KARL STANDLEY says he cannot wait for players to be back out on his precious pitch, messing it up.
But for Wembley’s grounds manager, life will be back to normal only when the national stadium is packed to the rafters with fans making memories to last a lifetime.
Wembley’s Karl Standley grounds manager says he cannot wait for players to be back out on his precious pitchCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Life will be back to normal only when the national stadium is packed to the rafters with fans making memories to last a lifetimeCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Standley said: “We are excited that one day, whenever it may be, we will have the football back and have people using the pitch.
“There will be incredible goals scored on that pitch. The net will be bulging, whether it’s rain or shine.
“One day we can hopefully have people in the stadium again. There’s no better feeling than when youngsters come with their dad.
“I go back to me and the first time I went to Southampton. I walked out on to this wooden terrace and my dad said, ‘This is The Dell, this is where your dad comes to and where you are going to come with me now with your season ticket’. Wow.
“We will always give the players a good surface to play on. But the biggest thing for me is the fans and those smiles you see and the stories those youngsters will one day tell their kids.”
This week, Standley and his team should have been preparing for the biggest day in Wembley’s calendar — the FA Cup final, originally scheduled for next Saturday.
Instead they will continue working under new conditions imposed by the Covid-19 crisis.
How Standley does his job has not actually changed a huge amount. Sensors under and around the pitch measuring things like soil moisture and humidity allowed him to work from home some days even before the pandemic began.
Standley and his team should have been preparing for the FA Cup final this weekendCredit: Kate Green for The FA
He said: “I can dial into the pitch, see what it’s doing.
“It’s a bit like running a diagnostic programme on a car, as F1 teams do.”
The main change to the routine is that Standley and his three assistants now work in pairs rather than all together.
And their most important task right now is to replicate the punishment the pitch — which was completely replaced over winter — would usually have been taking in the busy period from May to August.
Standley explained: “There are 980million blades of grass out there.
“On each piece of grass there are five leaves. One of them is always deteriorating and we have to remove this damage.
“We almost have to put our own wear and tear on to the pitches just to ensure they keep ticking along.
“We would normally clear it out every month in a playing season, now we are doing it every week to ten days.”
Sensors under and around the pitch measuring things like soil moisture and humidity allowed him to work from home some days even before the pandemic beganCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The main change to the routine is that Standley and his three assistants now work in pairs rather than all togetherCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But if you ever forget about the magic of football, just ask Standley to talk you through his build-up to the moment the referee blows the first whistle on FA Cup final day.
After six minutes of fascinating technical and personal detail, he said: “It’s spine- tingling to be on the pitch for those critical couple of minutes when the players go off down the tunnel and you hear the fans chanting from each side. It’s very emotional.”
That passion has driven Standley’s career.
The young football fan who grew vegetables in his parents’ garden combined the two loves of his life by taking a two-year course at Sparsholt College, near Winchester.
Standley, then just 18, thought all his dreams had come true when a work placement at his beloved Southampton turned into a permanent job.
But with the Saints’ backing, in 2006 he joined the team preparing for the grand reopening of Wembley.
Standley’s rise through the ranks was complete in 2017 when he became head groundsman, a title that changed to grounds manager earlier this year as his role evolved.
After growing up with the stadium, he has a good sense of perspective as he and his team cope with the lack of action on their pitch — do not forget Wembley was supposed to stage seven Euro 2020 games, including the semi- finals and final, this summer.
Standley said: “We have a little saying which is on one of the walls of the machine store, ‘Being challenged is inevitable — being defeated is optional’.
“We’re just making sure, No 1, that the team is healthy and happy. And this is a challenge that we will have to overcome.”
At the age of 35, Standley is young to be in arguably the most illustrious job in his profession.
And the child-like wonder he still feels when he is at work is infectious, bringing hope of better days to come.
Standley said: “This stadium is built out of concrete and steel, but even when it’s empty there’s history in every seat and every beam.
“Everything could tell a story.
“It’s a piece of grass that we are really proud and passionate about, that we want to be the best.
“I just want people to be using the pitch and enjoying themselves, to have people happy with smiles on their faces again.”
Manchester City celebrate winning the Carabao CupCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
