Football: Moore's perfect pitch

THAT WAS THE WEEKEND THAT WAS

The Wembley playing surface, as ever, was a credit to its curators yesterday, which will have come as good news to the organisers of a conference on pitch management to be staged at the national stadium later this month.

With the influx of technically gifted stars, good quality turf is becoming increasingly important at the top of the English game, and groundsmen around the country will doubtless be anxious to pick up any tips that might give their side an edge.

However, though the organisers have done their best to make "Wembley Turf Experience II" sound fun, it is difficult for someone not entirely fanatical about horticulture to get too excited about such topics as "optimising water" and "root zone water management".

Maybe that's why they have decided to spice things up a little by hiring Ms Demie Moore to deliver the latter presentation.

Before you join the rush to book tickets, however, this is not - as you might have guessed by the slight variation in spelling - that Ms Moore. "I'm afraid not," said Marcus Palmer, whose Supaturf company she will be representing. "She often gets ribbed about the name, but she is actually a lady in her 40s with probably 20 years experience in her field."

What's more, so far as is known, she will remain fully clothed throughout.