Today takes us to Wetherby Road, home of Harrogate Town, for a pre-season friendly.
We haven’t played the Sulphurites in competitive action yet—that will come in a couple of weeks—but we have met them in a friendly. That was back in 2013, when Nick Wright bagged a hat trick. There’s not a lot left in the current Imps setup from that afternoon 11 years ago, but the man in the Harrogate dugout is the same. Simon Weaver is the longest-serving manager in the Football League, having joined Harrogate in 2009. However, before that, he was an Imp and a member of a rather famous side.
Before I get to that, I do find it bewildering that Keith’s play-off season was 21 years ago. It’s as fresh in my mind as anything under Simmo in non-league, and it only seems like a year or two before Dan and Nick. Maybe that’s what success does: it transcends time, so you feel closer to those moments than ever. However, any supporters who are 25 or younger won’t remember Weaver playing for the Imps.
So, I’m here to help.
Affectionately nicknamed ‘Horse’, Weaver was what Steve Thompson might call an agricultural centre back. He wasn’t a ball player, but he was a fighter. One thing you had to have to play for Keith was heart; he had that in abundance. Keith knew that – after Weaver had drifted from his Sheffield Wednesday academy days into non-league, he played for Keith at Ilkeston. In the summer of 2002, with administration only just fought off, City was skint, so the gaffer went into his non-league contacts book and pulled out Simon Weaver.
His Imps career got off to a tremendous start—on only his second home appearance, he was sent off after eight minutes! It came in an infamous game against Carlisle, in which four were sent off in total—Richie Foran for fighting with Weaver, Brian Shelley on 74 for the visitors, and Trevor Molloy on 88 for foul language. Simon Yeo missed a penalty, the Cumbrians won 1-0, and their owner, John Courtenay, was convicted of threatening behaviour for the brawl that followed.
Welcome to Keith’s Imps!
It wasn’t always like that, and once Weaver got back from suspension, he formed a tight defence with Ben Futcher and Paul Morgan. Those two stood out—Futcher was our leading scorer, Morgan the captain and leader, but the defence only functioned because of Weaver’s work ethic. He was perhaps the least noticed of the three, but without him, the other two wouldn’t have thrived as they did.
He popped up with some crucial goals in the regular season, curiously all in draws. He ensured we drew 2-2 with Cambridge in a game that also saw three sent off, and his goal on New Year’s Day 2003 saw us secure a 1-1 draw with Boston. He scored as we drew 1-1 with Wrexham late in the season, and then finally, he scored in a win, and what a win. He got the first of eight goals shared between us and Scunthorpe in the play-off semi-final, a game we won 5-3.
The goals dried up in 2003/04, but Weaver was a key part of the side that again made the play-offs, only to go out to Huddersfield in the semi-finals. He started 39 league matches, but Jamie McCombe’s arrival meant he was the fourth man of three. He was sidelined for the heartbreaking 2-2 in West Yorkshire, which felt a bit like the beginning of the end.
He penned a one-year deal that summer, but with Futcher, Morgan and McCombe, he was always going to struggle. He also had another issue to contend with – Gareth McAuley joined the Imps. He started the first five league matches of the season, and played against Derby in a Carling Cup win, but was hauled off as we lost 2-1 at home to Notts County, a game in which Anthony Scully’s dad bagged a brace. That was the last we saw of Horse.
He handed in a transfer request two weeks later, having dropped out of the team – not just the starting XI, but the entire squad. A short loan to Macclesfield followed before a permanent move to Kidderminster. He even appeared against the Imps later that season, playing 90 minutes as Kidderminster turned us over, two goals to one. Sadly for him, Kiddie were relegated, and his Football League career ended.
The following season, he went to Scarborough, filling the gap left by Colin Cryan, who moved to City, and becoming a teammate of another former Imp, Neil Redfearn. From there, he went to York, Tamworth, Boston, King’s Lynn, Redditch, Ilkeston, and finally Harrogate, whom he joined as player-manager in the Conference North. That’s where the (relatively) unremarkable player became the remarkable manager.
In 2018, they beat Brackley to secure a place in the National League for the first time in their history – two years later it was Football League as they again enjoyed play-off success, beating Notts County. They did the double that year, winning the FA Trophy as well. He’s now managed 774 competitive games for Harrogate, enjoying a 38.76% win ratio.
How ironic that after two heartbreaking play-off matches as a player and his Imps career ending against Notts County, he was able to enjoy two outstanding play-off wins as a manager, the latter against Notts County to seal his Football League return!
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