Hereford F.C.
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| Full name | Hereford Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bulls, The Whites | ||
| Founded | 22 December 2014 | ||
| Ground | Edgar Street, Hereford | ||
| Capacity | 4,913 | ||
| Chairman | Jon Hale | ||
| Manager | Peter Beadle | ||
| League | Midland Football League Premier Division | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Hereford Football Club (
i/ˈhɛrᵻfərd/) is an English association football from the city of Hereford. They were founded in 2014 as a phoenix club for Hereford United, and inherited their Edgar Street stadium.
The club currently plays in the Midland Football League Premier Division, in the ninth tier of the English football league system. 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.
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, it emerged that local businessman Jon Hale, who had earlier been chairman of HUST, had 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 24% of the new club. The press release stated that HUST's stake would be 'much more' than this 24%.[2]
The club's official website went live on 29 December and added further names to the group, with Phil Eynon, George Webb and Hugh Brooks being mentioned on the club's homepage. The website stated that once the club was fully organised, the Hereford United Supporters Trust chairman, Chris Williams, would be given the position of Vice Chairman.[3] Hale gave an interview with Trevor Owens on BBC Hereford and Worcester on 3 January 2015, citing the reason for the business group's reluctance to engage with the final regime at Hereford United as the group benefactors all agreed that the financial position of Hereford United was untenable and the debt was too large to save the club. In an FAQ released on 13 January, it was revealed that Hale would be the club's chairman.[4] It was confirmed at an open meeting two days later that Brooks would be the club's finance director, Webb would be the commercial director and Eynon would be governance director.[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] On 10 February, HUST confirmed that the Hereford FC bid had been the only approach submitted to them.[7] Two weeks later, Herefordshire Council confirmed that the club had secured a five-year lease for the city's Edgar Street stadium.[8]
On 27 February, the club announced that it was taking applications for the position of club manager.[9] Forty-two people applied for the position [10] and on 17 April 2015, Peter Beadle was announced to be the successful candidate by the board with his assistant to be Matt Bishop.[11]
Start of play
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 means that the club will be entered into the FA Vase and the Midland League Cup. The club are unable to compete in the FA Cup during their inaugural season but will be eligible to compete during the 2016–17 season.
The first game, a pre-season friendly, took place away at Malvern Town on 7 July 2015, a 3–2 victory for Hereford, 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] Fifteen days later, the team again broke the league's attendance record and the club's record, with a crowd of 4,381 in attendance for a 3–0 win against city rivals Westfields, a 24th consecutive victory across all competitions.[17] A winning run of twenty-seven games came to an end in a 1–1 draw at home to Alvechurch on 23 January 2016.[18]
Crest and colours
Crest
On 1 February 2015, HUST emailed their members announcing a competition for the design of the new crest, with entry closing on 13 February, with a shortlist and subsequent vote to take place at some point after this date. On 26 February, the Hereford United Supporters trust announced the shortlist for the new club badge.[19] It was announced on 1 March 2015, that 89% of the 900+ HUST members that voted, chose the badge designed by Huw Marriott, and his sons Max and Louis.[20]
Colours
Several national suppliers registered interest in the club[21] and on 5 May 2015, it was announced that the club had signed a two-year kit deal with Italian manufacturer Macron.[22] A vote was cast for the away colours, with a red and black striped kit being chosen by HUST members.[23]
On 5 June 2015, Hereford announced that local company Furniture Importers were to become back-of-the-shirt sponsors.[24] Four days later, the club announced that builders' merchants Jewson would be the club's primary shirt sponsor.[25]
Support
Hereford's supporters play a vital role within the club. The club has asked for volunteers to come forward to help in the initial period and the new club marks the return of the fanzine Talking Bull.[26] A number of supporters helped with various tasks required to prepare Edgar Street for the 2015–2016 season. The Hereford United Supporters Trust will have the opportunity to acquire a shareholding of up to 50%.
Rivalries
Although the club has no rivalry as an entity itself, for supporters, arguably Shrewsbury Town and Cheltenham Town 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.[27]
Players and staff
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current management and coaching staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
 Peter Beadle |
Manager |
| Matt Bishop |
Assistant Manager |
| Johnny Evans |
Physiotherapist |
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.[28]
References
- ↑ "Hereford United cease to exist after court order". ITV News. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "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 beat Westfields 3-0 in front of Midland League record crowd of 4,381 at Edgar Street". Worcester News. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "Voting Open To Decide New Hereford FC Badge". Hereford United Supporters Trust.
- ↑ Chris Ammonds. "HUST Announce Hereford FC Badge Design Winner". Hereford FC.
- ↑ Paul Rogers. "FOOTBALL: Key points that Hereford FC will present to Herefordshire Council". Hereford Times.
- ↑
- ↑ "Hereford FC Away Kit Chosen". Hereford United Supporters Trust.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ "Talking Bull – Talking Bull – The Independent Hereford Football Club Supporters' Magazine". talkingbull.org.
- ↑ "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
- The Unofficial Hereford United Online Archive, which also covers Hereford F.C.