Potential ban on artificial pitches in the Premiership - No to just 12 clubs voting

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

Hi folks, most will have likely seen the moves to have a Premiership-club-only vote on banning artificial surfaces in the Scottish Premiership (if you want to get up to speed, have a look at the 'artificial pitch vote' thread in the Premiership forum and this from the Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/premiership-clubs-vote-banning-plastic-32311245 ).

I imagine that for every club that has an artificial pitch, and many that don't but have a good chance of having one in future (likely ever club barring the top 5/6 teams in the country!), a ban of artificial pitches is viewed as highly damaging. But most importantly, the corrupt part of this seems to be having only 12 clubs vote on something which impacts the whole league system and the principles of merit-based competing/promotions etc. Drawing inspiration from the 'chasing VAR' thread and the idea to contact your clubs directly, I have created a template email for those who wish to raise this with their club to help prevent the ban/ensure a fair vote. I hope it is useful (and obviously edit as you see fit ).

I have sent this email to my club (Raith Rovers). I know some people will say 'emails do nothing' etc. But a) fans can make a difference by communicating with their club (see The Rangers being blocked from entry into Premiership/Championship) and b) smaller teams can use their votes to collectively out vote some of the big boys (see COVID voting). Regardless, I at least want to be able to say 'I tried' and not just be gutted about a change that I view as massively damaging for the wider game, my club and my town but not having done anything about it. I strongly urge every fan of every club impacted (now and by restricting future options) to contact their clubs. Cheers!

 

Email Template

Dear [name of CEO/supporter group/supporter liaison officer],

I'm writing to implore the club to strongly advocate (and make clear to us as fans how and when this is being undertaken):

1. to oppose the proposed ban on artificial pitches in the Premiership that is being discussed.
2. ensure that, as a matter that effects all SPFL clubs, any vote that does take place should i) entail all SPFL clubs being entitled to vote and ii) the rules regarding sufficient support in each division having to be met should be adhered to.

All 42 clubs voted on VAR. And all 42 clubs had to vote with regards to the outcomes of the COVID-forced ending of the leagues. It seems utterly unfair, bordering on a corrupt 'pulling up of the drawbridge', that only Premiership teams would vote on artificial pitches in the top flight. At the time of writing 20 clubs could still potentially be in the Premiership next season, and 32 can potentially be in the Premiership by the start of season 25/26 - having only 12 vote is preposterous.

Artificial surfaces are deemed good enough for the Champions League (see Bodø/Glimt). Grass pitches (see Dundee this very week) are notoriously unreliable in the Scottish climate. The argument that artificial pitches are bad for the game is just wrong.

[Optional: Our artificial surface has allowed our club to connect to [place] and its local population in a way that is unprecedented in our history, allowing [your team] to make major positive contributions the community. This is not something that [your club] or any other club who have (or may have in future) an artificial surface should be denied by virtue of playing in the top flight. The ability for our club to be a hub of the community and make a major contribution to the physical and mental wellbeing of people of all ages in the local community is what makes me truly proud to be a [your team] fan. It is simply not possible to do this without our artificial pitch and having to change this should we ever be promoted would be a massive disappointment and ultimately a long term own goal for the health and success of the club.  End of optional]

Many thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

HIT THE CHANNEL

[oneteaminglasgow]

Personally, I think the ban should be extended to include both artificial pitches and tangerine kits. Promotion will just have to pass to the club who finish highest and meet these criteria.

[HoBNob]

7 minutes ago, oneteaminglasgow said:

Personally, I think the ban should be extended to include both artificial pitches and tangerine kits. Promotion will just have to pass to the club who finish highest and meet these criteria.

... I could dig that. 

 

 

Is there an email template for that? 

[101]

Would be quite funny if Raith won the league and then couldn't go up.

[Peil]

[Richey Edwards]

Artificial pitches are pitches too.

[Iain]

Yeah, no, artificial pitches are a scourge in the professional game and should be kept for amateurs and children.

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

12 minutes ago, 101 said:

Would be quite funny if Raith won the league and then couldn't go up.

That isn't the worry (for what its worth our new board mentioned they are aware of potential changes coming and are planning - and based on the early stuff, you would fancy the board will get it right). The worry is we go up (sometime in the next 5 years) and doing so means we have to bring in grass that damages so much of the great work we are doing for the local community and town. It just seems a massive waste.

Not going to repeat the many excellent arguments for the merits of good artificial pitches in Scottish football  here (see thread in Prem forum) to contest comments about them not being professional (but again, they are used in the Champions League group stages!). But for other championship clubs I honestly don't understand why any have grass parks considering the benefits having an artificial one can bring. But each to their own and all that. 

 

Anyway, for those who are against artificial pitches, fair enough. Hopefully the OP is useful for even one or two, though. 

 

[FLDiamond]

Rangers losing their shit this weekend over the Dundee farce, it was a ridiculous situation but one you’ll always have with grass surfaces.   Airdrie had a postponed Dunfermline away game a few weeks ago because of a burst pipe from under soil heating. Another ‘grass’ issue.  Airdrie have played on an artificial surface for several years now.  In the long term it must be a money saver since it doesn’t need cut etc and we don’t have the frozen/waterlogged pitches etc that we all too often see in Scotland November thru March.  Some of the poor pitch conditions we’ve seen at Dunfermline, Partick Thistle in recent years can be a nightmare at the business end of the season and it doesn’t make for a good game of football.   If Raith Rovers win the league, they deserve to be in the top flight and nobody should be allowed to deny them their place.   

[101]

1 minute ago, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

Not going to repeat the many excellent arguments for the merits of good artificial pitches in Scottish football 

That's the problem though, many artificial pitches are down far far too long.

Queen of the south and Falkirk both had pitches down beyond their expected life span, well beyond in Queens case. Would imagine Raiths would be replaced this close season or next?

I think teams drag the arse out of it and that's the problem, also what do folk do with their old pitches would be good if they were donated to local uses that could use them but I suspect they end up in landfill.

[101]

2 minutes ago, FLDiamond said:

we don’t have the frozen/waterlogged pitches etc

Game was postponed at Airdrie last year due to a frozen pitch was it not.

[FLDiamond]

3 minutes ago, 101 said:

Game was postponed at Airdrie last year due to a frozen pitch was it not.

My apologies, yes, we did have a call off.   Frozen pitch.  All I can say is that is not the norm for the artificial surface and mostly the surface is playable in those weather conditions 

[Aufc]

12 minutes ago, 101 said:

That's the problem though, many artificial pitches are down far far too long.

Queen of the south and Falkirk both had pitches down beyond their expected life span, well beyond in Queens case. Would imagine Raiths would be replaced this close season or next?

I think teams drag the arse out of it and that's the problem, also what do folk do with their old pitches would be good if they were donated to local uses that could use them but I suspect they end up in landfill.

I’m sure old montrose pitch was donated to the local golf club who put it all over their course for paths 

[HIT THE CHANNEL]

15 minutes ago, 101 said:

That's the problem though, many artificial pitches are down far far too long.

Queen of the south and Falkirk both had pitches down beyond their expected life span, well beyond in Queens case. Would imagine Raiths would be replaced this close season or next?

I think teams drag the arse out of it and that's the problem, also what do folk do with their old pitches would be good if they were donated to local uses that could use them but I suspect they end up in landfill.

That’s very fair. And potential where the sweet spot is (I.e for the Premiership you cannot have a pitch older than 5 years or the like).

Edited March 18 by HIT THE CHANNEL

[scottsdad]

Ban grass pitches. They scream snobbishness.

[FLDiamond]

23 minutes ago, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

That’s very fair. And potential where the sweet spot is (I.e for the Premiership you cannot have a pitch older than 5 years or the like).

I’m not 100% sure but I think Airdries last pitch was rated for 10 years but replaced after 11 or 12 ?? It looked like it needed to go but our new pitch is less than 2 years old.  Again, I think it’s rated for 10/12 years.   I guess the club wouldn’t mind replacing it every 5 years if we were guaranteed SPL money.  

FYI - this from  Hearts fan some weeks ago after they knock us out of the Scottish Cup 

David McCaig

Posted February 12

   On 12/02/2024 at 03:02, chrisyboy7 said: 

Was how a plastic pitch should be

 

To be honest the Airdrie surface is so good, its better than the vast majority of grass pitches.  Certainly vastly better than the ploughed field awaiting us at Cappielow!!

[HoBNob]

52 minutes ago, FLDiamond said:

My apologies, yes, we did have a call off.   Frozen pitch.  All I can say is that is not the norm for the artificial surface and mostly the surface is playable in those weather conditions 

Falkirk had a game postponed this season, you then had there CEO/Chairman on twitter explaining that with there artificial pitch it wasn't recommended to sweep snow off the pitch? Because of the damage it would cause. 

There are advantages (I'd also argue some disadvantages) to a plastic pitch but years ago they seemed immune to call offs, not so much nowadays. Maybe in a effort to not ruin them so soon? 

[grumswall]

If they introduced rules around how long an artificial surface remained without being updated and how you look after it, it would make far more sense. The pitch at starks park plays better than the majority of grass pitches in the country and has done for years. To outright ban an artificial surface because livi is the known with it is just daft tbh. 

Throughout the country these pitches are building bonds with the local community in a time where councils can't. It's a big attraction for clubs trying to grow and survive. 

It's going to be self preservation as always though and it doesn't really matter what the end result is for Scottish football with that in mind. Moronic fans who see the pitch on a tv screen scream loudest. 

[FLDiamond]

This from Greenfields after installing Airdrie pitch 15 years back….. 

Less postponements with Artificial Turf

Gordon Thompson, managing director of GreenFields (All Sports) UK, says: “Just tell me when summer ends and winter begins in Scotland? We never know when to expect decent weather and matches have to be rescheduled all the time. Airdrie had to call a lot of their home games off because of the harsh winter. Neighbours Alloa and Stenhousemuir only had a few games off. Why? They both have artificial turf pitches. The club realized that there’s only one way to stop fixture pile-up and increase revenues- and that’s artificial turf.”

At the end of season 2009-2010 work began on converting the stadium pitch to meet FIFA standards, with the installation of a new 3rd generation artificial turf football pitch. Works were done by GreenFields (All Sports) UK on a full design and build basis. The new pitch will allow far greater use and limit the amount of postponements that the existing pitch is susceptible too.

As for snow, I thought you could clear an artificial pitch with a snow blower?? Not too sure.  Unsure how Falkirk fans are enjoying the playing surface but I’d hate to change it at Airdrie unless we absolutely had to for top flight reasons (no pissy comments required, don’t think we’ll see that football for a while) 

[Alert Mongoose]

2 hours ago, HIT THE CHANNEL said:

Hi folks, most will have likely seen the moves to have a Premiership-club-only vote on banning artificial surfaces in the Scottish Premiership (if you want to get up to speed, have a look at the 'artificial pitch vote' thread in the Premiership forum and this from the Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/premiership-clubs-vote-banning-plastic-32311245 ).

I imagine that for every club that has an artificial pitch, and many that don't but have a good chance of having one in future (likely ever club barring the top 5/6 teams in the country!), a ban of artificial pitches is viewed as highly damaging. But most importantly, the corrupt part of this seems to be having only 12 clubs vote on something which impacts the whole league system and the principles of merit-based competing/promotions etc. Drawing inspiration from the 'chasing VAR' thread and the idea to contact your clubs directly, I have created a template email for those who wish to raise this with their club to help prevent the ban/ensure a fair vote. I hope it is useful (and obviously edit as you see fit ).

I have sent this email to my club (Raith Rovers). I know some people will say 'emails do nothing' etc. But a) fans can make a difference by communicating with their club (see The Rangers being blocked from entry into Premiership/Championship) and b) smaller teams can use their votes to collectively out vote some of the big boys (see COVID voting). Regardless, I at least want to be able to say 'I tried' and not just be gutted about a change that I view as massively damaging for the wider game, my club and my town but not having done anything about it. I strongly urge every fan of every club impacted (now and by restricting future options) to contact their clubs. Cheers!

 

Email Template

Dear [name of CEO/supporter group/supporter liaison officer],

I'm writing to implore the club to strongly advocate (and make clear to us as fans how and when this is being undertaken):

1. to oppose the proposed ban on artificial pitches in the Premiership that is being discussed.
2. ensure that, as a matter that effects all SPFL clubs, any vote that does take place should i) entail all SPFL clubs being entitled to vote and ii) the rules regarding sufficient support in each division having to be met should be adhered to.

All 42 clubs voted on VAR. And all 42 clubs had to vote with regards to the outcomes of the COVID-forced ending of the leagues. It seems utterly unfair, bordering on a corrupt 'pulling up of the drawbridge', that only Premiership teams would vote on artificial pitches in the top flight. At the time of writing 20 clubs could still potentially be in the Premiership next season, and 32 can potentially be in the Premiership by the start of season 25/26 - having only 12 vote is preposterous.

Artificial surfaces are deemed good enough for the Champions League (see Bodø/Glimt). Grass pitches (see Dundee this very week) are notoriously unreliable in the Scottish climate. The argument that artificial pitches are bad for the game is just wrong.

[Optional: Our artificial surface has allowed our club to connect to [place] and its local population in a way that is unprecedented in our history, allowing [your team] to make major positive contributions the community. This is not something that [your club] or any other club who have (or may have in future) an artificial surface should be denied by virtue of playing in the top flight. The ability for our club to be a hub of the community and make a major contribution to the physical and mental wellbeing of people of all ages in the local community is what makes me truly proud to be a [your team] fan. It is simply not possible to do this without our artificial pitch and having to change this should we ever be promoted would be a massive disappointment and ultimately a long term own goal for the health and success of the club.  End of optional]

Many thanks for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

HIT THE CHANNEL

At no point in this crusade have you considered the implications for worms and other similar creatures.  Good points and bad points should be covered.