Pitch comparison

[CoachGT]

After watching both games last night, I gotta admit I was appalled at the grass in Montreal. It should be better over time, but I thought it a poor situation for the national team - to play on something that resembled new sod. Regardless of the appearance in the stands that it was a Honduran home game.

The concerns over field turf abound, as documented thoroughly on this board, but I wonder if the CMNT, given the choice, would prefer to play in Toronto on the field turf over that last night? It looked pretty bad on TV.

How did it seem to the RPB who made the trip?

[werewolf]

the pitch was atrocious. Divots everywhere, players slipping, passes being obstructed, pretty much how it looked on TV I imagine....

[CoachGT]

I saw gerry Dobson's two blogs about the game, including the one on the pitch, but I haven't seen any comment from the players. Has anybody?

[werewolf]

after all the bitching that has been done about the fieldturf from certain veterans, they wouldn't dare say anything otherwise.

[London]

again i have to state that the only thing good about montreal are the strippers!!!!

[TFC_Chris]

again i have to state that the only thing good about montreal are the strippers!!!!

You forgot the other good thing coming out of Montreal:


The 401

[Roogsy]

And Poutine!

[Ladies Love Julius James]

again i have to state that the only thing good about montreal are the strippers!!!!

Not at all...lap dances were overrated....lasted 2mins long.

[kitchener-TFC]

The pitch looked "clumpy".

[Toronto Ruffrider]

After watching both games last night, I gotta admit I was appalled at the grass in Montreal. It should be better over time, but I thought it a poor situation for the national team - to play on something that resembled new sod. Regardless of the appearance in the stands that it was a Honduran home game.

The concerns over field turf abound, as documented thoroughly on this board, but I wonder if the CMNT, given the choice, would prefer to play in Toronto on the field turf over that last night? It looked pretty bad on TV.

How did it seem to the RPB who made the trip?

By the end of the game, it looked like someone had released thousands of gophers onto the field, and each one burrowed in and out of the pitch. Given the choice between Divot Country and the Plastic Canvas, I think BMO is starting to look like the National Soccer Stadium again.

[CoachGT]

By the end of the game, it looked like someone had released thousands of gophers onto the field, and each one burrowed in and out of the pitch. Given the choice between Divot Country and the Plastic Canvas, I think BMO is starting to look like the National Soccer Stadium again.

That was my feeling, but I was kinda hoping that some of the players might feel that way. Add to that the atmosphere in Toronto, and that a home game is truly a home game and I think we've got something.

[denime]

You get what you pay for,cheap quality sod and we all saw the result.If you want real grass we are talking around 1mil Euro as I posted in this thread.

http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=5617

Unfortunately Impact and TFC are and will never be like Red Star,Belgarde but I think we can afford something like that,of course if we want quality or just shit grass that looks good only during the summer.

[Red Rat]

remember all the rain the we got, they got more. So it became a swamp just because it was after the tail end of the hurricane. This is not usual but it will happen again

[Maple Leaf Red]

So as long as it doesn't rain at the open air stadium then the pitch will be fine. Good to know.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Need a better pitch. Need to have at least a day in between matches.

[denime]

What they need is better drainage and grass heaters installed ! That is a main reason why in Europe they can play Aug-May and still have good grass.

[David_Oliveira]

people seem to forget that a few days earlier Montreal had a game there in the rain. The grass did not have enough time to get better.

[CretanBull]

The quality of that pitch was a result of circumstances - heavy rain for two straight days and an Impact game being played on it the night before. If grass were laid down at BMO, at worse we'd have to deal with a weekend game followed by a mid-week game, but for the most part there'd only be one game a week played on it.

[Shaughno]

people seem to forget that a few days earlier Montreal had a game there in the rain. The grass did not have enough time to get better.

My understanding is they've had a few complaints prior to that game, that they couldn't get the sod to root properly... still.

[ACSertL]

people seem to forget that a few days earlier Montreal had a game there in the rain. The grass did not have enough time to get better.

If I am not mistaken Montreal played there on the Friday night, and if it was raining then that is just a recipe for disaster in regards to keeping the pitch in good working order.

[Heathen]

What I found rather amusing was the little group in our section at Saputo who were chanting "Fuck BMO Field" at the start mind you they were also responsible for "Dale Mitchell's Red and White Army" so that says it all

[CoachGT]

But if heavy rain is a concern it should have been dealt with when they built the stadium. Montreal isn't exactly a desert climate, and Toronto normally gets a couple of heavy rains each year.

[Fort York Redcoat]

I didn't hear any of the foot soldiers in the 2nd half but I wanted give him a chance at the start of the game. It's not like they were going to replace him 5 mins before the game. I was waiting for a "Dale Mitchell out" chant but it never came.

[Shaughno]

But if heavy rain is a concern it should have been dealt with when they built the stadium. Montreal isn't exactly a desert climate, and Toronto normally gets a couple of heavy rains each year.

Which is IMO a big part of why they went to Turf at BMO. Not having to deal with the ever changing conditions and how they affect the pitch. Instead they found other problems in getting the turf. Lose, lose situation.

[CretanBull]

^ Heavy rain is fine, heavy rain multiple days in a row with games being played in consecutive days is bad. There needs to be atleast a few days off between games to allow for the replaced sod to properly root.

[Rudi]

What I found rather amusing was the little group in our section at Saputo who were chanting "Fuck BMO Field" at the start mind you they were also responsible for "Dale Mitchell's Red and White Army" so that says it all

Nah, they were chanting "Fuck BMO" because BMO (the bank) was handing out blue thundersticks to fans as they entered the gates.

It had nothing to do with BMO Field.

[Cambridge_Red]

It was a frustrating night.. 1 section of red the rest blue and a couple scattered reds. The field was really bad no matter what excuse you throw at me it was really poor. You don't see grass cutting up that badly over in europe where it rains quite frequently. As much as I loved the trip and the "experieces" I think Montreal was a total flop in terms of hometown support for the national team.

[Parkdale]

Nah, they were chanting "Fuck BMO" because BMO (the bank) was handing out blue thundersticks to fans as they entered the gates.

It had nothing to do with BMO Field.

who the hell does the marketing for these companies?

A red team is playing a blue team, and we're behind the red team, but our company's colour is blue......

it doesn't take much to see the problem there.

[Heathen]

Nah, they were chanting "Fuck BMO" because BMO (the bank) was handing out blue thundersticks to fans as they entered the gates.

It had nothing to do with BMO Field.

my mistake

[CretanBull]

It was a frustrating night.. 1 section of red the rest blue and a couple scattered reds. The field was really bad no matter what excuse you throw at me it was really poor. You don't see grass cutting up that badly over in europe where it rains quite frequently. As much as I loved the trip and the "experieces" I think Montreal was a total flop in terms of hometown support for the national team.

I get the impression that a lot of people only really started paying close attention to our National team in the post-TFC world. What happened in Montreal wasn't some terrible exception, it was the norm. Playing their 'home' games in front of 'away' crowds has long been apart of playing for our National team. The same is true of the American national team.

No one is debating whether or not the pitch was good. Europeans don't play games on back to back days on the same rain soaked pitch. It's not an excsue, it's a fact. The solution is based in scheduling, not technology.