IN ANSWER to the recent criticism aimed at Harrogate Town FC and in particular Chairman Bill Fotherby – John Ward asks for Bill Fotherby to step down from his ivory towers because he as had his day.

Well John there is an old adage, it is better to be a “has been,” than a “never has been”. John asks why we don’t use local talent, Neil Aspin has always said if he could get a squad of local talent good enough to sustain this level and take us further, he would love to play them.

What we are is a stepping stone for local talent and we will give them the opportunity to be seen, so that they can move forward to their dream of playing professional football.

If John wants to watch local talent, there are some very good local sides full of local talent run by enthusiastic people who give up many hours of unpaid time to give these youngsters the opportunity to move up to sides like Town and Railway in the game they love.

What Bill Fotherby and his fellow directors have done is invest many hundreds of thousands of pounds of their personal money and taken Harrogate Town by the scruff of the neck and taken them to the level we are at now and I might add the same men will take us further.

The problem as I see it is simple, when Bill arrived the crowd was around 100, many of them non payers, because they had been with the club years.

These people don’t see Bill as someone who as made the Club successful and more professional and taken the crowds to 5/600, they see Bill as someone who as stolen their Club. John fits well into this category, but thankfully they are now few and far between.

Mr Northfield has taken over Harrogate Railway, here we have another passionate man who intends to take Railway by the scruff of the neck and make them successful.

We wish him all the best and every success, and just like Bill Fotherby, Mr Northfield’s passion and business acumen will get him what he desires, but just a word of caution Mr Northfield, in six years time when you have taken Railway to higher levels and better fortunes, you will be sniped at in the press by people like John, not because you have made Railway successful, but because you have stolen their club.

Football is all about opinions but what as been written of late is not opinions, it is a personal onslaught of a chairman who has made Harrogate Town successful. Yes, this is a personal criticism of John but I have to assume that with the venom and disgusting attack he made on our chairman as well as give it, I assume can take it.

Our door is always open for people to come and talk and offer ideas, and some even offer help. Thankfully for every one like John, there are hundreds who appreciate what people like Bill Fotherby and Rob Northfield are trying to do for the their respective clubs and the town of Harrogate.