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23
Apr
York up, Harrogate down? Rival fans have their say
Bragging rights are on the line for Harrogate Town and York City fans.
With York top of the National League and Harrogate bottom of League Two, the Yorkshire rivals could swap divisions come the season’s end.
For Harrogate, who have been above York for eight seasons, it would be a tragedy. For York, a long-overdue power shift.
York, the club with a richer history and larger fanbase, had been above Harrogate every year since York's 1922 inception until 2018. The last eight seasons flipped that on its head.
Despite sharing a league for just one of a possible 68 seasons, there is a mutual dislike, fuelled by pride, jealousy and Yorkshire stubbornness.
The Stray Ferret spoke to one fan from each club to gauge how a potential swap would feel.
‘They say they don’t care about us, but deep down they do’
Jack Wilkinson has followed Town home and away for over a decade.
Jack Wilkinson, 25, has followed Harrogate Town since 2015, witnessing their rise from the National League North to League Two, with an FA Trophy triumph and an FA Cup trip to Elland Road along the way.
Relegation, he says, would be devastating:
It would be catastrophic. Yes, we’ve been in the National League before, but what do we expect now when there are some big teams in that league? We’re not bigger than they are. Look at Halifax, Sutton, Forest Green. We’ll struggle massively financially.
As for swapping places, it won't be nice if it does happen. I wouldn’t like it if York go up. I really wouldn’t. You’d hear no end of it from fans, and I’ve got family members who support York.
Jack regularly sees York supporters commenting smugly on social media that Harrogate are going down.
But he puts it down to jealousy.
He said:
Their fans are so bitter that we’re in a higher division. They say they don’t care about us, but deep down, they do. They won’t like it that we’ve been above them for so long. They’re a bigger club on paper than us 100%, but they haven’t got the results to get back into the Football League – we have.
We’ve only played each other three or four times. It’s just a North Yorkshire rivalry – nothing historic. We’ve probably got a bigger rivalry with someone like Salford. I think if we’re in the same league next season, it would be a bit different – there would be a bit more riding on it.
Having seen Harrogate win all three meetings in his time as a supporter, Jack is hoping York slip up again this weekend.
“I hope they bottle it so Harrogate remain North Yorkshire’s number one,” he said.
‘It’ll be nice to finally have the county back’
Will Flatt (middle) with York City players Callum Howe (middle left) and Alex Hunt (middle right).
Will Flat, 18, has been watching York since he was two. His earliest memory is their 2012 play-off final win over Luton.
He told the Stray Ferret that promotion would mean everything:
I was so young when we were last in the EFL, but the atmosphere is better, and you’re playing proper teams like Notts County with big grounds. It can be hard to get excited for Solihull Moors on a Saturday.
I’d be happy if we swapped. York never really had a big rivalry in my lifetime. We used to have Scarborough, Bury and Doncaster, but now it’s Harrogate who are closest to us. It would be nice to have the bragging rights.
Will also admitted the rivalry was an unusual one:
It’s a weird rivalry. As much as I don’t like them, I think it’s one-sided because they don’t have any fans to hate us! Most of my mates don’t care about them as much as I do. It’s an odd rivalry because you’ve got one big team and one really crap one.
York City only need to draw away at Rochdale on Saturday to be crowned champions.
If Harrogate lose this weekend, and Newport and Crawley win, they will be relegated.
It could be a weekend of pure elation for Will. But would he not prefer to have a derby match to look forward to? He said:
Part of me wants the derby, but lately I’ve been looking at Harrogate’s results and wanting them to lose, so clearly I do want them to go down. I don’t hate them as much as other clubs like Luton, but it’s been annoying seeing them above us for so long – more embarrassing than anything else. It will be nice to finally have the county back.
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