The Ciderspace Guide to Hereford United

Well, they don't like us! But nor, to be honest, do we like them. The relationship between Yeovil and Hereford is a curious one. Whilst not quite having the intense hatred of a local derby, several minor incidents have accumulated over the years to give this fixture more than a bit of an edge to it.

Hereford are old Southern League rivals of Yeovil's who shot to fame in the early seventies when they knocked Newcastle out of the FA Cup and went on from strength to strength to win, er, absolutely nothing, not even the Welsh Cup. Never mind though boyos, because incomprehensibly the team that won nothing (that's zilch, zero, nought, not a thing, for the slow of comprehension) were elected to the Football League, replacing Barrow, and the town of Yeovil muttered to itself "that should've been us!". Stupid us for winning the Southern League, perhaps if we had won nothing we'd have been elected as well....

Fast forward to the early 1990's and the paths of Yeovil and Hereford cross in very different circumstances. This time they met in the FA Cup, and Hereford became Yeovil's most vital league scalp (see below). What might have happened if the result had gone the other way, we shudder to think. Unbeknown to many Yeovil fans the club was on the edge of bankruptcy, and the winners home tie against Arsenal probably is the reason why Yeovil are still in existence. Thank you Hereford! (To make matters even more ironic, Hereford's goalscorer on that night, Owen Pickard, went on to play for Yeovil. It's a funny old game).

Forward again another few years and The Bulls were to land back in non-league football. It was always regarded as almost impossible for any club to be relegated out of the 3rd Division in the days of 1-up, 1-down, you had to be especially incompetent and rubbish to manage it - no surprise to see Hereford accomplish the trick with ease then. Whatever, it is ironic that when Hereford entered the Conference league they were the club with the financial problems, and we were the ones heading towards financial security.

To begin with, Hereford were one of those sides that "got by" in the Conference. They tended to merge into mid-table obscurity on most seasons, and on odd occasions they almost flirted with the relegation zone. Gradually though they began to get it together in the season after Yeovil were promoted to the Football League, even if they had a habit of fluffing it at the last hurdle.

In 2003-04, they managed 91 points in the league only to find Chester City pipping them at the post. Surely though a team that had a 21 point advantage on their 5th placed play-off opponents Aldershot Town would breeze through to the final? Nope - the Bulls crashed out in the semi-final on penalties. Oh woe!

The next season they finished runners-up again ... and promptly failed in the play-offs again. This time Stevenage Borough were the side to ensure that they failed to reach the final. Oh woe, twice!

Sadly, there is a theory that the more times to try and pin the tail on a donkey (or in this case, a Bull) that sooner or later, you'll stop making a mess of it. The 2005-06 season proved to be third time unlucky (lucky), as again the runners-up spot was reached, but this time neither Morecambe nor Halifax Town could stop them from progressing, and so the nine seasons that Hereford had spent in the Conference were finally over.

Last season saw the Bull******s manage a fairly credibull (credible) 16th place finish in League Two, rarely threatening to do anything of note, and so the 2007-08 season sees them attempt to build on that start back in the Football League.

Probably one of the reasons for Hereford's slow progress and occasional stagnation is that everyone keeps nicking their best players, and we were probably the guiltiest party in that department. What a shame, never mind, eh? Tony Pennock, Murray Fishlock, Jamie Pitman, Tony Pounder, Adrian Foster, David Norton, M*ch**l McInd**, Gavin Williams have all arrived at Huish Park in the past having been nobbled from Edgar Street, usually at stupidly generous prices. Never let it be said that it's all one-way traffic however: Jamie Pitman and Ben Smith were two such players that flirted with the darkside and Smiffy is still on their books, having returned for a second bout of punishment. This summer they've had the same problem with loss of players, notably Andrew Williams being snapped up by Bristol Rovers and we are probably looking at another mid-table season for our friends on the Welsh borders.

A final word about the rivalry between the clubs: Over recent times a very small minority of morons (let's not dignify them by calling them 'supporters') from both sides have found it too difficult to understand the difference between banter and real hatred with matters degenerating into violence at times. To them we say take it outside: A long, long way outside far away from real fans of both clubs who are capable of enjoying a fierce rivalry without resorting to mindless yobbery. After all, our fiercest rivals, the clubs we really love to hate, are more often than not mirror-images of ourselves. Hopefully with this season's match being a lower key affair than normal, everyone associated with both clubs can enjoy a peaceful, but passionate evening.

The above, which is part of a well-researched guide to Hereford United, comes from: www.ciderspace.co.uk.

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