Groundstaff Contribute To Manchester United Success
For Manchester United Football Club, winning the 2011 Premier League title, its 19th league title, cemented its name as one of the greatest teams in football history. As the most successful domestic club in English football, every employee working for it is dedicated to developing and maintaining Manchester United’s reputation, and the staff that develop and maintain the club’s pitches are no different.
Tony Sinclair has worked at Old Trafford since 1990, and was promoted to Grounds Manager on the 1st July 2011. He is responsible for the pitch Sir Alex Ferguson recently described as, “Absolutely perfect, the best we’ve ever had”, something Tony and his staff would agree with. “The pitch performed incredibly well during the 2010-2011 season, it really was the best surface we’ve had since my time in charge at Old Trafford”. Tony is understandably proud of the pitch’s performance, but it has taken many years of research and development to perfect the playing surface.
The pitch was first resurfaced in 2003 using Fibresand from specialist sports surface manufacturer, Mansfield Sand. Fibresand was initially chosen for the Old Trafford pitch because of its hard-wearing properties. The Polypropylene reinforced silica sand provides extra stability and cohesion, leaving the surface much more stable and resistant to divotting. Although the former pitch needed to be re-turfed each year, sometimes more than once, the new Fibresand pitch has never been re-turfed and is now in its 8th season, allowing more time and focus to be spent on improving the quality of the pitch in general each year. This has been done with the help of Tony’s preferred contractors, fibre reinforced pitch specialists, Premier Pitches.
Annual renovations to Old Trafford began this year on 10th June 2011, which included the installation of a new irrigation system. Contractors were required to dig three metres into the pitch in order to fit the new system. It is supplemented by 24 Rainbird irrigation sprinklers to guarantee the pitch is kept at the correct moisture at all times, at the flick of a switch. After the irrigation, pitch renovation commenced and the pitch was fraise mowed, top dressed with 60 tonnes of MM45 Silica Sand and overseeded with Johnsons J Premier Pitch Grass Seed. The pitch was seeded on 12th June and given seven weeks of growing time before the first friendly game against the New York Cosmos on 5th August. Tony also uses Primo Maxx growth retardant throughout the season to ensure the turf remains strong, as well as looking good and playing at its best for longer.
“Fibresand has significantly reduced the amount of pitch maintenance needed and with the addition of a further 3 new lighting rigs, giving us 9 in total, we have the ability to cover over half the pitch at any time, which means we are able to do our jobs far more quickly and efficiently,” continues Tony
Head Groundsman, Joe Pemberton, maintains the 18 hectare Trafford Training Centre at Carrington. He has been with Manchester United since 1985 and works closely with contractors, Premier Pitches, to ensure the playing surfaces for all the teams, from the Under 11 academy players to the first team, are in top condition. Joe uses over 400 bags of Johnsons J Premier Pitch grass seed a year on the Carrington site.
The state of the art Trafford Training Centre at Carrington was originally built in 2000 and boasts numerous rehabilitation areas; a TV studio; two 3G pitches, one indoor and one outdoor; two lagoons, which are used as part of the site’s waste water treatment system; 16 pitches for the reserves and academy plus 2 pitches with undersoil heating used solely by the first team. Plans for a £13 million extension to the site in the coming months could provide an opportunity to install a Fibrelastic® pitch in the near future. It is currently being trialled in the 1st team goalkeeping area.
To ensure the pitches are kept in the best possible condition, Joe uses Honda Rotary mowers, a Toro 6700-D and 3 x 3100D Reelmasters and Toro with 3 Dennis Cylinder G860’s and 3 Dennis premiers being used solely on the first team pitches. Joe has recently invested in a new 2.5 metre Koro by Imants Field Top Maker which speeds up the pitch renovation process, replacing an older 2 metre version. An annual Rigby Taylor & Scotts feeding programme is complimented by regular aeration through out the season. This is done using a range of equipment including a 2 metre Charter House Verti Drain, an Imants Shockwave, a SISIS Aer Aid and a Gwazae Ground Probe Aerator, helping to maintain the quality and health of the playing surfaces. When it comes to sand spreading during the season, Joe uses a Dakota Top Dresser for speed and consistent coverage of the MM45 Silica Sand. Joe is also a big fan of the Koro by Imants Recycling Dresser, and has commissioned Premier Pitches to use this during end of season pitch renovations for the past 2 season with great success. All pitches on the site are line-marked using a Bowcam Trike, a Fleet Erok and Combi Beam Rider Laser. “We have over ten miles of white lines here at the Carrington site, so to repaint them it not only takes quite a while, but we also have to use around 5000 litres of paint!” explains Joe.
Both Tony and Joe are justifiably proud of their work, as well as their contribution to the success of Manchester United as a whole: “It really is a great place to work, and we are proud that the work we do is contributing to the success of the club. However, we also have to credit our suppliers, contractors and partners. Without their expertise and knowledge, our jobs would be much more difficult,” Tony comments.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/06/sir-alex-ferguson-manchester-united-chelsea