Blind Hammer looks at how West Ham’s new pitch may determine tactics this season.
One of the lesser discussed factors in our move to the London Stadium is the bigger pitch that West Ham will be using.
At Upton Park we had a pitch, in old money, that was 110 yards long and 70 yards wide. Siri on my iPhone tells me that this translates to 100.58 meters long and 64 meters wide. According to West Ham information on the new stadium the new pitch is five metres longer and four metres wider than at Upton Park, giving an approximate new size of 105 by 69 -70 metres.
Whatever the actual figures we now have apparently a pitch that is amongst the largest in the country, equivalent to the size of pitches at Wembley and Old Trafford.
Many managers have claimed that the size of their football pitch directly impacts performance. In 2014 Mauricio Pochettino argued that the small White Hart Lane pitch was inhibiting Spur’s footballing style. He believed it was easier for visiting teams to sit deep, deny space and soak up pressure. In 2015 Mark Hughes insisted that the pitch at Stoke be increased in size for precisely the same reason. In previous years Stoke had benefitted from a smaller pitch, enabling them to close opposing teams down, and cause chaos from the long throws of Rory Delap. In contrast, Hughes new Stoke needed a bigger pitch to accommodate their new passing style.
The most obvious implication of a wider pitch is the availability of greater space between the penalty area and the touch line, space wingers can potentially exploit.
Graham Souness, famously in 1987, realise his Rangers side had a big problem containing skillful wingers in the Dynamo Kiev side. He allowed Kiev to train on the normal Ibrox Pitch, but then ordered his groundsman to redraw the pit pitch to minimum width before the game. Rangers overturned a first leg deficit to run out 2-0 winners, with their full backs able to contain the attacking threat of Kiev’s wingers.
Smaller pitches make it easier to close down space and tackle. This can create problems even for those sides which claim a footballing tradition. In 2002 Arsene Wenger complained that the then small Highbury pitch was contributing to Arsenal’s disciplinary problems. He argued that they had a “dynamic” way of playing but the small pitch size was making physical contact more likely.
In 2012, partly to resolve some of the issues which have emerged, the Premier League attempted to standardise pitch size to 105 metres by 68 meters. .” (rule K21). Exceptions were however allowed if physical limitations made it impossible to comply. West Ham with their pitch of 100.58 meters by 64 meters was presumably amongst those in the exempted category.
So there will need to be an adjustment for West Ham, many of the strategies that West Ham have relied upon over the years, the long throws of Antonio and before him Steve Lomas, will have a lesser impact. There will have to be lesser reliance on The famous tenacity of a Ray Stewart or Billy Bonds in the tackle, the biting presence of Julian Dicks, Frank Lampard and Stuart Pearce on the wings will be harder to reproduce. At our new larger home we will be more reliant on the subtler skills of a Mark Noble or Cresswell. .
What other immediate adjustments will West Ham have to make? Many of us have looked at our latest recruitment with something of a puzzled air. We seem a side blessed now with riches on the wings. Payet and Lanzini and of course Antonio and even Valencia have proved over the last season that they can do a shift in the wide position, though of course Payet and Lanzini are far more likely to also drift inside. To this apparently powerful assemblage we have now added further international class with the signings of Feghouli and Gokhan Tore, with the imminent emergence of Samuelson.
Whilst I was initially puzzled by Bilic’s obsession with recruitment on the wings, I can now see it as the actions of an intelligent man realising the potential of the new pitch size.
I am more puzzled by the lack of similar priority with our full back recruitment. I think the Jury is in that Antonio is not a premiership quality defender though possibly he could perform such a role in the Cup competitions. Restricting recruitment to Arthur Masuaku indicates some confidence that Byron will fit the bill this season, but the experiment of playing Burke at right back during the Juventus friendly indicates that Bilic does perhaps think not all is well there.
In the end though, we should perhaps not overstate the adjustment needed. The fact is that West Ham has for many years now had to perform on pitches similar or equivalent in size to their new surface. Many Premiership clubs already comply with the specified pitch size. Whilst this list include sides you would expect like Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United , it also includes sides not so readily brought to mind with big pitches such as Hull , Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea and West Bromwich Albion . So even Allardyce had to cope with a big pitch.
So West Ham are used to playing on big pitches. They are just not used to doing it at home. The tantalising prospect of what we could expect was provided when Noble set up Feghouli for his goal last week. The pitch should suit our new expansive style and make it harder for teams to deny space. I still have a crawling worry about our full backs though.
Time will tell.
COYI
David Griffith.