Hereford FC travel back up to the
Cheshire/Greater Manchester blurry bit tomorrow for seemingly the umpteenth
time this season, the bit where the dark satanic mills of old have been replaced
by a little northern-enclave version of the sort of Stepford Wives affluent vacuousness
you find properly done in Surrey.
The Bulls managed a draw at home to Telford on Saturday, and that was generally considered to be a good result. The fact that it was considered to be a good result is a bit of a shame but at least the season’s nearly over. Perhaps something will happen soon to make the prospect of a draw against Telford at home next season seem to be a poor result. Here’s hoping. (For younger supporters, drawing at home to Telford is totes rubbish (or whatevs you say for rubbish)).
In the game between these teams
in autumn, Hereford took the lead against the run of play and then, for five or
ten minutes, with the Meadow End behind them, the players looked up for and
capable of putting the game to bed, but all momentum was lost as the message
seemed to go out to drop deep and protect a 1-0 lead, which resulted in an
utterly predictable late equaliser. It was really quite disappointing and an
alien concept tactically to most people in the ground.
Since then, Alty have gone from
strength to strength, and now sit in a guaranteed play-off position. If I was to suggest here that they're not the highest scoring team in the division I'd be lying. In fact, they outscore the Bulls two-to-one. They score goals for fun. If you look up 'goals' in a dictionary all it says is 'Altrincham'. They’re
looking like a non-league stalwart soon to be on their way back to the top tier
of the semi-professional game, and good luck to them in that, but if Hereford
could somehow win this one and the last match of the season at home against
Boston supporters may just believe that there’s a reason to renew their
commitment next season by way of purchasing a season ticket. That is, of course, some 'if'.
There’s been little
since the management team’s appointment almost a whole season ago to suggest
that they’ve got much ambition in them, and if they have they lack the ability
to communicate it to supporters, or to relay their ‘passion for the project’
(sorry) to those at the club who could get an uplifting message out coherently.
It would be something if they
could at least acknowledge that they now have some sort of understanding that
what they seemed to think was acceptable when they arrived actually isn’t, as they
have a stab at putting a competitive squad together in the summer.
The acquisition of Rowan Liburd
was really impressive as a statement of intent but stands somewhat alone. Recruitment
otherwise has been patchy, as is proven by the fact that the club sits at the bottom
of those in the league not cut adrift, and those four adrift clubs really have
been poor. Also, any significant PR from the board has been conspicuously
absent for months. Is there a lazy assumption that people will automatically
renew their season tickets to witness another HFC 1-0 Guiseley kind of match?
If so, that’s crackers.
Tim Harris recently spoke publicly,
for the first time in a while in fact, and referred to form tables not lying. An
unbeaten run isn’t enough if, in building that run, you’re drawing at home
against teams getting thrashed by everyone else. Bulls supporters may be many
things but they’re not fools. Well, not all of us.
I’m sure the vast majority of
supporters hope that the presence of Marc Richards and Tim Harris will be a
positive one next season, but currently, in the absence of any apparent humility
for being a bit poor to date (possibly because they don’t think they have been
a bit poor), or any motivational, galvanising messages to give fans some belief
going forward, it’s just that…hope. And it’s all a bit flat.
COYW