RUGBY LEAGUE Getting Personal
Mel Jones - the answer’s Yes ... or Cat Stevens!
Who are you? Mel Jones Head Groundsman at Warrington Wolves.
Family status? Married With two sons (Damian & Dean).
Who’s your hero and why? Denis Law - Man United’s best goal scorer there has ever been.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? The respect rugby league people have given me.
If your younger self saw you now, what would they think? Why are you still working?
Which famous people wind you up? Politicians.
What job would you love, other than your own? Any job trying to help the environment.
What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? The first speech to an audience.
What is your favourite film? The Godfather Part 1.
What scares you? Running out of time to relax and enjoy myself.
What would your autobiography be called… and who would play you in the film? Mr Persistence - my son would play me.
What is your favourite sport? Rugby League.
What would you cast into Room 101? Disrespectful people.
Which historical time and place would you most like to visit? 1966 World Cup Final.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To ride a racehorse.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Mikahl Gorbachev, my dad and George Best.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Be true to yourself.
What’s your favourite piece of trivia? De-stress by staying calm.
What’s your favourite smell? Cinnamon.
Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Any by Cat Stevens, Thin Lizzy and Yes.
What’s the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? I didn’t know groundsmen could get dressed up?
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Charterhouse Verti- Drain.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Honest. Respectful. Funny.
What is the single most useful thing you could tell a 16- year-old groundsperson? Be a good listener.
What talent would you like to have? To play the guitar
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Respect anyone you come into contact with.
64 PC October/November 2020
to look at Desso pitches at a couple of Premier League grounds, is that something is driving the industry that I am not quite comfortable with. We must have a pitch like this, we must use this piece of equipment, we must use this particular fertiliser. Where does it all end? You can have a circumstance where you have a pitch that is top class in construction, with the very best equipment at your disposal... and then your budget gets cut! Then you are left worrying about how you are going to manage people’s expectations.” “One example is the amount of money that goes into watering pitches because of the free- draining nature of pitches we have now. If the Wolves did not have access to borehole water this March and April, our pitch would have been dead as we could not afford to run the irrigation system
from the mains. I am concerned we can see good pitches now as sport gets back underway, but we all must start wondering how far this goes.”
“Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon. It has given many people a shock, and those who are running the budgets may be thinking about where to make cuts. My experience tells me the grounds department will be one of the first places they look, unfortunately!”
Something is driving the industry that I am not quite comfortable with. We must have a pitch like this, we must use this piece of equipment, we must use this particular fertiliser. Where does it all end?
”
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