Lee Johnson expanded his recent criticism of Stadium of Light
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Lee Johnson said that Sunderland’s stadium problems at the Stadium of Light stemmed from laying the wrong type of surface "many months ago."
Since he took over, the owner of the Black Cats has raised objections to the stadium more than once. The most recent time was after the 1-1 draw with Oxford United on Saturday. The former manager of Sunderland also criticized the stadium-some Publicly and others privately.
Johnson painstakingly pointed out that the club staff was not wrong. He said it was only because the bowl shape of the stadium meant that the current stadium simply did not have enough airflow and light.
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Johnson is keen to bring his own football brand to Sunderland, having previously described it as resembling an "ice hockey" in which the ball moves on a smooth surface.
Work has been done on existing courts throughout the summer, but in fact, Johnson said Sunderland will need to install a "Desso" court-a hybrid grass/man-made fiber surface-which is common in the Premier League .
The problem is that such a surface is expensive. Sunderland will hold a concert at the Stadium of Light next summer, which reduces the time spent on the main stadium.
When asked about the current status of the Stadium of Light, Johnson said: "I have to be careful because of course I don't want to disrespect anyone.
"I said that our ground staff do their best, whether it's at the Guangming Stadium or the Academy.
"But I've got a deep understanding of the history of this matter, because the court is one of the most important aspects of the way I want to play.
"It is very important that the ball will spin back instead of moving like a tumbleweed, which slows down the game and means that we can't play a one-touch football suitable for our No. 10 player and forward player.
"However, we are where we are.
"Historically, many months ago, the club may have laid the wrong course.
"I've heard stories like this. In the days of the Premier League, players were asked which stadium they preferred. One game they won 2-0 and another game they lost 1-0. Decided to choose a course based on the result.
So a lot of money was originally spent on the wrong type of stadium-not necessarily a bad stadium, but you have to remember that Stadium of Light is a big stadium.
"Although it doesn't get a lot of air, and it doesn't get a lot of light, this has become a problem.
"For example, our training ground is definitely A1, and its surface is exactly the same as the stadium. That's because the light in the academy is much stronger and the airflow is constant because there is a breeze all year round!
"So you now need to enter your Desso type of things, which requires a high price.
"You can't do this in January, and [summer] there are concerts and everything that happens."
Shortly after Kyril Louis-Dreyfus took over in February, a report appeared that Sunderland was considering laying a hybrid court similar to that used by the Spurs' new state-of-the-art stadium.
Johnson said at the time that negotiations had been conducted on the upgrade, but although some work had been done during the summer, no major work had been carried out.
He said: "I know the club will invest in the right things. They have done it. They have invested a lot of money on the training ground so that we can train young players.
I am not complaining about anyone in particular, I just want to say that in order for us to truly play the top entertainment games that everyone wants to see, a good stadium is a very important part of it.
"For example, when we went to Crewe, you could see how good the stadium was that day, but this is largely related to the structure of the stands, the way the light enters and the air passes through."
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