FOOTBALL
Getting Personal
Sean
Woodley - cat fearing magician
Who are you? Sean Woodley, Head Groundsman of Wycombe Wanderers FC.
Who’s your hero and why? Barney Curley. He masterminded
a horseracing coup which cost bookmakers millions.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Winning pitch of the year 2017/18.
If your younger self saw you now, what would he think? God you’re going grey!!
Which famous people wind you up? Floyd Mayweather Jr.
What job would you love, other than your own? Speedway rider/jump jockey.
Brexit or Remain? Brexit. What is your favourite film? 21.
What scares you? When the cats are hiding ready to attack at my feet.
What would your autobiography be called… and who would play you in the film? Grumpy git.
What is your favourite sport? Horseracing/ speedway.
What would you cast into Room 101? Trophy hunting.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To be a millionaire.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Sir David Attenborough, Barney Curley and Sir Alex Ferguson.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Never be afraid to ask.
What’s your favourite smell? Seaweed.
Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Any Oasis.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Dennis PRO.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Grumpy, perfectionist and grumpy.
What is the single most useful thing you could tell a 16-year-old groundsperson/greenkeeper? Never be afraid to ask.
What talent would you like to have? To master the art of magic and illusions.
80 PC December/January 2020 Hunter irrigation system
an England under 20s qualifying game against Iceland.
Sean tells me the stadium has its own climate and suffers heavily with shade because of where it is situated. “It can be zero degrees down the road whilst, in here, it will be minus two degrees! We have a period in winter of nine weeks with no light as the sun does not rise high enough to get over the bank with the trees behind the main stand. We did a shade diagram for the EFL four years ago and, every day for nine weeks, we just shaded it all in! We have looked at lighting rigs, and discussed it with the club on numerous occasions but, like most things, it comes down to the cost of purchasing them and, once you have them, the cost to run them is not cheap. In the summer, we have the opposite problem. It can be like a sauna in here, we can’t get enough water on and it can start to bake the pitch off.”
Renovation on the pitch has been limited this season due to the financial situation. This meant they were not able to strip the pitch off with the Koro as they have done over the last four years. This is not ideal considering the amount of use the pitch gets through the season. “I used the Campey UniRake and scratched the surface in many directions over two days and took as much rubbish out as I could. I then picked up the debris with the Kubota G23, which I think does a great job. It was then dimple seeded with ten bags of Johnsons Premier Pitch. We then applied forty tonnes of medium sand and brushed that into the surface with the Greentech tractor mounted brush. Six weeks after, we went over it with the Toro Procore 648 with 19mm tines at a depth of four inches.” Sean is responsible for ninety-eight percent of all general maintenance carried out on the stadium pitch
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