Admin (No PMs Please!)
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"3G" Pitches (ie: artificial / rubber crumb)What reaction would you have if the League said (after careful deliberation),
"We will allow the extensive use of 3G (ie: rubber crumb/artificial) pitches for Competitive matches during the season."
Of course, there are pros and cons to this, so think carefully before you answer! Another note to mention is that we may start seeing more of these types of pitches created in the Leicestershire area within the next 3 or 4 years. This would obviously create more opportunities for Clubs to find a ground. As stated though, there are pros and cons!
Feel free to reply to this thread stating the pros and cons you can think of... you may mention something that others did not think of. This may help them decide whether to agree or disagree!
Note: This is not a given... just sounding out what the Clubs' reactions would be if this ever happened. Please do not think that this will automatically happen as it is up to the League to make the decision - County FA would have no say in this matter.
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Celtic_Steve
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Pros:
Beats the weather
Creates uniform surface to promote fast/passing play
Makes it easy for the ref (lines aren't buried under a clod of earth).
Less likely to pick up rough ground injuries (such as twisting an ankle in a divot).
Most are floodlit allowing night/midweek games to take place.
Cons:
Slide tackling hurts
Pitches need to be kept wet (ideally) to simulate grass play
They're expensive to hire
You get more injuries from falls (in my experience anyway) than you would on normal turf.
Even though the pitch at Loughborough College is excellent I still think it falls short of being a pitch you could sustain a season campaign on. It's ok for a few friendlies or a summer tournament but I wouldn't want all of our league games played on it.
That said, last season we had seven consecutive games called off because of waterlogged pitches - if that happened, say, more than twice in a row it would be good to be able to fall-back on an all-weather surface to prevent the April/May backlog.
*phew*
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Admin (No PMs Please!)
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| Celtic_Steve wrote: | | Cons: They're expensive to hire |
The majority of the 3G pitches that the League may entertain as being worthy of use for Competitive matches would be competitively priced.
Also, if teams commit to using any of them, the League would try to reach an arrangement with them to try and drive the costs lower for teams on a match basis.
Not guaranteed by any means, but it would mean paying roughly £5 more per match than that of a Local Authority. I have already been in talks with a couple of places that already exist (LBoro College for example), and there are possibilities of cheaper rates for both League use AND regular use (ie, at least twice every 5 weeks minimum).
Think this may bring a bit more onto the tables  Something to think about anyway I think.
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