I RORY MCARDLE

RORY McArdle

“He’ll be that kind of big brother figure for the rest of the squad. Having a player with so many EFL games under his belt and that nous talking alongside the rest of the back four will make a big difference.” That’s a quote from Town manager Simon Weaver speaking just after 34-year-old centre half Rory McArdle put pen to paper on a contract with the North Yorkshire club. With close to 500 professional appearances including two promotions, an FA Cup run and a League Cup Final at Wembley, McArdle arrives ticking all the boxes when it comes to a defender with experience and success. This is the story of Rory McArdle’s journey to Harrogate Town.

Interview by Henry Whitaker

Born in the Steel City of Sheffield, McArdle grew up and still is a Sheffield Wednesday fan. He attended games as a youngster and had dreams of one day stepping onto the turf at Hillsborough in the famous blue and white striped shirt.

At the age of 12, McArdle was scouted by Barnsley’s academy and he spent a year with The Tykes before being released. However, it wouldn’t be long before his next academy move came along but it did so by complete chance.

A friend and neighbour of McArdle was in Wednesday’s academy and mentioned to the coaches about the defender’s situation. McArdle was invited to train with the under 14s for the remaining few weeks of the season and then got an unexpected phone call on a Friday night asking if he would feature for Wednesday against Newcastle. Illness to one of Sheffield’s youngsters provided McArdle with an opportunity and it was one he took. Before he knew he signed with Sheffield’s academy. McArdle would go on to stay with The Owls until he was 19 and played with the likes of Jamie Vardy and now England Rugby Union scrumhalf Danny Care. The defender admits both were “a bit crackers” but they added to what was a successful Wednesday team. The group stayed together right through to under 16s and in their final year together won nearly every game. McArdle explains how the physicality of the team was simply too much to handle for the opponents.

“We had a big team which gave us a massive advantage as we just overpowered teams. It was a good group but only three of us went on to get scholarships with Wednesday. That’s when we realised it became much more serious and the expectation levels went through the roof.”

Neither Vardy nor Care would join McArdle in The Owls’ under 18s side but it was a “big moment” for the defender who wasn’t expecting anything. Once in the youth team, McArdle got hit with the harsh reality of a young pro. He describes it as a “learning curve” with the jobs

such as cleaning the training ground and stadium late in the evening being all part of the scholar experience and although tough, something he “wouldn’t have wanted to change” as it “kept the lads grounded”.

During his two year scholarship, McArdle was called into Northern Ireland’s under 19s, a team he qualifies for through his dad who was born in Belfast. It was an enjoyable experience for the Sheffield lad who found it a great opportunity to play without pressure while still learning from other players and coaches.

In 2004, McArdle signed his first professional contract with Sheffield Wednesday in what was a “massive moment” for the defender. He was unsure where his future would be heading but the coaches at Wednesday quite clearly saw a player in McArdle.

He went out on loan to Rochdale at 18-years-old and loved his time at The Dale playing men’s football fighting for points week in, week out. The defender does however say it was a “real eye-opener”, especially after meeting at the time captain Gareth Griffiths. “I remember walking into the manager’s office on my first day at Rochdale and Gareth Griffiths was there. He looked about 6ft 6 and I thought wow, this guy is huge. All the lads were so physical but it was an opportunity I loved,” McArdle continues. “I played 20 odd games that season and I never thought that would happen.”

The defender would then make his Sheffield Wednesday debut in 2006, coming on as a substitute against Plymouth Argyle and playing upfront for The Owls as they went through an injury crisis. It would be McArdle’s sole appearance for his boyhood club and he soon returned to Rochdale on loan before signing a permanent deal with the Greater Manchester club in January 2007.

In that season, Rochdale finished 5th in League Two and for the first time in their history, made it to Wembley for the Play-off Final.

Rochdale faced Stockport County and McArdle opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a near-post run header. It was a goal that pleased his mates who had put bets on for him to score first but the result didn’t go the defender’s way as Stockport came back and ended up winning the final 3-2.

In the following campaign, McArdle and his teammate’s secured playoffs again but this time lost out to Gillingham in the semi-finals. It was tough to take for the squad but they bounced back again and in the 2009-10 season, a 41-year wait for promotion was over.

The Dale secured the third automatic promotion spot following a 1-0 win against Northampton in April 2010 and it was a massive moment for McArdle and the club.

“When we finally got over the hurdle it was a fantastic achievement and the fans were buzzing,” McArdle recalls. “It was quite a young team so the togetherness was really good and it showed on the pitch. As we had come so close in previous seasons it meant a lot to get promoted. We did hit a sticky patch towards the end but securing promotion before the season ended meant the last couple of games were a celebration.”

Rochdale were now a League One club and McArdle had been offered a new deal to stay with The Dale. However, after five seasons and over 120 appearances, the defender felt it was the right time for a new challenge.

At the same time, McArdle made his senior debut for Northern Ireland, coming on against Turkey. It would be the first of a handful of appearances that saw the defender travel across the world. Israel, Chile and Lichtenstein were all countries that stand out but the game he remembers most is Northern Ireland vs Portugal in 2013.

“I didn’t play in the game but we had them at home and it was a miserable night. They went down to 10 men and Cristiano Ronaldo played and I thought I’ve got to sit down and watch this. He did nothing in the game but scored a hattrick and we lost 4-2. I expected him to be all over the pitch but he was just in the right place every time and it’s done him well in his career.”

Back on the club scene, McArdle would join Aberdeen in 2010 after deciding to leave Rochdale. The defender was keen to experience the atmosphere in the likes of Celtic Park and Ibrox, as well as play for a club with a history as rich as Aberdeen’s.

Although the defender enjoyed the lifestyle in Scotland and playing for The Dons, the move just didn’t work out as well as everyone hoped and so McArdle moved back to Yorkshire, signing for Bradford City in 2012.

With the signings brought in and Phil Parkinson in charge, McArdle thought the club “had a good chance” of achieving promotion. What a season it turned out to be…

The Bantams would go on an astonishing League Cup run which would see the Yorkshire club become the first-ever League Two outfit to reach a major Wembley Cup Final. The remarkable run saw McArdle and his teammates first defeat League One Notts County and Championship side Watford before needing extra time to overcome Burton Albion - a game where with ten minutes to go, the Bantams were two goals down. A penalty shootout victory against Wigan then set up a mouthwatering tie at Valley Parade against English giants Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger put out a side that included Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski but McArdle could sense they “weren’t up for it” on a freezing cold night in West Yorkshire. An 87thminute equaliser from Thomas Vermaelen took the tie to penalties but once again, Bradford came out on top and were in the semi-finals. They’d beat Premier League side Aston Villa 4-1 on aggregate to reach Wembley and it was a moment McArdle remembers fondly.

“My Mrs was at the game and I remember her telling me that she saw grown men crying in the crowd. When you hear little things like that you realise how big an achievement it was. At the time as players, we were just enjoying it and on the crest of a wave. There were 80,000 for the League Cup Final against Swansea, we packed out Wembley. The fans didn’t stop singing for the entirety of the game and for them, it wasn’t about the result it was about being able to watch their team in a cup final. Especially after the previous 3-4 years of struggle.”

Although losing 5-0 in the final, their push for promotion didn’t stutter and the Bantams earned their spot in the Play-Off Final against Northampton, a side McArdle had already tasted promotion success against. In the build-up to the match, McArdle explains how the final was treated like any other game.

“Since we had already been to Wembley, it was just another game for us. We’d done the suits and pre-match hype against Swansea so the playoffs were tracksuits and nothing changed. It showed on the day, we were 3-0 up after half an hour.”

The centre half was once again on the scoresheet at Wembley, scoring in the 19th minute, four minutes after James Hanson got the opener. Nahki Wells added to the tally just before the half-hour mark and it killed the contest.

“It was a crazy first season for me”, McArdle says with a sudden realisation of the success. It was nice to get promoted at Wembley and everyone here will be aware of that. Losing at Wembley is the opposite feeling though, especially the 3-4 weeks that follow. It’s one of the worst feelings I’ve had. To score three before 30 minutes allowed us to enjoy the rest of the game. It took the sting out of it and you could sense it in the crowd.”

Bradford didn’t look out of place in League One and finished 11th in their first season back. Everyone was happy with the progress and the next season saw a familiar face in Jon Stead return to Bradford City.

McArdle would travel into training with the former Town striker and the pair made a good bond. Stead would turn out to play a role in McArdle eventually joining up with Simon Weaver’s squad.

In the 2014-15 season, McArdle and Stead made a combined 95 appearances for the Bantams, including in the FA Cup run which saw the Yorkshire outfit cause a massive upset when they beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 4-2. Stead scored a stunning goal - a goal he’s reminded about daily - just before half-time to keep Bradford in the contest, and in the second half they scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to knock Chelsea out of the competition. “Every time I speak to Steady I bring up his goal just to annoy him a bit,” McArdle grins. “Against Chelsea, under Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, a place where they hadn’t lost in so many games, they were flying. Being 2-0 down it was backs to the wall and we were thinking here we go. But in the second half, I remember standing on the halfway line thinking we were on top and we needed to capitalise on it and thankfully we did. It’s scenes you’d never imagine and feelings that are hard to describe. I was at the cricket the other week and I was speaking to a Bradford fan who reminded me that Fabregas, Willian and Hazard came on in that game. That just shows how well we were doing.”

The Bantams’ run would come to an end in the quarter-finals against Reading but at the end of that season, McArdle won the club’s Player of the Year award.

“It was a proud moment, especially being a defender,” he says. “It was strange though as we had a half-decent season and normally a winger or attacker will win the award. It was a massive achievement and the recognition from the players was the big one.”

In the next two seasons, Bradford twice missed out on promotion to the Championship through the playoffs. First, they

lost to Millwall in the semi-finals and then the next year, lost again to the Lions but this time in the final following an 85th-minute winner from Steve Morrison.

McArdle had now spent five years with Bradford and made just short of 200 appearances for them. He felt it was a “good time to leave” and did so, joining Scunthorpe United who were also challenging at the top end of League One. The defender was named captain at the end of his first preseason with The Iron and had a good first year, finishing in the playoffs but falling short against Rotherham. An exodus of key players that summer saw Scunthorpe struggle and they were relegated to League Two at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

“It was tough to take,” McArdle admits. “After doing so well over the previous six years to then be struggling, it wasn’t nice. “We lost a lot of experience in the group which unsettled things a bit too much and I didn’t have as good a season either. We wanted to put it right the following campaign but of course Covid struck.”

With financial uncertainty, Scunthorpe said there would be no renewals for players with expired contracts, subject to change if fans returned. McArdle was one of those players and so packed his bags and moved himself and the family down to Exeter.

The defender spent the 2020-21 season with the Grecians and although loved the area and the club, struggled to adjust during the pandemic.

“It’s a great place to live and a 10-minute drive to the beach. On a summer’s day, I and the family would have fish and chips and spend time on the beach but it was tough during lockdown with a young family being so far away from everyone we’re close to. It put a lot of things into perspective for me.”

McArdle played around 20 games for Exeter before injury forced him out of the line-up. At that point, the family decided a move back north was needed with their eldest child about to settle into school. When Simon Weaver got in touch with McArdle’s team, it got his attention.

“When I found out about the Gaffer’s interest and spoke to him and Steady, as well as knowing about the club and success of recent years it didn’t take too long to sort. I spoke to Stead about here and he had nothing but good things to say. His opinion is one I trust so I had no doubts about joining.”

The defender has joined to provide experience and competition in the backline and has so far impressed Weaver with his performances as well as his attitude on and off the pitch. McArdle has been “impressed” with the entire squad and believes Town’s high league position is fully deserved.

“From coming in on the first day, everybody made me feel so welcome it felt like I’d been here much longer than just a few days. It sounds quite simple but it did feel like that. We are where we are in the league and it’s thoroughly deserved but we’re not getting carried away with it. It’s early days but we wanted to hit the ground running and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Everyone is really fit, really intense and the standards are there. If anyone dips below the standards you get found out and you get told. There’s no slacking and that’s worked in our favour so far. We’ve just got to keep building each game and see where it takes us.”