TALKING POINT
Daniel Bunce, Head Groundsman, AFC Fylde
My major gripe with warm-ups is inconsistency. There are
guidelines that a team should be out 45 minutes before kick-off, but I’m amazed when teams actually stick to this. You can have one team
out at 2:00pm and then the others may not come out until 2:25pm. The regulations state teams should only be allowed to have the squad out warming up, but some bring out players on their way back to fitness, sprinting up and down the line in the same areas repeatedly from 1:30pm!
But my major gripe is goalkeepers’ warm- ups. A new ‘thing’ seems to be that keepers need ‘a few sighters’ in the main goals. I’m sorry, but if you don’t know what you’re doing by now, you shouldn’t be playing. Rondo drills are the new killer; five players in the same area with fast passing and closing down, killing the same area without moving it about.
Another problem I’m starting to face now is linesmen warming up. They run up and down the area they then batter for ninety minutes; running up and down like a shire horse. When asking them why they need to do this, most just entirely disregard anything I have to say. How a respect campaign can be utilised across the board is beyond me.
Anthony Harry, Grounds Manager, Swansea City FC
I think each club needs to have a bit more support. Our policy includes the following:
• No players are allowed on the pitch an hour before kick-off
• All fast feet drills have to be carried out off the pitch at all times
• If cones are set up on the pitch to do any of the fast feet drills, we ask coaches to remove them and put them in the places they’re meant to go
• Goalkeeping drills are all in our dead ball areas with the portable goals and they are only allowed to do crosses in the goalmouths. No strikers finishes - all of that is done off the pitch
I just think there needs to be more from the match delegates for when teams don’t do it. It’s unfair when the home teams abide by all the rules and away teams seem to try their luck a little bit. Although things can be resolved very quickly, it sometimes gets heated.
Of course, it can come
down to personal character and attitude with some people; unfortunately something that you cannot do much about sometimes!
16 PC February/March 2019
We need that ‘go to person’ so, if there is a problem, they could step in to help the groundstaff resolve the issue. People don’t realise that damage from warm-ups is sometimes massive and the impact of that means the pitch can end up looking
battered in places before kick-off, which doesn’t look good on televised games.
The drills are intense, which is the main reason for us insisting that everything must be done off the pitch. We have a lot of
side areas which are more than suitable and should mean policies are adhered to. It’s the same for rugby. We don’t allow pitch access an hour before the game and, if it means standing in the tunnel to enforce that, we do! It’s a very strict policy that we stick to and we’re not in their faces. We approach people in the right manner and explain the situation and they’re usually willing to help you out. The meeting and greeting is key for us; we always introduce ourselves to opponents coming onto the pitch and take them to the areas where we want them to go. That way there is no arguing and it reduces disputes. That might be something that more groundstaff need to look at. Thankfully, it does work for us.
If you have experienced similiar issues, let us know. Email:
editorial@pitchcare.com or post on the forum;
www.pitchcare.com/forum
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