San Jose Postmatch

[Ulrich]

The small field hurts us when other teams try to press right? We're better off with a larger pitch if a team just tries to press?

A large field definitely opens up more passing lanes and is harder to close down by the pressing team. That will also hurt our press. Fitness will be the great dividing factor between teams.

Did D.C. Press us? Because after the game Olsen complained about how hard his players find our field to play on - being so small, they felt like there was never an opportunity to rest since the ball came back at them immediately. Granted, it may have nothing to do with effectively pressing, but it does seem (based on our record dating back to last season) that we've figured out how to gain home field advantage by playing quickly off any steal in our defensive end.

 

[Kjbert]

Isn't it weird that we've become a really good counter attacking team? I feel like we generate nothing when we have possession, but we crush teams on the counter.

 

[Ulrich]

Isn't it weird that we've become a really good counter attacking team? I feel like we generate nothing when we have possession, but we crush teams on the counter.

In any sport, speed kills. We have gotten very fast at every position except for Pirlo. Most teams can't match us with 9 comparable players.

 

[franchise646]

Yeah we are going to try to pump these out quicker

 

[Seth]

they felt like there was never an opportunity to rest since the ball came back at them immediately.

Maybe we came right back at them because we're good, ya know?

 

[Ulrich]

Maybe we came right back at them because we're good, ya know?

Tell that to Benny, he was the one complaining.

But I do think there's a different level of fitness needed/achieved by playing on a small field like ours versus a large field like LA's. It's like 7v7 tight qtrs with all of the start/stop/starts. We seem to have adapted to it/incorporated it into our fitness training in order to make it our Home Field Advantage.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I love how Yankee stadium dimensions are in all our opponents heads. It's not that small, Jesus. The ball comes back to you sooner because the field is ten feet shorter lol

 

[Gotham Gator]

I love how Yankee stadium dimensions are in all our opponents heads. It's not that small, Jesus. The ball comes back to you sooner because the field is ten feet shorter lol

I totally agree. It's 10 yards shorter and 5 yards narrower.

 

[mgarbowski]

I love how Yankee stadium dimensions are in all our opponents heads. It's not that small, Jesus. The ball comes back to you sooner because the field is ten feet shorter lol

I have been thinking the same thing. Wondering if we should keep a small field whenever we do build our own.
And we should buy about 2 dozen of these and leave one in every visiting locker, and coaches room, and in a package for the equipment guy.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I totally agree. It's 10 yards shorter and 5 yards narrower.

It's the same length as the pitch at RFK according to Wikipedia. Where ben Olson plays, lol. Same as Portland too and no one complains about their pitches

 

[Ulrich]

It's the same length as the pitch at RFK according to Wikipedia. Where ben Olson plays, lol. Same as Portland too and no one complains about their pitches

The length "may" be the same, but the width is definitely narrower. Compare the distance between the sideline and the edge of the box... it's nothing.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

The length "may" be the same, but the width is definitely narrower. Compare the distance between the sideline and the edge of the box... it's nothing.

It's 7.5 feet smaller than average per side. That's two walking steps. Everyone needs to quit their crying, it's barely an issue.

 

[Ulrich]

It's 7.5 feet smaller than average per side. That's two walking steps. Everyone needs to quit their crying, it's barely an issue.

Said Matt Besler never.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Fields are allowed to be between 110-120 yards long and 70-80 yards wide. We are at the minimum for both.

Only Montreal is wider than 75 yards, and they are at 77. Of the 22 MLS teams, 14 play on a field that is 75 yards wide and 4 play on a field that is 73 or 74 yards wide. Two teams, us and Minnesota, play on a field that is 70 yards wide. The size of Atlanta's field at Bobby Dodd Stadium is not clear, but is probably around 72-73 yards.

As for length, 10 of the 22 teams go the full 120 yards, another 8 range between 114 and 117 yards, and 3 (NYC, Portland, and DC) go 110 yards.

 

[Kjbert]

The pitch sucks for a lot of reasons. The size isn't in the top three for me. But I would prefer a wide open pitch with the speed we have put on the field.

One of the most amazing things about watching Barcelona, if you're a "purist," is how they zip around the pitch. It's beautiful to watch. We have that type of speed in MLS

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

The pitch sucks for a lot of reasons. The size isn't in the top three for me. But I would prefer a wide open pitch with the speed we have put on the field.

One of the most amazing things about watching Barcelona, if you're a "purist," is how they zip around the pitch. It's beautiful to watch. We have that type of speed in MLS

I agree, the square foot of chunked up turf I saw Maxi pick up last game is much more of an issue than size. Guys slip all over the place on our field.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Fields are allowed to be between 110-120 yards long and 70-80 yards wide. We are at the minimum for both.

Only Montreal is wider than 75 yards, and they are at 77. Of the 22 MLS teams, 14 play on a field that is 75 yards wide and 4 play on a field that is 73 or 74 yards wide. Two teams, us and Minnesota, play on a field that is 70 yards wide. The size of Atlanta's field at Bobby Dodd Stadium is not clear, but is probably around 72-73 yards.

As for length, 10 of the 22 teams go the full 120 yards, another 8 range between 114 and 117 yards, and 3 (NYC, Portland, and DC) go 110 yards.

Adding that the average size is 116.8 x 74.4. That is 8688 square yards. Our field is 7700 square yards or 88.6% of the average size. Our width is 94.1% of average, and our length is 94.2% of average.

 

[Kjbert]

I agree, the square foot of chunked up turf I saw Maxi pick up last game is much more of an issue than size. Guys slip all over the place on our field.

That just reminded me of something. Is it typical for groundskeepers to have pitch forks and fix the turf at halftime? I don't know that I've seen that anywhere else, but I also don't look at it.

Major props to the Yankee Stadium groundskeepers by the way. They do a good job with a shitty pallet to work with.

 

[Schwallacus]

That just reminded me of something. Is it typical for groundskeepers to have pitch forks and fix the turf at halftime? I don't know that I've seen that anywhere else, but I also don't look at it.

Major props to the Yankee Stadium groundskeepers by the way. They do a good job with a shitty pallet to work with.

I have seen it elsewhere, even at stadiums like the Allianz, Camp Nou, Old Trafford, Etihad, etc. Most of the time people are either getting food, using the bathroom, or talking with friends at the half. Most games on TV don't show the field at all since they'd rather show commercials or have the commentators review the first half.