Hereford United

Hereford United FC was a football club formed in 1924 in the cathedral and market city, located around fifteen miles east of the border with south Wales. They were would up with severe debts in the High Court on the 19th, December 2014. A new club, Hereford FC was formed three days later, in readiness for the 2015-16 season at Edgar Street.

Up until 1924 there were four leading amateur clubs in the city, and it was agreed for a higher standard of football to arrive, they would need to amalgamate. Hereford City FC and Hereford Thistle FC decided to stay independent, but St Martins FC and RAOC (Rotherwas) joined forces to form Hereford United.

The new club joined the Birmingham Combination, sharing an athletics ground at Edgar Street with City. Crowds of around 2,000 were regular, leading to election to the Birmingham League in 1928-29.

In 1939 'The Bulls' joined the Southern League to reinvigorate interest in the club, while at the same time becoming a limited company before going on to finish as runners-up in 1945-46 and 1950-51.

Having reached the FA Cup Round Two on several occasions, United reached the next stage in 1957-58. QPR were hammered 6-1, which is a record score by a non-league side against league opposition, before the Bulls under manager Joe Wade went down to Sheffield Wednesday in front of a record Edgar Street gate of 18,114.

In the league United were also crowned as Southern League champions after defeating Bedford Town 3-0 in play-off. However, the side were relegated to Division One in 1963-64 before they recovered to win promotion as champions twelve months later.

Former Leeds United, Juventus and Wales hero John Charles arrived at Edgar Street for a spell as player manager in December 1967, which helped boost the attendances. FA Cup games saw the appearance of the club mascot, a Hereford Bull and the fans ritual before kick-off as they kicked a swede from the centre spot into one of the goals.

United reached the final of the Welsh Cup in 1967-68, going down to Cardiff City at Edgar Street and then the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 1970-71, missing on the chance of a trip to Wembley after defeat to Hillingdon Borough.

In 1971-72 Hereford finished as runners up in the Southern League, but under new player-manager Colin Addison, went on a famous FA Cup run. Cheltenham Town, King's Lynn and Northampton Town were all defeated, with The Bulls being rewarded with a third round tie at St James Park to take on the might of Newcastle United.

They returned with a 2-2 draw before dumping The Magpies out in the Wednesday afternoon replay after extra time. Ronnie Radford scored the BBCs 'Goal of the Season' before Ricky George netted the winner which can be viewed here.

West Ham United ended their fun in an Upton Park replay, but the real reward came at the end of the season as Hereford United were elected to the Football League to replace Barrow. In their first League season, Hereford avenged their defeat against The Hammers with an Edgar Street replay victory, before Bristol City won through in round four.

Promotion was won in Hereford's 1973-74 debut League season, and they went on to lift the Division Three title in 1975-76 under manager John Sillett, with Dixie McNeil scoring plenty of goals along the way as the side also reached the Welsh Cup final where they lost to Cardiff City on aggregate.

However, Hereford’s spell in the second tier lasted just one year. They did feature in one of ITV's more popular Sunday afternoon highlights, when they lost 4-1 at Craven Cottage to a Fulham team including George Best and Rodney Marsh, which can be seen here.

The Bulls were back in the Fourth Division after relegation in 1977-78, before Swansea City defeated United in the 1980-81 Welsh Cup final during Frank Lord’s time as manager. The club finally won the competition in 1989-90 when Wrexham were defeated at the National Stadium in Cardiff as Ian Bowyer managed the side.

Addison and Sillett both had second spells as managers, followed by Greg Downs and then John Layton before Graham Turner arrived in 1995, and after a promising season, form dipped as debts mounted to £300,000. In 1995-96 the Bulls reached the play-offs but were defeated by Darlington in their semi-final.

On 3rd of May 1997 United played Brighton & Hove Albion, who themselves had performed miracles to be in with a fighting chance of avoiding relegation to The Conference, in a match they had to win. A capacity crowd packed into Edgar Street to see a late Albion equaliser relegate United. To relive the game, click here. 

Debts by now had reached £1M and the club was forced to enter into a CVA. In May 1998 Turner bought the club from Peter Hill who had previously saved the club. By 2002 the finances had deteriorated further, with only a FA Cup run and a live TV appearance against Wrexham keeping the club alive.

The team also struggled on the pitch because of lack of investment. Things gradually improved playing wise, with the team showing a bit more promise despite the need to sell their better players to make the books balance.

They recorded a remarkable 9-0 away win at Dagenham & Redbridge in front of the Sky cameras. United reached the play offs on a couple of occasions, but they were defeated in the semi-finals in 2003-04 Aldershot Town and then in 2004-05 by Stevenage Borough.

Finally, at the end of the 2005-06 season Hereford returned to the Football League after a play-off win at the Walkers Stadium against Halifax Town in front of 10,000 adoring Bulls. Turner had worked wonders behind the scenes and the club began to show a profit.

A further promotion to the League's third tier was achieved in 2006-07. Their spell lasted two seasons before a return to League Two in 2008-09 with Turner returning to his first club, Shrewsbury Town shortly after.

Turner sold the club to new club chairman David Keyte in June 2010 who appointed Simon Davey as manager to replace John Trewick who had replaced Turner. Former playing favourite Jamie Pitman was put in charge of team affairs in October 2010.

United's run in the League ended on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign when they were relegated back to the Conference. Richard O'Kelly had taken over from Pitman a few weeks from the end of the season, to be replaced in turn by Martin Foyle in May 2012 as financial problems once again came back to worry the club.

Peter Beadle took over as manager in March 2014 as United ended the season in sixth place in the Conference. However, the club was expelled from the competition in June 2014 due to financial irregularities.

David Keyte sold Hereford United to Tommy Agombar, a London-based businessman, for what was reported as a £1 fee, despite receiving an offer for the club from the Hereford United Supporters Trust. Agombar appointed Andy Lonsdale, another London based businessman as chairman.

The Bulls dropped down to the Southern League under new manager Jon Taylor while a proposed CVA was rejected by club creditors, including former manager Foyle. Many Hereford fans boycotted the club during a period of severe acrimony.

After several court cases Hereford United were wound-up in the High Court in December 2014. 

Hereford FC

Jon Hale put a proposal together for Hereford FC that was accepted by the Supporters Trust as he became chairman, while the new club was given a lease of five years for the former clubs Edgar Street home. Peter Beadle was named as manager as the Bulls were placed in the ninth tier Midland Football League for the 2015-16 season

My visits

Hereford United 1 Scarborough 1 (Tuesday 21st October 1987) Division Four (att: 2,359)

I travelled to this game in Boro's first Football League season in the company of our wonderful driver Doomie, Mick Young and Crusher. With us all having a day off work, we visited several grounds on our way to the southwest. Having called in at Burton Albion, Aston Villa, Walsall, Woverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, and Kidderminster Harriers we parked up and went for a couple of pints.

The atmosphere in the pub was edgy. A local youth told us Boro fans were due to arrive at the station on a 'football special' shortly, which made us laugh! We got chatting to a lad who'd hitch hiked from Sheffield to get a new ground in. We took pity on him and as he was coming in the away end with us, Doomie agreed to take him back.

Edgar Street was a strange venue. We were placed in one half of the Blackfriars Street End. Like The Meadow End at the other end of the ground, this was a covered curved shallow terrace with flat standing at the front. To our left was The Len Weston Stand, which was named after a former club benefactor. 

It had a small terrace with seats directly above it, with the stand being very tight to Edgar Street behind it. An old, covered terrace had stood there before United's elevation to the League. The final side was taken up by the Merton Stand. This stand had raised seating above boxes and offices and had been extended for League football.

The game was nothing too memorable. Boro came from behind to draw with a Colin Russell goal. Craig Short came on to make his League debut playing up front. No-one was aware of the career he was about to embark upon. We left slightly disappointed with a draw as Boro had got off to a decent start and we were hopeful of reaching the play offs.

After the game, we stopped in Worcester on my recommendation for beers and pizzas after we gave someone a lift from the match who lived in the city. All in all, we had a decent day and night out, albeit an exceptionally long one!

Hereford United 0 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 24th February 1996) Division Three (att: 2,551)

I got the rare chance of a ride in the people carrier with Filey John, Bunner and co which meant an incredibly early start. One of the lads managed to put a side window through adding to the expenses of the day, which cheered me up no end. It was a pretty ordinary day overall. The pub before the match was average so I went on my own for a look at the pretty city centre and cathedral, where the Magna Carta was displayed. 

The game was just as bad. We sat upstairs in the Weston Stand for a decent view of nothing very much at all. My companions were going for more beers, but I wanted to get back, so I managed to get a ride in the Supporters Club minibus.

Hereford United 4 Scarborough 4 (Saturday 2nd October 1999) Football Conference (att: 1,886)

By now I'd moved to London. This match seemed a good idea and Steve and Sarah in Oxford were also looking forward to a day out. I had purchased a Network Rail card to make the journey cheaper. We had to change trains at Malvern and on the last part of the journey I had an interesting discussion with the guard who told me my ticket was invalid before she backed down, much to the amusement of my friends.

We went straight to the ground and drank in the clubhouse. One or two local youths didn't seem too welcoming, but I figured that they were half cut. Once again, we were placed in the Weston Stand, but this time I stood downstairs with the other thirty or so Seadogs.

The match was an absolute belter, full of decent forward play but woeful defending. Boro's goals came from Andy Morris, Marvin Harriott, Gareth Stoker, and Steve Brodie.

At full time we had a couple of drinks and then got in a taxi and told the driver we wanted a pub serving good steaks, as the city had a good reputation for them. Indeed, the market stood just behind Blackfriars Street. We had our fill and a couple of pints before heading home.

Hereford United 0 Scarborough 1 (Saturday 28th September 2002) Football Conference (att: 2,171)

I eventually arrived at this game in a serious state of tiredness and hangover. I had been out for several hours the night before as was my habit at the time, spending far too much time and money in the Lord's Tavern.

After an exhausting evening I changed tubes to head for Paddington from my Willesden Green room to realise I'd left my advance purchase rail tickets at home. I really was a shambles, and I can only conclude that my mind was on other things! I was sold some new tickets for a reasonable price and told to send in my originals for a refund, which was most acceptable.

I arrived in Hereford via a change of trains in the ugly looking town of Newport, in time for a livener with Butch. It was a struggle, but slowly I came round and entered the ground, where we were in the same place as on the previous occasion.

Boro put in an excellent performance and won 1-0 through a David Pounder goal when he collected a throw in, weaved past a couple of challenges and fired past keeper Matt Baker, while a well organised visiting defence meant that goalie Andy Woods wasn't tested all afternoon.

The game was overshadowed as Seadogs star young defender Shaun Rennison was carried off with a knee injury after thirteen minutes. Despite an attempted comeback, this injury ended the playing career of a fine servant to the club. It was his final game in a Scarborough shirt.

We had a pint in the Oxford Arms over the car park from the Merton Stand, but I wasn't in the mood. Instead, I headed back to the station for a direct train to London. I needed a rest!


The images on this page have been taken from the internet and books as I didn't take a camera on any occasion to Edgar Street.