FOOTBALL
Getting Personal
David Massam - he looks a lot like George Clooney!
Who are you? I’m David Massam.
Family status? Married, with two children. A daughter and son.
Who's your hero and why? Eric Cantona. (Until that kick) he set a good example for how to behave on and off the pitch. He changed Manchester United.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Producing pitches for top-flight clubs’ matches - they made positive comments too. Duncan Ferguson was complimentary. He knows what a decent pitch is.
If your younger self saw you now, what would they think? ‘How did you end up preparing football pitches?’ When you play, you don’t think about the pitch much.
Which famous people wind you up? Politicians. Not of any particular party. People who don’t say realistic things.
What job would you love, other than your own? To have been a footballer..
A wasp lands on your arm - what do you do? Nothing. It wouldn’t bother me.
What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? Craig might be able to show you some pictures of my embarrassing moments.
Brexit or Remain? Brexit.
What is your favourite film? Caddyshack - I like my golf. What scares you? Getting old.
What would your autobiography be called… and who would play you in the film? Legend. George Clooney. People say I look like he did twenty years ago, because we both have grey hair.
What is your favourite sport? Football.
What would you cast into Room 101? Work.
Which historical time and place would you most like to visit? We visited the National Arboretum last year, my father-in-law was a serving Merseyside police dog handler and has a plaque there. He died as a result of injuries sustained in the 1981
78 PC October/November 2018
riots in Liverpool. The day we visited the arboretum it was Remembrance Sunday. It made me so proud. It has to be the most uplifting place I’ve ever been to.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? For everybody in the family to stay healthy.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Alex Ferguson. Freddie Mercury. My Dad.
What's the best advice you have ever been given? My Dad always said to me as a kid, ‘don’t have regrets; don’t ever say ‘if’’.
What’s your favourite piece of trivia? There’s no information. But, I’m always getting sighed at for looking at horses and asking, ‘why the long face?’
What's your favourite smell? Coffee.
Which three songs would you take to a desert island? Bohemian Rhapsody. We Are the Champions. Don’t Stop Me Now. All by Queen.
What’s the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? An ex-Premier League footballer once said to me, ‘I’m about to ask you a stupid question. Just answer it. With the present state of our pitch, with no irrigation, can you please put some water onto the pitch before the game.’ I told him, ‘only if we delay kick-off.’
What’s your favourite piece of kit? I do like the old Wiedenmann Terra Spike.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Honest. Reliable. Loyal.
Finally, what is the single most useful thing you could tell a 16-year- old groundsperson? ‘Realise that this job is a long one. You have to be prepared to persevere to reap any benefits. It never happens overnight.’
‘The Sandgrounders’
Southport FC, otherwise known as ‘the Sandgrounders’, have been at their current ground, Haig Avenue, for 113 years. It holds 6,008 spectators - over two thirds of this is standing .
Founded in 1881, the club were members of regional leagues such as the Lancashire League, the Lancashire Combination and The Central League for many years, until 1921 when they were invited to become a founding member of the newly formed Football League Third Division North
Southport held membership of The Football League from 1921 to 1978.
They were the last victims of an elective relegation procedure in 1978, as they were beaten to the final ever Football League election by Wigan Athletic FC.
They won the 1972-73 Fourth Division - now ‘League Two’ - of the Football League. They currently play their football in the Vanarama National League North, at tier six of the English football pyramid.
James Treadwell, a local accountant, was named as the new Chairman in May 2017. Soon after, in September of that year, Phil Hodgkinson also joined the board of directors.
“It’s useful, because the area comes with its own weather challenges. You’ve got the Lancashire rains, combined with being right on the coast, which means a lot of wind too.” “There was a match when I felt sorry for our
goalkeeper kicking into gale force wind. Literally, he was struggling to get thirty yards out of the box. You could see the relief on his face at half- time. He thought it was all going to be fine from there on out.”
“Unfortunately for him, it changed around and pointed the other way. It went from direct westerly to direct easterly in fifteen minutes. I felt so sorry for the lad, because he must have been exhausted trying to kick the ball any distance.” “Anyway, it tends to come in westerly and straight in line with the ground like that. So, when we’re looking for rain, we look out towards the coast.”
“But that is likely to change, as is the situation we’re in where we don’t struggle much for shade, because they’re projecting ongoing development - eventually, I think, they want to have full-sized stands on all sides of the pitch.” Apparently, this 137-year-old club is preparing for the most significant period of change in its history. The one thing that is unlikely to change, it seems, is its partnership with Pitch Perfect Ground Maintenance.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
