# 2008–09 Hereford United F.C. season

The 2008–09 season was the 88th competitive season of Hereford United Football Club, fifth ever season in the third tier of English football and 28th season overall in the Football League. The club competed in League One following their promotion from League Two in the previous season. Hereford's previous season at this level was the 1977–78 season when they suffered a second consecutive relegation, finishing 23rd, despite having won the same division just two years previously. The club also competed in the FA Cup, FA Trophy and Football League Trophy.
Hereford reached League One on the back of two promotions in three seasons, having won the Conference play-offs in 2005–06, and finished third in League Two in 2007–08. Graham Turner was voted League Two Manager of the Year by the League Managers Association for the latter achievement and entered his 14th season at the club.
Hereford struggled in League One, and after the first 15 matches they were bottom with 9 points. For the vast majority of the season the Bulls were in the relegation zone and were relegated on 18 April after a sixth consecutive defeat – their worst form of the season. Hereford did manage to achieve the double over both Cheltenham Town and Carlisle United. Their two other notable results were a 5–0 home win over Oldham Athletic, and a 2–0 home win over Leeds United.
The top goalscorer of the season is Steve Guinan with 15 goals, all scored in the league. Guinan is the club's longest serving player with 68 goals in 176 appearances. In a cumulative four and a half season spell, he has featured for the club in the Football League, Conference, Play-offs, FA Cup, Football League Cup, Football League Trophy and FA Trophy during his three spells with the club – having been signed twice and loaned once.
Graham Turner stepped down as manager following confirmation of relegation and appointed John Trewick, first team coach for the last 5 seasons, as the new manager for the remaining two matches of the season and beyond.

## First-team squad

    As of 2 May 2009
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Richard Rose |
| 4 | MF | FRA | Toumani Diagouraga |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Kris Taylor |
| 7 | FW | ENG | Febian Brandy (on loan from Manchester United) |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Ben Smith |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Steve Guinan (captain) |
| 10 | FW | GHA | Bradley Hudson-Odoi |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Marc Pugh (on loan from Shrewsbury Town) |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Sam Gwynne |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Jack Macleod |
| 17 | MF | IRL | Stephen O'Leary |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Craig Jones |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Andy Williams (on loan from Bristol Rovers) |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Richard Jackson |
| 22 | MF | WAL | Matt Done |
| 24 | MF | CAN | Michael D'Agostino |
| 25 | GK | CPV | José Veiga |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Dean Beckwith |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Josh Gowling (on loan from Carlisle United) |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Jennison Myrie-Williams (on loan from Bristol City) |
| 33 | GK | HUN | Péter Gulácsi (on loan from Liverpool) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | No. | Player | Transferred from | Fee |
| 17 June 2008 | MF | 22 | Matt Done | Wrexham | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2008 | DF | 5 | Garry Breen | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 7 July 2008 | GK | — | Nick Jordan | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 7 July 2008 | MF | 4 | Toumani Diagouraga | Watford | Free transfer |
| 16 July 2008 | FW | 10 | Bradley Hudson-Odoi | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 21 July 2008 | GK | 14 | Craig Samson | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 7 August 2008 | DF | 12 | Sam Oji | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 28 August 2008 | MF | 17 | Stephen O'Leary | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 4 September 2008 | DF | 21 | Richard Jackson | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 10 September 2008 | FW | 24 | Nick Chadwick | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 20 February 2009 | MF | 24 | Michael D'Agostino | Free agent | Free transfer |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | No. | Player | To club | Fee |
| 16 May 2008 | GK | 14 | Michael Ingham | Free agent | Released |
| 16 May 2008 | DF | 5 | John McCombe | Free agent | Released |
| 19 May 2008 | FW | 12 | Trevor Benjamin | Free agent | Released |
| 19 May 2008 | GK | 33 | Ryan Esson | Free agent | Released |
| 19 May 2008 | MF | 17 | Jordan Fitzpatrick | Free agent | Released |
| 19 May 2008 | FW | 19 | Marcus Palmer | Free agent | Released |
| 5 June 2008 | GK | 1 | Wayne Brown | Bury | Free transfer |
| 30 June 2008 | DF | 2 | Trent McClenahan | Free agent | Released |
| 29 August 2008 | MF | 21 | Luke Webb | Free agent | Released |
| 8 January 2009 | FW | 24 | Nick Chadwick | Free agent | Released |
| 3 February 2009 | DF | 5 | Garry Breen | Free agent | Released |
| 5 February 2009 | DF | 12 | Sam Oji | Free agent | Released |
| 3 April 2009 | MF | 11 | Clint Easton | Free agent | Released |
| 14 April 2009 | GK | 14 | Craig Samson | Free agent | Released |
| 21 April 2009 | MF | 23 | Simon Johnson | Free agent | Released |

### Loans in

| Date from | Date to | Pos. | No. | Name | From club |
| 11 July 2008 | 11 January 2008 | GK | 1 | Darren Randolph | Charlton Athletic |
| 16 July 2008 | 5 January 2009 | DF | 3 | Robbie Threlfall | Liverpool |
| 5 August 2008 | 3 January 2009 | FW | 7 | Moses Ashikodi | Watford |
| 1 September 2008 | End of season | FW | 20 | Andy Williams | Bristol Rovers |
| 25 September 2008 | 25 November 2008 | DF | 27 | Bruno Ngotty | Leicester City |
| 12 November 2008 | 12 December 2008 | GK | 25 | Matt Murray | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 20 November 2008 | 22 January 2009 | MF | 26 | Lionel Ainsworth | Watford |
| 27 November 2008 | 21 January 2009 | GK | 33 | Chris Weale | Bristol City |
| 27 November 2008 | End of season | DF | 29 | Josh Gowling | Carlisle United |
| 5 January 2009 | 5 April 2009 | MF | 30 | Sam Hewson | Manchester United |
| 23 January 2009 | 23 February 2009 | MF | 31 | Jennison Myrie-Williams | Bristol City |
| 2 February 2009 | End of season | GK | 33 | Péter Gulácsi | Liverpool |
| 3 February 2009 | End of season | FW | 7 | Febian Brandy | Manchester United |
| 17 February 2009 | 17 March 2009 | DF | 27 | Godwin Antwi | Liverpool |
| 13 March 2009 | 13 April 2009 | DF | 32 | Darren Dennehy | Cardiff City |
| 26 March 2009 | End of season | MF | 12 | Marc Pugh | Shrewsbury Town |
| 26 March 2009 | End of season | MF | 31 | Jennison Myrie-Williams | Bristol City |

### Loans out

| Date from | Date to | Pos. | No. | Name | To club | Ref. |
| 12 December 2008 | 10 January 2009 | MF | 19 | Craig Jones | Redditch United | |
| 6 March 2009 | 6 April 2009 | FW | 10 | Bradley Hudson-Odoi | Grays Athletic | |

## Pre-season

Win  Draw  Loss

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| League One | 9 August 2008 | 2 May 2009 | Matchday 1 | 24th | 46 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 42 | 79 | −37 | 019.57 |
| FA Cup | 8 November 2008 | 18 November 2008 | First round | First round | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| League Cup | 12 August 2008 | 12 August 2008 | First round | First round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Football League Trophy | 7 October 2008 | 7 October 2008 | Second round (Southern) | Second round (Southern) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| Herefordshire Senior Cup | 4 November 2008 | 28 April 2009 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 52 | 10 | 9 | 33 | 50 | 87 | −37 | 019.23 |
Source: Football Club History Database - Hereford United

### League One
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 20 | Carlisle United | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 56 | 69 | −13 | 50 | |
| 21 | Northampton Town (R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 49 | Relegation to Football League Two |
| 22 | Crewe Alexandra (R) | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 59 | 82 | −23 | 46 | Relegation to Football League Two |
| 23 | Cheltenham Town (R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 51 | 91 | −40 | 39 | Relegation to Football League Two |
| 24 | Hereford United (R) | 46 | 9 | 7 | 30 | 42 | 79 | −37 | 34 | Relegation to Football League Two |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 2 May 2009. Source: Football Web Pages

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | D | L | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L |
| Position | 19 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Points | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 |

#### Matches

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 9 August 2008 | Leyton Orient | A | 1–2 | Beckwith 14' | 4,727 | 18th |
| 16 August 2008 | Yeovil Town | H | 1–2 | Hudson-Odoi 82' | 3,476 | 22nd |
| 23 August 2008 | Bristol Rovers | A | 1–6 | Guinan 90' | 6,735 | 24th |
| 30 August 2008 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–0 | O'Leary 48', Hudson-Odoi 56' | 2,894 | 22nd |
| 5 September 2008 | Swindon Town | H | 1–1 | Hudson-Odoi 68' | 4,061 | 20th |
| 13 September 2008 | Southend United | A | 0–1 | | 6,393 | 23rd |
| 20 September 2008 | Scunthorpe United | H | 1–2 | Chadwick 25' (pen) | 3,004 | 24th |
| 27 September 2008 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | | 25,676 | 24th |
| 4 October 2008 | Walsall | H | 0–0 | | 3,900 | 24th |
| 12 October 2008 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–4 | | 5,468 | 24th |
| 18 October 2008 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–0 | | 5,608 | 24th |
| 21 October 2008 | Carlisle United | H | 1–0 | Williams 60' | 2,300 | 23rd |
| 25 October 2008 | Stockport County | H | 0–1 | | 3,210 | 23rd |
| 28 October 2008 | Millwall | A | 0–1 | | 9,071 | 23rd |
| 1 November 2008 | Peterborough United | A | 0–2 | | 6,087 | 24th |
| 15 November 2008 | Cheltenham Town | H | 3–0 | Guinan 15', 26', Gwynne 55' | 3,761 | 22nd |
| 22 November 2008 | Northampton Town | H | 0–2 | | 3,061 | 22nd |
| 25 November 2008 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | 0–3 | | 7,189 | 22nd |
| 6 December 2008 | Colchester United | A | 2–1 | Guinan 29', Ainsworth 39' | 4,794 | 22nd |
| 13 December 2008 | Hartlepool United | H | 1–1 | Guinan 18' | 2,490 | 23rd |
| 20 December 2008 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–2 | | 13,070 | 23rd |
| 26 December 2008 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | Diagouraga 45', Guinan 65' | 3,495 | 23rd |
| 28 December 2008 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | Broadhurst 79' | 22,920 | 23rd |
| 17 January 2009 | Oldham Athletic | H | 5–0 | Guinan 3', 10', 41', Ainsworth 27', 62' | 3,342 | 22nd |
| 24 January 2009 | Walsall | A | 1–1 | Guinan 58' (pen) | 4,438 | 22nd |
| 27 January 2009 | Millwall | H | 0–2 | | 3,001 | 22nd |
| 31 January 2009 | Stockport County | A | 1–4 | Hewson 26' | 5,586 | 23rd |
| 14 February 2009 | Cheltenham Town | A | 3–2 | Brandy 13', Hewson 67', 80' | 4,660 | 22nd |
| 17 February 2009 | Leeds United | H | 2–0 | Myrie-Williams 39', Brandy 62' | 6,120 | 22nd |
| 21 February 2009 | Peterborough United | H | 0–1 | | 3,217 | 23rd |
| 28 February 2009 | Leyton Orient | H | 2–1 | Brandy 6', Guinan 16' (pen) | 3,286 | 23rd |
| 7 March 2009 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–2 | Diagouraga 79' | 5,195 | 23rd |
| 10 March 2009 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–3 | | 3,199 | 23rd |
| 14 March 2009 | Southend United | H | 0–1 | | 2,663 | 23rd |
| 17 March 2009 | Scunthorpe United | A | 0–3 | | 3,672 | 23rd |
| 21 March 2009 | Swindon Town | A | 0–3 | | 7,129 | 23rd |
| 24 March 2009 | Carlisle United | A | 2–1 | Guinan 7', Smith 24' | 4,223 | 23rd |
| 28 March 2009 | Huddersfield Town | H | 0–1 | | 2,979 | 23rd |
| 4 April 2009 | Hartlepool United | A | 2–4 | Brandy 11', Pugh 28' | 3,579 | 23rd |
| 7 April 2009 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–2 | Taylor 90' | 2,033 | 23rd |
| 11 April 2009 | Leicester City | H | 1–3 | Guinan 29' (pen) | 4,389 | 23rd |
| 13 April 2009 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–2 | Guinan 90' (pen) | 5,945 | 24th |
| 18 April 2009 | Colchester United | H | 0–2 | | 2,100 | 24th |
| 21 April 2009 | Yeovil Town | A | 2–2 | Myrie-Williams 27', Guinan 61' | 3,780 | 24th |
| 25 April 2009 | Northampton Town | A | 1–2 | Williams 51' | 5,518 | 24th |
| 2 May 2009 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | 0–1 | | 3,224 | 24th |

### FA Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### League Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### Football League Trophy

Win  Draw  Loss

### Herefordshire Senior Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

## Squad statistics

    As of match played 2 May 2009

### Appearance and goals

* The plus (+) symbol denotes an appearance as a substitute, hence 2+1 indicates two appearances in the starting XI and one appearance as a substitute
* Players with zero appearances are not included
* Statistics from the HFA Senior Floodlit Cup are not included
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Richard Rose | 45 | 0 | 40+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | FRA | Toumani Diagouraga | 48 | 2 | 45 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Kris Taylor | 43 | 2 | 38+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | SKN | Febian Brandy | 15 | 4 | 14+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Ben Smith | 40 | 1 | 29+8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Steve Guinan | 46 | 15 | 40+3 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | GHA | Bradley Hudson-Odoi | 20 | 3 | 10+6 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Marc Pugh | 9 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Sam Gwynne | 22 | 1 | 17+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Jack Macleod | 6 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | IRL | Stephen O'Leary | 17 | 1 | 11+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Karl Broadhurst | 28 | 1 | 23+2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Craig Jones | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Andy Williams | 29 | 2 | 19+7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Richard Jackson | 26 | 0 | 23+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | WAL | Matt Done | 39 | 1 | 24+12 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | GK | CPV | José Veiga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Dean Beckwith | 29 | 1 | 22+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Josh Gowling | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Jennison Myrie-Williams | 15 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | HUN | Péter Gulácsi | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left during the season but made an appearance ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | IRL | Darren Randolph | 14 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Robbie Threlfall | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ATG | Moses Ashikodi | 8 | 1 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Clint Easton | 16 | 0 | 9+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Sam Oji | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | GK | SCO | Craig Samson | 14 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Simon Johnson | 33 | 0 | 9+21 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Nick Chadwick | 12 | 1 | 5+5 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Matt Murray | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Lionel Ainsworth | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | FRA | Bruno Ngotty | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | GHA | Godwin Antwi | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Sam Hewson | 10 | 3 | 9+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | IRL | Darren Dennehy | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Chris Weale | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |