The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thomas Parker and Harrogate Town agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Barrow AFC? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
A mark of 7.90 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The words a physio says slowly. 37 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
0‑3 against Lincoln City, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
8 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Harrogate Town is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 66 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces11 Sep 2028
The mood at Harrogate Town has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Neguete will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Harrogate Town the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Clae Ewing was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 36 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
The words a physio says slowly. 98 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces14 Aug 2028
The mood at Harrogate Town has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The offer from Bromley for Aiden Marsh was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
122 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Harrogate Town they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Cathal Heffernan is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadIljas Muminov has improved at 26, which nobody expected
138 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Harrogate Town would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
166 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Cathal Heffernan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
11 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clae Ewing is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 75 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Elyh Harrison was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Harrogate Town know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The words a physio says slowly. 105 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
113 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Harrogate Town lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kacey Wooster did not need any: 7.72, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Elyh Harrison.
The words a physio says slowly. 135 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Elyh Harrison was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clae Ewing is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The mood at Harrogate Town has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Harrogate Town, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Elyh Harrison was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francis Church and Harrogate Town agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Harrogate Town know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Harrogate Town they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Elyh Harrison was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clae Ewing is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Harrogate Town can tell you which week it ends in.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
0‑3 to Exeter City, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cathal Heffernan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 5.78. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
14 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Harrogate Town is running low.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matty James and Harrogate Town agree another 1 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
In brief
SquadWords at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 11 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Harrogate Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Harrogate Town they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 8 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mark Oxley will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Harrogate Town the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clae Ewing is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 19, and nobody at Harrogate Town signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Clae Ewing falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” John Marquis and Harrogate Town agree another 1 years.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Harrogate Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Harrogate Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Clae Ewing is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Tranmere Rovers? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Harrogate Town have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Harrogate Town can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Errol Mundle-Smith is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Neguete was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Kacey Wooster has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kacey Wooster. 1‑0 against Accrington Stanley, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.