Harrogate Town ve Tranmere Rovers - November 3rd by pixelbuilders

£3

HARROGATE TOWN AFC OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

TRANMERE ROVERS

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2020 THE ENVIROVENT STADIUM 7PM KICK OFF

Harrogate’s Number 1 Family Estate Agent

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

EDITION

ISSUE NO. 5

www.harrogatetownafc.com

Harrogate Town Football Club The Envirovent Stadium, Wetherby Road, Harrogate, HG2 7SA Tel: 01423 210600 Email: enquiries@harrogatetownafc.com BOARD Chairman Vice Chairman Managing Director Directors Associate Director Strategy Director Finance Director Life President Vice Presidents

BANISH CONDENSATION & MOULD IN YOUR HOME THIS WINTER WITH Free property survey Low running cost Low maintenance Eliminate mould Banish condensation Improve indoor air quality

ATMOS® brings clean, fresh and filtered air into the home, diluting high levels of humidity and indoor pollutants for a healthier indoor atmosphere, free from condensation and mould.

Compatible with the myEnviroVent App for enhanced functionality

THE

Proud to be Town EnviroVent are proud official sponsors of Harrogate Town AFC

STADIUM

Irving Weaver Howard Matthews Garry Plant Angus Taylor Dave Riley Mike Partridge Paul Stone Julian Davis George Dunnington Clive Dunnington David Batty

FOOTBALL First Team Manager: Simon Weaver Assistant Manager: Paul Thirlwell Goalkeeper Coach: Phil Priestley Chief Scout: Lee Barraclough Head Physiotherapist: Rachel Davis Assistant Physiotherapist: Cyra Smith Sports Psychologist: Phil Lee Fitness Coach: Darren Simpson OPERATIONS General Manager: Ben Sadler Community Development: Iain Service Tom Blackburn Youth Development: Josh Falkingham Josh Walsh Child Welfare & Safeguarding: Dave Riley Supporters’ Liaison Officer: Phill Holdsworth Facilities Manager: Ady Fletcher Head Groundsman: Iain Bullock 1919 Venue Managers: Tricia Lightfoot Hamilton Mattock Retail Manager Claire Kontominas Club Chaplain: Rob Brett MEDIA Media Manager: Hal Boxhall-Dockree Photographer: Matt Kirkham Matchday Programme: Rich Saltmarsh Media Assistants: Brody Pattison Danny Pugsley Henry Whitaker PA Announcer Alan Tootill

The parent company of Harrogate Town Football Club is Harrogate Town AFC Limited, and the ultimate controlling party of Harrogate Town AFC Limited is Strata Homes, of whom R.I. Weaver is the significant shareholder. Strata Homes owns 80% share in Harrogate Town Football Club. Company registration no. 2523873.

CONTENTS

5 Manager’s Notes 7 Captain’s Notes 8 Action Replay: Stevenage 10 Action Replay: Newport County 12 Player in Focus: George Thomson 20 This Week in Town’s History 23 Meet the Opposition: Tranmere Rovers 30 The Ex-Files 32 Community Foundation 34 Getting to Know: Kevin Lokko 36 Youth Development & Ladies 38 Results and Fixtures 40 Stats Zone 42 Squad & Management Team 44 Today’s Teams

Call us on 0345 27 27 807 2

Harrogate Town v Walsall

THE MANAGER’S NOTES

Contemporary new homes near you.

T HE M ANAGER

SIMON WEAVER ON SATURDAY we were close to gaining a fantastic point away from home at Newport County, despite only having ten players for the majority of the match. We didn’t start the game very well and were second best in the opening spell. The sendingoff however stirred the players and actually galvanised us as a unit. We got back on level terms through Will Smith and fought so hard to reduce Newport to only half-chances until they scored in the dying minutes of the game.

Search ‘Strata Yorkshire’ strata.co.uk/yorkshire

with personalisation and high specification as standard.

We have learnt a lot in the last week, but on the positive side we could actually have won our last three and be sat in the top three. Nothing is broken and even if we’ve not been at our best we’ve been in games competing for a positive result right up to the final whistle. When we have been completely ourselves then undoubtedly we have either won games and should have won more games based on how many chances we are creating and how solid we have looked.

Tonight we face Tranmere for the second time already this season. The first game was decided by penalties in our first cup appearance this season. We expect a tough game as they all are at this level. The amount of Football League experience within their ranks is up there with any outfit at our level. Last Tuesday we drew with Stevenage who came with a game-plan to drop deep and be compact whilst trying to counter-attack with pace. We never looked in trouble and whilst we never got out of second gear with the way we like to play, we still conjured up decent opportunities to score and win the game. It was a frustrating game but nevertheless another point gained. We are only two points off the play-offs, a great position to be in and we have to aim to add to our points tally tonight although accepting we will have to really perform well to achieve that. Enjoy the game,

Simon

homes | personalisation | experiences 4

THE CAPTAIN’S NOTES

T HE CAPTAI N

HELPING FAMILIES ENJOY FOOTBALL AT HOME The ‘homemade waste pipe goal’. Waste pipes, push-fit knuckle bends and some barrier fencing. It doesn’t seem like much, but sometimes it’s all you need to transform your garden into a proper footy pitch.

JOSH FALKINGHAM I WRITE THESE NOTES prior to our trip to Newport which I’m sure will be another tough game but we will go into it aiming to get back to winning ways against a very strong side.

horrendous either. They’ll be looking to really kick start their season now and come here trying to use all their experience to manage the quick turnarounds and cause us problems.

The pitch felt really good against Stevenage and it’s going to get better game by game. It’s a brilliant sight to see the pitch under the lights and the work people have done to get it to the standards it’s at, they deserve a lot of praise. As players, we love turning up at home to see it how it is.

We’ve got to be bang up for this because as we’ve seen, if you take your foot off the gas for even just a five-minute spell, you can end up a couple goals down. If we’re not on it for the full 90 minutes, teams can be effective against us and can put us on the back foot.

The Stevenage match proved that sometimes it’s not going to be pretty and it’s about digging in. We showed that resilience at the back to earn a point and it’s another one on the board. We’ve got to give credit to Stevenage though, they came with a game plan, sat a lot of men behind the ball and made it as difficult as possible. There’s no shame with a point at home and another clean sheet, we’ve got to take the positives. We’re around the 10-game mark now where the league starts to shape up. I think clubs are going to give us a lot more respect now and it’s going to create difficult times and moments. Looking at Tranmere, they’ve had an in-between start to the season, it’s been nothing amazing and they’ll know that themselves, but it hasn’t been

When we played Tranmere in the Carabao Cup at the start of the season, I remember it was a tough first game as we were going into the unknown. But I thought we played really well. Tranmere have got a lot of experience throughout the squad and on the day had one chance and one goal. We learned a lesson that when you are on top, as we have been throughout the season so far, it’s critical to put the ball in the back of the net. We’ll be in a better position if we do that more often. We need to keep the momentum going, start fast which is what we’re all about and get on the front foot on Tuesday night.

Falks

OFFICIAL TRADE & HARDWARE RETAIL PARTNER

ACTION REPLAY

SIMON SAID

VS.

STEVENAGE TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2020 ENVIROVENT STADIUM - 7PM

I don’t think we did enough tonight - it was a bit of a flat performance which is disappointing as we’ve been playing really well. We usually generate our own tempo and it just wasn’t there tonight for some reason which is frustrating considering the high level performances so far this season. When we did get in and around the box, we just weren’t aggressive enough. We’ve got to look to do better and stay consistent as that wasn’t reminiscent of us at our best by any stretch, but it’s a point, a clean sheet and we’ve got it in ourselves to react.

0 Town Belshaw, Fallowfield ■, Burrell, Smith, Hall, Falkingham ■, Kirby, Thomson (Walker 78), Stead (Beck 70), Muldoon, Miller (Kiernan 63) Unused subs: Jones, Kirby, Walker, Cracknell Stevenage Cumming, Coker, Vincelot, Cuthbert, Prosser, Osbourne, Vancooten (Carter 70), List ■ (Marshall 75), Read ■, Akinwande (Newton 83), Dinanga Unused subs: Johnson, Effiong, Smith, Oteh

MATCH STATS

■ TOWN ■ STEVENAGE POSSESSION

63% 37%

TOTAL SHOTS

10 SHOTS ON TARGET

0 PASSES

470

284 FOULS

8 CORNERS

4 OFFSIDES

1 YELLOW CARDS

2 RED CARDS

ACTION REPLAY

SIMON SAID

VS.

NEWPORT COUNTY SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2020 RODNEY PARADE - 3PM

We battled hard for 55 minutes with 10 men, dug in and denied them opportunities to score and looked like we were going to get a well deserved point but it wasn’t to be - just a momentary lapse of concentration and we got punished for that which is disappointing after defending so well. We respected them too much at the beginning and invited them on to us in the first half hour and it took the sending off to wake us up. After that we were superb, got back in the game with 10 men and competed with a very good side which shows we’re not miles off.

Amond 30, Cooper 88

1 Smith 44 Newport Townsend, Haynes, Labadie, Cooper, Bennett (Devitt 81), Amond, Sheehan, Abrahams (Willmott 60), Twine, Demetriou, Shephard (Proctor 60) Unused subs: King, Baker, Webb, Ellison Town Belshaw, Burrell, Jones ■, Smith, Hall, Falkingham ■ ■, Kerry ■, Thomson, Martin (Stead 85), Muldoon, Kiernan (Kirby 40) Unused subs: Stead, Walker, Lokko, Cracknell

MATCH STATS

■ NEWPORT ■ TOWN POSSESSION

65% 35%

TOTAL SHOTS

9 SHOTS ON TARGET

1 PASSES

496

286 FOULS

14 CORNERS

2 OFFSIDES

2 YELLOW CARDS

3 RED CARDS

PLAYER IN FOCUS: GEORGE THOMSON

PLAYER IN FOCUS

GEORGE THOMSON HARROGATE TOWN MIDFIELDER GEORGE THOMSON HAS BEEN PART OF SIMON WEAVER’S GROUP SINCE THE START OF THE 2017/18 SEASON AND THE 28-YEAR-OLD BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN TOWN’S RISE TO THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Interview I Henry Whitaker

PLAYER IN FOCUS: GEORGE THOMSON

“BUT TO THEN MOVE TO SPAIN WITHOUT MY FAMILY AND LIVE OUT THERE WAS A MASSIVE THING FOR ME TO DO. IT TOOK A BIT OF TIME TO SETTLE IN BUT I LOOK BACK AT THAT AS A REALLY ENJOYABLE TIME.” GEORGE THOMSON

Holland for a youth tournament, with the whole squad travelling on a coach to get there. One year though, Thomson had gone on a staycation holiday with his family, meaning he was set to miss out on the trip. Thomson recalls how his dad woke up at a “stupid time” in the morning to drive him to Dover to join the squad for the trip. It’s moments like that which Thomson looks back on with great gratitude. “It would have been quite easy for them to say ‘give it a miss’ this year but they didn’t,” Thomson says. “When you’re younger, it sounds horrible to say it but you just expect your parents to do these things when really, it’s their time and money and I’m not contributing anything to it. It’s when I look back at it now that I can appreciate it.”

ORIGINALLY FROM MELTON MOWBRAY, Thomson played with Mowbray Rangers until the age of 12. Even at a young age, Thomson had a natural sporting ability. He played tennis at county level and had footballing trials at both Leicester City and Derby County. It was before his 14th birthday that a successful trial with Nottingham Forest saw him focus his sporting future on football. Thomson joined Forest’s grassroots set up before signing a two-year scholarship with the academy. As Thomson explains, signing a scholarship at 16 meant he had a lot of growing up to do in a short space of time. “The scholarship was a full-time job. I left home at 16 and that’s when everything got more serious. It was a great time and a big learning curve having to mature quite quickly and moving out. I had to leave all my mates at school so it was completely different.” During his time at the academy, Thomson got the opportunity to play against big teams in many different countries. However, none of it would have been possible without the support of his parents, who took Thomson wherever he needed to go to play the sport he loved. Nottingham Forest would do a yearly trip to 14

Thommo was part of a talented group, one which won their regional division and played Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier Academy League. Despite the ability among the group, when the two-year scholarship came to an end, only a couple of players received professional contracts. Thomson had had had a strong two years, especially in his second year, scoring 20 odd goals. It made the rejection a hard pill to swallow. At this time, William ‘Billy’ Davies was the Forest manager and he’d removed the reserve side, meaning it went it was U18s side straight to the first team. Although Thomson didn’t expect to make that switch, he did think it was “strange” not to be offered a third year as a scholar. Thomson joined in a massive pool of players looking for a club. There were a couple of options for him; go to university for three years to study sports science, or go for trials at different clubs hoping to get a lucky break. Town’s number seven had trials at several clubs and even went to Norway where he was offered a contract. However, he turned that down explaining it “wasn’t the right next step”. It was through the Glenn Hoddle Academy that Thomson continued his journey. The academy took over Jerez Industrial, a club in the south of Spain who were struggling financially. Hoddle put in the money needed and the agreement was that the players from his 15

PLAYER IN FOCUS: GEORGE THOMSON

meaning Thomson had a job teaching PE in schools around Bradford. But at the end of the 2016/17 season, the situation started to change. Following success in the Manchester Cup Final against Stalybridge, a visit to a Costa Coffee in Bradford was had with Simon Weaver and Paul Thirlwell as they looked to sign the midfielder. It didn’t take much convincing for Thomson with the lure of full-time football a “massive” attraction. Thomson would be late on his first day as it took “forever” to navigate his way to Wetherby Road. He recalls Thirlwell shouting ‘I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come!’ It certainly wasn’t. Thommo made his debut in a 4-0 win against Nuneaton, scoring a rare headed goal. “I used to drive in with Aingey (Simon Ainge) to games and we had a chat in the car about how many goals I wanted to score that season. I said that I don’t really set targets but I’d like to score a header. After scoring, I remember turning to Aingey with that look of well now I’ve done that!”

academy would get to play for the side. “It was full-time football and I was out there for 18 months,” he explains. “I said I had to mature at 16, moving into digs. But to then move to Spain without my family and live out there was a massive thing for me to do. It took a bit of time to settle in but I look back at that as a really enjoyable time. It was such a different way of life and even the football was completely different. It was much more technical. Playing in a men’s league, it massively developed me as a person and footballer.” A good time in Spain was cut short when a falling out between the club and academy led to Thomson and his teammates returning to England early. When back home, Thomson trained at Bisham Abbey but the academy started pushing for people to play for non-league clubs and get trials elsewhere. Thomson ended up with brief spells at Hinckley United and Histon before starting to settle at King’s Lynn FC. Now 20 years old, he was now at Loughborough University studying sports science alongside playing football. 16

Thomson had a memorable and important season, scoring 13 and helping Town secure promotion to the National League. When asked about his favourite goal, a screamer during that first season against Boston United stands out. “It’s probably the best goal I’ve ever scored,” Thomson chuckles. I had a shot from just outside the 18-yard line but it wasn’t central. I hit it with my left foot and it went right in the postage stamp. I enjoyed that because I’d been getting a bit of grief from their fans. You can see in my celebrations I go straight past their fans, giving it back a little bit.” In his first season in the National League, Thomson made over 40 appearances and scored eight times as Town made it to the play-offs. It was a solid base for Thomson to build on but come to the start of the 2019/20 campaign, it didn’t go as planned. Thomson was told by the Gaffer he wasn’t in the squad for the first matchday and that continued for the nine weeks.

“I went to university thinking I needed to do as well as possible with my degree as it didn’t look like I was going to get my break,” Thomson explains. “It was no good thinking I could be a pro player. As time goes on, you start to fall behind people who are getting jobs and climbing ladders for whichever company they work for.” Thomson had an impressive spell at King’s Lynn, which attracted the attention of Chester City. A successful trial followed with the club saying they wanted Thommo to join but they didn’t have the budget to sign him. So, the move fell through and he stayed at King’s Lynn, scoring 20 goals by Christmas in the 2013/14 campaign. Chester then came back in January and signed the midfielder until the end of the season. Thomson moved to Liverpool to play football while still studying for his degree based in Loughborough, in what was a “stressful” period. Injury, knotted with not getting a chance to impress led to a two-month loan at FC United of Manchester. The Manchester club would buy out the remainder of Thomson’s Chester contract to keep him. It was now back to part-time football, 17

PLAYER IN FOCUS: GEORGE THOMSON

Thomson was rewarded for holding on, as he would go onto play a key role in our Promotion Final at Wembley, scoring the first goal of the contest. For his goal, it was a cross from a good mate of his that set it up. Thomson and Fallowfield have built a strong bond both on and off the pitch, and it all began during Thomson’s first pre-season. The squad stayed at Ripley Castle for team bonding with Thomson and Fallowfield were put in a room together. Thommo was given a secret task to prank the right back in front of the squad.

“As a footballer, it’s the worst place to be. You’re not doing the thing you love to do and the thing you’re paid to do. It was hard.” There were talks and opportunities for Thomson to go out on loan but the midfielder decided he wanted to “stay and fight” for his place. Eventually, the opportunity came around, away to Halifax on a Tuesday night. Thomson was involved in the winning Town goal and then scored the first goal in the next match against Sutton in a 2-0 win. It looked like Thomson’s season was about to lift off, but he then felt something in his hip in the dying seconds of the match, after passing the ball just a few yards. Thommo would only last five minutes the following training session, with a scan revealing a 6cm tear in his hip. However, within 10 days, he was back in training but the side was now settled. It wouldn’t be until the end of November that Thomson would return into the fold. He came on as a substitute against Chesterfield at home to bag two assists, including setting up Ryan Fallowfield for what Thommo describes as “the best goal Ryan’s ever scored” After that, Thomson made the right-wing position his. It was a period of his career where the Leicestershire man learned a lot about himself. “It was a different season for me but one where I definitely grew as a person and learned how to handle and deal with setbacks. “I had to show some mental strength to come back as it would have been easy to go out on loan to lower divisions and take the easy route out. Something inside me made me stay and fight.” 18

Plasmor proud to support Harrogate Town AFC throughout the season

PLAYER IN FOCUS: GEORGE THOMSON

New League ... New Goals ... and What a Finish from Plasmor

“I had to try and get Ryan to wear a threepiece suit for the dinner,” Thomson explains. “Immediately I was thinking ‘how am I going to do this?’. It gets to the night and I’m playing it through my head getting him to do this without suspicion. We started getting changed and I’m struggling to keep a straight face. He puts his jacket on and he’s really gone for it. We walked across the road to where we were eating and then I pulled the ‘I’ve forgotten my phone’ card. I ran back to my room, started to get changed and then the door opened with Ryan standing there, and he goes ‘it’s not even meant to be a suit!’. He sees me taking my suit off and he realises straight away I’ve tried to stitch him up. I think he saw all the lads in jeans and t-shirts and quickly made a U-turn.”

Look out for our team of BUILDING BLOCKS and BLOCK PAVING in a winning range of finishes

The two have shared a room on away trips ever since and now have formed a real friendship, with the right-back even painting Thomson’s living room the day he moved in. Both have played prominent roles in Town’s start to life in the Football League with the midfielder enjoying the new challenge. It’s a height in Thomson’s career he wasn’t sure he’d ever reach and he never expected Town’s rise to happen this quickly. “If anything, I thought the dream of the Football League was getting further and further away from me. I knew we wanted to go up and progress, but did I think we’d be in League Two in three years? No, I didn’t. The club as a whole, the way they’ve gone about it since I’ve been here has been unreal. Everyone has been on the same page and pulled in the same direction. From top to bottom, it’s been unbelievable.”

www.plaspave.co.uk

www.plasmor.co.uk

Plasmor Limited • Womersley Road • Knottingley • WF11 0DN • 01977 673221

THIS WEEK

IN TOWN’S HISTORY

Your future is golden

A LOOK AT KEY MOMENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS WEEK OVER THE YEARS. by Phil Harrison, Club Historian NOVEMBER

TODAY

TOMORROW

In 1976 Town lost 2-1 to Frecheville in the Yorkshire League Cup without first team keeper Denver Mitchell (first ever black Town player) who dislocated his finger the previous week against the same opposition. This was Town’s first league defeat in nine games.

NOVEMBER

THURSDAY

ANDY BONDSWELL GETS AWAY FROM RAILWAY DEFENDER BRETT FOSTER

In 1988 NPL Division One Town met NCEL Premier Division Harrogate Railway in the first round of the FA Vase for this bonfire bonanza. 712 local fans flocked to Station View which turned out to be the best attendance of the 107 matches played that day - some 300 more than second best. Unfortunately Town lost 3-2 in the last minute of the game. 20

In 1953 Town beat Linthwaite United (a Huddersfield League team) 4-0 in the West Riding County Cup with a hattrick from Geoff Walker and one from top scorer Ray Ross.

Is it time you started planning your financial future? Cardale Asset Management is recognised as one of the fastest growing Yorkshire based companies, currently managing client funds in excess of £1.2bn. Our dedication to managing your private wealth, whilst providing a bespoke personal service, is key to the success of Cardale Asset Management’s business strategy. Our local team of highly qualified, experienced investment managers and financial planners pride themselves on building lasting relationships with our clients. Your initial consultation is FREE so contact Emma Varley on 01423 534100 to make your appointment.

PICTURE SHOWS GEOFF WALKER IN 2014 AT TOWN’S CENTENARY CELEBRATION

NOVEMBER 1941. During World War 2 as Harrogate league officials made determined efforts to keep the league going in war time, Town then known as Harrogate Hotspurs, entertained Cameron Highlanders and won 3-2 at the Harrogate Showground, Knaresborough Road. The Highlanders used Station View, home of Harrogate Railway Athletic for their ground. Hotspurs finished the season winning the League, League Cup and Whitworth Cup.

• Understand how to preserve your capital • Plan a financial future for you and your family • Minimise tax liabilities

SUNDAY

SATURDAY

NOVEMBER

Town were officially accepted into the Northern Premier League JIM HAGUE Division One for the 1987/88 season at a league meeting in Huddersfield attended by present club President George Dunnington. NOVEMBER

FRIDAY

NOVEMBER

In 1956 a 14-yearold boy called Jim Hague made his debut for Town in a 4-3 win at Holmefield of Halifax and then it was back to school. Jim Hague became Town’s highest ever scorer and youngest ever player.

MONDAY

In 2002, Town beat Gateshead 3-2 away in their first season of NPL Premier Division football with goals from Dave Merris, Robbie Whellans and a debut goal for 18-year-old Clayton Donaldson, on loan from Hull City who played against Town for Bradford City last month.

NOVEMBER

2 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate HG3 1GY

Being a long standing Harrogate based company, Cardale Asset Management has been associated with Harrogate Town AFC for many years as a proud supporter and sponsor. Our CEO, Richard Whiteley, is also a regular attendee at the stadium. Here at Cardale Asset Management we believe it is very important for the business to be part of, and support, the local and extended community. Cardale is delighted to be part of Harrogate Town’s success and long may this continue.

www.cardale-asset.co.uk CLAYTON DONALDSON

A member of the London Stock Exchange. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

TRANMERE ROVERS FORMED

1884

NICKNAME

Rovers, The Whites

FOUNDED IN 1884 as Belmont FC, the club changed its name to Tranmere Rovers the following year and competed in local leagues before making the step up to the Central League in 1919. Following the expansion of the Football League in 1921, Rovers were accepted into the newly-created Third Division (North) and played their first fixture against Crewe Alexandra at Prenton Park on August 27, 1921. Rovers claimed their first ever promotion in the Football League in 1938 winning the Division Three (North) title and a place in Division Two for the first time. They lasted one season before being relegated back to the Division Three (North) where the Club remained until 1958 when national Divisions Three and Four were created. After three seasons, Rovers were relegated to Division Four and the club brought in Scotsman Dave Russell as manager. As well as abandoning the use of blue shirts in favour an all-white strip to differentiate Tranmere from Everton, Russell also guided Rovers back to Division Three in 1967. After relegation to Division Four in 1979, the Club encountered financial difficulties for much of the 80’s, until local businessman Peter Johnson took control of Rovers in 1987 and appointed John King as manager. Under King, Tranmere were promoted to Division Three in 1989, and the following season only missed out on back-to-back promotions in the Play-Off final against Notts County. Rovers went one better in 1991, beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0 in the Play-Off final to earn promotion to Division Two. The side continued to build and made a real coup, signing John Aldridge from Real Sociedad. Aldridge

Position

Points

18th

STADIUM

Prenton Park (Capacity 16,567)

scored 170 times for Rovers over the next eight years, and although they got very close with three consecutive play-off campaigns at the start of the decade, they just couldn’t quite make it to the top flight of English football. Aldridge became playermanager in 1996 and after retiring from playing in 1999, led the Club through a period remembered for many great cup runs including reaching the League Cup Final in 2000. Aldridge resigned in 2001 and relegation followed ending a ten years spell in the second tier. Rovers spent the next 13 seasons in the third tier before suffering back-to-back relegations and the end of their 94-year stay in the Football League in 2015. After just missing out on the play-offs in their first National League season, they reached the play-off final in 2016-17, losing to Forest Green Rovers, before beating Boreham Wood in the 2017-18 final to regain their Football League status and then beating Newport County in the 2018-19 League Two play-off final to earn consecutive promotions back to League One. After the 2019-20 season was ended prematurely, Tranmere were relegated on a Points Per Game basis to League Two, and manager Micky Mellon left to take over at Dundee United with his assistant Mike Jackson, taking the reins at Rovers. This will be our first league meeting, although we did cross paths earlier in the season in the First Round of the Carabao Cup at Prenton Park in early September. Lloyd Kerry cancelled out James Vaughan’s opener to leave it 1-1 after 90 minutes with Town going on to win the penalty shootout to set up a second round tie at West Brom.

TODAY’S VISITORS

MEET TRANMERE ROVERS Senior Playing Squad

City and Forest Green Rovers where he was part of the side that won promotion to the Football League in 2017.

18. Calum MacDonald

BETWEEN THE STICKS

Newport County, Yeovil Town, Chesterfield and Swindon Town.

1. Scott Davies (c)

Davies was made captain ahead of the 2019-20 season. The 33-year-old has made well over 200 appearances for Tranmere since joining in July 2015 and played his part in their back-toback promotions up to League One before the events of 2019-20. He has been promoted from non-league’s top tier three times, the first being with Morecambe in 2007 and then at Fleetwood Town in 2010 where he made 150 appearances and again was promoted from the Conference in 2011-12.

13. Joe Murphy

Re-joining Rovers this August, the experienced 39-yearold first played for Tranmere between 1998 and 2002, reaching the League Cup final in 2000. Murphy has amassed over 600 career appearances, featuring in the top four tiers of English football for clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, Scunthorpe United, Coventry City and Walsall.

AT THE BACK 2. Lee O’Connor

Signed on a season-long loan from Celtic, the 20-year-old Irish international spent three years at Manchester United’s Academy between the years of 2016-2019 before signing a four-year contract at Celtic. He joined Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle on loan last campaign, featuring five times in all competitions before the 2019/20 season was curtailed.

3. Liam Ridehalgh

Signing in January 2014 after an initial loan spell Ridehalgh 24

5. Mark Ellis

Scott Davies

is Tranmere’s longest-serving current player and has represented Rovers in three different tiers during his sevenyear stay. The 29-year-old has battled injury setbacks on a number of occasions and has been selected in the matchday squad over 200 times for the Whites. He started his career in Huddersfield Town’s Academy before making his first-team debut for the Terriers in the third tier. Loan moves to Swindon Town, Chesterfield and Rotherham United followed before signing for Tranmere.

4. Sid Nelson

Signing in June 2019 after an initial loan spell at Prenton Park, the London-born defender featured on 26 occasions for Rovers last term. Earlier in his career, Nelson signed for Millwall at the age of eight and captained the club’s youth team. He turned professional in 2014 and made 14 Championship appearances in his debut campaign for the Lions in 2014/15. Before joining Tranmere permanently Nelson had loans spells at a number of League Two clubs -

Signing in July 2018, the 31-year-old played only three league matches last term after rupturing his ACL in April 2019. He began his career at Bolton Wanderers in 2007, without making a senior appearance, but has amassed over 300 career appearances in the Football League for Torquay United, Crewe Alexandra, Shrewsbury Town and Carlisle United as well as a Forest Green Rovers in the Conference.

6. Manny Monthé

Signing after a brief loan spell at the club in June 2018 from Forest Green Rovers, the 25-year-old was an integral member of the Tranmere side that won promotion to League One that season, playing in 54 games in all competitions. Monthé started at Queens Park Rangers at youth level before going on to play for a host of non-league clubs including Southport, Whitehawk, Tonbridge Angels, Heybridge Swifts, Hayes & Yeading United, Havant & Waterlooville, Bath

Lee O’Connor

Joining on a season-long loan from Blackpool in August, the 22-year-old signed his first professional contract with Championship side Derby County in 2016. During the 2017–18 season, he spent time on loan at Barrow in the National League making 21 appearances before joining Blackpool in August 2019, and playing 19 times in all competitions in 2019/20.

21. George Ray

Signing in June 2019, the 26-year old came through the Crewe Alexandra Academy, turning professional in 2011. Besides a brief loan spell at Leek Town, Ray stayed at Crewe for seven seasons making over 150 games appearances for the Railwaymen as well as being named captain in 2017. Last season he played a total of 21 times last season at Tranmere.

24. Kyle Hayde

Securing his first professional contract with the club in July 2020, the Under 18s regular made his first-team debut in Rovers’ 2-1 EFL Trophy defeat at the hands of Leicester City Under-21s in January 2020.

26. Peter Clarke

Arriving at the Club in January 2020, the experienced defender has made over 750 appearances over a career spanning 21 years. The 38-yearold began his playing career at Everton in the Premier League as well as undergoing loan spells at Blackpool, Port Vale and Coventry City during his time at Goodison Park. Permanent moves between 2002 and 2020 at Blackpool (twice) Southend United, Huddersfield Town, Bury,

Mike Jackson

MANAGER

Appointed: July 2020 Age: 46 Mike Jackson stepped up to become Manager of Tranmere in the summer after Micky Mellon left to join Dundee United. The 46-year-old had been Mellon’s Assistant since their time together at Shrewsbury Town, and Jackson returned to Prenton Park with him in October 2016. A former defender, Jackson started his playing career at Crewe Alexandra before moving to Bury in 1993 and won back-toback promotions before signing for Preston North End. In seven years at Deepdale he made over 250 league appearances. During his time at Preston, Jackson had a one month loan spell at Tranmere in December 2002, and after leaving PNE he spent two seasons back at Prenton Park in League One. Following that he joined Blackpool for two seasons, captaining them to promotion to the Championship in his first season, before joining Shrewsbury in 2008 where he retired and moved into coaching, winning promotion in 2014-15. Oldham Athletic and Fleetwood Town ensured that Clarke has played in the top four tiers of the English football pyramid.

THE ENGINE ROOM 7. Kieron Morris

Having impressed on loan as Tranmere won promotion to League One in 2018/19, Morris signed on a permanent basis in July 2019. The 26-year-old honed his skills at Walsall, spending six seasons in League One with the Saddlers and playing over 170 times for them. He also had loan spells with Worcester City, Leamington and Wrexham whilst at Walsall.

team as a result. His debut for the Reds came in December 2008. After a loan move to Leicester City, Spearing had a couple of seasons in the Liverpool first team before a loan to Bolton Wanderers which was made permanent in 2013. He was made captain at there before leaving for Blackpool where he spent three years.

8. Jay Spearing

Signed in the summer after leaving Blackpool. A graduate from the Liverpool Academy, Spearing captained the side to FA Youth Cup success in 2007 and was promoted to the first

Jay Spearing

TODAY’S VISITORS

11. Corey Blackett-Taylor

Another Summer 2019 arrival, the 22-year-old learned his trade at Aston Villa’s Academy, joining at the age of 11 in 2007 and departing in 2019 to join Tranmere after making one Championship appearance for Villa in 2017. He also spent half a season on loan with Walsall in 2018/19, where he made 10 League One appearances.

15. Jack Young

Signing last month on loan from Newcastle United for the duration of the 2020/21 campaign, the highly rated 20-year-old was named on the bench for the Magpies three times in the Premier League in July after the season restart but didn’t get on the pitch.

17. Otis Khan

Joining Rovers in August, the 24-year-old began his career at Manchester United, spending ten years in the Red Devils’ Academy before moving to Sheffield United in 2012. Khan got a taste of nonleague football between the years of 2013-2016, with loan spells at Buxton, Matlock Town and Barrow. Since then, the midfielder has gained significant Football League experience at Barnsley, Yeovil Town, Mansfield Town and Newport County. 26

Agreeing a season-long loan from Blackpool, the 33-yearold has amassed around 450 career league appearances for a number of clubs including AFC Bournemouth, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. He was part of Cardiff City’s 2017/18 team that won promotion to the Premier League and registered the most assists of any player in the 2019/20 League One season with the Tangerines.

for a host of clubs including FC United of Manchester, Chesterfield, Northampton Town, Oldham Athletic and Swindon Town racking up around 250 career appearances.

off final against Tranmere. In August 2017, Woolery signed for Swindon Town where he made 90 appearances over two campaigns.

UP TOP

Signing in June 2019, Payne first caught the attention of Football League scouts while at Sutton United in 2009, earning him a move to Fulham. From there he moved to Gillingham in League Two in 2010 where he made 28 appearances. Prolific spells back in non-league between 2012-2016 at AFC Hornchurch and Dover Athletic propelled Payne to the Championship, where he joined Barnsley. Further EFL experience was gained at Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers where he made a combined total of 70 League One appearances.

Joining Rovers in August, following a successful loan last season, Vaughan started his career at Everton after coming through the Toffees’ youth system to become the Premier League’s youngest goal scorer in April 2005, aged 16-years and 271 days. After 60 first-team appearances at Everton, he moved to Norwich City in 2011. Further stints at Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City followed before joining Bury in 2016. He scored 24 goals for the Shakers in 2016/17 which earned him a move to Sunderland in July 2017 before joining Wigan Athletic in January 2018. He spent time on loan at Portsmouth in 2018–19 before joining Bradford City in July 2019, where he scored 11 goals in 25 appearances.

22. Paul Lewis

Signing in August, the 25-year-old is a product of the Macclesfield Town Academy making the step-up to first-team football in 2013 for the Silkmen and making 99 appearances in all competitions before joining Cambridge United in January 2017 where he stayed for four seasons, again making a total of 99 appearances.

28. Ollie Banks

Banks was first recruited during Rovers’ promotionwining campaign from the National League in 2017/18 on a short-term loan. He returned permanently the following season as Tranmere gained promotion to League One. Since beginning his career at Rotherham United in 2011, the 28-year-old has played

10. Morgan Ferrier

Signing in August 2019 from Walsall, the 25-year-old scored nine goals during his maiden campaign with Rovers. Ferrier spent time at Arsenal, Watford and Nottingham Forest during his youth career, before non-league spells at Bishop’s Stortford, Hemel Hempstead Town, Boreham Wood and Dagenham & Redbridge. He joined Walsall in August 2018, where he made 33 League One appearances for the Saddlers.

14. Kaiyne Woolery

Otis Khan

23. Stefan Payne

9. James Vaughan

Liam Feeney

19. Liam Feeney

Signing in September 2020 from Swindon Town, the 25-year-old started out in nonleague at Maidstone United and Tamworth before joining Bolton Wanderers in 2014. After

James Vaughan

19 appearances for the Trotters and a loan spell at Notts County, he moved to Wigan Athletic in the Championship in 2016. Whilst there he was loaned to Forest Green Rovers in the 2016/17 season and scored twice at Wembley in the National League play-

27. Jake Burton Predominantly a member of Tranmere’s Under-18s’ setup last season, Burton has progressed to the first team squad and featured in Rovers league campaign this season.

29. Sam Smith Rovers completed the loan signing of Sam Smith this month from Championship side Reading until January 2021. The 22-year-old, who was previously in the academy at Manchester United, spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Cambridge United and featured more than 30 times for the U’s during his spell there. Smith has played 11 times for Reading but has not featured for them since April 2018 and since then has also had loan spells at Oxford United and Shrewsbury Town.

LAST

GAMES

Newport County

L0-1

League Two 17/10/20 I Away

Leyton Orient

Southend United

L0-1

W2-0

League Two 20/10/20 I Home

League Two 24/10/20 I Home

Crawley Town

Morecambe

League Two 27/10/20 I Away

League Two 31/10/20 I Home

L0-4

L0-1

RECENT GAME LINE-UP v Morecambe / Satuday, 31 October 2020

0 1

Vaughan

Morris Khan

Banks

Lewis

Woolery

Phillips 57

SUBSTITUTIONS:

66’ Khan ➡ Feeney 71’ Morris ➡ S.Smith 71’ Woolery ➡ C.Taylor

MacDonald

Monthé

Clarke

O’Connor

Davies

GIVE YOUR BOTTLE ANOTHER LIFE

ASK AWAY

WE GOT IN TOUCH WITH LIFELONG ROVERS FAN, MARK JENKS TO GET HIS THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON AHEAD AND AN INSIGHT INTO SUPPORTING THE WHITES.

PET bottles can be recycled again and again, going from recycling bin to shelf in as little as six weeks!

What was your first Tranmere game? 23rd October 1984 a 3-0 win at home to Blackpool. Why do you support Tranmere? The quickest answer is to say why not? They are my local team who have given my a lot of great memories over the years with some Fabulous entertainment and whilst football has sold it’s soul at the top echelons at Tranmere it’s still a family club acting at the heart of the community. What is your most memorable Tranmere game? I am truly spoilt for choice, I could choose famous giant killings like beating Everton 3-0 at Goodison, famous comebacks like overturning a 0-3 halftime deficit to win 4-3 against Southampton or our first win in Europe 1-0 at Pisa in the Anglo-Italian cup. Beating long established bigger teams like Newcastle and West Ham in league games or some of the Wembley victories, but If I had to pick one I think my favourite was seeing us promoted for the first time in 88/89 on the final day of the season in front of 15,286 fans on a warm sunny day. It ended 1-1 against Crewe which saw both teams go up. What have the events of the last 6 months or so been like for Tranmere fans particularly? It’s been hard on everyone and the ongoing pandemic has hindered our attempts for a quick return. I don’t know any Tranmere fan who doesn’t feel a sense of injustice especially as our Chairman had put forward a fairer alternative. We lost our manager and a big part of the squad who may well have stayed under different circumstances. There is no love lost for the EFL that’s for sure. That’s water under the bridge for now, we just have to try and right a wrong but like fans up and down the country not being able to be at the games to help support the team is excruciatingly painful. What are your hopes for the 2020-21 campaign? I think we would all like to think we would be pushing for a quick return but with a new unproven manager and a lot of new players I think the odds would be against us. We have had a slow start with injuries and an attack of Covid in the squad which hindered us for a fortnight but we have some time to go in the season and hopefully once the side is more settled we can push for the play offs. 28

Are you pleased with the club’s transfer business? We seemed to do our business late in the day which had fans worried but we have brought in some experience with the likes of Jay Spearing, a striker in Vaughan and some highly rated loan prospects like Jack Young from Newcastle so yes I think most fans are happy to see how they get on.

100% RECYCLABLE

Who is the fans favourite? I would have to say Manny Monthe a no nonesense centre back is well liked. Who should we watch out for? James Vaughan is our best hope for goals whilst Blackett-Taylor shows great promise but hasn’t played much so far this term. Who do you fancy for promotion this season? I think this season you have to follow the money. Salford despite their strange change of manager and FGR are well bankrolled, Cambridge have had a great start as have Harrogate and both could be up there. Whilst I don’t like their style of play Newport will be hard to beat at home as well -but hopefully they will fade away!

PROUDLY MADE FROM OVER

50% RECYCLED PET

What’s your opinion of Harrogate Town? You are a well run club with an established owner and management team on an upward trajectory. I think you have the feel around the club that you can go further and I would not be surprised to see you in league one within the next few years. What’s your prediction for the match today? I saw you play twice in 2018/19 at home to Wrexham and away to Brackley both games ended goalless. Thus far we have struggled for goals whilst having a fairly solid defence, so 0-0 could be on the cards again but hopefully we can nick a goal. I’d certainly settle for a one goal win.

Discover more about our environmental initiatives at harrogatespring.com

PROUD TO SUPPORT 29

THE EX-FILES PHIL HARRISON PROFILES THREE OF THE FIVE PLAYERS WHO HAVE BEEN ON THE BOOKS AT BOTH TOWN AND TRANMERE ROVERS IN RECENT TIMES

Liam Darville Defender 2010-11 Apps: 13 (0) I Goals: 0 (on loan) 2011-12 Apps: 16 (0) I Goals: 0 Leyburn, North Yorkshire born defender Liam Darville began his career as a youth team player at Championship Leeds United 2010/11 and was then loaned out to Tranmere Rovers that same season and made 13 appearances in League One. For the rest of the campaign he signed for Conference Premier side York City playing 17 games before signing for Town in the Conference North 2011/12, making his debut on 10th September 2011 in a 2-0 win over Gloucester City. After half a season with Town he was released in the December and joined Richmond Town playing alongside his brother Ben and still plays for that club. He played for England U16s, U17s and U18s from 2006-08.

Jonny Margetts Forward 2014-15 Apps: 6 (0) I Goals: 2 (on loan)

Dylan Motley-Henry Midfield 2017-19 Apps: 33 (0) I Goals: 1 (on loan) 2018-19 Apps: 0 (4) I Goals: 0 (on loan) Leeds born winger Dylan Motley-Henry was in Bradford City’s youth team and made two early senior appearances 2014-16 before being signed by Barnsley 2016-19 making playing only once whilst there. He was loaned out to Tranmere Rovers 2017/18 and 2018/19 making 33 appearances for the Whites before being loaned out to Town in February 2019 making four substitute appearances. In 2020 he re-signed for League Two Bradford City under Stuart McCall and is becoming a regular starter in the side.

2015-16 Apps: 11 (0) I Goals: 2 Doncaster born forward Jonny Margetts was with Hull City youth team between 2012-15 but never made a senior appearance and was loaned out to three non-league clubs including Town for 2014/15 making a scoring debut on in August 2014 in a 2-2 draw at home to Barrow. He scored two in his first three games but only played 6 matches in total. For 2015/16 he signed for National League Tranmere Rovers playing 11 games scoring 2 goals and went on to play for a string of National League clubs before joining Northern Premier League South East side Frickley Athletic for 2019/20.

The Others...

Paul Shepherd 2004-05 Apps: 30 (0) Goals: 3 1998-99 Apps: 0 (1) Goals: 0 (on loan)

Danny Johnson 2012-13 Apps: 0 (2) Goals: 0 2014-15 Apps: 5 Goals: 1 (on loan)

Watch all Town’s EFL fixtures, home and away, LIVE!

GET YOU MATCH PAR TODAY FO SS R JUST

INCLUDIN COMMENT G ARY

Don’t miss a minute of the action Paul Shepherd

LIVE STREAM

Danny Johnson

live.harrogatetownafc.com

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

COMMUNITY FUTSAL SESSIONS

HALF TERM COMMUNITY DROP IN SESSIONS A GREAT SUCCESS The Community Drop in sessions looking to combat anti-social behavior over half term were a great success. The two projects enagaged more than 30 young people in football challenges, games and a chance to play as Harrogate Town AFC on Fifa 21!

What is the Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation? • An official charity that is supported via donations, fundraising activities and delivery of funded projects (such as Premier League Primary Stars and other EFL Trust programmes). • HTAFC and HTAFC Community Foundation are linked but are separate entities. Both organisations work together, but have a different organisational structure and strategy. • If you see the Community logo attached to any programme or project, the Community Foundation are managing all aspects and will answer any questions. • If you see the club logo, HTAFC will be able to assist and answer any associated questions. • The Community Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, with Community Manager Iain Service and Community Officer Tom Blackburn the only employees. There are a number of casual coaches that support local delivery, as well as a group of fantastic volunteers. • The HTAFC Community Foundation has its own Twitter account (@HTAFCCF) where the latest activities and updates can be found. There is also an independent website that outlines programmes in a little more detail: htafcinthecommunity.co.uk

Community Futsal is not an alternative to Harrogate Town AFC’s excellent Player Development Centre that continues to work with young players but instead a separate session organised and delivered by the Community Foundation.

What is Futsal? • Played indoors all year round • 5-a-side with a smaller futsal ball • Different rules from football, with foul counts and timing being stopped when the ball is out of play • Futsal is a popular sport in Europe, with Barcelona recently winning the European title • Play is fast, with different skills and techniques needed • There are four main positions, goalie, defender, winger and pivot All sessions are delivered during term time on Wednesdays at Harrogate High School (Sports Hall), Ainsty Road, Harrogate, HG1 4AP. Payment in advance for a block, all sessions will be following government health guidelines. Start times are as follows;

U8/9s: 4.30-5.25pm U10/11s : 5.35-6.30pm There are limited spaces available for each sessions. Boys and girls are welcome, along with any level of ability.

For more details about Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation, or to get involved as a participant or volunteer, please email community@harrogatetownafc.com 32

The Harrogate Kicks programme has been made possible following funding from North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioners. Working alongside neighbourhood Policing teams and a local organisation called Inspire Youth. Watch out for more sessions in holiday times very soon.

For any queries, please email Community Officer, Tom Blackburn tomblackburn@harrogatetownafc.com or call 07832 323324

Resurrected Bites Food Bank needs community help! Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation are delighted to help support Resurrected Bites and assist with the current food crisis affecting hundreds of local families.

They currently need: • Breakfast Cereal • Tins of Soup • Baked beans • Tinned Veg • Cooking Sauces • Tinned pulses • Tinned Meat • Tinned Fish • Pet food/cat litter • Sanitary towels/ incontinence pads

• Shower gel/soap • Nappies • Men’s deodorant • Shampoo • Cleaning products /washing up liquid • Milk - UHT & fresh • Dairy products • Meat and vegetarian protein

Drop Off Points

SOME OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO JOINED US FOR FOOTBALL CHALLENGES IN KNARESBOROUGH ALONGSIDE JESSICA WARD FROM INSPIRE YOUTH AND THEIR SUPER KITTED OUT VAN!

ANNOUNCING OUR FIRST WINNERS

We are delighted to announce the winner of our first ‘Text to Win’ competition was Steve Farnworth who knew that Jack Muldoon scored Town’s historic first league goal as an EFL club. Steve and his family came to the ground to collect their prizes and were delighted with their win. Our second competition has now closed and the winner has been contacted. Keep an eye on our Facebook pages for the winner announcement and the details of our third competition - we have many more great prizes available for you to win.

KNARESBOROUGH Gracious St Methodist Church. Tue to Fri (9am-1pm). Please bring items to the room at the top of the ramp. BILTON The Vicarage, Bilton Lane, Harrogate, HG1 3DT (next to St John’s Church). Mon to Thu (9am-1pm & 6-7pm); Sat (9am-12pm). Drop ambient in box outside. NO chilled or frozen please. STARBECK The Vicarage 51 Bogs Lane, Starbeck HG1 4EB. Mon to Thu (9am-1pm & 6-7pm); Sat (9am-12pm). Please knock if you have chilled or frozen. CLARO ROAD HTAFC Community Foundation Unit 24 Claro Court Business Centre, Claro Road, Harrogate, HG1 4BA (near the Royal Mail Sorting Office) Mon to Fri (9am-5pm). Note: Please do not donate if it has exceeded its use by date (fresh items). Please only donate if your household is free of infection.

GETTING TO KNOW...

KEVIN LOKKO

2020/21 SHIRTS

BEST MOMENT: WINNING FA YOUTH CUP

PRE-ORDER NOW!

WE CAUGHT UP WITH DEFENDER KEVIN LOKKO AFTER TRAINING THIS WEEK TO FIND OUT A BIT MORE ABOUT HIM, HIS FOOTBALL CAREER AND LIFE SO FAR... BEST OPPONENT: RAHEEM STERLING FAVOURITE STADIUM: THE EMIRATES

About Football... Player you pretended to be as a kid? Rio Ferdinand. We’re both centre backs and when I was younger I was a similar build, tall and slim. He’s also from London which makes him an inspiration for me as well. Team you followed as a lad? Manchester United, mainly because of Rio Ferdinand. Best goal you’ve ever scored? Probably a bicycle kick at Maidstone against Southport. I scored a brace in that game! If money was no object, which player would you sign for Town? Harry Kane, someone who puts the ball in the net. I think any team would do better with him. Pick four other players for your dream 5-a-side team? Alisson, Grealish, Defoe and De Bruyne. Best moment of your career so far? Winning the FA Youth Cup with Norwich City. We played Chelsea on ITV and it was my first game in front of fans. 34

About Life... Do you have any brothers or sisters? An older sister.

Best player you've played against? Raheem Sterling. When I was at Norwich we played Liverpool and he was a joke. He’s too quick to get near him, he was ridiculous. If you could play in any other position than your own what would it be? Striker. I can score all the goals and get all the glory. You can play rubbish all game, score and then it’s all fine. If you could change one rule in football what would it be? VAR, it’s just spoiling the game. Do you have any superstitions before games? None at all, that type of thing doesn’t really bother me. If you could add one strength to your game what would it be? To be rapid. Adding that, I’d be ridiculous. What's your favourite stadium? The Emirates, it’s really nice modern ground.

What is the best moment of your life so far? Signing my first professional contract at Colchester United. Which living person do you most admire? My dad, he built a lot of foundations for me and my sister to build a good life. Who has been you biggest career influence? My dad, he drove me to a lot of places to play football and given me pep talks when things haven’t gone well. He’s been very important to me. Best ever holiday? America, when I was 13 years old. We travelled state to state in a 4x4. Florida was my favourite because of Disney World and all the theme parks. What’s your favourite and least favourite food? Jerk chicken and mac and cheese together is my favourite. I’m not a fan of casseroles or wintery foods like stews. What was your first car, what do you drive now and what is your dream car? First car was a 1.0 litre Vauxhall Corsa, current car is a Mercedes GLA AMG. The dream car is the new Lamborghini truck.

Our 2020/21 Home, Away and Goalkeeper Shirts are now available to pre-order online

PLUS Get all your promotion merchandise and so much more... Visit the online store at harrogatetownafc.com 35

TOWN LADIES & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

U19 ALLIANCE: SUFFER FIRST LEAGUE DEFEAT

U19

U17

Garforth Junior Football League Division One

West Riding County FA Development League Championship North

Oct 14 Oct 19 Oct 29 Nov 25 Nov 30 Jan 4 Jan 25 Feb 1 Feb 8 Feb 22 Mar 8 Mar 15 Mar 22 Mar 29

A A A A A A A H H H H H H H

Stanley United U23 Pontefract Collieries U23 LUUA 1st Team Beeston St Anthony U21 Tadcaster Albion U23 (Reds) Tadcaster Albion U21 (Blue) Tadcaster Albion U21 (Sky Blue) Tadcaster Albion U21 (Blue) Pontefract Collieries U23 Tadcaster Albion U23 (Sky Blue) Stanley United U23 Beeston St Anthony U21 LUUA 1st Team Tadcaster Albion U23 (Reds)

W 6-2 L 3-4 L 2-5 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45

Sep 13 Sep 20 Oct 4 Oct 18 Oct 25 Nov 1 Nov 8 Nov 15 # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

West Riding County FA Development League Championship North

The U19â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Youth Alliance side fell to their first defeat of the season against a very strong South Shields side who are the early pace setters in Division One.

forcing good saves from the goalkeeper. Gosling then came close when Harry Lazenby won the ball high in the centre of the pitch, and played the ball to Gosling who turned and hit the post.

The game started with South Shields controlling possession, hbut without creating a lot of clearcut chances. Town centre backs Charlie Owen and Dan Corbett defended very well and when the few chances were created that beat the defence, Alfie Storey in the Town goal was equal to them.

South Shields capitalised on that missed chance instantly as the fullback played a long ball over the top which Gardiner again raced on to and cleverly lofted the ball over the advancing Storey to put South Shields 2-0 up.

The first goal came via a good cross from the left and the South Shields number nine, Harry Gardiner putting it away at the front post. After falling behind, Town got a foothold in the game with Joe Gosling and Gabe Hopkinson

U19 YOUTH ALLIANCE

National League Alliance Division One Sep 16 Sep 30 Oct 21 Nov 4 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 25 Dec 2 Dec 9 Jan 6 Jan 13 Jan 27 Feb 3 Feb 10 Feb 17 Mar 10 Mar 17 Mar 24

A H A H A H A H H A A H A H A A A H

Farsley Celtic Blyth Spartans South Shields Scarborough Athletic Newcastle Benfield Billingham Synthonia Scarborough Athletic South Shields Frickley Athletic Blyth Spartans Pontefract Collieries Gateshead Farsley Celtic Eccleshill United Newcastle Benfield Frickley Athletic Eccleshill United Pontefract Collieries

W 4-2 W 6-4 L 0-3 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Team LUUA Beeston St Anthony Pontefract Collieries Tadcaster A (Reds) TOWN Tadcaster A (Sky Blue) Stanley United Tadcaster A (Blue)

The third came late on in the second half as Town chased the game when an unstoppable shot by William Jenkins nestled in the top corner. It finished 3-0 and the Alliance side now look forward to hosting Scarborough Athletic tomorrow afternoon. NATIONAL LEAGUE ALLIANCE - DIVISION ONE South Shields U19s 3 (0) Gardiner (2), Jenkins Harrogate Town U19 Alliance 0 (0) Town: Alfie Storey, Josh Hardcastle, Jamie Power, Joe Navier, Gabe Hopkinson, Joe Gosling, Charlie Owen, Dan Corbett, Ewan Gregson, Sam Clothier, Harry Lazenby Subs: Charlie Margo, Seb Henry, Joe Payette, Jack Dawson

National League Alliance Division One # Team P W D 1 South Shields 5 4 1 2 Scarborough Athletic 5 3 1 3 Blyth Spartans 3 2 0 4 TOWN 3 2 0 5 Frickley Athletic 3 2 0 6 Pontefract Collieries 5 1 1 7 Farsley Celtic 2 1 0 8 Newcastle Benfield 2 0 1 9 Billingham Synthonia 3 0 1 10 Eccleshill United 5 0 1

L F A GD Pts 0 18 3 15 13 1 8 5 3 10 1 15 8 7 6 1 10 9 1 6 1 7 6 1 6 3 5 19 -14 4 1 5 5 0 3 1 2 3 -1 1 2 3 6 -3 1 4 3 12 -9 1

P W D L F A GD Pts 3 3 0 0 17 3 14 9 3 2 1 0 13 4 9 7 3 1 1 1 8 9 -1 4 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 3 3 1 0 2 11 11 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0 2 0 0 2 3 11 -8 0 2 0 0 2 0 14 -14 0

A A H H H A H H

W 6-1 W 8-2 W 10-0 W 10-1 W 10-0 W 8-0 10:00 10:00

West End Terriers North East Leeds Whinmoor Juniors Woodkirk Valley Upton United Garforth Rangers Farsley Celtic West End Terriers

Team TOWN Colton Juniors Garforth Rangers North East Leeds West End Terriers Upton United Whinmoor Juniors Farsley Celtic South Hiendley Woodkirk Valley

P W D L F A GD Pts 6 6 0 0 52 4 48 18 5 3 1 1 25 11 14 10 7 3 1 3 19 33 -14 10 5 3 0 2 21 18 3 9 5 3 0 2 16 17 -1 9 6 3 0 3 17 21 -4 9 7 3 0 4 14 29 -15 9 5 2 0 3 12 14 -2 6 7 1 2 4 15 22 -7 5 7 1 0 6 11 33 -22 3

HOME YOUTH TEAM FIXTURES ARE PLAYED AT ST. JOHN FISHERS SCHOOL, HARROGATE

TOWN LADIES LADIES FIRST TEAM FIXTURES & RESULTS

North East Regional Womens League Premier Division

Sep 6 Sep 20 Sep 27 Oct 11 Nov 1 Nov 8 Nov 15 Nov 22 Nov 29 Dec 6 Dec 13 Dec 20 Jan 3 Jan 10 Jan 17 Jan 24 Jan 31

H A H H H A H A H A H A H H A H A

Farsley Celtic (EPR) Farsley Celtic Jnrs (PR) Wallsend B.C Farsley Celtic Ossett United Redcar Town Sheffield Wednesday South Shields South Shields Wallsend B.C Alnwick Town Farsley Celtic York City Hartlepool United Ossett United Redcar Town Sheffield Wednesday

W3-1 L2-2* D4-4 W1-0 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00 14:00

North East Regional Womens League Premier Division # Team P W D 1 York City 2 2 0 2 TOWN 2 1 1 3 Hartlepool United 1 1 0 4 Alnwick Town 1 1 0 5 South Shields 2 1 0 6 Wallsend B.C. 2 0 2 7 Ossett United 1 0 1 8 Sheffield Wednesday 1 0 0 9 Farsley Celtic 2 0 0 10 Redcar Town 2 0 0

A GD Pts

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2

9 5 4 4 4 6 2 2 2 3

3 4 1 2 6 6 2 4 5 8

6 1 3 2 -2 0 0 -2 -3 -5

6 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0

Tables correct as of 1 November 2020. All kick-off times are subject to change

TOWN FIXTURES & RESULTS 2020/21 DATE

OPPOSITION

COMP

RES

KEY:

ATT PTS POS STARTING XI

TOWN SCORE SHOWN FIRST ● Goal /  Penalty /  Own Goal ■ Yellow Card / ■ Red Card 1st sub / 2nd sub / 3rd sub H* At Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

SUBSTITUTES

SEPTEMBER Sat 5

Tranmere Rovers (R1)

1-1

Town win 8-7 on pens

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry ●

Thomson

Walker

Martin

Muldoon

Tue 8

Grimsby Town

2-2

Grimsby earn bonus point by winning 5-4 on pens

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Lokko ● ■

Kirby

Kerry

Kiernan ●

Walker

Stead

Muldoon

Martin (58), Beck (64), Thomson (75), Falkingham, Emmett, Hall

Sat 12

Southend United

4-0

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry ●

Thomson

Beck

Martin ● ■

Muldoon ● ●

Stead (58), Walker (75), Jones, Kirby, Lokko, Minter

Wed 16

West Bromwich Albion (R2)

0-3

Burrell

Sat 19

Walsall

2-2

Stead (73), Beck (82), Emmett, Kiernan, Kirby, Lokko

Cracknell Cracknell

Fallowfield

Smith ■

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (61), Jones (63), Kirby (79), Kiernan, Walker, Lokko, Minter

Cracknell

Fallowfield ■ Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin ●

Muldoon ●

Stead (71), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Lokko, Minter

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith ●

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry ■

Thomson

Kiernan ■

Martin

Muldoon

Beck (70), Kirby (80), Stead (90), Lawlor, Lokko, Walker, Minter

Cracknell

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry

Thomson

Beck

Martin

Kiernan

Stead (65), Kirby (76 ■), Walker (80), Jones, Lokko, Minter Kiernan (56), Walker (69), Stead (75), Burrell, Kerry, Cracknell

Tue 22

Notts County (Semi-Final)

1-0

Sat 26

Port Vale

0-0

12 Belshaw

OCTOBER Sat 3

Bolton Wanderers

1-2

Tue 6

Leicester City U21’s

3-1

Mon 12

Bradford City

1-0

Sat 17

Barrow

1-0

Tue 20

Grimsby Town

2-1

Sat 24

Colchester United

1-2

■

Fallowfield

Jones ■

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Kirby

Thomson ● ■

Beck

Martin

Miller

Belshaw

Burrell

Jones ●

Lokko

Lawlor

Kirby

Kerry

Emmett

Kiernan ●

Stead ●

Walker

Miller (79), Martin (87), Fallowfield, Falkingham, Beck, Hall, Cracknell

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Kerry ●

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon

Martin (80), Kiernan (82), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon ●

Kiernan (66), Martin (72), Jones, Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry ■

Thomson ■

Miller

Martin

Muldoon ● ●

Kirby (75), Kiernan (84), Stead (90), Jones, Walker, Cracknell

Belshaw

Fallowfield

Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham

Kerry

Thomson

Miller

Martin

Muldoon

Stead (37 ●) Kiernan (57), Jones (82), Kirby, Walker, Cracknell

Belshaw

Fallowfield ■ Burrell

Smith

Hall

Falkingham ■

Kirby

Thomson

Miller

Stead

Muldoon

Kiernan (63) Beck (70), Walker (78), Jones, Lokko, Cracknell

Jones ■

Smith ●

Hall

Falkingham ■ ■

Kerry ■

Thomson

Kiernan

Martin

Muldoon

Kirby (40) Beck (85), Stead, Walker, Lokko, Cracknell

Tue 27

Stevenage

0-0

Sat 31

Newport County

1-2

12 Belshaw

Burrell

NOVEMBER Tue 3

Tranmere Rovers

W 19:00

Fri 6

Skelmersdale United (R1)

L 19:45

Tue 10

Hull City

L 19:00

Sat 14

Crawley Town

D 15.00

Sat 21

Leyton Orient

D 15:00

Tue 24

Mansfield Town

W 19:00

DECEMBER Tue 1

Scunthorpe United

D 19:00

Sat 5

Forest Green Rovers

W 15:00

Sat 12

Morecambe

W 15:00

Tue 15

Exeter City

D 18:30

Sat 19

Salford City

W 15:00

Sat 26

Oldham Athletic

W 15:00

Tue 29

Carlisle United

D 15:00

JANUARY Sat 2

Cheltenham Town

D 15:00

Sat 9

Cambridge United

W 15:00

Sat 16

Exeter City

W 15:00

Sat 23

Salford City

D 15:00

Tue 26

Tranmere Rovers

W 19:45

Sat 30

Newport County

W 15:00

FEBRUARY

League Two

Cups

■ ■

James Belshaw

7 (0)

1 (0)

8 (0)

152

Ryan Fallowfield

9 (0)

4 (0)

0 13 (0) 0

135

Dan Jones

2 (1)

1 (1)

Josh Falkingham 10 (0) 0

3 (0)

0 13 (0) 0

Will Smith

10 (0)

4 (0)

0 14 (0) 0

Warren Burrell

9 (0)

5 (0)

0 14 (0) 0

231

12 28

Player

Season

3 (2)

Town Career

147

Sat 6

Crawley Town

W 15:00

Sat 13

Leyton Orient

W 15:00

Sat 20

Scunthorpe United

W 15:00

George Thomson 10 (0)

3 (1)

13 (1)

144

Tue 23

Mansfield Town

W 19:45

Jack Emmett

0 (0)

1 (0)

230

Sat 27

Grimsby Town

W 15:00

Mark Beck

4 (2)

1 (3)

5 (5)

110

7 (2)

3 (2)

0 10 (4)

Barrow

D 19:45

Joe Leesley

0 (0)

146

10 Aaron Martin

MARCH Tue 2 Sat 6

Stevenage

W 15:00

12 Jake Lawlor

0 (0)

1 (0)

Tue 9

Colchester United

W 19:45

13 Joe Cracknell

3 (0)

4 (0)

7 (0)

Sat 13

Forest Green Rovers

W 15:00

14 Brendan Kiernan

1 (6)

3 (0)

4 (6)

Sat 20

Morecambe

W 15:00

2 (3)

2 (2)

4 (5)

Sat 27

Southend United

W 15:00

15 Connor Kirby 16 Jon Stead

3 (6)

2 (3)

5 (9)

Walsall

W 15:00

17 Lloyd Kerry

8 (0)

5 (0)

13 (0)

167

APRIL Fri 2 Mon 5

Port Vale

W 15:00

Sat 10

Bolton Wanderers

W 15:00

Sat 17

Bradford City

W 15:00

Tue 20

Oldham Athletic

W 19:45

Sat 24

Carlisle United

W 15:00

Sat 1

Cambridge United

W 15:00

Sat 8

Cheltenham Town

W 15:00

MAY

2020/21 SEASON

PLAYER STATISTICS

18 Jack Muldoon

8 (0)

4 (0)

0 12 (0)

108

19 Calvin Miller

6 (0)

0 (1)

20 Connor Hall

10 (0) 0

3 (0)

0 13 (0) 0

23 Tom Walker

0 (4)

3 (0)

3 (4)

6 (1)

25 Melvin Minter

0 (0)

28 Kevin Lokko

0 (0)

2 (0)

Cups = EFL Trophy, Carabao Cup, FA Cup and FA Trophy; A = Appearances; () = Games on as sub; G = Goals; Career = Total for Town

STATS ZONE

LEAGUE TWO TABLE 2020/21 TEAM

HOME

Newport County

2 Cambridge United

AWAY

FORM

GD PTS Latest Last

3 Cheltenham Town

4 Exeter City

5 Port Vale

6 Forest Green Rovers 10

7 Crawley Town

8 Carlisle United

9 Salford City

16 16

10 Morecambe

-7

11 Leyton Orient

12 Harrogate Town

13 Colchester United

14 Walsall

13 11

15 Barrow

16 Bradford City

-3

17 Grimsby Town

-4

18 Tranmere Rovers

-6

19 Bolton Wanderers

-8

20 Oldham Athletic

-7

21 Stevenage

-3

22 Mansfield Town

-6

23 Scunthorpe United

-13

24 Southend United

-17

LEAGUE TWO TOP SCORERS Player

Team

■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■

For the latest news and to share your match day experiences, follow…

EFL

theEFL

EFL

TONIGHTS FIXTURES 18:00 Oldham Athletic v Cheltenham Town

Goals

Paul Mullin

Cambridge United

18:30 Morecambe v Exeter City

Jack Muldoon

Harrogate Town

19:00 Bolton Wanderers v Mansfield Town

Danny Johnson

Leyton Orient

19:00 Cambridge United v Salford City

Joe Ironside

Cambridge United

19:00 Carlisle United v Newport County

Adam Phillips

Morecambe

19:00 Colchester United v Stevenage

Conor McAleny

Oldham Athletic

19:00 Forest Green Rovers v Leyton Orient

Jamille Matt

Forest Green Rovers

19:00 Grimsby Town v Barrow

Max Watters

Crawley Town

Andy Williams

Cheltenham Town

19:00 Harrogate Town v Tranmere Rovers 19:00 Port Vale v Scunthorpe United 19:45 Bradford City v Southend United

Jack Muldoon

Paul Mullin

19:45 Walsall v Crawley Town

FORM: ■ Won; ■ Drawn; ■ Lost. Information correct as of 1st November 2020.

HARROGATE TOWN 2020-21

FIRST TEAM SQUAD & MANAGEMENT Proud to support Harrogate Town Football Club James

Ryan

Warren

George

Thomson

Emmett

Joe

Jake

Jon

Lloyd

Belshaw

Burrell

Leesley

Stead

Tom

Walker

MANAGER

Simon

Weaver 42

Fallowfield

Lawlor

Kerry

Dan

Josh

Jones

Falkingham

Jack

Mark

Joe

Brendan

Jack

Calvin

Cracknell

Muldoon

Beck

Kiernan

Miller

Will

Smith

Aaron

Martin

Connor

Kirby

Connor

Hall

Kevin

Lokko

ASSISTANT MANAGER

Paul

Thirlwell

GOALKEEPER COACH

Phil

Priestley

HEAD PHYSIO

Rachel

Davis

CHIEF SCOUT

Lee

Barraclough

Call 01423 524 322 or visit www.howardmatthews.co.uk 43

HARROGATE TOWN

TRANMERE ROVERS

1 James Belshaw (GK) 2 Ryan Fallowfield 3 Dan Jones 4 Josh Falkingham (c) 5 Will Smith 6 Warren Burrell 7 George Thomson 8 Jack Emmett 9 Mark Beck 10 Aaron Martin 11 Joe Leesley 12 Jake Lawlor 13 Joe Cracknell (GK) 14 Brendan Kiernan 15 Connor Kirby 16 Jon Stead 17 Lloyd Kerry 18 Jack Muldoon 19 Calvin Miller 20 Connor Hall 23 Tom Walker 26 Kevin Lokko

1 Scott Davies (c) (GK) 2 Lee O’Connor 3 Liam Ridehalgh 4 Sid Nelson 5 Mark Ellis 6 Emmanuel Monthe 7 Kieron Morris 8 Jay Spearing 9 James Vaughan 10 Morgan Ferrier 11 Corey Blackett-Taylor 13 Joe Murphy (GK) 14 Kaiyne Woolery 15 Jack Young 17 Otis Khan 18 Calum MacDonald 19 Liam Feeney 20 Danny Walker-Rice 21 George Ray 22 Paul Lewis 23 Stefan Payne 24 Kyle Hayde 26 Peter Clarke 27 Jake Burton 28 Ollie Banks 29 Sam Smith 30 Ben Jones (GK) 33 Ethan Gouldbourne 34 Jamie Timlin

MANAGER: Simon Weaver

NEXT HOME

SKELMERSDALE UNITED

EMIRATES FA CUP FIRST ROUND FRI 6 NOVEMBER - 7.45PM

MANAGER: Mike Jackson

MATCH OFFICIALS Referee: Ross Joyce Assistant Referees: Wayne Grunnill / Kevin Mulraine Fourth Official: Oliver Bickle

NEXT AWAY

LEYTON ORIENT

SKY BET LEAGUE TWO SAT 21 NOVEMBER - 3PM

O U R PARTNE RS

Harrogate’s Number 1 Family Estate Agent

HARROGATE STEEL DESIGN

M A N U FAC T U R E

I N S TA L L