'I can't stand gardening' - GFA's top groundsman

VALE REC stalwart Dave Le Noury, the GFA's groundsman of the year, revealed his big secret yesterday - he can't stand gardening. 'I've no time for gardening whatsoever,' he said, as he contemplated his once-pristeen Corbet Field pitch which took a real battering last Saturday.

'But somebody's got to do this job and I'm the one available.'

Rain, which was in the air again, is his nightmare.

'The worst part of this job is ringing up to say that a game is off,' he said. 'After all, I don't do this because I don't like football.'

The groundsman job, which Le Noury took on after his retirement from a lifetime of driving, is a major commitment.

He can be found at the Corbet every day of the week, even on Christmas Day, tending the pitch or doing other odd jobs around the ground.

'Dave richly deserves this award as recognition for the exceptional job he does at the Corbet Field pitch,' said Guernsey FA secretary Matt Fallaize.

'The panel felt that during the 2004/5 season, Dave had managed the Corbet Field pitch very well in difficult circumstances and had called matches off only when that was absolutely necessary.'

A panel of judges inspected nominated grounds last week. It was only then that Le Noury discovered that the club had put him forward.

The Guernsey FA judging panel considered several factors, including the usage of grounds, finance available to improve them, the number of matches postponed at the ground and number of hours of service given by the groundsman.

Le Noury has a 56-year connection with Vale Rec as player and supporter, ever since he and a friend were the first juniors to sign for the club when they were at St Sampson's School.

A goalkeeper, his playing career stalled at Railway level, but he has always kept a link with the club.

Since his wife died four years ago, his commitment to the club has been total.

'I can come here when I want. I don't go out drinking or anything like that and I don't want to be sitting in a chair watching telly all the time.'

Fallaize said that the Corbet would have often been a sea of mud at this time of the season.

'The work the club has done on its pitch has now paid off and they can be proud of that achievement.'

Le Noury is due to receive his award at Vale Rec's end-of-season dinner.

n?The local-authority section of the FA-backed award was won by Shane Moon from the States Culture and Leisure Department for his work at Foote's Lane.

'Since assuming responsibility for Foote's Lane in September 2004, Shane has further improved it as an excellent playing surface,' said Fallaize.

Both groundsmen will be entered in the FA's regional groundsman of the year competition, which will be judged in the spring.