Football Season Guide

Hereford had a decent first season back in the non-league last year when they did better than many people tipped them and actually played enterprising and bright football in the face of constant problems off the pitch. Martin Foyle is a proven and successful manager at this level and knows how to mould a team and make them play both effectively and pretty on the eye. And this is what he did with the Bulls who may have never looked like play-off contenders but still finished only two places below the play-off spot. They played with a lot of freedom and momentum at the end of the season and it will be curious to see whether they can maintain that for the upcoming campaign. However, it i quite doubtful as a number of regulars have left the club and it will be a different side now compared to the one from the end of last season. Flying wingers Sam Clucas and Marley Watkins, powerful striker Ryan Bowman and his partner Marlon Jackson, defender Stefan Stam and regular keeper James Bittner, have all been tempted by clubs higher up in the pyramid and Foyle has the unthankful task of creating a new team on a very tightly-run and limited budget. Actually, Luke Graham is likely to be the only regular from last season who will remain at the club for the upcoming year. That said, Hereford still got some decent new players with Sam Smith, coming on loan from Cambridge, and Michael Rankine expected to be the new forward duo. Rob Purdie is back at the club too while Danny Pilkington and Frankie Artus will surely bolster the midfield. However, all these new signings will be enough at the very best to match the finish from last season. There are just too many teams that are better run and more stable financially than the Bulls and all the good and clever management by Foyle will not be able to compensate that.