A History of Hereford from Hucknall

The Hucknall Today site has published a potted history of Hereford United in advance of the Trophy game tomorrow.

The history of Hereford United Football Club will, forever, be intrinsically linked with that famous FA Cup giantkilling of mighty Newcastle United 33 years ago.

Not since 1949 had a non-league club beaten a team from the old First Division (now the Premiership) in an FA Cup tie. But after holding Newcastle to a 2-2 draw at St James's Park, they won the much-postponed replay 2-1 in front of the BBC TV cameras.
England striker Malcolm Macdonald put The Magpies ahead before an amazing 30-yard strike by Ronnie Radford hauled Hereford level in the dying minutes and forced extra-time when Ricky George netted the winner.

The Bulls eventually went out of the competition in the next round when a hat-trick by none other than Geoff Hurst steered West Ham United to a 3-1 win. But Radford's goal remains to this day the TV image that is reshown every year to encapsulate the magic of the Cup.

Hereford's success that year helped get them elected to the Football League for the first time - and sparked a glorious era in the 1970s for the club in which they won promotion from the old Fourth Division and then landed the Third Division title under manager John Sillett.

Sadly one season in the old Second Division (now the Coca-Cola Championship) proved too much for them and triggered a downward spiral that dumped them back where they started - in the old Fourth Division.

The Bulls struggled on but returns by ex-bosses Sillett and Colin Addison proved fruitless and not until Graham Turner took the helm did fortunes turn. In fact, they even revived memories of '72 in 1996 when holding Tottenham Hotspur to a draw in the Third Round of the FA Cup and then going on to finish sixth in the league. But then financial problems took over and Hereford lost their Football League status in dramatic fashion on the last day of the 1996/97 season.

Taking on Brighton in their last match, it was a case of whoever won stayed up. It finished 1-1, which left The Bulls bottom of the table and heading for the Nationwide Conference.

They have been trying to return to the Football League ever since but the nearest they came, in seven seasons, all under Graham Turner, was last term.
In a remarkable run, they won their last 11 games, only to be pipped to the Conference title by one point by Chester City - despite amassing 91 points and scoring 103 goals.

Hereford were still favourites to go up via the promotion play-offs but slid to a shock defeat in the two-legged semis against Aldershot, who went on to lose the final against Shrewsbury Town, Hucknall's conquerors in the FA Trophy last season.
The blow forced The Bulls to tighten their purse strings again. Star players, including top scorer Steve Guinan, had to be sold to keep the club afloat and results have duly suffered this term. The best the club can expect in this term's pursuit of promotion is another play-off place.

The paper also looks at the Hereford United personnel over the years.

MANAGER: Graham Turner, 57-year-old ex-player who has been at the helm at Edgar Street for almost ten years and is also the club's chairman and director of football. Began his managerial career in 1978 at Shrewsbury Town, whom he led to promotion to the old Second Division, before landing the boss's job at Aston Villa where he spent two seasons between 1984 and 1986 before switching to Wolves. In eight years at Molineux, he restored the fortunes of the club and led them to two championships, in the old Third and Fourth Divisions, plus the the Sixth Round of the FA Cup in 1994 before announcing his shock resignation.
CAPTAIN: Tony James, 26-year-old centre-back, who has made more than 200 appearances in seven seasons at Hereford and has been labelled "the best defender in the Conference". Described by The Bulls' new coach, ex-West Brom midfielder John Trewick, as 'Mr Hereford'.
STAR PLAYERS: 34-year-old midfielder Graham Hyde is well-known from his days as a tigerish midfield player with Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Bristol Rovers. Accumulated more than 300 appearances in the Football League and joined Hereford last summer to bring much-needed experience to their engine-room; experienced targetman striker Lee Mills (34), who boasts a wealth of Football League experience at clubs like Bradford City, Wolves, Port Vale, Derby County and Portsmouth, for whom he amassed more than 250 appearances and scored almost 80 goals; 22-year-old Rob Purdie is considered an essential member of Hereford's midfield thanks to his terrific energy and pace; 22-year-old goalscoring midfielder Craig Stanley, who was formerly with Scottish outfit Raith Rovers, has made a big impression since joining The Bulls from Telford United last summer.
TOP GOALSCORER: 26-year-old striker Adam Stansfield has bagged 14 goals since arriving from Yeovil Town last summer to fill the boots of last term's prolific marksman, former Nottingham Forest man Steve Guinan, who was snapped up by Cheltenham Town in the Football League. Stansfield has missed recent games because of injury.
RECORD TRANSFER-FEE PAID: £75,000 to Walsall for Dean Smith in 1994.
RECORD TRANSFER-FEE RECEIVED: £250,000 from Queens Park Rangers for centre-back Darren Peacock in 1991, which was doubled when he later moved on to Newcastle United.
FAMOUS FORMER PLAYERS: the legendary John Charles, who signed for the club in 1966 and later became their manager; goalkeeper Jock Wallace, who also played in the 1960s before going on to become manager of Glasgow Rangers; prolific striker Dixie McNeil, who became the club's record goalscorer in their glory years of the 1970s; Michael McIndoe, who is currently at Doncaster Rovers; and Paul Parry, who is currently at Cardiff City.
FAMOUS FORMER MANAGERS: as well as Charles, John Sillett, who went on to lead Coventry City to the FA Cup, and ex-Nottingham Forest player Colin Addison, who was boss in the famous FA Cup tie against Newcastle.

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