July 1999

July 8th:

GRAHAM Turner has announced that two players are to sign soon. These include a midfielder and a left back.

The 1999/2000 Conference fixtures have been released.

Ian Rodgerson has completed the latest stage of his physiotherapy course, and now holds the position at the club.

July 13th:

FOLLOWING the Liasion Committee meeting tonight it's confirmed that the following matches have been re-scheduled.

The Rushden & Diamonds game which was to be on 8th January 2000 has been changed to 28th September 1999 with a 7.45 kick-off. This is because the date clashes with the 4th Round of the FA Cup which Graham Turner insisted we would still be in.

The home game against Doncaster Rovers on 4th September 1999 has had it's kick-off time brought forward to either 12.30pm or 1.00pm. This is due to clashing with the England game.

July 15th:

GRAHAM Turner answered critics that they were 'isolated from club members' at the Vice Presidents' annual meeting. They suggested that he should visit the VP club on matchdays, but he said he was too busy running team affairs.

After a request by Rushden and Diaminds side, their match at Edgar Street has been brought forward to Tuesday, September 28th. It was originally scheduled for Saturday 8th January.

All Conference clubs now will be entered into the 4th qualifying round of this years FA Cup. Last year, they entered at the 3rd qualifying round.

Turner has said that the previously scheduled deals are not dead, and are continuing.

Pre season training started last Thursday, and there are no injury worries.

Instead of the Premier Division, United youth team will play in the Midland Floodlit League to cut travelling costs.

HEREFORD United will start their Nationwide Conference fixtures with matches against newly-promoted Sutton and Nuneaton Borough reports the Hereford Times.

They will travel to Sutton, the reigning Rymans League Premier Division champions, on Saturday, August 14. The following Saturday they will be at home to Nuneaton, who topped the Dr Martens League Premier Division last season.

United director of football Graham Turner said: "They will be two testing games for us because I expect both Sutton and Nuneaton will be fired up to make a good early impression in Conference soccer."

The Bulls will have their usual Christmas period local derbies with Kidderminster Harriers. They will entertain the Worcestershire club on Boxing Day and visit Aggborough on Monday, January 3. They also have a hone fixture against Kettering Town on Easter Monday, April 24. Five of their last seven games will be at Edgar Street.

In the original list United were due to play Rushden & Diamonds at home on Saturday, January 8 but this has been brought forward to Tuesday, September 28 at the Northamptonshire club's request.

Along with other Conference clubs, United are exempt to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday, October 16. Last season they had to start in the third qualifying round.

Turner's bid to strengthen his squad with a central midfield player and a left-back are still continuing. He said: "A player was due to have talks this week but then he phoned me up to say he was to have an interview with a First Division club."

Pre-season training started last Thursday and the first friendly will be against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Edgar Street this Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm. (The first friendly is now against Evesham (away) on Monday 19th) It is too early to say what side Wolves will field but Turner is hoping they will bring a strong contingent of first team players.

Next season United will play in Division 1 South of the Midland Floodlit Youth League instead of the Premier Division in a move to cut travelling costs. Therefore, they will have matches against local clubs Pegasus Juniors and Ross Town.

HEREFORD United chairman and director of football Graham Turner answered critics who claimed at Monday's annual meeting of the Vice Presidents Club that his board of directors were isolated from club members.

Some members suggested that the chairman and other directors should visit the VP club more on match days. But Turner replied that he was fully engaged on team matters on match days and added that one of his directors, George Hyde, was often in the club.

Turner said: "I regularly meet your committee and would be happy to come along to hear your views at meetings open to all members of the VP club."

Giving his report of last season, Turner said it had been a precarious one financially and only sales of some players, and help from HUISA, the Junior Bulls and the VP Club, had enabled the football club to survive. He reiterated that only ground relocation could save the club in the long term.

Replying to a question regarding the issue of new shares in United, he said it was something they would look into.

VP club treasurer Tony Cole said the committee and the board of directors recommended that the annual subscription should remain at £300. Peter Mokler proposed an amendment to increase it by £25 but that was heavily defeated.

The trading account for the year ending March 31, 1999 showed that subscriptions totalled £18,250, an increase of £2,100 on the previous year, but income from guest tickets had fallen from £2,979 to £967.

Bar sales of £25,703 were down £3,500 but the final profit of £6,193 was only down £163. At the end of the year the net worth of the club was £10,161, of which the minibus and stock accounted for £7,098.

Committee: Richard Howard (chairman), Martin Watson (secretary), Tony Cole (treasurer), Stuart Sheehan, Gary Jones, Chris Williams, John Whilding.

July 16th:

THE home match with Doncaster Rovers on Saturday, September 4th will now kick off at 12.30 or 1pm. This is due to a clash with an England match, taking place later in the afternoon.

Brian Williams, Hereford's Football In The Community Officer, has quit the club, and has moved to Shrewsbury Town to take up a similar position. He will continue training courses for youngsters in Herefordshire, however.

July 17th:

HEREFORD United will welcome a trialist from a Premiership club to Edgar Street next week.

Manager Graham Turner has made no secret of his desire to add a left-back and a midfielder to complete his summer shake-up.

The Bulls boss, who has been in talks with a couple of out-of-contract targets, has arranged to have a look at a young midfielder from a Premier side and he is scheduled to link up for training on Monday.

Turner, who is keeping the player's identity under wraps, said: "I've been given some good reports. Something might materialise there."

Turner has recruited five players so far - Leroy May, Steve Piearce, Rob Elmes, Craig Hanson and James Wall - but hopes to complete two or three more deals before the kick-off on August 14.

July 18th:

GRAHAM Turner believes Steve Bull turned down a fortune to stay loyal to the Wolves faithful reports the Sports Argus.

The former Molineux boss reckons Bull's affection for his own fans was the reason he stayed so long when millions beckoned from the top flight and abroad.

But he believes Bull's lasting regret in football was that he never made it to the Premiership.

Turner was the man who took Bull to Molineux and began one of the greatest eras in the club's history.

Few could have realised that when Turner signed Bull and Andy Thompson from Albion, a legend was about to be born.

It was under Turner that Bull enjoyed some of his best years as Wolves began their revival after slumping to the depths of the old Division Four.

Bull helped Wolves back into what was then the Second Division, but the top flight eluded them, as it has done to this day.

And with the announcement that Bull was giving up football because of a knee injury, went any chance he had of mixing it with the best.

"I think that'll be the biggest disappointment about the whole thing for him," he said.

"It would have been tremendous to see him at that level because you don't know what he would have achieved."

Turner soon realised he had somebody special on his hands, but says the Tipton Terror never changed his outlook.

"That's what impressed me most about Bully," he said.

"I've seen players change when they start to gain recognition from the big teams and the national press. But Steve wasn't like that. He stayed down to earth throughout my time at Wolves.

"And that's why he kept the respect of the dressing room as well."

But Turner said it was the Wolves fans who really won Bull over, and kept him at Molineux for life.

"The supporters worshipped him, and that's what kept him at Wolves," he said.

"Steve recognised that, it's a rare thing in this day and age, but he stayed loyal to Wolves for that reason."

Bull's prolific goalscoring form attracted the attention of a host of clubs, but despite all the speculation, Turner knew he would be able to hang on to his player.

"He was happy here and that's all that mattered to him," he said.

"There were the stories linking him with a move to Italy after he'd made the England squad for the World Cup in 1990 but they came largely from agents."

Villa and Coventry, among a string of top flight clubs, all wanted Bull to join them. He would have made a fortune, but Bully stuck to his guns.

However, Turner reckons Bull can be proud of what he achieved in the game.

Not only is he the club's record goalscorer, but he also gained an England cap while still a player in the old Third Division.

Bull made his debut for England against Scotland and scored at Hampden Park.

He then followed that up with two goals against Czechoslovakia at Wembley.

"I remember Bully scoring against Scotland because we were at the airport in Majorca," he said.

"The team had been away on a post-season tour but Bully and Andy Mutch had stayed behind. Mutchy was with the B team and Bully was in the senior squad.

"I phoned home from Majorca to find out what was happening, and was told Steve had scored.

"I went back and told the lads and they were all delighted. It got better when he scored twice against the Czechs, although I reckon he might have got a hat-trick."

Turner is now Hereford United supremo and, ironically, his favourite Bully goal came against the Edgar Street side.

"It was the one where he turned from about 30 yards out and ran on before scoring with a shot that would have been unstoppable at any level," he said.

"But possibly the best game I ever saw him play for us was in the Sherpa Van Trophy semi-final against Notts County which got us to Wembley in 1988."

July 19th:

EVESHAM United 0 Hereford United 2

AFTER a pre-season in which five new players entered the scenes at Edgar Street, expectations were high. All of the new players played in the game, as United beat local side Evesham United. At the beginning, Hereford created a few half chances through Paul Fewings. It was Fewings who supplied the corner to Ian Wright for his goal from seven yards. This happened in the sixth minute.

Later in the half, Evesham came back into the game, but failed to create any great chances. Stephen Piearce doubling the lead in the 67th minute. He split the defence, and knocked it past the 'keeper, to make it 2-0.

Man of the match - Ian Wright

Hereford - Quy, Lane, Clarke, Rodgerson, Wright, Jones, Williams, Taylor, May, Hanson, Fewings.

Subs who came on at half-time - Elmes, Piearce, Wall, Parry, Pendrey (YTS), Jones.

July 22nd:

SO far, Hereford United's season ticket sales are on the up, after an encouraging response from fans. £40,000 has been spent so far on tickets, an increae of £5,000 from sales figures at this time last year.

July 24th:

Hereford United win 4-3 on penalties

Doxhill Cup Final

Despite many chances and a poor display from the Hereford goalkeeper, neither side could break the deadlock, as the game finished 0-0. The Doxhill Cup Final was originally scheduled for the spring, but was called off until the summer due to fixture congestion. It was also a reserve fixture, but Hereford treated it as a first team match. Stoke sent a weak side of youngsters, but still had the best of the play in the first half, but Hereford's experienced side came back into it and were unlucky not to score as the ball hit the bar at the Blackfriars Road End midway through the first half. Leroy May was injured in the first half, and replaced by Tony James. The second half was all Hereford, but Stoke City's young keeper, Stuart Fraser, saved well on several occasions. Jones, in goal for the Bulls, dropped a few shots, and there were a few heart-stopping moments in the Hereford defence. Hereford's best chance came in the second half, as Robin Elmes just headed wide of the post. Chris Lane replaced John Cotterill, who is on trial, on around the hour mark. The penalties added a bit of extra spice to a nail-biting afternoon.

Stoke's first penalty, taken by Richard Burgess, was well saved by Mark Jones. Hereford went 1-0 up. Both sides scored their next three penalties. Herefords were taken by Hanson, Taylor and Williams, Stoke's by Kris Sigurdsson, Jamie Evans and Stuart Scheuber. The Potters had to score their fifth penalty to stay in with a chance of winning, as Hereford were winning 4-3. Jamie Godbold was the man to take it. The Stoke youngster hit the ball to the right of the keeper, and the post! Hereford United had won the Doxhill Cup 4-3 on penalties.

Attendance = 634

Man of the Match = Robin Elmes

Hereford - Jones, Rodgerson, Wall, Clarke, Snape, Taylor, Williams, Hanson, Elmes, May, Cotterill.

Sub who came on - James, Lane

Graham Turner said: "I remember Burgess took a penalty against us last season, so I gambled which way he would shoot and it turned out to be correct." 


July 25th:

THE HUFC Open Day is on August 8th and will start at 10.45am. The admission fee is £1. Attractions will include Penalty Shoot-Outs, Shoot the ref, Club Shop, Sale of players kit, Win-a-football and much, much more. The new away kit will be released in the main arena at 11.20am. Entertainment includes DRUMLOVE, the African Drumming Band, and HUFC BULLITZ, the Display Team. The big match is Hereford United vs Brazil '99 & Tarrington Tornadoes.

Graham Turner has said he was disappoined with the strength of the Wolves side last Wednesday. He also said there were no big 'names' in the team.

Membership Cards - From August 31st 1999, Supporters will not be entitled to the Concessionaire admission prices in they do not have a membership card. These can be bought from the Main Office.

July 27th:

Hereford United 0 Newport County 1: Herefordshire Senior Cup

VETERAN striker Carl Dale's fourth-minute goal was enough to give Newport the Herefordshire Senior Cup in the invitation final at Edgar Street this evening.

It was United's first defeat in four pre-season matches and the first time that they had conceded a goal.

The goal was inadvertently set up by former Northern Ireland, Celtic and Blackpool left-back Anton Rogan, who was being given a trial outing by United director of football Graham Turner.

His feeble attempt at a headed back-pass to keeper Andy Quy fell into the path of Dale. It was the sort of gift the former Cardiff City striker gobbles up and he gave Quy no chance as he lobbed the ball over him from 10 yards out.

After that County, newly promoted to the Dr Martens League Premier Division, rarely looked like surrendering their lead and deservedly collected the silverware.

It was a decidedly ragged performance by the Bulls, however, and Turner said: "We were lethargic, undisciplined in defence and overall it was a pathetic performance.

"If I had to find a reason why, I can only think that after a hard programme of training and matches some of the players needed a rest. But, as we have four key men nursing injuries, I wasn't able to do that."

Neither side created many chances but, a few minutes after scoring, Dale had the opportunity to make it 2-0. This time, however, he directed his header straight at Quy.

Too often Hereford tried to make headway with aerial attacks which were easily combated by County's tall defenders, Danny Hill and Danny Hunt.

The one time United put together a really constructive move on the ground in the first half they almost equalised. Chris Lane, Ian Rodgerson and Rob Elmes exchanged passes to move the ball the length of the ground. Lane then crossed to Craig Hanson who headed over after making a surging run into the penalty area.

After the break Paul Fewings' cross-shot was cleared off the line by Hunt but, otherwise, County's goal was seldom threatened.

Hereford: Quy, Lane, Rogan, Snape, Wall, James (Clarke 46 min), Rodgerson, Taylor, Elmes, Hanson, Williams (Fewings 53 min). Subs not used: Jones, Cotterill, Palmer.

Attendance: 839.

July 28th:

NORTHERN Ireland international full-back Anton Rogan made his debut on trial for Hereford United as they lost the Herefordshire Senior Cup final to Newport County at Edgar Street.

Rogan has won 18 caps while playing for Celtic, Sunderland, Oxford and Blackpool, but his fourth-minute blunder resulted in the only goal of the match.

The 33-year-old headed the ball straight to Carl Dale, who lifted it over Andy Quy from ten yards.

GRAHAM Turner has hinted that he may be on the verge of singing another midfielder for the first team. The man in played against Newport County, who beat United in the HFA Senior Cup Final on Tuesday, and accidentally set-up the winner. Anton Rogan, the former Northern Ireland international, is on trial at the club, but has not yet been offered a contract. This could be bad news, because the last former international player at the club was Robbie Dennison, who was pretty awful to say the least!

Newport beat United in HFA Final - Newport County, of the Dr Martens League Premier Division, beat the Bulls 1-0 to win the HFA Senior Cup. This was a poor performance be Hereford.

Conference Odds Out - Sporting Bet have released their Conference Odds for next season. Hereford United are 16/1 to make the title, below the likes of Hayes and Kingstonian! Kiddie are 20/1,so at least we're ahead of them! Here's the odds:

Rushden & Diamonds 3/1, Kettering Town 7/1, Scarborough 8/1, Doncaster Rovers 9/1, Yeovil Town, Woking, Stevenage Borough 10/1, Kingstonian, Hayes 14/1, Hereford United 16/1, Kidderminster Harriers 20/1, Northwich Victoria, Hednesford Town, Dover Athletic 25/1, Nuneaton Borough 28/1, Forest Green Rovers, Altrincham 33/1, Sutton United, Morecambe 40/1 Telford United, Southport 50/1, Welling 66/1.

For the record, Surrey bookmakers have Hereford United at 25/1.

July 29th:

GRAHAM Turner has said that he is looking forward to two tough games coming up soon. "Shrewsbury will provide us with a good test," Turner said "And I am hoping Coventry will field a few of their bigger name players."

The fans forum, to be held next Monday at the Leisure Bar at 8pm, will include some of the top people at the club. Richard Tomkins, the HUISA Chairman, will be on the panel together with Graham Turner, and some of the new players.

Edgar Street Painting Session - This Saturday and Sunday, the annual painting and decorating weekend will be held. This means giving the stadium a lick of paint, starting each day at 10am. Richard Tomkins, HUISA Chairman, has said "We wouldlike to see as many helpers as possible and it would be a bonus if they could also provide some cleaning materials."

July 30th:

HEREFORD United 0 - 2 Shrewsbury Town

Despite four chances in the second half, United were defeated by a disappointing Shropshire side. In the 23rd minute, Fewings beat the keeper, but his effort was ruled offside. He then wasted three of United's four chances in the second. Glyn Thompson was not impressive in the Shrewsbury goal, but had very little to deal with. Nick Dunphy, on trial, missed when one-on-one with sub keeper Cooksey, resulting in an awful night for Hereford United. Shrewsbury scored in the 26th minute through Peter Wilding, and again on 68. This time the scorer was Stephen Jagielka.

Attendance = 542

Man of the Match = Peter Widing

Hereford - Quy, Cotterill, Clarke, Wright, Wall, Williams, Snape, Taylor, May, Elmes, Fewings.

Sub who came on - Hanson, Pendrey, Dunphy.