It is a great idea that Scotland play their international friendlies in different locations across the country, it allows more fans the opportunity to enjoy watching their national heroes. For the National team to improve under Gordon Strachan however, the playing surface will have to be maintained to an acceptable standard at the very least.
Gordon Strachan takes his first steps as Scotland Boss, albeit on a torn up field. (via http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
By Anthony Horan @AntonH79
Nobody who watched Scotland defeat Estonia in an international friendly last night could have missed the state of the Pittodrie pitch. It was diabolical and one must wonder why a professional club is unable to maintain their playing surface to a reasonable standard.
With Scotland’s inclement weather it is not unreasonable to expect some wear and tear on pitches, particularly at this time of year. However, it must also bear at least a minimal resemblance to a football pitch rather than a recently ploughed farmer’s field.
I completely agree with the Scottish international team taking their home friendlies on the road and around different parts of the country; the decent crowd at Aberdeen certainly gives credence to this. However, clubs must also take some responsibility for their playing surface and ensure that it is in the best condition possible ahead of international matches. Indeed, Aberdeen should surely be trying to improve the surface for their own players never mind for Scotland!
Money is tight in the Scottish game and there may be cost-cutting as far as pitch maintenance is concerned but a club the size of Aberdeen with its reasonable support must surely be able to maintain its pitch to a better standard than the one we witnessed last night.
If Gordon Strachan is going to improve the Scottish game and hopefully take our international team to the finals of a major tournament then we must expect our domestic clubs to make that difficult task as easy as possible for the new manager. The state of our pitches may be a good start.
We all want the state of Scottish football in general to improve. For Scotland to progress to the finals of an international tournament what steps have to be taken – including the improvement of our pitches - to ensure we can qualify? Tweet us your thoughts @talkingbaws or comment below.
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