Matt Healey continues the series.
Rob Purdie was born in Leicester on the 28th September 1982. He began his career at Leicester City playing for their Under 19 and reserve teams.
At the end of the 2001/2002 season Hereford United had finished 17th in the Nationwide Conference, it had been the lowest finish for the club in that tier since the 1960’s. The team were involved in a relegation battle near the end of the campaign and it took a couple of wins late in the season against Northwich Victoria and Dagenham & Redbridge to steer them clear of the drop zone.
Manager/Chairman Graham Turner and Secretary Joan Fennessy handed in their resignations at the end of that season. The pair hadn’t been paid for around six months.
At the time Fennessy commented “Our resignations are still on the table and we have resigned. But we have agreed to look at the situation after the meetings next week. We have worked so hard to keep this club alive but there does come a time when you feel that enough is enough. We hear rumours that people are desperate for the club to survive – but they haven’t come forward.”
On the playing side the retained list was announced and only six players were under contract Ian Wright, Scott Voice, Tony James, Matt Clarke, Matt Baker and Paul Parry. Gavin Williams was offered a contract but he would later join Yeovil Town. Every other player was released. It was goodbye to the likes of John Snape, Steve Piearce, Daniel Davidson, Jimmy Quiggin, Rob Elmes, Ian Rodgerson and Scott Goodwin.
On the 9th May 2002 the club released this statement ” Following a series of meetings, proposals have been put forward to stabilize the club in the short term. Supporters who are seeking further financial input from other supporters of the club have pledged a modest amount of finance. Ultimately there will be a change of chairman, but Graham Turner has agreed to the request that he continue in that role for the time being. He will also take charge of first-team affairs for the coming season.
Joan Fennessy has been requested to withdraw her resignation and continue as company secretary, this she has agreed to do.
The Board of Directors and the benefactors hope that with the stabilizing of the club supporters will now have confidence to renew their season tickets, and sponsors and advertisers will continue to support the club.
Work has commenced on rebuilding the squad for next season“
What followed was a period of boom for Hereford United which would last from 2002-2009 and would involve for a season being on the same level playing field as now Premier League teams Brighton, Leeds United and Leicester City.
I asked Purdie how after his release from Leicester City that he became a Hereford United player “It all started at a service station near Walsall, I met Graham Turner (GT) with my dad, GT told us that Hereford was about 20 minutes away!!. I think it was a trick to get players to meet them there so they signed before they drove to the ground and found out how far away it actually was”
GT told us he was going to build a team of young cast offs that his budget would allow . I didn’t sign straightaway. I had trials at York City and Lincoln City. A move there didn’t materialize and still without a club I ended up going to Leicester City to say my goodbyes. Ron Jukes was the Hereford Chief Scout and he had mentioned to Leicester I still hadn’t signed for a club, I went back to GT and about 6 weeks after we first met, the deal was still on the table, so I signed a contract at Hereford United”
Purdie would make his Hereford debut as a substitute in an opening day 2-1 win over Farnborough on the 17th August 2002.
“I didn’t start that many games in my 1st season. I was mainly used as a sub. I remember scoring at Northwich Victoria. I was just glad to be playing. I was working hard. I was still quite small. The league was full of giants. Our own Ian Wright was nicknamed Yogi. There was Ian Hendon at Barnet and Gary Brabin at Southport who were huge. I would go to Birmingham on my days off to do weight training with Tony Ford”
Hereford finished 6th at the end of the 2002/2003 season. One place outside of the play offs, but with a fresh young squad optimism was high.
The team was tweaked for the 2003/2004 season. David Brown signed from Telford and Ryan Green joined after a brief spell at Sheffield Wednesday. “We had such a small squad, we had 11-12 players who were the regular starters and the squad was supplemented on the bench with the likes of Dean Craven, Richard Teesdale and Jordan King. David Brown got injured in pre-season so I played up front with Steve Guinan”
Hereford and Chester City would battle it out for the top spot to win promotion to the Football League. Chester were backed financially by their controversial owner Stephen Vaughan. Under the management of former England Italia 90 defender Mark Wright Chester’s physical approach was totally different to the more footballing style of Hereford United. The Bulls hammered Halifax Town 7-1 on November 25th 2003 with Purdie on the scoresheet.
Just before Christmas saw another 7-1 thrashing, but this time against Forest Green and on Boxing Day 2003 Purdie scored a fantastic goal in a televised 1-1 draw at home to Exeter City.
“Around February time we changed the formation but then Ben Smith got injured away at Gravesend. I was now playing in the hole and we then went on a fantastic 11 game winning run”
One of these wins was a 9-0 demolition of Dagenham & Redbridge. “We had no fear, we weren’t arrogant. GT never allowed that to creep into a dressing room, not even from a loan player. We just felt untouchable in that period”
Hereford missed out on promotion by a single point. Chester would clinch the automatic place in the Football League. The Bulls would have to face Aldershot Town in the Play Offs. Hereford had beaten Aldershot in both league games that season and had a 21 point advantage over them in the league table. This would mean nothing in the Play Off matches.
At the Recreation Ground Hereford would draw 1-1 in the 1st leg “In the last run of league games we knew we had nothing to lose and there wasn’t the pressure. Things would now be more serious. I got injured in the 1st leg, so missed the 2nd leg at Edgar Street”
The game at Edgar Street ended in heartbreak as the Bulls would lose 4-2 in a penalty shoot out after drawing 0-0 after Extra Time. Defender Andy Tretton was controversially sent off early in the 1st half and despite playing around 100 minutes with 10 men the Bulls were knocked out in savage circumstances.
That summer would see a mass exodus from Edgar Street. Steve Guinan would join Cheltenham, Michael Rose went to Yeovil. Matt Baker linked up with Wrexham. Ben Smith signed for Shrewsbury and popular coach Richard O’Kelly departed to Bournemouth.
I asked Purdie if he had thought about leaving “GT had offered me a decent contract at the end of the season and I signed it just before the last game against Chester City. I didn’t have an agent and I was more than happy to sign it. I ended up injuring my foot during pre-season. I tried to play through it but needed some time out to rest. What didn’t help was Richard O’Kelly was also the physio so we didn’t have anyone at the club to treat me”
John Trewick had replaced Richard O’Kelly as coach. “You wouldn’t hear a bad word said about Richard O’Kelly. He was the most positive man ever. John Trewick was a little more stricter, they both had different views on how a number 10 should play in a 3-5-2 formation. I got on well with John, but some of the younger players didn’t take to his methods”
Hereford would finish the 2004/2005 season in 2nd position. They would bow out in the Play Offs, but this time against Stevenage. We had signed a bit of experience with the likes of Graham Hyde and Lee Mills, they were probably a bit older than we needed, we lacked a bit of energy. In the play off game against Stevenage we were up against their manager Graham Westley, they were a team of fighters, who were big and physical. They had a gameplan in the 2nd league at Edgar Street and beat us 1-0 (The game at Stevenage had ended 1-1) Looking back we did really well to finish 2nd in the league after all the players we had lost in the summer”
Hereford would finally would promotion in the 2005/2006 season. Graham Turner had bought in the experience of Alex Jeannin and Guy Ipoua.
“Guy was great, he couldn’t last 90 minutes. He was so frustrating and amazing. He could easily hold a player off. He just had that extra attitude and drive we needed. Look back at his passion when he came on for Andy Williams in the play off final. What made that era so good was the players embraced Hereford, Alex and Guy moved to the city, they made friends with the fans. There were the likes of Andy Ferrell and Dean Beckwith who moved to Hereford to live as well. GT has a home in the area too. We all bought into it. Whenever Hereford had struggled previously it tended to be because the players were isolated”
The dream finally came true on the 20th May 2006 when Hereford United defeated Halifax Town 3-2 after extra time to win promotion to the Football League. I pointed out to Purdie it was played in his hometown of Leicester.
“It was great as all my family were there to see it. We had all worked so hard, we played Morecambe in the semi finals and they were a big and strong team, the likes of Jim Bentley, Michael Twiss and Wayne Curtis. We got through that and we were the favorites to win. Halifax were the underdogs but they took the game to us, but we won 3-2. The celebrations continued back in the city for a week or so after”
Graham Turner had been the manager of Hereford United in 1997 when the club were relegated to non league football and nine years later he had achieved what he set out to do and return the club to their rightful Football League status.
The 2006/2007 would see Purdie make his Football League debut “There wasn’t much difference to be honest in the football. I was playing full back. It was great going to the bigger grounds and playing in front of larger attendances. Things were a lot more professional, we stayed overnight a lot more”
I said to Purdie he scored a lot of penalties that season “Yes, I think eight out of nine. I missed one against Torquay. Nathan Abbey saved it. I was the longest serving player of the club. Tony James had left so I made the decision to take the spot kicks, plus the management knew if I missed one it wouldn’t affect me”
Hereford consolidated their Football League status and ended the season in 16th position. Despite flirting with the play offs. Hereford would fall away from March onwards.
Purdie would leave Hereford that summer “I was 24 and on a Bosman free transfer. In one of the games that season I was booed by some of the Hereford fans. That affected me. Plus I wanted a new challenge. I didn’t want to get stale. I discussed it with the management. GT was great and offered me a fantastic deal, but he told me it was his best offer. I needed something new for my career so I signed for Darlington and had two great seasons up there”
Purdie continued “I then joined Oldham in what is now League One. I was their marquee signing but it was a disaster. I got injured . I never played a game for them. I had three operations and was out for 17 months. I was mis-diagnosed. I ended up having hip osteoarthritis. I’m ok now but will need a hip replacement at some point. I had my bone shaved down and a new cartilage built. A doctor called Ernest Schilders was fantastic. I was on crutches for a long time, but did my rehab properly and was ready to return to football”
In the meantime Hereford had won promotion to League One and the 2008/2009 saw the club play at its highest level for nearly 40 years. Sadly after one season in the 3rd tier they would be relegated. Graham Turner then moved upstairs for the 2009/2010 campaign and John Trewick was installed as manager. Trewick was sacked in March 2010 and Turner would return to the dugout to steer the club safely to League Two survival.
After 15 years at Edgar Street Turner would depart to become manager of Shrewsbury Town and he sold his shares to local man David Keyte. Former Barnsley manager Simon Davey was installed as the new boss, but after a terrible start Davey was sacked after 10 games and physio Jamie Pitman was installed as caretaker manager.
It would be a former Hereford United colleague who saved Purdie’s career “Jamie Pitman had taken over as manager after doing well as caretaker and asked if I could help him out. He wanted me to prove my fitness and I played in a midweek friendly game. As soon as I got to Hereford I felt right at home. I remember driving down Aylestone Hill and knew it was the right decision. The squad had changed a bit. The likes of Richard Rose and Stuart Fleetwood were still there though and I knew Joe Colbeck from our time at Darlington”
Purdie made a dream start to his Hereford return and scored two goals within 10 minutes in a 5-0 thrashing at Stockport County.
“Mathieu Manset and Stuart Fleetwood started scoring plenty of goals. Things had changed the 3 and a half years I had been away, things weren’t as strict as the GT era. Wages were ridiculous and some things weren’t as serious”
Lennie Lawrence had been assisting Jamie Pitman but he departed to Crystal Palace, Dave Kevan had then come in as coach. “Dave was really good and we had a decent understanding”
Hereford stayed up in the penultimate game of the season when a late Stuart Fleetwood free kick secured a 1-1 draw against Bradford City.
Things were go severely wrong during the 2011/2012 season
Hereford were bottom of the league in September 2011. A humiliatingly 6-1 home defeat to Gillingham was brutal.
“Russell Hoult and Richard Sneekes were the coaches that assisted Jamie Pitman but it wasn’t working, Gary Peters came in to assist”
Peters had previously managed Preston North End he had given David Beckham his league debut after signing him on loan from Manchester United. Peters had a reputation for a direct style of football.
“It started well we drew 3-3 at Swindon after being 3-1 down. Peters seemed the perfect answer. Then it started to change. I remember his famous quote “We can give the ball away to win it back in a better area”
He didn’t want me passing the ball to the centre half. The likes of Sam Clucas who wasn’t ready back then was signed by him. There was a power struggle between him and Pitman. Me and a couple of the senior players Delroy Facey and Michael Townsend had a chat, we got the squad together. I ended up calling David Keyte and discussing it with him, looking back I really shouldn’t have been having to do it, but I didn’t want us to go down without a fight. It was a dire situation. The worst I had ever experienced in football”
Purdie continues “Keyte told me some changes were planned and Richard O’Kelly then shortly returned as manager. We didn’t start at all well and lost a few games. I remember away at Barnet drawing 1-1 and Yoann Arquin nearly scored at the end. We then had the right team in midfield. The likes of Kenny Lunt, Harry Pell and Nicky Featherstone that had been discarded by Peters were now back. They were all great footballers, their ability was brilliant”
Hereford then started a bit of a revival. “We went to Crawley and battered them 3-0. Then the last game of the season we played Torquay at Edgar Street. We had to win to stay up, and hope Barnet lost or drew at Burton.
We were 3-0 up within half an hour, at half time we heard Burton had missed a penalty against Barnet and that deflated us a bit, we ended up winning but conceded two goals and it was a nervy 3-2. I think hearing Burton missed that penalty knocked the stuffing out of us a bit. Barnet went on to beat Burton 2-1 and we were relegated”
Purdie would leave the club at the end of that season. “I spoke to Jamie Pitman and Richard O’Kelly. Richard asked if I would stay. I told him I would if he remained as manager”
O’Kelly would sadly leave the club and become assistant to Dean Smith at Walsall. Purdie would then sign for League One Shrewsbury Town. Martin Foyle become Hereford United manager.
“I had two good games against Shrewsbury in the league. GT rang me up. I wanted to play at the highest level I could. I remember the Oldham manager and chairman at the time told me I wasn’t good for that level, so I wanted to prove them wrong”
I asked him if GT was more relaxed now he was just manager “Not really, he was still the same, in fact John Trewick and Tony Ford were still the same as well. Paul Parry was there and Aaron Wildig was a Hereford lad and we would drive up together. Aaron told me he had a picture of us together from an open day in 2003 when I was signing an autograph for him”
After spending a season at Shrewsbury Purdie would return to Hereford United for the 2013/2014 season. “Martin Foyle called me. I had a couple of league clubs interested but had nothing concrete. I verbally agreed to re-sign for Hereford United. A day later I had a better offer from a Football League club. I called Martin to discuss it. He said I had given him his word. I agreed and I signed for him”
Purdie would regret signing for the club “It meant I probably lost a couple of seasons as a Football League player. I didn’t like some of the players that season, we had some good lads, but some were more interested in going out and partying down Commercial Road drinking champagne. I personally didn’t play well. I didn’t think Martin Foyle was the manager I expected and he would say I wasn’t the player. It was a fractured dressing room, a lot of the lads lived away”
Foyle would leave Hereford in March 2014. The club were struggling financially with wages not being paid and on the pitch were being sucked into a relegation battle.
Youth team manager Pete Beadle was installed as the new caretaker manger.
I asked Purdie how Beadle changed things “He basically said we all need to stand up and be counted. I remember one game before he arrived a player went off with concussion, but the same player was out partying that night. Beadle changed the mentality”
In the penultimate game of the season Hereford would beat Alfreton 3-2 at Edgar Street and with results going their way elsewhere a 2-1 win at Aldershot avoided relegation on the final day.
“The celebrations on the pitch were great with the fans, but trying not to sound like Roy Keane I wasn’t a fan of the champagne in the dressing room. Hereford United shouldn’t have been in that position and celebrating. We should be celebrating to win promotion out of that league, not celebrating to stay in it”
What happened next was the slow death of Hereford United. David Keyte sold the club to Tommy Agombar. The Essex businessman was a convicted criminal. Mark Ellis was the coach who was bought in at the time “I remember seeing Mark and he fobbed me off to be fair, Sam Gwynne had been training with them and he said it was shocking. I was employed by the UITC as the youth team coach and could see what was going on, it was farce after farce”
Hereford United were liquidated on the 19th December 2014.
Purdie was now playing in National League North for Tamworth. “I blew my knee out there and had about 6 months out. I played the last few games of the season”
In Hereford a phoenix club was being born. Hereford FC was created from the Ashes of Hereford United and Pete Beadle would be the club’s first manager. Purdie was announced as one of the marquee signings.
“Beadle rang me and despite offers from a couple of National League North clubs I joined Hereford FC . Tony James had also joined and there was a lad called Ben Miller who had impressed me when he was a youth player. In the early days it was full of local trialists. None of the local ones really stood out and you can see why they didn’t ever make it. Aaron Birch came in and he was quality. Then John Mills and Pablo Haysham joined. Haysham only came in as he was Mills’s best mate and Beadle needed another striker”
Hereford would have a bad start to their inaugural season. “Well the first game was good, we beat Dunkirk 4-1, lovely sunshine and a big crowd at Edgar Street, then we lost to Stourport and Highgate, we then played Rocester and were 3-0 down, but fought back to win 4-3. We thought we had turned the corner, but then lost 5-4 at home to Coleshill. Jimmy Oates had an absolute shocker, we never thought we would see him again, four of the goals were his fault. We then drew 0-0 against Westfields and I got injured”
Ryan Green and Jamie Willets were then bought in. “We then went on a brilliant run, we didn’t lose for 6 months. I had a great partnership in midfield with Aaron Birch”
Alvechurch and Hereford were the main challengers for automatic promotion. Only one team went up, there were no play offs. Hereford would face Alvechurch away on the 7th April 2016.
“We were 2-0 up and in complete control. Then Beadle made a change and bought on Dylan Bonella and we couldn’t get out of our half. They pulled it back to 2-1, then they won a penalty, but Martin Horsell saved it. We were under the cosh, what actually helped us that night was the fans fighting, the game was delayed for 4-5 minutes and we were able to compose ourselves and they had run out of energy”
I asked Purdie if he preferred a 6-0 thrashing or a close win. Definitely a close win. I remember we went to Dunkirk and won 3-2 at the end, those games would show our character”
Hereford would win the league and also reached the final of the FA Vase Final where they would face Morpeth at Wembley Stadium. Around 20,000 Hereford fans headed east over that weekend.
“We trained at QPR’s ground and the team was announced on Saturday morning, we knew nine of the team, but it was was either Joe Tumelty or Mustapha Bundu and Nathan Summers or Jamie Willets. Tumelty and Willets got the shout”
Purdie opened the scoring early in the game.
“The first 20 minutes we were brilliant , but as the game settled we were screwed. They passed us to death. The Wembley pitch was huge. At half time me and Aaron Birch had cramp. Morpeth had done their homework on us. Everything went to Jamie Willets who by his own admission is a defender and not a footballer. Nathan Summers was a lot quicker and enjoyed the ball at his feet. They had a bald midfielder who ran the show. I think we were over confident, we weren’t arrogant but Morpeth did a job on us”
Hereford would lose 4-1, but there was a massive feelgood factor in the city with the club winning promotion, two cups and reaching a Wembley final.
Hereford would be in the Southern League South West for the 2016/2017 season. We changed the personnel a bit we had lads from Bristol like Clayton Fortune, Mark Preece and Oliver Barnes. It was great winning the league at Salisbury, not because they were rivals but it was a nice ground and a big crowd. Losing Aaron Birch was a blow that season. Mike McGrath and Calvin Dinsley came in but they did their own thing ran around a lot and usually got booked. I had to sit in the midfield role. It was probably my least favourite season, as went out in the cup competitions early too”
Hereford would be in the Southern League Premier for the 2017/2018 campaign. We had a better squad. Eliot Richards joined us. I got an injury and didn’t play for 11 games. I got back in the team and came on as a sub during the dramatic 2-2 draw against Slough”
“I was getting frustrated. I was now in training for the fire service, so couldn’t make some of the midweek away games. I missed the 3-2 loss at Kings Lynn. I challenged the management to put me in the team and I proved to them the results were better when I was in the side. I got back in the starting eleven towards the end of the season and chipped in with some goals” Purdie scored the penalty to win promotion at Biggleswade.
Hereford would achieve their 3rd promotion in a row, but Purdie would leave the club at the end of the season.
“I felt the relationship between me and the management had shifted. I had a phone call with Beadle. I knew the situation but I wanted to contribute. I was partially expecting to be offered a role as a coach. I could only make about 70% of the games but I knew I could help. Beadle told me “The team over the road may want you” (Westfields)
“I though that was fair enough, there may have been not enough funds in the budget, but my heart sunk as I knew that was it”
Beadle would leave the club in September 2020.
Tim Harris and Marc Richards then took over at Edgar Street “What helped me get over the disappointment of me leaving the club was returning to Edgar Street as a commentator for BBC Hereford and Worcester and most of my friends had gone. Jimmy Oates, John Mills, Pablo Haysham, Martin Horsell and Mike McGrath had all left, Ryan Green was shipped out as well. Plus Lance Smith wasn’t in the side and I hardly knew any of the players. I thought Tim or Marc may have called me but they didn’t’
On the 12th May 2019 Purdie was able to say a proper goodbye at his testimonial “I wish I could go back to that time it was amazing. I want to pay tribute to Joanie Roberts, Ellen Watkins and Jamie Griffiths who were brilliant. I got in contact with the likes of Matt Baker, Ben Smith and Steve Guinan and a load of former players came down.
“I could have got Leicester Under 19’s but i wanted the fans to re-live the memories of the previous 17 years. GT was so exited that day, he had a big smile on his face and greeted all his former players with a hug. It was brilliant seeing the likes of Simon Travis and Andy Williams again. Ben Smith still showed his class, it was a hot day but a brilliant occasion”
Purdie now works for the fire service and lives in Hereford with his wife and two children. He came out of retirement to sign for Wesrtfields in August 2021. A brilliant servant for Hereford United and Hereford FC. I would like to thank Rob for spending a good two hours with me talking about his time at Edgar Street.
Photo Credits – Bulls News, Graham Goodwin, Andy Compton, MH Archive, Hereford Journal
