Marshalling his troops - Pitchcare

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Multicore MC15 behind ageing Tym tractor
“I suppose you could say
that we were two years
into a five-year plan, and
it’s stayed that way for
the last three”
transform the facility soon,
Mark reports, adding
wistfully, “I suppose you could
say that we were two years
into a five-year plan, and it’s
stayed that way for the last
three.”
With only two first-team
Fibresand pitches, and basic
soil ones for the reserve and
academy sides, Palace are
keen to upgrade further.
“The first stage in the plans
will be to replace the soil
pitches with Fibresand ones.
I’d like to have another two,
giving us four in total, but I’d
settle for one if that’s all I
could get - a part
construction of the surface
only would cost around
£80,000 per pitch, as
drainage is already installed.”
Most of the work at the
training ground is left largely
to Phil, with Mark visiting a
couple of times a week. The
machine story is a similar one
at Beckenham, with a
Jacobsen 250 five-unit rideon
fairway mower and a
Kubota L46 the two main
machines at his disposal, plus
an SR-72 soil reliever.
The critical financial
position that Palace found
themselves in, and the
resulting process of
administration, had left many
at the club anxious for the
future. Yet, for Mark, the
whole sorry saga was
alleviated for him by one or
two important figures at
Selhurst Park, whose stance
allowed him time to reflect on
the job and his position at the
club.
“That whole period helped
focus my mind far more on
what my role is here, and
where I want to be in the
future,” he says candidly.
“During the worst time, we
we were all in the boardroom
waiting to hear our name
called out for redundancy,
then breathing a sigh of relief
when it wasn’t - that was
stressful.”
While former Palace
chairman, Simon Jordan,
reportedly was viewed, by
some, as being part
responsible for the downfall
of the club, his brother,
Dominic Jordan, who ran the
club day to day, prior to
administration, was praised
for his work through the
turbulent times. Mark, for
one, was grateful for the
support he and his team were
given. “Dominic was a crucial
influence on our position; he
always recognised the value of
a head groundsman and the
importance of what we did.
He also understood that
being a groundsman, like any
position of responsibility,
involves taking ownership of
it, not just being someone
who receives and issues
orders.
In turn, Mark appreciates
his role in maintaining a
tightly-knit, albeit small,
turfcare team.
“You have to treat staff like
men, not children. The one
benefit to having a small
team is that we are like a
family. We’ve all bonded
much more now, with the
financial troubles bringing
those of us that have stayed
on, closer together.”
If he ever moved away from
Palace, he’s certain it would