Hot dog stocks and snow ploughs: life as a Premier League stadium manager

While everyone else is watching the match, the venue manager is looking out for smoke bombs, bread knives and bad weather

By Harvey Smith for WSC, part of the Guardian Sport Network

Last season was the first in a decade where my life has not been dictated by the fixture list. This isn’t because I’ve fallen out of love with the game. Quite the opposite. I’ve enjoyed watching more football than I have for some time. Before a recent change of career I worked for two Premier League clubs, most recently as venue manager.

Being a full-time employee of a professional football club normally means making yourself available for every single home game, every year. There’s no prospect of a mid-season holiday booking or a day off to attend a relative’s wedding. And don’t forget the pre-season friendlies, reserve and youth games, and those charity games held after the season when most people just want to sit in the garden. You can’t just slink off when the team cease to have anything to play for or break up at the end of their season. The stadium could still be in use for concerts, schools’ finals and various sponsors who are entitled to play on the pitch. And by the time that’s all done, next season’s fixtures will be out and that’s your life sorted for another year.

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