Chloecat looks back on the season just gone:
Well, thank God that’s nearly over. It has been a very long season, a few highs, a lot of lows, and a huge amount of worry. For a supporter who spends a ridiculous amount of time on trains and £1,000+ a year on following Hereford, this has not been one of our greatest years, and the agonising 90 or so minutes last Saturday were awful.
At the beginning of the season there was a preview on Bulls News on the prospects for all the clubs in the Division. It predicted 19th place for Hereford, a bit mean I thought, but obviously someone knows a lot more about football than I do. (ed - the preview ratings were the bookies odds!)
It all started so optimistically. A new young manager with a reasonable pedigree, new players and old favourites returning, the fortuitous win at Crewe and what I felt was a good home draw against Gillingham (pre season favourites for promotion) and we were away. And then I went to Chesterfield. That day out cost me around £70 and I didn’t see us win again until Aldershot in January.
So the positives – the FA Cup run, the wins at Northampton and Stockport (which I didn’t see), at Oxford and home to Chesterfield (which I did), that cracking own goal by Stockport at Edgar Street, Richard Rose’s goal against Barnet, the club’s whole media/PR strategy, and obviously Fleetwood’s free kick against Bradford – but I’m struggling to find much else.
The negatives – the four 4-0 reverses (and I unfortunately saw two of these), Barnet doing the double over us, Simon Davey’s bewildering tactics, the disciplinary record which has been horrific (though to be fair has improved a little under Jamie Pitman), and the constant stress of looking over one’s shoulder to how everyone else was doing – have all made it a very long campaign.
We were 6th on the first day of the season and plummeted ever downwards to the bottom. Our highest league position under Jamie Pitman has been 17th and what he’s done has been incredible, considering the start we had. Jamie Pitman was always a favourite as a player so I’m pleased he was given his chance and now he has a summer to put his stamp on the squad and sort things out a bit more.
The squad we currently have is good and criticism from the terraces has been grossly unfair. Throughout the season, effort has never been lacking, and individual players have done really well – Fleetwood, Colbeck and McQuilkin obviously stand out, while Green and Bartlett have had good seasons overall. We have the nucleus of a good team but for whatever reasons we haven’t performed anywhere near our potential. The two games against Barnet stand out as particularly disappointing but the stress the squad has been under all year should not be underestimated. We are finally safe and that’s all that counts now. The club has made huge progress off the field and with some good signings and contract manoeuvres over the summer, I am confident we’ll do much better next year.
Will I buy a season ticket next year – well what else does a girl do on a Saturday afternoon? Having got over the stress of Saturday, I’m almost looking forward to it! But for now I’m hoping to enjoy the season finale against Macclesfield – it will be such a relief to know whatever the result we can enjoy the day out for what it is. I always feel nostalgic at the end of the season – you say goodbye to players who have done their part and wish friends a good summer knowing you won’t see them until next season. But this year I think we’ve all deserved a summer off and come the final whistle on Saturday, I’ll be glad not to see another ball kicked in a Hereford shirt until we get back onto the rollercoaster next August.
Chloecat.