Harrogate Town release three players

Harrogate Town has revealed it is letting go of three players following the conclusion of the 2022/23 League Two season.

Dior Angus, Max Wright and Alex Pattison will be leaving the club.

Attacking midfielder Alex Pattison spent two seasons with the Sulphurites, making a total of 86 appearances after arriving from Wycombe.

He scored 19 goals and registered 14 assists at Town.

Angus and Wright arrived at the club last summer and made a combined 12 appearances for the club.

Simon Weaver’s side finished the season 19th in League Two.

Eighteen players remain under contract for the 2023/24 season.

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In addition, negotiations are underway with midfielder George Horbury on the academy graduate’s future.

Matty Foulds, Tom Eastman, Kazeem Olaigbe, Matty Daly and Danny Grant have all left following the expiry of their loan deals and Rory McArdle has retired after a 19-year playing career that included 39 appearances with Town.

The contracted players are:

Mark Oxley

Pete Jameson

Joe Mattock

Warren Burrell

Toby Sims

Anthony O’Connor

Kayne Ramsay

Josh Falkingham

George Thomson

Levi Sutton

Stephen Dooley

Sam Folarin

Jack Muldoon

Emmanuel Ilesanmi

Luke Armstrong

Miles Welch-Hayes

Kyle Ferguson

Will Smith

 

Simon Weaver’s tribute to Harry Gration: ‘He was a premier league host’

The manager of Harrogate Town has paid tribute to Harry Gration, the Yorkshire TV legend who died suddenly last month, saying the club was privileged to have worked with him.

In the past year Harry had taken on the role of match day host for Town. He welcomed corporate sponsors and chaired Q and A sessions with invited guests and members of the team.

Simon Weaver told the Stray Ferret that Harry’s interest in working with Harrogate Town had come as something of a surprise to his father, Irving, who owns the club.

“My dad was nicely surprised to get a letter from Harry saying how much he loved the atmosphere at the stadium and was offering to lend a helping hand.

“Dad got on the phone and Harry become a host. He was very happy to pick up the mike for Q and As. He might ask the odd difficult question but he always did it with humour”

Simon played golf with Harry two days before his death as part of a fundraiser for Harrogate Homeless Project.

He said they were all devastated to learn of his death.

“We were all shell-shocked when we heard the news 48 hours later. Mum and Dad were so upset –he’d quickly became part of the club and part of our home games.

“He gave a feeling of familiarity straight away and made you feel like you could be yourself — as though you were chatting with a friend.

“Harry gave the club something new. It was like having a Premier League host at the club”.

The Weaver family and members of the management team at Harrogate Town attended Harry’s funeral at York Minster on Monday.

Like so many organisations that Harry worked with, they will miss him tremendously.

The funeral of Harry Gration held at York Minster on Monday

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Simon Weaver: Harrogate Town have been through a ‘cycle of change’

Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver has said the club has been through a “cycle of change” as they head into the second week of the new season.

Town got off to a winning start last weekend against Swindon Town, picking up three points after a 3-0 win at the EnviroVent Stadium.

Weaver told the Stray Ferret that the squad had undergone wholesale changes ahead of the campaign, which needed to be made alongside a fresh style of play.

Town played a 3-4-2-1 formation last weekend and gave debuts to the likes of Matty Daly — one of 10 new additions to the squad.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Crewe Alexandra, Weaver said he hoped the changes would bring greater depth to the squad and prevent Town from dropping falling away again later in the season.

He said:

“We hope so. We’re excited about the start of the season. We’ve made so many new changes — new style of play, new training ground.  We’ve had a whole cycle of change with the players.

“The last couple of years we just haven’t had the depth we needed. Injuries really hit us in the face. We’ve now got younger lads coming through and we can keep people fresh and have a good season throughout.”

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Debutant Daly, who is on loan from Huddersfield Town, was on the scoresheet in the opening game, alongside Jack Muldoon and Alex Pattison.

The formation and style contributed to Town scoring three of their five shots on target.

When asked if he was happy with how the season has started, Weaver said the club had “a long way to go”.

He said:

“We are only 10 metres into a marathon so we have a long way to go.

“We have more pace now. Last season the counter attacks against us were quite potent. We didn’t have the right shape defensively. We can now be more patient with the ball.”

Town take on Crewe at Gresty Road at 3pm tomorrow.

The Railwaymen were relegated last season after finishing bottom of League One.

Town will be without Rory McArdle, Will Smith, Josh Falkingham and Max Wright who are injured for the clash.

Ticket information is available here.

Big crowd expected tonight as Harrogate entertain Sheffield Wednesday

Harrogate Town‘s pre-season gets underway tonight with what could be one of the largest crowds all year at the EnviroVent Stadium.

Sheffield Wednesday have sold all 600 away tickets for the match, which kicks off at 7pm.

Harrogate have sold 1,200 so far, meaning a 2,000-plus crowd is on the cards for what is the pick of Town’s pre-season friendlies.

Wednesday have won the league four times and the FA Cup on three occasions but have hit on hard times since falling out of the Premier League in 2000.

They are currently in League One of the English Football League, one ahead of Harrogate, but retain a large away following.

The Owls will provide a stern test in the heat for Simon Weaver’s new-look side.

Weaver said:

“Sheffield Wednesday will be a huge test. They were right up there in the league last season and almost got promoted via the playoffs. It’ll be good to welcome them, who are a huge club with rich history. It should be a good occasion.

“Everyone has been without football for a little while now so I’m sure the appetite is there and it’ll be a nice evening for a good game of football.”

Weaver added the squad had worked hard in pre-season training and “fitness levels are really high right now”.

The Suphurites have brought in eight players after fading badly last season following a strong start.

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Academy player George Horbury has also been offered professional terms. Weaver said:

“The new players have settled in quite easily and have had a good laugh between themselves.

“They’re all becoming friends straight away which is great and what we need after making quite a few new signings.”

Tickets for tonight’s match are available here,