An open letter to Mr Fotherby and Mr Williams

Dear Mr Fotherby and Mr Williams, can I begin by stating my committment to the club, I have been attending for more than 15 years (Mick Doig was the manager when I began), and rarely miss a home game and travel to quite a few away games on public transport (not much fun usually).
At the end of the 2008/9 season our attendances had built up to about 500/550, at the time Mr Fotherby you kept telling us this was not enough. Then we had a budget cut, Neil Aspin leaving and the appointment of a completely unknown manager: Simon Weaver. Last season was a disaster: plummeting attendances, and the team finishing bottom of the league fully deserving relegation which we avoided by sheer good fortune.
At the start of this season I think most fans (certainly me) were prepared to forget about last season, give the manager the benefit of the doubt and lets start again. We were told we had an increased budget, specialist goalkeeping and fitness coaches, even a sports psychologist (!). Good players were signed: Armstrong, Phillips, Dootson etc. Most of us were excited by the prospects. This season is beginning to turn into a replica of last season: by : dumped out of the FA Cup by a lesser team, swept aside in the FA Trophy, humiliated last night in the WRCC by Goole Town. Our star goalkeeper has left for still unexplained reasons and the team is under-performing almost every match. Fans are disappearing at alarming speed: I would say the fan base is now about 150/180: Evo-Stik Division One levels. A glance through the two forums will show you that even the most loyal fans have prety well given up the ghost in despair. Yet nothing is done, I repeat, nothing is done.
We all know that the principal 'problem' is our manager. I have said many times that I don't doubt that Simon is a 'good guy', and I am sure he is enthusiastic etc. But 'enthusiasm' is not enough. You have given him every chance and time and again he has failed to take it: no other club in the country would have tolerated this situation. Most of the fans believe that Simon is only in his post because of funding issues: the club has never denied this, so we must assume it is true.
At some point surely you have to ask yourselves: is the game worth the candle? Mr Fotherby you spent 10 years building up this club, building the fan base. Are you really prepared to see it all destroyed?
One of the brutal facts about football is that managers are judged on results, every manager from Sam Alladyce downwards knows it. Why should our manager be exempt?
You have to do something soon or even 'fanatics' like me might stop coming... you will have a manager but no supporters (a ghost team). Is that really what you want?

Yours Paul Street

really good letter, Paul. i think most town fans feel the same, I certainly do. Just for the record, I wrote a similar letter to the club(I actually wrote two as it was alleged I never posted the first!) a few months ago highlighting my support and committment (i even undertook work experience at Harrogate Town when i was a kid helping Alf Dunnington and Phil Atha with odd jobs around the ground!), and how concerned i was with developments at the club. Anyway, whilst it would be unfair to go into details about the response I received, I felt the general tone was defensive about what the club was trying (and seemingly failing) to achieve. In essence, I got the impression that my input wasn't welcome. Some points were barely acknowledged, others completely dismissed, e.g. worrying dip in attendances was the most notable of all.

Not sure what the future holds but I know there's something wrong when I start thinking I'd be better off down at Station View!!!

Williams will have a hard time disregarding this letter, hopefully - very reasonable. I'm waiting for a Saturday home game against someone with a similar following to ours so we can get a good idea on how close the club is to becoming what you coined - a ghost team.

I also agree, for years now since I was a young boy I have gone to all home games, and a hell of a lot of away ones. This season when I have found myself free on Saturdays or Tuesdays I have started deciding against going to the Town matches due to the lack of anything noteworthy from the team.

It is a poor state of affairs when last Saturday instead of being disappointed about Town being dumped out of the Trophy, I was instead delighted to have saved £12 and made good use of my Saturday.