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Hereford FC travel to Manchester on Monday as the early-season fixtures come thick and fast, as do, unfortunately, the unconvincing performances. There now follow two games against fellow strugglers, from which four points will be the bare minimum expectation.
Radcliffe FC are the hosts, and with train links between Hereford and Manchester being handy (links that allow Lemner and Ludlow loyalists to hop on board the fun express), and the sheer bank-holidayness of it, a happy and healthy travelling support charabanc can be expected, although of course it goes without saying: please charabanc responsibly. It also goes without saying that fans may have travelled slightly more happily and in greater numbers if Saturday’s game against Chorley hadn’t been another alarming slump to defeat.
Although the newly-promoted Mancunians finished just one place above relegation last time, they were a comfortable 12 points clear of the drop. That was something to build on for experienced management duo Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley as they get stuck into the club’s second season at this level.
They were another of the ‘smaller’ clubs to deny Hereford points at Edgar Street last season, with a 3-3 draw very much flattering the hosts.
Over the summer, 35-year-old playmaker Dan Gardner joined from Oldham, adding experience to a squad featuring others who already know the division well, such as Jordan Hulme and Anthony Dudley. Talented winger Michael Afuye came in from Curzon, and they brought in left back Callum McFadzean, who has a wealth of Football League experience and looks like an excellent acquisition.
Along with one or two other impressive signings, they looked considerably stronger this time, and as such I shrewdly picked them pre-season as my dark horses for play-off qualification. That prediction’s looking rock solid, with them cleverly lulling everyone else into a false sense of complacency as they’re poised like a cobra to strike from seventh bottom in the table. Remind me never to bet on anything, ever.
Last season, following that 3-3 draw at Edgar Street which featured some interesting defending from the hosts, the sort of defending they’ve returned to early this season too, the Bulls conceded three again at Radcliffe in losing 3-2. Jordan Hulme oozed National League North know-how in that game, and the Bulls defenders will hopefully be wise to it this time.
So far this season, Radcliffe have lost at Buxton, lost at home to Spennymoor, and beaten newly-promoted Worksop with a 90th minute winner at home.
On Saturday they visited Leamington, as everyone regrettably has to do at some point this season, and lost 2-1, missed a penalty and had a man sent off. The Bulls are therefore not alone in currently having a fairly miserable time of things.
With Radcliffe part-time, the back-to-back fatiguing nature of the Saturday-Monday bank holiday weekend will affect both sides equally. Both will have recovered as best they can in 48 hours, and anyway Paul Caddis has said that he won’t accept tiredness as an excuse for poor performance.
The Bulls’ opening four games always looked tough on paper, and they’ve generally proved to be so on grass (although not on Peak District plastic), but given that I seem to have got Radcliffe all wrong in terms of being dangerous dark horses, this looks like the first fixture the Bulls should pick off as low-hanging fruit if they have any aspirations towards flirting with any sort of play-off participation this season.
The start to the season has been a bit…surprising. The only conclusion most observers, including Paul Caddis, have come up with has been that the summer arrivals can’t play in front of a crowd. The club is excellently supported for a sixth-tier outfit, but nevertheless it’s still only 2,500 people (although it may not be that high on Saturday). It’s difficult to believe that a crowd of 2,500 people is overwhelming for a semi-pro footballer, but it’s also hard to understand what else it can be.
200+ Bulls fans travelled for this fixture in January, and it would have been far more than that this time had things gone better on Saturday. As it is, things didn’t go very well at all on Saturday, but still the away contingent could amount to a third of the attendance. That could make a difference, as would the sort of commitment and energy levels shown at Buxton. Some sort of personnel and formation tweaks could again be made here, and it would be good to see I-Lani Edwards featuring, as it seems apparent that his ability unsettles the opposition. If they’re trying to contain him it could give others, Eno Nto for instance, more space and freedom to make an impact too.
Fans will be desperate to see some evidence that this season can provide some upward mobility, whereas at the moment even a top-half finish looks a tall order. Early days still of course, but a Buxtonesque reaction is really badly needed here, followed by at least actually turning up at home to Alfreton on Saturday. If it’s still 0-0 after ten minutes in that game, that’s progress right there.
COYW