around galway, you cant wear studs on them!. and the way he described it, it was the same type of pitches with the bits of rubber.... ooh so your allowed play a proper match on a pitch you cant wear studs on??
i know you didnt say that i wasnt saying you did, i was pointing out that the stuff the councils build/junior clubs is not the same stuff..... its a way cheaper standard..... prove it how?... we're on a internet forum!.
if its provable you prove it since your asking that!

oh ffs gilberto eire... grow up. are you 12?

the fifa rules are online..go find it gilberto if its illegal.

[gilberto_eire]

oh ffs gilberto eire... grow up. are you 12?

the fifa rules are online..go find it gilberto if its illegal.

i didnt say artifical pitches are illegal i said the types you see in cages around the place are a sub-standard version and wouldnt be legal to play on...the top of the range ones are virtually identical to a real pitch..... so read all the posts before you selevt a few words and have a go... no im not 12 but that was a great guess(u deserve a pat of the back for that)

[DmanDmythDledge]

ya well any of the ones around galway, you cant wear studs on them!. and the way he described it, it was the same type of pitches with the bits of rubber.... ooh so your allowed play a proper match on a pitch you cant wear studs on??
i know you didnt say that i wasnt saying you did, i was pointing out that the stuff the councils build/junior clubs is not the same stuff..... its a way cheaper standard..... prove it how?... we're on a internet forum!.
if its provable you prove it since your asking that!
OK fair enough if they don't let you do that in Galway.

Dundalk, Dunfermline and Borussia Mönchengladbach is plenty of proof. Strikes of desperation when you try to avoid a question.


i didnt say artifical pitches are illegal i said the types you see in cages around the place are a sub-standard version and wouldnt be legal to play on...the top of the range ones are virtually identical to a real pitch..... so read all the posts before you selevt a few words and have a go...
So you're now backing down on your original claim that they are illegal?

[gilberto_eire]

OK fair enough if they don't let you do that in Galway.

Dundalk, Dunfermline and Borussia Mönchengladbach is plenty of proof. Strikes of desperation when you try to avoid a question.


So you're now backing down on your original claim that they are illegal?

i know that those teams use them im saying that the ones you see in cages around the place are differant and wouldnt be legal... that after all is what we were talking about.... never mentioned the types that dundalk and that use...its way differant then the stuff you get in cages around the place.... the thing they use is identical to grass and costs 10's of 1000's... the stuff in cages is along the same lines of stuff bit differant... you cant wear studs on it if you slid in shorts it would cut ya it would be illegal!! its inferior quality to the stuff on those other pitches!!

[sligoman]

the types you see in cages around the place are a sub-standard version and wouldnt be legal to play on
the ones you see in cages around the place are differant and wouldnt be legalSo if the guards caught you playing football on it they'd arrest you for it?:confused::rolleyes:

[gilberto_eire]

So if the guards caught you playing football on it they'd arrest you for it?:confused::rolleyes:

sligo comedy at its best!!:rolleyes:

[Pedro m]

i know that those teams use them im saying that the ones you see in cages around the place are differant and wouldnt be legal... that after all is what we were talking about.... never mentioned the types that dundalk and that use...its way differant then the stuff you get in cages around the place.... the thing they use is identical to grass and costs 10's of 1000's... the stuff in cages is along the same lines of stuff bit differant... you cant wear studs on it if you slid in shorts it would cut ya it would be illegal!! its inferior quality to the stuff on those other pitches!!

You are seriously showing your ignorance on this subject.In the last year or so i know of 3 clubs (Crumlin Utd, Peamount Utd and Greystones Utd) that have all installed the same standard pitch as Oriel park!Crumlin played the whole season on theirs and the other plan to next season i believe. There is many grades of synthetic surface and yes not all are a high enough standard to play official games on but many and particulary new ones are.In fact on the newer ones you cant wear runners on, boots only. You dont need a whole lot to play 5 a side on.
And as for cost try 100's of thousands not 10's its at least €500,000 for a FIFA cert synthetic pitch.

[gilberto_eire]

You are seriously showing your ignorance on this subject.In the last year or so i know of 3 clubs (Crumlin Utd, Peamount Utd and Greystones Utd) that have all installed the same standard pitch as Oriel park!Crumlin played the whole season on theirs and the other plan to next season i believe. There is many grades of synthetic surface and yes not all are a high enough standard to play official games on but many and particulary new ones are.In fact on the newer ones you cant wear runners on, boots only. You dont need a whole lot to play 5 a side on.
And as for cost try 100's of thousands not 10's its at least €500,000 for a FIFA cert synthetic pitch.

well your just kinda after sayin, what im trying to say!!.... the 1st post was a fella saying he found cages with artificial surface and he asked was it the same as the stuff in oriel and in relation to the cages standard i said it wouldnt be legal.... as the stuff on full-size pitches is much more grass like and has to follow strict conditions.... in all cages ive seen anyway you cant wear studs and if you slide or fell it can and does cut ya.... so in relation to them they are nowhere near the same as the stuff dundalk has etc.... although it comes frm the same ''family''

[Pedro m]

As you say here?



i know you didnt say that i wasnt saying you did, i was pointing out that the stuff the councils build/junior clubs is not the same stuff..... its a way cheaper standard..... prove it how?... we're on a internet forum!.
if its provable you prove it since your asking that!

The 3 i mentioned are in "cages" as you call them. Anything i know of built in the last 2 or 3 years can take studs.
Ye and a standard public park pitch cant be used for eircom league games but they're not illigal as you call it.All-weather pitches have come along way from the "Astro" day of runners.


o they defo dont use this for proper football it wouldnt be legal!!.... ya we play on them down here too(on mondays) and obviously there better then sand..... the sand ones are only really there for hockey to be also played on them too(to maximise revenue) and arent suited to football at all when you think of grip on them in wet(and dry for that matter)

the ones i mentioned are sand based and so too is oriel - a mixture of sand and rubber granules....................

[Supersaint]

Best ones to me are the ESB ones at Sportsco in Dublin 4



have to agree with you the pitchs and facilitys out there are very good.it's a pity they dont run a public league though. i know they do run a tournament for the people who work in esb.

[kingdomkerry]

UCD cages and poligrass pitches are very good. Newtown park avenue is crap. Completely waterlogged

[sullanefc]

Dmandmythdleg-end, Sligoman and Pedro - question for ye Three Wise Men.
What exactly did Gilberto do to generate such a wave of Condescending Smugness from ye three very knowledgeable know-alls???

Answer for ye - He offered his opinion on passinginterests original question and might just have got one of his facts wrong! So fcuking what??

Grow up the three of ye - jaysus if you were to trawl through all your own posts I'm sure you posted some misinformation before.

Its ye 3 that need to grow up !

Just after seeing this thread now and the only know all, acting like a twelve year old was gilberto eire.

I managed a school team last year and we played one game in Oriel and we were asked not to wear steel studs, so I assume eL teams can't either. The surface had the black chippings in it and was identical to the suff that I play five a side on, in a cage.

[gilberto_eire]

Just after seeing this thread now and the only know all, acting like a twelve year old was gilberto eire.

I managed a school team last year and we played one game in Oriel and we were asked not to wear steel studs, so I assume eL teams can't either. The surface had the black chippings in it and was identical to the suff that I play five a side on, in a cage.

i wasnt been a ''know it all'' theres no way the FIFA standard pitches are the same most junior clubs have. FIFA set regulations for all-weather pithes... from the 3 differant places i played on them in galway none would have met the criteria(im just going to base that on the cut factor from a fall and lack of ability to slide tackle)
so when passinginterest asked was the pitch he played on the same as Dundalks i said no as it would be illegal...although that came across as me saying that all-weather pitches in general were illegal. i just meant that of any i came across they were cheaper versions and wouldnt match FIFA regulations!.

so basically my whole point was that poorer quality pitches are used by junior clubs and wouldnt match FIFA playing regulations

P.S he didnt ask for you for comment and i dont appreciate you refering to me as a ''12 yr old'', find something better to do with your spare time then replying for other ppl ;)

[monutdfc]

AFAIK, Studs and blades shorten the life of the surface, so commercially operated pitches often won't allow them even if the surface can take them. I'd imagine the same would apply to club pitches when they are renting them out as opposed to using them themselves.

[gilberto_eire]

AFAIK, Studs and blades shorten the life of the surface, so commercially operated pitches often won't allow them even if the surface can take them. I'd imagine the same would apply to club pitches when they are renting them out as opposed to using them themselves.

in any of the ones ive played on they were strict about the studs.... blades and moulds were fine. after all the studs dont sink into it anyway so your better off playing in runners.

[sullanefc]

P.S he didnt ask for you for comment and i dont appreciate you refering to me as a ''12 yr old'', find something better to do with your spare time then replying for other ppl ;)

Fair enough, I take back the 12 year old comment. But you were still talking like a know it all in your response to the first post. Even though you were wrong :p

[gilberto_eire]

Fair enough, I take back the 12 year old comment. But you were still talking like a know it all in your response to the first post. Even though you were wrong :p

no i wasnt i just didnt state clearly what i meant!!..... read it again bearing in mind i was talking about the standard.... the adverage ones not been up to FIFA regulations i.e illegal.... i just didnt state my point clearly enough and it all went pearshaped from there... came across like i meant all-weather pitches were'nt allowed!!

[inexile]

well any one i have played or trained on in limerick cork dublin and galway would not be classed as "illegal" the afl complex in dublin is very similar if not the exact same as any of the ones in "cages" as you say and thats fine i do think you are wrong gilberto. any of the ones built in the last 5 years or so especially are better than most grass pitches you will play on.

[gilberto_eire]

well any one i have played or trained on in limerick cork dublin and galway would not be classed as "illegal" the afl complex in dublin is very similar if not the exact same as any of the ones in "cages" as you say and thats fine i do think you are wrong gilberto. any of the ones built in the last 5 years or so especially are better than most grass pitches you will play on.

What i meant is they wouldnt pass the FIFA standards for sliding on, maybe im wrong but any i played on would cut the legs off you if you slid on them!!

I dont see why any junior clubs would get them up to FIFA playing standards, whats the advantage?.

There just there to make a few quid