Gavin criticises newly laid pitch

Once again the Croke Park surface is not fit for purpose

It was blatantly noticeable from the first minute that both sets of players couldn't hold their feet on the newly laid surface

Yes it was pristine looking and certainly very pretty but I've seen and played on better public park pitches

Our whole game is about quick turning FFS

It was perfect day, not a drop of rain..,. why cant players hold their feet while turning?

It's ridiculous that our premier pitch is so poor and once again a flipping concert has resulted in a shoddy playing surface

Players could easily suffer a very bad injury on that pitch due to this poor planning and it no doubt impacts the quality of game play

Very disappointing and unfortunately it's been an on going problem for years



http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=273110

jimbodub (Dublin) - Posts: 20763 - 17/07/2017 10:19:04    2017917

The pitch in general had been one of the best surfaces in Europe, just look at the big soccer surfaces abroad that cut up so badly.
The problem yesterday was they had a temporary surface laid from about 30 metres into hill16 from where the stage is used for the coldplay concert and the u2 one next week. So what you had was a not bedded in area of the pitch as they knew it would be ripped up again straight after the match.
bit disrespectful to players to do this surely they can schedule concerts a bit better in relation to games being held in croke park

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 17/07/2017 10:36:21    2017932

I thought it looked immense yesterday and forgot there was even a concert the week before but when I watched the game back it seemed patchy .. Similar to Kerry In 2009 .. I take the point that players slipped and it can cause injuries but so can any pitch. I agree it was dodgey and could have resulted in a player getting a bad injury but you run that risk on any given day at any ground or pitch no matter the quality .. Thankfully everyone came off At the end fit and looking forward to their respective sides next game

If I was Jim Gavin I'd be a tad concerned at the ease in which Kildare broke out defensive lines. A better more experienced and clinical team take us to the cleaners yesterday. going forward we where fantastic at times.. Fast and pacey and when we are attacking like that it's beautiful to watch and we generally knock up a decent tally, but if we concede that kinda score line next day out against a more defence minded team then it *could* be curtains

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13671 - 17/07/2017 10:42:30    2017938