Cod Almighty | Diary

Crying Over Spilt Harry

3 June 2024

Miss Guest Diary writes: I was planning to come here today and waffle on about season ticket sales, bollards in Iceland and the lack of other news, but yesterday Harry Clifton announced he is leaving the club. Now all I can think of is Harry and how much I'm going to miss seeing him play next season.

In the three seasons since we have been allowed back into stadiums after the Covid hiatus, Harry has featured prominently in the Town team. In the 21/22 season he started 42 of the 50 games and played every minute of the 120 in all three play-off victories. Leaving aside the boycott cup, Town played 55 games in the 22/23 season and Harry started in 48 of them. Again boycotting the boycott cup, Town played 50 games in the season just gone and, despite not playing so well, Harry was in the starting line-up for 38 of them.

In percentage terms, Harry has started 82% of Town games in the last three seasons, and even his detractors will admit that he gives 100% in every performance. It's no wonder that he has come to embody Town in my mind, and I suspect in many other people's too; Blundell Park simply won't be the same without him. I knew the day would come when he'd no longer be around but hearing the news yesterday came as real shock and I couldn't help shedding a tear. I had hoped that he would emulate John McDermott and be a one-club player, that we would have the opportunity to celebrate his Town career in a testimonial, but alas it isn't to be.

Maybe the clue in why Harry has decided to go lies in the fact that for much of last season he did not have a consistent position and started only two of the last seven games. He strikes me as the sort of player who would not be content starting too many games on the bench. If he can establish himself and be a regular in the Doncaster team, then good for him.

For those I have seen on social media suggesting that his departure is "no loss", may I remind them that he was player of the season in 2023 and also top goal scorer, and without his goals against Luton our glorious FA Cup run would probably have ended in the fourth round. And don't forget who won the free kick in the 95th minute of the Notts County play-off game which led to Holohan’s equaliser. Other favourite moments for me are the 87th minute winner away at Woking, his winning brace away at Walsall, and the goal last season in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage time at Notts County to put Town in the lead. It seemed to promise so much in a season which ended up in delivering so little.

I even managed my own little Harry Clifton moment when I was on the pitch last November with some of the CA team collecting Toby Mullarkey's sponsored shirt. Someone told Harry it was my birthday and he was my favourite player – so I got a handshake and a Happy Birthday. Goodbye Harry, and thank you for many happy Town memories.