Back in August 2002 a fans forum was held at Edgar Street a week before the season started. Manager Graham Turner along with new coach Richard O'Kelly spoke to a large audience of supporters looking for an improvement in form.
A look back:
'We
may have the biggest debt but we are not the poorest - the other
clubs don't have our support base'
Those
were the words of a confident Hereford United manager Graham
Turner when referring to the Conference teams at last night's
fans forum at Edgar Street.
The meeting was
chaired by Kevin Wargen, with questions answered largely by
Turner but also Richard O'Kelly, the new first-team coach.Turner opened the meeting talking about finances. He told the audience that the club hoped to pay another 10 or 20 pence of the CVA within the next season if the money becomes available which will satisfy the creditors. The club have to pay £1 in each pound, and have so far paid 40p - the remainer comes to a total of around £25,000. The club could close instantly if more debts were accumilated, particularly to the likes of the taxman.
Furthermore, little progress has been made in terms of the stadium development. Turner said that there was the possibility of Len Weston Stand being rebuilt with the Courtyard Theatre having more room below, the Blackfriars End incorporating a Leisure Centre and the Meadow End including a multiplex cinema. The main stand would be looked after by the club. However, the whole situation is out of the clubs hands and is a problem of Chelverton and the local authorities.
Apparently, there is movement at the Blackfriars End. The foundations are moving, and the council may close the stand for periods during the season for healh and safety reasons. However, it will be open for Saturday's match.
With the local elections next May, the future of Hereford United is likely to be a vote-catching issue. The Richardson Brothers, who have linked with Chelverton, did not want any involvement with this particular project as they branded it a 'political hot potato', according to Turner. Nevertheless, the development has the potential to rejuvenate a city that has become a quiet backwater.
On the playing front, the problem of obtaining a goalscorer was highlighted. Turner said that he had spoken to Brett Angell, Don Goodman and David Kelly but they sighted low pay, long travel distances and the stigma attached to non-league football as reasons not to join the club. One player even asked if Hereford could match the £1200 that he was offered as a weekly salary by a second division club! Andy Baird has left the club, whilst Ashley Nicholls was taken by Darlington after agreeing to spend pre-season at Edgar Street. When Turner found out of Darlo's interest, he offered Nicholls a contract but the ex-Ipswich trainee linked up with the Quakers.
However, there could be a move to sign Andy Sinton. The former Spurs and Wolves midfielder has had offers from three Conference clubs and will speak to Turner at 5pm tomorrow after a trial at Walsall. Steve Guinan has been offered a one-month contract but three other Conference sides have offered season-long deals so Turner feels he might have to improve the offer.
Overall, though, Graham Turner said he was pleased with the squad and that it was a great improvement on last year. Whilst most of the players were 'four inches too small', they had 'more ability that most Conference sides'. Hopes that the likes of Scott Goodwin could return were dismissed out of hand, as Turner is aiming for a squad of youth and enthusiasm.
He aims fro a squad size of eighteen but it may end up being nineteen or twenty for the next season if players become available. Whilst the club cannot afford eighteen players, 'hope' value is included and as a consequence, occasionally players are sold to balance the books. When a league club comes in for a player, they are told of the interest (as it is part of the contract). Turner has promoted the move of first-team football at Hereford, looking at Gavin Mahon as an example. Mahon had two years as a first-teamer at Hereford before joining Brentford and now Watford. Matt Baker's trial at Leyton Orient was arranged through his agent, which angered Turner as it is not allowed under the terms of his contract.
In terms of the Conference this season, Turner felt the play-offs would improve the league no end and he fancied the ex-league clubs who have spent heavily - Chester, Doncaster, Scarborough and Barnet - to do well, along with Yeovil.
When answering a question from a shareholder, Turner said that the 2000/01 AGM would be held in the next twenty eight days and the date was to be set at a board meeting on Thursday. The reason the accounts were late was because a director had agreed to do most of preparation, saving the club around £5000, but he had fallen behind. The club, as it is in the state of two companies, would face a £200 fine.
Whilst there are the obvious problems at Edgar Street, Turner seems eager to enjoy the campaign and in the squad of players and coach Richard O'Kelly, confidence is high that progress will be made.