In a congested, up and down season, Hereford FC have found themselves in a welcomed mid-table finish after a rocky start to the 2019/20 National League North season. After just three games into the league season, manager Marc Richards became the second casualty of the sixth tier, following Bradford Park Avenue's Garry Thompson into the job centre, despite earning four points out of a possible nine. He was next replaced by experienced gaffer Russell Slade, who looked to provide a stable platform for the rest of the season as Hereford prepared for a mid-table finish.
However, as the season began to move into its latter stages, Slade opted to depart Edgar Street after just one win in eighteen games. Defensive journeyman Joshua Gowling was the man to take up the reigns in the West Midlands as his first managerial job, and whilst he was slow to adapting to his new role, he started to pick up the ropes in recent games, getting back to back victories over title challenging York City and Farsley Celtic.
Whilst the National League North season has had its remaining fixtures cancelled, the managerial hunt has begun for chairman Andrew Graham, with Gowling surely in the running as the manager clearly knows the club inside out.
Gowling confidently stated on the matter: "Yes I'm hopeful of landing the job. I want to take this club forward.
"I'd like to think people have already seen what I bring. I understand the club as a whole, I've been here when it was Hereford United and Hereford FC. I know the players and the expectations of the fans. I don't want to just have success on the field, I want to help build the football club as a whole, commercially, academy, building relationships back within the community."
The upcoming manager explained when he first showed interested in management: "In my mid to late twenty's, I had a really bad injury when I was at Bournemouth in my early twenty's and this made me really reflect on a lot of things, so in my mid twenty's that's when I made my decision.£
Since coming in as interim manager at Hereford, youngster goalkeeper Brandon Powell has flourished in the first team despite being just eighteen years old: "Brandon has been great, he's been a lovely young lad and when he stepped in he was excellent. He's fully committed in everything he does and he's fitted in well with the rest of the squad.
"Brandon is still developing so we will see how he does in pre-season."
In terms of younger quality at the club, alongside Powell is left-back Rhys Davies who has also come into the first team this season. Many don't know this, but West Ham starlet Jarrod Bowen actually started his career at Hereford before securing a move to Hull City in 2014: "Jarrod was an excellent success for the football club, its difficult to say because apart from Rhys [Davies] we have not seen many youth players break through. Rhys [Davies] was excellent when called upon and did not look out of place. If he builds on performances like that then he will have a bright future."
Gowling also commented on the club's financial structure, saying: "Current staff and potential staff coming in will all depend on the clubs budget. If our budget is significantly less then there maybe cuts. [On signings] Yes there are a few that I would like to come in, but again, that depends on our budget."
Along with his close relations when it comes English football and Hereford, Gowling also brings international experience with him after making a combined 43 appearances in Denmark respectively for Herfolge FC and Olstykke FC: "Yes the game was a lot more technical out there and it made me grow up, I was in a foreign country living on my own, it made me grow up. Also playing football men's football got me prepared to come back to England."
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