Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Darren’s integral role in
the Tottenham Hotspur
machine has meant he
can play a pivotal role
in the planning of the
new stadium and
training facilities
one event in particular that could have
stopped it dead in its tracks.
It was back in December 1996, in his
first season at Tottenham, during the
second half of a game against Liverpool.
“Steve McManaman fired a shot that hit
a divot right in front of our goalkeeper,
costing us a goal and eventually the
game. I thought my number was up
when I got called to climb the seventynine
steps up to the chairman’s office.”
“Luckily, I’d always prided myself on
my honesty, and it’s been something
18
that’s put me in good stead today. It was
an unfortunate set of circumstances back
then. A new pitch had been laid in July,
leaving us only six weeks to get it ready
before the new season. It demonstrates
just how important good preparation is.”
Darren and the chairman have enjoyed a
good working relationship to this day,
something he believes is down to his
honest approach. “He knows I’m no yes
man and always honest on what I can
deliver. If you try to cover things up, they
always come out in the end and the
result is a loss of respect - the last thing I
would want.”
Darren’s integral role in the
Tottenham Hotspur machine has meant
he can play a pivotal role in the planning
of the new stadium and training
facilities. As a part of the multi-million
pound redevelopments, the football
academy and first team training base will
be relocated at Bulls Cross, Enfield, a 20minute
drive from White Hart Lane, with
completion of the £30m Green Belt
undertaking still two years away.
The planning applications for the new
stadium, next door to the present one,
were processed in May after the club
accommodated a number of the listed
building issues on the High Road site as
well as the appropriate quantity of
housing and retail provision.
“We’re currently working alongside the
architects to resolve some of the lighting
issues with the initial plans,” Darren says.
“Our problem with having such a big
stadium is our ground footprint. We have
only a very narrow strip to work with, so
the new stadium will have to be built
upwards.” A staggering 28m higher than
currently, in fact.
“The grounds team has been looking
into a number of solutions that may help
us with some of these high roof issues,
with plans to incorporate built-in fans
into the track that will replicate a breeze
across the pitch, making up of for some
of what’s lost naturally.
“Disease-wise, fusarium will be our
biggest problem,” states Darren, who
confirms that the pitch will almost
certainly be another Desso. “There will
also be environmental issues to take into
account such as recycling rainwater and
irrigation, which will also help reduce the
volume we leach - by creating a
mycorrhizal ‘tray’, we hope to create a
base of nutrients that will continue to
feed the turf.”
The Bulls Cross development will see
the club take ownership of its training
facilities for the first time in its 128-year
history. “Over the last fifteen years,
things have changed and now top clubs
are much more conscious of owning and
developing their training facilities to
replicate a match day pitch,” Darren
argues. “Before this, training facilities