Following a couple of 1-0 wins
and a satisfying steadying of the good ship Hereford FC following Marc
Richards’ departure, the Bulls welcome old friends Brackley to Edgar Street on
Saturday, kick off 3pm. Supporters won’t need reminding that this weekend’s
visitors won all three encounters between the sides last season, and at times
the gulf in class was a bit embarrassing.
However, the Bulls are showing
signs of now being up to the task of competing properly in National League
North, and as such can hopefully give a far better account of themselves this
time around. Also, moles have hinted that the Saints aren’t looking quite the
force they’ve been previously, which seems to be borne out by a return of seven
points from their opening five games. That said, they’ve had some tough opening
matches against the likes of York and Kings Lynn, so perhaps what on first
impression looks like an underwhelming mid-table league position could be
misleading. They'll more than likely be really, really troublesome opponents.
Despite appearing to
be a club of very modest means (465 people watched their last home game), Brackley are
fuelled by some healthy financial backing allowing them to employ a number of
useful players at this level. Striker Lee Ndlovu and attacking midfielder Carl
Baker, for instance, could comfortably ply their trade higher up the pyramid. This
backing has ensured that they’ve consistently competed towards the top of the
table over the last few seasons, with last year being no exception, seeing
them finish third and ultimately going out of the play offs to Spennymoor on
penalties. I seem to write about the play-offs in this division and penalty
shoot-out misery most weeks. It all sounds horrible and there’s clearly only
one stress-free way to get promoted this year – finishing ahead of York (not usually a very tricky assignment historically but I suppose this season they're showing themselves to be uncharacteristically competitive).
As for the Mighty Whites, with last
Saturday’s win against Blyth probably falling into the ‘You can only beat
what’s put in front of you’ category, this weekend’s opponents will be a much
sterner test than that provided by the much-depleted northeasterners. This
match, followed by Chester away, will give supporters a much better indication
of how things might go over the course of the season. The Spennymoor draw on
the opening day is gradually losing its worth as they continue to stutter to
get started (notwithstanding the fact that they still haven’t been able to host a home game),
and Kings Lynn are the only club currently in the top half of the embryonic league table the
Bulls have faced so far, and we know what happened there.
That said, there can be no
doubt that the squad looks significantly stronger this season, with decent
options on the bench awaiting their chance, evidenced most recently by Bradley
Ash coming in and cementing a starting place with some lively and skilful
performances. Confidence should be high following back-to-back wins, and
finally perhaps the Northamptonshire outfit can be put to the sword.
With caretaker director of
interim improvisation Tim Harris on a roll, another win here would send a clear
message to the rest of the division: “Get rid of your coaching staff and watch
the points flood in.” Just think what it would save a Premier League club in
salary costs to adopt such a brave approach, so hats off to the HFC board for
giving it a go. Innovative, progressive, not sure anyone’s tried it before but
credit where it’s due – the club is truly cutting edge at the moment in its
refreshingly laissez-faire attitude to having a coachless dugout, not to
mention a dugout at last free of someone else who doesn’t really seem to do anything
and a man with a laptop, all dressed in sportswear straight from a mid-80s East Berlin catwalk.
COYW