Croke park pitch

**Jamjar** · 30/01/2007, 9:37 AM

Have the gaa sorted out the pitch in Croke park. It was getting a lot of criticism from players last year, and with all the extra matches being played this year it will be in rag order by the time of the Wales match.

**bawn79** · 30/01/2007, 10:11 AM

As far as I know the players complained about that the bounce was different to a normal hurling field. Shouldnt effect soccer too much I think.

**Jamjar** · 30/01/2007, 10:17 AM

......"Meanwhile, several highprofile names in Gaelic games have expressed concern about the suitability of Croke Park for other sports. The stadium will host its first ever rugby international on 11 February when Ireland take on France. The Irish team trained there this week and had no complaints, but amongst those offering a different view was former Clare manager Anthony Daly.
"To us it just seemed that no matter what boot you wore, you can't get any grip.
I don't know what that will mean for soccer but there will be plenty of skinned knees for the rugby lads.
Underneath it's still very hard and in a game like rugby, with that level of physicality, it is a worry because you are talking about guys' livelihoods."
Cork hurler Tom Kenny also expressed his concern.
"When you have to turn or stop suddenly, your feet just go from under you. But the other issue is the hardness of the pitch. Sometimes your studs sink in just fine but there are stages you are running and it feels really hard.
It's similar to when you are running out of the tunnel with your boots on. Those factors, if they are to affect anything, will affect the scrum. The force exerted is so great, either players' boots will dig in hard and find grip while tearing up the pitch, or their feet will just go from under them."

**Kingdom** · 30/01/2007, 10:17 AM

There is no problem with the Croke Park pitch in terms of smoothness or quality. It will be perfect for the matches we'll have it. The "problem" was thew bounce of the sliotar during the championship, unpredictable or some tosh, and another problem was during the summer when they had to water the pitch continuously it was creating a slicppy surface while being bone hard underneath thereby confusing players as to the type of stud to wear.

**leather** · 30/01/2007, 10:27 AM

Croke park has exactly the same pitch as villa park, anfield, upton park and i think old trafford & arsenal.... it is all about the preperation of the pitch ... has anybody ever noticed that even in winter these pitches are being watered upto kick off.the above pitches are very seldom played on in summer , unfortunatley for the Gaa players most matches are played in the summer(very dry one last year), and are part of double and triple headers. dont know the gaa 's watering schedule but by the time the main championship matches start 3-4 pm the pitch will not have been watered in probably 24 hrs.. that is a long time for a sand based pitch in the middle of the summer... only natural for pitch to be rock hard then

**paul_oshea** · 30/01/2007, 12:26 PM

add chelsea to that list too leather.

kingdom are you sure that it was a case of being unsure which stud to wear? i just thought the pitch was really greasy, at least it looks like that when a player is runnning at 90, stops to turn around and slips on his side as they cant grip the soil.

**Kingdom** · 31/01/2007, 2:41 AM

I suppose my point is that in February/March there should be no problem in terms of the Croker Pitch being too hard. Nor will it be too boggy.

Paul you are right in that the GAA players in the height of their season find the pitch greasy/slick , whatever you want to call it.

**deadman** · 31/01/2007, 10:19 AM

i hear tyrone's john devine broke his collar bone at croker last night

hope it had nothing to do with the pitch

**Lionel Ritchie** · 31/01/2007, 10:38 AM

Just on pitch upkeep in general. I remember being on a tour of Elland Road a few years back and they told us that the grass is cut twice a day from october to april and THREE times a day from May to september.

**galwayhoop** · 31/01/2007, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

Just on pitch upkeep in general. I remember being on a tour of Elland Road a few years back and they told us that the grass is cut twice a day from october to april and THREE times a day from May to september.

wonder if they'll be cutting it that much when they are playing 3rd tier football next season???

**SuperDave** · 06/02/2007, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

wonder if they'll be cutting it that much when they are playing 3rd tier football next season???

it won't been the only cutting going on.

**passinginterest** · 06/02/2007, 4:17 PM

Anyone else thing the pitch looked a bit dodgy for Dublin Tyrone the other night? Grass was a bit longer than usual but I thought it looked a bit patchy in places, and seemed to cut up a bit. After a few games of rugby I'd be worried that it might be a bit of a mess for the soccer. Any one else worried?

**cullenswood** · 06/02/2007, 4:25 PM

We played on the Lansdowne Road surface for years, I dont think Croke Park will be any worse than that

**pete** · 06/02/2007, 5:42 PM

If the pitch is too hard then going to be a lot of injuries in the rugby games so that will be a good marker.

Bumps & uneven surface would never be noticed for GAA or rugby so football could be going into unknown territory. Maybe a bumpy surface is the only way Ireland can win now anyway?

**paul_oshea** · 07/02/2007, 10:23 AM

passinginterest, didnt see all of the game, but from what i saw in teh first half I would agree with you. grass way too long for soccer.

**greatbleddyman** · 07/02/2007, 10:34 AM

Bumpy surface? That pitch is like a billiard table. The grass may have been that bit longer for a GAA match but be assured it will be manicured however the soccer guys want it.

It shouldn't cut up either, that synthethic mesh holds it together well.

The problem with it is that it seems to be a little softer layer at the top that doesn't hold the stud on a sharp turn. |However its the exact same surface as most of the top premiership pitches.

If anything it will be more alien to a gaa player than to a premiership footballer

**leather** · 07/02/2007, 10:35 AM

A Lot Of Work Carried Out On Surface Of Croke Park Since Sept, No Suprise That Grass Is A Bit Long, Probably Letting It Grow To Protect It From The Rugby. Not Sure When Soccer Matches Are Due To Be Played But If It Is In March Or April The Natural Growth Will Have Commenced And Then The Can Clip It Down To What Ever Height Is Required. Cant Understand All The Worry.. Jesus We're Comming From Lansdowne Rd For God Sake..seen Better Junior Soccer Pitches..

**Jerry The Saint** · 07/02/2007, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by leather

A Lot Of Work Carried Out On Surface Of Croke Park Since Sept, No Suprise That Grass Is A Bit Long, Probably Letting It Grow To Protect It From The Rugby. Not Sure When Soccer Matches Are Due To Be Played But If It Is In March Or April The Natural Growth Will Have Commenced And Then The Can Clip It Down To What Ever Height Is Required. Cant Understand All The Worry.. Jesus We're Comming From Lansdowne Rd For God Sake..seen Better Junior Soccer Pitches..

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