The Silkmen's annual renovation of the Moss Rose pitch is now underway as the heavy equipment was out in force, taking up the top layer of the playing surface.
Macclesfield Town groundsman Mark Mathers told us:
"We're only taking off the very top layer this year. The sand base underneath it is still sound so all we need to do this time is take this up, lay about 80 tonnes of sand, seed and fertilise.
"Some of the exsisting turf will survive and will grow back up through the new layer, as well as the new grass we'll be adding.
"With a good summer predicted we will be in perfect playing condition when the first pre-season games come around."
Groundstaff Interview
Earlier in the season, the following interview with groundsmen Mark and Liam appeared in the Matchday programme:
In the McIlroy Suite on the evening of the Wycombe game the volunteers who were instrumental in ensuring that the Silkmen's game against Everton went ahead were treated to a thank-you meal. And the match sponsor for that game was Martin Noads of Event Solutions Ltd. Martin and his colleagues provided the heating equipment and the expertise that was the foundation for our success.
But for the Silkmen's groundstaff it was all part of the job as Mark Mathers and Liam Markie keep the pitch in good order over a busy season.
Mark has been with the club for more than a decade, initially arriving at Moss Rose in 1997.
"I sent off my CV and applied for the position as Assistant Groundsman and John Brookes offered me the job. I don't know if it was something I said, but I had two bosses in the first few months before things settled down a bit when Mark Patterson became Head Groundsman."
On Mark P's departure in 2006 Mark M was promoted to the top job and Liam arrived as his assistant. Jimmy Yea is the final member of the team.
"We've had a reputation for having an excellent playing surface here for a long time now and have been honoured by the Groundsman of the Year awards twice, first in 2002 and then again in 2004. And of course, we were a runner up last season. But even then we thought it was a bit of a moral victory because the eventual winners and the other runners up were Shrewsbury and MK Dons who had barely played a full season on their new pitches!
"To be fair to Shrewsbury though, we went and had a look at their pitch before the judging and it did look awesome. But like the MK Dons they had had a fortnight of preparation time. We had two games and training sessions on here before we were inspected! So it was a great achievement to make the top three.
"The judges look at everything from what sort of equipment you have available to you, to how many staff and whether you do any other jobs around the ground. And we do everything."
And there is certainly a lot to do. With the re-introduction of the Reserve side and with the Youth Team also playing on the Moss Rose, Mark's pitch will be taking the brunt of more than 70 games this season.
"On average, other clubs usually have about thirty five to forty matches in a season. But with all three of our teams playing here we've got a lot on. Add in any training sessions, Nike adverts and FA matches, and it is taking a lot of punishment."
And the pitch has indeed been given the nod by the FA as the Moss Rose was the venue for the women's FA Charity Shield match in August and will also welcome schoolboy international match later in the season.
"That's a good indication of how well our facilities are thought of. I understand that the quality of the playing surface is one of the primary concerns before the FA select venues. So it's excellent for us as the ground-staff and for the club as a whole to get games like these."
What makes for an average day?
"We usually get in at nine, and the first thing to do is to check the weather forecast to see what we will be able to do. Then if the weather is ok Liam will use the tractor to brush the turf, which can take an hour or so. Then I will go around with the mower which can be another two and a half hours and then we 'spike' the pitch, which helps with drainage. As well as all of that, we have to clean the terraces and concourses, clean the toilets, the windows in the McIlroy suite, and generally try and keep the place looking neat and tidy, especially after a matchday. With the Reserves and other fixtures we can sometimes have three or more games in a week. And in those weeks the main job is just making sure the surface is playable in time for the next game.
"On the day of a game itself we start a bit earlier. We run the mower over the pitch again and then Jimmy will mark it out after I've set up guide strings. Liam will go around with the linesman and check the nets and make sure everything is in order. Then at half time we will go out and try and replace any divots. The faster you can get them back in place, the quicker the pitch will repair. After the game we repair anything damaged during the second half, and if we need to, get the covers put on, and then we might have time for a pint!"
Some groundsmen make a point of putting patterns in the lines on the pitch. Ever fancy doing that at the Moss?
"Well, we've thought about it, but with so many games we don't really have the time. It already takes a couple of hours to mow the pitch and it takes a lot longer to do that. Not to mention that referees and linesmen tend to frown on it. They like to use the straight lines to help them judge offsides, and curves on the pitch can make that harder for them."
What about the other 'tricks of the trade'.
"You do sometimes see games where one end of the pitch is being watered heavily at half time. Usually the goal the home side is attacking. Again this is something that referees tend to frown on. You're not supposed to do it really."
With any luck you will be reading this on Saturday with the Silkmen ready to take on Notts County. But given the recent weather, it will almost certainly be down, once again, to the hard work of Mark and his team, and probably many of the same volunteers who were dining in the McIlroy Suite before the Wycombe game, but how important are those volunteers in this sort of situation?
"Absolutely vital! The Everton game was a combination of factors, and all of them were vital. Without the heating equipment we had from Event Solutions, the game wouldn't have gone ahead. And it's the same for the teams of fans who came down to help out. Without them, we wouldn't have had a game on that Saturday it's as simple as that. We were also helped by the weather, which wasn't as harsh as had been predicted, which prevented the areas we had thawed from re-freezing badly. Port Vale was a different proposition, it was so much colder and it was only the night before. The pitch would have re-frozen within half an hour of moving the heating equipment."
Speaking of equipment, what could make your job easier that other clubs might have?
"Obviously under-soil heating would help with frozen games, but honestly it often causes more problems than it solves. It can cause the pitch to get soft which is why some clubs who use it a lot often have problems with the playing surfaces. It would help us stop a couple of postponements, but overall the pitch would suffer. I wouldn't mind an integrated sprinkler system though. Carting the hoses and sprinklers around when the pitch needs water in the summer isn't our favourite job. Perhaps if we move to a new stadium!"
But until then, what can be done to keep the surface as good as possible.
"Well, fewer people on it is always a good start. The old saying is that 'grass grows by the inch and is killed by the foot'. So the players know to expect a shout from us is we catch them taking a short cut across the pitch. They usually tell us to go back to our cups of tea, but grass does need time to recover.
"And most summers we are lucky that we are able to re lay the pitch completely. This coming summer we will completely be stripping the pitch down again and relaying it with 80 tonnes of 'rootzone', which we will seed and fertilise. And as long as we can keep the birds off it, we will have a perfect surface again for the start of next season."
So next time you applaud an inch perfect sliding tackle, spare a thought for Mark and his team who will be wincing slightly if a strip of turf has been gouged out of their precious pitch.
