I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard people talk about the intimidating size of the Wembley pitch. The energy-sapping nature of covering all that extra ground compared to the piddly size of a regular pitch. How defensive teams struggle to cover the extra space in behind them on the mammoth pitch at Wembley. But it’s just not true.
The dimensions of the pitch at Wembley are actually very similar to just about every other pitch at major English football grounds.
I find it a bit strange that there’s any latitude at all in pitch dimensions, though it does allow clubs to have even more of a home advantage by customising the size of their pitch to their style of play. While pitch sizes do vary from one ground to the next, Wembley stadium is completely average when compared to others.
(Thanks to Sheps on the Down at the Mac forum for their post about the Wembley pitch size, which this article is based upon.)
How does Wembley’s pitch size compare to The Johns Smiths’ Stadium and The City Ground?
The size of the playing area at Wembley stadium is 105m by 68m, which is actually a little bit smaller in area than both the John Smiths’ Stadium (105m x 69m) and The City Ground (105m x 71m). This means, if anything, the playoff finalists will have to adjust to playing on a slightly narrower field of play and there is no difference at all in the length.
Interestingly (or maybe not), Forest have the largest playing area in the Championship and Town the third largest, so both teams are used to playing on a bigger than average pitch and having to cover a lot of ground. Wembley would be solidly mid-table in its playing area, with exactly the same length and width as Swansea, Reading, Bristol, Bournemouth, Coventry, Hull and West Brom.
Why does the myth of Wembley being a large pitch persist?
I’ve never questioned it before now when I’ve heard people talk about the massive pitch at Wembley because it feels true. Having watched Town play there twice now, the pitch looks massive when you see it within the stadium. The massive stadium surrounding it and the distance between the pitch and the stands give the impression of a larger than normal pitch.
Looking at it from the other end, Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium has the exact same pitch dimensions but the claustrophobic nature of the ground makes the pitch seem smaller than normal because the fans are breathing down the players’ necks all game.
There’s also the fact that Wembley IS a different kind of pitch purely because it’s the national stadium where important games are played. Even though you can’t measure it with a trundle wheel, there is something different about playing there because there’s usually something at stake when games are played on that pitch. From a players’ point of view, the pitch is going to feel massive when you’re playing games that will have a huge impact on your livelihood, doubly so if the game goes to extra time and you’ve got to find the energy to run up and down the pitch for another half an hour.
What does this mean for the playoff final?
Neither Forest or Town have anything to worry about in practical terms when they take to the pitch at Wembley, they won’t have to play deeper than normal because there is more space to defend and wingers won’t get more space to torment fullbacks with, it’s just a normal sized pitch.
The pitch may not be a problem, but the fact the game is being played at Wembley, the stadium will be packed and there’s £200m on the line all contribute to the nerves the players may feel.
The fact that Town are fairly frequent playoff finalists and Nottingham Forest have never played at such an occasion may be a factor. It feels like there’s a lot more pressure on Forest’s players for this game because their fans are so desperate to go up, whereas Town were in the Premier League only four seasons ago and our fans are divided on whether a quick return would be as much fun as competing in the Championship.
Some pretty dull facts about pitch sides
Here are a variety of, admittedly quite boring, facts about pitch sizes:
- League One’s Shrewsbury Town have the biggest pitch in the top four divisions of English football, with a whopping 110m by 75m pitch for their players to cover every home game.
- Swindon, Stevenage, Wolves and Stoke are tied for the smallest pitches, all coming in at 100mx64m.
- There are different rules about the parameters of pitch sizes set by The FA, FIFA and The Premier League. The FA and FIFA give ranges within which pitch sizes must fit but the Premier League are most prescriptive, giving an exact size all clubs have to fit to unless their stadium is too small to allow it.
- I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the exact measurements that the Premier League mandate are the same as the size of Wembley’s pitch: 105m by 68m. This means that whichever team wins next Sunday will have to shave a little bit off the wings of their pitches.
Thanks for reading to the end of quite possibly the most boring article this site has ever seen. Like many fans, I’m excited about next weekend’s game but there’s not a great deal to write about at this stage. It was either this or ranking this century’s best Terry the Terrier costumes (including a 500 word rant about the squirrel-looking one).
Not as boring as you think, unless I’m incredibly boring lol.
In a way the final will be a day of mixed emotions for the squad who will be playing their last game together. Afterwards there will have to be big changes. If it is in the Premier League then players such as Lees, Hogg, Pearson, Rhodes and Ward are all at risk of going due to their age/ability. Whether other players such as Russell, Holmes and High would be good enough is difficult to say as more quality players will be needed to come in if we are to compete. That also applies to many of the younger B team players who also wouldn’t make it in the Premier League yet. If it is to be the Championship then O’Brien and maybe Thomas, Toffolo, Rhodes and Nicholls may be sold. Then all the loan players will have gone back so whatever the circumstances it’s looking like almost a new team next season. Even Corberan could go if he gets a better offer.
good article! I think we all believe the Wembley Myth (I still do, even after reading this article 😀
looking forward to the Terry the Terrier costume piece next!
Great Blog, found it by mistake!, if you find yourself sat next to a Tricky Tree, please be kind-we’ve had a rubbish last 30 years🙄, seriously though I’m also not too bothered about going up, I don’t think we’ll survive for long without major cash input, hope all Town fans have a brilliant day ( although I’m a Forest fan through and through I was actually brought up in the early 70’s until the age of 13 in Brighouse so have very fond childhood memories of the area and people see you on Sunday,