Winter Sports - Football
What’s in the shed? STADIUM
2 x Dennis G860s inc. brush and verticut cassettes
Toro Procore 648 3 x Hayter Harrier 56 rotary mowers 1 x Techneat pedestrian sprayer Bowcom GMX spray line marker Everris Accupro fertiliser spreader TRAINING GROUND
1 x Dennis G860 inc. brush and verticut cassettes
Hayter rotaries at work after the match
running around in ankle deep mush, and with the old fashioned boots that often meant carrying around five pounds of mud throughout the game!” I asked him how many more goals he would have scored had he had the opportunity to play on a pitch of this quality, but he modestly declined to give an answer.
Another ex-player who
David Whiteman with Burnley legend Andy Lochhead
hallowed grass the second cut of the morning. It is still more than six hours to kick off, but the place is a hive of activity. In addition to the cutting, the white lines are sprayed on with military like precision … all except the penalty spots and corner quadrants ... they are hand painted by Paul himself. I remember, as a schoolboy, getting the opportunity to kick a ball around the Turf Moor pitch and it was absolutely magical; now just walking around the stadium gave me the same thrill. By coincidence, I bumped into a childhood hero and Burnley legend, Andy Lochhead who first played for the Clarets in 1961, the same year that I started to support them. A big, bustling centre forward, he was much feared by centre halves everywhere and became the leading scorer in only his second season at the club. In a career that saw him play for Leicester,
Aston Villa and even Denver Dynamos in the USA, Andy returned to Burnley after retiring and now looks after the sponsors on match days. As we looked out over the magnificent pitch, I asked him what he thought about the quality of the playing surfaces these days. “Incredible, is the only way to describe it” he says. “In my day it was not uncommon to be
kept a connection with the club throughout a long career was Arthur Bellamy, who sadly died this year at the age of 71. Arthur made his first appearance for Burnley in 1963, against Manchester City in the old First Division, scoring on his debut in a 5-2 win. He went
on to make more than 200 first team appearances for the club before being transferred to Chesterfield in 1972. He returned to Burnley after retiring from the game and, in 1979, he rejoined the club as youth coach and later assistant manager and, finally, head groundsman before he retired in 2007. These days in the modern era, when
footballers retire they have often amassed a fortune in a relatively short time and can live out their days in relative luxury. Not so long ago, when a footballer finished playing he had to find another way of earning a living. I still visit Burnley quite often and it is amazing how many ex-players still live in the town. Many of them married local girls, some took over pubs, others bought fish and chip shops and others had milk rounds … a far cry from today’s game where a lucrative second career in the media often beckons. It is 3.00pm and referee Kevin Friend gets
the first half under way. The match is played in a terrific atmosphere and the end to end football would please any neutral. The home side have created the most chances, but it is still 0-0 when the teams return to the dressing rooms at half time. Waiting pitch side with divoting forks at the ready, Paul and his team
1 x Allett Buffalo 34 3 x Hayter Harrier 56 rotary mowers Toro 5510 fairway mower Ariens 1544 Banks mower Kubota L3830 Tractor Kawasaki Mule 4010 1 x Techneat pedstrian sprayer RT Impact Gold spray line marker Countax A25-50HE Inc 3G rake & Dragmat Sisis Megaslit Wessex sweeper Sisis Twinplay Everris Accupro fertiliser spreader Parker Leaf Vacuum Huqsvarna 536 LiR Strimmer
have just fifteen minutes to repair the divots before the teams are out for the second half. Laurence cannot resist the temptation and he is also soon out there with borrowed fork. Just minutes into the second half and
disaster strikes for the Clarets as a ball is flung in to the box from the left hand side and new signing, Sakho, rises to head the Hammers into the lead. Even worse to come for the home fans as, just five minutes later, £12 million signing Valencia plants a superb header into the corner and West Ham are now 2-0 up away from home. It did look for a time that, when Burnley’s George Boyd pulled a goal back in the 60th minute, it was game on, but veteran striker Carlton Cole sealed the win and the points with a goal twenty minutes from time to ensure West Ham manager Sam Allardyce had a happy 60th birthday. So, disappointment for the home side and
smiles all around for the Londoners who are having their best start to a Premier League season in years. And what about us? Little old Burnley, the
smallest town in the entire division, without a win and languishing around the foot of the table? Most of the pundits have already written us off, saying that Burnley will be relegated straight back to the Championship, but they have been wrong before. I remember, just last season, when Crystal Palace and Sunderland were both rooted to the foot of the table at Christmas, but they survived and lived to fight another day in the Premiership. Whatever happens, to see Turf Moor buzzing once again with a full house and quality visitors every other week is fantastic, and will live long in the fan’s memories. We may not survive more than one season eating at the top table, but you never know. Miracles can happen ... can’t they?
PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015 I 49
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