It’s disgraceful” – Derby County told to fix “truly awful” issue at Pride Park

It’s disgraceful” – Derby County told to fix “truly awful” issue at Pride Park

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Derby County have been urged to improve the playing surface at Pride Park ahead of next season, as our FLW fan pundit believes it is affecting the players’ ability to play quickly and hindering their chances of success on home turf going forward.

The Rams’ current full focus will be on their season-defining final day clash against Stoke City this weekend, but it is clear that, regardless of their fortunes as a team, they also need to focus their off-field efforts towards making improvements as a club after the campaign finishes.

Derby have called Pride Park their home since 1997, after previously playing at the Baseball Ground since 1895. The stadium holds a capacity of around 33,597, making it the 16th-largest football ground in England.

Derby fan pundit makes ‘truly awful’ Pride Park pitch claim

The playing surface at Pride Park has had its fair share of wear and tear over recent years, with little improvement made to it since a new SIS Grass Hybrid pitch was installed ahead of the 2015/16 Championship campaign.

 

It is unclear if the Rams’ groundsmen operate any differently to their counterparts across the EFL, but the pitch has been visibly cut up and damaged in recent months following the end of winter, while it also hosted an extra game in March as the Women’s League Cup final was held at the stadium.

 

We asked Derby’s FLW fan pundit, Shaun Woodward, to name one issue in particular that the club needs to fix as a priority this summer, and he picked out the pitch at Pride Park as the most pressing matter that must be sorted out ahead of next season.

 

“The one massive thing we need to fix this summer is the state of the (Pride Park) pitch,” Shaun told FLW.

 

“It is truly awful. It’s not conducive to the football whatsoever. The bobble on the pitch, the roll of the ball, it’s disgraceful for a Championship club to have a pitch like that.

 

“And you can tell it’s affected our play at home in the last few games. I’ve seen Kane Wilson trying to go down the wing with the ball, Mendez-Laing at times, they’re constantly having to really concentrate on the roll of the ball, rather than really just play as if it is going to roll nicely for them.

Get more related news on https://sportviewers.com