Winter Sports - Football


Giving the players and the staff the right tools to do their job is the way to make a football club successful. I’m here because the manager wants the pitch to play right. Otherwise, what’s the point? There is no point in having a pitch that plays like a dud, even if it looks great


”


whose job role overlaps with mine to some extent, and he has a set budget, but it works best for me not to.”


The staff is currently six‐ strong. Andy, Pete Needham (Assistant Head Groundsman) and Elliott Bashford work at the stadium, whilst Tim Watt (Senior Groundsman) Leighton Lindley and Ewan Doman work at the training ground. Tim has been at the club for over twenty years ‐ with the other staff all joining in 2017 after a restructuring by Andy to improve standards and progress the department. There is also volunteer aid on matchdays for divoting, some mowing and the like. Pete was Head


Andy Thompson


Groundsman at Doncaster Knights Rugby Club and served his apprenticeship under Andy at Doncaster Rovers prior to that. Elliott joined from Doncaster Rovers after starting his apprenticeship there. He will complete his NVQ Level 2 in 2018. Leighton worked on the grounds team of Sheffield University for over twenty years, plus a short stint at Rotherham United before joining SWFC. Ewan joined from Hallamshire Golf Club where he started an apprenticeship NVQ Level 2, which will be completed in 2018


Pete Needham 48 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 Elliott Bashford


The staffing levels are enough to scarify and topdress at renovation, and they only hire help when in need of specialist


equipment, although this is somewhat frequent, because the main pitch has been Desso Grassmaster since last season.


Andy inherited an old Fibresand pitch with limited if no working drainage. The first year he top drained the pitch, which added needed drainage. However, the destabilising of the surface made the pitch difficult to work with during the season. This was the motivating factor to install a Desso Grassmaster construction.


He said: “When I got here, the Chief Executive asked me what we need to improve the state of the pitch, and I immediately said ‘Desso’. He agreed, because he’d been involved with West Ham at one point and seen how much better their pitch was.”


“Then a new Chairman bought the club and asked the same question. He invested needed funds into a training ground that had seen little improvements over the past fifteen years and completely transformed the place.”


“He’s put a lot of money in and wants success like everybody else. He sees that giving the players and the staff the right tools to do their job is the way to make a football club successful.”


“I’m here because the manager wants the pitch to play right. Otherwise, what’s the point? There is no point in having a pitch that plays like a dud, even if it looks great.”


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