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| It's Seven Years Since Jon Hale Opened Hereford FC |
For some weeks there have been strong rumours around Edgar Street that the board are not able to increase the football budget for next season without extra resources. In truth projected figures for this season haven't been met and the club will lose money.
That's why chairman Jon Hale is very keen to ensure that 'Squad Builder 2022' raises as much money as possible.
He explained his thinking in today's match programme.
"We want to support Josh (Gowling) as much as we possibly can for next season, but that has to be within a sustainable framework.
"It will come as no surprise when I say that we do not have one of the biggest budgets in the league, but we are doing everything we can to provide Josh with a budget that is as competitve as it can be.
"Josh knows his baseline budget for next season, He'd obviously like more, as any manager would, but we don't have a bottomless pit of cash, and Josh is fully aware of that. We must work within a sustainable framework.
"Providing Josh with the budget now will give him the opportunity to start offering players extensions to their contracts and lining up new signings.
"Josh has done very well so far this season, we are currently on course to finish in the highest league position since the formation of Hereford FC with a real chance of getting into the play-offs and he must be applauded for that.
"We will continue to ask Josh to get the most for our money when negotiating with players and we will look to call on his management skills, and that of his coaching staff, to help build a squad that is exceeding expectations and budget.
"We will also continue to be considered and sensible with our approach to the playing budget, there will always be an element of risks made, but it is about minimising those risks and trying to make sure the actions taken are positive and do not impact on the sustainability of the club.
"Recent issues away from football, including Covid, soaring energy prices, increased cost of living, and now the conflict in Ukraine, have all had an impact this season and will continue to do so moving forward. It makes making decisions about the budget more difficult than it usually is.
"We must keep working hard to generate income from across a number of areas, whether that is ticket sales, bar sales, donations, commercial sales or by other means, we're always exploring new ways to generate additional revenue.
"That is where the 'Squad Builder' comes in.
"We strongly believe the 'Squad Builder' can be the catalyst the club has needed for some time to propel the budget to a better level, allowing us to bring in more quality players.
"It also gives everyone who donates into the fund a real sense of ownership of the squad and the club. Your donation, be it £5 a month or £250 a month, will make a difference.
"Of course, keeping attendances over the 2000+ mark helps enormously so please bring your friends and family along for the remaining games, and persuade them to buy 2022/23 season tickets when they go on sale!
"Clearly, the departure of Maziar Kouhyar was a bitter pill to swallow. I want to assure every fan that we did everything we could to keep Maz at the football club.
"Offering contracts may seem to be an obvious policy, however we are a part-time club and we have to assess a player's fitness, injury susceptibility, appetite, ambition, personality, geographical limitations, just as much as analysing their impact on the pitch and around the changing room.
"Initially putting every player on a contract creates a financial risk if it doesn't work out, so we have a policy where a certain percentage of the budget has to be non-contract players, thus maintaining sufficient control to alter the cost base and balance of the budget if required to.
"That ploicy will not change whilst we are part-time at this level. It works both ways , but that is life as a Noational League North part-time club."