The grass in Giants Stadium has to be up there as one of the worst pitch surfaces I've ever seen in international or MLS matches (barring snow and rain, that is...) Who was responsible for choosing the type of grass they put down? Why is it that ever 2 minutes someone is slipping and sliding, but the ball is sticking like glue? It is obvious to me that the grass turf is not suitable for soccer. Every strike takes a divot, it seems way too soft and mushy, and it slows the play down to a crawl. Please, find another groundskeeper for soccer matches!!
What can you expect? The grass was most likely put down over the existing field about a week ago. It is a temporary surface put down that will be ripped up and thrown out monday after the final. I don't know if anyone could layout and maintain a great temporary grass soccer field. It is just a bad idea.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the grass was staying put until after the Chelsea/AC Milan game? If that is the case than it should be in "wondeful" shape for Wednesday night's game against Dallas.
Well, I hope it takes root so it's not like playing on a rug on a polished floor. We could loose more players to injury otherwise (on both Metrostars and USMNT.)
And, is it me, or does the poor quality of the pitch seem to be doubly reflected in the poor quality of the reffing on it? Three games I've watched on that cursed carpet, and all were horribly officiated!
While the temporary grass surface is fragile, it's still better that the artificial turf lurking beneath it. The turf appeared much better when first installed, but has not aged well and seems to be more like the old turf.
Are you kidding. There is no way you saw any of the games. The grass is a joke. The ball doesn't bounce and the turf comes up in clumps. FYI from as ESPN story It didn't help that the new sod covering the Field Turf below made cutting very difficult for the players, with divots flying throughout the game. "They didn't have any confidence with the ball," Arena said. "On a good field today, we would have been pretty well in control of the game." The Honduras players were sliding around as though they were on ice at times, as well,
Uh, no. There's a reason Saprissa is now FieldTurf too. Only Eric Wynalda's paranoid rantings would consider this mud, clump, and divot-infested wasteland appropriate for a professional match.
All they have to do is brush it, which is supposed to be done every so often. Seattle's field is every bit as good as when it was first installed. Blame the cheapskates at NJSEA for not maintaining even a much less difficult artificial surface. Of course it's probably fluffed to perfection for the Jets and Giants...
I'm assuming that with REAL care, the field will better. This summer has provided us with warm weather and plenty of rain. There's no reason why they can't get the grass to grow.
Actually there is. It's not meant to be a permanent surface, only temporary. It will degrade no matter what.