Reading RA - From the Middle

Not a level playing field

And that is literally true at, for example, Oxford United’s Manor Ground with its famous slope.

One of the great advantages of football is that you can play it almost anywhere - any odd bit of ground with something to serve for goals, from Glasgow back street to dirt patch in Central Africa. However, when it comes to playing competitive matches, you obviously have to do better than that. The question is, do we do enough?

How it started

When the Laws of Association Football were first set down in 1863 to establish the game as distinct from rugby, the aim was to ensure, equality, fairness and safety. So the ‘technical’ laws stipulate precisely, for example, the size of the goals and the specification of the ball. What is surprising is that Law 1 - The Field of Play - allows the latitude it does. When it comes to the pitch itself, there is a wide range of possible sizes and no mention at all of the type of surface or the degree of incline permitted.

Before 1863, there were no stipulated dimensions at all for the pitch, rather as in the surviving traditional games which can move from one end of the village to the other. A maximum size of 200 x 100 yards was first laid down and then, in 1897, reduced to today’s dimensions under pressure from the development of professional football (legalised in 1885) and its enclosed grounds.

And now

Today the length of a ‘full-sized’ pitch can vary between 100 and 130 yards and the breadth between 50 and 100 yards (with the length always to exceed the breadth and tighter dimensions for international matches). So, theoretically, you could have pitches a 100 x 99 yds or 130 x 50. Quite different propositions for your playing tactics.

Wide variations are possible

Of course these extremes never happen, but you do find surprisingly wide variations when you compare pitch sizes, even at the highest professional level and leaving out the vast expanse of Wembley.

And it is not always the biggest club that has the biggest pitch. Among the smallest is Arsenal’s at 110 x 71 yards, though Cardiff, Colchester and Tranmere’s are even smaller at 110 x 70. Manchester City has one of the largest (117 x 76). That is over 15% difference in area (and the Maine Road pitch used to be even larger). Compare too the shape of Bradford City’s 110 x 80 yds with Blackburn’s 117 x 73. (Reading has retained a fairly average 112 x 77).

It can make a difference

All this certainly adds up to inequality, but does it matter? Is it unfair?

Although at first sight it seems reasonable to argue that it is the same for both sides, there is no doubt that an out-of-the-ordinary pitch can add yet another home advantage. A team learns to exploit the special characteristics of its own pitch. For example, a wide pitch is more suitable for developing wing play than a narrow one , and the latter better for ‘Route 1’. (Some readers may remember how Graham Sounness was reputed to have his pitch re-marked, within the Law, according to the playing style of the opposition). Similarly, a pitch with a pronounced slope, even though the teams change round at half-time, will favour the team more used to it. Artificial surfaces were found to put the visitors at such a disadvantage that they were eventually got rid of.

On the local park, whatever the differences among pitches, managers, players and referees are grateful if the pitch is clearly and correctly marked and free of debris, and if the appurtenances are all there and in good condition. However, it is surprising that in the Premiership and the Football League, there is no pressure for greater standardisation of pitches to reduce the unfair latitude at present allowed.

Brian Palmer

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