Does Astroturf Belong In Scottish Football?

In this video I point out the benefits for clubs having Astroturf pitches in Scotland and why they should not be shunned away in a dark corner.
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Twitter/X: YaBoiCBlyth

[@StewartyMac]

It baffles me people get so triggered with artificial pitches. All players train on them now, and as for 1st team games, there are teams all over Europe playing top flight football on them, most notably Young Boys in Switzerland, and Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The main issue for me is the quality of the pitches. The ones at Livvy, Killie and Hamilton are awful. I've nothing against artificial pitches being used, as long as they are of a good enough quality.

[@dreghornmoorfield518]

From an environmental point of view these plastic pitches are a nightmare. From rubber crumb entering the water stream, the near impossible task to recycle the pitch at the end of its life cycle etc…. Plastic pitches are being banned in Holland. I know from working in the pitch install sector this is something being discussed in other countries as well. The injuries these pitches cause can have serious implications and shorten players careers. Astro fine for training however games from tier 7 up should all be grass. I think from atmosphere point of view astros seem to detract from the match atmosphere. Clubs should be using grass. I understand financial benefits from having Astros however clubs should be able to afford a grass pitch for matches when playing at a certain level

[@RW-nr6bh]

The rubber crumb is an issue, but there are alternatives such as cork which are much more environmentally friendly. I believe the Dutch are banning rubber crumb pitches rather than all artificial pitches. This is a serious consideration which you are correct to raise. The issue of injuries is one where the evidence is inconclusive at best. However the "I feel the atmosphere is worse" line of argument has no place here, is a piece of predetermined prejudiced opinion. You don't like artificial pitches as a concept so you've decided everything connected with them is worse. Having watched plenty of football on both types of pitch, I have always found the atmosphere is created by the fans in the stands and on the terraces; it doesn't emanate out of the playing surface.

[@historyoffootball87]

I enjoyed this well researched video.

[@CallumBlyth]

Thank you

[@89Wrathchild]

I'm a Falkirk supporter, and we just relaid our artificial pitch at the start of this season (the previous one had been in use for 10 years and was showing its age). I'm not sure on the specifications of the current pitch, and whether it's better than the likes of Killie or Livi, but I can say that I've seen some genuinely fantastic football played on it, and it's the best Falkirk have looked in years. We're the only unbeaten team in the country, and it's not because our pitch is bad - just like with Raith Rovers, we're flying because the pitch is GOOD. People absolutely need to change their mindset. Great video. I'll be sure to share this. PS: McGlynn might be a Raith legend, but he's one of us now haha. PPS: You can't have Tom Lang or Brad Spencer back!

[@CallumBlyth]

We’re doing fine without them thank you very much

[@markstott6689]

I'm not fond of plastic pitches purely because whenever Leeds visited Oldham in the late 80's and early 90's we always lost. Then again it was no different away to Luton and their plastic pitch. However, with the weather conditions of a Scottish winter I'd say that plastic pitches are the only option. Back in the 80's when Yorkshire still had proper winters, Elland Road was more sand than grass by December. We have the advantage of a longer grass growing season so that by the end of June it was a grass carpet again. If lower league clubs in Scotland are to survive plastic has to be allowed. If those very same clubs are to remain central to their communities, then plastic has to stay. Anyone who doesn't agree has no idea how essential it is for the less well off clubs to be able to generate income from non footballing sources. They need to educate themselves on real world realities and accept it as the future. I'm sure there's still old farts who will never accept it but they're literally a dying breed. P.S. My experience of playing on astro turf is of hideous friction burns. 😮😮😮 P.P.S. I subscribed. 😊😊😊

[@Jimbo-wx9pu]

Astro is something we have started seeing in rugby and whereas the early ones were not up to standard but now I’ve played on some fantastic fields. Our uni switched to plastic after all our games turned into mood baths meaning training on the same pitches became impossible so we could save the pitch for match day. Since going plastic the team completely turned it around and attendances went up as we could now run double headers which allowed another clubs to play then stay afterwards to watch. Having the security of a plastic pitch when you lack the resources or weather to maintain a good pitch allows for security. Plus those big clubs are just gonna moan if they get beat on a poor grass pitch so there’s that 😂

[@alanfox691]

When you day astro something that has not existed for decades now you lose any credibility to anything else you have to say as there has been so such a thing since 2000. It's 3 G or 4 G pitches or hybrid as they use at Murrayfield & Easter Road, not no one, absolutely no one is using AstroTurf in this day in age. Astro Turf had more bounce than Zebedee modern 3G & 4G has none of that as it uses modern technology & is made up of plastic pellets & not a soiled mass like Astro Turf was.

[@1874WL]

Smaller clubs cannae afford to maintain grass pitches! Particularly if they're used by the local community when the club isn't playing.

[@paulwilson2651]

Nonsense they managed fine for decades Football is a Grass Sport if they can't afford to keep Grass then they are not viable clubs and they should play in a all weather pitch League.

[@RW-nr6bh]

​@@paulwilson2651 People lived in caves for thousands of years and managed alright. Technology moves on. Football has been played on cinders or sand in the past. Grass was the best available surface in the 20th century, if we can make a better surface football then I don't have an issue with that. The current hybrid pitch is not a natural surface either. No sport's rules and practices sit frozen; things move on.

[@paulwilson2651]

@@RW-nr6bh Tradition is everything in Football. How else do you think that when a Club is founded it is marked? for example Aston Villa and Hearts are 150 years this year and both are celebrating that. Grass and Astro turf are totally different surfaces and the Ball plays differently on each, as to tennis Why do you think they have different tournaments for Clay and Grass. All I'm saying is if teams want to play on Plastic then let them form a league of their own.

[@RW-nr6bh]

​@@paulwilson2651 Tradition is part of the game I agree. Things do evolve though and "we've always done it like that" is not a reason by itself to continue that way. The rules of football are totally different now from the original rules. A match played under original FA rules would bare little resemblance to the game we enjoy now. The game changes and sometimes we like those changes and sometimes we don't. There was a time when the use of floodlights was argued over, yet it's hard to imagine football being played solely in daylight now.

[@glasgowandwestdunbartonshi8934]

​@@paulwilson2651I think you're right. If Lugar Boswell Thistle in the 10th tier of Scottish football can afford a real grass pitch, yet Livingston and Kilmarnock can't?

[@Wincey99]

Great video, living in England, though do follow Scottish footie from afar,, I didn’t realize so many clubs had artificial pitches. So many more games would be called off if it was grass only.

[@alanfox691]

Hybrid pitches are the future. 95% grass 5% plastic pellets makes the roots more durable. But in terms of 3G & 4G pitches there can be a drastic difference in quality from pitch to pitch it's only as good as you are willing to pay for. SoFi Stadium in L.A. has a top of the range artificial pitch Scotstoun Stadium Glasgow has a pitch a good supple of steps less quality. Kilmarnock has the best quality artificial pitch in Scottish football. Hamilton Accies have a low quality artificial pitch if you research it & take a close look at it, you can see the quality is very poor they use Tiger Turf & it's about £500 per square foot plus upkeep the last time I looked & they need a lot of upkeep due to the plastic pellets that constantly need to be sprinkled mechanically every week or so. 3G , 4G pitches are not about money they are about durability in winter weather.

[@tonysutton6559]

Too many people in charge of football in the UK (not just Scotland) are over 60 and base their views on their experience of the early plastic pitches that they played on 30 or 40 years ago. Astro pitch technology has changed out of all recognition since those days but the old farts don't realise and think back to the old days over carpet burns and balls bouncing 50 feet up in the air. All teams in Scotland should be allowed to have astro pitches as long as they are of a certain standard for all the reasons outlined in your video, especially the financial ones.👍🏻

[@Wrtp.]

Camelon juniors have a fantastic grass pitch so how can they do it and I mean a fantastic grass pitch.🤔🤔🤔😜👍

[@carpediemus]

It'll be shag carpets next

[@madjock-ig5bv]

Having been at games at both Kilmarnock and Livingston I would say the quality of those pitches is awful. Struggle to remember a decent game I have watched at either. Before the astroturf I would say that many of the away games at Killie that I saw were pretty good. Was one of my favourite places to go as an away fan. Now they tend to be pretty crap. Nearly every player and manager interviewed after those away games remark about how bad they are.That includes after games they have won so it cannot be just down to sour grapes! It isn't that they are astroturf it is they are crap cheap forms of them. There is another argument about protectionism. Livingston in particular have benefitted and stayed up in the premiership due to their pitch. That is surely unfair on other teams that spend money on better pitches. Why should Killie/Livvy benefit at the expense of others? You see there are 2 sides to that argument which you didn't really include. As a fan I will be delighted to see these types of pitches, or at least the lower cheap quality ones done away with.

[@michaelshevlin3376]

Yet again football snobbery from the big clubs. We went through the 10,000 seat farce that bankrupted clubs with aspirations to get into the top leagues. I used to hate plastic but since the arrival of the plastic at Stark’s we play football. Vice la plastic.

[@garymcgowan6533]

I am Hamilton accies fam

[@alanfox691]

The Accies use a low quality grade of plastic I have looked in to in in depth. I live just down the road from New Douglas Park about a 7 min walk away. Not originally from Hamilton moved here just over 5 years ago. And when I moved, I did some research on this subject as I was curious about it. Kilmarnock use a higher grade of turf. but for thevmostvpart in Scotland, we do not use elte level artificial pitch we simply can't afford them. SoFi Stadium in L.A. would be an example of elte level artificial pitch. Hybrid is the best way forward in my view in Scotland. 95% grass 5% plastic pellets at root level. Only Murrayfield & Easter Road have such pitches currently in Scotland.. It was good to see The Accies get back to The Championship.

[@TheWelwyn21]

I would say it was down to the fans players and club owners if they want artificial pitches

[@Trev794]

i really wanna watch the video ,but you're preaching to the choir. no one wants half the season rearranged due o frozen pitches. the fact a lot of clubs train on them negates the weird factor. i doubt a pro exists in the British isles that hasn't played on on even if just in training.

[@alanfox691]

No, but hybrid pitches most definitely do 95% grass & 5 artificial that way, the roots of the grass are more resistant & hard warring. At this time only Easter Road & Murrayfield has such pitches in Scotland. Anything else is outdated not like our clubs to be stuck in the past now is it. Players & and managers just like to wingge & complain about everything & and anything pamperd babies in comparison to Players & coaches in such sports as Ice Hockey & l Rugby Union. Nothing, but nothing will change my view on this subject.

[@joshmore7175]

Honestly grass costs so much to maintain properly and Scotland has some clubs in some really extreme weather where grass is ridiculously hard to maintain. If modern astro is good enough for the NFL and most rugby clubs, then it should be good enough for Scottish football.