THE P

I have been immersed in Non League football in Ossett for over 40 years and for much of that time one of my genuine passions has been to involve myself (technical knowledge permitting) in ground development issues. At the end of most seasons myself, John Hirst and Stuart Garside have gone around the football ground, formerly at Ossett Albion’s Dimple Wells home and more recently Ossett United’s Ingfield complex, identifying any areas of the infrastructure that require attention. This task has seen us draw up a ‘wish-list’ of possible new developments alongside all maintenance work that we feel could do with a freshen-up!

As I’ve talked about on a number of occasions in these notes before, ground grading is a vital and integral element of participation in football within the National League System. Failure to adhere to requirements within a club’s facilities can have devastating consequences as North Shields, Skelmersdale United, Yorkshire Amateur and Hemsworth Miners Welfare will readily testify as all have suffered relegation as a result of deficiencies at their respective homes. I also note again that when it comes to football grounds it is not possible to stand still and settle for what you’ve got. Stagnation almost inevitably leads to deterioration which creates additional stress when the joint FA/NPL ground grading committee conduct their regular ground inspections.

Last May we carried out this formality as per usual and came up with the longest and most comprehensive list of ‘jobs to do’ that we have ever compiled. Looking at what we had identified back then was daunting in the extreme. One or two possibilities had to be immediately ruled out on the grounds of cost but the remaining targets on the list was still challenging to say the very least. With our new season starting with the FA Cup tie against 1874 Northwich just over a week ago I can look back on what has been achieved during the close season with (a) some surprise and (b) an immense sense of satisfaction.

It is fair to say that in all such lists we have drawn up over the years we have never achieved anywhere near as much as we have this time between the end of the last campaign and the beginning of the new one. That this has been the case is due in the main to the quite remarkable help we have been