Pitch

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 02:29 AM

Sorry if someone else has mentioned it, but that pitch is as absolute disgrace for top level football. Plays into teams like Livi and Ross County’s hands. So bobbly, slippy and downright awful. For a team that wants to play football, having a surface that bad is hopeless and needs rectified ASAP.

***jeffers*** · 03-01-2021 08:35 AM

I watched the OF game yesterday, our pitch didn’t look any worse than the one at Ibrox.

**SingaporeHibs** · 03-01-2021 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by hibbysam

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Sorry if someone else has mentioned it, but that pitch is as absolute disgrace for top level football. Plays into teams like Livi and Ross County’s hands. So bobbly, slippy and downright awful. For a team that wants to play football, having a surface that bad is hopeless and needs rectified ASAP.

The rapid deterioration of the pitch is just down to the use of the under soil heating needed to offset the weather.

**Iain G** · 03-01-2021 08:54 AM

So can we sack the pitch?

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by SingaporeHibs

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The rapid deterioration of the pitch is just down to the use of the under soil heating needed to offset the weather.

Surely no, we’ll use our undersoil heating every year and it’s been a long time since I seen it quite as bad as it is now. That yesterday looked no better than a public park and makes playing football almost impossible.

**Tully** · 03-01-2021 09:03 AM

Pitch nothing to do with the way we are playing, manager needs to take blame for the last 2 matches no the pitch

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by Tully

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Pitch nothing to do with the way we are playing, manager needs to take blame for the last 2 matches no the pitch

It has something to do with it. We’ve been rank but when you can’t pass the ball about because it’s bobbling all over the place and you can’t turn because you slip on your arse then it’s no great. We all want to see quality football and the ball being zipped about, but when it’s like that all you can do is shell it long and against Livi it suits them to a tee and makes it a battle that they love.

**Kaff** · 03-01-2021 09:39 AM

Scotland has to look at pitches.
It's easier said than done but I would have a central fund that every club in top league got the same amount from but it would be for the installation and maintenance of a hybrid pitch, no 100% artificial surfaces.
Our pitch yesterday allows teams like Livi to sit off and concede possession waiting for the inevitable mistake and then capitalise on it high up with pumped clearances etc. They executed it perfectly and played well within that set up, we had to get the first goal and paid heavily by being so slack.
I haven't seen it but I can only imagine how dire the Don's v Arabs was when you've got 2 teams playing like Livi but the only alternative is to play a long ball game and rely on knockdowns etc, old fashioned football that will get us nowhere as a nation.
Obviously there's no money in the game and we've just signed a long term TV deal but those pitches were ultimately what changed the style of football able to be played in England and I'm staggered that a TV company hasn't seen Scotland as an easy cheaper option to upgrade than having to pump billions into getting allowed to play Brighton v Wolves and the like.
I have a fear we're going to see poor quality games now until March/April as the standard we have in Scotland aren't quite good enough to shine on these grassless bumpy pitches

***neil7908*** · 03-01-2021 09:42 AM

Paul McGinn mentioned it after the County game as well. Not making excuses for the players but I don't think it helps us.

***Alfred E Newman*** · 03-01-2021 09:45 AM

I always think that most top level pitches are cut too short during the winter months nowadays. The game was maybe more direct in days gone by but the fact that the modern over passing game dictates that the ball has to be able to zip across the surface on closely mown and watered pitches doesn't help.

***Carheenlea*** · 03-01-2021 09:49 AM

The hybrid pitches are the way forward, but fans will always be demanding that players are signed at every window, whether it’s to speculate to accumulate during good spells or to dig out from a mess at the bottom. There appears little enthusiasm for investment in infrastructure and facilities.
Ron Gordon spoke a lot about refurbishment of Easter Road and infrastructure, so I wonder if hybrid surfaces has been given any consideration.

***superfurryhibby*** · 03-01-2021 09:51 AM

The pitch is the same for both teams.

Sack the pitch.

**Kaff** · 03-01-2021 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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The pitch is the same for both teams.

Sack the pitch.

Of course you're right but the problem is when you get two teams trying to sit off and let the other have possession waiting for mistakes, absolute bore fest MacInnes would delight in with a big finish at the end to try and get all 3 pts.
We do try to play possession game, albeit a bit too stilted a lot of the time, and for that we need a reliable surface.
We never lost yesterday because of the pitch, this is a general point on seeing how poor it and Ibrox was yesterday

***Keith_M*** · 03-01-2021 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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The pitch is the same for both teams.

Sack the pitch.

County and Livi didn't seem to have a problem with the pitch.

There was a couple of posts on here after the County game saying the pitch was too wide for how we play.

Conversely, some people suggested before the Semi Final that we'd thrive on the wide Hampden pitch (which is actually the same size as ER) and that Hearts would struggle with it.

We apparently used to have a problem playing on plastic pitches, yet our results this season would suggest the opposite is now true.

Is it possible that we were actually just crap the last two games, and that the players were the problem, not the surface?

***Stuart93*** · 03-01-2021 10:07 AM

For the pitch being so bad I actually thought both Ross county and livi passed it about well and played some nice stuff.

It only seemed to be us who wanted to shell the ball forward from defence.

It’s a lazy & poor excuse when the two teams who’ve beat you were able to play decent football on it.

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by Stuart93

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For the pitch being so bad I actually thought both Ross county and livi passed it about well and played some nice stuff.

It only seemed to be us who wanted to shell the ball forward from defence.

It’s a lazy & poor excuse when the two teams who’ve beat you were able to play decent football on it.

Livi never passed the ball well, the played the conditions well. They rarely had to make more than 3/4 passes, they sat in, allowed us to commit bodies and make a mistake, and either made the passes into our final third or leathered it long or into channels and knew we’d struggle. We try and find pass after pass in tight areas on a pitch like that, playing the same pass straight into Nisbet or Doidge’s feet with their back to goal and have to come back the way. It’s not lazy to want a proper surface to play football on, I don’t pay my money to watch a dog fight on a ***** pitch, I want us to be able to play football on it.

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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The pitch is the same for both teams.

Sack the pitch.

Of course it is, but all teams play in different ways. Some rely on the pitch to be decent, others don’t. We’d be as well doing away with the groundsmen if that’s the case and just play on whatever we end up with as it would be the same for both teams.

**GreenCastle** · 03-01-2021 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Keith_M

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County and Livi didn't seem to have a problem with the pitch.

There was a couple of posts on here after the County game saying the pitch was too wide for how we play.

Conversely, some people suggested before the Semi Final that we'd thrive on the wide Hampden pitch (which is actually the same size as ER) and that Hearts would struggle with it.

We apparently used to have a problem playing on plastic pitches, yet our results this season would suggest the opposite is now true.

Is it possible that we were actually just crap the last two games, and that the players were the problem, not the surface?

Fair points - I do think that due to the way set up as the poster above says we fell into the the trap of our open expansive 4-3-3 being picked off by poor passing and Livi counter attacks / attacks.

I’ve said for several years ER doesn’t look good around this time of year - not ideal considering it doesn’t host that many games..had a few women’s internationals and not sure if the club have trained on it or not.

But it’s a concern when McGinn comes out and mentions it to the press - then you watch the game and see some awful passes and players taking extra touches. Not all to do with pitch and same for both teams obviously but you have to wonder how many ground staff we have looking after it and when will it need replaced ? It was reseed at end of the season ?

**ancient hibee** · 03-01-2021 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by hibbysam

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Livi never passed the ball well, the played the conditions well. They rarely had to make more than 3/4 passes, they sat in, allowed us to commit bodies and make a mistake, and either made the passes into our final third or leathered it long or into channels and knew we’d struggle. We try and find pass after pass in tight areas on a pitch like that, playing the same pass straight into Nisbet or Doidge’s feet with their back to goal and have to come back the way. It’s not lazy to want a proper surface to play football on, I don’t pay my money to watch a dog fight on a ***** pitch, I want us to be able to play football on it.

A good team can play on any surface. They just have to adapt the way they play. The minute I see Hanlon and Porteous ambling up the field with ponderous passes back and forward across the park while the other team funnels back I know we’re in for a hard afternoon. Martindale said rightly that we leave too much space behind the centre halves and he aimed to get the ball there quickly.We on the other hand continually played the ball to players with their back facing where they wanted to go. Lack of game awareness not pitch quality for me.

**Iain G** · 03-01-2021 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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The pitch is the same for both teams.

Sack the pitch.

Plenty on here could actually put their pitch forks to a good use

**Silky** · 03-01-2021 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by Tully

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Pitch nothing to do with the way we are playing, manager needs to take blame for the last 2 matches no the pitch

But we're quick enough to critcise the plastic pitches at Hamilton, Killie and Livingston and how "you can't play on them". Hmmm......

**~~Peevemor~~** · 03-01-2021 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by Silky

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But we're quick enough to critcise the plastic pitches at Hamilton, Killie and Livingston and how "you can't play on them". Hmmm......

But these teams play on their bad artificial surface every 2nd match, so can get used to them. That's totally different than a pitch that is bad because of the weather.

**hibbysam** · 03-01-2021 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by ancient hibee

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A good team can play on any surface. They just have to adapt the way they play. The minute I see Hanlon and Porteous ambling up the field with ponderous passes back and forward across the park while the other team funnels back I know we’re in for a hard afternoon. Martindale said rightly that we leave too much space behind the centre halves and he aimed to get the ball there quickly.We on the other hand continually played the ball to players with their back facing where they wanted to go. Lack of game awareness not pitch quality for me.

Of course you have to adapt, however we can still look to have a decent surface for our own players. It’s no use having a home pitch that doesn’t suit our style of play, that’s not home advantage. Our pitch is seriously bad, and we should be looking to sort that.

***superfurryhibby*** · 04-01-2021 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by hibbysam

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Of course it is, but all teams play in different ways. Some rely on the pitch to be decent, others don’t. We’d be as well doing away with the groundsmen if that’s the case and just play on whatever we end up with as it would be the same for both teams.

Maybe some teams want the pitch to be ideal but weather and other factors mean that it is not?

I’m not sure how we go from accepting that the pitch is suffering, but recognising that it’s the same for both sides, to doing away with ground staff though?

Do you imagine believe if the pitch was in ideal condition then we would have beat Ross County and Livi? Personally, I think we would have been humped in both games, mostly because we were gash.

**MB62** · 04-01-2021 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Stuart93

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For the pitch being so bad I actually thought both Ross county and livi passed it about well and played some nice stuff.

It only seemed to be us who wanted to shell the ball forward from defence.

It’s a lazy & poor excuse when the two teams who’ve beat you were able to play decent football on it.

It's neither poor nor lazy but a fact, the pitch is in a shocking condition. Whether it contributed to our defeats is debateable, but the pitch is a shocker.

**hibbysam** · 04-01-2021 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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Maybe some teams want the pitch to be ideal but weather and other factors mean that it is not?

I’m not sure how we go from accepting that the pitch is suffering, but recognising that it’s the same for both sides, to doing away with ground staff though?

Do you imagine believe if the pitch was in ideal condition then we would have beat Ross County and Livi? Personally, I think we would have been humped in both games, mostly because we were gash.

Because if the state of the pitch doesn’t matter than what’s the point in paying people to ‘maintain’ it? I think it would have given us a better chance, I’m not for one minute saying we definitely win those games, but it’s clear pitches level up the difference in ability if the pitch is like a ploughed field which ours is.

The same for both sides argument is fine, however you also then need to recognise that it therefore suits other sides more.

***superfurryhibby*** · 04-01-2021 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by hibbysam

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Because if the state of the pitch doesn’t matter than what’s the point in paying people to ‘maintain’ it? I think it would have given us a better chance, I’m not for one minute saying we definitely win those games, but it’s clear pitches level up the difference in ability if the pitch is like a ploughed field which ours is.

The same for both sides argument is fine, however you also then need to recognise that it therefore suits other sides more.

No one has said we shouldn’t try and maintain the pitch. People are pointing out that it’s the same for two teams. That is inarguable fact.

Is it a leveller? Well judging from the two recent home games, it’s more than that as we were thumped in both.

Maybe Hibs need to adapt our style if it’s such a huge factor? Probably, not much else we can do as the pitch isn’t going to be upgraded in the January window.

Personally, I just think we were rubbish in both games. We were out thought tactically and as a result were outplayed by teams that aren’t better than us.

**hibbysam** · 04-01-2021 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by superfurryhibby

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No one has said we shouldn’t try and maintain the pitch. People are pointing out that it’s the same for two teams. That is inarguable fact.

Is it a leveller? Well judging from the two recent home games, it’s more than that as we were thumped in both.

Maybe Hibs need to adapt our style if it’s such a huge factor? Probably, not much else we can do as the pitch isn’t going to be upgraded in the January window.

Personally, I just think we were rubbish in both games. We were out thought tactically and as a result were outplayed by teams that aren’t better than us.

100% we need to adapt for the time being, but then the fans also have to accept that nice silky football isn’t going to be played at home, and that style of play makes it more a 50/50 game than it would be in ideal conditions against these teams.

I agree we’ve been poor, and naive in our recent games, however my original point was that the pitch is a mess and needs sorting, which it is and it does. I don’t want to watch ‘football’ being played on fields, especially the top level of our game.