Harrogate Town target return of fans, but all other Yorkshire clubs remain locked out

Harrogate Town are looking forward to their first proper celebration of Football League status after being the only league club in Yorkshire football allowed fans back into their ground from next week.
Harrogate Town's Jack Muldoon and Ryan Fallowfield celebrate last season's play-off success. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)Harrogate Town's Jack Muldoon and Ryan Fallowfield celebrate last season's play-off success. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Harrogate Town's Jack Muldoon and Ryan Fallowfield celebrate last season's play-off success. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Leeds United, Sheffield United, Barnsley, Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough, Rotherham United, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, Hull City and Bradford City must continue to playing behind closed doors after being put into tier three restrictions when England emerges from its second coronavirus lockdown on Wednesday.

Objections from opponents Scunthorpe United prevented Harrogate’s League Two home match being put back 24 hours to then, but the hope is that December 5’s visit of Forest Green Rovers has a crowd.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Harrogate won August’s Conference play-offs to reach the Football League for the first time and marked it with an open-top bus parade but fans have had to stay away since the historic season began on September 5.

Sheffield Wednesday's Moses Odubajo is missing fans at Hillsborough.    Picture: Steve EllisSheffield Wednesday's Moses Odubajo is missing fans at Hillsborough.    Picture: Steve Ellis
Sheffield Wednesday's Moses Odubajo is missing fans at Hillsborough. Picture: Steve Ellis

“It’s exciting times,” said managing director Garry Plant. “There’s hard work ahead of us but we’re used to that.

“We need every supporter to know we’re trying to move Heaven and earth to get fans back in safely as soon as we can.

“It will be the first real celebration of promotion, the first opportunity for players, supporters and management to come together since we came into the Football League. It will be a bit like the first meeting with colleagues after Zoom meetings in lockdown.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Hopefully we can get through this and beyond Christmas, everything goes swimmingly and the V word (vaccine) comes into play.”

Town have to satisfy a range of bodies before fans can return.

The regulations allow clubs such as Harrogate located in tier two to host up to 2,000 supporters, or half-capacity in stadia holding fewer than 4,000. Those in tier one can house up to 4,000 but initially no professional football clubs are. Games remain behind closed doors in tier three.

Tiers will be reviewed two weeks into the new restrictions.

Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster could also to play to crowds, at Norwich City and Northampton Town respectively, on December 5. Rotherham’s game at Watford on December 8, Huddersfield’s December 12 trip to Bournemouth, and Bradford and Harrogate’s December 15 League Two matches at Crawley and Exeter City will also be in tier-two grounds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Owls’ Moses Odubajo says the absence of supporters has made him value them even more.

“It’s made us all appreciate even more what the fans bring to the game because the Sheffield Wednesday fans at home and away are very passionate and when Hillsborough is empty you can feel it and the pitch feels a lot bigger when it’s not packed,” he said. “Sometimes you need that noise behind you even to close someone down or go the extra yard when you feel like your legs can’t do it any more.

“It feels like we’ve had artificial fan noise piped in everywhere apart from Hillsborough and I enjoy it. It adds to the atmosphere.”

The absence of fans has had a crippling effect on clubs, particularly lower down the pyramid.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Premier League sides such as Leeds United and Sheffield United draw a large proportion of their income from its record-breaking broadcast deals but in the Championship and particularly below, deals are much smaller and dependence on gate receipts much greater.

The top two divisions resumed in June with play-offs permitted in the top five tiers but the rest of professional football started the 2020-21 season in September, or October for non-league clubs.

“It’s a high priority for us to get fans back in – we miss the atmosphere we’re so well known for,” said Bradford’s new chief executive Ryan Sparks. “But while we’re disappointed we’re in tier three we’re not surprised. We hadn’t budgeted for it.

“It’s positive we’re seeing a breakthrough for supporters returning and it gives us plenty of time to plan for when we do flick into tier two.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’ve got 9,034 season ticket-holders and we’ll have to work out how to get that into 2,000. There’s likely to be some sort of survey to gauge how many want to come back at first and we’ll have to work out what the 2,000 means – is that supporters in seats, does that include hospitality?

“Cash flow is okay for Bradford City at the moment but it can’t go on like this forever. It’s a really serious issue for clubs and we’re not out of the woods.”

Although Leeds have not had to go through the same level of hardship, like Harrogate they have been denied an emotional celebration after winning the right to play in the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.

“It makes me very sad I have not been able to experience it,” said coach Marcelo Bielsa. “Something that makes the Premier League the best in the world is the combination between the spectator and spectacle.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The new restrictions prevent travel to lower tiers, raising questions about non-league football. “Elite” football has been granted exemptions this year to allow matches but this definition does not extend below Conferences North and South.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.