The Everton men's team may have moved from Goodison Park to the Hill Dickinson Stadium in the summer of 2025, but one man who has played a huge role at Goodison for nearly four decades has announced his retirement.
Bob Lennon, Goodison's Head Groundsman, retired on Friday, 29 May, ending a 38-year association with the club, and he has spoken to the official Everton website about some of his fondest and funniest memories from his time at the club.
Goodison Groundsman reminisces about former managers
During his time at the club, Lennon has worked alongside 14 Everton managers, and each one has had their own preference on how they wanted the pitch at Goodison to play. When asked about which manager has been the most demanding, Lennon said:
“Colin Harvey. He was an absolute diamond, but he was very demanding. So, so professional. At the council (where Bob previously worked), I was doing trees, I was doing rock gardens, water features, everything, grass was just a side issue.
“But at Everton, it was everything. It was so stressful because in that environment, you couldn't say, ‘we'll do that tomorrow,' it had to be done right then.
“If I'd said to Colin Harvey or Howard Kendall, ‘I'll cut that pitch tomorrow,' they'd say, ‘No lad, I want it done now. I've got multi-million-pound players playing on that pitch, I want it done now.' That's the way it was.”
Goodison Park's Head Groundsman, Bob Lennon, today calls time on his 38 years of service with the Blues.
— Everton (@Everton) May 29, 2026
Happy retirement, Bob! 💙
Lennon's clash with Walter Smith
Lennon also spoke about a time he faced the wrath of Walter Smith for cutting the pitch in a way that the former Rangers manager felt made Goodison Park look like Celtic Park. Lennon said:
“I'd decided to mow the Goodison pitch in circles, rather than lines or diagonals. It was before we played Leeds at home, and the pitch looked beautiful. But Walter turned up on match day, stared at it and said to me, ‘What's this, Bob?'
“Apparently, it was the same way Celtic Park was mowed, and as a Rangers man, he hated it. He told me that if we lost that day, it would be my last day as groundsman!”
FGG says: An unsung hero departs
While it's easy to believe the illusion that the only people that matter at a football club are the players and the manager, without people like Bob Lennon, many could not operate. It's nice to see Everton giving him a proper send-off, something he deserves after giving them 38 years of his life.