WITH each passing week, so the life is slowly being strangled out of Hereford United.

The Bulls have been in the courts to face winding-up orders 10 times during 2014, six of which have been since June 2.

On each occasion, they have been granted adjournments to come to settlements with creditors.

Yet, more than three months after the current petition was first heard, there is still no satisfactory resolution.

While some creditors have been paid, some are still chasing the cash, with HM Revenues and Customs owed a six-figure sum.

It is ludicrous that Hereford have been allowed to remain in business for so long.

They patently don’t have the money to settle their debts, nor the means to generate it.

Investment has not materialised despite being promised in the wake of the Company Voluntary Agreement being rejected last month.

There appears nothing to suggest Hereford can pay their way — they have failed to do so at every point to date — so continually being given time to find the money makes a mockery of the legal system.

If the powers-that-be really wanted to send a strong message to football clubs that step out of line, they should be calling time on Hereford, not giving them chance after chance.

Never mind the Bulls, perhaps we should rename them the Cats with the amount of lives they seem to have.

But, of course, the current regime have nothing to gain from the club going out of business.

If the goal is to keep the Edgar Street leases and develop the ground, putting the Hereford club out of existence would seem pointless.

They need to keep it afloat, even if that means dragging it from court hearing to court hearing, while all the time turning more and more fans off.

Effectively killing the club in all but name.