Renowned Groundsman retires

A groundsman who has spent nearly five decades maintaining professional football pitches in Stoke-on-Trent retires today on his 65th birthday.

Steve Speed, worked at Port Vale for 43-and-a-half years before joining Stoke City four years ago,

Speedy has fond memories of working at both clubs but said the worst part of his job were not the icy pitches or filling divot’s but hearing a manager criticise the field in a post match interview.