A SHORT number of years ago, Hamilton Academical were relegated to Division Three of the Scottish Football League as a result of a deduction of 15 points, a penalty imposed when the club failed to fulfil a fixture because of a player strike.
The c
lub has been transformed in the intervening period and this season has emerged as the strongest club in the SFL in every sense of the word, with the Division One championship secured and along with it a place in the Scottish Premier League next season. A massive part of this progress has been the result of Hamilton becoming a community club with a significant emphasis on youth development. On a weekly basis, around 700 youngsters are welcomed and nurtured at New Douglas Park.
The benefits of the youth scheme are obvious and there are some current shining examples of this, with James McCarthy and James McArthur the best known of a rich crop of talented youngsters. McCarthy is an under-19 international with the Republic of Ireland, while McArthur is a Scotland under-21 international.
But a recent communication by the SPL to the club was effectively an instruction to tear up the synthetic surface at New Douglas Park, and replace it with grass because such technology is not allowed in our top league.
Make no mistake about it – replacing this surface and effectively removing the youngsters from the playing surface at New Douglas Park will drastically stunt the success of the youth programme, not to mention the development of the game in this part of Scotland at least. If more clubs were to embrace the technology available, such as Fourth Generation turf, the promotion and development of our young talent could be massively improved across the country.
A 4G pitch is relatively inexpensive, particularly in comparison to the grass and undersoil heating alternative.
There are other significant advantages to synthetic turf. You need look no further than two miles north of the Hamilton ground for a stark contrast, at Fir Park. Motherwell are an established SPL side yet the condition of their playing surface is disgraceful, and the argument that groundsharing with Gretna is the cause of the problem has been overplayed. Indeed, the club themselves have said the pitch is being used no more often than last year, with the reserves now playing elsewhere.
Not surprisingly the weather in Motherwell is almost identical to Hamilton yet six games have been postponed at Motherwell this season while Hamilton, with a synthetic surface, have not had a match postponed in the three years since the current surface was laid. In addition, the pitch at Hamilton is normally used seven days a week and is always in pristine condition come Saturday. And there is no underground heating at New Douglas Park.
We must try to remember the weather in Scotland will always be mainly cold and wet during the football season, and postponements of fixtures scheduled to be played on grass pitches will remain a way of life here. The only way we can change this is by accepting the role and value of synthetic surfaces.
Let us now also consider the financial implications of upgrading a grass pitch to SPL standards. The cost of installing a grass pitch and undersoil heating is estimated to be in the region of £1million. What is the sense in crippling a very successful youth programme and installing an inferior pitch to meet SPL requirements? This is an archaic requirement and anyone with a progressive sense of how Scottish football can improve itself should be concerned about the long-term effects on a club like Hamilton's finances caused by the installation of a grass pitch and the negative effect on youth football.
As if anyone needs reminding, the state of Scottish football's finances leaves no reason for complacency. Broadcasters and sponsors are important stakeholders, and there is no better way of ensuring that these investors get value for their money than by ensuring matches are played when they are scheduled. At the moment, the SPL is struggling to fulfil obligations under the existing television deal every time a match is postponed, which is unacceptable for fans and broadcasters. Sponsorship supports football, and television gives sponsors a profile. Scottish football simply must deliver on its commitment here, by ensuring there is a match to screen.
There is also the knock-on effect of fixture congestion. There are two teams in the SPL currently affected at least in part by not being able to fulfil their match obligations due to adverse weather; Motherwell and Rangers who may suffer on a domestic and European front as a consequence.
There have been times when the SPL has reviewed their regulations, as all professional organisations do, for example in scrapping the 10,000-seat requirement for stadia and temporarily allowing clubs to ground share.
The Scottish Premier League was absolutely right to take such measures. They should do so once again on the key issue of artificial surfaces, and reverse the policy which insists on matches being played on grass.
And incidentally, those who say Hamilton will gain an advantage in the artificial surface should consider this: In their successful promotion campaign this season, Billy Reid's team gained more points away from home than at New Douglas Park.
The full article contains 909 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
