Benjamin Alexander Herd (born 21 June 1985) is an English former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
defender. He is manager of
Hertford Town.
Starting his
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
career with
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
in 2003, he made his name at
Shrewsbury Town between 2005 and 2009. In July 2009 he signed for
Aldershot Town before dropping into non-league football.
Playing career
Watford
Born in
Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second Garden city movement, garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first New towns in the United Kingdom, new towns (designated 1948). It is ...
, Hertfordshire, Herd began his career as a trainee at
Watford
Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
.
He signed his first professional contract with the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this sys ...
club in March 2003, but was released two years later, having never played a game for the club.
Shrewsbury Town
In June 2005, Herd signed for
League Two club
Shrewsbury Town, following a recommendation from Herd's former Watford manager
Ray Lewington. He made his Shrewsbury début on 6 August in a 1–0 defeat at home to
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
. He was almost ever-present for Shrewsbury in his first season with the club.

In the
2006–07 season injuries restricted Herd to 31 league appearances. However, he was a late inclusion in the Shrewsbury side for the League Two play-off final at
Wembley, after
Luke Jones picked up an injury in the warm-up; Shrewsbury lost the game 3–1. He signed a fresh two-year contract at the end of the season.
In the
2007–08 season, Herd was again almost ever-present, missing only one league match through suspension.
The
2008–09 season started well for Herd, but a suspension meant that he was replaced by
Darren Moss. Moss maintained a rich vein of form, resulting in Herd making only five further appearances after mid-November; he was released at the season's end.
Aldershot Town
After receiving interest from numerous clubs, Herd signed a two-year contract with
League Two side
Aldershot Town in July 2009, to his great relief. He was voted Aldershot Town's player of the season in 2010, and players' player of the season the following year. At the end of the
2012–13 season, as a consequence of the club entering administration, Herd was released.
Dunstable Town
Herd signed for
Southern League Premier Division side
Dunstable Town in the summer of 2014, following the club's second promotion in a row from the
Southern League Division One Central, immediately being handed the captaincy by manager Darren Croft. He made 27 league appearances during the 2014–2015 season, scoring eight goals.
Boreham Wood
Herd joined
Boreham Wood in February 2015 and played a part in their promotion via the play-offs to the
Conference Premier for the very first time. However, following the conclusion of the season, Herd left the club.
Hemel Hempstead Town
After leaving Boreham Wood, Herd signed for
Conference South side
Hemel Hempstead Town in June 2015.
St Albans City
After one season with Hemel Hempstead, Herd joined league counterparts
St Albans City in May 2016 reuniting with his former Boreham Wood manager
Ian Allinson. He remained at the club until the end of the 2018–19 season.
Managerial career
In May 2019 Herd was named as the new manager of
Hertford Town.
Personal life
In the summer of 2009, Herd helped to coach
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
youngsters, along with teammates
David Edwards,
Gavin Cowan,
Stuart Whitehead and
Ben Davies.
References
External links
Ben Herd profileat
Aldershot Town F.C.
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The ...
*
Ben Herd's weekly column at BetfairBen Herd's weekly column at Bigtips.co.uk*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herd, Ben
1985 births
Living people
Footballers from Welwyn Garden City
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Watford F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Aldershot Town F.C. players
Dunstable Town F.C. players
Boreham Wood F.C. players
Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players
St Albans City F.C. players
English Football League players
Southern Football League players
National League (English football) players
English football managers
Hertford Town F.C. managers
21st-century English sportsmen