Farsley 50/1 To Beat Hereford Tomorrow

Last Season Farsley and Hereford Drew 0-0

It's a long time since odds of 50/1 were available for any National North League Fixture but that's the price bookmakers are offering for a Farsley Celtic win against Hereford tomorrow at Buxton.

And for a Hereford win you will need to find a lot of money to have a return worth having if the bookies price of 1/20 holds.

Currently Hereford are 6th in the table with 66 points from 40 games. Farsley are bottom with 26 points from 39 games.

Hereford's away stats are 8 wins, 5 draws and 7 defeats with a goal difference of plus 14.

Farsley's 'home' record is won 1, drawn 3 and lost 14 with a goal difference of minus 59. 

Last Saturday Hereford defeated Curzon Ashton 3-1 whilst Farsley lost 4-0 at Spennymoor.

Recent form:

Farsley LLLLL

Hereford DLLLW

Farsley 50/1  Draw 12/1 Hereford 1/20

National North League Weekend Preview

A preview of tomorrow's games in the National North League from the National League.

March’s final matches in the National League North are approaching as we prepare to jump head-first into the season’s final month.

The temperature is rising in the battle for promotion and we’re about to find out how many teams are in the absorbing title race as we get ready to enter April.

With a two point advantage, Scunthorpe United’s destiny is in their own hands.

Will there be another huge crowd to cheer them on against Southport on Saturday? The Iron have won eight of their last nine home matches and Andy Butler wants Glanford Park packed out again.

They can’t take their eyes off second-place Kidderminster Harriers, who are going for a fifth straight win this weekend. But Peterborough Sports have only lost twice in ten away games and will pose a threat.

Brackley Town sensed a reprieve from their play-off anguish when they put together the wins which pushed them into title contention. 

They’re still third, but two defeats in their last three could prove costly. Four points off, they know they really need to win at home to Scarborough Athletic to keep the heat on.

Defeat at Scunthorpe in front of a record breaking 8,274 spectators was of little consolation to Chester, who have fallen off the pace with a return of two wins from six. To realistically stay in the race, they need to win at home to Curzon Ashton.

There’s probably too much work to do for Chorley in fifth, but they can at least give the title challengers something to think about by beating Spennymoor Town.

King's Lynn Town’s push for the play-offs see a visit to Leamington, who are aiming for a top half finish, while Needham Market vs Buxton has impact at both ends of the table.

Farsley Celtic will be relegated on Saturday if they fail to beat Hereford.

Warrington Town won’t be far behind unless they can put a run together and fast. Darlington visit, while Rushall Olympic will feel a win at home to South Shields is critical.

The two teams sitting above the bottom four meet and the winner of Oxford City vs Radcliffe will feel they’re as good as safe.

National League North fixtures:
Brackley Town v Scarborough Athletic
Chester v Curzon Ashton
Chorley v Spennymoor Town
Farsley Celtic v Hereford
Kidderminster v Peterborough S
Leamington v King's Lynn Town
Marine v Alfreton Town
Needham Market v Buxton
Oxford City v Radcliffe
Rushall Olympic v South Shields
Scunthorpe United v Southport
Warrington Town v Darlington

 

 

 

Three Points - Nothing Less

A resurgent Hereford FC travel to the Silverlands Stadium in Buxton on Saturday looking to repeat the excellent performance and result against Curzon Ashton last weekend. Fortunately they’ll be playing homeless Farsley there though rather than Buxton, which should make this a far easier assignment.

To channel Oscar Wilde, to err once is human but to err twice is careless. In terms of racking up relatively easy points against the teams everyone else has beaten, the Bulls erred at Rushall. They won’t err at Farsley. You’d expect nothing else from Paul Caddis than to say that the hosts are scrapping for their lives and it’ll be a really hard game etc, but the club is, sadly, utterly shredded, and if this isn’t won, and won comfortably, it would be a huge shock. The club are indeed fighting, but not for their place in the National League North. That’s gone. It’s a fight for the survival of the club, and that fight is irrelevant to the outcome of this match.

Also, with goal difference quite possibly playing a key role at the end of the regular season in determining who secures the lower play-off spots, the Bulls not only need to make sure they win but also that when they go in front they press and press for more goals. This is the final opportunity to rack up goals before some actually proper tough games to round off the season.

Caddis has rightly stressed the importance of finding some consistency in a division where the c-word is virtually an alien concept, because a few wins on the bounce can completely transform your league position. Well, this is as good  a chance as the club could wish for to record back-to-back wins and continue to ease their way out of the recent trough they’d sunk into. A win could propel the Bulls to the top of the play-off scramblers mini-grouping, namely Chorley, Kings Lynn, Curzon Ashton, Buxton and now Spennymoor, with the four clubs above that grouping now self-selected as play-off certainties and league title contenders.

Kings Lynn and Curzon both have a game against Farsley before the end of the season, and will be looking to bank both points and goals in those games.

All of this predatory racking-up-points-and-goals language doesn’t detract from the sympathy one feels for Farsley. It’s been an utterly horrible season for the Yorkshire side, with no pitch to play on at the Citadel pending a switch at some point to plastic. All of their games, even their ‘home’ ones, have therefore been away, and their current ‘home’ is 70 miles from their actual home.

Ex-manager, and ex-team mate of Paul Caddis, Clayton Donaldson left in November to join his old club York as ‘head of development’. Good players like Ben Atkinson and Tom Allen have gone too as costs are cut to the bone, and what’s left is essentially a game against youngsters. The average age of the squad is 19. They’ve scored three goals in their last ten matches, none of which have been won, and they lost 4-0 at Spennymoor last Saturday. They’re in a mess.

It was a really smart performance from the Bulls last Saturday in largely outplaying Curzon Ashton to the extent that the latter’s excellent away record never looked like being improved. However, that’s now the benchmark for the rest of the season in supporters’ eyes (and hopefully dressing room eyes). This side can be very good, and needs to be for the rest of the season. If last Saturday can be matched for the remaining six games, play-off qualification is a formality, but where was that quality over the preceding four games?

Kyle Howkins’ return made a big difference and his partnership with Matt Preston should oversee a clean sheet here. Tate Campbell, Lawson D’Ath and Alex Babos took control of the midfield last weekend after half an hour and didn’t relinquish it until Babos was substituted, which did then seem to give the visitors a way back. It’s great to see the Hereford playmaker playing such an influential role again, and getting closer to Remaye Campbell so that the striker’s panic-inducing presence among opposition defences has someone to pick up the pieces and do something dangerous with. Babos could captain the side here if new loanee Kieran Coates starts at right back and Aaron Skinner moves across to the left, with Lewis Hudson on the bench. 

Those three midfielders should surely start again, which may mean a place on the bench again for Yusifu Ceesay (for whom Ramadan is now coming to an end) and Dylan Mitchell. Hopefully Omari Sterling-James can build on a promising debut against a defence that will comfortably concede 100 goals this season.

It would also be nice to have a referee who doesn’t seem to intensely dislike Remaye Campbell. The lack of any decisions going the way of the Hereford striker last week was quite astonishing, when his shirt was more or less up over his shoulders on several occasions and he was in a judo lock. Well done Remaye for not losing your rag when you almost lost your shirt.

There can’t be any Rushallesque slip-ups here, and there won’t be. A repeat of that classy performance last Saturday will be more than enough, and then a two-game winning streak can be taken into the last five games, all of which will be a good deal more competitive than this one has any right to be. And a two-game winning streak counts as consistency in this diabolical division.

According to the gaffer, a club with Football League history in its DNA, and average crowds that are twice those of many clubs in the division above, is over-achieving in being sixth in the National League North. I don’t know if that’s a managing expectations thing, or whether a club run in a financially prudent way can only get this far in the English football pyramid on decent crowds these days because everything else is skewed by benefactors. It would be good to know what’s behind that sense of over-achievement before season tickets go on sale for 2025/26.

COYW

Women's Cup Final Photos

Photos from Hereford FC Women's Zzoomm HFA Women's County Cup Final win over Hereford Pegasus. 

Caddis Brings In Defender Coates

Hereford manager Paul Caddis has brought in Kieran Coates on loan from Boston United until the end of the season.

This from Boston:

Coates, 23, joined the Pilgrims in the summer from Chester FC and has made 18 appearances to date in amber and black.

He will link up with the Bulls on loan until April 26 – and beyond should Hereford qualify for the National League North play-offs. 

Paul Caddis has commented: 

“Kieran is a real front-footed full back and very attack-minded. 

He has featured in the National League North before and really impressed. 

I am really excited to see Kieran in action and he adds another body to our group for the remainder of the games we have to play.”

 

McGlynn To Play For Alvechurch

Declan McGlynn has linked up with Alvechurch.

This from Alvechurch:

We are delighted to announce the arrival of attacking midfielder & American international Declan McGlynne from Hereford FC.on a dual loan registration basis, subject to FA ratification.  

He joins us ahead of the run-in & we can’t wait for him to get going!

 

County Cup Winners

Hereford Women won the HFA County Cup last night.

 Thanks to Will Cheshire for the pictures.

THROWBACK THURSDAY | Hereford United 1-0 Lincoln City - 27th March 1996

Nicky Cross heads home the winner late in the 2nd half.

Hereford 1 deBont 2 Watkiss 3 Lloyd 4 Smith 5 Pounder 6 James 7 Downing 8 Wilkins 9 White 10 Hargreaves 11 Pitman Sub Cross Lincoln 1 Richardson 2 Holmes 3 Whitney 4 Minett 5 Robertson 6 G Brown 7 Ainsworth 8 Onwere 9 Bos 10 S Brown 11 Alcide Subs Fleming, Barnett Attendance 1,631

Hereford Women Win HFA Cup Final

Hereford Women have won tonight's HFA Womens County Cup Final played at Edgar Street this evening.

They defeated Hereford Pegasus 3-1. 

The match was delayed during the second half because of an injury to a Pegasus player.

Scorers for Hereford were Sheree Smith (2) and Jess Kenny. 

236 watched the final.

Tonight's National North League Results

Five games took place in the National North League this evening.

Alfreton 1 Leamington 0

Brackley 0 Kidderminster 1

Darlington 1 Chorley 1

Scarborough 0 Oxford City 0

Spennymoor 3 Radcliffe 2

Kidderminster move up to 2nd place, two points behind Scunthorpe.

Hereford remain in 6th place.

League Table:

Scunthorpe 40/78

Kidderminster 40/76

Brackley 40/74

Chester 40/73

Chorley 40/68

Hereford 40/66

Kings Lynn 40/66

Curzon Ashton 38/65

 

£15 To Watch Hereford At Buxton Against Farsley Celtic On Saturday

 

It will cost Hereford adult supporters £15 to watch the game against Farsley Celtic at Buxton on Saturday.

Concession tickets cost £10

To purchase please go to: https://fcfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/farsley_celtic_fc_v_hereford_fc 

Please note if driving to the game there is no car park but plenty of street parking close by.

Sat Nav: SK17 6QH

Travel To Buxton For Farsley Celtic On Saturday

There's quite a lot of interest from Hereford supporters for the game at Buxton against Farsley Celtic on Saturday.

It looks as though there will be at least three coaches going from Hereford.

They are the 'HUST' coach, the Hereford Awaydays coach, and a third organised by Leon Cooke.

HFA Women's County Cup Final

The final of the HFA Women's County Cup Final takes place tomorrow evening at Edgar Street.

The game is between Hereford Women and Hereford Pegasus Ladies.

Kick-off is at 7.45pm. 

More details such as admission prices to follow.

National North League Preview

There are five National North fixtures this evening.

Here's a preview from the National League:

'Title chasers are in action and two of them cross swords for a crucial meeting.

Brackley Town and Kidderminster Harriers are hot on the heels of Scunthorpe United, who established themselves as National League North championship favourites with a vital win over rivals Chester on Saturday.

The two challengers play their game in hand tonight sitting second and third - the Iron have a four-point advantage and will no doubt be hoping both drop points.

Elsewhere in the division, fifth place Chorley aim to close the gap and stay in the title race with victory at Darlington.

It’s an important night for the clubs aiming to stay in the division - and the two teams sitting just above the drop-zone are in action. 

Radcliffe will think they could be almost safe with success at Spennymoor, a win opening up a ten-point gap.

Oxford City know they will have a nine-point cushion with a game in hand if they leave Scarborough victorious.

Elsewhere Leamington hope for another win when they entertain Alfreton Town, with Billy Heath determined not to let the Reds season go cold.'

 

Chester At Edgar Street - Tickets Are On Sale

Andy Williams Scored From The Penalty Spot In Last Seasons Game Which Ended 1-1

 This from Hereford FC:

Tickets for our upcoming home fixture against Chester are now on sale! The match is set to take place at Edgar Street on 5th April, and with a big gate expected, we advise supporters to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets can be purchased online 24/7, and from the Club Shop on Tuesday’s and Friday’s between 10am-4pm. Any available tickets will also be available on the day of the game.

Away Supporters – Visiting Chester fans will be accommodated in the Away Seating, Away Terrace, and F Block of the Len Weston Stand, with a total of 700 tickets. We encourage away supporters to purchase their tickets promptly as availability is limited, and no further away tickets will be available.

Matchday Fan Zone – Ahead of kick-off, Bulls fans can enjoy the matchday atmosphere in our Fan Zone, located outside Radford’s from 12:30pm. The Fan Zone will offer a variety of food and drink options, as well as exclusive player interviews. Additionally, Everton’s Premier League clash with Arsenal will be shown live on the screens inside Radford’s, making it the perfect pre-match build-up for supporters. Please note that the Fan Zone is for home fans only. Away supporters are welcome to visit Addison’s Bar ahead of kick-off.

Don’t miss out on what promises to be an exciting afternoon at Edgar Street! Secure your tickets now and be part of the action.

Click here to purchase your tickets now! 

 

Scunthorpe Reject Investment From FC100,000 Project

Over the two days days there has been speculation that Scunthorpe FC could have a new investor. But earlier this afternoon it was revealed that this particular approach has been turned down by the club board.

This from the Scunthorpe Chair:

On behalf of Scunthorpe United Football Club and my fellow board members, I would like to address some of the rumours, assumptions and mistruths that have circulated on social media over the past two days regarding our potential collaboration with the FC100,000 project.

While I understand that this speculation has caused some concern amongst our fans, I want to reassure you all above anything that as custodians of our beloved club, after everything we have been through together, there is no way that this group of owners will ever put the future of Scunthorpe United Football Club at risk.

We know that your trust is earned, and I believe that over the last eighteen months we have earned it. Myself, Roj, Ian and George remain 100 per cent committed and united in our quest to create a sustainable future for this football club.

As part of that commitment, we have made no secret that we are open to investment from a potential fifth owner and see it as our responsibility to explore all possible options. When we were approached by the founders of FC100,000 we were unanimously impressed with many elements of their proposal and were open to the idea. 

To create a membership scheme that creates significant ongoing monthly revenue, while giving fans direct access to the club and a voice on certain decisions, could have been a game changer for the club.

However, at no point would any potential agreement have relinquished significant control of the club to a third party, and the board were very clear that there could be no risk to the future financial stability of the club. 

Since FC100,000 made their own announcement yesterday it has been widely reported that Scunthorpe United was the club potentially involved, and our fans have understandably voiced their concerns. We have listened to those concerns, we share a number of them, and we have unanimously decided to end our interest in this project.

On a personal note, I feel genuinely disappointed by the suggestion that this group of owners, who continue to work so hard and give so much to the club, would do anything to jeopardise its future. For us, for our families, and for our staff members toreceive personal abuse – including death threats - is absolutely deplorable. 

We do know that this abuse comes from a minority, and we are looking forward to having our fans back together for another huge game at the Attis Arena this weekend, on the back of such a special, record-breaking occasion against Chester on Saturday. 

Together, we need to continue to focus on supporting Andy and his team, who have got us into a wonderful position to hopefully gain promotion back to the National League.

Michelle Harness
Chair

 

White Features In National North Team Of The Week

 

Jaiden White, who scored Hereford's opening goal in their 3-1 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Curzon Ashton on Saturday, has been included in the National North League team of the week.

His goal will surely be high up the list for Hereford's goal of the season.

Tuesday Night Fixtures In The National North League

Five fixtures are set to take place in the National North League tomorrow evening.

The game between Brackley (2nd) and Kidderminster (3rd) will be of most interest.  But Hereford supporters will also be watching to see how Chorley (5th) get on at Darlington (11th).

Alfreton v Leamington

Brackley v Kidderminster

Darlington v Chorley

Scarborough v Oxford City

Spennymoor v Radcliffe

After Ninety Minutes

Some of the Hereford players following their 3-1 win over Curzon Ashton yesterday at Edgar Street.

Highlights: Hereford v Curzon Ashton

 

Highlights from yesterday's National North League game between Hereford and Curzon Ashton.

To watch please click: https://www.herefordfc.co.uk/highlights-hereford-3-1-curzon-ashton-2/

Southern League Monthly - Vol. 1 - No. 3 - October 1971

Page 1 Comments: Someone is not happy with the Hereford postmark. 

Is the Nuneaton team photo on the front page taken in front of our then-recently-built main stand?

Page 2 Book Review: A positive review of the HUFC 70-71 Yearbook. That surely needs to be seen again at some point?

In the News: The CAT scan was used for the first time ever on 1st October 1971 at a hospital in Wimbledon. The inventor Godfrey Hounsfield would bag a Nobel Peace Prize for Medicine for his efforts.

In more positive news, the British Army started destroying roads between Northern and Southern Ireland on 13th October. Rev. Ian Paisley would launch the Democratic Unionist Party on the 30th. 

A gas explosion in Clarkston (Scotland) killed 20 people on the 21st.

The 28th was a busy day: Parliament voted to join the EEC (now the EU); something else that could be in the news today was the Immigration Act 1971 coming into play - designed to limit immigration, it included a status called the Right of Abode. The UK also became the 6th nation to launch a satellite into space using its own launch vehicle - the Black Arrow carrier rocket. Farnborough developed research satellite Prospero, launched in South Australia.

Finally, a bomb exploded at the top of the Post Office Tower in London on the 31st. Clearly that would have been the work of the IRA? Wrong, it was believed to have been planted by a British far-left terror group The Angry Brigade. They were described as engaging in Anarcho-communism, as well as being into Anti-imperialism and Anti-monarchism - marvellous, just what the early '70s needed.  

Page 4 Even allowing for nostalgia not being as good as it used to be, a fondness for the pre-1970s boom-time HUFC Southern League era oozes out whenever you hear anyone recall that period. Despite that, football supporting was surely as much of a pint-half-empty hobby as it is today? So the bombshell that football nobility/Hereford player-manager John Charles was quitting United must have brought on an acute dose of anxiety amongst Hereford fans; fans that would have been unaware what the next Charles-inspired chapter would bring. 

The Southern League - Where Are They Now? 

How have Southern League teams from this 1971-72 season fared in the last 50+ years? The league was made up of three divisions in the 71-72 season; we will kick off with the Southern League Premier Division. Direct comparison isn't easy as the non-league pyramid has been reorganised several times since the early '70s - that SLP was probably a combination of today's Levels 5/6 (assuming the US/Arab franchise Prem is Level 1). On that basis HFC are currently at Level 6. Clear as mud?

Of the below, I think we can agree Wimbledon bag the most interesting "journey". Sustained top flight football, Gazza having his nuts squeezed at their barely changed ground, FA Cup winners, their popular relocation to Milton Keynes, the forming of the current AFC Wimbledon - they are a team who have, through all that, still managed to finish top of the pile of the below rollcall. They have also become a go to second team - AFC, that is, not MK. 

If I make this any more complicated, the mind-boggler will think I am after his job, so for the purposes of the below, reformed/merged/phoenix teams are assumed to be a continuation. Teams in red are in the the SLP today.

Level 4 - Wimbledon

Level 5 - Yeovil, Barnet (should get promoted), Gravesend (now Ebbsfleet)

Level 6 - Hereford (dead certs for promotion), Chelmsford, Weymouth (facing relegation), Bath

Level 7 - Bedford, Telford, Poole, Merthyr (should get promoted), Dartford, Dover, Folkestone

Level 8 - Worcester, Margate, Cambridge City

Level 9 - Romford, Guildford

I believe Hillingdon play at county level and I think Nuneaton are currently defunct.  

In the Singles Charts: Hey Girl Don't Bother Me by the Tams had one last week at No.1 on 2nd October before Maggie May/Reason to Believe by Rod Stewart hit top spot for the rest of the month.

In the Album Charts: Rod was making a bit of coin back in '71, as his album Every Picture Tells a Story also spent the whole of October camped at No.1

Page 7 Peter Manders' doodles include Alan Rodgerson who passed away in 2018. I hand you over to the far better qualified Ron Parrott.

https://bullsnews.blogspot.com/2018/05/alan-rodgerson-tribute.html

On TV: Only three telly programme debuts to report, but they were biggies when it came to the Saturday/Sunday night offerings. The Generation Game with Bruce Forsyth kicked off on Saturday the 2nd October (BBC1), Sale of the Century a week later on Saturday the 9th (ITV), and last but not least was Upstairs, Downstairs on Sunday the 10th (again ITV). 

In the Maternity Ward: Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen was born on 13th October 1971, striker Andy Cole on the 14th, Craig Phillips who was the first ever winner of Big Brother in 2000 was born on the 16th, beyond that, relatively slim pickings; Jade Jagger 21st, and a British actor called John Alford (30th) who you will probably recognise if you can be bothered to Google him - although you have done your bit getting this far so don't feel obliged.