Monday, February 06, 2023

Your Team, Your Club Needs You Said Hereford Chairman

Following the departure of Josh Gowling, Hereford chairman Jon Hale has issued a rallying cry to supporters of the club.

'Over the next 2 weeks we have 3 huge home games, starting with Tuesday night’s encounter under the lights against Southport. My message to our magnificent supporters ahead of those fixtures is clear – your team, and your club, needs you!

Through your committed, vocal backing we can provide the players with the lift they need as we look to get back to winning ways.

Tuesday’s game is quickly followed by Saturday’s home fixture against Alfreton and then Curzon Ashton at Edgar Street on Saturday 18th February. I know that times are tough financially for many and that people may find it hard to justify attendance at matches, but if you can make come it would be appreciated by everyone at the club as we all know that a large, noisy crowd gives the players huge encouragement.

Over the weekend, tough conversations have taken place, but it is vitally important to now rally round our caretaker management team of Yan and Jared as I know all the players will. They are an honest group and give everything for Hereford FC.

I cannot hide away from the fact it has been a very difficult couple of days for everyone at the club as Josh Gowling’s time with us came to an end, bringing to a close to a long association between our club and a man who was first a player, and  then our manager.

I did not enjoy the conversation with Josh because we have had a great working relationship since I returned as Chair at the start of last season and I have always found him to be someone who worked with integrity, and in an honest and passionate manner. There is absolutely no question that he has been dedicated to his work for Hereford FC.

That said, football is a results business and Josh knew only too well that recent performances and results had not been good enough. I wish Josh every possible success for his future involvement in the game, and with his commitment to the cause and the hard work he puts in, I am sure that he will enjoy success elsewhere.

Looking at where we find ourselves, I want to put on record that, as a club, we continue to be indebted to our supporters for your role in our progression. With your help the playing budget was increased this season due to the very successful squad builder campaign. This raised £60,000 and every single penny of this went into the playing pool and has been utilised.

We have recently increased the budget again to help stave off an injury crisis the like of which would cripple any club. We simply had to bring in players to try to strengthen and support the manager.

Looking forward we have started the process of planning for next season’s playing budget, which will obviously now be used with a new person at the helm. We will continue to do this planning diligently.

The process to identify and appoint our new manager is already underway and we will look to have someone in place in a timeframe that is right for the club. By that, I mean we will not rush the appointment because it is a critical decision that we have to get right. We immediately received a number of expressions of interest from some well-placed candidates, and I would expect more to follow because I believe this to be an attractive job, at a fantastic club with a magnificent support.

I am indebted to Graham Turner, with whom I have a very good relationship, as he has offered to work alongside us in the process to deliver the right person, with the best possible credentials, in a suitable timescale. We would be foolish to turn away such experience when making such key decisions, and Graham still has the club very much at heart.

The club has to move forward in a sustainable fashion, so whoever is appointed to manage our club will have to be well versed in managing budgets, while also knowing the level and getting the absolute best out of the squad at all times. We believe that person can be found and are looking forward to moving the club forward from this point on, initially under the stewardship of Yan and Jared, who I’d like to thank for stepping up to help at this point.

Yan and Jared have great respect for each other having played for several clubs together over a number of years. They know Hereford FC extremely well and are desperate to help bring about an upturn in form.

Through our support, we can all demonstrate to Yan, Jared and all our playing staff how much we want them to succeed. They will be doing their very best and, as fans of this great club, lets make sure we are doing the same.

See you on Tuesday night, please bring a friend and, most of all, lets make some noise and get behind the lads from first whistle to last.'