After surviving the rain and wind during my recent visit to Cardiff to watch Scotland I returned last Sunday to watch Ipswich play their latest away game. Talking with Phil Williams the Cardiff grounds man before the game it’s hard not to feel sorry for him. Up till last Sundays game they had 29 consecutive days rain. Playing one winter sport on the pitch would be hard enough in such conditions but hosting two must be nearly impossible. It’s a credit to the team looking after the pitch that it is still playing ok. Being a reinforced pitch certainly helps but even with the latest technology it still leaves the grounds team with plenty to do. I have been through similar periods both in Ipswich and when I worked in Scotland. Groundsmen managing pitches in such conditions will always have to make difficult decisions. There will always be a pressure from clubs to get onto the pitch and carry out the many tasks that need doing and keep fixtures on. Gate revenue is vital to any stadium or club and it sometimes takes a spell like this to make other realise how important our job is. In almost most all situations like this working in really wet conditions will lead to problems later on. The sensible decision is to stay of the pitch and until the wet weather clears up. Groundsmen need to stay strong but clubs need to give them a break and not put them under any unnecessary pressure. Despite the bad weather Ipswich recorded their first away win of the season. The 1000 or so fans that made the long journey certainly raised the roof at the end of the game. Our autumn programme has been put on hold for most of the week. November has seen record rain levels fall across the UK and like the majority of the country we have had our share. Although training has carried on and we have managed to play the games on the training centre that were scheduled the work has focussed on re instating the pitches after each session and game by carrying out alot of hand forking. I don’t know a grounds man anywhere that likes doing alot of this work but it is necessary. In conditions as wet as we have experienced recently it is important to keep machines of the pitches as much as possible. I am sure things will turn drier and cooler soon. Our saving grace has been not having any first team games at home during the wet spell. That will change next week when we play two home games in the Championship.