Harrogate Town AFC

We are delighted to introduce our new Head of PDC… Phil Priestley.

Most of you will know Phil as the First Team Goalkeeper Coach and U19s Youth Alliance Manager, but this season Phil will also be taking on a new role as Head of PDC, taking over from the great work that Ben Parker has done over the last couple of years.

Priestley's playing career took him to some far flung places, making several league appearances at Rochdale, as well as in the Conference at Scarborough and Chester.

Phil also enjoyed a spell in the league of Wales with Bangor City, where he qualified for the UEFA Cup losing by a single goal in Yugoslavia, and the Intertoto Cup, where he and his teammates travelled to Romania.

The highlight of his career though, according to the man himself, has to be an appearance on an old sports quiz show ‘They think it's all over' when at Rochdale celebrating a goal during David Beckham's phase of allegedly wearing his wife's clothing. Phil and his teammates appeared on the ‘feel the sportsman' game, leading to an unexpected contact with comedian Rory Bremner!

Phil has now accumulated many years coaching experience within the club, playing a key part in Town's rise to their highest ever level in the football pyramid.

The move represents another step forward for our Player Development Centre which has grown at an outstanding rate since it's creation in Summer 2016.

For more information about our Player Development Centre, which begins on Tuesday 3^rd September, click here…

Player Development Centre