Plastic Pitch Blamed For Injury

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Plastic Pitch Blamed For Injury: It’s feared that Jamie Murphy will face a lengthy spell on the sidelines after twisting his knee in Rangers’ 3-1 Betfred Cup victory at Kilmarnock.

James Tavernier blamed Kilmarnock’s artificial surface for Jamie Murphy’s injury hell – while Rangers boss Steven Gerrard called for plastic pitches to be outlawed in the Premiership.

The Ibrox club fear Murphy is facing several months on the sidelines after twisting his knee in yesterdy’s 3-1 Betfred Cup win at Rugby Park.

Skipper Tavernier was furious as the surface claimed another teammate after former Ger Martyn Waghorn was crocked on the Ayrshire astroturf two seasons ago.

Tavernier said: “I guarantee you that Murphy wouldn’t have the injury if it had been a grass pitch. He planted his foot, got a wee nudge and then just felt something go.

“If that’s on grass that’s not going to happen. That is twice now I have been to this stadium when a player has suffered a bad injury.

“First it was Waggy and now it is Murphy. These astroturf pitches are always a hazard and are always going to cause injuries to any professional.”

 Gers boss Gerrard was reluctant to put the boot in to Killie – but he insisted plastic pitches have no place at the top level of the game.

He said: “My opinion is elite football and we’re dealing with elite footballers, who earn an awful lot of money, and I think for every club worldwide it’s safer to have a grass pitch.

“Other people might have a different opinion to that but I think if you ask any manager worldwide they’d all prefer grass and I do.

“It’s difficult for me to comment, we all know that plastic pitches they are not as safe as grass, that’s fact, that’s simple.

“But I’m not here to disrespect Kilmarnock and their playing facilities. I know that it’s a big help to Kilmarnock having a plastic pitch, it helps support the running of their football club.

“But my opinion is elite football shouldn’t have any plastic pitches.”

Gerrard revealed Murphy was gutted at the crock agony that has left his season in the balance and the Gers boss admitted the pitch is an issue after his club suffered a serious injury on the surface for a second time.

He said: “I think it will be one of those things that will be up for debate.

“We’ll have to wait and see. I think if you ask Jamie right now he’ll say it was a pitch incident.

“I don’t think it’s the first time Rangers have had that type of injury here, I think Martyn Waghorn suffered a couple of years back.

“I don’t want to dive in too quick, we’ll wait and see what the examinations say but we’re all fearing the worst.

“Jamie’s sad, he’s upset, I think he’s fearing the worst. We’re devastated. That’s the only downer for us, we’re going away on the back of a fantastic victory at a difficult place but it’s come at a cost because Jamie looks like he’ll be missing for quite a while.”

Gerrard admitted the Murphy blow put a dampner on his side’s impressive win as in-demand Alfredo Morelos struck a hat trick – and had another strike wrongly ruled out despite crossing the line.

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H2Pro Praised At Blairgowrie GC

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H2Pro Praised At Blairgowrie GC: The Lansdowne course at Blairgowrie Golf Club in Perthshire, Scotland, have been reaping the rewards of using ICL’s H2Pro, with Course Manager Craig Stewart full of praise for the moisture management products.

Craig Stewart is the man responsible for maintaining the magnificent championship course and has six full-time staff with two seasonal workers alongside him. As a long-term user of ICL products, Craig first started applying the H2Pro range of products five years ago after a successful trial.

H2Pro Praised At Blairgowrie GC

“Essentially, our aim was to keep the surface and the profile dry on the greens and approaches throughout winter. We tried a few products and then Jamie Lees (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager, Scotland) suggested trialling H2Pro TriSmart. We trialled it for two months in the middle of that summer, saw great results and we just carried on from there. I like the fact that you can go from TriSmart to FlowSmart carrying on the moisture management programme all through the year.”

Craig first applies H2ProTriSmart in April at a rate of 10L/ha. He continues with monthly applications before switching to H2Pro FlowSmart in September or October depending on the weather conditions.

“As soon as the weather begins to change and it turns a bit cooler then we know that it is time to switch to FlowSmart. We then use that for as long as it’s needed just to pull the moisture through the surface and the profile to dry the greens out.

“It is such a flexible programme and you can tailor it to your everyday conditions rather than having a fixed plan. If we get a wet spring or summer then we use FlowSmart until it starts to dry up a bit and then we switch back over to TriSmart, but it can work both ways.

“We’ve also noticed a big reduction in irrigation and hand watering. Since using H2Pro TriSmart we very seldom use another wetting agent because quite simply we have no need. It is labour saving because we no longer have guys out with hoses looking for dry patches on the greens and of course we are saving money on water usage too.”

The H2Pro range of products are not the only ICL products that Craig uses and he gave his reasons as to why the company plays such big role in his maintenance procedures.

“The majority of the products we use at Lansdowne are from ICL. Jamie helps me put a programme together every year and if we ever have any problems then he is always around for support. From a technical point of view, I just cannot fault the advice I get.

“We know the amount of money and research that goes into their products and I think that gives you confidence. Every product is consistently good. For example, when we get a bag of fertilizer from ICL we know exactly what we are getting – it is always consistent.”

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie

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Andover Groundsman Wins Award

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Andover Groundsman Wins Award: A groundsman is celebrating receiving a national award, fending off competition from over 650 rivals across the country.

Now retired Andover Town FC groundsman Chris White is celebrating after winning the FA National Groundsman of the Year competition for the 2017/18 season.

The awards ceremony took place at St George’s Park National Football Centre, the home of the England squads.

Speaking after the presentation, Chris said: “I am very surprised, honoured and so proud to have won the award. It is true recognition of what can be achieved at a grass roots level on a tiny budget but with lots of time and care.

“I was very pleased to represent not only Andover Town but also the Sydenham’s Wessex League.

“Hopefully I’ve left a legacy on which the club can build and a ground that others can aspire too.”

Following his retirement from the Portway at the end of June this year, Chris joined the Ground Grading team of the Sydenham’s Wessex League which is responsible for monitoring ground standards across all clubs in that league.

Andover Town FC also received a financial reward for Chris’s efforts from competition sponsors, Budweiser.

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Agronomic Services & Hurrells Join Forces

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Agronomic Services & Hurrells Join Forces: After the success of Oxy Rush The Next Generation and Eon Bio with numerous pitch renovations and Desso installations, Agronomic Services and Hurrells Specialist Seeds have joined forces and announced that the aforementioned products will now be available through Hurrells as part of their product range.

Eon Bio is easy to apply with top dressing or granular fertiliser and is a time capsule release of fresh humic acids with every irrigation.  Eon Bio is 100% organic and contains the highest concentrations of soluble humic acids available.  The bio additions in this blend include Mycorrhiza Fungi and multiple forms of bacteria, These include rhizo-bacteria, nitrogen fixing bacteria and other beneficial bacteria.  These bacteria solubilise phosphates and soil based elements which are then made available to the plant.    Eon Bio promotes seed germination, establishment, plant growth and root mass.

Agronomic Services & Hurrells Join Forces

Oxy Rush The Next Generation, the winning formula of Oxy Rush, Humic Acid + Seaweed Biostimulants and Complex Carbohydrates are combined for convenience, efficiency and improved performance. Oxy Rush NG was developed to save money and time and improve the efficiency of the soils.  It increases root mass, seed establishment and nutrient availability and increases Oxygen levels in rootzones and therefore the growing medium.  Compatible and tank mixable with wetting agents and liquid fertilisers.

Seed germination and establishment are significantly improved and strengthened with the combination of these ground-breaking products.

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New John Deere Turf Outlet Opens

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New John Deere Turf Outlet Opens: New Forest Farm Machinery Ltd, a John Deere dealer, has recently opened a new turf equipment outlet. Based at Cadbury Business Park in Sparkford, near Yeovil in Somerset, the premises serve the dealer’s extended trading area that was initially established in 2014 after New Forest took over the professional turf business of Rochford Garden Machinery.

The dealership offers John Deere’s full range of professional golf and amenity turf equipment including mowers, aerators, sprayers, tractors and Gator utility vehicles, as well as homeowner and construction equipment.

New John Deere Turf Outlet Opens

Based at Ringwood in Hampshire, New Forest Farm Machinery has been a John Deere agricultural dealer since 1979 and has held the turf franchise since John Deere’s commercial and consumer equipment business, as it was then known, started in 1986. New Forest currently employs 43 people altogether and sells to turf customers in the counties of Hampshire, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

“As a long established, independent family-owned business we are always striving to improve our company offering, through focusing on customer support and investing for the future,” says managing director Ed Smales. “The new premises at Sparkford are ideally located to cover our extended trading area and increase our presence in the marketplace.

“We intend to maintain our traditional high standard of product sales, parts and service support in the various turf equipment markets that we serve, and we look forward to welcoming both existing and new customers to the dealership.”

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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