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Hereford F.C.
 | |||
| Full name | Hereford Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bulls The Whites | ||
| Founded | 22 December 2014 (2014-12-22) | ||
| Ground | Edgar Street, Hereford | ||
| Capacity | 4,913 | ||
| Chairman | Ken Kinnersley | ||
| Head of Football | Tim Harris | ||
| League | National League North | ||
| 2017–18 | Southern League Premier Division, 1st of 24 (promoted) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
| |||
Current seasonHereford Football Club (/ˈhɛrɪfərd/ (
listen)) is an English association football club from the city of Hereford. They were founded in 2014 as a phoenix club for Hereford United, and inherited their Edgar Street stadium. They are nicknamed 'The Whites' after their predominantly white kit, or 'The Bulls' after the Hereford cattle breed, and their motto is 'Our greatest glory lies not in never having fallen, but in rising when we fall'. The club is affiliated to the Herefordshire County Football Association.
The club currently plays in the National League North, the sixth tier of the English football league system.
They entered the football pyramid before the 2015–16 season, and won the Midland Football League Premier Division followed by the Southern League South & West and the Southern League Premier.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Foundation
1.2 2015–16 season
1.3 2016–17 season
1.4 2017–18 season
1.5 2018–19 season
1.6 Season-by-season
2 Crest and colours
2.1 Crest
2.2 Colours
3 Support
3.1 Rivalries
4 Players and staff
4.1 Current squad
4.2 Current management and staff
5 Honours
6 Club records
7 In popular culture
8 References
9 External links
History
Foundation
Following the winding up of Hereford United on 19 December 2014, the Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) vowed to start a new phoenix club.[1] Three days later, local businessman Jon Hale, who had earlier been chairman of HUST, registered the name Hereford Football Club with the Herefordshire County Football Association, in conjunction with the trust and a group of local businessmen. A press release followed on 24 December, outlining plans to let HUST members decide on the club's kits and crest. It also addressed the issue of the ownership structure, with the Hereford United Supporters Trust being given the opportunity to become the largest single shareholder, with individuals and corporate benefactors being barred from owning more than 49% of the new club. The press release stated that HUST's stake would be 'much more' than this.[2]
The club's official website went live on 29 December.[3] Hale gave an interview with Trevor Owens on BBC Hereford and Worcester on 3 January 2015, citing Hereford United's untenable debts as the reason for the business group's reluctance to engage with the former club. The appointment of Hale as Hereford F.C. chairman was released in an FAQ on 13 January.[4] An open meeting two days later confirmed several appointments, including HUST chairman Chris Williams as vice chairman, Hugh Brooks as finance director, George Webb as commercial director and Phil Eynon as governance director (the latter three being part of the Hale-led group of local businessmen).[5]
On 20 and 21 January, HUST members voted in favour of the proposal from the Hale group, with 96.71% voting to accept the plans.[6] The Hereford F.C. bid had been the only approach submitted to HUST.[7] Two weeks later, Herefordshire Council confirmed that the club had secured a five-year lease for the city's Edgar Street stadium.[8]
The club opened applications for the position of club manager on 27 February and, following 42 applications, Peter Beadle was announced as the successful candidate by the board on 17 April 2015.[9][10] Beadle, the final caretaker manager of the predecessor club, was joined by assistant manager Matt Bishop, who had served as a national coach developer with The Football Association.[11]
2015–16 season
On 14 May 2015, the FA confirmed that Hereford would compete in the Midland Football League Premier Division (9th tier) for the club's first season.[12] As a consequence, this meant that the club were entered into the FA Vase and the Midland League Cup.
The first game, a pre-season friendly, took place away at Malvern Town on 7 July 2015, a 3–2 victory for Hereford in which the winning goal was scored by Dale Hodge, in front of a record crowd for the hosts.[13] Four days later, Hereford hosted their first match, a friendly against FC United of Manchester at Edgar Street, with Nathan Hughes scoring the only goal in a victory watched by around 4,250 spectators.[14] They won 4–1 against Dunkirk in their first league match on 8 August, in front of a crowd of 4,062; this broke the league record attendance of 1,280, and was higher than four attendances that day in Football League One.[15]
On 10 December 2015, while in first place in the league, the club announced that they had applied for promotion to the Southern Football League for the 2016–17 season.[16]
The league campaign had started with a shaky start, but they managed to put together a long winning run, which eventually came to an end after 27 wins in a row, in a 1–1 draw at home to Alvechurch on 23 January 2016,[17] and the unbeaten run of 34 games came to an end on 23 February, following a 2–0 loss at home to Highgate United.[18]
Hereford broke their attendance record again in the FA Vase semi-final first leg against Salisbury on 12 March. Hereford won 1–0 in front of a record crowd of 4,683.[19] On 25 April, Hereford clinched the league title following a 4–0 away win at Coventry Sphinx and were subsequently promoted to the Southern League South and West Division.[20] A week later, the club picked up their second trophy, the Herefordshire County Cup, following a 5–1 win over Westfields.[21]
Hereford secured their third trophy of the season, the Midland Football League Cup, on 10 May, following a 3–1 win over Walsall Wood at Solihull Moors' Damson Park.[22]
On 22 May, Hereford lost 4–1 in the FA Vase Final to Morpeth Town at Wembley Stadium.[23]
2016–17 season
On 12 May 2016, it was confirmed that Hereford would compete in the Southern League South and West, following their promotion from the Midland Football League Premier.[24] The season would see the club make their first appearance in both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy. It was announced on 24 May, that assistant manager Matt Bishop would be leaving the club,[25] and he was replaced by Steve Jenkins on 30 May.[26] The club decided to withdraw from the Southern League Cup in an attempt to focus on the league. The club went out of the FA Cup at the third qualifying round at Tonbridge Angels and exited the FA Trophy in the preliminary round at Salisbury. On 12 October, the club announced that manager Peter Beadle had signed his first contract with the club, on a rolling 12-month deal.[27] On 19 October, it was announced that Chairman Jon Hale had stepped down and was to be replaced in the interim by Chris Williams, who was replaced by Ken Kinnersley on 3 January 2017.[28]
On 4 March 2017, their away match against Didcot Town was abandoned due to crowd disturbances after a few Hereford fans went on to the pitch in celebration of the team taking the lead in the dying minutes of the game. Two men from Hereford were later arrested. After reviewing reports and video footage of the incidents, the FA decided to take no further action against either club,[29] rather highlighting how sensationalised and ill-informed some of the news reporting, at the time, had been.[30][31] Disciplinary action, however, was taken against three Hereford supporters,[32] one of the Didcot players and the Didcot team coach.[33] The Southern League also ordered the game to be replayed – which was subsequently played behind closed doors on 11 April 2017, with Hereford FC winning 2–1.
2017–18 season
Following their promotion the past season it was announced Hereford would play in the Southern Premier League. It was also announced that captain Joel Edwards had been released meaning Jimmy Oates was the new captain of Hereford FC.
Hereford notably had runs in the FA Cup and FA Trophy. In the FA Cup Hereford after beating Godalming Town, Kempston Rovers and Hornchurch, Hereford were drawn a game away to Eastleigh where goals from Mike McGrath and Garyn Preen (who later got knocked unconscious by Gavin Hoyte that game) took Hereford into the first round for the first time in their history. In the first round, a John Mills goal against Telford United put them in the second round where they were drawn against Fleetwood Town. A goal from Calvin Dinsley earned Hereford a replay which was televised on BT Sport and got an attendance of 4,235 which Hereford ended up losing. Fleetwood then went on to play Leicester City in the 3rd round. In the FA Trophy, Hereford beat Weymouth, Potters Bar Town and Oxford City to make the first round. Hereford beat National League side Dagenham & Redbridge 3–2 to set up a tie against Wealdstone. In the Wealdstone game there was a moment of controversy after Dara O'Shea seemed to bring down a player when he was through on goal which resulted in him getting sent off. Footage later on showed O'Shea should not have been given a red card so the FA reversed the decision. Hereford ended up losing that game 1–0.
In the Southern Premier League, in January, Hereford came back from 2–0 down in injury time to salvage a 2–2 draw with promotion chasing Slough Town after goals from Jimmy Oates and Keyon Reffell. Hereford's away unbeaten run in the league came to an end in January 2018 after defeat to King's Lynn. This unbeaten run stretched back to August 2015. In February 2018, Hereford fans got in trouble after multiple flares were thrown onto the pitch against Farnborough. Farnborough player Lewis Ferrell then retaliated and threw the flare back at Hereford fans, which resulted in him being shown a straight red card. On Tuesday 17th April Hereford travelled to Biggleswade Town where a 0–1 away victory saw them become league champions for a record 3rd consecutive season. They lifted the Southern Football League shield following a 4–1 win against Kettering Town F.C.. They finished the season with a 6–0 home win over Hereford Lads Club to win the Herefordshire County Cup for a third successive time.
2018–19 season
On the 13 September 2018, after three league titles and three county cup wins in a row, Peter Beadle was sacked as manager of Hereford a month into the new season with Hereford in 12th place in the National League North.[34] Assistant manager Steve Jenkins also departed, leaving Ryan Green as interim player-manager. On 19 September 2018, Tim Harris was appointed Head of Football at Hereford[35] with his son-in-law Marc Richards subsequently taking the Head Coach role at Hereford on 3 October 2018.[36].
Season-by-season
| Season | League | Level | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | Manager | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Midland League Premier Division | 9 | 42 | 35 | 3 | 4 | 138 | 33 | 105 | 108 | 1/22 | Peter Beadle | |
| 2016–17 | Southern League Division One South & West | 8 | 42 | 33 | 8 | 1 | 108 | 32 | 76 | 107 | 1/22 | Peter Beadle | |
| 2017–18 | Southern League Premier Division | 7 | 46 | 36 | 5 | 5 | 111 | 33 | 78 | 113 | 1/24 | Peter Beadle | |
| 2018–19 | National League North | 6 | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 42 | 50 | -8 | 45 | 16/22 (as of 23/03/19) | Peter Beadle/Marc Richards | |
| Source: FCHD | |||||||||||||
Crest and colours
Crest
It was announced on 1 March 2015, that 89% of the 900+ HUST members that voted, chose a badge designed by Huw Marriott and his sons Max and Louis.[37]
Colours
On 5 May 2015, it was announced that the club had signed a two-year kit deal with Italian manufacturer Macron.[38]
A vote was cast for the away colours, with a red and black striped kit being chosen by HUST members.[39]
The club's current shirt sponsors are Central Roofing and Montgomery Waters.
On 25 March 2016, Hereford announced that their deal with Macron had been extended by 2 years, with a new home kit in 2016–17 alternating seasonally with the away kit.[40]
Hereford also have a yellow and black third kit in order to avoid kit clashes.
On 11th May 2018, Hereford announced their new home shirt. Still with Macron, it was white and in the style of Wrexham.
Support
Hereford's fanzine is called Talking Bull.[41]
During Hereford's inaugural season they averaged a league attendance of 2,836, a figure higher than six Football League Two sides.[42]
Rivalries
Local rivals Shrewsbury Town and Cheltenham Town arguably remain the main rivals, as they had been during the time of Hereford United. The A49 derby with Shrewsbury is listed as nineteenth in The Daily Telegraph's twenty fiercest rivalries in English football.[43]
Players and staff
Current squad
- As of 28 March 2019
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Current management and staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
 Tim Harris | Head of Football |
| Marc Richards | Head Coach |
| Will Morford | Assistant Coach |
| Luke Prick | Performance Analyst |
| Jonny Evans | Sports Therapist |
| Stuart Whitehurst | Kitman |
| Ben Bowen | Groundsman |
| John Snape | Electrician |
Honours
Southern Football League Premier Division
Winners (1): 2017–18
Southern Football League Division One South & West
Winners (1): 2016–17
Midland Football League Premier Division
Winners (1): 2015–16
Herefordshire County Cup
Winners (3): 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
Midland Football League Cup
Winners (1): 2015–16
Club records
First competitive fixture: vs Dunkirk (8 August 2015)
First competitive win: 4–1 vs Dunkirk (8 August 2015)
Record home attendance: 4,712 vs A.F.C. Telford United (FA Cup) (4 November 2017)
Record home league attendance: 4,556 vs Kettering Town (21 April 2018)
Lowest home league attendance: 1,686 vs Dunstable Town (31 October 2017)
Most consecutive wins (all competitions): 27 games (August 2015 – January 2016)
Most games unbeaten (all competitions): 33 games (August 2015 – January 2016)
Biggest win: 15–1 vs Tenbury United (7 November 2017)
Biggest home win: 15–1 vs Tenbury United (7 November 2017)
Biggest home league win: 8–0 vs Heanor Town (23 April 2016)
Biggest away win: 6–0 vs Walsall Wood (29 September 2015)
Biggest away league win: 6–0 vs Walsall Wood (29 September 2015)
Record FA Cup performance: Second Round Proper (2017–18)
Record FA Trophy performance: Second Round Proper (2017–18)
Record FA Vase performance: Runners Up (2015–16)
In popular culture
On 21 April 2015, it was announced that Hereford would be the default team on the new edition of mobile game Football Chairman.[44]
References
^ "Hereford United cease to exist after court order". ITV News. Retrieved 16 January 2015..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Bulls News: Hale Group Plans For HUST To Be Single Largest Shareholder". Bullsnews.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ "About Us". Hereford FC. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Hereford FC. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ Paul Rogers. "Hereford FC open meeting". Hereford Times. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ Ian Morgan. "New Hereford FC chairman Jon Hale 'humbled' by 96.71% backing from Hereford United Supporters Trust". Ledbury Reporter.
^ "Hereford FC Bid Is Sole Approach To HUST". Hereford United Supporters Trust.
^ Paul Rogers. "Hereford FC granted five-year lease of Edgar Street". Hereford Times.
^ Chris Ammonds. "Applications Invited For Hereford FC Football Manager Position". Hereford FC.
^ "Bulls News: 42 Applications For Hereford FC Manager". bullsnews.blogspot.co.uk.
^ Ged Scott. "BBC Sport – Hereford FC: Peter Beadle appointed as reformed Bulls boss". BBC Sport.
^ "BBC Sport – Hereford FC: New club to play in Midland Football League". BBC Sport.
^ Bulls News Hereford FC start life with win
^ "Hereford FC wins first home match in friendly with FC United of Manchester". BBC Sport. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Hereford FC attract biggest ever Midland League crowd". BBC Sport. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Hereford confirm step four promotion application". Nonleaguedaily.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
^ "Hereford FC draw 1–1 against Alvechurch in a top-of-the-table Midland Football League Premier Division clash at Edgar Street". Hereford Times. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
^ "Hereford FC lose 2–0 to Highgate United in the Midland Football League Premier Division". Hereford Times. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
^ "Sell out for the Semi Final for Hereford FC". The Ross Gazette. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
^ Rogers, Paul (25 April 2016). "Hereford FC beat Coventry Sphinx, they are Midland Football League Premier Division champions". Hereford Times. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
^ Rogers, Paul (2 May 2016). "Hereford FC win the HFA County Challenge Cup following a comfortable 5–1 win over Westfields". Hereford Times. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
^ Rogers, Paul (10 May 2016). "Hereford FC win the Polymac Packaging Midland Football League Cup after beating Walsall Wood 3–1". Hereford Times. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
^ "Non-League Finals Day: Halifax Town and Morpeth Town cause double Wembley upset". 22 May 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "FA Confirms League For Bulls For 16/17 Season - Hereford FC - The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk.
^ "Matt Bishop Set To Leave Edgar Street - Hereford FC - The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk.
^ "Beadle Names Steve Jenkins As Bulls Assistant Manager - Hereford FC - The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk.
^ "Beadle Signs Rolling Contract - Hereford FC - The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk.
^ "New Hereford FC chairman announced". Ledbury Reporter.
^ Paul Rogers. "UPDATE: Hereford FC and Didcot Town to face no further action over abandoned game". Hereford Times.
^ "Arrests after football pitch invasion". 5 March 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Hereford FC launch investigation as Didcot game abandoned after crowd trouble". 5 March 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Bulls News: Three Fans Banned". bullsnews.blogspot.co.uk.
^ Paul Rogers. "Sam Elkins and Sam Parish suspended for improper conduct". Hereford Times.
^ "BREAKING NEWS | Hereford FC Parts Company With Peter Beadle | Hereford FC – The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
^ "Head of Football says Bulls need to be full-time 'sooner rather than later'". Hereford Times.
^ "New head coach is "special", says Hereford chief". Worcester News.
^ Chris Ammonds. "HUST Announce Hereford FC Badge Design Winner". Hereford FC. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015.
^ "Hereford FC sign two year kit deal with Macron". Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
^ "Hereford FC Away Kit Chosen". Hereford United Supporters Trust.
^ "Hereford FC Extend Kit Deal With Macron | Hereford FC – The official website of Hereford FC". www.herefordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
^ "Talking Bull – Talking Bull – The Independent Hereford Football Club Supporters' Magazine". talkingbull.org.
^ "League Two attendances 2015–16". Soccerway.com.
^ "The 20 fiercest rivalries in English football – by Jonathan Liew". Telegraph.co.uk. 6 February 2015.
^ "Football Chairman on Twitter". Twitter.
External links
- Official club website
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