Wembley to get a new pitch every four months at £125,000 each

The Wembley pitch will be relaid every three months in future as the Football Association seeks to end criticism of the playing surface at the stadium that has become a regular source of embarrassment.

The pitch could be replaced as soon as next week after being heavily condemned following the FA Cup semi-finals last weekend, during which the players found it difficult to keep their footing and the surface cut up despite the dry conditions.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp described the surface as "ridiculous". Striker Peter Crouch said it was worse than any he had encountered at the stadium playing for England and had contributed to Michael Dawson's slip that led to Portsmouth's first goal.

A decision on whether to relay the pitch, at a cost of around £125,000, will be made after Saracens play Harlequins at the weekend. The FA is keen to ensure that the pitch is reliable ahead of its busiest and highest-profile period of the season, which will see the FA Cup final, the Football League play-offs and England's pre-World Cup friendly against Mexico.

The failure to produce a surface worthy of a stadium trumpeted as the greatest in the world is symptomatic of the troubled Wembley project and an organisation under strain.

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