Message Board - Football: MOURINHO ON THE BBC WEBSITE.......

Mourinho angry about pitch claims

Mourinho claims a poor pitch does not help his team
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has denied that they have let the pitch at Stamford Bridge deteriorate ahead of their match with Barcelona.
The two teams meet on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League tie and Barcelona defender Silvinho had questioned the pitch.

But Mourinho said: "We know the pitch is not good, the criticism is fair.

"But only stupid people can think a team like Chelsea with its quality can be happy with a pitch like this."

With heavy sarcasm, he added: "Do we have no technical players? No skilful players? Just players who kick the ball and run?

"Because we have no technical players we need a potato field, so we play on a potato field."

Silvinho, who spent two years with Arsenal, had said: "I cannot believe it.

Barca have Chelsea pitch concerns

"I have heard they are making the condition of their pitch worse. I've heard many complaints about the pitch."

But Mourinho said that Chelsea had done all they could to keep the pitch in good condition.

"Our pitch is not good," he added. "You don't need to tell us the pitch is not good.

"London does not have Mediterranean weather. Stamford Bridge is not an open pitch. It doesn't see the sun often.

"But it's not possible to improve. The only thing we can do is take care of it the best we can.

"This season we have not had one single training session at Stamford Bridge apart from one for photos and an open day for supporters.

"We were afraid to change the pitch because last season when we did it we had some problems, especially the Scott Parker problem, where there was a very clear relationship between the injury and the pitch."

And Mourinho hinted that Barcelona were not in a position to talk about the condition of other team's pitches.

"Maybe you should ask Barcelona why they have so many injuries," he said.

"They have a lot of knee problems. Maybe their pitch is too good."





What a load of tosh-surely Man United have a worse climate and their pitch doesnt kick up like Chelseas despite it being bare as well. They HAVE trained there more than the amanager says, what about over the new year period, or doesnt he remember that far back? And why does he lie about not letting the pitch deteriorate when he has told the groundstaff there to do nothing more to the pitch since reseeding with pregerminated seed following one of his 'forgotten' training sessions?

BEFORE YOU ALL GET ON YOUR HIGH HORSE WITH YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS, DONT BOTHER, JUST REMEMBER IN 10 YEARS TIME WHEN YOU ALL HAVE PLASTIC PITCHES WHERE IT ALL STARTED FROM.......

This time of year every year we get this on the message boards about bad pitch/plastic pitches la la la! Clubs like Arsenal,Spurs,Man City,Newcastle and others will prove that by embracing technology with good groundsmanship we will keep plastic at bay. Plus player power -and believe me "player gets what player wants" will hold back plastic pitches. I agree with you (i think) with your tone about lets take the plastic threat seriously but if we aregoing to hold Portsmouth,Chelsea up as examples of bad pitches lets look at the good ones and understand the reasons why-then we will stand a chance of keeping grass for years to come.

i would just like to add that by this time in the season Chelsea normally strip and relay, but players and manager apparently did not want it due to a player getting injured on a bad join between the turfs (allegedly)...i know Jason at Stamford Bridge and have contracted under him on various occassions, and i know its not thru lack of skill that the pitch is like it is,

Whilst Chelsea, Portsmouth and Wigan are examples of pitches that have seen better days, is it not strange that only Chelsae has a fully enclosed environment, though there are stadiums such as Liverpool, Man United and City, Newcastle and Sunderland that are bigger and are nothing like Stamford Bridge, though admittedly only Liverpool have a similar amount of games and Man United have far more use due to past England games which link in with extra training etc.

Also take Portsmouth-old pitch, always poor every year at this time, yet this season is the only one that they have decided to returf as they are in the postion they are in and feel it may help-but it has 4 open corners and even one uncovered end-why the problem?

Wigan-new pitch construction in the last few years along with four nice open corners, yes they do have rugby and football but others suc as Reading, Huddersfield and Watford all managed with the Desso system without having to turf and they have reserve football games as well, unlike Wigan who dont.

There is something wrong out there, which I am sure is not down to the groundsmen at the venues mentioned. Too many suits are making decisions based on the fact it is 'just a piece of grass' and 'it will be alright with a bit of sun'. These people will ultimately ruin pitches and peoples livelihoods!

This may sound completely stupid but

If Wigan have a DESSO system (not sure, but reading esmereldas post leads me to believe they do) then surely turfing over the top of this system, which includes the reinforcement, will negate any of the benefits of the system.

Awaits flaming.

Presumably Oxford have the desso??, not too sure, but i went to pre-season game a few years ago (Chelsea were the opposition), and i was one of the guys who walked around and put divots back in the pitch, looked busy in front of the directors box(told to do so), and admittedly got into game for free(not what you know.......)

Anyway, there were no divots to take up, merely scuffs of grass. The plastic inserts, or whatever this system was, worked fantastically well. Many big clubs(European) have been to look at this pitch. Is this not an answer to all clubs?

I know you still have shade problems etc etc, but surely this must be a better solution than re-turfing constantly?

I am not into football pitches and only hear about their related problems.

Have the FA looked at this kind of pitch and tried talking to clubs?

Exactly!

Why have they had to do it-by all accounts it is down to an interfering chairman, but why also the other very open stadium at Portsmouth with its big open end?
Why havent stadiums bigger than Chelseas had to returf? All questions that will remain unanswered but will be asked again when the plastic debate comes up once more!

By the way, Chelseas was once a Desso one I believe, so Wigan beware!

chelsea is a fibresand pitch and was seeded not turfed in the summer

Man United is a fibresand pitch and was seeded not turfed three years ago-never been returfed since either-how many have Chelski been through in that time? They had three pitches last season alone, 2 within 4 weeks of each other!

yeah granted, but Man Utd returfed their pitch 6 times in the season around 2000/01

who cares anymore?

2000/1 isnt 2005/6 though is it-technology has advanced-for some anyway!

Hi peeps...i keep reading above and still cant get the point of this link...Is this a I hate Premier Football Ground session??
If it was meant to knock the bridge then hellooo wakey wakey...what a surprise it will be if it isnt relaid after the barca (and pompey?? (think as 3 days later?) match as it wouldnt be any form of advantage to chelsea would it............
Do any of you people actually know what goes on in the big bad world of top flight football and any other sport for that matter....What the groundsman does running up to any match is as important as any set piece drill.. get real...it happens sometimes some places ...maybe at Chelsea...maybe not at all this time...
I know what I would be doing if in the Groundsmans position.....waiting for the right result...then the right weather to sort the pitch out

Shh! Its oh so quiet-a song by the singer Bjork!

Shh???? what the hell is that...............
I know others know who you are but for the less informed of us ........who are ya

oh please esmerelda... technology aint come on in leaps and bounds that much in 4 seasons now has it...not when it comes to keeping a good surface with the ever changing climate and stadium constructions..if that was the case why are so many clubs ending up with poor pitches this season...

it must have done if man u have goen from pitches in one year to one in three surely?

oh if you only knew what was actually happening out there....
That has nothing to do with technology and all to do with a Groundsman who has a pitch now that although it looks poor the fibresand is playing well.....technical advances????? no i would probably say bloomin hard work, good advice and management that want performance rather than looks.........

still doesnt alter the fact man u dont do it and their ground is almost twice as big, has the same if not more use and despite not looking great, never looks like that does it? Only one ground I have seen man made water features on this season, and it has happened twice, I wont bother naming where!

look you moron have you not taken in any of the above comments at all................why do you take these posts and end up having to slag off the relevant parties when you havnt got the intelligence to understand the overriding factors that are probably effecting each situation..
I dont know why a site like this puts up with a no brain like you when all you are achieving is making Groundsmanship look moronic....

and I dont mean that I am slating groundsman/women, the opposite......... just that your comments do not look good to anyone else looking in..............

as stated on other post.
I give up...................I will leave it to the management of this site to decide if they want members to continue slagging off the industry

I bring the industry down-I didnt call anyone a moron did I?

Whilst my comments may not be to everyones taste, it has only been you that has constantly stuck up for pitches that either have, or may be up for. returfing. Your comments a while ago lead me to believe that you are in the turfing sector and probably want to keep well in with these clubs, hence why you cant argue their case enough-let them (the club, not the groundstaff) defend themselves, they dont need someone who may be touting for future business to do it for them do they?

im with you on this barry...but i must confess we dont need the name calling how ever much esmerelda is getting under your skin...the people that matter and that know the facts, will decide whether his comments are worthy of rcognition...you only have to read the postings carefully to see this, "Man U has twice the size ground" well if that was the case, the pitch would contravene FA regs.. and/or they have plenty of open area above the pitch to receive adequate air movement/light and rainfall, so this would lead to the assumption that the groundsman should have the pitch in better condition than it is...and as for you esmerelda i think your comment of touting for business is equally wrong against barry.. i have worked for two large contractors and we at the time carried out both operations for pro clubs, (returfing versus overseeding) and no amount of touting concluded the deal, it is down to the groundstaff to decide what is best for them at the time, economy and benefit to the pitch, and yes im a contractor too and "keeping well in" with these clubs is important to our success as well but ultimately the clubs make the final choice...so in the words of Jerry Springer, final thoughts are..."what do you put the rapid deterioration of these pitches this season down to..groundstaff skills or climate/stadium problems..the ball is in your court esmerelda for a constructive/non abusive answer to this debate....Cheers Ticky

how would man united holding 76,000 from april compared to chelseas 42,000 be contravening fa regulations????? ground means stadium, havent you heard that term before?

My answer to your final thought is what i have said earlier-why dont man u have these problems?

Take care of yourself, and each other!

esmerelda.. i stuck up for you with the name calling, so at least afford me a bit of respect in return, your comment was "twice the size" now we all work on pitches, we dont refer to the amount of seats in the stadium, this is of no consequence to our ability to maintain a pitch, so in fairness your initial comment was a bit misleading..your final thought has just reiterated my question to you... why do some clubs manage and some dont to present a good pitch, what is your over view of the whole situation not of what Old Trafford is like, Cheers Ticky

i think its strange that man u can keep a stable surface in a stadium almost twice the size in a worse climate up north than chelsea can down here with a climate that is regularly 2-3 degrees warmer all year round. Why?

ok apologies for the tame name...............it could have been so so so much more.....lol
My whole point throughout all this is that there is over-riding reasons at all clubs if you are being specific as to the situation each finds themselves in.
You can not make statements about certain pitches or any facility or job in any field of sport when there are so many factors known, unknown and at times unspoken..
I think it is very unfair to slate a pitch without knowing the facts...which you will probably never get to hear.

And for the record I am a contractor who gets their work from having a good reputation for doing what a customer wants.

My final thought.....
This is a strange year... drier, warmer later... heavy cold spells in the south..warm spells again...damp ground conditions with little wind....no water movement through soils so when it does rain the soil cant cope...look all around you and you can see pitches at all levels falling over at the moment..grass is struggling this year........

I am going to be quiet now..............................

Just a thought but has anyone looked into some of the close season activity on some of these stadium pitches, some are covered for days on end with roller track etc to facilitate pop concerts and so on. I'm not sure who has had what but there may be some significance, covering a pitch in the prime growing season would surely have a detrimental effect on growth and root depth are we seeing a knock on effect from this?.