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Thursday, September 04, 2008

Malpas Aware Of Ashikodi

Swindon boss Maurice Malpas is aware of the capabilities of Bulls striker Moses Ashikodi, even if the player doesn't start tomorrow night.

Malpas had Ashikodi at the County Ground last season, giving him ten games in Swindon colours. The Scot told their official site: "He did OK for us when he was here. I bumped into him in the summer and I am glad he is back playing in League One, where I am sure he will gain valuable experience.

"Hereford have won once at home this season so I am sure they will be looking to get what they can from Friday night's game. Graham Turner will be telling his side all about Swindon's away record of recent times, but we have to go out there and make sure we are the ones coming away with the points."

News Round Up

Leicester's Nigel Pearson has been named Manager of the Month in League One. Mick McCarthy of Wolves and Mark Robins of Rotherham won in the Championship and League Two. Leeds' match with Bradford in the JPT saw two coaches of Bradford fans attacked and seven windows smashed, causing £3,500 of damage. The coach company also reported damage to the insides of the coaches.

Ex-Bull Alan Connell will miss two month after pulling up in his first day of training with new club Bournemouth. He damaged knee cartilage requiring surgery. Exeter will recieve £350,000 for defender George Friend, who joined Wolves on deadline day. Another £150,000 will come based on appearances, and the club retain a 20% sell-on clause.

Richard Jackson comes to Edgar Street

Another former Luton Town player has joined Hereford United.

Richard Jackson, a full back, was a free agent and therefore only needed to be registered by Graham Turner. The BBC is reporting that he has signed a one year deal.

He might be included in tomorrow's squad to play Swindon.

Jackson is 28 and started his career at Scarborough before moving to Derby County.

He joined Derby County in March 1999. His first game for Derby came in a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United in May 2000, which was shortly followed by an appearance in a 4-0 defeat to Chelsea. He made three appearances in the 2000-01 season followed by seven appearances in the 2001-02 season, at the end of which Derby were relegated to the Championship. He broke into the first team on a regular basis in the 2002-03 season, during which he made 21 appearances, and was offered a new contract at the end of the season. He consolidated his place in the first team in the 2003-04 season, making 37 appearances, and signing a new two-year contract in May 2004.

He made 20 appearances in the 2004-05 season until he suffered a groin injury in a game against Leeds United in January 2005, which ruled him out of first-team action until May as Derby reached the end of season play-off games. Jackson made 27 appearances in the 2005-06 season, which was interrupted by another groin injury that saw him ruled out of first-team action for all of September and October 2005 and a hamstring injury that ruled him out for several weeks in the spring of 2006.

By this time, Jackson was the longest serving player at Derby and, in January 2006, signed a contract keeping him at the club until the summer of 2008. However, he made only seven further appearances for Derby in the 2006-07 season and in August 2007, he moved to Luton Town signing a two-year contract in August 2007. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on August 21st 2008.

(Profile adapted from Wikipedia)

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Pitman - the right person for Hereford

Graham Turner has welcomed Jamie Pitman back to Edgar Street and at the same time recognised that his move from Forest Green Rovers might have made life difficult for manager Jimmy Harvey.

"I think it was last Tuesday that we first had a phone call from Yeovil to say that Wayne was going to them. We hadn't got an inkling that anything, in that respect, was happening.

"But then Wayne did tell me he had been offered the physio roll there and was going to go as it was closer to home which is in Kent.

"So we needed a physio very quickly.

"Jamie - it's perhaps ironic that when I last saw him in the boardroom we told him we weren't offering him a new contract but I was sure that some time in the future we would work together and he would come into the club as physio because I knew he had his qualifications. Two, three years later he is back with us.

"I think he is delighted to accept the job.

"I have every sympathy with Jimmy Harvey who has lost an assistant manager. With Forest Green going so well you do not want to deliberately upset other clubs and their rhythem.

"Yeovil had no quarms about taking Wayne Jones from us - likewise we've had to move to whom we think is the right person.

"We believe Jamie will add a lot to the club."

(Turner's quotes from the Official Website latest interview)

Physio Jones worked with Slade at Notts County

Physio Wayne Jones, who has just moved from Hereford United to Yeovil, knows manager Russell Slade from an earlier appointment.

They worked together at Notts County when Slade was manager for a short period in late 1994.

Jones, who travelled from his home in Kent to Hereford, has decided not to move to the Yeovil area at present as his daughter is currently taking her GCSE's.

Meanwhile he is hoping to continue his private work at Huish Park as he did at Edgar Street.

Win 'Against Mod£rn Football' T-Shirts

The FSF, Football Supporters Federation, are currently promoting Philosophy Football’s new t-shirt.

Football was once ruled by a simple philosophy: the ball is round and nothing else very much matters. Today the game threatens to be taken over by the mentality ‘greed is the goal’ and all must be sacrificed to that end. week pay packet can in all seriousness be dubbed “slavery”. The T-shirt is available from www.philosophyfootball.com at the special low price of just £14.99.

And they have 5 of the T-shirts to be won, simply answer the following question:

Often credited with the quote ‘the ball is round’, which country did Sepp Herberger manage to World Cup victory?

Simply e-mail your answer to admin@philosophyfootball.com.

Closing date the 30th September 2008. No purchase necessary to enter.

Fennessy increases stake in Hereford United

Hereford United director and club secretary, Joan Fennessy, has increased her shareholding in the club according to the latest annual return recently made public.

Chairman Graham Turner remains the largest single shareholder with 9201 shares. Of the other directors Mrs Fennessy has 1728, Grenville Smith has 481 and Hugh Brooks has 400.

HUISA, the supporters association, say they have 2276 shares. However these shares appear to be registered in the name of R G Tomkins.

Other individuals with large holdings include M J Dean (2000), Stewart Phillips (2337), Graham Rivers (1700), and Veronica Richardson (2000).

During the last year some 3133 shares have been either transferred or traded. Mrs Richardson received her shares this period.

The records show that some 39,074 shares are listed. However in the list there are hundreds of individuals with just one share.

Bulls linked to Norwegian Player

Hereford United have been linked to an un-named Norwegian Player.

However, as yet, the player has been unable to obtain a work permit so the deal can't go ahead at present. Manager Graham Turner says he will continue to monitor the situation.

Turner has also spoken of signing a defender before Friday's game against Swindon.

"There is a distinct possibility that we will have another player in," Turner told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"People will look at that and think hang on the transfer window is closed.

"If a player is out of work on August 31st then we can register him. So we've had a player training with us for a couple of days and there is a distinct possibility it will be in time for Friday night."

News Round Up

Stockport defender Rob Clare has been forced to retire at the age of 25 due to persistent injury. The former England u-20 international has spent the last year on the sidelines after suffering a stress fracture of the tibia. The Player of the Month award is between Oldham's Chris Taylor, Leeds' Jermaine Beckford, Carlisle's Danny Graham, and Leicester's Matty Fryatt.

Yeovil are set to sign midfielder Andy Welsh. The former Blackpool man is a free agent but has two other sides chasing his signature. Chester are looking to offload veterans Paul Butler and Tony Dinning. They were sidelined last season after being accused of causing dressing room unrest. They returned to the first team after clear the air talks with the PFA but were dumped out of the side before their weekend win over Barnet.

Leeds have given a guilty plea to the FA after being charged with using an unlicenced agent. The charge comes from their purchase of Anthony Elding from Stockport, but they insist they never paid the agent in question. Woking have sacked manager Kim Grant after just seven games. The former Charlton striker only picked up two points in his first stab at management.

Crewe paid £80,000 up front for Burton defender John Brayson the Brewers have revealed. They will receive two further £25,000 payments for 20 and 40 first team appearances plus a 20% of the sell-on.

Guinan Prepares For Life After Football

Steve Guinan has spent the last six years preparing for a life off the pitch, he tells the givemefootball.com website:

Q: AS A THIRTYSOMETHING HAVE YOU MADE ANY PLANS FOR WHEN YOU FINALLY DECIDE TO RETIRE?
A: Six years ago I decided to start planning for the time I would have to hang my boots up and it has gone well. I am now a fully qualified 'A' Licence coach and I passed the Certificate in Applied Management at the University of Warwick this summer. I have also passed a Sports Science degree from the University of Gloucestershire and hopefully this has given me a good grounding. I didn't want to be one of those players who thought what do I do next?

Q: ARE YOU PICKING THE BRAINS OF YOUR BOSS GRAHAM TURNER WHO HAS MANAGED AT ALL LEVELS?
A: Graham has been a big help and both he and Hereford's assistant John Trewick have actively encouraged me to take my badges. They have let me help out occasionally with the coaching at Hereford, which is good for my experience. The manager laughed when I told him I was taking my Certificate in Applied Management as he told me had been a guest speaker at the same course a few years ago! With experience like that I wouldn't be doing my job if I wasn't trying to learn from him.

The full interview is available on the website link above.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Pathetic Performance - Swindon Manager

Swindon manager Maurice Malpas was relieved his side came through the Paint Trophy tie at Aldershot this evening.

"The penalties were the easy bit because it was a pathetic to poor performance. We never got up to a pace and Aldersot passed the ball for fun," said Malpas.

"It was not a good start and I don't know why we started so poorly. It is something we will need to look at and find out the answer to."

It is not yet known if either Hereford United's Graham Turner and/or John Trewick watched the game.

Turner opens M & M's New Warehouse

Hereford United manager, Graham Turner, took time off from Edgar Street last Thursday to attend the opening of M&M Direct's new warehouse just a few miles outside Hereford.

Turner pressed the start button on a conveyor belt at the warehouse as part of the opening ceremory.

With Turner were several of the Hereford United players including Ben Smith and Steve Guinan. Our picture, taken by Andy Compton of the Hereford Journal, shows the players with the Chief Executive of M&M Steve Robinson.

Also in attendance were the Mayor of Hereford, Kevin Wargen and the Mayor of Leominster, Peter McCall.

M&M was started in 1987 by Businessmen Mark Ellis and Martin Churchward from Herefordshire and Worcestershire respectively. They were introduced by the Nike representative Ken Mallender and soon started to sell end-of-line sports ware.

From humble beginnings the company's turnover is now close to £80m per year.

Ellis has been a Hereford United supporter for many years and Mallender played for the Bulls for two seasons in the early seventies.

The M&M Direct name is on the back of the Hereford United shirts.

Swindon win at the Rec this Evening

Swindon Town have made the short journey to Aldershot Town for their Paint Trophy game this evening. They make a slightly longer journey next Friday to play Hereford United at Edgar Street.

Swindon have put out a strong side: P Smith, J Smith, Kanyuka, Ifil, Amankwaah, Timlin, McGovern, McNamee, Easton, Cox, Peacock.

Substitutes: Brezovan, Marshall, Allen, Casal, Paynter.

Score after 90 minutes 2-2. Penalties to follow. Swindon eventually won 7-6.

Meanwhile former Bull, Ryan Green, has turned out for Bristol Rovers in their Paint game at Bournemouth after many months out injured. Sammy Igoe, who came to Edgar Street for a short spell last season, is playing for Bournemouth. Igoe scored in their 3-0 win.

Finally Hereford United join this competition in the next round. The draw takes place on Saturday Morning on Sky.

Hereford are in the Southern Section. Other clubs in the Southern section who went straight to round two are: Walsall, Wycombe Wanderers, Cheltenham Town, Peterborough United, Gillingham, MK Dons and Luton Town.

Yeovil Deny Cash Crisis

Yeovil have been forced to issue a denial of a cash crisis at Huish Park after staff were informed their working hours and conditions may be reduced.

The club sent a letter to staff warning them of a review of circumstances leading many to speculate the club was on a sticky wicket. Glovers fans had already seen their playing budget cut with a string of high profile players being replaced with bargain big non-league starlets.

The statement reads:

The Club is financially secure and is under no pressure in terms of cash resources. However, it is conducting its business in accordance with responsible budgetary controls and is carrying out a review of its operations in view of the current economic climate. It is true that staff have received a letter informing them there MAY be changes to their working hours or conditions.

This does not necessarily mean changes are inevitable. Decisions will be made when the review has been concluded. However, staff have been formally advised of the possibility of change to comply with accepted employment procedures.

Bulls News recommended by Ciderspace

Those good people at Ciderspace, the excellent independent Yeovil Town website, have recently been looking at the Hereford United websites and both Bulls News and the Official Site have been praised.

Bulls News
Simple independent site that uses one of the 'blog' formats available around the internet. It simply serves as a rolling news page for Hereford, and does this thoroughly and effectively, sometimes branching out into wider League One issues. Its informal style does lend to a slight bit of cross-banter with a certain independent Yeovil Town website from time to time. The 'blog' format doesn't always lend itself towards easy navigation, but if it's a simple site full of Hereford United news and nothing else, then this one does exactly what it says on the tin.
RECOMMENDED

Hereford United Official Site
Official site, and wonders of wonders it's not a PTV site. The end result is a breath of fresh air - an official site where you don't get bombarded with adverts asking you to sign up to casinos, and where it is easy to find what you want to find. One slight grumble was that on the day we visited it, the site ran as slow as a snail crawling through treacle, but this may have been an off-day. Those that designed the PTV network sites would do well to visit this one.

News Round Up

The Manager of the Month nominations are Leicester's Nigel Pearson, Carlisle's John Ward, Oldham's John Sheridan, and Brighton's Micky Adams. The winner will be announced on Thursday. Ex-Bull Craig Stanley was on the verge of a move to Accrington before clear the air talks yesterday kept him at Morecambe after he failed to make an appearance so far this season.

Chester have confirmed preliminary talks with another potential buyer. Following former manager Mark Wright in talks is S1Sport.com, who have been revealed as the bidders for Bournemouth two weeks ago. The Cherries are part owned by former Chester director Paul Baker. Jimmy Harvey has been named Conference Manager of the Month for August with Forest Green top of the table.

Grimsby striker Martin Butler has requested a move after again expressing problems with the travelling from his Worcester home. The 32 year old has played over 500 games for the likes of Reading, Cambridge, and Walsall, scoring 149 goals. Ex-Bull Marcus Palmer has ended a short association with Gloucester to sign for Conf North side Solihull Moors, joining Rob Elmes, Simon Travis, and Jake Sedgemore at the club.

The Career of Jamie Pitman

Jamie Pitman, who has returned to Edgar Street as a physio, was born on 6 January 1976 in Trowbridge.

A midfielder Pitman progressed through the youth system at Swindon Town, eventually making three league appearances before being released. He joined Hereford United in early 1996 when the Bulls started their push for the playoffs.

Former scout Ron Jukes was instrumental in bringing Pitman to Edgar Street.

Pitman was the first player to be scouted for Hereford by Jukes. At the time Pitman, described as a busy blond teenage midfielder, was open to offers at Swindon. Jukes saw him playing for Scarborough reserves at Walsall while on trial.

He missed much of the following season through injury, which saw Hereford relegated out of the Football League. He stayed with the club for their first season in the Conference before spending two seasons each at Yeovil Town and Woking. During his spell at the latter, he scored the goal that knocked Hereford out of the FA Cup in 2000.

He rejoined the Bulls for the 2002-03 season when they were undergoing a squad clearout, although as a part time player initially as he also worked at Hereford Leisure Centre.

Pitman scored twice on his return, in a 2-1 against Farnborough Town and in the next two seasons he missed only a handful of League matches. His final game for the club was the Conference Playoff Final in 2006, where he came on as a substitute for the start of extra time to help Hereford regain their League status. He was the only Hereford player on the pitch who had experienced the club's relegation in 1997 as well as the two playoff disappointments in 2004 and 2005. Although he wished to stay at the club, he was not offered a new contract.

It must have been a difficult situation for both Pitman, pictured at the Lawn talking to Rob Purdie, and manager Graham Turner who admitted to release players who have been at the club a long time wasn't easy.

"The timing is awful isn't it. All the euphoria of the weekend and then come Monday morning there is a dampener on it," said Turner.

"It's hard to take having been there for so long, having helped the club into the position they are in today, being involved and helping them to promotion," said Pitman.

"It's unfortunate that their plans don't include me. I wanted to stay at Hereford.

"I live in the town and it would have been great to stay and play the first game of the season. There would be a big crowd and everybody would be buzzing. I'll miss those type of things.

"I've got the utmost respect for Graham Turner. He's always been brilliant to me."

Pitman soon found another club not too far away from Hereford at Forest Green. Another former Bull Jimmy Harvey had become manager and Pitman soon cemented a place in his squad.

Later Pitman started to help Harvey with coaching and eventually became assistant manager.

His return to Hereford will be welcome by supporters.

(Article sourced from Bulls News acheives and Wikipedia)

Monday, September 01, 2008

More about Willo's Move to Edgar Street

Bristol Rovers manager Paul Trollope has spoken about Andy Williams' loan back to Hereford United.

"At the moment, I think the move suits all parties. We hope he goes there, gets some games, scores some goals, and then comes back to us in January and does the same," said Trollope as reported by the Rovers website.

"The management team there know him inside out, and his scoring record there is very good. He's a young boy that needs to make progression, and having signed Darryl Duffy and Jo Kuffour his chances here were going to be limited.

"It's about scoring goals and gaining some confidence and seeing the real player. He has a huge desire to be a success here, and although a loan might not seem like the best way to achieve that, he's trusting me that it's the right step for him to take.

"We paid a six-figure sum for him, he is still the same player. We hope it works out for him and us, so that when he comes back we see the real Andy Williams."

Meanwhile Cheltenham manager Keith Downing has admitted that he had hoped to sign Andy Williams.

Finally the Hereford Times has confirmed the speculation that Wayne Jones has moved to Yeovil as their new physio.

Window Shuts With Slow Action

The transfer window has shut with little action on the deals announced so far.

Despite virtually every one of the 24 League One managers declaring their interest in reinforcing a string of positions, only 16 deals involving League One sides are confirmed (details here) with only seven being permanent transfers.

Amongst the highlights are Lloyd Owusu moving from Yeovil to Cheltenham on a free, and Peterboro signing the one-time starlet Gabriel Zakuani on an initial loan deal after failing to agree personal terms. Claimed Bulls target Matt Harrold has joined Wycombe for an undisclosed fee - 21 of 24 fees so far on deadline day are undisclosed. (Update - Dougie Freedman signs for Southend.)

There are likely to be a few more deals announced on Tuesday morning with most sane people long since departed for bed.

Transfer and Loan Rules

Taken from the BBC, here is a summary of the transfer and loan rules:

Premier League and SPL clubs now have until midnight on Monday, 1 September to sign players after the deadline was extended by 24 hours for the convenience of clubs as the previous date fell on a Sunday.

English Football League and Blue Square Premier (Conference National) clubs have the same deadline for full transfers, but not for loans. Clubs in the English non-league pyramid below the Blue Square Premier are not bound by the transfer window system.

After midnight on 1 September, Premier League and SPL clubs cannot sign any players, on loan or full transfers, until the next transfer window in the 2008/09 season opens on 1 January. This window will stay open until midnight on Monday, 1 February.

Clubs in the Football League can sign players on loan outside of the transfer windows, following a seven-day period after the transfer window closes.

Outside of the transfer windows, any club may still sign players on an emergency basis (such as if they had no goalkeepers available) with the permission of their competition's governing body, ie the Premier League.

Players who are out of contract and do not have a club, can be signed outside of the transfer window if they are unattached free agents when the window closes.

Pitman Joins Bulls As Physio

Jamie Pitman has joined the Bulls as Club Physio, according to Forest Green Rovers.

A statement on their website reads:

Jamie Pitman has left Forest Green Rovers to take up the position of Club Physiotherapist at Coca Cola Division One side Hereford United. Jamie signed for Rovers from Hereford United in 2006 as a player and was promoted to player/assistant manager by manager Jim Harvey at the start of the following season following the departure of then assistant Paul Wanless.

Pitman, who played 181 times for the Bulls in two spells from 1996-98 and 2002-06, started the first two games of Forest Green's season but failed to last an hour in either and has not featured since. He is the second of the Conference play-off winning side to return today, joining Andy Williams back at Edgar Street. The status of existing physio Wayne Jones is unknown, but he is rumoured to be heading for Yeovil.

Jimmy Harvey has spoken of his shock at the 'sudden' move:

"We have made a very encouraging start and Jamie has been very much a part of the coaching and playing squad up to this week We have had an extremely good working relationship and it therefore came as a great surprise when Jamie told me he was leaving after just six games into the season."

Quinn Expected As Cherries Sack Bond

Bournemouth fans expect ex-Bull Jimmy Quinn to be installed as their new manager after Kevin Bond, assistant Rob Newman, and coach Eddie Howe were all sacked.

Bond was deeply unpopular at Dean Court with fans organising protests nine months ago at the way the team played. Quinn, sacked as Cambridge boss on the eve of the season, has been touted for a number of jobs after having some success with Northwich and Shrewsbury.

Willo could move to the Championship

With Andy Williams returning to Edgar Street here's a reminder of an article that first appeared on Bulls News last February:

Journalist and football punter Steve Claridge has suggested that former Hereford United striker Andy Williams could move to the Championship.

Claridge watched the recent game between Willo's Bristol Rovers and local rivals Cheltenham Town. A few of his thoughts:

The Bristol Rovers striker has a bit of sparkle about him. As he stood underneath that high ball he had one Cheltenham defender in front of him and another behind. Yet he brought the ball under control with a beautiful touch and moved it smartly on to the side. At League One level such moments stand out.

Williams is all about touch, movement and intelligence. Those natural skills, that cannot be taught, mark him out as a player with a future higher up the pyramid.

He demanded attention because he did things with the ball that no one else on the pitch could manage. At times he looked head and shoulders above the rest. He immediately caught the eye with a fantastic first touch, which saw him roll his defender, cut inside another and shoot, and he showed the instinctive side to his game with a great one-two. He cannot have seen his winger when he released the ball inside the Cheltenham full-back but the pass was spot on. It showed he had that little bit extra.

Work Continues on Complete History of Hereford United

Ron Parrott, with help from Richard Prime, is in the process of writing a new book which will be a complete history of Hereford United. It will not be available for sometime as it covers over 80 years and entails a great deal of research.

Ron has kindly updated Bulls News on the project.

I am in the process of writing the complete history of Hereford United and have already been working on it for over five years and am just about half-way through.

It's a mammoth undertaking but, believe it or not, Richard Prime and myself have managed to get a match report and full team line-ups from every match since 1924.

It won't be a statistically biased book like the last two but rather a month by month, season by season story of events on and off the pitch, complete with a brief match report for every game.

Also included will be a post-war set of pen pictures of every player to have played a first-team game for United (where he came from, how many appearances and goals etc. and details of where he went to)

Hopefully supporters will understand what a massive undertaking it is. I have all the info to hand from old programmes, newspaper reports etc., and it seems a great shame not to share this with the general public.

I'd absolutely love to finish it but realistically, I'm so busy with my work and family that it may not see the light of day until I retire in 3 or 4 years time, when I shall be able to give it the attention it deserves!

Ron Parrott has written two books on Hereford United - The League Era and The Wilderness Years.

A Profile of Andy Williams

Below is a look at the football career of Andy Williams who has today returned to Hereford United from Bristol Rovers on loan until January 5th.

22 year old Andrew Williams, picture from 2006, was born on 14 August 1986 in Hereford and is a son of Colin Williams who is co-manager of the Hereford United youth team.

Andy attended the Pershore College football academy at Holme Lacy and played for the Hereford United youth team. He also gained experience by attending football academies at Aston Villa and Birmingham.

He made his debut for the first team in the 2003-04 season, coming on as a substitute in the Herefordshire Senior Cup final against Forest Green. The following season he featured regularly on the bench and made 3 league appearances as a substitute. He also started the two GLS Conference Cup games against Burton and Northwich.

2005-06 was his breakthrough season. His appearances for the first team were initially from the bench but he was given his first start in the league against Woking, scoring the opening goal. He progressed rapidly and went on to become the club's top scorer for the season, scoring 13 goals from 45 appearances in all competitions. Most notably he scored two vital goals in the playoff semi-final against Morecambe, and in the final itself against Halifax. He signed a new contract with the club in March 2006.

His first season in the Football League saw him played out of position on the right wing for the majority of the season resulting in 48 first team appearance, with only Rob Purdie and Alan Connell making more appearances. Andy's 8 goals also made him third highest goalscorer, and he was awarded the Away Goal of the Season for his spectacular effort against Bury.

He was the subject of two transfer bids from Bristol Rovers during the course of the season. At the end of August a £100,000 bid was rejected by Hereford, but at the end of January a £150,000 bid was accepted. However Andy turned down a move to the Gasheads, having already stated he was happy at Hereford and was not interested in moving to a club in the same division. When Bristol Rovers gained promotion to League One, speculation intensified that he would make the move, and on 5 July 2007 the transfer was finally confirmed.

Williams made his debut for Bristol Rovers in August, scoring four minutes after appearing as a substitute for Rickie Lambert.

On 1 September 2008 he rejoined former club Hereford United on loan until 5 January 2009.

(Profile from Wikipedia and other sources)

Willo Returns On Loan

Bristol Rovers have confirmed that Andy Williams has returned to Edgar Street on loan until January.

The deal, which runs to 5th January encompassing 20 League games, has no recall clause. Willo came through the youth ranks at Edgar Street scoring 21 times in 88 games. He moved for a reputed £150,000 to the Memorial Stadium in the summer of 2007 but started just 19 of his 45 League appearances for the Pirates, scoring seven goals in all competitions including one on the opening day against Carlisle.

"It's not a case of pushing Andy out. We need something to give him a spark again," said Rovers manager Paul Trollope.

"We want him to play regularly and score some goals. The move suits all parties - we still have belief in him."

Preview: Bulls vs Swindon

The Bulls entertain Swindon on Friday night at Edgar Street for another League One match.

The last time Swindon visited Edgar Street it was a day to forget for Tim Sills. The misfiring striker's four minute contribution to the game ended after being booked twice in quick succession during a disagreement with the referee. The game ended up 0-0 despite an entertaining game, with the Bulls beating Swindon in the reverse fixture 2-1 thanks to a pair of Andy Williams strikes.

The Bulls will be hoping for better support than the two and a half thousand home supporters that watched the Bulls win on Saturday - a disappointing figure considering that nearly six thousand Bulls turned out on the last day of last season to celebrate promotion. A number of signings are hoped for to bolster the squad, but the addition of Stephen O'Leary already seems to have gone a long way to lifting the group.

Swindon face a midweek trip to the delights of Aldershot before the relatively short journey to Edgar Street and, after a tough win over MK Dons at the weekend, they would have probably preferred the rest that the Bulls received with a bye in the Johnstones Paint Trophy. Striker Simon Cox, another £200,000 forward, with strike partner Billy Paynter have scored seven of their eight goals this season.

Hereford United vs Swindon Town, Edgar Street, Friday September 5th, 7.45pm.

Salisbury to Referee on Friday

Graham Salisbury from Lancashire is set to referee Friday's evening game at Edgar Street between Hereford United and Swindon Town.

The last time Salisbury was in charge of a game at Edgar Street was two seasons ago when Darlington were the visitors.

He also refereed the away game at Lincoln City, which the Bulls won 4-1, in February 2007. That evening Steve Guinan scored a hat-trick and one Lincoln player, Leon Metton, was shown a red card for a bad tackle on Dean Beckwith.

Meanwhile despite some excellent performances last Saturday there are no Hereford United players in the League One team of the week. Former loanee Gary Hooper, who scored twice last Saturday, did make the eleven.

Deadline Day Deals

The following transfer deals have been announced:

Brighton: ex-West Brom teenage winger Jack Compton signed 2 month deal.

Bristol Rovers: In addition to sending Andy Williams back to the Bulls, they have signed Carshalton defender Liam Harwood to a one year deal.

Carlisle: Defender Dan Wordsworth goes to Kendal on loan for a month.

Cheltenham: Striker Lloyd Owusu arrives from Yeovil on a one year deal. The 31 year old is a free transfer after initial enquiries a month ago suggested a £50,000 fee.

Crewe: Coming in on a three year deal is 20 year old Burton defender John Brayford for an undisclosed sum.

Huddersfield: Teenager Shane Hillock goes to Harrogate on loan.

Leeds: Winger Seb Carole leaves by mutual consent.

MK Dons: Spanish defender Miguel Angel Llera signs on a one year deal. The 30 year old has several second tier Spanish sides to his name.

Northampton: Goalkeeper Mark Bunn finalises his transfer to Blackburn. Undisclosed fee recieved only described as more than club record £270,000.

Peterboro: Fulham defender Gabriel Zakuani joins on one month loan. Striker Danny Crow has his contract cancelled by mutual consent after more than a year on the transfer list.

Scunthorpe: Birmingham defender Krystian Pearce extends loan until January.

Southend: Jean Francois Christophe, a 21 year old midfielder, signs from Portsmouth on a months loan but out goes Peggy Lokando. The 18 year old joins Dagenham for a month. Also out is alleged Bulls target Matt Harrold, who joins Wycombe for an undisclosed fee.