Meet the longest-serving manager whose boss is his dad

Tuesday, 13 February 2024.

Harrogate Town are connected the receiving extremity of a humiliating 9-2 decision astatine Mansfield Town and long-serving manager Simon Weaver knows helium is facing pugnacious questions from fans, section media and... his dad.

Irving Weaver, 75, is proprietor and president of the North Yorkshire nine who vowed erstwhile helium took implicit successful 2011 to "put Harrogate further up the shot pyramid".

Together with erstwhile Sheffield Wednesday defender Simon, they are the father-and-son squad that has lifted Harrogate from the National League North to League Two.

Simon, 46, had already been manager of Harrogate for 2 years erstwhile his dada took over, with the squad drifting successful the sixth tier of English shot and surviving connected crowds of astir 200.

Fast guardant 13 years and nary longer does the squad manager interruption down (more astir that later), portion the autobus structure that erstwhile seated fans has gone and play summons income person accrued from conscionable 7 successful 2011 to 700-plus this season.

It is simply a unsocial set-up with the manager answering to his dad, but determination person been 2 promotions and a Wembley FA Trophy triumph successful the past six years.

Harrogate - who person 1 of the smallest budgets successful the EFL - are successful their 5th play successful League Two.

There person been bumps on the way, not slightest that crushing midweek decision astatine Field Mill successful February.

"I've ne'er mislaid similar that successful my life," says Simon, who is the existent longest-serving manager successful England's apical 4 divisions, though 11 of his 15 years successful complaint were extracurricular the Football League.

"You consciousness wounded aft a effect similar that. You attraction that overmuch due to the fact that it's your dada [who is owner], you don't privation to fto him down."

Simon volition beryllium looking to present his dada a fiscal boost erstwhile Harrogate big non-league Gainsborough Trinity successful the FA Cup connected Friday (19:45 GMT) - a lucifer you tin ticker unrecorded connected BBC Two.

Victory volition unafraid them a spot successful the 3rd circular for lone the 2nd clip successful their 105-year past - and a imaginable money-spinning necktie against a Premier League club.

When Simon took complaint of Harrogate connected 21 May 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo had conscionable helped Manchester United triumph different Premier League title, Pep Guardiola had conscionable completed his archetypal play successful complaint of Barcelona, portion Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth were each Premier League clubs.

"We mislaid 3-0 distant to Corby Town," helium recalls of his opening league crippled successful charge. "I had a playing fund of £1,600. I had to number connected a fewer friends and immoderate played for escaped arsenic a favour."

Watford person made much than 20 managerial changes since Simon was recruited by Harrogate aft answering an advert placed successful the Non-League Paper.

Friday's cupful necktie volition beryllium his 766th crippled successful complaint of the club.

"I got a barroom for my 700th game," helium says. "I near it astatine the crushed and we didn't person different location crippled for a fortnight. It had gone disconnected by the clip I got back."

Guardiola, who took implicit Manchester City successful 2016, is the longest-serving existent manager successful the Premier League but trails Harrogate's brag by immoderate region successful the apical 4 divisions.

What does it mean to beryllium the existent longest-serving manager successful English shot up of the likes of Guardiola (eight years and 5 months), Brentford's Thomas Frank (six years and 1 month) and Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, who is approaching his 5th twelvemonth day successful complaint of Arsenal?

"I'm arrogant of it," says erstwhile Lincoln City defender Simon. "Sometimes I deliberation 'gosh, however has helium been successful and retired successful specified a abbreviated abstraction of time' erstwhile I perceive astir a manger losing their job."

He is alert of insults from absorption fans - and a fewer location supporters erstwhile signifier has dipped - astir his longevity being down to his dada being the owner.

"It's an casual jibe, isn't it?" Irving tells BBC Sport.

"It's unfortunate but it doesn't interaction Simon. Look what's happened [two promotions successful 2017-18 and 2019-20 and the FA Trophy occurrence successful 2019-20].

Multi-millionaire Irving made his wealth arsenic a spot magnate and is not acrophobic to marque pugnacious concern decisions erstwhile needed.

So, has helium ever travel adjacent to sacking his son?

"We've ne'er had to spell that far," helium says. "We were some shocked that nighttime [the 9-2 decision astatine Mansfield] but it was retired of discourse due to the fact that we had won 7 of our erstwhile 10 league games.

"We were quiescent for a mates of days afterwards. Simon past named the aforesaid XI 4 days aboriginal astatine Crewe and got a 0-0 draw.

"He has ever managed to find a mode to crook it around."

Manager-owner relationships tin beryllium fractious but the Weavers, including Simon's mum Dorothy, who bakes cakes for the players to devour connected the travel backmost from distant games, are a adjacent household who person ever managed to enactment done problems together.

"Arguments are a discarded of time," says Irving.

"There's a interest erstwhile we're connected a losing run. We've conscionable been down to 20th successful the table. There's a superior treatment astir wherever the problems lie.

"But it's a treatment - not an argument."

The brace effort to acceptable successful a crippled of padel each week to flight the accent of owning and managing a League Two nine with a full-time unit of 50 oregon truthful people, including a psychologist.

However, insignificant disagreements person flared implicit playing budgets and contracts.

"Dad knows however passionate I am," adds Simon, whose squad knocked retired League One Wrexham successful the FA Cup archetypal round.

"But I cognize consecutive aft a crippled is not the close clip for maine to accidental to him: 'If I had a 6ft 2in centre-forward that could triumph each archetypal ball, we'd beryllium higher up the table.'

"I retrieve a fewer years backmost I'd conscionable had an cognition and I had 1 of my children with maine successful the backmost of the car portion dada was driving.

"He said 'you've overspent by specified and specified amount', and I said thing similar 'just springiness maine a break! I've conscionable had an cognition and I've got 1 of my children with me'.

"I've got truthful overmuch respect for dad. When I was a player, whether I was 11 years aged oregon 29 years old, helium would ever promote maine aft games and accidental 'keep astatine it' oregon 'well done'.

"Working with dad, the highs are astonishing erstwhile you've won. Earlier this period we bushed Chesterfield successful the past infinitesimal and afterwards he's got a brew successful his hand. It means truthful overmuch and sometimes I'm rather teary-eyed.

"Equally erstwhile we mislaid the week earlier successful the past infinitesimal to Morecambe, I felt for him."

Simon, who has 2 years near connected his existent contract, is six months distant from celebrating his 16th day astatine Harrogate.

Is determination a information staying astatine 1 nine for truthful agelong could hamper his chances of landing a occupation elsewhere?

"I bash deliberation that sometimes," helium says. "When you've had moments similar winning trophies astatine Wembley, you privation them again.

"Ideally I privation to negociate Harrogate Town to the adjacent level and accidental I've done it again."

Whatever the aboriginal holds, Harrogate look to beryllium heading successful the close absorption nether the Weavers - connected and disconnected the pitch.

After the nine won promotion to the EFL successful 2020 aft beating Notts County successful the National League play-off last astatine Wembley, 1 of the archetypal things Irving did was find a reliable manager institution to transport the squad to distant games.

"It was 2 hours getting a replacement," helium says of the clip the manager taking the squad to Wembley failed to commencement extracurricular Harrogate's crushed connected Wetherby Road.

"On the mode backmost from Wembley the manager carrying the directors and families wouldn't restart aft a halt astatine a work station.

"We had to get the players' coach, which was up of us, to crook backmost truthful we could get a fewer radical connected that.

"A minibus took the remainder backmost to Harrogate."