England face Bulgaria at Wembley tonight, for Theo’s sake I hope the pitch is ok…… but,
Over the last few years, well in particular since the new Wembley days began, there has been many a debate over the state of the playing surface. The pitch has been re-laid twelve times since its doors were open in 2007, incredible really and what a vast waste of money in such a short period of time.
I wonder how much that has cost the FA? Whatever amount I am sure there could have been better use for it, like improving English Football at grass roots level – excuse the pun!
Arsenal and Arsene Wenger inparticular, have often been ‘blamed’ for the demise in the standard of English Football however they nor he can be held in any way responsible for the playing surface at Wembley. We all know that the playing surface if not right can ruin a game of football and can cause serious injury to those who play on it..
Over the years Arsenal Football Club have been highly praised for the pitch they produce year after year, season after season and for 12 of those years the man responsible for that was Paul Burgess. He recieved numerous awards during his time as ‘groundsman’ both at Highbury and The Emirates.
We set the standard the rest of the world were so desperate to follow.
So much so, in 2009 one of the biggest footballing sides in Europe came calling and Burgess swapped the London grass to the Spanish grass and headed off to the Bernabeu to work for Real Madrid. Burgess wasn’t looking to leave Arsenal but I guess ‘when a big club came calling’ he couldn’t say no and what a challenge for him to. The rainy wetaher in the UK to the intense heat in Madrid, I don’t suppose either conditions are great but I’m sure the English weather made his working life a little easier that it is now.
He has worked as a consultant for UEFA for the past five years but my question is why didn’t the FA employ his services when the new Wembley grass was first layed??
Had they have done so, surely the re-laying wouldn’t have been required and the cost would have been much much less.
Burgess was dreading the Champions League draw, aware that Arsenal and Madrid could end up in the same pot, he and the pitch at the Bernabeu were not quite ready for the arrival of the club who has one of the finest playing surfaces in the world. However, I am not sure those who played in the CL Final last year would agree, it was said to have been perfect!
The Wembley debate has died down somewhat due to the decision made to use the Desso Sport System which uses a turf which has artificial fibres woven into it. Again though, why did it take so long to make this decision?
Even though the service seems better, Burgess still has concerns.
He has stressed that the real test will come when the turf is covered for concerts – such as the gigs for rock band Muse on 10 and 11 September ahead of England’s next home Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on 12 October.
“With this system you won’t have the problems they have had in the past with the turf sheering,” Burgess said. “The surface stays flat, strong and stable.
“The downside to it is you cannot change the grass overnight because it’s stitched down with plastic fibres. So if they have an event and it destroys the pitch, they will either have the next event on a pitch that looks terrible or they will have to put a turf over the top of the pitch which makes the system redundant.
“That will be their dilemma in the future, to make all the events works.
“It depends on how long the pitch is covered for. It will also depend on what kind of damage is caused, what time of year and also the weather. I think they will have a difficult balancing act, more so in the summer. “But I think they are giving it more of a chance now because the schedule is far better than the one they had two years ago. It’s a learning curve for everyone but it’s a shame that it has taken so long, and it remains to be seen whether it will be totally okay, but they are going in a better direction.”
Burgess said he has not been consulted by Wembley but would not rule out the possibility of working there in the future, if asked.
Why hasn’t he been asked already? Why when Britain have put a bid in for the 2014 World Cup have they not got one of the best groundsman in football on their payroll??
They took our physio, what stopped them taking Paul Burgess?
Instead he is in Spain, looking after the ground in Madrid, how crazy is that???
When asked what is the secret to a great lawn, this is what he replied,
“I’ve actually got artificial grass in my back garden,” Burgess admits. “The last thing I want to do when I get home is cut grass!
There you go, saves on the mowing in the summer 🙂
Finally, over the next few days sixteen players from Arsenal are involved in International Football. I hope they all do well for their respective countries but the most important thing is that they all return to their club injury free. I’ll will do my best to keep you updated on their progress.
Also, lets hear it for the girls…..
Faye White, Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Rachel Yankey have been selected for England Women’s two-legged UEFA Play-off match for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, against Switzerland. Good luck girls, go get ’em….
Have a good day all…
Morning all
Boring boring Inernational Football 😉
Morning Rico,
There you go… nice post and a hell of a lot of research… informative and entertaining; all the attributes necessary for success. 😆
As a kid I once asked my parents if we got our grass from the local turf accountant; I was a strange and curious child 😆
As for grass today; I find it difficult to summon any enthusiasm for it; bit like England I guess, but no doubt I’ll be glued to the plasma come K.O. – that’s kick-off, not knock-out… or then again 😆
Morning Mike
Thank you for your comments 🙂
I think it’s crazy how the FA have made such a massive blunder over the new wembley pitch, didn’t really bother me before but now Fragile Theo and Gibbs are going to play on it, its a whole different ‘ball game’
That’s funny about you asking where the grass came from, ‘I bet’ they didn’t get it from there though ;)Like you, I’ll be watching but only as there’s a bit more to be interested in now…
As with every other committee… the desire to be on it should actually bar you from ever being so 😆
Same as magistrates… I’ve got a brother-in-law whose a magistrate and the biggest bigot ever… They’re all the same. The moment they put their hands up and say me, me, me,you should look away quickly 😆
Parish Councillors are no better, all have their heads firmly…… (i’ll leave you to fill that one in for yourself) 😉
In fact you are right, any committe 🙂
Morning Rico, MikeB,
I am going to stop commenting on other peoples’ posts because they are so good it makes me feel jealous! 🙂
A really absorbing review, v. appropriate given “our ex-man’s” unused knowledge, and the immediacy of the International this week.
Speaking of grass, I went amowing and ahacking this week to tame the lawn and some of the numerous bushes that needed chastising, but I ended up the loser, literally.
I forgot to take off my v. nice watch and the plants kidnapped it. Despite severe searches of the area and threats to blitz them with weed killer, I failed to negotiate the return of my timepiece. Bummer! 🙁
Rico,
couldn’t agree more, but I’ve got to do some work now, for a change, and so I’ll catch you later today.
Nice post and have a good morning
Morning RA,
Bye RA… Talk later I expect.
Morning RA, thanks re the post
not such good news about your watch, next time you’ll have to set the alarm before you start gardening so if you lose it, just go back and check when the alarm is due to go off 😉
Catch up later mike, don’t work too hard…. 🙂
Not that sort of watch Rico, though an ingenious idea. 🙂
I also popped next door to play with my neighbour’s dogs, as she was going out for a few hours. When she returned she checked her garden for me, without success, and told me that the dogs hadn’t passed the time of day either! 🙂
Ha-Ha re your last, i see you are on for today aswell 🙂
Yaaay, you are brilliant young lady!! Well done. Never doubted you! 🙂
I haven’t bothered with Newsnow recently, as I come straight here or to AA.
I never noticed the side bar. When did it happen?
I’m so pleased for you.
RA, its not quite on yet, I have to do some linking and stuff, that’s the hard part for a non computer kind like me 😉
The side bar has been forever present, i don’t think many bloggers look at them to be honest, just makes the site look ‘jazzy’ and it’s what everyone does 😉
Excellent!
Got to go for a while, insurance wallahs to contact blah, blah and have a talk with those ruffian dogs next door. 🙂
Later.
See you later RA..
Nice one Rico been saw the interview tha BBC did with Burgess and I must admit you made them look average Exams are still on Mike B nice article yesterday I liked mate RA are you also an insurance broker 🙂
Howdy Erick, where you been? 🙁 🙁
Exams???
Exams my friend exam how you and the team holding up got a paper later today
Your exams seem never ending Erick 🙁
Bit of a slow day again today but did you see we have been accepted by newsnow 🙂
morning rico. interesting take – for our passing style, we cannot over-estimate the important of a good pitch. for england, perhaps not so much. our team has played on some rotten pitches in the past few years: bramall lane, jjb, i think even stamford bridge, were all cut up. it definitely has an effect on our game.
it is deserted here – monday is our labour day bank holiday, so many are taking friday off for a long weekend. hurricane earl is tracking off our east coast, so some may not be having the long vacation weekend they had hoped.
Morning oliver
add to those old trafford when fergie had it dug up just to upset our game… cheats !!
no good about the hurricane, will it affect where you are, my geography is poor 🙁
I looked it up
According to the National Weather Service, there is a 40% chance that the storm will grace New York City, however the odds increase as the storm begins to slide westward. It is expected that Earl could hit the eastern part of Long Island on Friday.
I think I have said to you before, my Brother and his wife live in NY…
ah, ok. hopefully they will be safe. it should not hit here in wdc – we are a bit further inland. it’s been lingering off the banks of north carolina and should next hit land off new york (unless it turns sharply west). we do have a tropical storm advisory for the dc area and we may see some moisture from the outer rain bands – our lawn can use the drink, so as long as the high winds do not hit us, i am fine.
good, glad to hear that, hopefully H Earl will be kind and go as fast as it came and destroy very little/nothing as it travels…
Hi Erick, Oliver, and the lovely Rico,
Just popped back for 2 mins and saw your comments.
Erick, head down and stick at it. Soon be over, so give it your all.
Oliver, just teasing yesterday. Don’t give any more private info, just us is o.k., but there are millions more out there. But then you know that! 🙂
Our weather forecast is saying that hurricane Earl is being downgraded to a storm force 2, so it might not be too bad!
as long as it stays out in the atlantic, i will be happy.
i’ll be following tonight’s match just to see how theo gets on. this isn’t the stoichkov/lechkov bulgaria from the early 90’s, so england really should win this. they may make hard work of this, but it’s not a tie where they should drop points.
hi ra. even when nym win, they still get bad news. johan delivered last night, as they finally beat atlanta. but he went only five innings, just long enough to qualify for the win, and had to leave with a strained pec. fortunately, they added a couple of more runs and the pen kept atlanta quiet. johan is now day-to-day, so who knows when he will start. i thought something was wrong when he was out there – his fastball was topping out in the mid-80’s, which is ollie perez velocity! hopefully, he will not be out too long. sums up our season, really…
But they beat Spain oliver 😉
as did switzerland. that tie will be much, much more difficult – for one it is away, for two, switzerland are a very, very, very tough team to score against. a sharp, cool-headed theo can really come up trumps in that tie.
i expect england to get a point at switzerland. i have always rated ottmar hitzfeld – from as far back has his grasshoppers days! his cv – european cup wins with dortmund and bayern, numerous bundesliga salad dishes and dfb pokals – speaks for itself.
Who did Rico, the NY Mets? 🙂
Oliver, I have always thought they had it in them, but they need to reappraise their squad cut the deadwood and so on. But it is so apparent that they just have no confidence. I like Johan actually but his fastball should be mid nineties to be up there with the best. If not ….. Anyway, a win is a win! 🙂
Bulgaria RA 😉
Rico,
I’ve got to go again, but I have just clicked on Newsnow from your side bar and got 001Rico and a picture of a v. attractive woman, (you? 🙂 ) but it did not go thru to Newsnow.
Link prob?
ra, they have a lot of work to do. jerry’s contract will expire at the end of this season, so the wilpons will not renew – they will be able to change manager without paying him off. they should have sacked jerry (and hojo, the hitting coach) weeks ago, but they did not want to pay the comp.
ollie needs to be released – he is making 12 million for nothing this and next season. ditto luis castillo, who is not making as much as ollie, but too much for what little he gives them. carlos beltran enters the last year of his contract next season – the mets need to hope they can catch lightning in a bottle, and that beltran will have a huge year (which he is perfectly capable of) while playing for his next contract (which will not be with the mets).
they have a core to build around – and in may and june, they were arguably one of the top six teams in all of baseball. but they lost their way after the all star break, have completely lost their confidence at the plate, and the season is petering out to a hugely disappointing end. new manager and coaching staff, get rid of the likes of ollie and castillo, hope for a rebound year from bay, and see what we have in some of these younger players.
I agree with that Oliver.
Speak to you later, as I have to go out.
Later, Rico.
RA, massive link problems 🙁 🙁
Later RA…
Anyone about???
hi rico, i am back…
Yo, oliver, newsnow has now said yes 🙂
Get your quill out and start writing 😉 😉
I had to seek a little (more like a lot) from a good friend in the blog world – he gave me the idiots guide on how to get a link in your sidebar, Newsnow wouldn’t let us on until that was up 🙂
me? write? ’bout what? not too much going on at this moment…
yep, you, write, you must have many a cunning Arsenal theory to share with us all 🙂
Hi Rico,
Is there anyone we can ask to give you a hand with the link? Probably straight forward to a techie type.
Hi RA
Its all done now but thank you, I sought help 🙂
Hi again Rico,
My line is awful slow at the moment and did not read tour comment until after I had posted my earlier comment.
Still great behinds think alike as MikeB says! 🙂
Just tried it Rico and the link works beautifully.
Anything else you would like me to break? 🙂
hi Oliver,
You could write about an overseas fan’s perspective on supporting/watching Arsenal.
Loneliness of the long distance fan. US support groups, how easy, or not, it is to watch your favs, and so on.
Plenty of Capitals and Paras!!! 😉
naaah, no theories at the moment. business as usual at the emirates. we strengthened the squad in some areas, but not quite so in others. time to press on with what we have. that will not take up much column space at all.
No worries RA, I have been trying to sort it out all day, then I gave in 😉
Oliver,
I can hear the creative cogs vreaking from over here! 🙂
Rico, Where’s our man WATH?
actually, i am pondering other issues quite un-related to football. call arsenal a relief valve of sorts for me…
Did you guys notice Jeorge Bird is reporting Arsenal have mamed Afobe, Aneke and Deacon in the Champions League squad?
Then again, they have named all but a handful of the young professionals too.
Oliver,
If it’s not Arsenal matters you are pondering, I’ll have to ask you to keep the noise of those creaking cogs down. 😉
RA – i don’t know, i think he mentioned last week that work is busy for him, no agag, STV or KTR7 have been around either, workd or studies i guess, poor Erick is having an exam this afternoon 🙁
RA, I hope they get better soon, so many youth players hurt at one time 🙁 🙁
😉
On a serious note RA, I’m not surprised, they are doing well, he named Freeman last year, not that we ever saw him….
not at the moment. i think i just need to oil these cogs – perhaps a bit rusty…
Freeman has broken his leg while out on loan.
Bummer for him. 🙁
Rico, that HGP article I sent you could be modified to highlight the nonsense with it’s implementation. I won’t mind you adding your magical touch to it! 🙂
That’s if you are looking for some material for a post! Or send it to Olly, and let him play with it! 🙂
RA, I was teasing you, you wrote the young ones had been mamed, not often i get to tease you about stuff like that so i just had to go for it 😉 😉
Freeman’s injury is not as bad as thought I think, read that he was back with us having treatment…
mind you, that means nothing 😉
I promise the article will be used RA and I’ll try and add a bit to it, only as you asked so nicely 😉
Not at all Rico. You “published” it previously. I saw you and WATH discussing the U 21’s part of the HGP and thought it might be a refresher.
The HGP rules seem such a farce now, as MikeB said, that it could do with an addendum showing that Platini’s great idea produced a poor mouse of a thing. Until next year when a lot of the u21’s become 22’s. Then the fun will begin. Lovely! 🙂
You know I have no proprietorial interest once I hand over a Post, so it was simply a suggestion to use it as a filler.
Its my age RA, I forgot 🙁
Ah, but then the under 21’s will have been here so long they will become ‘Home Grown’ 😆
ra and rico, still here? england in 2.5 hours. mets opening pitch in under 2 hours – so i’ll have something to occasionally glance at here. “red arse” dickey gets the ball in this afternoon’s matinee in chicago and pagan is back in the lineup, leading off. cubbies are even more of a disappointment than the mets, so perhaps we can win at least two games (or sweep) this weekend and finally build some momentum. not that it will matter.
i’ll say 2-1 to england at wembley later on.
Rico, Oliver,
I’ve got to go. Rico I have written to you … whoopee! 🙂
Oliver, I am looking forward to the Mets and the Yankees on ESPN this week end, especially as there is no Arsenal. Will compare notes with you after.
Tomorrow guys! 🙂
later ra. enjoy the game at wembley tonight. here is hoping for a theo motm.
Hi Rico, RA, Oliver,
just stopped up for ten minutesb between washing the house and climbing back into the comfort and security of a Rioja bottle.
Rico,
wanted to congratulate you on NN… onward and upward, through the heavens to the stars… well done, you deserve it.
Tonight we see if Capello regurgitates his humble pie; tomorrow we assess the walking wounded 😆
Folks,
looks like I came too late… story of my life 😆
Catch you tomorrow; be good
still here…later mike
I have replied RA 🙂
Thanks mike, catch you tomorrow 🙂
I’m going for a big performance by Theo and a 1-0 England win 😉 ok, just kidding….
why kidding rico? that actually sounds quite reasonable to me. perhaps the notion that england will keep a clean sheet is a bit of a reach, but i completely concur with you that it will be a low-scoring and narrow win for england. we both want to see theo do well – i cannot see anything to rule out the possibility of a big performance from theo…
england have a ‘difference’ defence oliver, i’m not sure they will win if i’m honest ….
all i really care about oliver is neither theo or gibbs if he plays pick up an injury…
difference = different 😉
i think they will be ok – it is not like they are facing argentina or germany (gulp). i imagine there will be a bit of uncertainty, but the likes of ferdinand and terry did not play well in the wc. you always want experience at the back, but in the case of those two, england may be well served by turning the page.
but then jags and dawson didnt do a lot better last week…. saved by a gerrard….
i hope cahill plays to be honest…
that almost makes my point – i do not rate this bulgaria side as much better than hungary. we’ll know who starts in a little over an hour.
i think they will be fine – it won’t be easy and it won’t be pretty, but they are at home against a not-so-major power. if the sofia tie were tonight, i think i would look at it rather differently, but it’s wembley and i think that will help the england side.
i think we are thinking on the same lines oliver, some think that if england don’t win capello will quit….
i think if england go 1-0 down, wembley will go mad and not for the good either… could be interesting
i’ll be watching but before then i must go and walk the four legged ones so i best sign off….
Enjoy the rest of your day oliver, catch you tomorrow…
Nighty night all, stay safe…
you too rico and good luck. tomorrow is saturday, so i may not be online early. with our bank holiday weekend, i will try and catch up at some point – we are staying home, avoiding the roads and the holiday travellers.
russia won 2-0 in andorra, but arsh did not score.
for those who like to bang on about arsenal’s lack of representation in the senior england squad, tonight we have two: theo starts and gibbs is on the bench. man united have two (rooney start, carrick bench) and chelsea have one (a. cole start). i understand that this is only a single-game snapshot, but i still don’t hear much about how those two sides are not helping the england team out…
cesc on the bench – again – for spain.
england 1-0 up. came from a spuddie (defoe) but i reckon you will take it…
quite a win for england in the end oliver…
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