Season › 2013-14 › News Goodison pitch stitch is state-of-the-art Michael Kenrick , 10 August, 0comments | Jump to most recent Everton get their first look at the results of £500,000 investment in the Goodison Park pitch tomorrow when Real Betis are the visitors to the Old Lady for the Blues' final pre-season game. The usually impressive playing surface suffered problems last season which prompted the club to install the Desso Grassmaster system, which combines nylon fibres stitched into the natural grass surface to add greater stability to the pitch and prevent it from cutting up during periods of poor weather. Goodison's pitch now comprises 7% artificial fibres and while it won't be immediately obvious when the Blues kick off against Betis or host West Bromwich Albion in a fortnight's time, the improvements should become obvious once the worst of the winter schedule arrives. “We started about 10 weeks ago and took the whole surface of the pitch off, “ Head groundsman Bob Lennon says in the Echo. “We reconstructed the profile of the pitch right through from the subsoil right through the top grass. The natural turf has been stitched in with Desso which pushes an 8-inch tine, with fibre on it, into the surface to support it. “It stabilises the pitch, mainly for the middle part of the season around Christmas time, when you get all the bad weather. It is compatibly stable all the way through the season so you don't get any variants. When you pull the grass apart you can see the fibre of the artificial grass underneath. It's not really visible to the naked eye. “It is the same with football pitches. They break up. We class the Desso pitches as the Rolls-Royce of pitches. It is not a Ferrari or a Lamborghini but it is made the best way. It may not be the fastest or the best looking but it's the one people always go for. “It is about consistency for the home side. And the compatibility from the training ground to the match pitch. The Desso pitch was designed about 15 years ago and so I've been after it since then really. But it is about the price and time scale for Everton. We need at least 10-11 weeks to do it. “The board have been terrific. They have been fantastic over this and have gone for it. We've been absolutely hammered work-wise to get this pitch ready for the start of the new season.” Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Echo About these ads © ToffeeWeb