Marshalling his troops - Pitchcare

Premiership new boys,
Blackpool, are ready for their
first season in the top flight,
thanks to the efforts of Head
Groundsman, Stan Raby.
Laurence Gale MSc reports
The future’s...
Having Blackpool’s manager,
Ian Holloway, in the Premier
league, for at least a season,
is bound to be ‘interesting’.
His honest appraisals and
slightly off-the-wall comments have
made him somewhat of a legend in the
lower leagues, and he joins the likes of
Redknapp and McCarthy to, hopefully,
put some commonsense (or should that
be nonsense?) ahead of the usual
rhetoric.
The history of the club can be traced
back to 1877 when Victoria Football
Club was founded. Ten years later, after
a dispute amongst the players, it was
renamed Blackpool Football Club. One
year later, the club became founder
members of the Lancashire League and
enjoyed eight successful seasons,
culminating in the winning of the
championship in 1893-94, after being
pipped on goal average by Liverpool
the previous season.
Players of note have included
England internationals Jimmy
Armfield, Stan Mortensen, Stanley
Matthews and Alan Ball, the latter
being the only Blackpool player to play
in a World Cup. When he was
transferred to Everton in 1966 for
£112,000 it was, at the time, a record
fee between two English clubs.
Notable successes have been few, with
an FA Cup win in 1953 their only major
trophy. However, promotion to the
Premiership this year ranks as a major
achievement, one that Ian Holloway
believes has written the current squad
of players into the club’s folklore.
Certainly, with the likes of Manchester
United, Chelsea and age old rivals
Liverpool visiting the Bloomfield Road
stadium this season, every game will
seem like a cup final. As Holloway put
it, “the future’s bright, the future’s
orange” in reference to the club’s
colours.
Looking after the ‘Seasiders’ facilities
is Head Groundsman, Stan Raby, who
says he is relishing the challenge of
preparing pitches for the Premiership.
Stan, previously a farmer, joined the
club five years ago. He has one
assistant, Alex Reeves, and one summer
season helper, Connor Cross, who is
currently studying at Myerscough
College. Between them they look after
both the stadium pitch and training
ground pitches. A number of volunteers
have been trained up to help on match
days.
Stan has not been able to rest on his