Harrogate Town, one to watch?

Harrogate is difficult to envisage as a thriving football town. It’s a quaint spot in North Yorkshire, a place boosted by historical wealth. In fact, the bus ride from North Leeds up through Yorkshire does feel like a tour of the wealthier parts of the county.

The walk from the bus station in the centre of town to the stadium, which lies about a 20 minute walk east of the centre, doesn’t feel much like a classic stadium walk. It’s a walk from a quiet town through a picturesque park. A relaxed game of croquet would feel more natural in the surroundings.

There is actually a football pitch painted onto the grassy plains of the park. However, the pitch appeared to be wider than it was long. Harrogate and football feel like quite an unnatural fit.

But there is a football club there, gunning for promotion to the promised land of the Football League. Harrogate Town, after suffering playoff heartbreak at the hands of AFC Fylde last season, are ready to go again.

The club were taken over by property developer Irving Weaver in 2011, who has since helped to push the club onwards with some smart injections of cash.

Looking around the ground, it is clear that there hasn’t been a crazy extravaganza of spending. The stadium has been given a spring clean and had a couple of small stands added, but it hasn’t undergone any overblown expansion project.

And with good reason, the attendance against Chorley on a Tuesday night was 792. Disappointing numbers for a club hoping to break into League Two. Numbers that have apparently fallen since a price increase on match day tickets and no early bird period for season tickets.

The pitch is another interesting aspect of Harrogate Town. It is a sleek 3G turf, and Town clearly try to play football to make the most of it. There is a clear emphasis on keeping the ball on the deck as well as a frantic tempo, which saw the Sulphurites sometimes try a little too hard to ‘force it’.

Their play at times was exciting, but littered with unforced errors. Town fans must bear some of the responsibility for this, with it taking just a couple of sideways passes in defence to rile the home crowd.

Those who jeered would do well to appreciate the fact that the majority of their side’s play is encouragingly positive. Sideways and backwards passes are sometimes necessary, be it to build an attack or simply just to keep hold of the ball.

The 3G pitch has other uses too. The obvious one is that it prevents matches being rained off, and the costs and inconveniences that come with it. Then there are the more direct monetary benefits, with the pitch being hired throughout the week by the community. That’s something you simply cannot do with a grass pitch.

So while there have been some smart cost saving, money does appear to be flowing towards the playing budget. This summer has seen the additions of Scott Brown, let go by League One Accrington Stanley, and former Championship striker John Stead. It is rumoured among some fans that Stead is on over £2k a week.

But they are players acquired with a style of play in mind. 4-3-3, high pressing, an energetic midfield and a target man flanked by tricky wingers. Stead fills the target man role, while Brown provides as a highly energetic midfielder. On the wing Brendan Kiernan looks a great player, pacy with excellent dribbling ability.

Their style is certainly one that will ruffle a few feathers in League Two should they get there. The 3G pitch would need to be ripped up and replaced with grass, although there seems to be enough money in the club to put down a good pitch to keep facilitating Town’s style.

The attendances are disappointing, especially considering the population of Harrogate is over 70,000. Bumper attendances aren’t to be expected, but surely the town can muster about a bit more support than the 792 who attended against Chorley?

Perhaps there is way to go to fully convince the local population the Harrogate are a side worth seeing. They are on the verge of League Two, although the pull of Leeds United just down the A61 will be difficult to contend with.

They clearly have money behind them, but not to the same obscene extent that Salford do. It feels like there is a plan to build the club into something that can sustain itself, although rumours about Stead’s wages could be a cause for concern.

They will be an interesting club to watch progress over the coming seasons. Can they break into the Football League and when/if they do, can they continue to flourish? Only time will tell for the Sulphurites, but the signs do look promising.