Hereford United Programme, 26th April 2008
I must start by paying tribute to those supporters who will be leaving Griffin Park this afternoon raising funds for both the Supporters’ Trust and the Paul Levitt Foundation. It is good to see that despite the Club’s financial difficulties we can still support those less fortunate than ourselves. The funds raised will also make an important contribution to the Club’s continued survival. As the walkers move up the country they will not only raise funds but also the profile of the Club and the Supporters’ Trust movement as a whole, which does so much good work with clubs throughout the country.
As supporter director I not only have the privilege of representing you but also the Club and I was delighted to do this at the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy three weeks ago. It was very exciting for me to watch my first game at the new Wembley but as nice as the new stadium is, it just doesn’t seem to have that “wow factor” the old one did. The game gave me the opportunity to meet representatives from other League clubs and find out about their current issues. Amongst those I spoke to was our ex-CEO Keith Dickens (who is now the MK Dons’ General Manager) and his wife and I was also able to say “Hello” to Terry Butcher who, with his wife, was a guest of Keith.
Of course Terry started the season as our manager and if you extrapolated the points over the whole season that we gained under him and compare them on the same basis with those we gained under Andy Scott we would have ended up with 46 and 79 points respectively. The former would have put us in serious relegation danger, whilst the latter firmly in the promotion hunt. So with the season drawing to a close, and after that disappointing start, it is heartening that the team under Andy has delivered some good results and performances which now leave them vying for a top ten finish.
In Andy the Club Board see an intelligent, ambitious manager who wants his team to play good exciting football and has demonstrated that he has what it takes to succeed in this League and beyond. This is the reason we have sought to secure his future with the Club and to back him by extending the playing budget as far as we can for next season. I hope you will share in this confidence by also backing him by buying a season ticket. This money helps us get through the close season when once again things are tight financially.
Our last two games pit us against two candidates for the final promotion place in League 2 and it will provide the management team a good opportunity to benchmark progress of our current players and their potential for next season, so there is still much to play for!
Once again your support this season has been terrific. At last week’s game at Lincoln you showed this once again by out singing the home supporters throughout the game, despite an indifferent performance from the team. Andy paid tribute to that support after the match and truly values it. Well done to all those who went and more of the same from all of you this afternoon please!
I hope you all enjoy your summer break and come back to Griffin Park refreshed and ready for an exciting new season.
Let's work together!
Jon Gosling
Comments can either be sent to me on or directly via comments page.
26th July 2008