Graham Turner - Chairman & Manager

Graham is currently the majority shareholder and manager of Hereford United. As of the beginning of the 2006-07 season he has been at the club for 11 seasons and has managed 536 matches (449 league matches).

He is unofficially the third longest serving manager of a club in the Football League although if his absence from the job during much of the 2001-02 season is taken into account, he would be 14th in the list.

Graham has a son, Mark Turner, who currently plays for Alfreton Town and had spells at Wolves and Hereford while Graham was manager.

He was appointed manager of Division Three side Hereford United for the 1995-96 season, another club with a precarious financial situation. In his first season the team reached the play-offs, after a tremendous run from 19th to 6th in two months, but failed to progress past the semi-final stage. Unfortunately the club then lost several of their key players and the 1996-97 season could not have been more different. Hereford spent most of the season in the bottom five of Division Three and faced a relegation decider on the last day of the season at home to Brighton.

Hereford needed to win but a 1-1 draw meant they were relegated from the Football League on goals scored. Turner handed in his resignation but there was overwhelming support for him to stay so he stayed.

In his third season as manager he bought the controlling shares in the club, taking on a large debt and saving the club from going under. With the bank balance firmly in the red he had to endure several fruitless seasons in the Conference and had to sell key players to keep the club in business. Indeed in his first eleven seasons at the club he made only one purchase for £20,000.

After a poor start to the 2001-02 season he decided to step down from his managerial role to concentrate on securing the club's financial future. When Hereford finished 17th at the end of the season, Turner handed in his resignation to the board.

After several discussions with the board he again decided to remain at the club. He took the opportunity to build a new squad, retaining only six from the previous season. The team, consisting of players signed on free transfers, evolved arguably into the best footballing side in the Conference achieving three consecutive 2nd places. Unfortunately Hereford failed to progress in the play-offs in 2004 and 2005 but in the 2005-06 season it was third time lucky as Hereford defeated Halifax 3-2 to secure promotion to the Football League.

After a first season spent adjusting to life in the Football League, in which the Bulls finished 16th, Graham Turner then pulled together a squad which secured automatic promotion into League 1 in the 2007/2008 season. Graham was recognised for his achievements, with such a small budget, winning the League Managers' Association, League 2 Manager of the Season Award.