SPFL asked what we thought about plastic pitches.. then ignored us
TAV: CHIEFS HAVE TO ACT NOW
THE players have been screaming it from the roof tops but people in charge of running the game have their fingers in their ears.
Footballers don’t just hate artificial pitches – they fear them.
James Tavernier was left fuming after watching another one of his team-mates left crushed on the fake turf at Rugby Park after Jamie Murphy was carted off a couple of seasons on from where Martyn Waghorn suffered a similar agonising story.
It’s not like the SPFL haven’t been told what players think.
PFA Scotland conducted a survey of surfaces last season and the response was overwhelming.
Rugby Park finished second bottom of the table of pitches, with only Hamilton below them.
Accies have since ripped up their astroturf and replaced it with a newer version but with Livingston coming up and abandoning grass, a quarter of the top flight now have gone plastic.
Tavernier reckons the players are banging their heads against a brick wall over an issue that shouldn’t just be about saving clubs a few quid on grounds-keeping costs.
It’s about the safety of the guys who are paid to play on them.
Tavernier said: “The PFA asked us to do the survey and rate every pitch and obviously we rated all the astroturf pitches badly. You feel more wear and tear on your legs after playing on them.
“These astroturf pitches are always a hazard and are always going to cause injuries. Something has to be done. Livingston have just come up and have been allowed to put an astroturf pitch down. It is something that is disappointing. You don’t want to see it in our league.
“But obviously it is down to the league, not the PFA. But Rangers are good enough to come to these stadiums and play the way we want to.
“We can only come back to them and tell them how we feel about the pitches.
“At the end of the day it is down to them if they want to do anything with it.”
Tavernier insisted he won’t hold back no matter the surface – with Gers facing another astro in Russia against Ufa a week on Thursday – if the tie goes ahead.
He said: “As a footballer, you just want to play football. As a kid you played on anything.
“As a professional you know you’ve got to play on all kinds of surfaces. “We are going to go to Russia to play on the same material. You just get on with it. But if you have a choice, you choose grass. If you are a Premiership team you should be playing on grass.”
Rangers might have raged about the Killie pitch but they got the job done in Ayshire. Alfredo Morelos was the star turn with a hat-trick but it was the skipper who laid on each of his goals.
Tavernier said: “I can’t remember the last time I had three assists – I just wish I got a ball for it. Maybe I can get half of it!
“This season Alfredo has put himself in great positions and is putting the ball in the back of the net. There is nothing better for midfielders, wingers and full-backs if he is putting the ball away.”
Morelos stole the show but Andy Halliday also got rave reviews from the Gers travelling army after a rare run out in the heart of the midfield.
Tavernier said: “I’m very pleased for Andy, he’s a top lad around the training ground and dressing room.
“Even if he’s not starting, he is an influential person.
“I’m just happy for him to get his opportunity and the gaffer said he believes in him.”
Rangers are roaring under Steven Gerrard. Unbeaten in the manager’s first nine games, Gers are on the march in Europe and are just 90 minutes away from a Hampden semi-final.
Tavernier is loving the revival but said: “There’s a lot more to come. We’re still learning, we’re still adapting to each other. People are coming in but they know their role.”