by The managers of Accrington Stanley and Harrogate Town don’t seem to have much in common. Accrington’s John Coleman is approaching retirement age, a Scouser who said simply after an FA Cup game four years ago that he was falling out of love with football because of bad refereeing decisions.
Simon Weaver, his other number at Harrogate, celebrated his 46th birthday last week and is stylistically closer to the current managerial routine, restless but self-effacing, like Eddie Howe’s League Two.
But Coleman and Weaver stand apart for the same reason. They are number two and one respectively on the list of longest serving managers in the top four leagues. Ahead of their team meeting at Harrogate on Boxing Day we spend 45 minutes together via video and other similarities emerge.
Between them they have managed over 1,500 games for their clubs, Coleman in two long stretches. He notes that this is almost the second time he has topped the longest serving list, taking him to number three in his first spell at Accrington which began in 1999. Back then he was stuck behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger and leaving for Rochdale. in 2012 put it back in 92nd place. He returned to Accrington two years later and Weaver, who was appointed at Harrogate in 2009, is now the only manager with a longer tenure.
Both have competition from numbers three and four on the list: Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. “I’m a massive Liverpool fan,” says Coleman. “It would never happen, but you know those programs where people change jobs for a week? I would love to see Jurgen and Pep exchange with me and Simon.
“We’ll do their work and see how they get on with our work, it would be an eye opener. I know that the pressure is much greater on Liverpool and Man City compared to our two clubs, but there are a lot of little things that we have to do that we don’t, because they have someone else to do it. There are problems that are brought to our door that would never be solved.”
Coleman and Weaver have similar war stories of punching above your weight in the fourth round. Coleman tells of long nights scouting potential signings that he spent reviewing opponents via video at home, ready for training the next morning. Harrogate have had trouble getting planning permission for a road sign indicating the location of their stadium.
Getting fans through the turnstiles is a significant challenge, with Forest Green only having a lower average attendance. “We had a great response recently when we played in Wrexham,” says Weaver. “Everyone was looking forward to seeing me, or should I say Ryan Reynolds. It felt like half of Harrogate turned up, but it didn’t make half the difference.”
He is happy to be at the top of the long list of service but says he has a deeper sense of pride when he notices more of his team’s shirts in his area. “We went to train at a school in Harrogate a few years ago and people were saying ‘who is that?’ They thought we were a Sunday League team. I said ‘We’re Harrogate Town, we play just down the road.’ Now you see the kids in the big field in Harrogate proud to wear the shirts of the local team.”
Accrington is so dominated by Burnley and Blackburn fans that chairman Andy Holt donates hundreds of shirts to local children in year three of primary school every year. “If you get the odd superstar in your team you have to sell them,” says Coleman. “That’s the model you have to have. I say to our boys, I want you to earn 10 or 15 thousand pounds a week… Not us. But we’ll give you a chance.”
‘Players are taking more care of their bodies – mainly for Instagram’
Both have noticed changes in the current generation of players. “They’re more fit and take more care of their bodies, mostly because they want to post Instagram videos of themselves looking good with six packs,” says Coleman. “Gone are the days when you’d have to lose them a few stone when they came back for pre-season training.”
Weaver feels that comprehensive Category One academies linked to the biggest clubs leave too many players unsuitable for a career in the lower leagues. “Athletically and technically they are through the roof. But there are many who release that it is not right for their mental development, it is a big culture shock and they need to be rewired often. The vast majority of players leave academies and there’s a lot to do with them.”
‘It is important to find time to stamp your culture on the club’
Both are grateful for the time they had to shape their clubs and how unusual their positions are in an era when struggling teams often change managers twice a season. “I liken it to sourdough,” says Coleman, generously applying his likeness to the bougie residents of Harrogate. “You have the yeast and you keep adding to it and making it better. I think it’s important to find time to stamp your culture on the club.
“It takes time to develop, it can only happen over several years. And when you’ve got it you start to feel that if you move you have to start again and it will take even more time, but you don’t find time. I’ve had some pints of milk longer than some managers have had jobs.”
A relationship of mutual respect between manager and owner is essential, aided by Harrogate since Weaver’s father, Irving, was the owner. It should be noted that he bought the club two years into his son’s reign as manager. For junior Weaver’s birthday recently he invited Irving for a family walk “Within the first 100 yards we were talking about football. I said as we went a little further, ‘can we meet after work on Friday?’, because times like this when we are all together are precious. After that it went back to being my Dad and my children’s grandchildren.”
It seems unlikely that a father will outshine his son, but managing Harrogate remains a huge challenge. What keeps him motivated? “We had a good win against Notts County at the weekend. The lads went out for their Christmas do, I went to a pantomime. I sent a photo of Jack and the Beanstalk to one of the players who has been here for 10 years saying ‘I hope you have a good time.’
“But I could be anywhere and be excited, because we would win. You get your buzz.” Like all managers, both are chasing those. Unlike most, Coleman and Weaver have a higher purpose, as well as a dedication to their community and a missionary spirit.
After Tuesday’s game Weaver will have a drink with Coleman. He has no office at his stadium on Wetherby Road to host a Fergie-esque glass of Tignanello, but the drink selection is more open-ended, “He can have whatever he wants in our bar, maybe it’s a Coke or a beer , we are’. I have it all.”
Crucially, and predictably given their longevity, their primary motivation is simply love for the job. “I wasn’t involved in professional football as a player, I just played a non-league game,” says Coleman. “So the thrill never goes away for me. The novel will never take off.”
