This article has been published by an Italian Blog http://infoazionariatopopolarecalcio.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-pride-of-herefordshire-la-storia.html#.VFjil6xekag.twitter - which goes to show the message about what is going on at Edgar Street is getting heard.
The pride of Herefordshire. The history of Hereford United
This is from the Facebook page Anglocalcio - Those English football
Let's start from there, from the moment its highest, the biggest, the
most celebrated: February 5, 1972. In the houses of the British
rieccheggiò the scream of a budding BBC commentator, John Motson this ..
Yes him, the future that Motty become the commentator par excellence of
English football. "OH, WHAT A GOAL !!! What a goal! Radford the scorer! Ronnie Radford! And the crowd ... the crowd are invading the pitch! ". Li is the whole history of the FA Cup, because that game will become the example, the emblem of the giant-killing! The
scenes of the public who invades the field and then, in a joy to
heart-wrenching and bring in goose bumps, are to be delivered to those
who say that "it's just a sport."
Yes, of course. Tell it to Hereford. That day
there was the whole city at Edgar Street, the Theatre of Dreams in
Hereford, not the stage more beautiful, not the most comfortable,
without changing rooms (the players changed the nearby Wellington Hotel,
and from there on foot to the field game) that night, packed to
capacity, officially hosted 14,000 spectators, but only because those
climbing the trees and lighting poles were not considered in the
calculation of the total. Ronnie Radford exploded a shot from beyond the incricio30 metersOn
a playing field that would today be called with some courage "to the
limit of viability", because football has become sport for young ladies;
then scored in extra Ricky George, apotheosis, and many greetings to Newcastle. Would
be enough to see those moments to fall in love with the Beautiful Game,
think 'the effect they have to do that day who was there, who Hereford
United the cattail. And cheer for the bulls was not always so easy to tell the truth it never was.
This incredible game broke the monotony of a largely rural county. People in the countryside, a stone's throw from Wales, who was the main center of Hereford for the market of their products. The
symbol of the Hereford cattle, a breed with the most placid look
imaginable, placid as the county, which could only be the perfect
symbol. On the banks of the River Wye got kicked in the second half of the 800 as elsewhere, but without arousing great enthusiasm. Sports by workers, not by proud farmers. Consolidated
only in the twenties when two local clubs joined forces to try to make
the city famous for something beyond the placid cattle and Gothic
cathedral, however, placed just behind the stadium. It was 1924 and the name, as with any other company of the channel created by a merger could only be Hereford United. The
first semi-pro team in the area, and till today the only county team in
the first eight steps of the pyramid of English football.
The Herefordshire is bucolic. The lower density of the
Kingdom, 82 people per square kilometer, the country, so, as far as the
eye can see, the pace is calm and quiet as the Wye, as if time ran them
much more slowly. As 2,000 Christians were Edgar Street
crowd every Saturday for the Birmingham League (the league in which he
served for the first few years) is at least a mystery.
We filled in the '30s, the Football League had three series, and there
were already the minor leagues, so you can imagine what was the matter
(understatement) of Birmingham League..cosi important that teams
parteciparti one by one if they gave legs. It remained only 11..Quando that league ceased to exist wondered election in the Southern League. The
league agreed, but bad luck would have it, the year was 1939, and to
play a game in the new league Hereford United had to wait like six
years. The end of the war.
The excellent results in the Southern League (without ever winning it) saw a steady growth in average viewers, and the club also began to be known nationally. In 1957/58 they played the bulls're at QPR in the FA Cup, and the victory still remains the largest in the history of matches between teams of Football League or not. Were eliminated in the next round from Sheffield Wednesday, but that day at Edgar Street reached 18,114 viewers, almost half of the city, since it had about 40,000 inhabitants at the time Hereford!
Those epic matches of the FA Cup brought an enthusiasm never experienced before. It
was thought for the first time in Hereford as a place to play football
seriously and not just as a quiet town nestled in the English
countryside. Twist: in 1966 comes John Charles, who has
also been 35 years but it was still John Charles, the giant of Leeds and
Juventus, and now playing for Hereford United, the club where the idol
was earlier this Albert Derrick, with all due respect. Big John Herefordshire play for five seasons, scoring eighty goal and also becoming manager of the team. He returned to Wales before undertaking a season against Newcastle in the FA Cup, but by then United were ready to jump. Average viewers higher than the non-league and exceeded that of several clubs in the League were all right. The
second place in the Southern League in 1972 was the opportunity to call
the election in the Football League, but it was not discriminating that
meant that this was accepted: indeed contributed much to the victory
against Newcastle that, like it or not is the 'climax of the story of
the bulls as well as its turning point. The emotional
momentum that followed was so strong that in four seasons Hereford
United he was in the Second Division, a stone's throw from the great!
Without that goal by Radford and George maybe the story would have been different. Hereford had entered the map of football matters. New
rivalry, as the ancient enemies of the Worcester City remained in
non-league Shrewsbury Town (A49 Derby), Cheltenham Town, Kiddermister
Harriers.
The Hereford took the satisfaction of winning a Welsh Cup in 1990, at
that time the English clubs on the border with Wales also used to play
in the Welsh Cup; then an appearance in the playoffs in the 90s, then darkness. 1996/97, that last game against Brighton in Edgar Street full of people was not the case for some time. Victoria bulls, seagulls demoted; win / draw Brighton, hello Hereford. He finished 1-1 with Adrian Foster to waste the ball-salvation at the 90th. The non-league riabbracciava for United after 27 years.
Graham Turner, the manager, however, remained at the helm of the club. It will remain for 14 years in Hereford, to be honest, and although it is also passed by Shrewsbury is revered by the locals. Thank
you, Mr. Turner with Joan Fennessy put the planks when the club was on
the verge of bankruptcy, saving him from certain death. As if it were nothing. Healed
him too, so that when he greeted direction Shropshire, Hereford, not
only was in excellent health, but he was also back in the Football
League, even in League 1 albeit for only one year.
2013/14 season, the last one. The Hereford is
again in deep crisis, this time there are no more Turner and company to
save the cabin, and the team fight valiantly in the slums of the
Conference League. Last match, Chester-Hereford, fourth
last against third last at the last call, the Chester punticino in more,
even just to the local X. For the bulls are asking for a miracle, just need to win.
It really gets the win! 1:00 to 2:00 awful at the start of the second half and the team is incredibly safe! All good, right? In fact, you even have time to savor the unexpected salvation that Hereford is penalized! 2 points, to be served on the league just finished! It slips under the general disbelief Chester. The emotional wave is strong, in the meantime, the partners if the bulls Svignano leaving piles of debt. Fans are mobilized, but the mountain gives birth to a mouse. The Hereford is unable to sign up and start again from the Southern League Premier Division, the seventh level of the pyramid.
The club now emits a weekly summary of activities related to the
management of the debt fight in centroclassifica trying to reattach the
pieces of a past that can not be erased, awaiting a return to the
Football League, but without haste, as it should for country people. The white shirts always look calm and somewhat reassuring ox in the emblem of the club are the certainties here. The
Hereford United will once again be there, to represent this city
nestled in the English countryside that one day it turned out great in
football and went mad.