OPINION: PUT THEM ON THE TOOLS!

PICTURED ABOVE: St Helens full-back Jack Welsby joined Jon Wilkin and Sam Tomkins on Sky Sports' podcast, The Bench

TurfPro editor, Laurence Gale, writes . . .

Last week I was dismayed by the latest attack on our profession, this time by the Sky Sports RL ‘Off The Bench’ podcast, featuring Sam Tomkins, Jack Welsby, and Jon Wilkin.

Jon Wilkin even went so far as to remark that groundsmen are “weird” and labeled them "psychopathic".

Having seen the podcast myself and read other reports on the matter, I was pleased to see a swiftly issued statement by The GMA which said they were "deeply disappointed" by the comments and had contacted Sky Sports directly. You can read their whole statement here.

I believe this debacle goes to show just how uneducated many ex players and sports commentators are on the role, skill sets, experience and dedication that goes into producing natural grass playing surfaces. The fact that grounds professionals are still branded as merely grass cutters, continuously treated with total contempt, beggars belief.

Is it not time for these producers and TV companies to embrace the knowledge of turf professionals and get them on the programmes to talk about the work they do to prepare and repair pitches? Over time, the viewers and anybody who makes a living from playing sport would hopefully then gain more respect for the role of the grounds professional. 

Also maybe, as part of their sporting development, young professional players should be put on the tools and asked to spend time working on the grounds? They could then have a better understanding of what is required to deliver their top quality playing surfaces, 365 days of the year.

And finally, can you imagine the disruption to sport if all top turf professionals went on strike and stopped maintaining their pitches for a few weeks?! The industry would haemorrhage millions of pounds in revenue. Just losing a single match to the weather results in substantial loses. Take away the grounds staff and you've got nothing.

It is time clubs and players began seriously acknowledging the role of turf professionals and treated them with the respect they deserve.

There is a cost to install and maintain sports pitches at all levels, be that Premiership, grassroots or local authority - and crucially every facility needs to find a skilled team willing and able to deliver the surface expectations of the owners, clients and customers.

If we continue to berate and undermine these individuals' skills, dedication and knowledge, we will be left with nobody to do this work. 

However, I believe the biggest issue that arises from these type of disparaging comments, is the knock-on effect of how we are able recruit the next generation of grounds professionals.  

The likes of the GMA and BIGGA have been championing the wellbeing of grounds professionals and greenkeepers for many years, but it seems as if their voices are not cutting through. Perhaps it is now time that all organisations representing workers in the grounds, gardening and amenity sectors came together to speak with one voice on these matters.

By having a louder, singular voice maybe we would finally receive the recognition we deserve - in both pay and conditions, and crucially, in respect for what we bring to the sporting arena.