Woolnough, Charlie
My Life in Football
From a programme article in April 2022.
Charlie Woolnough
Football is a simple sport.
All you need is a couple of friends, a couple of goals and somewhere to play. For the past 118 years Exeter City have pitched up at St James Park for a Saturday afternoon kick- about. This season, the club decided to improve the playing surface at EX4 and one man was at the heart of the decision making.
Charlie Woolnough has been cutting grass since he was a boy, and suddenly he's become a cult hero at a Football League club. City's attractive style of play needs a carpet like turf to get the most out of and plaudits must go to Chaz and his dedicated team of groundkeepers and volunteers who make matchdays at SJP possible.
"I was more interested in driving the little machines than playing golf, which led to cutting the grass and ultimately becoming an obsession."
In a Grecian first (and maybe a professional English football first) Chaz cover stars on this weeks edition of our matchday programme, as we caught up with the "Life's a Pitch" celebrity and Bacon Sarnie Connoisseur to chat about his life as a Groundskeeper.
The Grecian: Chaz thanks for joining us. An easy one to start really, how did you first become a groundsman and working on lawns?
Charlie Woolnough: Cutting grass. As a very young kid I used to play golf and it was a bit boring. But what I saw was these little three wheeled buggies rolling around turning the bunkers. It was called a 'Sand Pro' and I took a fancy to it thinking one day I want to be driving that. I was more interested in driving the little machines than playing golf, which led to cutting the grass and ultimately becoming an obsession.
TG: So where was your first job in that field (literally!) and how did you end up at Exeter City?
CW: Teignmouth Golf Club. But I ended up at City as I was good friends with former player Paul Buckle. He invited me up as the club were just coming out of the troubled times. The club didn't have a lot of money but needed a bit of help. I was head greenkeeper at Teignmouth at the time and I used to come to football with my family, in return I used to give advice on how to get on with the pitches as a volunteer. After 30 years in golf I wanted a change and the job came up at Exeter City, I went for it and the rest is history.
TG: At your time at City, behind the scenes have you got any good anecdotes of being in trouble at any time?
CW: Oh, the geezer who made everyone sit in a circle once, what's he called? Phil Brown that's it. He walked over a rope we used to put beside the pitch to do his interview. I was starting to 'verti-drain' coming up the side, back when the changing rooms were under the Stagecoach Stand. It annoyed me so much, I drove my tractor at him. thought "is he driving that tractor at me?" and I had that look in my eye to suggest it's "you or me" and he ended up walking back over the rope. I went past and he couldn't even do his interview because the machine made one heck of a noise. We were struggling with the pitch at that point, but we were proud of it. I felt he was undermining our efforts and protection of the pitch by ignoring the rope barrier, so I used persuasion by tractor to get him off it.
TG: On an average week, how many hours do you think you spend in total working on the stadium pitch?
CW: We probably spend between 25% and 50% on the pitch depending on whether we have a game coming up. If we haven't, we probably on dedicate a quarter of our time.
TG: We wanted to know, after you've worked so hard on a pitch throughout the week and then unfortunately the game's had to be called off, how does your team feel about it?
CW: It's a doubled-edged sword really. Ideally, you'd never play in bad conditions because that's when the pitch gets damaged the most. There's good and bad in that one for us.
We're gutted in the way of the logistics of putting it back on later in the season.
It's horrendous if it's really short notice too, like the last hour before kick-off, because you know how much effort everybody has put in to get there. You'd rather it be called off 24 hours in advance.
TG: That said, the pitch this season is still in really good nick. It's the best it's ever looked, isn't it?
CW: We've invested a lot of money in it. You get what you pay for. We've invested wisely in this one and unless a complete freak accident happens whatever money you invest, you're going to get back whether that's results wise or saving money on restoring it. If you treat it with respect and don't overplay it.
TG: We've seen a whole number of contraptions you and your team have used this season.
What is your favourite piece of machinery you've used?
CW: Ooh that's a tough one. A bit like player of the month it changes on a monthly basis. My very favourite at the moment is the tractor- mounted drain-trencher. It's like a chainsaw that goes in the ground, and it cuts you a drainage channel for piping, to improve the drainage of the wettest areas which we've been using out at the Cliff Hill Training Ground.
There are patches out there which have annoyed us for years and we're desperately trying to make the grass pitches more playable during the winter when it's wetter and windier out there.
TG: Away from the day job, you're also a volunteer for the lifeboat service in Teignmouth Please can you explain to us what your role out there is?
CW: I've been there for 27 years, started off as a lifeboat mechanic as a boy before I became a helmsman, driving the boat for the commanders. When I moved to Exeter, it took me away from the office more, so my role changed. For the last 10 years my role is now the L.O.M. which stands for Lifeboat Operations Manager. What that means is that I'm always on- call for the lifeboats, if a danger goes off to assist and manage the launch of the lifeboat.
TG: Excellent work Chaz! An easy one to finish then, as we always ask you on Life's a Pitch, What's for lunch today?
CW: I've altered my pattern today as I've had two spare bits of pizza from last night, but I munched on them before I mowed the pitch. It's not going to be a great deal to be fair, but it'll have to be a classic BLT baguette. The Chaz Special.
TG: Brilliant. Thanks for joining us today Chaz.
"We've invested a lot of money in it. You get what you pay for. We've invested wisely in this one and unless a complete freak accident happens whatever money you invest, you're going to get back"
From a programme article in April 2022.
Charlie Woolnough
Football is a simple sport.
All you need is a couple of friends, a couple of goals and somewhere to play. For the past 118 years Exeter City have pitched up at St James Park for a Saturday afternoon kick- about. This season, the club decided to improve the playing surface at EX4 and one man was at the heart of the decision making.
Charlie Woolnough has been cutting grass since he was a boy, and suddenly he's become a cult hero at a Football League club. City's attractive style of play needs a carpet like turf to get the most out of and plaudits must go to Chaz and his dedicated team of groundkeepers and volunteers who make matchdays at SJP possible.
"I was more interested in driving the little machines than playing golf, which led to cutting the grass and ultimately becoming an obsession."
In a Grecian first (and maybe a professional English football first) Chaz cover stars on this weeks edition of our matchday programme, as we caught up with the "Life's a Pitch" celebrity and Bacon Sarnie Connoisseur to chat about his life as a Groundskeeper.
The Grecian: Chaz thanks for joining us. An easy one to start really, how did you first become a groundsman and working on lawns?
Charlie Woolnough: Cutting grass. As a very young kid I used to play golf and it was a bit boring. But what I saw was these little three wheeled buggies rolling around turning the bunkers. It was called a 'Sand Pro' and I took a fancy to it thinking one day I want to be driving that. I was more interested in driving the little machines than playing golf, which led to cutting the grass and ultimately becoming an obsession.
TG: So where was your first job in that field (literally!) and how did you end up at Exeter City?
CW: Teignmouth Golf Club. But I ended up at City as I was good friends with former player Paul Buckle. He invited me up as the club were just coming out of the troubled times. The club didn't have a lot of money but needed a bit of help. I was head greenkeeper at Teignmouth at the time and I used to come to football with my family, in return I used to give advice on how to get on with the pitches as a volunteer. After 30 years in golf I wanted a change and the job came up at Exeter City, I went for it and the rest is history.
TG: At your time at City, behind the scenes have you got any good anecdotes of being in trouble at any time?
CW: Oh, the geezer who made everyone sit in a circle once, what's he called? Phil Brown that's it. He walked over a rope we used to put beside the pitch to do his interview. I was starting to 'verti-drain' coming up the side, back when the changing rooms were under the Stagecoach Stand. It annoyed me so much, I drove my tractor at him. thought "is he driving that tractor at me?" and I had that look in my eye to suggest it's "you or me" and he ended up walking back over the rope. I went past and he couldn't even do his interview because the machine made one heck of a noise. We were struggling with the pitch at that point, but we were proud of it. I felt he was undermining our efforts and protection of the pitch by ignoring the rope barrier, so I used persuasion by tractor to get him off it.
TG: On an average week, how many hours do you think you spend in total working on the stadium pitch?
CW: We probably spend between 25% and 50% on the pitch depending on whether we have a game coming up. If we haven't, we probably on dedicate a quarter of our time.
TG: We wanted to know, after you've worked so hard on a pitch throughout the week and then unfortunately the game's had to be called off, how does your team feel about it?
CW: It's a doubled-edged sword really. Ideally, you'd never play in bad conditions because that's when the pitch gets damaged the most. There's good and bad in that one for us.
We're gutted in the way of the logistics of putting it back on later in the season.
It's horrendous if it's really short notice too, like the last hour before kick-off, because you know how much effort everybody has put in to get there. You'd rather it be called off 24 hours in advance.
TG: That said, the pitch this season is still in really good nick. It's the best it's ever looked, isn't it?
CW: We've invested a lot of money in it. You get what you pay for. We've invested wisely in this one and unless a complete freak accident happens whatever money you invest, you're going to get back whether that's results wise or saving money on restoring it. If you treat it with respect and don't overplay it.
TG: We've seen a whole number of contraptions you and your team have used this season.
What is your favourite piece of machinery you've used?
CW: Ooh that's a tough one. A bit like player of the month it changes on a monthly basis. My very favourite at the moment is the tractor- mounted drain-trencher. It's like a chainsaw that goes in the ground, and it cuts you a drainage channel for piping, to improve the drainage of the wettest areas which we've been using out at the Cliff Hill Training Ground.
There are patches out there which have annoyed us for years and we're desperately trying to make the grass pitches more playable during the winter when it's wetter and windier out there.
TG: Away from the day job, you're also a volunteer for the lifeboat service in Teignmouth Please can you explain to us what your role out there is?
CW: I've been there for 27 years, started off as a lifeboat mechanic as a boy before I became a helmsman, driving the boat for the commanders. When I moved to Exeter, it took me away from the office more, so my role changed. For the last 10 years my role is now the L.O.M. which stands for Lifeboat Operations Manager. What that means is that I'm always on- call for the lifeboats, if a danger goes off to assist and manage the launch of the lifeboat.
TG: Excellent work Chaz! An easy one to finish then, as we always ask you on Life's a Pitch, What's for lunch today?
CW: I've altered my pattern today as I've had two spare bits of pizza from last night, but I munched on them before I mowed the pitch. It's not going to be a great deal to be fair, but it'll have to be a classic BLT baguette. The Chaz Special.
TG: Brilliant. Thanks for joining us today Chaz.
"We've invested a lot of money in it. You get what you pay for. We've invested wisely in this one and unless a complete freak accident happens whatever money you invest, you're going to get back"
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