"Pitch may not help"...headline quote from today's Argus

[Bazzza67]

My first thought was...Oh come on!

Apparently the pitch is one of the things the club are looking at to try to establish the cause for the recent spate of injuries...

Have we tried not watering the pitch before K.O. and at half-time. It has been noticed since the start of the season the number of players that have slipped during play.

Training routines and methods are also being looked at...

It is positive that we are trying to analyse our current dip in form, but I would be looking at our style of play (certainly not suggesting we dump our passing game...it is the ONLY way to play) lets move the ball around and forward quicker, and the reasons why some of our players our underperforming.

 

[clippedgull]

Considering Martin Perry was telling anyone who would listen that we would have one of the best pitch constructions in the country this does seem to be grabbing at straws! I guess they have to look at every possibility though. It's notable that the players mainly affected are the new signings.

 

[Beach Hut]

Considering Martin Perry was telling anyone who would listen that we would have one of the best pitch constructions in the country this does seem to be grabbing at straws! I guess they have to look at every possibility though. It's notable that the players mainly affected are the new signings.

If it is mainly new signings I would conclude the issue is our style of play

 

[Muzzy]

So, do we blame Brum and Watford ground staff then?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Basically Gus has picked the wrong players and the tactics have been wrong (FANNYball instead of football with purpose) . It aint the f***ing pitch. Apart from the fact that yes OUR players seem to be slipping over ALOT but the opp DONT. It AINT the f***ing pitch. Ya hear?

The miserable 3-1 at Ipswich, the rather poor 1-0 at Leics and THAT Watford game, I I havent even mentioned Ryan f***ing Harleys pen at Millwall . It. Aint. The. Pitch.

 

[Dawn Korus]

I can't see how our pitch has affected Buckly, he's only played about 20 mins on it

 

[borowha]

I spoke to one of your former players who has played on it,and he said it was "tacky"

 

[c0lz]

Not the pitch but like others have said i wish they would stop watering it just before kick off.

 

[Fungus]

I spoke to one of your former players who has played on it,and he said it was "tacky"

Out of interest, how many "former players" of ours have played on it?

 

[cjd]

Out of interest, how many "former players" of ours have played on it?

Gary Hart for a starter.

 

[Hot Gossiper]

Sounds like Gus clutching at straws to me.
Signs a bunch of sick notes, back fires in his face and is looking for excuses.
Try looking closer to home Mr Poyet!

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Out of interest, how many "former players" of ours have played on it?

Gary Hart! Plus the guys that were part of the pre-Spurs build up that got to walk out on it. Or in fact any of them that's been to the stadium and had a tour as they will no doubt have been allowed to go out on the pitch. Don't necessarily have to have played on it to say it's tacky

Sounds like Gus clutching at straws to me.
Signs a bunch of sick notes, back fires in his face and is looking for excuses.
Try looking closer to home Mr Poyet!

You are right with Buckley and Vicente. Don't think Hoskins had any consistant injury problems prior to signing.

 

[Fungus]

Gary Hart! Plus the guys that were part of the pre-Spurs build up that got to walk out on it. Or in fact any of them that's been to the stadium and had a tour as they will no doubt have been allowed to go out on the pitch. Don't necessarily have to have played on it to say it's tacky

Thanks. Wasn't doubting it, just couldn't think of any names.

 

[Sitch]

This is pathetic, stop looking for excuses, we've played shit and been unlucky with injuries, that's all there is to do it.

 

[Acker79]

Thanks. Wasn't doubting it, just couldn't think of any names.

Glenn Murray.

 

[Icy Gull]

We rode our luck big time on occasions last season imo, in quite a few of those 1-0s on the 8 game winning sequence for instance. We are getting NONE this season. Injuries have been part of the bad luck.

I'm not complaining I fecking LOVED last season and I've enjoyed most of the games I've seen this season, even if I didn't like some of the results. Swings and roundabouts, it will all come around again soon.

Blaming the pitch is clutching at straws, checking out the fact that the new pitch may be contributing to injuries is sensible

 

[Mellotron]

Glenn Murray.

 

[The Large One]

Albion boss Gus Poyet fears The Amex pitch may have contributed to a crippling injury crisis.

The Seagulls are investigating the reasons behind the crop of casualties derailing their Championship campaign. Several of the players signed by Poyet since last season, when Albion were almost injury-free at Withdean, have been plagued by problems.

Will Buckley (hamstring), former Watford team-mate Will Hoskins (thigh) and Spanish playmaker Vicente (thigh) have been restricted to a total of just four league starts and remain doubts for Sunday’s visit by Barnsley.

Dutch striker Roland Bergkamp has been ruled out for weeks by hamstring trouble, while on-loan West Brom defender Gonzalo Jara Reyes (knee) pulled out in the warm-up at Watford on Tuesday after the same thing happened to Buckley at Birmingham last Saturday.

Poyet revealed to The Argus: “We have been talking about everything and analysing. It’s not as if we don’t search for answers or reasons. The problem is you can talk about ten different things and we haven’t come up with one answer.

“The pitch is different grass, a different kind of effort, different reaction from the players after the games we have played. Is that a reason? I don’t know. What is true is it’s different. The players who have been injured most of the time weren’t here last year, Buckley, Hoskins, Vicente, now Gonzalo Jara.

“Players who haven’t been with us previously are for some reason not really coping with the intensity or whatever it is. Even Bergkamp has been injured for a month and a half. Then we have tried to address the intensity of training and whether it is right or not, especially when it is close to the game and people are trying to get into the team and maybe training harder than they should, so we’ve tried to slow it down or make it shorter.

“At the end of the day we have got too many but you are going to get knocks and injuries and you need to cope with that. That’s why you need a squad, 18 players and if you change one or two the team is still performing the same.”

It is not only new players who have been affected. Gary Dicker broke a leg in the last home game against West Ham.

Poyet added: “If Gary Dicker, Vicente and Jara were fit now they would play. For us four or five is a lot. We can make one or two changes and the base of the team is still there. You need the rest to step up and take their chances and they are not.”




He's not making excuses for crap performances - he doesn't really mention them here, he's considering what might be the cause with the unusually high number of injuries.

 

[Acker79]

Also

Ross Flitney (Gillingham)
Paul McShane (Hull, didn't play but would have warmed up on the pitch)

 

[Rookie]

Little comment from his interview and blown up, he went on more about the intensity of training and what not. Basically they are looking at everything