Copying my comment from the other thread:

"It isn't just our plastic pitch that is the problem; we have lost every away game on plastic pitches this season except for one draw at Eastbourne - Aveley, Horsham, Tonbridge and Slough. We've also made hard work of every home game this season, not winning by more than one goal except for the Hornchurch game.

I think one of the biggest problems is just not having players who are used to the pitch. Foulkes, Camp, Brooking, Milsom, Norville-Williams, Young, Williams, Randall, Alexandrou and Murphy are all brand new to our pitch this season and a lot of the experienced players like Briggs, Josh Taylor, Bobby-Joe Taylor, Moore, McShane, Fuller, etc have been missing or not seen many minutes.

Harrison Foulkes is a perfect example of this problem as he looks an excellent keeper on grass this season with really good performances away at Truro, Weston, Farnborough, Chelmsford but at Meadowbank he looks a completely different player and his distribution in particular has been really impacted there. Our pitch just doesn't suit the type of football we look to play.

As we sign more and more "EFL type" players, we are getting less and less who are used to and effective on our pitch. Not sure what the solution is but I really think we might struggle to progress at the moment with our current pitch..."

The ball definitely rolls differently on our pitch specifically, you can see that it holds up and bobbles due to the amount of those rubber balls on it. This obviously doesn't help our passing game and definitely slows down play.

Copying my comment from other thread

"I'm glad people have mentioned the pitch, its something I've been debating in my own mind since we looked doomed last season! 

As a lapsed palace fan a side traditionally involved in relegation scrap (when I was growing up), the years your luck runs out is when you don't win games at home against the other relegation candidates. 

Last season are record at home against those teams was appalling, cant remember exactly (I might have to order the book)! Which lead me to believe the players, understandably in my opinion have lost faith in pitch, it's dangerous! They have seen to many serious injuries on it. I've never played top level sport but the need to give 100% is must,  if there is a nagging doubt in the back of people minds will put you off the pace, it will cost you. I do wonder if those doubt are still there. Not sure what the realistic answer is to the problem? 

Only a theory and could be complete nonsense, but it does nag at me!"

Thanks @calvertskans for your post it a great point 

Clearly this season we are trying to play football across the park and plastic pitches are going to test that. Agree when we play on grass and get our game going we are at points unplayable Chelmsford the prime example, periods of Farnborough game and although disappointing in the end I took Mrs EW and family to Torquay and she couldn't believe some of the football we played!

It is a tough one and I don't know solution! As the lone Dorking fan in the pub I hang out in, in Epsom it always great to see other Dad's being so proud and keen to tell me there kids (boys and girls) have played at Dorking and how much they love the set up and how great the facilities there are. So the benefit to area/ Surrey is undoubtable. 

Just means the first team might have to move back to West humble or play home game at Leatherhead next season! 😉  

@epsomwanderer Plan is, I think, to relay a grass surface at Meadowbank, then transfer the plastic to Westhumble, thereby keeping the community benefits....

So, while I agree that the slow and bobbly pitch doesn’t help our passing game and makes playing out from the back a bit hairy sometimes,  it was only three seasons ago that our home form was excellent and we all thought the pitch must be a big advantage.  And that was with many of the same players.  

The games are generally a much better watch on grass, and even last season we played some decent stuff away at times.  I think Marc can’t wait to move the plastic to Westhumble and the players too. In the meantime, I hope it doesn’t stop good players coming in and that the injuries aren’t down to the pitch. 

Thanks for the above posts 

I assume the moving the plastic to west humble is all tied up with purchase meadowbank? Are there other issue, I dont know west humble  site at all (other than from train window). Are there parking issue etc if it is going to become community facility?

@baggy I think the injuries issue certainly in Marc's mind and there is a lot of evidence to suggest he not wrong are down to the pitch and that where my original theory came in my mind this must rub off onto the players and I do wonder if subconsciously they do hold back slightly at home. 

Having said that plastic pitch do appear to be an issue wherever we play is this season is a problem. 

Westhumble has a pretty basic car park and it hosted the play off final against Corinthian Casuals in from of about 1000 so it's fine for community use. Westhumble already has the planning for the artificial pitch, however to get anything resembling community use out of it in the winter months, floodlights will be needed to be reinstalled again