The 1975–76 season was the 47th 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 their second promotion in four years as a league club by finishing as champions of Division Three, six points clear of second-placed Cardiff City.
After winning only one of their opening five league matches, Hereford gained 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, a hat-trick against Preston North End in the final match of the season meant McNeil finished as leading scorer in the Football League for the second successive year, with a haul of 35 goals. 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.NameLeagueLeague CupFA CupWelsh CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGKKevin Charlton350303030440GKTommy Hughes110101040170DFTony Byrne1(1)010004(1)26(2)2DFSteve Emery452404050582DFMark Evans0000001010DFJohn Galley352300030412DFJohn Layton386204251499DFJulian Marshall0000001010DFSteve Ritchie461414030572DFDavid Rylands2000102050DFBilly Tucker17(2)230314027(2)2MFLes Briley0000001010MFRoy Carter335421(1)14042(1)8MFPaul Courtney0000001010MFJimmy Lindsay462424052596MFJim McCafferty0(3)00010203(3)0MFTerry Paine40(4)12(2)1402148(6)3MFBrian Preece0000003(1)13(1)1MFDavid Rudge1(1)00000102(1)0MFKevin Sheedy1000000010MFBarry Silkman12(10)1100(2)03(1)116(13)2MFPeter Spiring5(1)00000005(1)0MFDudley Tyler34500413(1)041(1)6MFShane Walker7(2)230204(1)116(3)3FWSteve Davey42(3)183(1)0405(1)354(5)21FWDixie McNeil40(1)353042415138FWEric Redrobe15(5)130004122(5)2
League table
Results
Third Division
League Cup
Welsh Cup
FA Cup
References
Bibliography