Pitch looking like a farmer’s field before Matt took over ...
by the start of the season, no exception could be made. As they say, rules is rules! In fairness to the league, they would already have begun the process of finalising fixtures in the various divisions. So, at the start of the 2009-10 season, the club found themselves in the strange situation of having, what is arguably, the best Step 5 ground in the country, yet unable to play at that level. However, with Step 5 now approved, the Midlands Alliance beckons “any time soon”. Sadly, the club missed out by one place on promotion at the end of the 2009-10 season. But, as club manager, Tim Tipton, explains “Success will, in turn, attract more senior players to the
... and now, in May of this year
ensuring that the changing room plumbing worked and that the bar and catering facilities met hygiene regulations and would be able to cope with the influx of members. Matt takes up the story:
“It was all hands to the pump. We had a very tight schedule to bring everything up to Step 5 standard. As it turned out we just missed the deadline, but we are ready for the next level, whenever that may be. Actually, although the pitch looked like a meadow, all it really required was a bit of TLC. It hadn’t been touched for eighteen months.
I was able to get valuable advice from
height to encourage it to tiller and become more dense. This was followed by a programme of vertidraining to relieve compaction and help increase aerobic activity within the soil profile. I then topdressed with 140 tonnes of sharp silicon sand to help improve surface levels and surface drainage.
Once that had been done, it was a case
of regular ongoing maintenance to help improve the condition of the playing surface. I mowed every other day to around 28mm, fed the grass with granular fertilisers and harrowed to keep the sward open and to remove dead surface vegetation. I say ‘around’ because my current ‘very old’ Ransomes 24 inch Mastiff really is not up to the job, so I’m looking at getting a Dennis G860 36 inch mower to improve the cutting quality. Paul Littlehales, a local spraying contractor, comes in, as when needed, to control the weeds and apply wetting agents and fungicides. With a full
Matt Clayton with club manager, Tim Tipton
club and expand the youth section. We are already reaping the benefits of a better quality pitch and this, in turn, will give us a sounder financial footing and enable us to invest even more in the facilities, including the pitch.” Head Groundsman is Matt Clayton, who spends around twenty hours a week at the ground, alternating his time with his landscape garden contracts. Whilst Matt busied himself bringing the pitch up to Step 5 standard, the club’s Stadium Manager, Steve Brindley, Vice Chairman, Ian Round, both volunteers, plus a host of other club members, worked tirelessly to get the facilities back in order. Much of this was cosmetic, redecorating throughout,
26 Still evidence of the RFUs legacy
the Wolves groundstaff, who have been absolutely brilliant, particularly Ken Bates, whose son plays for our youth section.
They outlined the work that would be
required to get the pitch into a playable condition as soon as possible. We had patches of overgrown grass, low spots and bare areas. We even invested £10,000 in pitch improvements to try and make the deadline. We took a number of soil samples to establish what we were dealing with in terms of soil make-up and the nutrient status of the pitch. We are blessed with a very free draining soil profile with root growth below 150mm.
I mowed the grass to a manageable
growing season behind me, the pitch has come on leaps and bounds and is
beginning to look the part, especially when prepped for matches. It must be okay because the Wolves U15 Academy side play here now.” AFC Wulfrunians have taken a bold step by running the Castlecroft facility. Steve, Ian and Matt are mindful that the club now has some of the best facilities in the country at their level. They are also aware that everything revolves around the quality of the pitch. To that end, Matt has enrolled on a mentoring scheme at Wolves, where he attends college and gets the opportunity to work alongside the professional groundsmen at the club - and he’s even picked up an old Ransomes Mastiff that was no longer being used!
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