I don’t believe it! The not so serious side of the industry
©BBC Cloud cuckoo land?
HAVING decided (voted) that the 2022 Football World Cup would be staged in that great footballing nation, Qatar, one of the hottest country’s on the planet, and then muting the idead of staging the tournament in
I’ve just seen a fence...
A TEAM of four fence dressers were working day and night to set up the Aintree racecourse in time for the world’s greatest steeplechase, overlooked by the world’s greatest band
winter because it will be ‘too hot’ in summer - a topic still being debated by the way - it’s no wonder that FIFA are looking at alternative ways to make playing and viewing conditions more agreeable.
So, now, scientists at Qatar University have come up with ‘The Cloud’, a carbon fibre construction, filled with helium, that will be programmed to hover over the stadium to shield the players and spectators from the burning sun.
Next, FIFA will be telling us that it is difficult to grow grass in such a hot climate and that artificial grass will have to be used - and that is a real threat!
Is it me, or is this whole scenario just bonkers? What’s wrong with regularly staging the World Cup in countries where football is popular? Somewhere like Europe or South America perhaps? Oh yes, I forgot, Russia is Europe.
Let’s hope the cloud doesn’t leak, or we’ll have twenty-two Joe Pasquali sound alike’s on the pitch!
Sack the board ...
THE Guardian’s regular You Are The Ref strip, illustrated by Paul Trevillion with answers by former referee, Keith Hackett, recently asked; “An angry fan has broken in and painted ‘Sack the board’ on the pitch. The grass is fine, but the words can’t be removed. Can the game go ahead?
Mr Hackett’s answer: “The words are not offensive, the pitch is undamaged and the ink isn’t dangerous to players - so the game can go ahead. But you should still make every effort to see if the groundsman can paint over it with green dye or use coloured sand; you have a responsibilty to the image of the game. Personally, I’d be confident that the groudstaff
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Head Groundsman, Mark Aynsley, and the crew spent the best part of three weeks building the race’s famous fences from scratch.
This year, Beatles’ fans were in for a special treat on Liverpool Day - the first day of the three-day Aintree meeting. A Fab Four experience, created with 12ft tall puppets of John, Paul, George and Ringo went
On your bike!
WHEN our editor was just a strap of a lad, he played rugby to a high-ish standard (or so he tells us), but always hankered after the big time.
So, in an effort to make the grade, he began training with Moseley RFC, a ten mile cycle ride from his home.
As you might imagine, our Loz was in his element, training with 1st XV players and international stars of the time.
The Adams Family
PITCHCARE reaches the parts that other magazines cannot. At least, that’s what this picture suggests, showing Tony Adams reading the latest issue on the training pitch of Gabala FC in Azerbaijan, where he is the manager.
© The Guardian
could come up with some sort of solution: for me, they are the unsung heroes of the game.
Apparently, Tony is a big fan of the magazine, searching out tips on pitch preparation, as new grass pitches are being installed as we speak.
The trouble was that he had to leave every training session early because he had no lights on his bike, much to the amusement of the players. You can just imagine him with his hand up asking the coach for permission to leave!
At the end of season awards, all the players had clubbed together to make a special presentation - a set of lights for his bike!
walkabout between races on the Thursday of the meeting. And there was a reconstruction of the famous Abbey Road zebra crossing.
Mark Aynsley said sixteen wagon loads - around 150 tonnes - of spruce branches had been trucked in from forests in the Lake District for the sixteen fences.
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