Dan Thirkell has returned ‘home’ to Harrogate Railway who have made a major coup.
Versatile Thirkell played for Railway man and boy and captained the first team until leaving four years ago to join Tadcaster Albion.
After a spell at Tad, he then joined Knaresborough Town where he has been a star player in the heart of midfield and one of the best in the Division.
It is an outstanding signing by Mick O’Connell who appears to be turning the ship in the right direction after five years of hard times at Station View.
By persuading Thirkell to drop down a Division where he was at the top of his game just shows that Railway are on the up.
His first game back is the reunion with Lee Ashforth’s Campion. Ex-Railway boss Ashforth was the man who made Thirkell captain of the club.
Thirkell came through the junior section – apart from a brief stint at Scarborough – and he was a key member of Billy Miller’s record league finish team in the NPL in 2015. Prior to his departure he made nearly 400 appearances in a Railway shirt.
His return is almost like a BatSignal and it would be no surprise if other star throwbacks from the past find their way back to Station View in the coming months/year to help bring the good times back.
