Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit

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Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit: Bosses at a football club have been left furious, and have hit out at vandals who tore up their pitch.

Yobs used a vehicle to churn up the pitch used by Bishopton FC, which runs teams for men, women and kids.

The site, which is operated by Renfrewshire Leisure, is also home to several other clubs in Bishopton and neighbouring Erskine.

However, the mindless vandalism means it may now be out of action for weeks.

Nori Fian, Bishopton FC’s vice-chairman, said: “We think this may have happened on Friday night and I reported it to the police on Saturday afternoon.

“It looks as if someone has got on something with two wheels and driven round the pitch several times.

“I was filled with revulsion when I saw it. There is a lack of facilities already in Bishopton and now one of its only pitches has been vandalised.

“I don’t think we will be able to use it for the foreseeable future but I’m hoping repairs can be made before we play at home again next month.”

Joyce McKellar, Renfrewhire Leisure’s chief executive, said the damage is being assessed.

She said: “Hopefully repairs can be carried out so the park can be made playable by this weekend.

“The pitch is used by several teams from the Bishopton and Erskine areas and, if repairs cannot be completed by the weekend, other parks are available.

“We don’t expect any games to be cancelled because of the damage to the pitch.”

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Course Manager Unfairly Dismissed

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Course Manager Unfairly Dismissed: A former course manager has told Montrose Links golf management committee to “consider their positions” after emerging successful from an unfair dismissal fight.

Niall Bruce, 47, who spent 10 years in the post, was the victim of a restructuring exercise and said his “head was on the platter” before the process had even commenced.

Mr Bruce started as a greenkeeper with Montrose Golf Links Ltd (MGLL) in June 2002 before being promoted to first assistant in 2003 and course manager in 2008.

In January it was announced the jobs of course manager, first assistant and chargehand would no longer exist but would be replaced by roles for head greenkeeper, assistant greenkeeper and greenkeeper.

Mr Bruce said all three believed it would have been appropriate to simply slot them into these roles without having to go through a redundancy-type process and apply for the posts.

He was interviewed for the head greenkeeper job but was not successful and was made redundant, despite lodging an appeal that the redundancy process had been misapplied.

“I should have been matched to the new post of head greenkeeper without having to apply for the post,” he said.

“The roles of head greenkeeper and course manager are the same job and restructuring was merely a means to substitute a new face in place of myself.”

Mr Bruce was awarded £21,777 for unfair dismissal which included one years’ wage loss and two years’ loss of pension contributions following the conclusion of a two-day employment tribunal hearing in Dundee.

Judge Ian McFatridge said he could see “no real logical linkage” between the restructuring plan and the need to get rid of a course manager and replace this with the role of head greenkeeper “which seemed to have identical functions”.

He said he was not prepared to accept that MGLL “had overcome the initial hurdle of establishing a potentially fair reason for dismissal”.

Mr Bruce said: “It has become clear throughout this process however, that as already stated my head was on the platter before the process had even commenced.

“I am pleased by the employment tribunal outcome that I was unfairly dismissed as taking your former employer to court is a stressful business.

“I remain disappointed at how Montrose Golf Links Ltd (MGLL) acted towards me and hope in future they will learn to respect and value their staff.

“I feel that Angus Council who own the golf course land that MGLL operate from should consider how MGLL acts in its duties to its staff and perhaps they should consider a more active involvement in the company particularly with regard to human resources.

“In short I feel that the entire MGLL Committee who bear responsibility for my unfair dismissal should consider their positions carefully and if they remain as committee members will hopefully will act more professionally and honourably towards their staff in future.”

Mr Bruce told the tribunal he did not wish to be reinstated and has since taken up employment as a greenkeeper at St Andrews.

A spokesman for Montrose Golf Links said: “We are in the process of considering the judgement.”

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Eric Harris Set To Retire

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Eric Harris Set To Retire: Although rain has finally arrived at Stratford Racecourse, the hot summer temperatures were a challenge for head groundsman Eric Harris as he looked to produce good, safe ground at the height of the season.

Harris has announced his retirement after 23 years at Stratford and over 50 in all in racing at courses including Newton Abbott and Kelso.

He began in the racing industry as a 20-year-old member of the ground staff team at Newton Abbot, another course that races through the summer, where he worked for 23 years.

He then went onto Kelso and Warwick, both as head groundsman, before taking up his latest and final post at Stratford.

Harris will be replaced by Sam Linley, who started work with the ground staff team at Wincanton in May 2010, becoming assistant head groundsman.

Announcing the news, racecourse manager Ilona Barnett said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Sam to our team and we wish Eric many happy retirement years spent racing.”

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Colwyn Bay Groundsman Praised

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Colwyn Bay Groundsman Praised: Elfyn Jones, groundsman at Colwyn Bay, recently received national praise for his effort on the club’s playing pitch.

The hard-working volunteer finished third in the EVO-STIK League Groundsman of the Year Award at a glitzy ceremony at the FA’s St George’s Park, and he also received a high commendation nationally.

Jones is in his third season volunteering with the Seagulls after previously holding a position with Warrington Town, and he has also assisted at National League side Chester at times during the campaign.

He spends between 25 and 30 hours a week working on the pitch at Llanelian Road, combining his time at the club with the tanning salon he runs in the area, where he spends 35 hours a week on average.

The league’s representatives were honoured after a series of on-site assessments at nominated grounds last season that not only looked at the quality of the pitches but also took into consideration the skills and knowledge of the finalists, their ambitions for the pitch, the resources available, pitch use and the amount of time they were able to work on their surfaces during one of the worst winters and toughest seasons in years.

More than 100 groundsmen from all levels of the game were rewarded for their work at this season’s ceremony in front of their peers.

League representative Paul Hatt, along with Brent Clayton from the NPL’s sponsors at the Frank Whittle Partnership, were also at the prestigious state-of-the-art venue near Burton to congratulate the 2018 winners.

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Get Straight With Glyphosate

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Get Straight With Glyphosate: Glyphosate has been in the news again recently, and as groundcare professionals look to their 2019 weed control programmes, Roundup Technical Development Manager Barrie Hunt gives an update on legal and best practice information to help plan ahead.

Q. What is the legislative situation with glyphosate at the moment?

A. Glyphosate was formally re-Approved on 12th December 2017 by the European Commission.

Q. How long has glyphosate been approved for and what does that mean for Roundup products?

A. Glyphosate, as an active substance, has been approved for a period of 5 years. The second stage of the process is the reauthorisation of the individual glyphosate products and this is currently ongoing. Both Roundup ProVantage and ProActive have been submitted for reauthorisation and we expect that process to be completed by the end of the year. In the meantime, both products continue to be fully available.

Q. Are they stocked by the same range of distributors?

A. Yes, there have been no changes to distribution agreements and you can still order Roundup products from your usual merchants.

Q. Are there any new restrictions on using glyphosate products?

A. The major change to product availability affected glyphosate products containing POE-t, also known as ethoxylated tallow amine, which is a surfactant to help wet the leaves. Since the end of June 2018 products containing POE-t are no longer authorised for use or storage. No Monsanto amenity glyphosate products contain POE-t.

We are not aware of any changes of use or label restrictions and in our product re-authorisation applications we have applied for the full range of existing uses.

Q. One of my local authority clients has expressed concern about using glyphosate in public open spaces such as parks. How can I put their mind at rest?

A. Roundup has been used successfully and safely for more than 40 years. Roundup ProVantage and ProActive act on the target’s enzyme system, which is unique to plants and not found in humans, animals, fish or insects. Roundup products have been widely used for over 40 years and their safety has been assessed by Pesticides Regulatory Agencies from all over the world, including the World Health Organisation.

As part of the recent re-Approval process, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency both assessed glyphosate in detail and concluded that it can be used safely and does not cause cancer.

People, pets and wildlife need not be kept out of treated areas, although it is best not to walk in areas where the spray is still wet as transfer to other vegetation may lead to unwanted damage to other foliage. Once the spray is dry this cannot occur.
A leaflet explaining how Roundup works is available to distribute to clients and to the public – contact the helpline on 01954 717575 for copies.

Q. Is there anything I can do as a contractor to help ensure that glyphosate remains available for use in the future?

A. Always use chemical products in accordance with the label recommendations and all applicable pesticide legislation, and in conditions where the active ingredients can work most effectively to avoid the risk of resistance.

Although there are no known cases of glyphosate resistance in the UK, it is a very real threat, and amenity professionals should have a Resistance Management Strategy in place.

This includes using the correct dose rate of a reputable, approved glyphosate product, treating at the correct weed growth stage with correctly calibrated equipment and in good conditions; using other active ingredients and non-chemical methods of weed control as part of an Integrated Weed Management Plan.

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