Source: Daily_Mail
It's like they had a rock concert on it - Martin O'Neill lays into Wembley pitch
[LNB]Martin O'Neill has slammed the state of the Wembley pitch for the Carling Cup final and claimed 'it looked like a rock concert had been held on it the night before.'[LNB]The pitch, which was used again on Wednesday night for England's friendly with Egypt, was cited by Sir Alex Ferguson as a contributing factor to the hamstring injury that has ruled Manchester United striker Michael Owen out for the rest of the season. [LNB]But it has not lessened the desire of the Aston Villa manager to return to the national stadium for the FA Cup final as his side prepare to take on Reading in Sunday's quarter-final. [LNB] No excuses: O'Neill was critical of the Wembley playing surface after Villa's defeat [LNB]O'Neill has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at the Wembley surface from the likes of James Milner, Matthew Upson, Frank Lampard and Ferguson in recent days. [LNB]The pitch for the Villa-Manchester United encounter had barely improved for the England's match Wednesday evening. [LNB] A slip on the surface by Upson led to Egypt scoring the opening goal before England recovered to win 3-1. [LNB]Angry: Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill [LNB]O'Neill said: 'We are going to try to win and get back there, even though the Wembley pitch is not great. It would be fantastic. [LNB]'It is very poor for a national stadium. There is really no excuse for it. 'The stadium costs £800 million to sort out and the one thing you'd think they'd get right would be the playing surface. [LNB]'I don't know what the reason for it was but, considering it was a showpiece final, it was in very poor condition. [LNB]'It is poor in every aspect, slippery on top, divots being taken out, you lose your footing and Sir Alex Ferguson has blamed the pitch on Michael Owen's injury. [LNB] 'It looks like they had played 35 games on it the previous week. Yes, it was the same for both teams. They've had plenty of time to get it right. It has been up and running for a couple of seasons. [LNB] 'It was like they had a rock concert on it the night before. The rock concert boys would have complained about it!' [LNB] THE MIDLANDER: 'Giants' Aston Villa have won one League title in 100 years and one FA Cup in 90 - so give Martin O'Neill some credit for what he's achievingPremier League reject plan for play-off to decide final Champions League spotEx-Newcastle defender Habib Beye set to throw in the towel at Aston Villa ASTON VILLA FC
