Finances Hamper Turner

We continue with our look back at the years Graham Turner was in charge at Hereford United.

Turner's second season in the Conference (1998/99) was noted for two reasons, not much money and little progress on the field.

Pre-season started with a friendly against West Bromwich and a plea from Simon Wright of the Grorty Dick Fanzine for supporters to go to Edgar Street for the game.

"Hereford United are simply on their beam ends," said Wright. "They've been unable to afford to retain most of last season's team and only funding from United's ISA allowed the club to travel to their last two away fixtures. They need to raise money quickly just to stay in business."

And in an interview with Talking Bull Turner spelt out the position.

"The problem we have got is the paying off of accrued debts notwithstanding the £1M we owe to Chelverton and Bristol Stadiums or the £90,000 we owe to the bank (over £25,000 we owe to the bank from the 1982 company)," said Turner.

"We have to service some past debts and some commitments to leases, hire purchase, all those sort of things I think the budget we have set down should see us break even but it doesn't allow for things like the debts to taxmen, to one or two other clubs, to more recent debts that were not included in the CVA. So we'll have our work cut out making ends meet."

On August 4th the Hereford United board met for the first time with Turner in the chair. Ron Jukes, Mike Hancock and Joan Fennessy all joined the board at this time.

There were lots of comings and goings pre-season: IN: John Snape (Halesowen Town), Mark Taylor (Shrewsbury), Richard Leadbeater (Wolves), Matthew Cross (Barnsley), Tony James (Albion), Stuart Evans (Halesowen Town), Mark Druce (Rotherham), Ian Wright (Hull), Paul Fewings (Hull ), Chris Lane (Everton).

OUT: Brian McGorry (Torquay), Chris Hargreaves (Plymouth), John Brough (Cheltenham), Ryan Durham, Andy De Bont (Stourbridge), Jamie Pitman (Yeovil), Murray Fishlock (Yeovil), Tony Agana, Trevor Matthewson (Ilkeston), Rob Warner (Tamworth).

The season got off to a poor start when the Bulls lost at Kingstonian 2-0 but wins against Leek and Dover redressed the balance somewhat. And in September there were three wins in a row over Barrow (first meeting since 1972), Telford and Morecambe.

A draw at Rushden followed but some might remember the day for the supporters coach breaking down on the way back to Hereford. Peter Povall's match report ended with this:

But to top the day off, the bus broke down on the way home. The windscreen wipers packed up and it was chucking it down. Giving the bus driver credit, he stopped at a pub for the supporters to adjourn and waited for the mechanic. Upon returning to the bus, we found that once we had taken our places, a religious nutter (nothing against religion here, he was mad) got on the bus and gave us a quick lecture on how he could make the blind see and predicted that World War 3 was going to happen during 1999.

Gates at Edgar Street had averaged only 2144 against a budgeted figure of 2500 so the club agreed with the stewards and gatemen that they would work for nothing at the forthcoming match against Farnborough Town. It saved the club £2,000.

However it was the failure of the Bulls to defeat Newport IOW in the FA Cup which dealt a cruel blow to the finances.

After leading 2-0, the Bulls faltered and lost 3-2.

"The result is a disaster," said Turner.

The following week he was forced to sell Richard Walker for £10,000 to Cheltenham.

"The last thing I want at this stage of the season is to see players leave us but the dire financial situation we are in made the decision for us," said Turner.

"We had no alternative but to accept the money."

And Walker wasn't the only player Turner had to sell as Gavin Mahon moved to Brentford. This time there was a decent fee, £50,000 upfront and another £40,000 after a number of first team games plus a sell-on clause.

"It's important for Hereford that we build a reputation as a club that gives youngsters their chance and provides the platform for them to move," said Turner.

By Mid-December the Bulls were in 5th place but a poor run of results from then to the end of January which included the two Xmas games against Kidderminster saw the Bulls drop to 12th place.

At this time 18 year old Paul Parry wasn't well known to most supporters however Graham Turner decided to offer him an 18 month contract after being promoted from the youth set-up.

"He is a very bright prospect and I believe he has got the potential to play at quite a reasonable level," said Turner.

Off the pitch two potential court cases came to light. Firstly former manager John Layton had decided to claim £50,000 for unfair dismissal from his manager's job at Edgar Street and secondly an un-named woman wanted £10,000 after she suffered an injury due to scaffolding erected around the supporters club after the arson attack.

Director George Hyde explained what had happened at a Fans Forum meeting.

He believed that the club had been insured against such claims.

However, when the action was originally received by the club, the then Club Solicitor, Mr Simmons (husband of former club director Jane Simmons), allegedly did nothing to contest the claim nor advise the club's insurance company. Under the terms of the insurance, as the possible claim was not advised within two years, they are no longer prepared to deal with the claim.

It has been suggested that the club may be able to lodge a counter claim against the solicitor under his professional indemnity insurance. Mr Hyde stated that the club would be looking into this.

Hyde also told the meeting that a recent VAT inspection had also revealed a discrepancy. It appeared that no VAT had been paid on the tickets sold by Darlington FC following the play-off match a few years ago. This debt amounted to £10,000 and could not be included in the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).

Whilst outlining these claims Mr Hyde made it crystal clear to those in attendance that he felt that these examples typified how the club had been run by the previous Board of Directors and that it was "difficult to remain positive when we keep being hit by missiles from the past."

At the end of January striker Mark Druce was sold for £10,000 to rivals Kidderminster.

"We've sold nine players in the last two-and-a-half years and we've brought in £300,000," said Turner. "That has kept the club afloat.

"Selling Mark was a necessity. We were faced with several bills which came in and the money from Mark's transfer will enable us to pay our way again."

And Turner publically backed plans to move out of Edgar Street.

"The long-term future of the club is looking a lot rosier but we always knew this would be a critical season," said Turner.

"Moving to a new ground holds the key for us but hopefully that could happen in three to five years.

"If we have the co-operation of the local authority we can realise the asset of Edgar Street which is a prime site for leisure or retail development."

Meanwhile HUISA pledged money for a new player.

"We are delighted by HUISA's offer. It is a positive gesture and very much appreciated as both financial and moral support," said Turner.

Some further good news came when it was reported that the £1M loaned to Hereford United need not be paid back by May 1999 and the interest due would be frozen.

But at the end of February another player had to be sold, Richard Leadbetter moved to Stevenage for £20,000.

"I would have liked to have kept him, but we need money to pay for the day-to-day bills that come in," said Turner. "This cash will stabilise the situation for the rest of the season and into the close season."

Then in early March coach Keith Downing left for a post at Wolves. He wasn't replaced so Ian Rodgerson started to help Turner with coaching.

The Bulls had dropped to 12th position with just one win since Mid-December.

"We need to get some points quickly," said Turner. "We could be sucked into the relegation dog-fight if we are not careful."

Off the field the accounts to May 31st 1998 were published showing a £194,450 loss, which wasn't as bad as the previous year's £262,844 loss.

Then on March 20th a home win, the first since November 28th. However the game against Barrow was watched by just 1,521 fans.

And results improved towards the end of the season with four wins from five games. The Bulls finished in 13th place. But worrying for the board was the average gate of just 1,976, well below break-even point. However Sun Valley kept faith with the club and said they would continue to sponsor the Bulls to the tune of £30,000 per season.

Considering Turner had to sell so many players just to keep the club afloat a final position of 13th could have been much worse. However just after the end of the season it emerged that Turner was after the signature of Steve Piearce from Halesowen a signing he was later to regret.

And Freetown Kudos was let loose on Edgar Street in a variation from the Spot the Ball format to raise money for the struggling Bulls.

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