Son of Eric comments on recent statements from Hereford FC chairman Andrew Graham and HUST.
'With big clubs like Liverpool reversing hasty decisions to seek government money when they remain very wealthy and people are struggling, clubs further down the line face far greater difficulties. Hereford's board have decided (according to the Hereford Times) that they can get more money by taking control for the HUST 50/50 lottery. It seems poor timing when many people have far greater stresses and strains in life due to the Coronavirus crisis. It may indeed be these pressures which have caused this error of judgment, although cynics may see the idea as being one of sneaking out bad news when people are focused on far bigger and more serious issues.
Some fans have already made it clear they will not buy lottery tickets directly from the club if it is "seized" from the Supporters Trust. The prospect of two rival lotteries arises which could create confusion and will exacerbate the current boards patchy relationship with fans. HUST have a large number of people buying tickets online and Data Protection legislation will mean that this cannot just be handed over to the club. Chairman Grahams line appears to be you can trust me, but you can't trust those people in HUST, that's really unfortunate but it is how the article reads. There is no other argument put forward in the Hereford Times interview for why the lottery should be taken from HUST, although many fans will be concerned that it is because the club despite having the second best crowds in the division is struggling for monies. If this is the case some openness is to be expected, not a Keyte style give us the money and trust us approach. Fans have been burnt far too recently to not want to know what is going on. Regular fans will know that they see HUST volunteers selling the 50/50 tickets and also voluntarily working for Hereford FC. Board members also of course put in a considerable number of hours, something which some in social media do not seem to appreciate. Many of the board are considerably out of pocket for their duties and it is hurtful for them when they go on social media or have comments reported to them which do not appreciate all that they do.
However, that is part of the job, which is why there are not a large number of volunteers wanting to take the job on. The Chairman has also said the board intend to raise thousands of pounds for a supporter who needs medical assistance, so potentially the club will be taking on two large fundraising tasks going forward. It is good that the board have so much spare capacity that they can take on these two possible good causes, but some supporters will question that if the board have volunteers with so much spare time available whether this is the best use of their time. It would have been better surely for Chairman Graham to say we have lots of spare volunteer hours and consult fans on how this resource could be best used rather than just putting forward one proposal on what at the moment appears to be a take it or leave it basis. It also seems far too early when it is quite possible next season may not even take place.
Far better surely to have contingency plans put out to fans on what happens if the season does not go ahead or it is curtailed.
It would be a shame if there was one matchday lottery with tickets sold by board members and another HUST lottery online supported by fans who prefer to buy shares in the club rather than fund the next pay off to a manger from the board, which has gained the reputation of being trigger happy through their decisions. In the minds of many fans the question will be do I prefer the security and solidity of buying shares in Hereford FC or do I want to help fund Russell Slade's retirement. It is to be hoped that the Chairman will reconsider. However, if Chairman Graham is finding it too difficult to work with HUST who are some of the hardest working and most committed people that have helped create Hereford FC then as indicate in his Hereford Times interview then he could consider his position.
In my view would be good if the Chairman was big enough to say that they had made an error of judgment and go for talks and consultation rather than conflict. I would like to see them be open on their financial plans for 2020/21. For example are they going to appoint a manager and assistant manager when there may be no football for the whole season. This surely is a far more and critical question at the moment
and should be their priority, not seeking to divide fans when the country faces
the greatest crisis in our lifetimes.'
