Anyone who has had to suffer watching professional players attempt to play on an astroturf pitch will know it completely ruins the game. We have it in the Scottish Premiership with Hamilton Accies and Kilmarnock – it’s impossible to guess how the ball will bounce and it’s impossible to get any sort of rhythm going.
Man United head to Holland to play AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night, and it seems their plastic pitch hasn’t gone down well with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Some of his comments were reported by the BBC. He said: “I was surprised they have chosen to play on this pitch when I look at it. I am used to Astroturf pitches from back home in Norway and it is not the best I have seen. It is one of the worst ones I have seen for a long while.”
Those who use the plastic pitches will argue they are safe and it makes financial sense for the club to keep them. It’s a complete farce when you consider teams have to leave some players out when playing on these pitches due to concerns about injuries.
If a player can’t play on a certain surface because it’s likely to cause injuries, then it has no place in the professional game.
The report went on to suggest that Paul Pogba had a niggling injury, and Solskjaer wouldn’t be risking him due to the pitch and the prospect it might make things worse.
It’s a huge game for United, the Europa League looks like their only way of getting into the Champions League next season. They could make it two wins from two and that would put them in an ideal position to qualify to the knock out stages.