Does size really matter? Pochettino is not the first to suffer pitch problems

Football managers are accustomed to shifting the blame following defeats, with referees the usual target of their ire. Mauricio Pochettino, however, blamed the White Hart Lane pitch in the wake of Tottenham’s surprise 2-1 defeat against Newcastle on Sunday.

“Our style means we need a bigger space to play because we play a positional game,” the Argentinian coach said. “It’s true that White Hart Lane is a little bit tight and it’s better for the opponent when they play deep.”

Pochettino’s specific problem is against opponents who defend with a ‘low block’, sitting on the edge of the penalty box. “On Sunday there were two shots from Newcastle – it was unlucky for us. And they play deep. West Bromwich play deep, Liverpool the same, they play very deep and it was difficult for us. We need time to adapt to our new set-up and to understand better our position on the pitch.”

Two years ago the Premier League attempted to standardise pitch size. “Unless otherwise permitted by the board, in league matches the length of the pitch shall be 105 metres and its breadth 68 metres,” read rule K21. The next rule, however, states that exceptions are allowed “if it is impossible to comply with rule K21 due to the nature of the construction of the ground”.

Ten Premier League clubs comply perfectly with the 105m x 68m regulations – Arsenal, Aston Villa, Hull, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea and West Bromwich Albion – although there are only minor differences elsewhere.

White Hart Lane is 100m x 67m, with Stoke’s Britannia Stadium and Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road the smallest, at 100m x 66m.

Finding space remains a key attacking concept, but the difference here is minimal. Such small variations should not have a significant impact upon play, although it’s obvious that expansive, attacking sides thrive on large pitches, and more defensive teams, and long-ball teams, favour smaller playing surfaces. It is interesting that Pochettino is so concerned about the dimensions – his coaching idol, his former Argentina manager Marcelo Bielsa, often used to pace out an opposition pitch pre-match, checking it matched the dimensions provided by the club.

Perhaps Bielsa had heard of Graeme Souness. In 1987 Souness, then Rangers manager, was scouting their upcoming European Cup opponents Dynamo Kiev, and realised the Ukrainian side had two particularly dangerous wingers. The night before the game, the Ibrox groundsman worked his magic at the manager’s command.

“The pitch didn’t have to be a fixed width as long as it was above a certain minimum, so I thought: ‘Right, I’ll make it the absolute minimum,’” Souness said. “On the Tuesday afternoon the Kiev players trained on the pitch when it was the normal size. On Wednesday night they came out for the match and must have been shocked to discover that, after 15 paces, they were on the touchline … it wasn’t purist stuff, but it was within the rules.” Having lost the first leg 1-0 in Kiev, Rangers turned the tie around, and triumphed 2-1 on aggregate.

Arsène Wenger once blamed the small pitch at Highbury for Arsenal’s disciplinary problems. “There is something about the size of the pitch at home,” he said in 2002. “It’s tight and, of course, we have a dynamic way of playing, everybody defends well and we are a team who put opponents under pressure, so there is more physical contact. On a bigger pitch, you have less contact. It is certainly linked with that. Highbury is very compact.”

Stoke, considered the anti-Arsenal under their former coach Tony Pulis, are also an interesting case. They set their pitch size at the minimum possible, which meant their long-ball game was more effective. It also – literally – played into the hands of their former long-throw expert Rory Delap.

When Stoke qualified for the Europa League in 2011-12, Uefa’s pitch regulations were larger than that of the Premier League, which meant the Britannia briefly had two separate pitch markings visible throughout games, which confused their right-back Ryan Shotton, who took a quick throw from the wrong touchline in a league game.

Ultimately, Premier League pitches are all roughly the same size. However, the Laws of the Game state pitches can be between 90 and 120 metres long, and drastically different in width – between 50 and 100 metres, although they must be longer than they are wide. With such variations allowed at amateur level, it is Sunday League sides, rather than Premier League teams, who can be particularly tactical with the dimensions of their pitch.