Five at Forest
It's now five years since Ewan Hunter came to work at Nottingham Forest as head Groundsman arriving at the same time as his deputy Matthew Tietjen. In those five years the fortunes of the club and the presentation of the pitch have been inextricably linked. With the club now in the Championship (4th as of 4th March) and looking to progress, the City Ground has also looked good in recent seasons.
The Team
Not the players but the groundsmen! Ewan was previously at Rushden and Diamonds and has remained in Northamptonshire travelling about 45 miles a day each way, taking just over an hour. Matthew had previously worked at the City Ground before having a brief spell with the fine turf boys, trying his hand at greenkeeping on a golf course and gaining a wider base of experience growing and maintaining turf surfaces. Altogether there are 8 staff for 9 training pitches, 2 artificial pitches and of course the City Ground, right next door to the River Trent.
Genesis – In the beginning
When Ewan arrived staff levels were at five, but one of the factors that concerned him most was the limited kit he had, "we didn't even have any tools". As time has progressed the club has seen improvements on the pitch and has been keen to invest in Ewan's team allowing him to build up to the staff levels he requires and getting him the machinery to get the job done. By 2008 Ewan had been rewarded with the IOG Groundsman of the Year Award, being evidential of his commitment to improving standards at the club.
What's the Secret?
None really! Dedication, being a perfectionist having a good team yes, but to misquote an old adage it's often 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Keeping records each year has proved invaluable, not only what treatments or renovations, but also what the results/effects have produced. From this simple but effective monitoring gentle adjustments can be made each year to improve quality and condition of the pitches. Although Ewan will be recognised for his work at the City Ground, the maintenance and improvement of the training pitches is paramount, just two years ago 7 pitches being renovated in a single season. "I need to get the training pitches as close to the condition of the main pitch as I can, that way the team can practice on a representative surface whilst not needing to over use the main pitch itself" this has proved a little difficult this winter with the amount of snow present and over a two week period there were nine training sessions at the City Ground, it is hoped that one of the future investments will be under soil heating on one of the training pitches.
No Worries!
Well not exactly. Ewan and Matthew come across as confident professionals, in command of what they are doing. So do they have anything to worry about? "Things that are outside our control" both agree. Weather being the obvious issue that no one can organize, breakdowns particularly of irrigation systems, and time pressures. With a mind to all this, as much preparation as possible is carried out, but as fate would have it in the best laid plans there's always something to catch you out.
What's happening now?
As with all football grounds with shade problems Ewan is looking at ways to help the sward in the winter months. In the top North – East corner the pitch gets the most natural day light, and as you walk on to this area a noticeable difference can be felt underfoot, there's a little more friction to the sole of the shoe as the shoot density improves with the ever increasing light availability. To assist the high wear goal mouth areas where there isn't quite so much natural light Ewan is making use of a lighting rig and getting a very good response.
"I'm also a fan of the Mascot Activate R Granules – they are proving very successful at helping my R14 seed to establish a good root system. This autumn I've also tried the new Mascot Magnet Dynamic Granules. The Magnet with its high potash and chelated iron has maintained a good colour and helped to harden the turf and help sustain the sward through the winter."
Support
Ewan relies on his staff, his club and his suppliers. On a cold morning (5th January) Rigby Taylor representative Mark Robinson together with Brian Robinson (Director of Grass Seed Research – for Rigby Taylor) had called in to discuss and observe how the Mascot R14 was performing this season, Ewan says "I rely on people like Brian, it's that second opinion that gives me that assurance we are doing the right thing".
