A JOB BEING WELL DONE F
Matt Rainey, Head Groundsman at Forest Green Rovers, appears to be on a one man mission to raise the standard of pitches in the Blue Square Premier.
With Setanta Sports agreeing a three year TV deal, he believes it is important to highlight the skills of the groundsman to a watching audience that, until recently, would have little understanding of the quality of the game outside the Football League.
Matt takes up the story... 68
orest Green Rovers are currently enjoying their eleventh consecutive season at the highest non-league level, the Blue Square Premier. Located in the Cotswolds, in the Gloucestershire town of Nailsworth, the club have a new, five millon pound, multi purpose stadium, completed in 2006. The new stadium generated some much needed finance, enabling the club to operate on a full-time, professional basis. With the ‘bigger named’ teams, such as Torquay, York, Mansfield and Oxford, that are currently fighting to get back into the Football League, this new status is vitally important for the club to be able to compete. With the new stadium came a new
rootzone playing surface, and a new full- time groundsman, me! In addition the club appointed an experienced manager in Jim Harvey, formerly manager of Morecambe and an ex-player with Hereford and Arsenal. Jim coaches a quick, slick, one touch, passing game. Long gone is the long ‘boot’ up field that was once synonymous with non- league football. Last season Forest Green Rovers finished eighth, their highest ever position, and reached the FA Cup 2nd round. With so many former league clubs now playing in the Blue Square, alongside clubs aspiring for a taste of the ‘big time’, it is little wonder that the league
has attracted interest from scouts from the Football League searching out emerging talent (our 28 goal striker from last season, Stuart Fleetwood, was sold to Charlton Athletic). Equally, it is no surprise that television has shown greater interest with Setanta Sports agreeing a three year deal to show fifty-two live games a season. This has exposed the standard of the pitches to a much larger audience and, whilst it is clear that the best surfaces are currently at the clubs which dropped out of the football league, it does give clubs like ours the opportunity to improve the playing surfaces, albeit with limited resources.
I tell my board of directors that these ‘league’ standards are what we have to achieve to compete because, like it or not, the role of the modern day groundsman has a direct impact on the success or failure of the club. It is my job to ensure that the club do not stand still where the pitch is concerned. Expectations are now so much higher no matter what level a club plays at. It has been rewarding being a part of the club’s upturn, both on and off the field. I have been with the club for four seasons and it has been a constant challenge to raise the standard of the surface on a very restricted budget. The biggest tasks were improving the equipment I had at my disposal and educating the board of directors to
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