From the Terraces: Why success has brought its own problems for Harrogate Town

Having walked away from Wolverhampton Wanderers just as they entered the Premier League, I fell in love with Harrogate Town and non-league football. Admission was cheap, especially for kids, and once inside you could choose to stand anywhere in the ground.

My daughter and I first took up a position in front of the hospitality area, where she would sit on the wall until a kindly steward intervened. It was for her own safety of course, but she was still allowed to stand at the front and hang over the wall.

We soon took to standing in the Wetherby Road stand at the end of the ground Town liked to attack first, before relocating to the Kop for the second half. Occasionally Town would lose the toss and attack the Kop end first and, with a shrug, we’d quickly change ends whilst they kicked off. There was no segregation and we’d invariably pass the away supporters moving in the opposite direction.

After visiting the club shop to see what was new, the first half routine would include a £2 portion of chips from the snack bar, something Molly would excitedly ask for at most matches. Sometimes I’d add mushy peas to my portion for an extra 50p.

At half-time we’d pop into the bar to debate the half we’d seen, mingle with both sets of fans and watch the football scores roll in on the TV screen. I’d down a half and Molly would get free tap water from the bar (sometimes I’d treat her to a lemonade).

If it was cold or wet outside, the bar was your sanctuary for fifteen minutes.

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Whatever the result, the players would come over to show their appreciation at the end and many fans stayed to return the compliment. One time my daughter stayed behind to take selfies with Warren Burrell and Jack Emmett as they left the pitch. Yes, we were home late and my daughter was even later to bed, but she still has the pictures and the grins that night are a joy to behold.

We were one team against the world.

Then, a season and half after we started attending, irony struck this non-glory hunter and Town began their rapid and crazy rise to the Football League. It was unforseeable, thrilling, unforgettable, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. After all, what sort of fan doesn’t want their team to progress? But rapid progress on the pitch has also meant rapid change off it.

Contrast, if you will, our experience at the Crawley match a couple of weeks ago. Specific tickets for the Wetherby Road stand meant we had to watch the match from there, with stewards checking admission to each stand, despite there only being 1,300 in the ground. With no bar area to visit, half-time consisted of plonking ourselves down on the terracing to look at our phones. We hadn’t undertaken the chip routine, because chips have disappeared off the menu. My daughter had come straight from work and hadn’t eaten, so I treated her to a burger in a bun just after half-time. It cost me £7.50 and, although she enjoyed the food, we determined never again at that price. A bottle of water was £2. I’d bring my own, but we’re made to take the caps off on entry.

Seeking observations for this column, I was amused to hear a fellow fan berate the referee out of frustration at one point. His one-word insult was so loud and clear that the Crawley centre forward turned to face him with a look of, ‘Want to make something of it?’ on his face, before he realised the insult wasn’t aimed at him personally.

A nearby steward told him to moderate his language in front of the children present. This very same steward had earlier moved three of the same small children from the front railings as they sought to excitedly high-five the substitutes warming up in front of them. I felt all sense of perspective was being lost.

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The match ended goal-less, but I’d enjoyed it nonetheless and waited for the players to come over to acknowledge the fans. It didn’t happen, as most of the home support left on the final whistle, although some players still went over to the main stand to take selfies with the smiling youngsters.

We didn’t arrive here all at once, of course. One of the first things to go was the freedom to stand at the front railings overlooking the pitch. Then segregation fencing was installed to be used at the games where teams with larger followings were expected. Eventually this became permanent.

As the club rose faster than anyone had expected, medium term plans to redevelop the ground, including a seated away end and a relocated bar/social area for home fans, had to be shelved for instant solutions to bring the capacity up to league standards.

We saw the Black Sheep Brewery Stand spring up and while it felt like a proper ground, we’d lost the bar and club shop to the new stand and the need to make the 1919 end away fans only. If you add in the loss of the artificial pitch to archaic EFL rules, it all adds up to a huge decrease in potential revenue streams for the club.

Putting it right isn’t proving to be easy. The sheer speed of Town’s rise and the quick sticking plaster solutions required to haul the club up to league standard have certainly narrowed options inside a small ground.

For the record, I think the club have been marvellous in jumping through the many hoops they’ve had to jump through, but in a week where supporters’ representatives are meeting with the club to discuss the ‘match-day experience’, let this be my tiny contribution to the debate.