IN a week that has seen England superstar Wayne Rooney thrash out every penny of his multi-million pound move to corporate giants Manchester United, it was refreshing to learn that Gerry Harrison is prepared to play for York City for nothing.

Harrison was hoping to make his City debut at Dagenham & Redbridge this afternoon, having agreed non-contract terms and his addition to the Minstermen squad could be a welcome one.

Only OJ Simpson can have faced a longer trial than Harrison has undertaken over the last six weeks at Bootham Crescent but his patience has finally been rewarded (professionally if not financially) and he will now be looking to resurrect a once promising career.

Harrison was plying his trade at a Premiership club when Rooney was a wide-eyed 13-year-old probably wondering where his next meal was coming from!

Four years as a fans' favourite at Burnley had earned the utility man a dream move to Sunderland in 1999 after Peter Reid swooped to snap him up on a free transfer.

But his lucrative brush with top-flight stardom only lasted two years and he made just one League Cup appearance for the Stadium of Light side.

During that spell, he was loaned to Luton Town where, as a local reporter, I was impressed with his performances and attitude.

In just 15 games he played with equal ability in a variety of positions including full-back, midfield and centre-back.

He even donned the goalkeeping gloves in an emergency for one game at Kenilworth Road and proved his all-round versatility by pulling off several good saves, which could also come in handy in the light of City's recent problems between the sticks!

The well-travelled Harrison, whose previous clubs include Watford, Bristol City, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Hereford, Hull and Halifax as well as Burnley, Luton and Sunderland, also has extensive experience of Nationwide Conference football - a rarity in City's current squad - having made 79 appearances for Leigh RMI over the last two-and-a-half years.

At 32, he will be lucky to earn the annual interest from Rooney's wage during the remainder of his career but let's hope he can prove he is worth a few of City's precious pennies in the coming weeks.

LAST Saturday's 4-0 thumping at Gravesend and Northfleet was not made any less painful by the fact that a former Minsterman helped mastermind the home team's success.

Former City goalkeeper Ron Hillyard is now a coach at Stonebridge Road.

Hillyard played 74 League and cup matches for City between 1969 and 1972 and made his debut at the age of 17 because of poor displays from Mick Gadsby and Bob Widdowson.

He eventually lost his place to Graham Crawford and left for Gillingham, where he racked up a club record of 563 League appearances and began his coaching career.

DAVID Merris will be the Harrogate Minstermen's latest guest at the Knaresborough Working Men's Club on Tuesday.

The evening will begin at 8pm with left-back Merris available to answer fans' questions.

Home and away travel booking will be taken on the night and the Open the Box competition has an estimated prize fund of £100.

Other prizes include a Harrogate Town shirt, donated by Merris, money, wine, beer, as well as free travel and tickets.

The raffle for a signed Charlton Athletic shirt, donated by Irish international Matt Holland, will also begin with tickets costing £1 each.

Harrogate Minstermen players, who won the Keltec Sportswear Trophy by beating Downhill Wolves, will be presented with their medals on the night.

Updated: 10:40 Saturday, September 04, 2004