St Johnstone

Follow the bouncing ball

Another artificial surface which proved a challenge. Players slipped when trying to turn quickly and, while the main complaint about such surfaces is the impact that such surfaces have on players’ joints, there are other issues.

Saturday’s game in Dumfries again highlighted the erratic bounce of the ball which at times was ridiculously high. I lost count of the occasions when players were surprised by the height it rose to and the time it took to come down to a level to be controlled. A number of very good passes which would have been perfect on grass beat the intended recipient.

The economics of using such surfaces continue to drive their growth. The question might be how long players will last playing on them.