Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

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Field of Dreams AFC Wulfrunians have taken over the former RFU National Training Centre at Castlecroft, a move they hope will see them playing Midlands Alliance football in the not too distant future Laurence Gale MSc meets Head Groundsman, Matt Clayton
Talk about landing on your feet. AFC Wulfrunians certainly have, and they must be the envy of many football clubs in the Midlands. Why? Because they have acquired one of the best purpose built sporting facilities in the West Midlands, the Castlecroft Stadium. The site was originally owned and developed by Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club as a training ground, and was acquired by Wolverhampton Council in 1986 when the club went into receivership. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) took a lease on the site in the early 1990s and made considerable improvements to the facilities, in conjunction with Tarmac plc, adding both a hotel - opened by Bill Beaumont in October 1992 - and a stadium, which doubled as a stand and office block, to create the RFU National Training Centre. The hotel was sold, a decade later, to become a private housing complex, but the role of Castlecroft grew, with the stadium hosting upwards of seventy games each year, many of them schoolboy internationals. When the RFU decided to relocate the National Training Centre to Twickenham in 2007, the local authority put the whole site up for lease. And that’s when, eventually, AFC Wulfrunians stepped in. The club, founded as the Wolverhampton Grammar School Old Boys Football Club in 1923, and later to become Old Wulfrunians, played in local amateur leagues. In 2005 AFC Wulfrunians, was established to give senior players the opportunity to compete at a higher level. Success was instant, with the Wulfs winning Division 2 of the West Midlands (Regional) League in their first season. This was followed by promotion from Division 1 to the Premiership the following year. A season of consolidation, when they finished sixth, was followed by becoming Premiership champions in the 2008-09 season. Normally, this would have meant promotion to the Midlands Alliance, but the Brinsford Lane ground they shared with Wolverhampton Casuals, which both clubs believed was of Step 5 standard, was not deemed so by the FA. So, another year in the Premiership looked on the cards. However, in the spring of 2009, the club approached Wolverhampton Council to enquire about Castlecroft, whose extensive facilities were lying unused, and with the pitch and training area turning to meadow. Taking on this facility was a bold move for the club, as they were reliant on a dedicated band of volunteers to undertake the maintenance. The stadium offers a full size floodlit pitch plus an area for training. The stadium seats 500 spectators and has top class changing room facilities, along with offices, function rooms and a licensed bar. The club took over the management of the stadium in March 2009, and it was to be a huge effort to try and get the ground up to Step 5 condition in the short period of time before the start of the 2009-10 season. Sadly, they just missed the league’s deadline and, whilst the club felt the decision was harsh, as all could see that it would eventually meet requirements
Page 1 and 2: SERVING THE TURFCARE INDUSTRY FEATU
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME TO pitchcare The best in th
Page 5 and 6: Roger Ward, Horsham Cricket Club Cr
Page 7 and 8: Racecourse Groundstaff Awards York
Page 9 and 10: One day event will showcase latest
Page 11 and 12: 2005 Feb Toro BUY Hayter Toro BY Ha
Page 13 and 14: Issue 5 Issue 11 inimitable Laurenc
Page 15: Not sure which way to go? Ransomes
Page 18 and 19: Jim Buttar and Darren Baldwin on th
Page 20 and 21: Darren’s integral role in the Tot
Page 22 and 23: “It is a huge challenge to produc
Page 24 and 25: “We were able to maintain stabili
Page 28 and 29: Pitch looking like a farmer’s fie
Page 30 and 31: Security and Theft Most crime reduc
Page 32 and 33: FIVE YEARS The views of our readers
Page 34 and 35: DON’T BE HELD BACK BY YOUR EQUIPM
Page 36 and 37: A brand new cricket facility at Wes
Page 38 and 39: £25,000 for practice nets £25,000
Page 40 and 41: Memorial garden View from the pavil
Page 42 and 43: Cricket is just one in a thriving s
Page 44 and 45: Grass tennis courts “The contract
Page 46 and 47: Roger with his ‘exit strategy’
Page 48 and 49: Talking cricket with Karl Brotherho
Page 50 and 51: No more punctures …ever! No hassl
Page 52 and 53: SawPoints “Golf courses tend to h
Page 54 and 55: Occasional users wishing to fell ma
Page 56 and 57: employee may be exposed to on any s
Page 58 and 59: about tree removal from an ecologic
Page 60 and 61: “Why the hell is he doing that wh
Page 62 and 63: Seaclose Park prior to the festival
Page 64 and 65: Employer’s Liability Products Lia
Page 66 and 67: ALAN Hamilton looks after two crick
Page 68 and 69: Shane Moon Iwas invited to visit Gu
Page 70 and 71: L’Ancresse Golf Course TWO clubs
Page 72 and 73: Mother Nature throws all kinds of p
Page 74 and 75: One of the many ‘douits’ that c
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Paul Bishop is Estates Manager at t
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76 Bunker work has been ongoing A g
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The dynamic duo become the fantasti
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Our aim was for everyone to underst
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values was still strong. This means
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The Drain Brain! Sustainable draina
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Diagram 1 - Pre and post developmen
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“It was difficult to get others t
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Stewart has built relationships wit
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grade Mansfield sand. The site was
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Ups on the Downs Report by Tom Jame
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“We start at 4.30am on the mornin
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98 “Some groundsmen I’ve spoken
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Mark Cornford The mention of Plumpt
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“Frost covers certainly have a bi
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I’ve been in the sports turf indu
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No testing ground can reproduce the
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Perhaps the most sustainable crop o
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The importance of bed-knives and ho
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cones reels and can damage reel bea
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important that both, or all sides,
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water, to mark the spot for drillin
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the bedknives relative to the reel
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travel over on the night sailing fr
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tasks that should be carried out wi
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A fox will average between 2-6 year
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lawns give every appearance of bein
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Quote me happy “For the first nin
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Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

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