No rain is forecast, so the irrigation system is switched on. The perimeter heads come on one at a time and run for five minutes, whilst the centre paired sprinkler heads are timed to run in pairs for 15 minutes. giving a total running time of around 130 minutes.
By 5.00pm the watering cycle is nearing the end. Calum and Mark have now officially finished their working day and are free to go home and enjoy the night off. Richard gets changed into his match day ‘smart clothes’ tie and jacket.
20:00
the police and club officials. He keeps in radio contact with his staff and collegues.
18:00
The match day staff arrive and assemble in the staff mess room situated underneath the main stand. Richard arranges pies and sandwiches for their tea. There are two sets of four lads who are all mad keen Bolton fans. They have worked for Richard for the past ten years doing anything from moving snow to carrying players off on stretchers. Payment is made via complementary tickets - a very useful tool for Richard on match days!
Richard then goes and sees the Bolton manager, Gary Megson, to keep him informed about the condition of the pitch and to find out if he wants anything extra carried out, such as watering at half time. On this occasion the answer is “no thanks”.
Game restarts, and staff get some welcome refreshments from a catering outlet.
23:00 19:00
All match day staff take up their positions at pitch side. Both teams go out on to the pitch and begin their warm up routines. This consists of 30 minutes of activity which includes goalkeeping exercises, small game drills and stretching. As soon as the players have finished the groundstaff get on and remove all the equipment and return to their allotted seats near the players tunnel.
The game kicks off. Mick Steel’s daughter, Alice, has been one of the mascots. Richard takes up a central position at the tunnel entrance alongside
21:45
The game is over. Bolton have confounded the pundits and won 1-0. Everybody is happy and looking forward to getting home after a long hard day. All there is left to do is get the lighting rigs back on the pitch. However, this cannot be done until the car park has been cleared of traffic.
By 11.00pm the final lighting rig is in position and plugged in. Richard calls all the staff together and thanks them for their hard work. It has been a succesful day. The pitch looked good, both teams played some decent football and, as far as Richard and his team are concerned, it was the right result. It is time to go home.
Footnote: Bolton Wanderers progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup by drawing the away leg 0-0. So, Richard and his staff had another UEFA match to prepare for in March. They played Sporting Lisbon eventually losing 2-1 on aggregate.
20:45
Half Time. All the groundstaff (and one extra helper!) replace divots and remove any litter from the playing surface.
22:15
Groundstaff begin bringing the rigs back into the stadium towing the units using their E-Z-GO electric vehicle and then manoeuvring in place by hand. The team have got it down to a fine art and are able to get the rigs into position and working within 40 minutes.
The rigs are kept in a compound situated in the car park. It usually takes about 40 minutes for the car park to clear before they can gain access. The groundstaff spend this time divoting and cleaning the surface of litter.
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