"….engaging and funny, nostalgic and very well written" is the compliment paid by Ricky George (The Daily Telegraph) in his review of Mitch Stansbury's book "A Corner Kick from the Middle Of Nowhere". The book chronicles some of the more recent events in the history of our beloved club.
Jumpers for goalposts? Not quite, but the top tier of English Non-League football came as a shock when Hereford United fell out of the Football League in 1997. Populated by teams and places that many football fans would barely have heard of, the GM Vauxhall Conference welcomed Hereford to a world a thousand miles from Old Trafford or Anfield, and also it must be said, a pretty long trek from Grimsby or Bury. We were, in footballing terms, a corner kick from the middle of nowhere. Depressing enough without adding in a million pounds of debt, and a crumbling stadium in the hand of a property developer with a penchant for building superstores on football pitches. The days of FA Cup heroics, Radford's goal and Parka-clad boys running on the pitch were long gone and a new era beckoned. An era where the team struggled both on and off the pitch, and where school-teachers, electricians and even a male stripper did their bit to keep the club alive. It was the era of bucket collections and one where any talented youngster was sold for pennies, merely to keep the lights on or the bailiff out. Many fans turned their back, unable to take the pain of yet another defeat by yet another Pub side, but somehow the Club survived, on some occasions by a whisker, and gradually became a team worth watching again. Over a decade of non-league football, The Bulls of Hereford have seen all the highs and lows that the sport can offer. From being moments away from liquidation to an incredible, record breaking season, from tears of despair to tears of joy, and from glorious failure to nerve-shredding, nail-biting success. There have also been moments of outrageous comedy, not all of it intentional, to set the Conference aside as a league with a difference. Whether you follow Aylesbury or Arsenal, you may read this story and wonder if you are watching the same game, but if your soul lies with a football team, any team, then there is something in the book for you.
This is a great read for HUFC fans, bringing back memories and emotions that are good and bad. More of a collection of tales than the excellent factual records of recent other publications; Mitch's book is a bit like listening to someone in a Pub saying “eh, do you remember the time we went to….” “A Corner Kick from the Middle Of Nowhere” by Mitch Stansbury is published by Offside Publishing and should be available from the usual outlets around the end of November at just £8.99.
Buy it, you’ll love it.
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Marine At Edgar Street On Saturday 9th November At 3.00pm