Harborough Town A, Saturday 23.11.2024

[Steve T]

The current club has its roots in a merger of Harborough Town Juniors, a youth team that started out in the 1970s, and adult team Spencer United (!), initially of the Leicester & District Mutual League but members of the Northamptonshire Combination in 2007 when the clubs merged to become Harborough Town.

The new club won the NC in 2010, was promoted to the UCL Div 1 and then to the Premier Division of that two years later. It won the new Premier Division South in 2022 and was promoted to the NPL Div 1 (Midland section). From there Harborough were promoted to Step 3 this year, winning via the play-offs, a late 6-point deduction having cost them the title.

Their FA Cup run this season:

1Q  Darlaston (level 8)  H 0-0    241   A 3-2  288
2Q  Stourbridge          H 4-2    381
3Q  Leamington (6)       H 1-0    614
4Q  Bury (9)             H 1-0  1,600
1   Tonbridge (6)        A 4-1  3,132
2   Reading (3)          A

Let's hope they're distracted by next weekend's jaunt. Their league form is modest. Since winning at Tonbridge, they've drawn with Royston and lost to improving Bishop's Stortford and Hitchin.

Market Harborough Town

Shadders' archive feature on Harborough includes a reference to the club that Banbury Spencer met in their first season in the Birmingham Combination, 1935-36. Market Harborough Town played in the competition from 1927 to 1933, winning the title in 1930, had a year out in the Northants League, returned and folded in their second season back in the competition.

The only information I have on the club is that it started out in 1897, playing in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire county football before joining the BC.

www.banburyunitedfc.co.uk/news/from-the-archives-2886616.html

[Sparky]

Going well at the moment, 2-0 down and down to ten men, this season is beginning to turn into a joke.

[liamr]

Lost 4-1 the club is turning into A farce - the absent chairman hasn’t got a clue so they won’t sack him.

[Sparky]

Time for the board to stand up and be counted as this season is falling apart, Mr Charman you come onto this forum so please take notice of the feelings of the fans and sort things out. I personally have never been critical of the manager but this tenure is not working.

[petet]

Time for Simon to step away. It's just not working out.
Every week we park the bus, and to be sure we leave the handbrake on. We need passion, fight, press, two men up top shooting on sight, belief, battling to win the ball back when we lose it, closing down, just a team that's allowed to express themselves.
I appreciate that the manager got this promising group of players together, but he is holding them back. The youngsters must be allowed to express themselves.
Action is needed from the Chairman. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. I'm sure Simon is a nice fella, but it's all falling apart. The league this season isn't that strong, the play offs are very possible, but we need a change now.
Right players, wrong manager.

[liamr]

It’s very easy to lay all the blame at the managers feet but I have to say the players let themselves down massively yesterday, defensively shambolic.

As for the club as a whole and the feedback from various people from the meeting, it isn’t looking too clever. Sounds to me like an SOS call to Steve Barlow and mark allit is needed for the rest of the season.