Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

November 10, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Pitch perfect: Oxford United’s groundsman on a career in grass: There is a sign stuck to the whiteboard behind Paul Currier’s desk which reads ‘Every day is a holiday for a man who loves his job’. Five minutes with the head groundsman at Oxford United is enough to know it is not a hollow statement. Currier, 58, is […]

Polaris Judged Best In Show

November 8, 2017/in Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Polaris Judged Best In Show: The goal at the Kennel Club’s Emblehope and Burngrange estate in Northumberland is to create a Centre of Excellence for gundog training. It’s a long term project but when you look around it’s easy to see why the area has so much potential. Bracken filled gullies, rough pasture, expansive wetlands and […]

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

November 10, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Polaris Judged Best In Show

November 8, 2017/in Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

November 10, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Five minutes with the head groundsman at Oxford United is enough to know it is not a hollow statement.

Currier, 58, is in the 40th year of a career which has taken him from school pitches to a host of Football League clubs – including tomorrow’s opponents Northampton Town – via a spell tending the lawns at Northamptonshire Police’s headquarters.

For someone who is quick to admit he was not the most academic at school, it has been quite a journey.

“I’ve always had this philosophy that if you get up in the morning and can’t wait to get to work then you’re enjoying your job,” Currier says, leaning back on a desk chair in his office, tucked under the East Stand.

“You’ve got to be dedicated. It can be seven days a week, it can be 12 hours a day and it’s not one of the best paid jobs in the world.

“But I’m passionate about my football and I’m passionate about my grass.”

Those who look after pitches tend to have a gruff demeanour, forever barking at people to ‘keep off the pitch’.

But then they have plenty to worry about.

Currier, who reckons he walks 15 miles on a matchday to prepare the pitch, said: “All groundsman are the same, we’re all classed as grumpy sods.

“You have to police it because otherwise everybody will go on.

“They’ll think ‘it looks all right, I’ll go on it’, but you don’t see the damage until Christmas, so you’ve got to keep the traffic to the minimum.

“I have a checklist that I do pre-match, everything’s done, but you’ve still got that worry at the back of your mind.

“You wince when players go into the back of the net and they pull themselves up with it. It just pings everything off.

“The worst nightmare for any groundsman is to be called on while the game is going on.”

Then there are pests and diseases to lose sleep over, but his main obsession is the weather.

Pitch technology has improved markedly in the last 20 years, with the Kassam Stadium among the increasing number of surfaces in the Football League to mix the grass with artificial fibres.

Currier, brought in when the pitch was completely relaid by GreenFields in 2015, checks the forecast every four hours in the winter months.

And here, the Kassam Stadium’s open western end can be either a benefit or a hindrance.

He said: “I’m pretty confident you won’t get a game called off here for waterlogging.

“Because the pitch is so wide open to wind, it can dry twice as quickly as anywhere else.

“You can get a downpour while you’re playing and it won’t affect it, barring the odd splash.

“Temperatures drop and there’s constant shade down one side – because of the South Stand – which is two degrees colder than the other side.”

While he is a West Bromwich Albion supporter, spending so much time at a club tends to create a bond.

But United have had a stronger pull than most, as the first club where he is invited into the manager’s office after games.

He said: “I’m lucky here at Oxford because they treat me as one of the team, there’s a good rapport with the managers.”

Given the expertise built up over four decades, you might presume Currier has a perfectly-tended lawn at home in Northamptonshire.

“No, mine’s artificial,” he grins.

“When I’m at work I’m constantly thinking about grass, so when I’m at home I just like to chill out and relax and go ‘I shan’t be cutting that today’.”

Even for a man who is always on holiday, there are limits.

Click here to read the original article

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Polaris Judged Best In Show

November 8, 2017/in Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Bracken filled gullies, rough pasture, expansive wetlands and heather all contribute to offering training opportunities for gundogs of any age or stage. The estate has recently invested in two Polaris off-road vehicles, a Ranger 6 x 6 and Sportsman 570 ATV, supplied by authorised Polaris dealer Davies Tractors of Riding Mill, to help manage the beautiful moorland which stretches to around 7,550 acres. Emblehope is a busy, working hill farm with sheep and cattle.

It is also a site of Special Scientific Interest so it is important to minimise damage to the ground in maintaining the estate. A gamekeeper for over thirty years on a number of estates across Scotland, Raymond Holt, as full-time gamekeeper at Emblehope, has the task of ensuring this.

“We needed a vehicle to carry loads across the estate without tracking and causing erosion,” he says. “Crates of partridges for release pens, pen sections, bags of feeding, water, people and dogs during training and competitive events – it’s all in the day’s work and we judged the Polaris Ranger 6 x 6 to be the best for what we do.”

The Ranger fulfils a lot of roles. It’s out at night on predator control, negotiating difficult terrain and going places even the quad can’t go, taking on steep gradients in the knowledge there is the comfort and safety of the cab. It boasts a powerful 40HP 800 twin engine with EFI for fast starts, 907 kg of towing capacity and a rear dump box capacity of 567kg. The Polaris Sportsman 570 on the other hand is used as an all-purpose vehicle for carrying smaller loads on quicker journeys around the estate.

“The Polaris is a brilliant quad,” says Raymond, “very capable with a big wide platform and very stable. We use it for feeding the pheasants – we have fitted a spinner on the back for broadcast feeding – and as a general patrol vehicle.”

As a Centre of Excellence for Working Dogs, Emblehope welcomes the full range of working dog activities such as Field Trials including Pointer and Setter Spring Stakes, gundog working tests and training days, live game training days and working trials through to shooting and gundog activities. The shooting estate offers pheasant and partridge shooting while the varied terrain and woodland cover offer opportunities for all breeds of gundog to demonstrate their natural working abilities.

Polaris Britain: 0800 915 6720 www.polaris-britain.com

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

Polaris Judged Best In Show

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

Polaris Judged Best In Show

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Oxford United Groundsman On A Career In Grass

Polaris Judged Best In Show

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT