Focus On…..Ian Herring

Series continues on players who have spent some of their careers as a player or manager in the Southern League.

Ian, or `Spud` as he`s better known to his friends, started his career with Swindon Town.

He came through the ranks and made his first team debut in April 2002 against Wycombe Wanderers and added five more appearances before being released.

Whilst with Swindon, he was loaned out to Southern League Division One East side Salisbury City and Southern Premier Division Chippenham Town, joining the latter on a more permanent basis in 2003.

He spent four years at Hardenhuish Park before returning to Salisbury, then in the Conference South, for three years.

A move north took him to Northwich Victoria in July 2009. However, despite finishing 12th in the Conference North, Vics were expelled from the league and dropped into the Northern Premier League.

He had captained Northwich to an FA Cup First Round win against then top of League One Charlton Athletic.

After the Vics` demotion, Ian headed back south to return to the Conference with Forest Green Rovers.

During the 2010/11 season, he went on loan to Eastleigh and the move was made permanent in March 2011.

In January 2012, he went out on loan again, re-joining former club Chippenham in the Southern Premier Division.

In July 2012 he signed for then-Southern League Division One South & West side Hungerford Town.

And he subsequently played a major part in two play-off promotions.

In September 2017 he became joint manager with former Crusader Jon Boardman initially before being handed sole charge in early 2017, guiding the club to safety on the last day of the season two seasons on the trot.

In April 2020, Ian reluctantly resigned as manager after the club reduced its playing budget significantly.

In August 2020, Ian was persuaded to dust off the boots with Hellenic League Premier Division side Fairford Town by their manager Jody Bevan, having originally hung up his boots in early 2019 to concentrate on managing the Crusaders.

Clubs Played For:

Swindon Town, Chippenham Town, Salisbury City, Weston-super-Mare (Loan), Northwich Victoria, Forest Green Rovers, Eastleigh, Hungerford Town, Cirencester Town, Fairford Town

Best Game Played In:

Northwich Victoria versus Charlton Athletic FA Cup First Round. With our captain Simon Grand suspended I was fortunate to lead the team out for our 1-0 win when Charlton were top of League One.

Best 11 Played With:

Ryan Clarke (Salisbury)

John Bass (Salisbury)

Matt Robinson (Salisbury)

Aaron Cook (Salisbury)

Tom Jordan (Eastleigh)

Lee Fowler (Forest Green Rovers) pictured

Wayne Turk (Salisbury/Forest Green Rovers)

Liam Feeney (Salisbury)

Andy Sandell (Salisbury/Chippenham)

Matt Tubbs (Salisbury)

James Constable (Chippenham/Eastleigh)

Subs:

Lewis Ward (Hungerford)

Marvel Ekpiteta (Hungerford)

Dave Gilroy (Chippenham)

Charlie Griffin (Salisbury/Forest Green Rovers)

Best Captain?

Aaron Cook, very closely followed by Tom Jordan. Both true leaders of men and absolute gentlemen

Funniest Team-Mate:

Scott Rogers, what a man!

Best Manager?

Nick Holmes, no question

Best Coach?

Andy Morrison, no question

Best Mate in Football?

Andy Nicholas and Kevin Watson

Are You Still Involved in the Game?

Playing for Fairford Town after stepping down as Hungerford manager last April.

Words of Advice:

Be truly honest with yourself. Don’t fear failure. Treat every session/game like it’s your last.