Harrogate Town’s FA Cup first round tie against non-league Skelmersdale United will be broadcast live on BT Sport.
The fixture against Skelmersdale, who play in the North West Counties League Premier Division, is expected to earn Town £32,500 as part of the Football Association’s live broadcast fee.
The winner of the tie will also receive £16,972 from the FA prize fund, with the losing side receiving £5,657.
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Town will host the tie at the EnviroVent Stadium on Wetherby Road on Friday November 6, at 7.45pm.
Skelmersdale United reached the first round for the first time since 1971 last weekend after defeating Stafford Rangers 4-1.
The Lancashire club is also the lowest ranked side left in this year’s FA Cup.
Match Preview: Grimsby Town vs Harrogate TownHarrogate Town will be looking for a third league win on the bounce tonight when they head to the east coast to play Grimsby Town.
Town have taken confidently to life in League Two of the English Football League and recorded victories over Barrow AFC and Bradford City in their last two fixtures. The club is currently in 7th place, which is in the playoff positions and just two points behind leaders Cambridge United.
Grimsby, who are managed by the popular Ian Holloway, are also looking for a third win in a row after recent victories against Cheltenham and Leyton Orient.
The two clubs have already played each other this season in the EFL Trophy. That game at Blundell Park ended 2-2 with Grimsby winning on penalties.
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Town manager Simon Weaver has largely stuck with the same team that won promotion last season, minus Jack Diamond, who has been replaced by former Celtic midfielder Calvin Miller.
There is competition for places between veteran striker Jon Stead and Aaron Martin, who joined the club from Guiseley just before lockdown.
Weaver opted for the lively Martin in the first few games but in the last two games has picked the more experienced Stead.
Grimsby have had a recent run of misfortune with injuries, and James Hanson, Max Wright, Elliot Hewitt and Danny Rose all expected to miss out tonight.
Harrogate Town fans criticise number of people allowed in stadiumHarrogate Town supporters have raised concerns about the number of people allowed in the club’s home ground on Saturday to watch the team play.
With spectators banned from attending matches due to covid, many fans paid £10 to watch a livestream of the game against Barrow.
Town won 1-0 and many fans in the Harrogate Town Supporters Facebook group hailed the team’s performance at the EnviroVent Stadium.
But 15 fans posted comments in the group about what they considered to be an excessive amount of people in the stands.
Although fans are not permitted to attend fixtures, club directors and staff, media and match volunteers, such as ballboys and girls, are allowed in.
One fan said it “was an absolute joke the amount of people in the ground today”.
Another said it was “not fair on the fans” and one described it as a “kick in the teeth”.
Harrogate Town declined to comment when approached by the Stray Ferret.
The club has won a lot of praise recently for its off the pitch initiatives as well as its performances on the pitch.
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Earlier this month, club chairman Irving Weaver told the Stray Ferret it was a “big loss” not having supporters in attendance during the club’s first-ever season in the English Football League.
Do you think there were too many people at Wetherby Road on Saturday? Watch the highlights below and judge for yourself.
Match Preview: Harrogate Town return homeHarrogate Town will play in Harrogate for the first time since July, when they face fellow EFL newbies Barrow at the EnviroVent Stadium this afternoon.
There will, of course, be no fans in attendance at Wetherby Road due to coronavirus restrictions, but fans can stream the game for £10 through the club’s website. The game kicks off at 3pm.
Work has now been completed on the new grass pitch after the former artificial 3G surface was removed due to EFL regulations. The club said goodbye to their temporary home of the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster with a 3-1 win against Leicester City’s under-23 side earlier this month.
Whilst recent competitive fixtures against Bolton, West Brom, and Bradford were firsts for the club, Barrow is altogether more familiar territory, having played Town 23 times previously.
They were the two best sides in last season’s National League, with Barrow going up as champions.
However, the Cumbrian outfit have made a faltering start to the season and are currently in 22nd, with no wins in any of their first five fixtures.
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Town will be looking to build on an excellent victory over Bradford City in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night.
Jack Muldoon’s assist on Monday night saw him become the most prolific player in the division so far this season, with a goals and assists ratio of 1.37 per 90 minutes.
Barrow manager David Dunn will assess the fitness of striker Scott Quigley who was forced to miss last weekend’s game against Leyton Orient after picking up a knock in training.
Town manager Simon Weaver said he expects a tough game this afternoon.
He said:
Harrogate Town appoints first club chaplain“We had a good win against them at the start of last season and 3-0 flattered us a little bit. But after that, they went on an unbelievable run to win the league. They have strengths all around but, hopefully, ours on the day outweigh theirs.”
Harrogate Town has appointed its first ever club chaplain to provide pastoral and spiritual help to players and their families.
Rob Brett, who is a Christian but not ordained, said he would offer a friendly face and a listening ear to everyone at the club, regardless of faith.
Most professional football clubs have chaplains but this voluntary role is a first for Town, which was promoted to the English Football League for the first time this year.
Mr Brett, who has lived in Harrogate for more than 20 years and is regulated by Sports Chaplaincy UK, said:
“I will be available to listen, without judging, to whatever it is that people want to share, including family and relationship difficulties, mental health issues and financial problems.
“What I’m told will be in strictest confidence. I won’t necessarily come up with solutions, but rather help people to work out for themselves how to ease or resolve their anxiety.”
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Town manager Simon Weaver welcomed the appointment. He said:
“We are an extended family at Harrogate Town and we look out for each other.”
“Having Rob around gives us someone else to share our personal problems, which we may not want to do with team mates, bosses or colleagues or even our nearest and dearest.”
The club’s newly appointed support liaison officer Phill Holdsworth (left) and an associate director of the club, Mike Partridge.
The club also announced today it had appointed Phill Holdsworth as supporters’ liaison officer.
Mr Holdsworth is a club volunteer and season ticket holder.
Managing director Garry Plant said:
“Phil is very well qualified to deal with off-field suggestions or issues supporters may have.”
Harrogate Town: Project Big Picture should be ‘seriously considered’
Harrogate Town managing director Garry Plant has said proposals that could see the club potentially receive millions of pounds in funding from the Premier League should be “seriously considered”.
Details of Project Big Picture, which would radically overhaul the way finances are distributed down the football pyramid, were leaked to the media over the weekend.
Under the proposals, put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United, the top nine clubs in the Premier League would get more control in return for giving an immediate £350m rescue fund to the English Football League, plus 25% of revenue from future deals.
This would give EFL clubs, who have struggled financially since the lockdown, a much-needed cash windfall. Currently, each EFL club receives £430,000 a season from the Premier League as a “solidarity payment”.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret yesterday, Mr Plant said:
“Any assistance that the clubs can get has to be seriously considered otherwise there might not be some clubs in the EFL for much longer.
“The club is being guided by and trusts the EFL to arrive at the very best solution for the football family.”
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The proposals would also see the League Cup scrapped, which Mr Plant suggested would be a small price to pay if it guaranteed the survival of EFL clubs.
Mr Plant warned if communities lost their football clubs it would have a lasting impact that would run deeper than purely sport.
He added:
It’s goodbye Doncaster for Harrogate Town“The key important thing is the survival of football.
“Bury and Macclesfield have already closed and it would have a massive impact on local communities.”
Harrogate Town have played their final ‘home’ fixture at Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium.
Following promotion from the National League, Town were forced by the English Football League to remove its artificial 3G surface at Wetherby Road and replace it with grass.
This meant the team has been playing its home fixtures at Doncaster, 46 miles from Harrogate.
Harrogate Town chairman Irving Weaver’s housing company, Strata Homes, is also based in the South Yorkshire town.
The team signed off from the Keepmoat with an impressive 3-1 win against Leicester City’s under-23 side on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy.
Work on Town’s new pitch at the club’s EnviroVent Stadium is now nearly complete.
Playing at the Keepmoat seemed to be popular with Town’s players, with veteran striker Jon Stead tweeting yesterday:
“What a venue, unreal hospitality, and fantastic ground staff. Thank you Donny.”
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Town’s next fixture will be a hotly anticipated local derby against Bradford City at Valley Parade on Monday night. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Simon Weaver’s men will play at Wetherby Road for the first time since July on October 17 when they face last season’s National League champions Barrow.
Meanwhile, a petition has now been signed by over 180,000 people urging the government to allow fans to safely return to football stadiums, amid reports that several EFL clubs face a precarious financial situation.
Initially in the summer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said fans would be able to return to grounds from October 1. But rising coronavirus infection rates put this plan on hold indefinitely.
Harrogate Town manager and player up for EFL awardsHarrogate Town’s impressive start to life in the English Football League has been recognised with manager Simon Weaver and striker Aaron Martin nominated for League Two manager and player of the month awards.
Town picked up five points from their first three games, beating Southend on the opening day 4-0 and drawing against early pacesetters Walsall and Port Vale.
They lost at the weekend 1-2 to Bolton Wanderers, which may dampen Weaver’s chances of winning the managerial award but the nomination shows that Town’s bright start to the season has not gone unnoticed.
The other managers nominated are John Askey (Port Vale), Mark Bonner (Cambridge United) and Mike Flynn (Newport County).
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Striker Aaron Martin, who has scored twice so far this season, is a contender for player of the month.
Martin was signed from Guiseley just before lockdown in March and made his debut for the club in the National League playoff semi-final against Boreham Wood in July.
Also nominated are Ian Henderson (Salford), Paul Mullin (Cambridge United) and Adam Phillips (Morecambe)
The winners will be announced on Friday morning.
Town’s next league fixture is a hotly anticipated local derby at Bradford City on Monday evening. The game will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Harrogate Town takes part in mental health campaignHarrogate Town fans have been asked to nominate someone whose mental health has suffered during the coronavirus pandemic and is deserving of a special Zoom call from a first-team player.
The initiative is part of mental health charity Mind’s ‘Do One Thing’ campaign, which inspires people to make one small change or take one action to look after their mental health. All English Football League clubs are taking part.
Nominations should be emailed to community@harrogatetownafc.com by Friday October 9. A group of senior Town players will then judge the nominations.
Supporters can also get involved in the campaign by sharing on social media their one piece of advice or activity that can improve mental health.
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said:
“Coronavirus has undoubtedly affected the lives and routines of many fans. Whether that’s seeing familiar faces on the terraces on match day or celebrating/commiserating the result with fellow fans after, many fans will feel that the current climate has left them less able to do the things that support their mental health.
“Whether it’s going for a walk, learning a new skill or doing something creative, taking the first steps to getting support for yourself, or reaching out to someone else; Mind and the EFL are encouraging fans to do one thing for better mental health this World Mental Health Day.”
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On Friday night BT Sport aired “Proud To Be Town”, a 90-minute documentary filmed during and after lockdown.
It included contributions from manager Simon Weaver and first-team players who opened up about how the three-month shutdown of professional sport affected their mental wellbeing.
Match Preview: Harrogate Town vs Bolton WanderersTen years ago this week, Harrogate Town and Bolton Wanderers were five divisions apart, with the Lancashire club plying their trade in the Premier League and Town in the National League North.
That year, 2010/11, was Simon Weaver’s first full season as player/manager of the club and Bolton’s side was littered with internationals including future England stars Daniel Sturridge and Gary Cahill.
But sport can be a great leveler and the two clubs will face each other for the first time in a competitive fixture at 3pm today. The game will be played at Town’s temporary home of the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster.
Simon Weaver’s men have been in buoyant form so far in League Two and are unbeaten after three games. They made an immediate statement, beating Southend 4-0 on the opening day of the season, and last Saturday they secured a battling point against the fancied Port Vale.
Bolton were relegated from League One last season and are one of the favourites for promotion – however, they have so far failed to pick up a win.
Simon Weaver said he hopes his team can build on their good form.
He said:
“The Bolton game is a huge one for us. They’re a massive club, with history, a big fan-base and a fantastic stadium, but they haven’t had the best of starts and they’ll be desperate to put that right this weekend.
“We can’t allow them to do that. We have to be on the front foot, making life difficult for them and all-energy with and without the ball. We’ve made a positive start to the season and we have to be relentless in trying to build on that.”
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Bolton manager Ian Evvet was full of praise for Town ahead of the game.
He said:
“They put you under pressure and they’ll put the ball into areas that force you to defend. They’re very good from set pieces as most League Two teams are, and we have to be at the races it’s as simple as that. We have to make sure we’re better with and without the ball than we were last Saturday.”
Town midfielder Jack Muldoon missed out on the trip to Port Vale with a minor muscle injury and he could come back into contention today.
Goalkeeper James Belshaw continues to progress in his recovery from a hand injury but he’ll most likely be unavailable, with Joe Cracknell continuing to deputise.
Bolton manager Ian Evatt said new signing Lloyd Isgrove will miss the game against Town because of an injury. Arthur Gnahoua is fit and available and could come into contention for a start.
Antoni Sarcevic and Shaun Miller returned to training this week and could be available for a place in the matchday squad.
Town fans can stream the game live through the club’s website for £10.