Jamie Pitman, Richard O'Kelly and ... QPR

Sadly, Hereford United boss Jamie Pitman was 'relieved of his duties' this morning according to an official club e-mail to the media. At two o'clock the club announced that former first team coach Richard O'Kelly, 55, will be taking on the role.

Given the club's position in League Two, some fans might question the use of the word "sadly", but I speak as I find and on a personal level, I found Jamie to be a pleasant guy to deal with. He was also passionate about his role and the team, despite the fact that it is a club limited in financial resources.

O'Kelly was a player with Walsall, Port Vale and Grimsby Town and a coach with West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers and Hereford United, where he was assistant manager to Graham Turner for two years. He knows the club and learned from one of its legends and has a good reputation within the game.

It's good to see that the directors appear to have also noted Pitman's positive qualities and have asked him to stay on in a coaching capacity.

I suspect that a few Bulls fans will be glad to see the change made now while there is still time to secure their league status and, of course, they may well be right. However, I hope the supporters will always remember the job Pitman did last season when things looked to be going pear-shaped.

To be fair to the club's directors though, they haven't rushed into any knee-jerk decision and following last night's BBC programme " QPR: the Four Year Plan", it's obvious that there are plenty of people in football less qualified to run a club! If you haven't seen it, it's well worth 90 minutes of any football supporter's time.

The way  Flavio Briatore and Gianni Paladini treated people like Iain Dowie (f***ing stupid), Gareth Ainsworth (pr*ck in the dug-out), Paulo Sousa and Jim Magilton with utter disdain and a total lack of respect, was nothing short of a disgrace.

When you think that someone like Ainsworth has played for nearly one dozen clubs and is still well thought of - and respected - by fans of all of them, it just goes to show how little Briatore and Paladini know about the game.

Frankly, with people like this in charge of a club it's not always the manager's head the supporters should be calling for (as the QPR fans quickly identified). In my opinion, if these two jokers ever try to involve themselves with the sport again, the FA, should take a long hard look at the "fit and proper person" clause before agreeing to let anywhere near a football stadium.

Oxford United 0 Hereford United 2 - Moo!

I’ve been to a few games this season and come away wondering how on earth one or other side managed to win – this was another example.

But credit to Hereford, they game with a game plan and executed it perfectly to secure three more points and edge themselves closer to League Two safety.

Oxford fans appeared frustrated at the end of the game - and there was certainly a lot of message board chat beforehand about how big the score would be – but sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and give the opposition credit where it is due.

Bull’s keeper Adam Bartlett was gushing in praise of the whole experience after the match describing the hosts as the “best side we have played all season”. Bartlett also praised the set up at the Kassam and also the fans.

“There was a bit of banter going on,” he said. “Especially when I was playing for time towards the end and I knew it was only a matter of time before the referee listened to them and booked me, but they have a good vocal support here.”

That’s one of the oddities of football isn’t it? If the opposition keeper is taking his time over goal kicks to run down the clock he’s a cheating so-an-so. If ‘your’ keeper rushes to take a goal kick when you’re one-nil up with minutes to play, he’s a complete pillock.

Goal scorer Stuart Fleetwood admitted they had come to “do a job and needed to be disciplined” and Oxford boss Chris Wilder was left bemused after watching a “decent performance” from his team.

Wilder also said:

“I’m not going to compromise the way we play and get in two bean pole strikers and throw it forward to them. Sometimes you have to play the long balls, but in general that’s not the way I want us to play.

I can't batter my team in the dressing room. It was a decent performance. From tee to green we've done really well, but as always it's about the two main parts of the pitch - in both boxes. We switched off and they scored, and we didn't take our chances."

Bull’s manager Jamie Pitman was honest enough to admit that “we rode our luck at times”, but they came to do a job against a side that – on paper – were possibly better.

And do a job they did.

This was a classic away performance. Fleetwood and Bartlett both described it as smash and grab, although I think they were being a little modest as they and their team mates were very well organised throughout.

Fleetwood, 24, now has 15 goals to his name this season and admitted:

“I got one goal off each shin pad. I didn’t know too much about the second one as it came through the defender’s legs at speed, but that’s what happens when your confidence is high.

That was my target at the start of the season, but I hadn’t scored after the first twelve or thirteen games and I must admit I didn’t think I’d get to five.

I was even played out on the wing for a few games, but once I got that first goal the confidence returned.”

I also had a chat to Stuart about his temperament as I’ve noticed that – in every game – he becomes a little over-exuberant top put it mildly. But having spoken to him on Saturday I found that he’s one of those typical manic players on e the pitch and mild mannered and very pleasant off it. He does recognise that it’s an area of his game that needs work and admitted:

“I do wear my heart on my sleeve and know I need to channel my emotions in the right way. I guess that’s why I’m on seven bookings, but just like the fans, I love the club and just want to see us do well.”

I suspect that Hereford fans will forgive him his excesses if he keeps on scoring important goals like the brace against Oxford.

One lad who was lucky to get away with a little over-enthusiasm of his own was Joe Colbeck. The winger set up Fleetwood’s 8th minute opener and worked his socks off defensively, but one touch line challenge on Tom Craddock could have ended the Oxford player’s career. It wasn’t so much a two-footed lunge as an assassination attempt. Fortunately Craddock had time to see it coming and managed to avoid any serious injury.

But that incident was the only real unsavoury moment of the game.

Oxford meanwhile must dust themselves down and focus on the next game. This wasn’t a performance that signalled the end of their season and the table is so tight that promotion is still on.

Whether they can make the automatic places is up for debate, but a play-off spot is well within the grasp of this bunch.

Despite Wilder’s public protestations, I suspect that at half time he had a few harsh words to say to some of his players as they were a little too sloppy at times. They didn’t appear to have the cutting edge up front on Saturday either. A bad day at the office for the strikers? Maybe. Oxford fans will know better than me as to whether there are more deep-rooted problems, but from what I have seen of them this season, they do look as if they are more than capable of finding the net in this division.

From a neutral’s point of view, this was more of an intriguing game than an exciting one. Hereford look like a side that will survive in League Two to fight again next season and Oxford fans look like they might be singing in the beer garden of the Green Man in Wembley again in May*.

As promised this morning, my clipping from this morning's copy of The Sun ... not really woorth waiting for was it?

* I've just been reminded that the play-off final is at Old Trafford this May, but you get my drift. Oh, and the beer's cheaper up there!

Oxford v Hereford – Meat Is Murder

So it’s the Ox(en) versus the Bulls tomorrow and great excuse to use one of my favourite songs in the headline above (that gives you some idea of how old I am!). Having said that, you’ll still find me munching my way through a burger or two before kick-off.

Hereford’s goalkeeping coach and the assistant manager to Jamie Pitman, Russell Hoult, has registered as a player at the grand old age of 38 and will presumably by used as back up for regular stopper and former skipper Adam Bartlett.

Oxford will be hoping to ‘do’ the double over Hereford after beating them 2-0 at Edgar Street with goals from James Constable and Tom Craddock. However, the visitors are on fire away from home and will be hoping to notch up their sixth away win on the bounce.

Craddock’s former Luton team mate, Hungarian defender Janos Kovacs, 25, returns to the squad following a suspension, but Pitman is expected to retain a settled side.

Kovacs didn’t play against Oxford earlier this season, but will be hoping for the sort of rip roaring end to the game he played in for Luton against last year against the Yellows. Luton scored two goals and had a man sent off in the last minute if memory serves me correctly while Oxford replied through Matt Green.

But Chris Wilder will live with that outcome if he ends up with a similar result at the end of the season – promotion.

Wilder has taken time out this week to praise the Oxford support and told the club website:

“Look at the fantastic support we have had for the last two away games. To take somewhere in the region of 500 to Morecambe was amazing.

The atmosphere our fans can create at home can really drive the players forward. I want this place to be difficult for the opposition to come to.”

Pitman allayed any concerns regarding new injuries and told the Press Association:

"Everyone`s in full health. Everyone`s ready to go so as long as it stays like that we`re at full-strength again apart from the long-term injuries."

Back to Oxford - United

I am being sent to the Kassam for Oxford’s game on Saturday – my first visit this year – against another United side from my patch – Hereford.


Oxford have been going great guns (according to my totally unbiased sources in the Kidlington area) as they look to force their way into the play-off places and an automatic promotion spot is still a distinct possibility, but they should beware the Bulls.

On paper Hereford look to be there for the taking, but Jamie Pitman has them playing with spirit and work hard, so any Oxford fan looking at the league table and assuming it’s a banker, should lower their expectations. They have only lost one of their last six games and won two others. Of the eight games they’ve managed to win in the league this season, six have been on their travels.

Oxford have alternated between wins and draws in the last four games and, if the trend continues on Saturday, honours will be even.

We’re now entering the business end of the season where form goes out of the window as everyone still has something to play for.

Pitman’s boys are six points above the drop zone and so can’t afford to roll over just yet, but Oxford are just outside the play-off places on goal difference and must fancy their chances of being in the promotion mix-up in May. A win on Saturday would definitely boost their credentials.

But following last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 win at Morecambe, keeper Ryan Clarke and midfielder Paul McLaren were both picked in the League Two team of the week. Again, my sources have told me that McLaren has added something to the team since his January move from Tranmere and so it will be good to see him in action. For my money Clark is one of the best League Two keepers I have seen this season.

I hadn’t realized until I read it on the Bulls best fans site (http://bullsnews.blogspot.com/), but these two teams have only shared a division once before – back in the 1977/78 season.

Darren Drysdale has been named as the man in the middle for the game.

I’ll try to put together a further preview along with some quotes tomorrow.

Bulls-chat – A Pretty Good Guy

Jamie Pitman hit back at the poor attitude shown towards his team before the game by the Hythe camp, but also gave credit where he felt it was due and in doing so, showed a little more class than his part-time opponents. He said:

“It helped us in the respect that I don’t need to say to the players that they’re coming here and you’re supposed to e professional footballers and so you have to do what you’re good at and what you do day in day out. And that’s what they did to be fair.

I said to them that the first fifteen minutes was going to dictate what happens. If they score and you allow them into the game then it’s going to be very difficult. If you don’t then you’ll probably go on and win by five, seven or eight and in the end it could have been double figures.

In the end fair play to them, they worked very hard and they kept in the game all of the time and to be fair to them they weren’t bad, they weren’t bad.”

Pitman is also pleased with the atmosphere around the Bulls’ camp and said:

“The players seem to be enjoying themselves and so it’s just a continual progression for us at the moment.”

Two-goal hero Mathieu Manset allayed any fears the Edgar Road* faithful might have about Pitman’s managerial ability and revealed:

“He’s a real manager. He knows how to shout! He is a football man and once played and so he knows what to do.”

* Apologies to Bulls fans for calling Edgar Street 'Edgar Road'. A lazy error on my part, although it does explain why the Sat Nav took me to Hounslow first :-)

Hereford United 5 Hythe Town 1 - R.E.S.P.E.C.T

As a professional footballer you need no greater motivation than to read that the opposition manager thinks you’re “nothing special”.

Hythe Town were the smallest team left in the FA Cup on Saturday and were duly dumped out of it in emphatic style by the Bulls and it could have been a lot worse if it hadn’t been for some sloppy finishing and inspired goalkeeping from Kieron Mann.

My clipping from this morning's copy of The Sun

The Sun’s football website: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football

Hereford manager Jamie Pitman told me after the game:

“I didn’t need to say anything to the players before the game as they had done my job for me by showing a total lack of respect.”

Any chance of an upset died in the 8th minute when midfielder Richard Rose burst through the Hythe defence and planted a shot in the bottom left corner.

In the 21st minute Rob Purdie buried a shot from the edge of the box in the same place.

Hythe pulled one back in the 26th minute when Council Planning Officer Gary Mickelborough ran into the box and rifled another into the bottom left corner, but that proved to be the Kent side’s only high point.

Gallic flare then took over in the form of a Mathieu Manset brace before half time.

French striker Manset, 21, scored with an acrobatic overhead kick in the 39th minute before bundling home a header five minutes later.

Afterwards Manset said:

“As a child I dreamed of playing in English football and in the FA Cup, but last season I was sent off when we beat Sutton and so I was very unhappy. Today was better.

My hero back home in France was Jean-Pierre Papin who was known for his overhead goals and so I used to practice them and still do in training. To score one just like him was a great feeling.”

In the second half I fully expected Hereford to reach double figures such was their dominance, but they struggled to find a way past the vertically challenged, pink-shirted Mann who made several excellent stops – three in particular from winger Stuart Fleetwood.

But Fleetwood had the last laugh.

In the 93rd minute Fleetwood’s shot hit the post and rolled along and over the line and while substitute Sean Canham appeared to make sure by belting the ball into the back of the net, the winger wheeled away in delight at finally overcoming the amateur stopper.

More quotes from this game tomorrow.

Hereford United versus Who? – Where?

Hythe Town? Who are Hythe Town? Where is Hythe Town?

Most people will never have heard of the Kent seaside town of Hythe, but I have the dubious honour of having stayed there as a kid while on a choir holiday.

I was eleven and remember that – aside from playing football against some lads from Manchester – it was the worst holiday and dullest place.

Our choirmaster eventually saw sense and kicked me out citing that fact that I was both tone deaf and the spawn of Satan who had no place being in a church anyway! Okay, I exaggerate, but the fella didn’t appreciate my vocal skills, that’s for sure.

According to Wikipedia “a French fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but ‘the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt’.”

So the French don’t like the place either then.

Hythe Town play in the Kent Premier and the fixture against Hereford tomorrow will be the biggest in the club’s history having never made it to the 1st Round of the FA Cup before.

They are the smallest team left in the Cup and, on paper, you would expect them to take nothing more than a couple of cases of cider back with them to celebrate the achievement of being knocked out at this stage. However, and it may be a cliché, football is never played on paper.

But hold on. Isn’t this fixture what the FA Cup is all about? David versus Goliath? The favourites against the underdogs? Newcastle against, er, Hereford?

The Hythe Town website edi9or is certainly getting excited, This from the home page (http://www.hythetownfc.co.uk/index.htm):

“where do we start....the first Kent League team in 53 years to reach the First Round Proper, a 7th consecutive win, a 6th consecutive F.A. Cup win, a 4th consecutive clean sheet! The FIRST time Hythe Town FC have EVER reached the first round of the F.A. Cup!!!!!!!”

The Kent side are currently mid-table in the Kent League Premier Division (a feeder for the Isthmian League and the 9th level down on in English football’s footballing pyramid), but have played four fewer games than leaders Herne Bay and are only nine points off the pace.

Their goal scorers this season (up to 23rd of October are):

Goals (League Cup and then Total)

Brendon Cass 6, 3, 9

Dave Cook 4, 4, 8

Kieran Byrne 0, 5, 5

Gary Mickelborough 1, 3, 4

Craig Thompson 1, 2, 3

Gary Lockyer 2, 0, 2

Pat Kingwell 1, 0, 1

Lee Shearer 0, 1, 1

Lee Winfield 0, 1, 1

Ronnie Dolan 1, 0, 1

Billy Somerville 0, 1, 1

Damian Abel 1, 0, 1

Hereford have picked up in League Two under the guidance of physiotherapist Jamie Pitman who has been handed the caretaker manager’s job until the end of the year.

Hythe boss Scott Porter watched Hereford’s 2-2 draw at home to Aldershot on Tuesday, which saw the Bulls move out of the relegation zone for the first time this season and said his side – who will head West on Friday and return on Sunday – have nothing to fear.

He said: "They were quite ordinary and if we can stop them playing, then we have every chance."

Brave words? Or a red rag to the Bulls? We’ll see.

One thing is for certain, if Hereford win you my miss my piece if you blink while reading Monday’s copy of The Sun – if they lose I will be spending most of my weekend writing!