October 2021 (Page 9)

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W*ymouth make the short journey up the A37 in worse form than the Yeovil Town side they will face in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at Huish Park on Saturday.

Having avoided the drop straight back to National League South after relegation was cancelled last season, the Terras picked up a couple of impressive wins including a 4-3 victory at Solihull Moors where they were 4-1 up.

But that victory on September 4 was there last with five defeats and two draws, leaking 15 goals in the process.

To trot out the cliches, this is a local derby and an FA Cup tie to boot though, and therefore we can assume the form book is headed somewhere out the window – that’s the theory at least.

Another record which is not lost on manager Brian Stock is that it’s been 14 seasons since the seagull botherers made the competitions first round.

Talking to the Dorset Echo, the boss said: “That’s something we discussed at the start of the season.

“What a great achievement it would be if we were to do that this year and knock out our local rivals. I don’t think it would be much better than that.

“It’s going to be a tough game, they’re a good team. If it was me as player, I’d be looking forward to it.

“It’s a special cup and one we’re looking to try and progress as far as we can in.

“The prize money means a lot to the club but this tie goes beyond prize money. There’s a little more at stake for everyone connected to the club.”

 

FROM THE MANAGER

Having woken up to the fact this match is actually a derby having seemingly missed the fact after his side were turned over 3-0 on home soil in last season’s National League fixture in January, boss Brian Stock reckons his side owe the Glovers one.

He said: “We’ve put in two disappointing performances in the league and we’re looking to rectify that.

“What an atmosphere that’s going to be. There’s no easy game but given the local derby at Yeovil it’s one I’m definitely looking forward to.

“Usually revenge isn’t necessarily spoken about when teams beat you in the past but I suppose it’s something slightly different here because it’s Yeovil.

“It’s one that means a lot to the supporters. I’m sure it will be the talk of the town at the moment. It’s an exciting time.”

 

TEAM NEWS

Central defender Ben Morgan is W*ymouth manager Brian Stock’s only injury concern heading in to the weekend.

The summer signing from Gloucester City has not featured since the televised draw at home to Dover Athletic almost a month ago having suffered an Achilles injury.

 

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

As you’d imagine, there could be an awful lot of these, so we’ll keep the run-down to players likely to be involved at the weekend.

Brandon Goodship is likely to be in the starting XI for W*ymouth and played eight times for Darren Way’s Yeovil in 2017, scoring a crucial goal in a 1-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge which helped keep us in the League.

He was released at the end of that campaign and dropped down to the Wessex Stadium where he scored 38 goals in his first season and 39 in his second campaign in the Southern League Premier earning him a move in to the Football League at Southend United.

Despite making more than 50 appearances for the Shrimpers, he was released following their relegation to non-League and returned to Weymouth in the summer.

Right-back Calvin Brooks spent four years in the Huish Park youth set-up but was unable to make a first-team appearance before joining Dorchester Town.

He is now a regular fixture in the Terras back line and committed his future to the club in the summer.

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Another episode of a not-award-winning podcast for you!

Ian, Ben and Dave are here to talk Altrincham, W*ymouth, #YTFCMeansToMe and about all the stuff that’s happened this week.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, enjoy some retro content on Instagram. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

If you want to take part in the quiz, have an idea for the website or just want to send us a message, email gloverscast@gmail.com.

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Winger Dion Pereira has temporarily returned to his parent club Luton Town having picked up “a slight injury“, according to Hatters’ boss and former Glovers’ defender Nathan Jones.

There is some confusion around the exact reason behind his absence from the 1-1 draw with Altrincham as Yeovil boss Darren Sarll said the player was “massively fatigued” after playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat to Notts County last weekend.

Either way, it seems unlikely the 22-year-old will be available for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie with W*ymouth at Huish Park

Dion Pereira showed glimpses of his quality. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Talking to LutonToday, Jones said: “He’s picked up a slight injury so he has returned, but it is a club we trust because it’s a means to an end really.

“Dion had two weeks of international games so he would have played in the development squad but we’ve snt him to a good club where we know the work is good, the people are good.

“Without being disrespectful, once you go to Yeovil, it is not like you’re sending a player into London with the bright lights to distract them but they go to Yeovil to play football.

“They go down there, they stay down there and they become part of it and that is what we wanted for Dion.

“As it is, he’s picked up a slight injury so we have him back for treatment but it is a good club, a club we trust and we have no problems sending people there.”

Speaking to the media ahead of the W*ymouth tie, Sarll said of Pereira: “Dion was not injured, he reported before the game that he was massively fatigued from the Saturday, so I don’t think he’ll be involved for Weymouth because he’s gone back to Luton for treatment.”

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On-loan midfielder Lewis Simper could be involved in the Yeovil Town squad for Saturday’s FA Cup derby against local rivals W*ymouth.

The 20-year-old, who joined on a season-long deal from Cambridge United in the summer, has not been seen since the pre-season friendly against Taunton Town.

Having suffered with COVID-19, Simper suffered a muscle strain during which time Yeovil recruited other midfielders and manager

New Glovers Lewis Simper in action for Concord Rangers

Darren Sarll said the loanee will now have to play his way in to the side.

He said: “Lewis’ attitude is magnificent, he’s going to be a good player and he’s got to fight his way in.

“He would be playing in a similar role to maybe Tom Knowles is now, so he needs to be better than Tom Knowles.

“I hope to have him involved Saturday if we can and see how he goes.”

The manager added that he expects the fourth qualifying round tie to come too soon for central defender Luke Wilkinson who he said is “getting closer” to fitness and is expected to be back later in the month.

Midfielder Mitchell Rose is also expected to miss the tie having picked up a hamstring injury in the 2-0 defeat to Notts County the previous weekend.

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Darren Sarll believes that his Yeovil Town side are “where they should be” in the National League table after nine games of the season.

The Glovers sit in 14th following a 1-1 home draw against Altrincham on Tuesday night, but have lost three and drawn two of their last five having picked up three wins in a row prior to that run.

The manager said that his side’s failure to score more than one goal despite mustering 28 shots at Altrincham, who had left-back Connor Hampson in goal for 74 minutes due to an injury to their keeper, was an indication why they are in mid-table.

But, he said that without greater resources at his disposal he is having to “re-invent” his side with injuries to key players including defender Luke Wilkinson and midfielder Mitchell Rose.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Sarll said: “We have to reinvent ourselves every time something changes, because if you take Luke Wilkinson out of the team, it doesn’t just take Luke out, it take Josh Staunton out of midfield.

“Who then goes in midfield? Are the ingredients the same? Mitch Rose would have been perfect (against Altrincham) but he’s injured, so we are trying to re-invent all the time.

“We are where we probably should be because our expected goals goals for that game was six which for 32 crosses that is not surprising.

“We want to build on that, we want another 30-odd crosses and get those chances for Adi and Joe (against W*ymouth at the weekend).”

There were murmurings of discontent from the Huish Park stands at the final whistle on Tuesday night and the uncertainty on the future of the club driven by the absence of Chairman Scott Priestnall, it seems likely a poor start in the weekend’s derby could spark more anger.

Ahead of the tie, Sarll called for “positivity” from supporters and re-iterated his call for patience with his squad which is the second youngest in the National League.

He added: “Everyone know the (team we had in the 2019-20 season) was built for immediate productivity – this is not that team and it is going to take time.

“We just have to make sure we keep moving forward, it is going to be very up and down, this is not a group which is going to take hours.

“If player availability and squad depth is not good enough, it is going to take time.”

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Dale Gorman has promised Yeovil Town supporters that the club’s players understand the significance of the FA Cup derby with local rivals W*ymouth on Saturday.

The fourth qualifying round tie at Huish Park is the first time the two sides have faced each other in front of fans since 1999.

Dale Gorman.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking ahead of the tie, the Northern Irishman said: “As a player, it does not matter who you are and what you know about the derby, it is important you present yourself well.

“Weymouth are going to come here and we will be at it and they will be at it. There is no-one in the dressing room not looking forward to it.

“The fans are important on Saturday, we will be looking for them to get right behind us and we will be looking to get one over on Weymouth.”

Neither side are going in to the tie in great form with the Glovers without a win in their last five matches whilst the Terras have lost their last four games.

But, Gorman said: “It doesn’t matter if we were top of the league and they were bottom, it’s a local derby and form goes out the window.

“It’s all about who turns up on the day and who wants it more and we’ll be making sure it’s us.”

The midfielder said he felt the performance in a 1-1 draw at home to Altrincham on Tuesday night was an improvement when they lost 2-0 at home to Notts County the previous Saturday without making a shot on target until the 85th minute.

He said: “Saturday (against Notts County) was not good enough and we know that as a team and Tuesday (against Altrincham) was a good chance for us to respond and it was important that we did because of the importance of the game coming up against W*ymouth.

“There was no-one out there who did not give 100% on Tuesday night, there’s a lot of positives to draw from it.

“There was a lot more creativity and it is definitely something we as a team are looking to improve and we showed glimpses of that trying to do that.”

 

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W*ymouth manager Brian Stock has said this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Yeovil Town is an opportunity to exorcise the ghost of their defeats at the hand of the Glovers last season.

The Terras were beaten 3-0 at the Wessex Stadium last January and then sunk 3-1 thanks to a Rhys Murphy hat-trick when they came to in February.

Speaking to the Dorset Echo, Stock said: “We owe them one, first and foremost.

“We’ve put in two disappointing performances in the league and we’re looking to rectify that.

“What an atmosphere that’s going to be. There’s no easy game but given the local derby at Yeovil it’s one I’m definitely looking forward to.

“Usually revenge isn’t necessarily spoken about when teams beat you in the past but I suppose it’s something slightly different here because it’s Yeovil.

“It’s one that means a lot to the supporters. I’m sure it will be the talk of the town at the moment. It’s an exciting time.”

 

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Bath City 1 Yeovil Town 1 – Sunday 27th October 2002

For many people, Yeovil’s historical rivalry with Bath City may be something of a distant memory, or may even not be felt at all as we have only met once in the last 20 years, in this FA Cup Qualifier in October 2002. Even though the two teams have played each other over 250 times (thanks Ciderspace), mainly in the Southern League and early years of the Conference, we have not met in a league fixture since 1995 when Yeovil were relegated from the Conference. Bath were then relegated in 1997, the same year Yeovil won the Isthmian League under Graham Roberts, and we have not played each other in the league since. We occasionally meet in the FA Cup or Trophy, and played each other an incredible nine times in the Somerset Premier Cup alone between 1985 and 1987, in a time when the final was two-legged and SPC matches could apparently go to replays and second replays (thanks again, Ciderspace).

Personally, I don’t remember a time when Bath were good and we lost to them on Boxing Day fixtures as it was a bit before my time. They only narrowly missed out on promotion to the Football League in 1985 after coming second when winners Wealdstone were not eligible for promotion – however, the Football League was still something of a closed shop then, there was no automatic promotion and they missed out in one of the last years that clubs were put forward for ‘election’ rather than promotion.

For my part, Bath were the annoying cousins up the road who occasionally provided us with players like Rob Cousins and whose few fans tried to come onto the Ciderspace forum and taunt us despite not being good enough to play against us, but they weren’t real rivals as they were always in divisions below us.

In October 2002, Yeovil were top of the Conference under Gary Johnson and were drawn against the Romans in the Fourth Qualifying Round. Although the FA Cup was very much not the priority in that season, defeat to our annoying cousins would have been too much to stomach, so the best case scenario would have been to comfortably despatch Bath and then play out a noble defeat to a higher league club in the First Round, in order to focus on promotion.

It did not quite go according to plan and Bath fans must have wondered how on earth we had got to the top of the Conference because it was without doubt the worst performance I saw that season and overall just a terrible game which we probably deserved to have lost. It was played in difficult conditions as that weekend the country had been battered by severe storms which put the game in doubt. It was also, presumably on police instruction, played at 12.00 on a Sunday lunchtime. I was living in Chesterfield at the time, so it was a long and treacherous journey south, driving slowly and carefully so as not to be blown over by the wind to avoid all the fallen trees.

And for all that, the game was not worth it, it was a pretty miserable day from start to finish. Visiting Twerton Park was like stepping back into the 1980’s. It is the only time I can remember being herded into a metal cage like livestock waiting to be taken for slaughter and honestly, if fans were treated like that all the time I would probably never go. Around 1400 Yeovil fans made the trip, but though it was a decent sized terrace, being surrounded by bars on all sides just made it impossible to have an unimpeded view of anything, it really was like a relic of a bygone era.

The game did not make things any better, as the Bath players were more fired up and Yeovil did not even resemble a team at the top of the Conference despite putting out a full strength team. Only Colin Miles was missing through suspension (not an uncommon occurrence) and was replaced by Roy O’Brien. Even though they were in the middle of a very difficult run of fixtures against Doncaster, Dagenham and Chester that would see them put in very strong performances and emerge unbeaten, Yeovil were not at the races against Bath and probably deserved to lose, until Adam Lockwood was able to capitalise on a comically sliced clearance to salvage an equaliser after the home side took the lead in the first half. Bath did have a player sent off late on, but Yeovil didn’t come any closer to scoring a winner so the tie went to a replay.

Fortunately lightning did not strike twice and in the replay despite being 0-0 at half time, Yeovil scored three times in the second half to win 3-1, sealing the win with a superb curling shot from Michael McIndoe in front of, 4,393. Former Glover Adrian Foster got the consolation goal for Bath. Yeovil went on to lose 2-0 to Cheltenham (then in League One) in the First Round, a very disappointing performance but in the grand scheme of things probably for the best, especially as it happened to coincide with the suspensions of Gavin Williams, Lee Johnson and Adam Lockwood, allowing them to return more quickly to the league campaign.

First Match: Weale, Lockwood, Skiverton, O’Brien, Way, Johnson (sub. Giles), Crittenden, McIndoe, Williams, Demba (sub. Alford), Grant (sub. Forinton). Subs not used: Sheffield, Lindegaard

Replay: Weale, Lockwood, Skiverton, O’Brien, Way, Johnson, Crittenden, McIndoe, Williams, Demba (sub. Alford), Forinton (sub. Lindegaard). Subs not used: Sheffield, Grant, Giles

 

 

 

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The latest Companies House filing appears to show that Yeovil Football & Athletic Club, the company which effectively owns the club’s football operations, has taken on the entire £801,538 loan owed to Sport England.

The latest filing appeared on October 13, albeit was registered on October 11, confirms that the loan has effectively transferred from Yeovil Town Holdings Limited, the company which owns the land around Huish Park.

On Tuesday night it looked as if some part of the club’s debt had been cleared, instead it simply appears that debt is being moved around.

Both companies have common active directors, club Chairman Scott Priestnall and Director Glenn Collis.

So the timeline of how Yeovil Town’s football operations company came to owe more than £800,000 goes like this:

  • 12 February: Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Ltd agree a loan of £689,538 from Sport England.
  • 17 March : The loan is created as a legal charge on the club.
  • 31 August: The club confirms it has borrowed an additional £112,000 from Sport England with a charge taken by Yeovil Town Holdings Limited.
  • 12 October: Yeovil Town Holdings Limited confirms it has satisfied the  £112,000 loan.
  • 13 October: A new charge filed against Yeovil Football & Athletic Club is registered which confirms it has taken on loan of up to £801,538.

We have contacted the club to seek clarification of the club’s financial situation and we are awaiting a response.

To understand the land in the ownership of both Yeovil Town Holdings Limited and Yeovil Football & Athletic Club, see our Gloversblog – here.

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It’s the worst kept secret in South Somerset and yet it still appears to be a secret.

The two consortiums bidding for the ownership of Yeovil Town are led by current club director Glenn Collis and another group led by Julian Jenkins, an ex-Cardiff City commercial director and CEO at Swiss side Servette for a spell.

The Huish Park rumour mill is fired on one side by a bizarre string of online articles and now YouTube broadcasts claiming to have knowledge on the Jenkins offer, and the other seemingly from conversations being had between Collis and supporters at matches.

A YouTube “banter broadcast” from earlier this week where it was claimed Julian Jenkins is in the running to buy the club.

As a result, on Tuesday the Supporters’ Alliance Group, which represents the club’s main fan groups including the Green & White Supporters’ Club and Glovers’ Trust, issued a public demand to owner Scott Priestnall to act.

The chairman and owner who bought the club from in the summer of 2019 has consistent in promising to do what is best for the club.

What he has been less consistent at is keeping to his commitments.

When we last heard from our AWOL owner, he promised improvements in the matchday experience, strengthening of the squad for a tilt at the play-offs and regular communication to with supporters.

To that end, we have seen a burger van appear behind the Thatchers’ End which was selling warm cans of beer, a squad filled up with young loan players in place of the experienced heads which departed in the summer, and a owner who no-one has seen or heard from in months.

The last public statement from owner Scott Priestnall from a video posted on the club’s YouTube channel in July.

On the pitch, manager Darren Sarll is under increasing pressure after less than convincing performances in the past three matches and a massive FA Cup tie with local rivals Weymouth coming up at the weekend.

In fairness to the boss, he has made mistakes tactically this season, but with the options he has he is doing his job with his hands tied behind his back.

And you can say that about just about every part of the club which feels both rudderless and taking on water, combination puts us in serious danger.

When it comes to  the owner’s promise of communication, this week supporters seem to be finding out more about/completely guessing at what is happening at the club from filings on Companies House.

With the club purchased with a loan secured against its own asset, and now seemingly being propped up by a Sport England loan (we’ve had no evidence of the contrary so how can we know?) it appears there’s a genuine possibility of a total catastrophe if a deal doesn’t get over the line.

The final line of the Alliance statement reads: “As a group of united supporters, we believe the time is now for genuine change and only one group at the table offers that hope for the future of Yeovil Town FC.”

It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines and understand who the Supporters Alliance Group are in favour of.

The most galling thing of all is the sheer contempt which Yeovil Town supporters having to publicly call on those in charge of the club to have the decency to communicate with their supporters and their customers.

All those who put their hands in their own pockets to raise more than £50,000 for the club this summer, can rightly feel this complete lack of action from those who claim to be in charge is a slap in the face.

The voice of Alliance echoes that of supporters from all corners of the fan base – do what you’ve said you’ll do, Mr Priestnall, and do the right thing by OUR club.