David Barber, Wednesday's Head Groundsman tells an amusing tale about the day John took an unexpected soaking during a light training session when he was recovering from a knee operation.
"I remember it was a beautiful day, and I was sitting in the garage looking out through the door when I was sure I saw John pass by. Then he suddenly reappeared and I could see that he was absolutely drenched. What had happened was that after doing a few laps of the running track, John had gone onto to the pitch to finish off with a few stretching exercises. Unfortunately, he positioned himself next to the automatic sprinklers , and as they were pre-set, they suddenly switched on and were jetting 200 gallons a minute onto the pitch. John was not amused to find himself getting the full force of an unscheduled shower. He ran round to seek out me and my lads and wasn't too impressed when we reacted to the sight of this soaking footballer by laughing. I tried to explain that, contrary to what he suspected, none of us had deliberately turned on a tap. John was in no mood to believe that the sprinklers were on a timer and he made sure I knew how he felt by filling a bucket full of cold water and throwing it all over me! Later of course, he could see the funny side, but he made a point of being extra careful whenever he exercised on the pitch after that!" |