Hereford could be about to hit a new low if they lose at Aggborough on Good Friday as it would be the first time they've lost seven in a row since the nightmare 1996/97 season.
With Hereford being relegated from the Football League after 25 years, Bulls fans were left scarred as a final day defeat against Brighton sealed their fate.
With relegation once again looming, the first since the club reformed in 2015, manager Aaron Downes insists survival is still achievable.
The Aussie insists Hereford will not hide behind fatigue as they look to halt their losing run and respond against play-off hopefuls Kidderminster Harriers.
The Bulls have endured a gruelling schedule in recent weeks, playing 10 games in March, but Downes was clear that tiredness will not be used as an excuse despite Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat against Macclesfield being their sixth in a row.
“I'm not going to use fatigue," he told the press after the match. "We've had a lot of fixtures in a short space of time, but fatigue is in your head and it's when you decide you're tired.
"A lot of those boys are still giving a lot and I know they will so that's not going to be an excuse from us."
Instead, the Hereford boss says the focus must be on leadership, character and guidance quickly in a relentless run of fixtures, including three over the next seven days.
The players know what is expected of them and what I want," he added.
"I've git to deliver that message to them quick and sharp. I can do that individually by phone calls, by chats before the games. We regularly have Zoom meetings as a group so there's opportunities for me to give messaging."
Attention now turns to a crucial trip to Kidderminster, with Downes highlighting both the scale of the occasion and the opportunity to reset.
Describing it as a good and big game regardless of league positions, Downes said he understands the magnitude of the occasion as he has played at Aggborough during his time at Cheltenham Town.
"I know the importance of it," he said. "It's about us making sure that we show up on the day and giving our supporters something to cheer about because it's been a tough two-and-a-half week for them.
Snowfall At Kidderminster During Last Season's Game
This preview was written by Tom Scott of the National League.
We're into the final month of the season and there is still a whole
host of issues still to be settled in the Enterprise National League
North.
AFC Fylde currently lead the way and topped the 100-goal mark in midweek.
The Coasters also moved into a four-point buffer over the chasers ahead of a what could be a tricky trip to Chorley.
South Shields won't need a lecture on tricky away trips - they head
to Spennymoor Town who top the form chart for their last six games.
The Moors have dropped just two points from their last 18 available -
ending March with a brilliant win over promotion-chasing Kidderminster
Harriers in midweek.
That defeat saw Adam Murray's side slip into fourth-place ahead of
their grudge match with rivals Hereford who are now six points from
safety after a sixth-straight defeat on Tuesday.
Macclesfield hopped over the Harriers into that all-important third spot.
Third comes with a guaranteed semi-final place, of course and the
Silkmen are in that driving seat now ahead of a trip to Buxton.
Peterborough Sports are still scrapping for survival but could edge
closer to the drop if they lose against King's Lynn Town while Alfreton
Town host Worksop.
Leamington's fate was already sealed but Bedford Town are still desperate to put some ground between them and the bottom four.
AFC Telford United and Chester collide with both sides well in with a shout for a top seven place.
Two sides already the right side of the dotted line face off as
Darlington host Scarborough Athletic - the Seadogs head to Blackwell
Meadows unbeaten in seven while the Quakers are looking to get back to
their best after back-to-back defeats.
Elsewhere, Southport and Marine clash with both looking to put their FA Trophy heartache behind them.
Two sides in poor form meet as Radcliffe - one point in seven - meet
Curzon Ashton who are winless in eight games and looking over their
shoulder at the sides at the bottom.
Oxford City are in great form with one defeat in seven ahead of their trip to Merthyr Town.
Hereford FC were without their regular occupant in the PA box last Tuesday.
It was the first home league or cup game in any season that Matt Healey had missed since he took over the post nearly 22 years ago.
The last game he didn't cover was the visit of Scarborough on September 18th 2004 which Hereford won 1-0. His first match in the PA box was ironically also against Scarborough, on September 28, 2002.
He wasn't available last Tuesday as he was booked for a wedding event. When he took the booking some time ago he didn't think the Bulls would be playing that evening.
Matt hasn't disclosed how many games he has covered but it must be at least 600.
The bookmakers are offering prices of around 6/1 for a Hereford win at Kidderminster tomorrow afternoon.
This is surely the highest price offered for a Hereford win since the club reformed.
Currently Hereford are 22nd in the National North League with just 38 points from 38 games and a goal difference of minus 20.
Kidderminster are 4th in the table with 69 points from 40 games with a goal difference of plus 14.
Last Tuesday Hereford extended their recent poor form to six defeats in a row when they lost 2-0 to Macclesfield (3rd) at Edgar Street. Kiddeminster also lost their game on Tuesday evening, Away at Spennymoor (8th) they were defeated 3-1.
Hereford's away form is won 4, drawn 5 and lost 11.
Kidderminster's home form is won 11, drawn 7 and lost 2.
Six losses on the bounce now for
Hereford then, following defeat on Tuesday to Macclesfield. Seven is considered
a lucky number. It really needs to be if this is to be seventh time lucky,
especially with Bedford hosting Leamington as Hereford make the short trip to
Aggborough for a Good Friday derby against Kidderminster.
Kiddy have been bang in the mix all
season without ever threatening to get involved in the two-horse race at the very
top for automatic promotion. They’ve lost three of their last four, but would
have to go on the sort of run Hereford are on to miss out on the play-offs, and
that looks very unlikely.
A nasty concussion incident that caused
Harriers’ game against Radcliffe to be abandoned a few weeks ago means that
goalie Christian Dibble is absent. It’s probably too simplistic to put their
recent wobble down to that absence, but it might have had some sort of
unsettling effect on their defence.
Their 1-0 win at Edgar Street on Boxing
Day wasn’t a patch on their annihilation of the Bulls last season, when they
cantered to a 3-0 win away and topped that off with a 5-1 win at Aggborough,
another Easter encounter. If that points to them being a weaker side this
season, the league table doesn’t seem to agree.
Harriers are very strong at home, having
lost just two of their 20 games at Aggborough. Tellingly, the three
recent losses were all away.
Adam Murray took over as Harriers’
manager last summer, arriving from Eastbourne Borough, who he’d guided to third
place in the National League South last season, falling just short of
promotion. He and his new club therefore had something in common, with Kiddy
missing out on automatic promotion in agonising fashion on the last day of last
season. It was then somehow inevitable that they wouldn’t then make it up
through the play-offs, such is the nature of that cruel mistress of promotional
decision-making.
Murray has been chopping and changing
his side in recent games in order to address the recent wobble, with five
changes made ahead of the recent defeat to Spennymoor, which has to be taken as
a good sign for the visitors, although admittedly it’s clutching at straws a
bit.
For the Bulls, Harrison Sohna completes
his suspension with this game and will presumably be feverishly hungry to make
an impact against Merthyr on Monday.
Freddy Willcox continues to shine despite
the hundreds of minutes he’s played in a short space of time recently.
George Munday will presumably start
again here, although like Willcox his young legs must be feeling it a bit by
now. His hat-trick against Leamington feels like a bit of a distant memory.
What would be far more valuable than that now would be another hat-trick of
goals spread evenly across three consecutive 1-0 wins.
Yet another youngster who’s recently
been putting a serious shift in is Cormac Daly. He remains the most likely
option to find a way round or through the Harriers defence.
Keziah Martin looked bright and buzzy on
Tuesday, and the collective defensive display in the first half was more solid
than it has been. Credit there perhaps to Matt Preston, who could be facing his
old club here in a fixture normally generously peppered with players on both
sides who have the other side on their CV too. That’s not the case to quite the
same extent this time, and could be a sign that for several seasons now the two
clubs have been shopping at very different supermarkets. However, Preston, Kyle
Howkins and Martin have all been Harriers, and ex-Bull Charlie Cooper should be
making an appearance in a red shirt.
It could be that Preston makes way for
the vastly improved Keenan Quansah though, with the latter presumably just
rested on Tuesday.
Ahead of the game between these sides at
Edgar Street on Boxing Day, the Bulls had just fallen back into the relegation
zone. They’ve not been able to find their way back out of it since, and are now
in fact deeper in its grasp than they were then, not helped by a series of
postponements, of course.
The run-in after this game is just about
as straightforward as could be hoped for. Whether you believe in luck or not, clubs
don’t lose many more than six on the bounce unless they’re complete basket
cases, and this squad certainly isn’t that, despite its shortcomings. An upturn
could start here, or at home against Merthyr on Monday. There’s then six
back-to-back games to end the season that a side absolutely desperate for wins
will be playing against either poor sides or sides with half an eye on the
beach. If the Bulls can’t generate enough points from those to secure safety,
relegation will have been justified.
National South League Torquay lost £742K last season.
This from Torquay:
Torquay United has today published its accounts for the year ended 30
June 2025, covering the first full financial year under Bryn Consortium
ownership.
It is important to remember the context in which these numbers sit.
For much of this financial year, the club was still operating under a
CVA until April 2025. A CVA, or Company Voluntary Arrangement, is a
formal agreement that allows a business to repay creditors over time
following insolvency while continuing to trade. In simple terms, that
meant the club was still working through the financial legacy of the
previous regime for most of the period covered by these accounts.
We know annual accounts are not always the easiest documents to read,
so we wanted to set out a simple summary for supporters in plain
English.
There are some encouraging signs in the numbers. The club’s turnover –
the income generated from its normal activities – increased from £1.88
million to £2.26 million during the year. Gross profit also improved
significantly, rising from £153,370 to £517,978. In straightforward
terms, that means the club made better progress from its core trading
activities than in the previous year.
At the same time, the accounts show a loss for the year of £742,438.
Put simply, the club still cost more to run than it generated in income
during 2024/25. The accounts also refer to retained losses of £3.17
million. That figure is not just about this year alone; it is the
accumulated deficit built up over a number of years, rather than the
result of one season in isolation.
The accounts also include a balance sheet, which is simply a snapshot
of the club’s financial position on 30 June 2025. It shows what the
club owned, what it was owed, and what it owed to others on that date.
At the year end, the club had £47,798 in cash, £166,441 owed to it, and
total current assets of £221,742. Against that, it had £1.68 million due
within one year and £557,107 due after more than one year.
The balance sheet shows net liabilities of £1.91 million. In plain
English, that means the club’s liabilities were greater than its assets
at the year end. It does not mean that amount had to be paid immediately
in cash, but it does underline the scale of the financial challenge the
club has been working through.
It is also important to view these figures in context. The previous
year’s accounts showed a large accounting profit, but that was heavily
influenced by one-off items, including a £5.92 million loan write-off
and an £81,000 historic accruals write-off. Those were exceptional
accounting movements rather than normal football trading, which is why
the 2024/25 accounts give a clearer picture of the club’s underlying
day-to-day financial position.
The notes to the accounts also show continued backing from the
ownership structure. At 30 June 2025, the club owed £661,313 to Big in
Business Ltd, which is the Bryn Consortium vehicle and is listed as the
majority shareholder, with Scoring Goals Limited named as the ultimate
parent company. This figure reflects the initial capital funding
injected by Bryn, which was used to repay creditors during the period of
Administration. In simple terms, it was funding put in to help
stabilise the club. That shareholder loan figure is also in the process
of being converted into equity over the coming weeks, strengthening the
balance sheet further.
The simple takeaway is this: the club made progress in growing income
during 2024/25, but it still made a loss and continued to rely on
shareholder support. That is why growing attendances, commercial
revenues, sponsorship, hospitality and other income streams remains so
important as we work to build a stronger and more sustainable future for
Torquay United.
We believe supporters deserve openness about where the club stands.
Progress has been made, but there is still more work to do, and everyone
at the club remains focused on improving the financial position over
time while continuing to move Torquay United forward both on and off the
pitch.
Aaron Downes admitted Hereford’s sixth consecutive defeat was “hurtful” and challenged his players to rediscover their belief after another setback at Edgar Street.
The Bulls fell to a 2-0 loss against Macclesfield, with a set-piece once again proving costly, and Downes did not shy away from his own responsibility.
“It’s a frustrating one. That is a hurtful one because I didn't anticipate that,” he said post-match.
While the game remained goalless at the break, the Hereford boss felt the decisive moment came after the interval when his side conceded from a corner – an all-too-familiar theme and he's hinting at changes.
“I have to take responsibility,” he admitted. “I’ve got to look at our set-up, I've got to look at the way we're defending them and our attitude to defend them.
"We came in this afternoon an hour early to go through things on our pitch to try and give the players an edge and a bit more detail.
"But ultimately that’s two in two now that have let us down. It’s an accumulation of things and me, as a manager, I've got to take responsibility.
"I've got to look at the way that we set up, which I will do because it's a setup I believe in, but ultimately I've got to do what's right for the personnel we've got
"I might have to change my way of thinking. The players are trying their hardest so I've got to give them the best set-up to defend it."
Alongside the tactical concerns, Downes also questioned his side’s mentality after falling behind, admitting the reaction lacked the belief he demands.
“I don’t know if we had that belief after we went one-nil down,” he said. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing for me out of tonight.
He added: “I want us to have belief that we can come back from one-nil down, two-nil down, three-nil down.
"I want us to have belief and have that sort of consistency in that belief."
Hereford did create chances, with an effort striking the woodwork in each half, but Downes refused to hide behind misfortune.
“I'm not kicking myself," he told the press. "I'm not a victim. I’m not someone that's going to feel sorry for myself."
With results going against them and confidence clearly dented, the Bulls can still avoid relegation as despite being six points from safety, still have up to three games in hand on the sides above them in the table.
Downes added: "We've got to keep fighting and it's still in our hands. The end goal is still achievable and I've got to make sure that we turn around quickly.
"It's hurting all of us - supporters, players, staff, board - but the only way we're going to do it is together.
"I've got to show strength now. I've got to show leadership in making sure that we're all doing the same thing."
The FA have released a list of amounts paid to football agents for the year ending February 2026.
Interestingly Hereford do not appear to have paid any agents fees in that 12 months.
NATIONAL LEAGUE SYSTEM
This information has been made publicly available pursuant to the FA Football Agent Regulations. The information has been included in good faith for football regulatory purposes only and no undertaking, representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. We cannot guarantee that any information displayed has not been changed or modified through malicious attacks or “hacking”.
F o o t b a l l A g e n t F e e s – 4 t h F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 5 t o 2 n d F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 6 The information below represents all Football Agents' fees paid by Clubs during the specified period
CLUB NET TOTAL
AFC FYLDE £ 2 4,1 3 7 ALDERSHOT TOWN £ 4,4 2 0 ALTRINCHAM £ 2 6,2 4 4 BOREHAM WOOD £ 1 3.3 4 2 BOSTON UNITED £ 3 0,3 6 5 BRAINTREE TOWN £ 8,6 4 6 BURY FC £ 2,0 0 0 BUXTON FC £ 3,1 4 5 CARLISLE UNITED £ 1 8 7,9 6 0 CHELMSFORD CITY £ 1 5,7 0 3 DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE £ 3 7,8 2 8 DARLINGTON £ 1,3 0 0 EASTBOURNE BOROUGH £ 4,6 5 7 EASTLEIGH £ 3 0,1 5 4 EBBSFLEET UNITED £ 1 9,5 0 3 FC HALIFAX TOWN £ 4,4 0 0 FOREST GREEN ROVERS £ 1 6 4,3 7 3 GATESHEAD £ 1 1,0 4 3 HARTLEPOOL UNITED £ 2 9,3 0 4 HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE £ 4,0 6 8 HEDNESFORD TOWN £ 3,3 2 8 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD TOWN £ 5 0 0 KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS £ 1 2,9 0 0 KINGS LYNN TOWN £ 5,2 6 3 MACCLESFIELD FC £ 1 6,6 0 2 MAIDENHEAD UNITED £ 1 7,1 5 0 MAIDSTONE UNITED £ 2,8 6 5 MARINE £ 1,0 0 0 MORECAMBE £ 1 5,9 1 0 OXFORD CITY £ 1,0 0 0 POOLE TOWN £ 2,1 5 5 ROCHDALE £ 4 2,5 2 4 SALISBURY £ 5,9 1 5 SCUNTHORPE UNITED £ 3 1,2 1 2 SOLIHULL MOORS £ 2 5,9 4 5 SOUTH SHIELDS £ 7,0 7 2 SOUTHEND UNITED £ 8 0,8 1 5 SOUTHPORT £ 5 0 0 SUTTON UNITED £ 3 4,2 4 2 TAMWORTH £ 6,3 4 7 TORQUAY UNITED £ 1 4,6 9 0 TRURO CITY £ 9,0 9 2 WOKING £ 1 2,7 3 3 YEOVIL TOWN £ 3 3,1 0 9 YORK CITY £ 1 6 9,0 8 9
A lot of clubs playing in the National Leagues are reporting their 2024/25 accounts.
Yesterday National League South Maidstone released their figures with comments from the joint owners.
Turnover for the year was £1,963,993, a decrease on the previous
season (£2.74m), which had been boosted by an exceptional FA Cup run.
The club recorded an EBITDA loss of £167,267. On a cash-flow basis,
borrowings increased from £2,415,000 to £2,616,000, represented by
interest‑free loans from owners Terry Casey and Oliver Ash.
The 2024/25 season was successful on the pitch, with the men’s team
reaching the National League South Promotion Final and all other areas
of the club in good sporting health. The club also continued to serve
the Maidstone community, as it has done since the Gallagher Stadium
opened in July 2012.
The financial loss for 2024/25 can be attributed to a number of
factors, including global‑economic pressures. The rising cost of living
for supporters impacted attendances compared with the previous year – a
trend seen across the leagues.
The club also faced significant cost inflation, both within the
playing squad and in general operational expenses such as repairs,
maintenance and utilities. Stewarding and match-day safety costs also
rose sharply.
Oliver Ash said: “With
regard to squad costs, the club continues to experience strong wage
inflation, fuelled by several clubs offering substantial wage increases.
These clubs appear willing to sustain significant short‑term losses.
“We continue to regret the absence of
effective financial governance within the National League, which
previously rejected a proposed salary cap that would help control wage
inflation, promote sustainability and support fair competition. The
league’s management of the financial side of the play-offs also meant
that, despite reaching the final, the club incurred a loss of
approximately £30,000.”
Terry Casey said: “As
result of a number of cost cutting measures we aim to reduce the losses
for this 2025/26 financial year but there will still be a disappointing
shortfall. The financial safety and security of the club is the absolute
top priority for us and we are determined to ensure that there will be
no further losses incurred in the future.
“The challenging economic climate
continues to make it difficult for suitable new investors to come
forward, although several serious discussions are ongoing. We remain
confident that a sale can be agreed in the coming weeks, in the best
interests of the club and supporters.”
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