'the big Wembley pitch'
- Thread starter NI_Red
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Caesium137
Well-known member
What Size Pitch is Wembley?
Wembley Stadium’s pitch measures 115 x 74 yards, making it one of the biggest playing surfaces in England. Playing on such a large pitch can give the home side an advantage if the opponents aren’t used to it. Or, if they are not as fit or athletic as England’s players.The large pitch allows England’s players to express themselves with as much freedom as possible. International minnows struggle to play against England at the best of times but throw in a huge pitch and it’s a tough ask for them.
Club teams also have to adapt to playing on Wembley’s pitch during cup finals and semi-finals. When Tottenham Hotspur spent a Premier League season at Wembley while White Hart Lane was being demolished, there were questions about how it would affect the team. After all, Wembley’s pitch is huge so it would change how Tottenham played.
Considering how Spurs have played since leaving Wembley, perhaps it could be argued that a different size pitch helped them out. Tottenham finished third and fourth in the Premier League seasons they spent at ‘The Home of Football’. Since then, it has been a struggle to get back into the Champions League places for Spurs.
Is Wembley’s Pitch the Biggest in the World?
Wembley boasts a large playing surface and, should it be used to its maximum, it might be the largest. However, Football Association and FIFA rules mean Wembley’s pitch is restricted. The Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero belonging to Spain’s Elche has a larger pitch, measuring 118 x 77 yards.While the pitch dimensions are restricted, Wembley has the possibility of using a pitch that is over 140 yards long without those rules. This is why it was an ideal stadium for overseas American football matches in the NFL, before the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium became the venue. Football pitches are big but they aren’t American football big.
Is Wembley the Biggest Pitch in England?
Although it is a large pitch, Wembley doesn’t have the honour of being the largest in England. The biggest pitch in England can be found in Manchester, at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City’s pitch measures in at 116 x 77 yards, which is a shade larger than Wembley.According to the Wembley Stadium website, one person cutting the grass walks 12 miles. It’s certainly a large pitch at Wembley and defending teams have to do a lot of running.
Such a large pitch allows teams that control possession more chances to find space against tightly-packed defences. The large pitch works both ways, though, and it gives counter-attacking teams plenty of space to run into when they break.
Is Wembley Pitch Bigger Than Others?
Wembley is bigger than many famous pitches in football. Take Anfield as an example, which measures in at just 110 x 75 yards, making it one of the smallest pitches in the Premier League. However, Wembley’s pitch is smaller than the playing surfaces at Old Trafford, the Amex Stadium and Molineux.All of these pitches are larger than Wembley’s, although only by a yard where Molineux is concerned (116 x 74 yards). Old Trafford’s pitch dimensions are 116 x 76 yards while the Etihad pitch measures 116 x 77 yards.
Although they might look the same on TV, not all Premier League pitch dimensions are the same. That’s also true of football pitches on the continent, with differences occurring across the grounds. Wembley’s pitch dimensions (115 x 74 yards) match those of iconic stadiums like the Camp Nou, Santiago Bernabéu and San Siro.
BoroMart
Well-known member
Wider and longer than Luton’s, and a couple of others but about the same as many other grounds these days.
Most old stadia were built in tight confined spaces lodged in between old terraced housing, space was a premium. Now most stadia have been rebuilt and many moved, so pitch sizes have been expanded.
As an example, Ayresome Park was 110x74 yards the Riverside is 115x78.
Ayresome wasn’t even particularly small of its era as far as I’m aware.
Linthorpe_Exile
Well-known member
I am baffled as to why the top leagues allow any leeway on pitch size
I think if is to do with how far the fans are from the pitch. A good example would be West Ham where at Upton Park the stands, notably the Chicken Run was noticeably nearer the pitch than the new stadium, giving the illusion that the pitch was smaller. Just a thought.
BoroMart
Well-known member
Boleyn Ground 110x70
London stadium 114.8x74.4
West Ham’s new pitch is bigger, but with the stands being set back probably feels even less claustrophobic than the old ground
wilkos_perm
Well-known member
Most premier league pitch sizes are standaised now, and i think Wembley is the same standard size. Obviously this is easier as new stadiums crop up.
Corcaigh_the_Cat
Well-known member
This
Their position in the table is nothing to do with pitch size, it's all about their ability to physically dominate sides.
The Wembley pitch will not put them at a disadvantage.
Philly-Red
Well-known member
5m!? That’s massive!
wilkos_perm
Well-known member
i think he means yards
BoroMart
Well-known member
It’s a combination of having a big pitch and tactics that suit a big pitch.
Pros:
- We are a possession team, Luton would need to do a huge amount of running, more than normal to close passing lines and space
-if Luton defend deep the gap from midfield to forwards will be further making it harder to get the ball forward with any quality
Cons:
- more space in behind opposition defence for the counter attack to exploit
- Luton like to play diagonals, a wider pitch will give their wing backs more space
There are pros and cons, but I’d say that the conditions, plus the atmosphere affecting both players with nervous energy and the possibility of 30 mins extra time, would likely help us more than them.
clay
Well-known member
Most now have a fixed size, which is why we no longer see teams re-painting the touchlines to narrow the pitch against expansive opponents. There are exceptions for clubs who can't physically fit the standard size pitch into their ground. Everton are a good example of this: the pitch at Goodison is allowed by exception as it's really tight, but when (if!) they move to Bramley Moore it'll be the standard size.
The pitch at Wembley is about 8% bigger than at Kenilworth road. It doesn't sound a lot when you say 1 yard wider but that is 1 yard x 115 yards. Wembley is 7,140 square metres, Kenilworth Road is 6,619. That's an extra 520 square metres which is fairly significant.
Luton are a good team but they don't rely on time and space in attack, they are happy to lump balls at big blokes whereas we like to play on the break or pass and move and exploit spaces so more pitch suits us more.
The size of the pitch won't determine the outcome of the game but it is something that we will prefer more than them.
Luton are a good team but they don't rely on time and space in attack, they are happy to lump balls at big blokes whereas we like to play on the break or pass and move and exploit spaces so more pitch suits us more.
The size of the pitch won't determine the outcome of the game but it is something that we will prefer more than them.
They have a set size for the whole season. It can be whatever they want within the rules but they can't change it week to week.
iamborome
Well-known member
Riverside Stadium
Capacity: 34,742 (all seated)Address: Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 6RS
Telephone: 01642 929420
Ticket Office: 01642 929421
StadiumTours: 0844 499 6789
Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards
Pitch Type: Grass
Club Nickname: Boro
Year Ground Opened: 1995
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Shirt Sponsors: 32RED
Kit Manufacturer:Hummel
Home Kit: Red and White
Away Kit: White with Red & Navy band
I am struggling to find it now but I read an article once that attempt to prove/disprove this theory of the bigger Wembley pitch. As others have pointed out, the pitch itself is pretty much standard - it's the size of the stadium that makes the pitch "feel" bigger to the players. The massive stands that go back many more rows, the bigger distance from the pitch to the crowd - these all contribute to a mispercetion of larger distances. Players felt that making a run to the end of the pitch "felt longer" becuase it perspective of the stadium made it feel "further away" (even though it wasn't). If you make a few of these runs, you get the impression that you have been running much further than usual - all psychological but it does affect players. You also need to consider that most games at Wembely are played in May/June when the weather is hotter and this can also fatigue the players.
Not sure what this means for Boro, but if we get there, our ability to dominate the ball can only be a good thing.
Not sure what this means for Boro, but if we get there, our ability to dominate the ball can only be a good thing.