During last winter, Greg Smith, Stadium Manager at Notts County Football Club, had to contend with a huge dump of snow and a prolonged spell of sub-zero temperatures. Nothing unusual there, except that he also had to cope with a new ground sharing scheme with Nottingham RUFC.


Laurence Gale MSc reports


“Having dual usage on the pitch is not ideal, but I understand the reasons behind the decision"


Greg Smith, Stadium Manager, Notts Couty FC A


s you head into Nottingham along the London Road, you are greeted by Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. A few hundred yards later and Nottingham Forest’s City Ground comes into view and, as you cross


the River Trent, Notts County’s Meadow Lane is just half a mile further on. Welcome to the heart and soul of Nottingham sport. Notts County are the world’s oldest football league club, being formed in 1862. Having been FA Cup winners twice in the 1890s, plus a spell in the top flight in the 1990s, their recent history has been checkered to say the least, with the threat of administration, and of Middle East ownership, being serious concerns or opportunities, depending on your viewpoint, in recent years. This season sees them close to the relegation zone in npower League One, and with a new manager in former Manchester United and England midfielder, Paul Ince. As has been well documented in this magazine, being a groundsman in the lower echelons of the Football League often brings its share of problems, with ageing machinery and tight budgets being par for the course. End of season renovations are usually carried out on a shoestring with the result that, as the following season progresses into winter, grass cover can be lost.


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