FOOTBALL
Getting Personal
Chris Ralph - Disney World with Holly Willoughby (cleared by his wife)
Who are you? Chris Ralph, Head Groundsman at Plymouth Argyle FC.
Family status. Married with a son called Sebastian.
Who’s your hero and why? Roy Keane. I’ve always admired how he could inspire and drive that famous Man Utd team.
What would you change about yourself? I would like to be a bit more organised and tidy - both professionally and at home. But, with a young child and busy work schedule it makes it difficult.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Probably Man Utd at the moment.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Groundsman of the Year for National League North/South in 2017.
What are your pet peeves? Funnily enough, I hate being untidy.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Disney World in Florida. I would like to take the boy.
What’s the best part of your job? 3pm on a Saturday when all your hard work throughout the week comes together.
… and the worst? Postponed matches.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? Just to reach as far as I can in my career. I’m very proud to be at this club and they only want to push on.
Favourite record, and why? Daft Punk - One More Time. Reminds me of enjoying great times with friends, when we all had less responsibilities.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Holly Willoughby - even the wife would know the answer to this!
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Help family and friends out then go on a massive spending spree.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Alex Ferguson, Sir Matt Busby and Gary Neville. It would be good to chat about Man United’s current problems and what they could have done differently after Fergie’s retirement.
60 PC June/July 2019
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Tony Sinclair - just to experience the facilities, pressure and what it is like to work at that level.
Do you have any bad habits? I might be too soft at times.
... or any good ones? My attention to detail, work ethic and trustworthiness.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? Never worrying, but always thinking and planning for the next day ahead.
What are you reading at the moment? Pitchcare magazine and I like to go online to research new ideas and what is coming to the market.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? A former TUFC player told me I had to be more miserable and horrible. I think he was joking but I knew what he meant.
What’s your favourite smell? Freshly cut grass.
What do you do in your spare time? Spending time with my little boy as time is precious in this job.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Do we paint the grass different colours to get the stripes.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? I have two; the SISIS Quadraplay and our fixed head Infinicut mowers.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Grounded, loyal and hardworking.
What talent would you like to have? I would love to be better at golf.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? For it to become compulsory for football/golf clubs to have to adhere to the IOG/BIGGA suggested pay scales. I have experienced terrible rates of pay for a job that takes skill, working long hours and in all weathers.
groundsman before moving here.” Helping maintain the pitches alongside Chris is Martin Bird, 42 years old, who was the previous Head Groundsman and still holds that title. He has been at the club for two and a half years and has NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in sports turf as well as his spraying certificates; Billy White, 30 years old, Assistant Groundsman who has been at the club for nine years and did voluntary work before being full-time; and Colin Wheatcroft, 73 years old, Pitch Advisor and former Head Groundsman.
In the short time Chris has been at the club, the management has supported his request to start investing in new machinery. “We had two old Ransomes Mastiffs that weren’t in good order, and the boxes weren’t fit for purpose either, with grass flying everywhere. We have now replaced these with two Cub Cadet Infinicut fixed head mowers, which we are paying for over two years. They have made a massive difference to the quality of cut and presentation.” “The tractor was an old Tym which was too big for what we needed - it had narrow
Team member Billy
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