Published: 8 September 2025

While little Sergio was in his trunks, dive-bombing holiday-makers at their all-inclusive in Turkey, the Prestwich Marauders pitch fairies came to life and our three sites got the love and attention they needed.

Most of the work this summer has been done at Sandgate Fields (behind Prestwich Heys - more on them another time) and Sparks Field, the venue formerly known as Pinfold Drive, which was, in turn, originally known as… Sparks Field (it was used as a sports ground by Prestwich Hospital staff, once upon a time). 

Sparks was out of action for most of the last year. It suffered in the wet weather and various parts of the pitch were bare of grass. The field has been seeded, vertidrained (more on that later), mowed and a demonstration was held to share knowledge on marking out pitches from scratch. This followed another Marauders coach lovingly returning a line marking machine to its 1970s glory.

More hard work was done on servicing the goalposts and ground sockets, getting nets in working order, clearing the cabin of years of rubbish (there is still more there — if anyone knows any out-of-work Wombles, get in touch…), and clearing away overgrown bushes and branches that made access to the cabin difficult.

The final touch was applied while Raptors played a pre-season friendly — a sign was installed to let the public know that Sparks is back in business and there is a football pitch to look after.

Coaches Alex, Paul, Stew, and others, have worked their socks off for the kids of Cheetahs, Raptors and Warriors to enjoy their new home this season. Thanks to all involved.

As for Sandgate… anyone who’s braved the field in their wellies in winter will have seen how it has traditionally resembled a swamp. Once the summer dissipates, the water descends, and it has been nigh-on-impossible to get football matches on there from October-onwards for the past three seasons at least. 

Climate change has played a part — the warming of the earth has led to more water evaporating into the clouds, and therefore rain falls heavier and quicker than it used to, which has led the poor drainage system to buckle under the deluges. 

This summer has seen a concerted and organised effort to try and deal with the issues. Bury Council has undertaken some outer-drainage works around the periphery of the field. And the club paid for vertidraining (this was also done at Sparks and St Mary’s Park). 

Vertidraining involves dozens of spikes being hammered into the ground at an angle, by a machine on the back of a tractor. The spikes produce holes in the grass that aid both drainage and aeration of the ground below. This allows for better quality grass and drainage due to removing compaction.

Volunteers (particular thanks to Jonesy and Dan, who often put in full days at the site) undertook several weekends of painting lines so that there are now two nine-aside pitches and a seven-aside pitch for use by our teams. A five-aside pitch is apparently in the offing, but we are letting the fairies rest their wings for now… 

Early indications have been good, with boys teams training on Sandgate with no pitch issues all summer. 

Girls team Phoenix under-11s have agreed to be the pilot team for testing how long the top nine-aside pitch remains playable by using it as a home ground for league fixtures for the foreseeable future.

We have had some help from partner club Prestwich Heys (more on them another time, honestly, don’t worry, it is coming…) and they have agreed to open the toilets in their Adie Moran Park ground on Sunday mornings for the girls to use.

A sign has also been installed at the opening of the dirt track that leads from Heys’ car park up to the field. Again, this serves to give the field ownership and to let people know the pitches are for Marauders’ use, while also helping visiting teams and spectators to know where to go.

We will be keeping a close on eye on how Sandgate performs as the weather worsens, and we are certainly not getting overexcited, as we have had a very dry summer, particularly compared to 2024. And far too many Sandgate bubbles have been heartbreakingly burst in the past.

St Mary’s Park (SMP) remains under the watchful eyes of head groundsman Mark Jones, who has somehow managed to get training on for his team every week during summer, apart from one. A new record for a grass roots team, we think…

Diamonds under-12s girls will be applying their silky brand of expansive, passing football to the nines pitch this season.

Meanwhile, the SMP sevens pitch will be home to our Hurricanes under-9s girls team. Coaches Pete and Justin will be fettling away merrily and if their recent friendly is anything to go by they are in for a decent season. 

Aesthetically, we gave our three signs a clean (here’s a great idea for an afternoon of fun for all the family — find the Marauders signs at SMP…) and we put up some stickers reiterating to the public (and other clubs) that the pitches are for use by PMFC teams only.

Having survived Prestwich Carnival and no longer under attack from Festwich, SMP drained really well last season, with hardly any games falling victim to the weather. We are hoping for a similar scenario during this campaign.

If you have not nodded off yet, well done… We will provide another update as soon as one of the committee members gets a spare half an hour. Fascinating future subjects to be broached include kits, Prestwich Heys (patience everyone, patience…) and the development of our next generation of budding Marauders.  TH