# 1975–76 Hereford United F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was the 46th season of competitive football played by Hereford United Football Club and their fourth in the Football League. The club competed in Division Three, as well as the League Cup, Welsh Cup and FA Cup.

## Summary

Hereford clinched a second promotion in four years following election to the Football League by finishing as champions of Division Three, six points clear of second-placed Cardiff City. They won only one of their opening five league matches but gathered momentum as results improved through the autumn and winter, and went top for the first time with a 4–1 win over Cardiff at the start of February. A crowd of 35,549 saw the Welsh club claim a 2–0 win in the return fixture at Ninian Park on 14 April, but Hereford's promotion was confirmed the following Saturday by a goalless draw at Walsall, with the championship following two days later courtesy of a 3–1 win over Shrewsbury Town.
The squad was bolstered by the arrival of goalkeeper Kevin Charlton, full-back Steve Ritchie, midfielder Jimmy Lindsay and forward Steve Davey. Charlton displaced Tommy Hughes as first-choice keeper, Ritchie and Lindsay were both ever-present, and Davey's 18 league goals took some of the scoring burden off Dixie McNeil. Nevertheless, McNeil finished as leading scorer in the Football League for the second successive year with a haul of 35 goals, thanks to a hat-trick against Preston North End in the final match of the season which enabled him to overtake Walsall's Alan Buckley by one goal. He also became the first Hereford player to score four goals in a league match, doing so in a 5–0 win over Chester.
Veteran midfielder Terry Paine achieved a notable feat when he made his 765th league appearance in Hereford's home match against Peterborough United on 25 October. This established a new Football League record, overtaking the previous record of 764 held by Portsmouth's Jimmy Dickinson.

## Squad

Players who made one appearance or more for Hereford United F.C. during the 1975-76 season
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | League Cup | League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | Welsh Cup | Welsh Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Kevin Charlton | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| GK | SCO | Tommy Hughes | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| DF | IRE | Tony Byrne | 1(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 2 | 6(2) | 2 |
| DF | ENG | Steve Emery | 45 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 58 | 2 |
| DF | WAL | Mark Evans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | John Galley | 35 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 2 |
| DF | ENG | John Layton | 38 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 49 | 9 |
| DF | WAL | Julian Marshall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | SCO | Steve Ritchie | 46 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 2 |
| DF | ENG | David Rylands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Billy Tucker | 17(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 27(2) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Les Briley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Roy Carter | 33 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 42(1) | 8 |
| MF | ENG | Paul Courtney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | SCO | Jimmy Lindsay | 46 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 59 | 6 |
| MF | SCO | Jim McCafferty | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3(3) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Terry Paine | 40(4) | 1 | 2(2) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 48(6) | 3 |
| MF | ENG | Brian Preece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 1 | 3(1) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | David Rudge | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 |
| MF | IRE | Kevin Sheedy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Barry Silkman | 12(10) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 3(1) | 1 | 16(13) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Peter Spiring | 5(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Dudley Tyler | 34 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3(1) | 0 | 41(1) | 6 |
| MF | WAL | Shane Walker | 7(2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4(1) | 1 | 16(3) | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Steve Davey | 42(3) | 18 | 3(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5(1) | 3 | 54(5) | 21 |
| FW | ENG | Dixie McNeil | 40(1) | 35 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 51 | 38 |
| FW | ENG | Eric Redrobe | 15(5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 22(5) | 2 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hereford United (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 86 | 55 | 1.564 | 63 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City (P) | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 69 | 48 | 1.438 | 57 | Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round and promotion to the Second Division |
| 3 | Millwall (P) | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 54 | 43 | 1.256 | 56 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 78 | 53 | 1.472 | 53 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 53 | |

## Results
### Welsh Cup

* After extra time - Hereford won 5–4 on penalties. ** The first leg was originally played at Ninian Park on 29 April and ended in a 2–2 draw. This was declared null and void by the Welsh FA after Peter Spiring, scorer of both Hereford goals, was deemed to have been ineligible to play.