Fl Groundsmen Of The Year Announced
The Football League Groundsman of the Year 2012 for each division has been announced, celebrating the best playing surfaces across the Football League’s 72 clubs.
The award acknowledges groundsmen across the country who, throughout the 2011/12 season, have consistently produced the best playing surfaces in each division come rain, sun or snow.
Tony Bell of Middlesbrough claimed the award for the Championship, whilst his counterparts Paul Bradshaw at Burnley and Leicester City’s Ed Mowe were highly commended.
Carlisle United’s David Mitchell picked up the League 1 award for the second year running, whilst David Brown and Phil Collinson received commendations for the surfaces at Hartlepool United and Rochdale respectively.
In League 2, Terry Roberts of Cheltenham Town picked up the title, with Burton Albion’s Simon Marshall and David Radmore at Plymouth Argyle being highly commended.
The awards are determined using marks from referees and away team managers for each game, which are then followed by detailed pitch inspections and a review of management operations.
John Nagle, head of communications at The Football League, said: ‘The Groundsman of the Year Award is an opportunity to honour some of The Football League’s unsung heroes and rightly recognises the efforts made by club groundsmen to prepare the best possible playing surfaces. It has been another tough season with some challenging weather conditions, however the quality of pitches across The League has been excellent.’
