• ‘It’s not good enough,’ says England midfielder
• England team face same surface against Egypt
Manchester United and Aston Villa players have condemned the state of the Wembley surface during the Carling Cup final, with James Milner, who will feature with England back at the national stadium tomorrow, insisting the pitch was not up to the required standard.
Players on both sides united in their disappointment at the quality of the turf in the wake of Sunday’s showpiece event, from which Michael Owen had departed before the interval having damaged a hamstring. The Football Association had been confident the sand and soil composite surface would impress having relaid the pitch eight times since the £757m stadium opened in March 2007, only for north-west London to suffer a deluge in the build-up to the game that saw 120ml of rain fall on the turf last week.
“It’s not [good enough],” said Milner when asked to reflect on the quality of the pitch. “It is the home of England. For us, as a team, you want the best surface possible and, hopefully, it can improve because at the moment it is not quite there. There had been a lot of rain and, maybe, it was poorer on Sunday. But, to be honest, whenever I have been there before I’ve never thought: ‘This is a great surface.’
“It was very difficult, actually. It was slippery and was cutting up. Not good. You work as hard as you can to get to a cup final at Wembley and it was probably one of the worst pitches you will play on all season. At a final you want to play in a great stadium – which it is – and on a great pitch, but I knew what to expect as I have been there before.”
The surface, which is now under the care of the Sports Turf Institute – employed as pitch consultants by Wembley National Stadium Limited – since the departure of the previous head groundsman, Steve Welch, last April, had been put under covers prior to kick-off on Sunday, with hot air dryers employed in an attempt to dry out the pitch after the heavy rainfall. The current turf was laid last September, following a Coldplay concert at the stadium, but, according to the players, the organisers’ efforts in the build-up to United’s 2-1 win failed to rectify the problems.
The Villa defender Carlos Cuéllar described the pitch as “very bad”. “People kept falling over,” he said. “For a big final like this, it was disappointing. You come to Wembley and expect the pitch to be very good.”
Owen, who will learn today the extent of the hamstring injury he sustained during a cameo appearance in which he scored United’s equalising goal, said: “I hadn’t played 90 minutes for a while and the manager said to me that not having played for so long was a contributory factor in me being injured on that pitch. The pitch was really heavy, so it was never going to be easy on there.”
Milner, who should feature for England against Egypt in tomorrow’s friendly at the stadium, added: “Michael knows whether it has affected his body. I have spoken to a few of the lads here who played in the game on Sunday and they feel pretty sapped from the pitch because it was heavy. You have got to take the rain into account.
“I’m not a groundsman, so I don’t know what goes into it. But if you’re comparing it to Arsenal, for example, that’s one of the best grounds you can play on. It is a top, top surface. That’s obviously a new ground and if you could get it the same as that, I would be very happy. Hopefully it can be changed.”
Wembley stadiumEnglandCarling CupManchester UnitedAston VillaDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk
