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| Ryan Green celebrates scoring against Alvechurch |
Ryan Green is to finally bid farewell to Edgar Street next Wednesday after nearly 400 games in a Bulls shirt.
The popular defender - who has signed for Westfields this season - will play a cameo role in his testimonial match against Wolves Under-23s.
Bulls News recently caught up with Green to talk about his three spells at Edgar Street after first pulling on a Hereford shirt 16 years ago.
What has been your highlights playing for both Hereford
United and Hereford FC?
For Hereford United, it was obviously the Halifax game at
Leicester. To be so close the previous two seasons and to eventually go up and
for me to score the winner was unbelievable and a day I will never forget. At Hereford
FC, it would have to be the FA cup run.
Eastleigh and Fleetwood away were amazing occasions and the supporters
were immense.
Your first league game was on a baking hot day at
Tamworth in August 2003. What do you remember about that game?
I remember it being boiling hot, and I was just thinking
what a very good team we have and that we
would have a good chance of going up.
It was a great winning start and again, great support.
What are your memories of the 2003/04 season and was losing
to Aldershot in the play-offs your biggest disappointment in a Hereford shirt?
It was an awful day to lose to Aldershot with Tretts (Andy
Tretton) getting sent off. To lose the game after an amazing season really hurt
for weeks after.
After losing in the play-offs again – this time to
Stevenage in the 2004/05 season, did you still believe Hereford could get
promoted to the Football League? Were you disappointed in the team’s
performance in the second leg at Edgar Street?
It was another disappointing end to the season and this time
we didn't show what we were capable of, and you could say we bottled it a
little bit. Then days after, we really disliked Stevenage and the manager,
Graham Westley. So, yes it was another heartbreak. However. I did think it
could have been third time lucky, so I signed up for a third year.
Hereford finally gained promotion the following season in
a memorable match at the Walkers Stadium, with you scoring the winning goal. Being
honest, have you ever hit a sweeter strike, and did you mean it?
Yes, third time lucky and what an occasion. It was probably
our weakest team out of the three years, but we battled through it and got the
deserved promotion. It was a tired left foot swing to be honest and it could
have gone anywhere. Fortunately for me, it went in the top corner.
If Hereford FC had won the FA Vase Final at Wembley,
would that have eclipsed the Halifax win at Leicester?
No, I didn't think it would have. Wembley was an amazing
experience, but even if we had won, it wouldn't have beaten Leicester. Three
hard years we tried to get promoted and to eventually do it was unreal.
You left Hereford to join Bristol Rovers – would you have
liked to have stayed?
To be honest I would have love to have stayed, but I was
struggling financially at Hereford and Graham Turner only offered me £50 a week
more for getting promoted. So, when Rovers trebled my wages, I had to do it to
live comfortably.
You returned to the club in 2009 following the club’s relegation
to League Two. That period (2009 to 2012) was a difficult time at the club.
What do you take from it?
My second spell was probably my least enjoyable. It was not
greatly run with new owners, managers changed to often and to finish getting
relegated summed it up to be honest.
What did you think of the club’s demise after watching it
from afar after you left in 2012?
It was hard to take seeing the club get in such a mess, and to
see the owners from London destroy the club was heartbreaking.
The club reformed and you decided to return in 2015. What
were your aims and expectations at the time?
When I received a message asking if I would like to return
to the new reformed club I was extremely excited and jumped at the chance and
couldn't wait to get going. It was a great decision and the first year was one
of my all-time favourite times in my career.
Even though the club were playing in the Midland League,
it still featured many memorable occasions. What do you take from it and di you
enjoy the club’s battle with Alvechurch?
Like I said, it was an amazing experience, and for Alvechurch
to take us nearly all the way made it even more exciting. The game away near the
end of the season was memorable. The pitch and conditions were horrific, but we
grounded it out and got the win, which killed off Alvechurch’s season.
Looking back now, how disappointed were you with how the
team lost to Morpeth or do you think it was still a great achievement making
the final and take the experience away with you?
The Morpeth game was a real downer. We did so well to get
there and was a great experience with all the Hereford fans there, so it was
set up for a great achievement. But it all went wrong and ended the season on a
downer. But, looking at the bigger picture, it was our first season, we got
promoted and reached Wembley. So it could have been the most enjoyable season in
my career.
Following two further promotions, Hereford were placed in
National League North, rather than South. Was that a kick in the teeth and how
harder was it to play in the north, than the south?
It was another great season and we won it fairly easy after
some tough run ins with Kettering and King’s Lynn. But to be placed in the
north was a killer and now what most of the squad wanted. I had a lot of higher
offers but stayed with Hereford even though I really didn't want to travel all
that way from Cardiff every other week at my age. But Hereford is in my heart,
so I decided to stay.
Did the sacking of Pete Beadle have a detrimental effect
on the team, and would you have liked to have played more to help the team?
It was a very sad day for myself and the players because we
all loved Beads and Jenks. It didn't feel the same at the club anymore. All our squad that had been there for a long time were
one-by-one getting axed and the new management wanted their own players in and Beadle’s
players out - that was plain to see. But
it happens often in football; managers just want their own lads in.
What was it like to co-manage the club last season
especially at a time when a lot of fans were on the club's back? What did you
think of Beads being sacked?
I didn't enjoy being manager of the club; I was proud to do
it, but it just wasn’t for me. I took over at a time when I felt it was very
harsh on Beads and the rest of the staff. But that's football.
How did you enjoy the scouting role that you had, and
would you have liked to have carried it on?
I enjoyed the scouting role and would like to have continued,
but the new management team wanted all their budget in the playing side. But I'm
happy really as I'm glad to be back playing again.
How much longer do you think you have got? Would you
eventually like to go into management/coaching?
I’m with Westfields now and really enjoying it. There are good
lads and management there and we have high hopes for the season ahead. I can
see myself playing until I'm 40 then who knows.
Will you still go and watch Hereford if you can?
Yes, when I can I will watch Hereford.
How much are you looking forward to your testimonial and
what is your message to the fans?
My message to the fans is that they have been unbelievable
in my 10 seasons at the club and have supported me through thick and thin. Home
and away even at places like Bardon Hill and Alvechurch, they have come out in
numbers. We have had so many memories together - four promotions, the game at Leicester,
Wembley; it's been an excellent journey that we've been on and it's a shame
it's got to stop. I'm so glad that I'm still playing in Hereford still so I can
get to see some amazing people that I've met through the years. I'm sure Hereford
fans know how much the club means to me by how I played for the badge and gave
it my all. it will be sad to say goodbye on July 24 and I will be holding back
the tears.