Alan Cawley on Oriel Park Pitch

[CuanaD]

He's definitely right in the second part of that article about the fixtures.... Our game away to Limerick, by far the closest derby, was scheduled for a regular Monday night earlier in April. Absurd.

The fixtures don't have to be randomly drawn, everyone plays each other anyway. They should be used to maximise attendances.

I think we could go a little further on that one too - if Dundalk are home to Drogs on Good Friday, why not have the opposite fixture on Easter Monday too - Derry v Sligo followed by Sligo v Derry on Monday etc.
That would instantly add to the excitement of a Total Football Derby Weekend & give the opportunity to link ticket sales - things like 'buy home & away tickets & get free coach travel/free scarf/whatever'

[Ezeikial]

I was in UCD a couple of weeks ago and Dundalk players mentioned afterwards that they were forced to play a more aerial game as they couldn't play their normal quick passing game on the deck as the ball was bobbling all over the place.

Just like at Oriel.

What a comedian (you are joking, aren't you?)

The only aerial hoofball I have seen at Oriel Park this season came from Rovers.

Whatever about other issues, the pitch facilitates playing passing football.

[pineapple stu]

I think we could go a little further on that one too - if Dundalk are home to Drogs on Good Friday, why not have the opposite fixture on Easter Monday too - Derry v Sligo followed by Sligo v Derry on Monday etc.

They used to have that back in the 90s. I think the complaint was that if you had a couple of players missing for, say, a two-match ban or a short-term injury, playing a title rival twice in three days would put you at an extra disadvantage.

[Charlie Darwin]

What a comedian (you are joking, aren't you?)

The only aerial hoofball I have seen at Oriel Park this season came from Rovers.

Whatever about other issues, the pitch facilitates playing passing football.

Not sure why you'd think that's a joke. Dundalk fans here often complain about teams going to Oriel and playing long ball football. Anybody who watched the Rovers Setanta game could see why Rovers were going long - any pass along the pitch that went further than a few yards hopped up in the air, and both teams were affected. It facilitates passing football in the sense that anything other than a short pass is unpredictable.

[White Horse]

Anybody who watched the Rovers Setanta game could see why Rovers were going long - any pass along the pitch that went further than a few yards hopped up in the air, and both teams were affected. It facilitates passing football in the sense that anything other than a short pass is unpredictable.

Complete rubbish.

The ball runs quickly when the pitch is properly watered. However, it runs stright and true and doesn't bobble.

There was an issue a couple of seasons ago with the ball bobbling. However, this was due to the rubber pellets forming into clusters due to lack of brushing. The pitch is now brushed every week.

[Charlie Darwin]

I saw the ball bobbling a week ago. It might suit Dundalk as it encourages a short passing game because it's unpredictable.

[Ezeikial]

Not sure why you'd think that's a joke. Dundalk fans here often complain about teams going to Oriel and playing long ball football. Anybody who watched the Rovers Setanta game could see why Rovers were going long - any pass along the pitch that went further than a few yards hopped up in the air, and both teams were affected. It facilitates passing football in the sense that anything other than a short pass is unpredictable.

My conclusion on your series of post is that either

a) you are trolling
b) you are deluded
or
c)you are too busying making over 10,000 posts to actually go to or understand football

Only Rovers played aerial hoofball in Oriel so far this season

[PartySaint]

Only Rovers played aerial hoofball in Oriel so far this season

I'm pretty sure if I checked back through threads (obviously not going to bother) Dundalk fans will be accusing whatever team they were playing at home against that week of 'hoofing' the ball

[Charlie Darwin]

My conclusion on your series of post is that either

a) you are trolling
b) you are deluded
or
c)you are too busying making over 10,000 posts to actually go to or understand football

Only Rovers played aerial hoofball in Oriel so far this season

Correct on all three Zeke. I acknowledged at the time that Rovers played hoofball and it was awful to watch. I also commented that the pitch was terrible, because it was, and outside of Dundalk most people recognise that.

[Louth4sam]

Correct on all three Zeke. I acknowledged at the time that Rovers played hoofball and it was awful to watch. I also commented that the pitch was terrible, because it was, and outside of Dundalk most people recognise that.

Why did Rovers stop playing hoof ball when they were chasing the game last Friday? Did the pitch suddenly become playable?

[oriel]

I would personally prefer if we played on a grass surface,hence my signature (for quite a long time) however I do agree with a point above, I think by Whitehorse, it does for some reason look really bad on tv. I made a point at looking at it up close at the last Rovers game and it looked surprisingly good.

The source of income would be a loss if it ever was changed back, the local winter league being one area for example that make a good contribution yearly, however the club must be paying a fair bit on maintenance also.

I'm not sure what options the club have if it was to change back to grass, Nov to Feb are obviously not good grass growing months, so if they did change they would have to follow the same process that clubs in UK do when they replace their entire pitch.

The loss of income from rentals would need to be factored in, as would not having it being made readily available for community events, and although as i said my personal preference would be grass, I also do not accept the current pitch is near as bad as some are making out.

[Ezeikial]

I'm pretty sure if I checked back through threads (obviously not going to bother) Dundalk fans will be accusing whatever team they were playing at home against that week of 'hoofing' the ball

Limerick, Bohemians and Derry were the other teams that have visited Oriel Park in the league so far this season. All 3 came with a defensive approach, but only Shamrock Rovers adopted a strategy of aerial hoofball.

In away games only Drogheda had a preference for 'direct football'

[dundalkfc10]

Correct on all three Zeke. I acknowledged at the time that Rovers played hoofball and it was awful to watch. I also commented that the pitch was terrible, because it was, and outside of Dundalk most people recognise that.

Why did Rovers play hoofball against us in Tallaght then in the 1st leg of the Setanta Cup, Do Rovers not like Tallaghts surface either or is it just a fact ya play hoofball in most games and not just in Oriel, or is it just against Dundalk?

[Charlie Darwin]

Why did Rovers play hoofball against us in Tallaght then in the 1st leg of the Setanta Cup, Do Rovers not like Tallaghts surface either or is it just a fact ya play hoofball in most games and not just in Oriel, or is it just against Dundalk?

In the first half, Dundalk put us under so much pressure we couldn't string a pass together. Second half Rovers played a short passing game, albeit a pretty ineffective one.

[Mr_Parker]

Well maintained or not, artificial pitches are a joke.

The only one I've ever seen behave remotely similarly to grass is the one the Portland Timbers play on, and even that isn't that great. Their surface is FieldTurf. What is the surface at Oriel?

An NFL research panel found that the incidence of serious knee and ankle injuries (especially ACL injuries) are 88% higher on artificial turf. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4988136

Didn't realise that American football was played on artificial surfaces designed for soccer.

Anyway, much better to look at the research of those looking into injuries caused to soccer players who found claims of increased injuries to be rubbish.

[Mr_Parker]

Point 1: Oriel pitch clearly has a case to answer. No other UEFA-approved surface I've seen in any professional European league looks as threadbare and discoloured as Oriel.

You do realise that UEFA don't approve such surfaces?

[geysir]

Should there be a pristine grass pitch at Oriel, it would be advantage Dundalk, visiting teams will be found wanting, the league would be won before September.

Is there not some other space in Dundalk where the plastic can be moved to?

[jinxy lilywhite]

Interesting article on the DFC mag re the OP pitch.
This is the most rigourisly tested pitch in the country and it passes each and every time without fail.
Its is trested in 19 points on the pitch and each time for the bounce of the ball, ball roll, resistance (ability of a player to change direction without causing stress on ligaments or if too low causes slips, shock absorption to test the pitch isn't too soft or hard, and vertical deformation to test of players stress on ankle ligaments.
Each year the pitch is required to pass a FIFA 1 star and it has done every year to participate in the LOI
For European football we are required to pass a FIFA 2 star. This has been passed by FIFA licensed Independent testing company Labosports.

The fact of the matter is that OP is the most stringently tested pitch in Ireland. For some of the cabbage patches I have seen this year around the country these pitches would not pass the tests that we have to undertake every year.

The club is well within the rules of the game for this surface and has passed every test given. People either need to put up or shut up.

Does it give us an advantage? I hope so but it gives us an advantage no more that what Dalymount does for Bohs, Tallaght for Rovers, Inchicore for Pats, United pk for Drogheda, showgrounds for Sligo, Carlisle for Bray, Belfield for UCD, Brandywell for Derry, X for Cork, Lissywollen for Athlone, Thomond for Limerick.

I think we should talk more about the long grass in Tallaght that slows down the ball, the slope in the Brandywell and the the mounds around the goal area in Dalymount,

[Dodge]

People either need to put up or shut up.

Put up what?

[Nesta99]

Not a fan of the gimmicks on MNS/Soccer Republic but Free Kick Kings did show the unpredictable bounce of the Dalymount pitch.