Harrogate Town director Garry Plant leaves club

Garry Plant’s role as a director of Harrogate Town has been terminated, and he has left the club.

Mr Plant was managing director from 2014 until the appointment of former Stray FM boss Sarah Barry as chief executive in October.

As part of the restructuring behind the scenes, Mr Plant moved to become the commercial director with Ms Barry overseeing the whole operation.

Mr Plant was in charge of business operations during the most successful period of Harrogate Town’s history. He oversaw improvements to the club’s Wetherby Road ground and was part of the club’s move to full-time professional football.

Mr Plant, who has also had a career in the chemical and coating sector, is no longer listed as a director on the club’s Companies House profile. According to Companies House, his directorship terminated on November 22.

A Harrogate Town spokesman confirmed the news and said “we wish him all the best for the future.”

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Photos show how far Harrogate Town have come in 30 years

Harrogate Town’s EnviroVent Stadium has been transformed from a few rickety stands to a modern English Football League ground in 31 years.

Photos by photographer Andy Dakin from November 17 1990 show Town’s home back when it was simply Wetherby Road and a much more humble place to watch the Sulphurites.

The shots were taken before Harrogate Town drew 2-2 with Horwich RMI in the 2nd round of the NPL Cup.

Just 215 fans were in attendance, a far cry from over 2,000 that will be in the crowd for the game against Salford City later today.

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We’ve compared the photos with how the ground looks today. Did you follow Town back then? Send us your comments about how the club has grown to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk 

Black Sheep Brewery Stand/Main Stand

EnviroVent Terrace/EnviroVent Stand

Myrings Stand

AON Stand

Katherine Swinn from the Harrogate Town Independent Supporters Club told the Stray Ferret about how Wetherby Road has changed over the years.

“One of the first matches that I recall attending was towards the end of the 1989/90 when Harrogate Town won the HFS Loan’s League Cup against Congleton. I still have the programme for this match! At that time the ground was open. There were no stands built or seating although there was what used to be affectionately called a shed behind the goal at the Hospital End.

“This wasn’t really used though & was eventually removed to create more room for fans.The pitch had its well-known slope which sloped down towards what used to be the 1919 end. People were free to walk around the ground & attendances were only small although there was a bigger crowd than usual for the Congleton match.

“Away teams were able to park their coach in the ground next to where the Kop is now towards the exit. Some limited parking was allowed in the ground too. Around November 1990 the club unveiled its first seated stand which used to be known as the Family Stand and is now the Main Street.

“This had a couple of hundred seats & was much smaller than it is now. It was a large step forward for the club. Anyone could sit in the stand. There wasn’t a separate charge. If you didn’t want to sit in the stand then there used to be the odd chair at the 1919 end but that was it for outside seating.

“Over the years the ground has developed significantly so for example a roof was added to the Wetherby Road terracing & the Kop was built in 2014. The Family Stand has been developed twice over the years. Stands have also been built at the 1919 end, next to the Family Stand too with what is now known as the Black Sheep Brewery Stand & seating for away fans has also been added too.”

Watch ex-Harrogate Town footballer’s reaction after winning £1m on lottery

A video has been posted online that captures the moment former Harrogate Town defender Terry Kennedy finds out he’s scooped £1m on the National Lottery.

The clip, which has over a million views on Twitter, shows Mr Kennedy in his work canteen holding his lucky ticket and shaking his head in disbelief whilst on the phone to lottery staff.

When he is told he’s won £1m his workmates erupt in cheers.

Mr Kennedy began his career at Sheffield United but made most of his appearances as a footballer in the sixth tier of English football, including playing 31 times for Harrogate Town in the 2017/18 season when he scored 9 goals.

Watch the video below:

https://twitter.com/notpotmongs/status/1460349225825443846?s=20

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Rumours Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds could attend Harrogate Town game

Superstar actor Ryan Reynolds could swap Hollywood for the EnviroVent Stadium in Harrogate on Saturday afternoon.

The Deadpool star is one of the most famous actors in the world but in an unexpected plot twist he and fellow actor Rob McElhenney recently bought Wrexham AFC.

Wrexham have been drawn to play Harrogate Town in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend, in a match that could see some stardust sprinkled around Wetherby Road.

Reynolds, who has 39 million Instagram followers, and McElhenney both attended their first Wrexham game against Torquay on Saturday.

Rumours are now swirling that they may stick around in the UK to see their new club take on Simon Weaver’s gladiators, who will be hoping to put on an Oscar-worthy performance and book a front-row ticket to the second round.

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Harrogate Town and Black Sheep Brewery launch new beer

Harrogate Town FC and Black Sheep Brewery in Masham have collaborated to launch a new beer.

Called Yellow Black Army, the launch is part of the brewery’s official sponsorship of the club.

The beer, which is a session IPA, will be available to buy online and from the club’s shop on Commercial Street from Monday.

Simon Weaver, manager of Harrogate Town, said:

“I’m sure our fans will be delighted to be able to drink our very own, official beer.

“Just like our club, Black Sheep does things its own way and has created a unique sense of identity in the process. We can’t wait to see our fans’ response to Yellow Black Army, and give them another chance to enjoy how far our club has come in recent years.”

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Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery said:

“We’ve been working really hard behind-the-scenes to create a beer that perfectly encapsulates the essence of Harrogate Town AFC, and we think fans will absolutely love the final result.

“Given the club’s recent promotion to the Football League for the first time in its history, we felt it was only right to celebrate Harrogate Town’s success in true Black Sheep fashion – with its very own, official beer.

“Our deal with Harrogate Town is the first time Black Sheep has sponsored a football club.”

The sponsorship deal is for two years with an option to extend. It’s the first time the company has sponsored a football club.

Harrogate Town hit Scunthorpe for six

Harrogate Town had one of their best days ever today when they destroyed Scunthorpe United 6-1.

In front of a record home league crowd of 3,180, Town were 5-0 up by half time as the visitors from Lincolnshire were cut apart time and again.

Scunthorpe pulled one back in the 79th minute but had a man sent off two minutes later and then conceded a sixth when Danilo Orsi fired home an 83rd minute penalty.

The result puts Town second in League Two, just a point behind leaders Forest Green, who lost today.

Two goals each from Jack Muldoon and Alex Pattison, plus one from Jack Diamond, put Harrogate fans in dreamland by half-time.

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Harrogate Town urges fans to buy tickets to Saturday’s game in advance

Harrogate Town is urging fans to buy a ticket for Saturday’s game against Scunthorpe United in advance to avoid disappointment.

The game kicks off at 3pm at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road. It’s been an excellent start to the League 2 campaign for Simon Weaver’s men who are in 2nd place and have only lost one of their opening 10 games.

The team plays struggling Scunthorpe who are bottom of the table.

Tickets will be available online until midnight on Friday October 8 and available in the club’s Commercial Street shop until kick-off on match day. Tickets will also be available from the ticket office window at The EnviroVent Stadium from 9am to 11am on Saturday.

There will be no sales or collections on the turnstiles on the day of the game.

A club spokesman said:

“We are anticipating a big crowd and would advise supporters to book their tickets early to avoid disappointment.”

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Hot Seat: Harrogate Town’s new CEO aims to take club to new heights

Sarah Barry is Harrogate through and through.

She grew up in the town, attended Granby High School and worked for Stray FM from almost the start of its existence in 1994 until its closure last year.

In her first media interview since becoming the club’s new chief executive officer three weeks ago, she told the Stray Ferret there are some surprising similarities between running a local radio station and a football club.

“When I was running Stray FM, our unique selling point was ‘local’. Our stakeholders were our community, listeners, advertisers, regulators and owners. It’s exactly the same with the football industry.”

The jump to league football

On the pitch, Simon Weaver and his players have brought Harrogate Town into the English Football League for the first time in their existence and have captured the imagination of the footballing world for their team spirit and style of play.

However, in some respects it’s been a difficult summer off the field.

Multiple safety issues at the ground forced the council to ban fans from attending a friendly, their online ticket booking system went down on the day of a match and there has been a public row between two rival fan groups.

Ms Barry said suggestions that the club was not prepared for the off the field rigours of league football are “grossly unfair”:

“It’s easy to say that on the outside looking in but I’ve been with the club three weeks and I’ve picked it up really quickly. I’m really protective of my team now. We’ve made some errors but we had to prioritise and make sure the team was ready to play football. It’s like having 20 tennis balls thrown at you, you can only catch so many of those.”

Wetherby Road

Key to Ms Barry’s role will be growing the fanbase and attracting more fans to the EnviroVent Stadium. It’s often said that Harrogate is not a “football town” but she believes there is potential to double their regular attendance to 6,000 people.

“We’re not [a football town]. That’s a fact. But we have the Harrogate district. Nearly 150,000 people live here and we can can reach out to them.

“We have got football fanatics, the schools and community who we really want to work strongly with.

“Leeds United have done a lot of work around here, but most people have two teams. They’ll have a bigger team and they’ll have a local team. Not everyone can afford to go off to Manchester United or Liverpool.”

The stadium is in a residential area and flanked by the busy Wetherby Road. The ground has been transformed after some serious investment from the club but it’s hard to ignore some well-documented issues.

It’s difficult to park, they’ve had to close the 1919 bar on match days, and fans spill out onto the road at the end of games. So will the ground be able to cope with 6,000 fans?

Ms Barry said “there are no immediate short-term plans” to move the ground but conceded it has challenges which she believes they can overcome.

She said:

“There has been a lot of work in years gone by to potentially move the ground. There are so many challenges [at the EnviroVent], we won’t hide from that.

“A decision was taken and there’s been a lot of investment. If we can make it happen to stay where we are that will be the first choice at the moment. 

I’ve been to a stadium recently and the capacity was 20,000 but they had 5,500 fans in that. It looked empty, what would you rather have? A jam packed ground full of energy and atmosphere bouncing off every corner, like we had at Newport. I thought the atmosphere was electric. That’s what we’re after week-in week-out. I’d rather have that than a ground thats three quarters empty.”

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Communication

As part of the restructuring at Harrogate Town, Garry Plant will move from managing director to commercial director with Ms Barry overseeing the whole operation.

Mr Plant has been the public face of the business side of the club and has been the scapegoat for some issues fans have had with the club, particularly around communication.

Ms Barry strongly defended his work.

“I’ve known Garry since he started at the club. He’s a great guy and has done so much that is unseen. He’s come in for some stick. I’ll defend him. 90% of the stuff he does is unseen. You see what happens on the football field, but what goes on behind that and the hard work, nobody sees that. I’m here to support him and he’s doing a great job.”

Ms Barry also stressed the importance of the club’s supporter liaison officer (SLO) Phill Holdsworth, who like Mr Plant, has faced criticism from a section of the fanbase. She wants to improve communication between the club and fans.

She said:

“I’m new to this and don’t know whether [the criticism of the SLO] is warranted or not. Some of it is not defensible in any way shape or form. I want to help him as well improve those relationships. It’s fundamental to have an SLO. It will really help us as a club. We need to nip some of these things in the bud and understand if there’s any upset or hostility and try and prevent it. Everyone is in this for the same reason.”

The Weavers

Ms Barry said her role at the club came about through the friendship she forged with Simon during her time at Stray FM.

It’s clear the reverence she has for both him and his dad, the club chairman and owner Irving Weaver.

I almost daren’t broach the subject of what would happen if a club higher up the leagues approached them about Simon Weaver becoming their new manager. She said: “You’d have to ask Simon that question. I’d obviously like him to stay!”

She wants to help the club achieve further success and reward the Irving family for what they’ve put into the club over the past decade.

“Simon is amazing and inspirational full stop. He’s probably the reason I’m sat here. Listening to him speak, he’s eloquent and has this sincerity that is genuine. He’s got respect and there’s no spin.

“I want to see all the effort money, and time come to fruition over the past years for the owner.”

New Harrogate Town CEO: ‘Ticketing system not fit for purpose’

The new chief executive of Harrogate Town has said the club’s online ticketing system, which led to some fans being unable to attend last weekend’s match, is “not fit for purpose” and is giving the club a bad reputation.

At about midday on Saturday, the club posted on social media that its online ticket booking system was down.

The club had already closed its box office at 11am to avoid long queues forming on Wetherby Road so disappointed fans yet to buy tickets were unable to attend.

One fan, who had hoped to attend but was unable to buy a ticket, told the Stray Ferret the situation was “a farce”.

‘We’ve got a problem’

Sarah Barry, who was appointed chief executive last month, was on a panel at a Harrogate Town fans forum at the Cedar Court Hotel last night.

The panel, which also included first-team manager Simon Weaver and managing director Garry Plant, answered questions submitted by fans.

Ms Barry said:

“The ticketing system is not fit for purpose. It’s one of the priorities I have to fix.

“It wasn’t tested during the pandemic. We’ve got a problem.”

Ms Barry defended some of the criticism levelled at the club and said many of the ticketing problems were outside its control. She said the club was working on a Plan B that could see it move to a new online ticket booking provider.

She said several other clubs in the English Football League had encountered similar problems with Town’s current provider. She did not say which ones.

Ms Barry added:

“It’s not an overnight fix. There have been different problems all outside of Harrogate Town.

“It’s a rotten experience and gives us a bad reputation. Give me a chance to find a solution.”

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‘Perfect storm’

Ms Barry said the ongoing closure of the 1919 bar at the ground meant some fans had been drinking in pubs away from Wetherby Road and coming to games nearer to kick off, causing long queues.

This contributed to the club’s decision to stop selling tickets in-person from 11am to encourage fans to buy online.

However, Ms Barry conceded that the 11am announcement “was not communicated enough” and led to a “perfect storm” due to the online system being down.

Ms Barry said from the next home game against Scunthorpe on October 9, the club will sell tickets from its shop on Commercial Street until 3pm to allow fans to purchase tickets in-person closer to kick off.

Ticketing problems at Harrogate Town leave some fans unable to attend

Ticketing problems at Harrogate Town left some fans unable to attend today’s home game against Stevenage.

At around midday the club posted on its social media channels that their online ticket booking system was down so they could not sell any more tickets.

It led to disappointment for fans who were yet to buy a ticket for the game. The club’s box office closed at 11am.

One fan, who had hoped to attend the game but was unable to buy a ticket, told the Stray Ferret the situation was “a farce”.

The club apologised for any inconvenience caused.

https://twitter.com/HarrogateTown/status/1441705641282658308

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