DAD & LAD’S DAY
Weavers on the brink of unlikely promotion
HARROGATE TOWN chairman Irving Weaver admits the situation “breaks convention, is unheard of, and could have gone horribly wrong!”.
Manager Simon Weaver reckons the decade-long partnership has brought him “closer” to his boss, and fostered “pride and stability”.
Irving and Simon Weaver are the father and son team who are a Wembley play-off final against Notts County away from the “dreamland” of reaching the Football League.
Weaver jnr was handed the manager’s role 12 years ago at just 31, when the club was owned by former Leeds United managing director Bill Fotherby and is one of the professional game’s longest-serving coaches.
Two years later, when Town hit hard times, he asked his dad, who made his fortune with family firm Strata Homes, to get involved.
They put in covered stands “to keep the rain off our fans” and crowd numbers have risen from 200 to 1,500.
Harrogate are now just 90 minutes from a second promotion in three years and an income boost from £90k a year to around £1.1million.
The wellheeled Yorkshire town is usually more famous for footballing figures who live there, like Gareth Southgate, than for its club. Has Irving ever been close to sacking his own son? He said: “There was only one time five to six years ago – an eighth game without a win.
“We were 3-0 down at halftime. Simon doesn’t usually make eye contact during a match but he looked up and I gave him a ‘come on, thumbs up’. We drew 3-3 and we have never been in that situation since.”
Simon said: “He said to me once, ‘I am glad I’m not a chairman who has ins and outs and sackings. There is none of that fighting. He trusts me. I wouldn’t go behind his back... because he is my dad and I really like him. It is a big responsibility.”
As Irving adds: “I have another son who has come into my corporate life and has done well. What is the difference? We said, ‘If we fail, we both fail’.
“I keep my distance from the team. It is a happy, determined club, with honesty.”
A crack at the Football League was beyond the Weavers’ initial dreams. They have built an “energetic, hungry” young team with a splash of experience from the likes of former Sunderland striker Jon Stead.
When the season was curtailed because of coronavirus, they were second in the table to Barrow and last Saturday they beat Boreham Wood in the playoff semi-final to reachWembley.
Simon added: “It has brought us close. Everyone’s relationship with their parents is different. I’ve always had a good one.
“We were Sheffield Wednesday season ticket holders when I was a kid.We sat together as a family, grandparents too. Now we are picking a team, recruiting players.
“Our dream was to reach the National League, get a fan base to sustain being in National League North.
“We went full-time three years ago and had aspirational young lads come in. We’ve had to write a new list of what we want to achieve.”