Tearing everything up and starting from scratch is always a daunting task but inspired by unadulterated fan power, Hereford are blazing a trail.
The Phoenix club were created following the demise of former second division outfit Hereford United, whose 90-year history came to an end in December 2014 when were wound up after falling into financial ruin.
The Bulls have since earned back-to-back promotions by winning both the Midland League and Southern League Division One West in the last two seasons.
Now third in the Southern League’s top tier, Hereford took League One Fleetwood Town to an Emirates FA Cup second-round replay back in December and this weekend, they go to National League South Wealdstone with a place in the third round proper of the Buildbase FA Trophy on the line.
As spiritual successors to the old Bulls, the 2015-16 Buildbase FA Vase finalists have been gloriously well-supported – a record crowd of 4,712 saw them take on AFC Telford at Edgar Street in the Emirates FA Cup first round last November – as they chase their dream of making it to the EFL once again.
“You can ask what our success is and the bottom line is that it’s down to the fans – they’re supporting us home and away every week,” said Ken Kinnersley, who took over as Hereford chairman in January 2017.
“When we opened the doors in the end of March 2015 after Hereford United had gone under, we didn’t expect very much interest, if I’m perfectly honest
“We were totally unprepared for the deluge of people that came into the football club, many with tears in their eyes, saying: ‘where can I buy my season ticket?’
“We hadn’t got a team, we hadn’t got a player, we hadn’t got a manager, and we didn’t know what league we were going to be playing in – and people were coming in asking to buy season tickets.
“Because of their support, we are where we are.”
Like his fellow board members, chairman Kinnersley, who has a background in criminal investigation with the police, the Army and the Civil Service, had no prior experience running a football club and held no position with the defunct Hereford United.
The Edgar Street chief says that placing supporters’ needs front and centre is his club’s primary concern.
“A football club is about the fans. It’s not about the chairman, the board, the players or the manager,” said Kinnersley.
“The only thing that’s changed is the name of the limited company.
“We’re playing at the same stadium, we’re playing in the same kit, we’ve kept the same motto, the same badge on the chest – it’s the same club in all but the entry with Companies House.
“We’ve tried to do things as professionally as we possibly can and our main objective is to make sure that what happened before never ever happens again.”
Buildbase FA Trophy history
Hereford are in the midst of their best-ever Trophy run, having been knocked out by Salisbury at the preliminary round stage last season.
Wealdstone won the competition in the 1984-85 season.
Did you know?
The Bulls are currently unbeaten in 52 away league games, a run that includes three successive seasons.
The prize
The winners of Saturday’s tie will earn £7,000 in prize money and a place in the third round proper.
