Ellis Farrar says he is “loving” life at Emley AFC after making the move from Cleethorpes Town, with the 22 year old determined to help the club maintain their strong position in the table and push for promotion.

Farrar has quickly settled into the squad since arriving at the Fantastic Media Welfare Ground in October, becoming a regular at the back and showing his versatility by featuring at both centre back and left back. On joining the club he said: “I’ve loved it, all the staff get along with all the players. The fans are good, I’m really enjoying it.”

Farrar’s football story is one that has taken a few twists and turns, after starting out as a goalkeeper at academy level before switching to outfield and working his way up through non-league and scholarship football: “I started out at aged eight, played for my local team and then got scouted by Bradford City as a goalkeeper, I played as a keeper for two years in the academy and then wanted to play outfield.”

From there, Farrar continued his development with spells at Whiterose and Guiseley, before beginning his scholarship journey: “I went back to Whiterose, played there for a bit and then went to Guiseley, before going to Halifax for my first year of my scholarship and then did my second year of my scholarship at Guiseley,” he said.

That pathway eventually led him to Stockport County, where he took a major step forward into the professional game: “I went to Stockport, I started as a under 19 there and then got given a pro contract and got sent on loan to Ireland.”

The move gave him valuable experience, before returning to Stockport to make his first team breakthrough: “I played in Ireland for a year, and then went back to Stockport, got my debut against Salford and then got injured,” he added.

Following his return from injury and a change in circumstances, Farrar moved back into non-league football, gaining further experience before landing at Emley: “The year after I didn’t get a deal at Stockport, I went to Ossett and played a year before I signed at Cleethorpe at the start of 2025, before moving to Emley.”

Despite having a professional debut and an overseas loan already under his belt, Farrar says his route into the game was not the traditional one: “I haven’t really been in an academy as an outfield player up to when I first went to Stockport. So it’s sort of doing it the other way where people try to get into academies as soon as possible. I just sort of played as long as I could with my mate, tried to develop as much as possible and then once it came up, sort of took the opportunity.”

Farrar revealed that his relationship with manager Richard Tracey played a big part in his decision to join the club, after the pair had stayed in contact from previous seasons: “I knew Richard because we’d always sort of been in touch. I wasn’t getting the game time I wanted at Cleethorpes, so I decided to make the jump here.”

The original plan was a short term switch to gain minutes: “Initially I was going to come in for a month’s loan just to get game time, but then I thought I'd sign more permanently”.

Farrar also admitted he had a good understanding of Emley before signing, thanks to existing connections within the squad and staff: “I knew Dec Lambton from when I was at Guiseley. Ben Walker was my Guiseley coach from my second year, so I knew them through that and then just from sort of playing against them.”

Enjoying the challenge and embracing his role
known for his ability on the ball, Farrar says he enjoys playing progressive football, but can also handle the physical side of the non league game.

“I like to get the ball down, and to play, but I can mix it as well and fine to challenge people in the air,” he said. “So I can do a bit of everything. If it’s up in the air, I can deal with it. If it’s on the floor, even better.”

And when asked about moving the ball forward quickly, Farrar’s answer was simple: “I always enjoy trying to get the ball forward as fast as possible” he said.

Although naturally a centre back, Farrar has also been trusted in a different role at times this season, proving his adaptability: “I’ve played left back mainly. I’m a centre back but the manager asked me to play left back for a few games,” Farrar said. “I can play quite well, in a back four or back three so I think that stands me in quite good stead.”

Playing alongside experienced defenders has also helped Farrar settle quickly and develop further: “There’s Ross and Jack that I can learn from, especially about non league. Especially Ross, you always feel better playing next to him because he’s more experienced.”

With Emley firmly in the mix near the top end of the table, Farrar believes the squad have every right to be pleased with their current position, while also recognising there is still more to come: “As a team I think we’re in a good position. Obviously there’s some games that we are likely to pick up more points, but then there’s some games that you look back on and think, oh, we did well to get a point or three points out of certain games.”

He has similar feelings about his own form since arriving at the club: “Personally I’m happy with how I’ve been playing, but I think there are a few more gears definitely to go on to.”

Farrar says he would like to show more of his technical quality in possession as the season develops: “I'd like to show even more of my quality on the ball. I think in a few games we’ve had to try and go a bit more direct.”

And when it comes to the team’s ultimate ambition, Farrar made no secret of what Emley is aiming for between now and the end of the campaign: “I think the goal for us is to go up, obviously it’s looking more likely through the play offs, but we’re always going to try and push the first place slot.”

Farrar also paid tribute to Emley’s backing, highlighting just how much the growing support means to the squad on matchdays: “The support has been brilliant. Especially against Ossett on New Year’s Day. I thought it was brilliant. I think there were over 900 there. We can’t really thank the fans enough for cheering us on.”

He believes the atmosphere at games can have a direct impact on performance and confidence levels, particularly for players wanting to express themselves: “If you do something good and you get a good reaction from it, it makes you want to try different things and it just sort of lifts you and boosts your confidence. Even if it’s not me that’s done something good, if it’s somebody else then it makes you want to up your game so you get that reaction. So the support is massive.”

With Farrar now fully settled and hungry to improve further, Emley will hope his calmness in possession and defensive reliability can continue to play a key role as the club targets a memorable end to the season.