Sutton fans on 606

[oldskir]

Here's a message from a fan at another National League club. Some of you won't like it, but I believe I have a fair point:

Listened to the phone in on Five Live 606 this evening, and two Sutton fans came on.



They were both whingeing that if you get promoted you will have to dig up the artificial pitch and replace it with grass.



Well sorry chaps, but that is the RULES.



Harrogate Town had to dig up their pitch less than a year ago. If you don't like the rules of the club that is the Football League, then don't try to join it.



They were complaining that you will lose the chance of income from local clubs that use the pitch during the week, etc.



I can understand that point to an extent. But the EFL have decided they don't want to undermine the integrity of their competition by allowing some clubs to go plastic.



And if you look at this the other way around. Sutton are actually gaining an advantage now over clubs like the vast majority in the National League who have grass, and cannot boost their income in the way Sutton do. Plus, the artificial pitch, which Sutton players are used to, gives you an advantage every home game.



So my message to these Sutton supporters is simple. STOP COMPLAINING, and just be glad that you are a whisker away from the EFL. Something fans at many National League clubs would give their right arm for.

[simon]

I dont know who you support, but certainly national league a lot of the clubs train on 3g certainly throughout the winter anyway so you saying it gives us an unfair advantage is rubbish. Last season there were 3 clubs with 3g pitches.

If you look at the away form table we're top of it for this season.

I refer you to the state of the pitch we played on today at Halifax, sand all in one corner. They also play the oval ball game on it and in my opinion that should be banned on football pitches as that churns the grass up and gives teams a bigger advantage in my opinion than what 3g will.

[berkshiresutt]

Here is a reply. You may not like it.
Check the stats over the last 4 years. Sutton’s points away and home are pretty much a 50:50 ratio. That’s approximately 92 games both away and at home. So the stats seem to say no advantage.

Clubs at our level are allowed to use artificial pitches. That is the RULES. Get over it and stop whinging. If you want the extra income, invest in a pitch.

[Nick the Greek/The Speshul One]

The complaint is what it takes away from the community.
The complaint is the pitch is allowed in other major competitions.

[os]

Absolutely the complaint is more about the rules of the EFL relating to 3g pitches, and we can use our club as an example to what can be lost upon promotion to the football league. Given that world cup matches can be played on the very same 3g surface, it is certainly not one of integrity of the game on the pitch.

Yes of course we have to play by the rules but that does not mean they are right or that we should not continue to fight for a change that would not only benefit both the game but also many towns that surround clubs.

[VCLXI]

Ah the 3G debate resumes. Good enough for a World Cup and European Championship qualifier, a Champions League Final, an FA Cup match against a Premier League side, FA Cup matches against Football League sides but if you want to go to Newport for a League 2 match you have to play on a quagmire that is shared with a rugby team.

[bottleonthehead]

I echo all of the comments above.

I was never a fan of 3G/artificial pitches until recently, having remembered the early examples at grounds such as Kenilworth Road and Loftus Road. Modern day non-grass surfaces, however, are totally different and (if maintained properly) allow a true, free-flowing game of football. No complaints at all were made by the likes of Leeds United and Arsenal when they played here four years ago and it only seems to be the ‘old-school’ traditionalist types who complain. Yet they don’t really explain properly what they’re complaining about.

Yes, the rules currently state these pitches are not allowed in the EFL and the club (should we be good enough to win promotion) will of course abide by those rules. The fact a rule is in place though doesn’t make it sensible. Such a large number of clubs in the lower divisions were struggling financially even before this pandemic took hold and the income generated by smaller clubs such as ours by having 3G pitches is a godsend. An increasing number of lower league clubs have openly stated that they would install them themselves if they were allowed for that very reason. Add to that the reduction in matches called off due to weather it becomes an absolute no-brainer.

As for it giving the home team an advantage - please look at the league table. On a points-per-game basis, Sutton United’s record this season to date is actually BETTER away from Gander Green Lane than at home, so I’m afraid that argument is totally blown out of the water.

[markf]

Oldskir is a Halifax fan.

Perhaps he was a bit miffed after our comeback but he posted almost the same content on their forum.

Perhaps the clue is in the "old" and like so many chairman of EFL clubs appears a dinosaur when it comes to 3g.

I was sceptical when we went down that road. I had seen two games on 3g prior to GGL going "plastic ". A pre season friendly at Maidstone in 80f and a youth final at Whyteleafe. In the first the ball seemed to stick on the heated surface while the second wasn't a top notch 3g. Maidstone didn't water theirs back then and they have since replaced it with one similar to ours.

After a few matches at GGL I had almost forgotten we was playing on non grass.

Watching the EFL on quest last night, some of those surfaces were appalling. The "playing on grass" argument ruined by the fact that there was very little of it in evidence.

Sutton's old grass pitch was awful as the London Clay didn't allow for decent drainage and rather than dig it all up and pay for a new one the sensible business approach was to opt for a 3g.

The lower EFL clubs moan like hell about their finances when a simple solution to help is readily available. But why go down that route when their is an available hole to bury your head in?

[Amber Aleman]

And the key point about rules is that they can be changed. Nobody can effect change by meekly accepting the status quo and walking away from the situation.

[boomboom]

Change is hard to accept for many. I was sceptical at first but like others the fact I'm watching a match on a non-grass pitch has long since totally passed me by.

I'm intrigued by the phrase "undermines the integrity of the competition". Whatever does that mean?

Other major sports  - including athletics, tennis, cricket, horse racing, hockey and rugby - have adopted artificial surfaces over the years.

The EFL's stance is looking increasingly isolated.

[toothman]

As one of the fans (Neil) on the radio last night I was trying to make all of the points that you guys have made more eloquently. However , it is very difficult to get a word in edgewise when Robbie Savage is in full flow.
As I’ve said on the forum before , the oppositions have largely stopped complaining about the pitch as an excuse because they have played so many matches on them now. Because the pitch is so true it allows both teams to play football and it is an disadvantage to the home side. To do well with a 4G pitch you have to be good away. What we were both trying to get across was the economic stupidity, what’s better, more Bury and Macclesfields or a Sutton who may be sustainable in League 2 with a micro budget and small crowds of circa 2000.

The 4G has been a disadvantage this season in so much as fixture swaps to keep the fixtures played has seen us with a ridiculous 1 home game in 8 ( Tues/Sat) . Where the pitch has once again helped us is that we have avoided long term serious injuries especially ACLs . Tommy Wright’s was sustained at Leyton Orient and Coby Rowe- Yeovil. Isn’t football like any employer meant to protect their employees from injury in the workplace? Everyone has got used to 4G and like all of you I’ve forgotten it isn’t grass, the ball bounces true. Yesterday’s pitch was awful especially in one corner. It was hard to control the ball , it was moving about like a pin-ball and we did look tired and leggy , but wouldn’t you , wading through treacle , having played twice a week for a month and been stuck for hours on a train.!

[jr]

I agree with all the above. A couple of points on Toothman’s post. First of all it’s 3G and not 4G. I wish people would get this right.

Also Coby Rowe’s injury had nothing to do with the pitch.

As for the original posters rubbish about home advantage. Doesn’t he realise that every team that plays at home has an advantage. They know the dimensions of the pitch for a start.

Really looking forward to seeing Eastleigh’s sand pit in a few weeks....not!

[mca]

It's frustrating because, guaranteed 3g pitches will be allowed in the near future. Not sure what the EFL are holding out for

[halftimet]

Ironically I thought Maidenhead pitch looked good last night.

Perhaps with a 3G pitch Halifax could reduce the army of pitch forkers and reduce their payroll budget. Or maybe it was purely a COVID 19 match attendance booster.

[sallycat]

I dread to think of the whinges we'd have been on the receiving end of from away teams' fans (and probably managers/officials) at this level if we'd kept our old soggy, boggy, uneven pitch. Can't win, can you?