Working Wonders At Wigan Athletic FC
Wigan Athletic FC’s grounds team had a short window for renovation this summer – due to playing host to Belgium women’s national team at its Christopher Place training ground during the UEFA Women’s European Championships, alongside Wigan Warrior’s usual early start to its playing season at the dual-use DW Stadium.
Nevertheless, grounds manager Ian Forshaw and his team of five managed to turn around exceptional playing surfaces at both venues in record time, thanks to Rigby Taylor’s R140 and Sports Field Renovation grass seed, plus a robust fertiliser programme from Origin Amenity Solutions.
“We noticed seed germination at the training ground in just four days and were pretty amazed to say the least,” Ian says. “I had full faith in Sports Field Renovation’s 50% blend of Tetraploid & Diploid Ryegrass seed, which I used for quick germination in the short six-week renovation window. The soil temperature was there and so was the moisture. We didn’t sheet any of the pitches it just came through naturally.”
Ian has developed an expertise in managing and installing various types of playing surfaces during his career and is a big supporter of Rigby Taylor products. Rigby Taylor are joined by Headland Amenity, Turf Keeper.com and Symbio in making up Origin Amenity Solutions. He joined Wigan Athletic in 1998, from a background in horticulture, and worked his way up to Head Groundsman at the DW Stadium – managing dual-use surfaces for Wigan AFC and Wigan Warriors RLFC. Looking to further his skillset, he moved to County Turf in 2016, and gained experience in installing hybrid carpet systems at Real Madrid FC and Paris St Germain training grounds, as well as Croke Park, Gloucester Rugby, Leicester Tigers and Doncaster Knights – before moving back to a grounds role at Fylde FC.
“During my spare time at Fylde, I helped Wigan with mowing and divoting, after they went into administration a couple of years ago, and when the club was able to take on a head groundsman I was asked to come back. It feels like I’ve come home,” he says.
One of the first things Ian did on his return was to get the playing surfaces back up to standard by re-establishing a robust seed and fertilising programme. The demand for quality surfaces in the Championship League is high, which is why he says he trusts Rigby Taylor products and appreciates regular visits from his Technical Area Manager Andy Merry.
“Andy and I have put together a stadium and a training ground programme, which both fit within our agreed budget and are continually reviewed and adapted where necessary,” he says.
According to Ian, the stadium pitch’s programme includes R140 seed and a mixture of PolyPro controlled-release fertilisers alongside specific products from the Apex Organic range for the stadium’s SIS hybrid playing surface. This is topped up with pre-mixed, liquid fertilisers – Nutri-Link Base, which promotes sward density, wear resistance and disease tolerance, plus Rapid Response and SeaQuest for exceptional pre-match presentation. However, the biggest benefit, Ian says, is that it ensures “excellent playability and recovery after each game”.
Ian’s team also use R140 seed and the same fertiliser programme for the first team and U23 training pitches, after being Koroed by Talbott Sport Turf contractors. Sports Field Renovation is used on the academy pitches, after a heavy scarification, plus a reduced version of the fertiliser programme. Regarding his choice to ryegrass blend, Ian says: “I’m a big fan of the Tetraploid and Diploid mix after using Sports Field Renovation on a shady part of the stadium pitch and was impressed at how well it stood up to and recovered from a hammering by both Wigan AFC and Warriors during the winter months.”
Ian also relies on Origin Amenity Solutions for the club’s goalposts and line marking equipment. He uses the iGo Advance at the training ground but prefers the sharper lines created by the iGO Premier line marker at the stadium – using Impact Sport line marking paint in both models. He adds, “We were so impressed with the iGo that it’s the only line marker we use on the training ground pitches, and the Impact paint provides excellent white lines.”
He is also planning to promote biodiversity at the training ground by sowing Origin Amenity Solutions Euroflor wildflower seed mixes to attract bees and other pollinators. “We’re looking at introducing the Super Blue Bee wildflower mix on the banks of newly constructed areas around the pitches, which will reflect the team’s colours. It’s maintenance free and will add to the landscape aesthetics,” he says. “As long as we keep them well away from ball activity.”
Regarding his team’s recent international duty, Ian says the Belgium side did not cause any damage to the pitch. However, when they moved off, the club’s U18s moved on, so it didn’t get much time to rest.
He’s pleased that his choice in seed and fertiliser allowed fast recovery and the stadium pitch also did well during recent Wigan AFC and Warriors’ pre-season activity.
“The additional use and a shortage of irrigation equipment during the summer’s hot spell gave the grounds team some challenges, but we manged to keep the grass green and are confident that we’ll continue our winning streak all season,” he says.
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