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By Peter Driver in Industry on 14th Nov 2006 8:25
Alan Ferguson, head groundsman at Ipswich Town football club, has recently taken delivery of new walk-behind mowers for match day pitch preparation at the Portman Road stadium, from Ransomes Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.
The new machines are Ransomes Matadors, which feature a 71cm (28") cutting width using specially modified 9-blade cylinders and grooved rollers which provide a superb finish.
The use of Matadors is a departure from the previous Ransomes Mastiffs that Alan and his team have used for many years at Portman Road and the decision was influenced due to their lighter weight.
"We are one of very few first-class pitches constructed from natural soil and soil density can be an issue for us", he said. "The Matadors are around 200Kg lighter, so don't compact the soil nearly as much as the Mastiffs and this means that we don't have to aerate the pitch as often as in the past."
Adam Glancy has been on the Ipswich Town grounds staff for the past 4 years and has recently been promoted to Stadium Groundsman. Educated locally at Stowmarket High School he enjoyed a period of work experience at the Club before being taken on in a permanent role. He attended Otley College and gained NVQ Level 2 in Sports Turf Management and is now working towards Level 3.
"The Matadors are so much lighter, which makes them far easier to turn at the end of each pass. The mechanism for changing the height of cut is much simpler; it's tool-free and takes about half the time to set compared with the Mastiff. We've not had them very long, but they are performing very well," he said.
Commenting on Adam's promotion, Alan Ferguson said, "I recommended Adam for the position and the management readily accepted my proposition. He will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the turf maintenance regime at the stadium and any future awards and accolades will be down to him. This is an excellent and thoroughly deserved opportunity for him. It also demonstrates the Club's commitment to career progression and continuing education for its staff."
Read more articles in Industry,
by Peter Driver
or from November 2006.
There are 13 comments on this article
19 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
I wish you well Adam, but I fear by the look of the state of your pitch on Sky today you have got some ploblams . I have known the Portman Road pitch for a number of years and I have never ever seen the pitch cut up as it did today. However I though you and your staff did very well to put the surface right a half time.
21 Nov 2006 by adzetec
To be honest i wouldnt call it my pitch as i dont get the freedom to choose what Fertilisers goes on? When it needs to be Verti Drained?What turf is used? Where it is grown?What types of grass is sown? When it is sown? Soil types?When it is watered?How much it is cut?Height of cut? etc etc But i do really hope we can improve the state of the pitch as it is now. Me and the other Groundstaff are working overtime to get the pitch sorted Scott,Joe and Dan
26 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
From the article:
Commenting on Adam’s promotion, Alan Ferguson said, “I recommended Adam for the position and the management readily accepted my proposition. He will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the turf maintenance regime at the stadium and any future awards and accolades will be down to him. This is an excellent and thoroughly deserved opportunity for him. It also demonstrates the Club’s commitment to career progression and continuing education for its staff.”
Then Adam says:
To be honest i wouldnt call it my pitch as i dont get the freedom to choose what Fertilisers goes on? When it needs to be Verti Drained?What turf is used? Where it is grown?What types of grass is sown? When it is sown? Soil types?When it is watered?How much it is cut?Height of cut?
Certainly very contrasting comments!!!
Something doesnt add up here-or has the buck been passed on to someone else for them to take the blame for something out of their control???
'any future awards and accolades will be down to him'-does that mean he will ge the awards in his name then and not in Alan's???
27 Nov 2006 by adzetec
Ive been working on the portman rd pitch the last three years.
Something doesnt add up here-or has the buck been passed on to someone else for them to take the blame for something out of their control??? Yes maybe it is out of my control
'any future awards and accolades will be down to him'-does that mean he will ge the awards in his name then and not in Alan's??? Yes the awards will be under my name but its hardly going to win a award the state its in at the moment.
28 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
Without criticising anyone, how can things be out of your control, but you get the awards? seems someone saw this coming and thought maybe someone else should be in the firing line?
28 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
I did, it seems from the outside that you have been put on from a great height whilst others take a back seat when it suits?
28 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
Not out of control as in that you cant handle it I mean!
28 Nov 2006 by Anonymous
Not out of control as in that you cant handle it I mean!
6 Dec 2006 by Anonymous
It sounds like there has been a mistake with the pitch and then the blame has been past on to you, just stick with it and you will come out a winner.
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Alan Ferguson, head groundsman at Ipswich Town football club, has recently taken delivery of new walk-behind mowers for match day pitch preparation at the Portman Road stadium, from Ransomes Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.
