After the emotional parting of the ways of Liverpool FC and Jürgen Klopp, the honour of being the second-longest serving manager in the Premier League and English Football League fell, rather poetically, to his rival Pep Guardiola. By the end of last summer the Manchester City boss had reached his eighth birthday as the man in charge of The Sky Blues, and whilst that's an impressive length of tenure, it pales in comparison with the man who is far out in front of the rest on this list- Simon Weaver...
Since the twentieth of May 2009, Weaver has been the manager of Harrogate Town, meaning that he can celebrate fifteen and a half years at the helm of the Sulphurites. The club currently reside in League Two, and finished the last campaign in a very comfortable mid-table position of thirteenth, twenty-one points clear of relegation and just seven points south of the final play-off place. All of which pays tribute to the remarkable job that Weaver has done over his 766 games (so far) in the Harrowgate dugout.
In fact, his story has not received enough coverage over the years, so what better time is there than now to shine a light on his achievements, amidst all the ups and downs. Back in the summer of 2009 Harrogate Town were playing in the Conference North, the sixth tier of English football, when Weaver, straight after the end of his playing career, was appointed manager. However, at the end of the following season they were only spared relegation by the demotion of Northwich Victoria, due to financial issues.
Then, preceding the 2011/12 campaign the manager's father, Irving Weaving, became the new custodian of the club. Now, of course, it's easy to joke that few managers can ever have appreciated the extra patience and job protection that must come with having his Dad as his boss, but together the Weavers have delivered more good times than bad and they have steadily improved their standing over time.
The 2012/13 season resulted in a sixth place finish, one agonising spot short of the play-offs, followed by ninth and a slump back down to fifteenth over the next two years. Come the end of the 2015/15 campaign and Harrogate secured fourth and a prized play-off spot, driven by the twenty-two goals in forty appearances of Brendon Daniels, in what ended up being his only season as a 'Sulphurite'. However, the journey soon ended in the semi-finals, as they went out 2-1 on aggregate to AFC Fylde.
There was to be no progress over the next twelve months, as an up and down season confined Harrogate and Weaver to mid-table and eleventh spot. But then, the 2017/18 season would see that all change as the club emphatically bounced back from disappointment. The team practically pushed Salford City (and the 'Class of '92') all the way in the title chase, but had to accept being second. However, unfortunately only the champions get automatic promotion at this level, and so the play-offs loomed once more.
In what was now a straight knock-out format, Harrogate would go on to defeat Choreley, 2-1, in the semi-finals, before enjoying the most glorious of days at their own ground. Wetherby Road witnessed them cruise to a 3-0 win over Brackley Town and a move on up to the National League.
Over the next two years, despite playing at the highest level they'd known up to that point, Harrogate were completely unfazed. In their first season in the division they came sixth and faced more play-offs, only to be thwarted once again by AFC Clyde, this time 3-1 in the quarter-finals. And then in 2019-20, the infamous covid-hit season, the club snatched their greatest achievement by navigating promotion to the football league after one hundred and six years.
The path to League Two was uncertain though, as only thirty-seven of the regular forty-three league games could be completed before lock-downs, which eventually led to the non-league clubs voting to end their leagues early. It then took another couple of months for a further vote to determine that the final league places would be decided on a points-per-game basis, a move that saw the club maintain their runners-up position. All of which meant that Harrogate were embarking on a fourth play-off campaign in their past five seasons!
In the semi-final they squeezed past Boreham Wood 1-0, before easing past Notts County, 3-1, in the play-off final. The only black mark for the club was that the semis and their grand day-out at Wembley were instead rather strange and echoey affairs, with no fans allowed in to witness the history in the making. This unprecedented mix of joy tinged with disappointment, had already occurred in the FA Trophy competition that year when Harrogate won their first final, 1-0 versus Concord Rangers, but had to raise the trophy to an empty Wembley Stadium.
Harrogate Town Finances
Fast forward to the present day, and Simon Weaver remains the leader of the Sulphurites pack, currently amidst their fifth consecutive League Two campaign since promotion. Naturally, this step up the football pyramid has not been as seamless as the last one, and the club have done well to solidify themselves within the division, having finished seventeenth, nineteenth and nineteenth. Which takes us up to last season, when a new level was reached in finishing about mid-table, the thirteenth best team out of twenty-four. When looking back over almost ten years, there's little doubt that Simon Weaver has a secure job because he has earned that right.
Just over a third of the way through this season, and Harrogate sit in a familiar seventeenth place where they look to be capable of avoiding relegation but unable to put in the financial muscle to mount a push for another crack at the play-offs. Reporting suggests that the club is twentieth out of twenty-four in the market value stakes, and that last season they were just below mid-table in the wages department. That being said, the financial position of the club is reliant on Weaver senior continuing to put his money in and not one day calling in his debts.
Despite the modest investment, Harrogate are said to be anywhere between £1 - 2.5M in debt, which naturally causes anxiety amongst some of the fans. It's a difficult balance, but when the club is statistically enjoying its best years and has a stable squad and dugout, it's equally easy to see why it's not as big an issue as at some other clubs. It's a cliche but true, that results are what ultimately drives the mood at a football team.
Harrogate Town in 2024-25
With excellent timing, Harrogate are gaining pleasure from a historic run in this season's FA Cup, starting when they knocked out the high-flying Wrexham FC in the 1st round. A result that has since been backed up by the defeat of sixth tier Gainsborough Trinity FC in the 2nd round. With Harrogate now competing in the FA Cup 3rd round for just the second time in their history, their reward is an away draw to Leeds Utd in mid January. Remarkably, wins in their last two League Two fixtures leaves the club just five points off of the play-offs. Even if, truth be told, there are another nine teams standing between them and that, it at least shows that the division has been quite compact so far this season.
As things stand, Simon Weaver looks unlikely to be leaving his post anytime soon. although it would be too presumptuous to consider the likelihood of the manager reaching 1000 games in charge. What is certain is that, whilst Pep Guardiola will be around English football for at least another two years (and doesn't have to worry about being 'sacked in the morning'), being the longest-serving manager is one accolade that will stay out of his grasp.