Yorkshire Tea, Milk, No Sugar…
Our weekend trip this time out is to the North Yorkshire home of the aforementioned tea, Harrogate Town, who we face at their actual home ground for the first time ever, having previously played them at Doncaster Rovers ground last time.
Harrogate Town are managed by the chairman’s son, Simon Weaver and currently find themselves BELOW The Saddlers (how odd it feels to type this…) in 16th in League Two, seemingly heading for mid-table obscurity in their second-ever Football League season which to be fair to them isn’t to be sniffed at considering where they were as little as 10 years ago.
Of minor interest regarding the chairman / manager connection is the fact that Simon Weaver was appointed manager in 2009, whilst his father Irving Weaver took chairmanship of the club in 2011. I wonder if he would ever sack his own son?
Looking at their player list, there aren’t (m)any players that are instantly recognisable, aside from perhaps Mark Beck (ex-Carlisle), Rory McArdle (ex-Rochdale and ex-Bradford) and Leon Legge (signed from our friendly Burslem neighbours, Port Vale).
The Suplhurites’ last six games have been:
22nd Feb - Bradford City (A) - Won 3-1
26th Feb - Barrow (A) - Drew 0-0
1st March - Port Vale (H) - Drew 1-1
5th March - Hartlepool United (H) - Lost 2-1
12th March - Bristol Rovers (A) - Lost 3-0
15th March - Tranmere Rovers (A) - Lost 2-0
The Saddlers head into this game as one of the form teams in League Two following the recent arrival of Michael Flynn, with another three points gained from our midweek duel with Oldham Athletic, courtesy of goals from Emmanuel Osadebe and Conor Wilkinson. The squad will be looking to continue their good form of late and will be hopeful of getting all three points with the aim of finally hitting the top half of the table.
There doesn’t appear to be any new injury news, although Lee Tomlin may make a reappearance after a suspected bout of Coronavirus (or should that be flu now Covid doesn’t exist?) and Zak Mills and Reece Devine are close to a return to training, so the main questions will be around the starting XI. Michael Flynn has come out in the media saying we are suffering fitness wise as a number of players are now carrying knocks, so do we think that he will continue with the same XI that have started the last two matches, or will we see a bit of switching around now we have relative safety from the drop with no real hope of reaching the playoffs?
Personally, I’d start to explore a bit more with the team to see who I’d want in my squad next season and perhaps get a few minutes into some of the younger players that are in and around the first team squad.
The team will be backed by a sold out away end, another great effort by the supporters, so which of you off the board will be there?
Predictions for the game are welcomed, along with any advice for any of those travelling Saddlers to help make the day go smoothly. My prediction is that Conor Wilkinson will bag again!
- Harrogate Town Win
- Draw
- Walsall Win
0 voters