January 2022 (Page 3)

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It’s Monday, and that means one thing – Gloverscast day. Dave, Ben and Ian are here to brighten your Monday with a discussion about the Wrexham game, the statement on Friday night and everything else.

Thanks for listening!

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Joe Quigley celebrates his last goal against Altrincham in October.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Former Yeovil Town striker Joe Quigley has spoken as a Chesterfield player for the first time confirming that promotion was the aim for league leaders, but also that the deal taking him from Huish Park to the Technique Arena had been ongoing for a little while.

Speaking to Chesterfield YouTube channel, in an interview recorded of Friday, he said:

“I spoke to the gaffer (James Rowe) a couple of days ago, and obviously I knew about it last week.

“So, it’s been a bit long trying to get it done, but now it’s done, I’m delighted to be here.”

The interview went on to speak about how much he was looking forward to playing for his new club and how he knew Jack Clarke from their time together at Yeovil last season.

Quigley missed the FA Trophy exit at the hands of lower league Needham Market due to “illness”.

Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll said not ten hours before Quigley’s move was announced that no offers had been accepted for any of the Glovers players during the month of January, so maybe the timelines don’t quite add up somewhere.

Following the 2-1 to Wrexham on Saturday, Sarll said of the departing Quigley: “That’s the fourth forward I’ve sold (Hippolyte – Scunthorpe, Duffus – Morecambe and Lloyd – QPR) we obviously improve people, we try and improve people with our coaching but yeah, I’d have liked him today.”

Quigley scored 18 goals in 53 league appearances for the Glovers, including seven this season.

Yeovil will travel to Derbyshire to play Chesterfield on Saturday, February 26.

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Wrexham fought back to clinch a 2-1 win at Huish Park yesterday, here are my Five Conclusions from the match.

The supporters have turned. I believe there was a vocal minority of negativity towards Scott Priestnall not so long ago. But it felt different this weekend. The chants were the loudest they’ve been and even found their way to the Screwfix Stand. We can only hope the his statement on Friday was his final toy thrown out of the pram and there’s not more to come. He’s shown his contempt for supporters and from the reaction at Huish Park, that vocal minority isn’t such a minority any more.

Tom Knowles in action for Yeovil Town.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

There were times that our front three looked unplayable. The interplay between Tom Knowles, Charlie Wakefield and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton was the best we’ve looked going forward all season. Knowles’ goal was classic Knowles and I thought Wakefield looked to be back in a decent form. That said, we should have put the game to bed. Wakefield’s miss was a sitter and he won’t need to be told that again. There was a decent chance right at the start of the second half too. If we can get that trio working like that regularly, I think we’ll score more goals. And, a shout out for Sonny – I think that was the best I’ve seen him play for us. Calm on the ball, sharp with his passing and I think he held his own in circumstances he wasn’t when he first joined. He’s such a technically gifted player and I think/hope that’s beginning to show.

I thought Mark Little had a good game. He showed his experience and he showed why Darren Sarll hyped him up so much at the start of the season. He was always talking to his teammates and I felt he had some decent moments in attacking situations. Sarll said he shouldn’t have been on the pitch after 60 minutes, let alone move to centre back. He’s been talked about as a big influence behind the scenes, hopefully he can start having an influence on the pitch, stay fit and help drag us out of this run of form.

We need to get out of this run, soon. This feels a bit familiar, after a decent run of wins we now find ourselves on a run of six without a win. I felt we played well today and we probably could have won it, but the suspect officiating really did break our flow and the loss of Josh Staunton afterwards compounded that. We need to find a way out of this run to keep our season alive or I fear the playoffs will be out of reach. The problem is, our squad is thinning out be that through injury or the owner selling them.

Yeovil Line Up vs Weymouth

The spirit amongst these players is first class. Despite all they’ve had thrown at them in the last couple of weeks, this ever-depleting squad is as close as any other squad I can recall. This young, hungry group work for eachother and for the supporters. We said it early in the season, but the the bond between this group and the Huish Park faithful is wonderful and as Darren Sarll said after the match, they’re so close. They lost a big player, forgive the pun, in Joe Quigley yesterday, Luke Wilkinson has been out, Max Hunt is on crutches and Josh Staunton hobbled off but still they go on with energy and positivity. They are an infectious bunch of lads who the supporters are firmly behind, they are the antithesis of the owner of the football club.

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Matt Worthington said his Yeovil Town team-mates need to be more clinical after missing a number of good opportunities to pull further ahead before going down to a 2-1 defeat against Wrexham.

The Glovers had good opportunities following the opening goal from Tom Knowles which the midfielder said could have seen them with a more comfortable lead than the 1-0 advantage they took in to half-time.

Matt Worthington drives forward.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, he said: “We have to be more clinical and take those chances, we could have
been 3-0 up (at half-time) which is disappointing especially as we have come away with a loss.

“I don’t think we deserved to lose, but it’s back to how we like to play. We have to take the positives and move on to next week.”

The Glovers have managed five goals in their past six matches, which have all ended in defeats, with Reuben Reid the only recognised striker to find the net in that time with a consolation goal in the 2-1 defeat at Southend United.

Joe Quigley was the other striker to score in that run – in the 3-1 defeat to AFC Bournemouth in the FA Cup – but he departed for Chesterfield on Friday.

But, Worthington said the improved performance against Wrexham followed an intense week of training which the team would need to take in to next weekend’s trip to Woking.

He said: “Today has put us in good stead for next weekend, we got back to basics this week and the gaffer has put us through our paces. That showed today, so we have to take the positives and get back to Saturday.“

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Darren Sarll will be reporting referee Sunny Gill after Yeovil Town midfielder Dale Gorman was left with a cut on his head from an incident just seconds before the equaliser for Wrexham in today’s 2-1 defeat at Huish Park.

The manager described the decision to “poor play” with the Northern Irishman on the ground and Tom Knowles seemingly fouled in the build up to the equaliser scored on the hour by the visitors’ Paul Mullin.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Sarll said: “I think the officials have to be very careful when they don’t put the health of players at the forefront of their minds.

“Dale has got cut on his head, so I will report him for that. That was poor play and Dale would have been in that hole that Mullin found himself in.

“I think that was their first shot on target and when you look at who it was that took the attempt, you realise there’s a calibre to goal-scoring and he (Mullin) certainly has that.”

Now, according to guidance issued to referees: “Play is stopped if, in their opinion, a player is seriously injured or receives a head injury.” One can therefore only assume that Mr Gill did not think Gorman’s injury was to his head.

Despite the defeat, his sides six consecutive loss which means they are still looking for their first points of 2022, Sarll said he could not criticise his team and described the reception they received from supporters as “mind-blowing.”

He said: “I thought we pressed the ball very well, the tempo was insane at times and the only tactical criticisms are the defending of crosses and the finishing, because we could have been high and dry.

“We had some clear chances and that is good because we have not made many this year, today there was good creativity in the side, the dribblers and the ball carriers were outstanding.

“We deserved to win the game on performance or at least get a point, but that is why I say these are the worst ones to explain.”

He pointed to the departure of midfielder-turned-defender Josh Staunton after 76 minutes as a major blow. He limped off and was replaced by Alex Bradley meaning Mark Little, playing his first league game of the season, had to move in to an unfamiliar role in the middle of defence.

Sarll said: “The subs made us a bit disjointed and losing Staunton was huge because he stitches a lot of what we do together, then Mark (Little) had to play centre half.

“He shouldn’t have been on the pitch after an hour, he should have been off, he deserves a lot of credit for doing what he did.

“It disjointed our defensive structure and no blame on the individuals who came in to those positions but it just disjointed our defensive positions and flow.”

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll said he expects to be without defender Max Hunt for “a couple of months” after picking up an injury in training ahead of today’s 2-1 defeat to Wrexham.

The centre half was on crutches at pitchside with a brace around his lower leg and was one of two other injury worries with Josh Staunton limping off. The manager confirmed he will need a scan to assess the extent of that injury.

But one piece of good news is that captain Luke Wilkinson, who it was feared could be out for six weeks after an injury at Southend, is expected to return for next weekend’s trip to Woking.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, Sarll said: “Hunt is going to be a couple of months, but Staunton we don’t know. We can’t see inside the leg until we get it scanned.

“This is the thing when you have small groups, the toll to prepare, play and throw everything at a game like Josh does for this football club, it takes a toll over a season.

“I feel we are so close, the foundation of the group could be so wonderful, we just need a little bit more.”

Having sold top-scorer Joe Quigley to National League rivals Chesterfield on Friday night, the Glovers are left with 17 first-team squad members, including back-up goalkeeper Max Evans and young midfielder Toby Stephens.

Sarll said the squad needed “a little bit more help“, adding that he was not giving “a cryptic clue” with the club’s owner Scott Priestnall having said that falling attendances was the reason behind the sale of Quigley.

He previously said the club had budgeted for averaging crowds of 3,000 this season – an average they have not achieved since the 2016/17 campaign in League Two. There was a crowd of 2,988 inside Huish Park against Wrexham.

The manager said: “I think we are close, this team has a wonderful foundation, a great commitment, energy and spirit. I think the supporters believe in them, I believe in every one of them, but we need a bit more depth.

“Phil (Parkinson, the Wrexham manager) was able to make a change at half-time bringing on a normal starter in (Jordan) Ponticelli who I thought made a big difference in the first ten minutes of the second half.

“We need a little bit more help. That is not a cryptic clue that I am giving anyone but I feel for the players, they deserve a better ending of their day for the performance they put in.”

Asked if he hoped to be able to bring players to the club, Sarll added: “The deal has to be right and affordable, if we can we will.

“(Quigley) is the fourth forward I have sold here in two-and-a-half years, so we obviously improve people.

“We try and improve players with our coaching. I would have liked him today.“

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, January 22nd, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Cloudy, calm and barely a breeze.
Pitch: Held up nicely with more attention required to the Thatcher’s End.

Attendance: 2,988 (814 away supporters)

Scorers: Tom Knowles 14 (1-0), Paul Mullin 59 (1-1), Williams o.g. 79 (1-2),

Referee: Sunny Sukhvir Gill

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Williams 86
Wrexham: Ponticelli 90


Yeovil Town : (4-1-2-1-2)

Grant Smith
Mark Little, Josh Staunton (for Alex Bradley, 75), Morgan Williams, Jack Robinson
Dale Gorman,
Matt Worthington (for Adi Yussuf, 82), Jordan Barnett (for Reuben Reid,86)
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Charlie Wakefield Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Max Evans,Toby Stephens.

Wrexham: Lainton, Hall-Johnson, Hayden, Tozer, Lennon, Hosannah (for McAlinden, 66), J.Jones, Young, Davies, Mullin, Thomas (for Ponticelli, 46).
Substitutes: Dibble, Cleworth, Angus.

Match Report

As listeners to the Gloverscast know we have some rules, the first of which is: Don’t complain about National League referees, they’re all rubbish.

It was the man in black, Sunny Sukhvir Gill, who was in the spotlight as big-spending Wrexham came back from two goals behind to win 2-1 at Huish Park and extend Yeovil Town‘s losing run to six matches.

Up until just before the hour mark, the referee was having a good game (by National League standards) but with Dale Gorman on the floor clutching his head, the allowed the game to go on and Paul Mullin made no mistake to cancel out a first half opener from Tom Knowles.

Before kick-off defender Max Hunt was spotted on crutches and in the second half Josh Staunton limped off with what appears a hamstring injury.

Another defeat, more pressure on the already threadbare squad – and that’s before we get to the off-the-pitch stuff.

Here’s how Ian saw it from his spot in the Huish Park press box……

First half

The soundtrack to the opening seconds of the match was that of “We want Priestnall out”, as home fans made their displeasure at their absentee owner.

The day after he attributed low attendances as his reasons for selling Joe Quigley to Chesterfield, the Glovers started the game with no recognised striker in the starting line-up and with Max Hunt on crutches at pitchside. Wingers Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield started furthest forward and Mark Little made his full debut after returning from injury, moving centre back Morgan Williams to…centre back.

Tom Knowles. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was the man I’ve warned you about since day one, who opened the scoring for Yeovil after 14 minute. Tom KNOWLES continues to make the #DFILWF mantra difficult to follow, and his cleanly struck left-footed shot caught just about everyone by surprise as it flew past Wrexham ‘keeper Rob Lainton into the bottom corner. A strike he enjoyed enough to cup his in front of that TikTok lot in Martin Baker Glovers’ Trust Terrace. 1-0.

The Glovers advantage was nearly doubled in the 26th minute, when Josh Staunton met Sonny Blu Lo-Everton‘s deep cross with a towering header. The captain’s effort flew over the bar into a sagging Welsh flag behind the goal.

Chances don’t come more gilt-edged than Charlie Wakefield‘s ten minutes later. A fluffed clearance by Lainton only reached the incoming Matt Worthington and he squared the ball to the unmarked Wakefield inside the 18-yard-box who had time to pick his spot but barely connected with the ball. The ball trickled to the relieved hi-vis keeper as the Yeovil supporters planted their heads in their hands with the precision Wakefield was missing.

The Hollywood boys of Wrexham offered very little in the first half. But for a couple of speculative efforts from their beloved Jordan Davies, the Yeovil defence held firm and went into half-time with the lead as Netflix no doubt pondered whether they’d bought the rights to the wrong psychodrama.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 0

Second half

Yeovil started the second half with determination and some early pressing from Knowles forced a mistake in the Wrexham back line and very nearly created a carbon copy of Wakefield’s chance in the first half. Wakefield couldn’t bring the ball under control though and Wrexham cleared their lines.

Shortly after, Mullin took a tumble under a challenge from Morgan Williams and was adamant he should have had a penalty. The man in the middle, Sunny Gill, thought Mullin went down too easily and waved his appeals away.

Mullin, determined to grab Wrexham up to his level came close to equalising moments later, dragging his right footed shot wide of Grant Smith’s post.

He got his goal just before the hour mark in controversial circumstances. While Dale Gorman was on the floor clutching his head, the referee allowed play to continue around Gorman and last season’s top scorer in League Two put a fine strike into the top corner with Smith rooted to the spot. 1-1 Paul MULLIN.

Gill, who had been having a good game by National League standards, quickly became the villain of the piece as players and fans raged, bewildered by his decision to allow play to continue. Perhaps we missed a protocol where referees are allowed to judge the severity of head injuries, but it was largely shambolic and set him up for a difficult half an hour to see out with supporters well past boiling point.

Josh Staunton who limped off in the second half.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Staunton was replaced by Alex Bradley (who had been booked already while warming up) and made his way down the tunnel gingerly. Probably the sight that Yeovil supporters feared the most given our depleted squad.

Three minutes later, Wrexham went ahead. A cross went all the way to the back post to the feet of Jordan Davies. He drilled a left footed cross across the box which was bundled into his OWN GOAL by the sliding Morgan Williams. 1-2

As the time faded away, and Wrexham took control of the game against Yeovil’s tiring legs, Darren Sarll threw on Adi Yussuf and Reuben Reid to salvage the game.

Grant Smith was forced into a good save, low at his near post, from Davies well-struck free kick in the 88th minute.

With six minutes added on, Yeovil searched for an equaliser and Yussuf nearly connected with Bradley’s cross, but Wrexham saw the game out with a string of a corners at the death sending their 814 supporters back cheerfully back to North Wales. For the Glovers, it was another defeat in 2022 as we head into another week of uncertainty.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 2

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Defender Max Hunt is the noticeable absentee from the Yeovil Town side which takes on big-spending Wrexham at Huish Park this afternoon (3pm).

BBC Somerset reporter Sheridan Robins reports that Hunt is missing through injury with the defender on crutches at pitch side.

Central defender Max Hunt. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The other big news is that the Glovers start with no recognised striker with Adi Yussuf and Reuben Reid named on the bench after top-scorer Joe Quigley was sold to Chesterfield on Friday.

We are going to guess that is Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield as a front two ahead of a diamond in midfield with Sonny Blu Lo-Everton at the tip and Dale Gorman at the base.

Mark Little come

s in for his first league start for the club at right-back as Morgan Williams shifts to the centre of defence to replace the absent Hunt.

For the visitors, star striker Paul Mullin returns after three weeks off alongside Kwame Thomas with defender Harry Lennon back after suspension.

Former Glover Ben Tozer makes his return to Huish Park in the centre of defence and Liam McAlinden, red carded when Yeovil won 2-0 in North Wales in November, returns on the bench.



Yeovil Town (4-1-2-1-2): Grant Smith, Mark Little, Morgan Williams, Josh Staunton, Jack Robinson, Dale Gorman, Matt Worthington, Jordan Barnett, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Tom Knowles, Charlie Wakefield.
Substitutes:  Max Evans, Alex Bradley, Toby Stephens, Adi Yussuf, Reuben Reid.

Wrexham: Lainton, Hall-Johnson, Hayden, Tozer, Lennon, Hosannah, J.Jones, Young, Davies, Mullin, Thomas.
Substitutes: Dibble, Cleworth, McAlinden, Angus, Ponticelli.

 

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On Friday night, Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall declared that the sale of top-scorer Joe Quigley to Chesterfield for an undisclosed fee had been necessary to balance the Huish Park books.

In a statement, the owner said that the sale had been made to boost the club’s coffers “at a time when our average attendances are much lower than expected“.

Owner Scott Priestnall speaks alongside manager Darren Sarll in July.

Referring to the “much lower than expected” attendances, he claimed speculation around the ownership of the club was “certainly not helping the club cover lost revenues of playing behind closed doors (last season).”

Rewind to the end of July, Priestnall sat alongside manager Darren Sarll and declared that season ticket sales were “ahead of schedule“, adding this his focus was on ensuring his manager had “the resources to be competitive.”

So, after what no-one can question last season was a financial heart attack for all football clubs, let’s take a look at what we know about where money has come in to the club since the summer:

Sport England loans – £801,538

In two loans, the club borrowed £801,538 from Sport England which the club said were “given to clubs due to lost revenue from last season’s lockdown period” – it says ‘given’ but they do expect them back, incidentally.

The statement in August added: “This means that the loan itself is in relation to the costs and creditors from last season, and that is what the loan will be used for.”

In the very same statement, titled ‘Financial Update’, the club confirmed it had settled its debts with the taxman having taken a ‘payment holiday’ with HM Revenue & Customs during lockdown.

So, probably our most important creditor settled up with and a hefty loan to deal with costs and creditors from a season behind-closed-doors.

FA Cup prize fund and television money – £158,004

The third round of the FA Cup ended in defeat which meant no prize money, but the switch to the game on the BBC Red Button brought in an additional £32,000.

The second round FA Cup tie against Stevenage saw Yeovil Town pick up £34,000 in prize money and £60,000 for the game being broadcast live on BBC television.

Darren Sarll’s side progressed through the FA Cup’s fourth qualifying round (£9,375 in prize money) and the first round proper (£22,629) as well.

FA Trophy prize fund – £6,000

The FA Trophy third round win brought in an additional £4,500 and even losing to Needham Market in the fourth round generated £1,500.

Tally up these things and you reach the princely sum of £965,542. Not to be sniffed at.

But, of course, it is attendances that are the problem.  The lack of games at Huish Park with fans in attendance last season don’t give us a great deal of insight, but in the 2019/20 season, which ended in early March, we averaged crowds of 2,951.

It does beg the question why we budgeted for crowds of 3,000, according to a statement from the chairman, when we haven’t actually managed an average gate of above 3,000 since 2016-17 as a League club, but we’ll let that slide.

This season we’ve topped the 2019/20 average on three occasions – W*ymouth in the FA Trophy (3,354), Torquay on January 2 (3,866) and the FA Cup third round with AFC Bournemouth this month (7,818).

There’s been four occasions when crowds have dipped below 2,000 (five if you include Bridgwater in the Somerset Premier Cup), but that still means 41,926 supporters attended 16 matches at Huish Park this season – giving an average crowd of 2,620.

That is on average 331 people fewer than the 2019/20 season when we went out at the first time of asking in the FA Cup – so is that so different? For context, that puts us comfortably in the top half of the National League attendance table.

Last season, we also picked up undisclosed transfer fees for young striker Alfie Lloyd for “an undisclosed fee plus add ons” to QPR in May 2021, and frontman Courtney Duffus for another undisclosed fee in January 2021, and we’ve heard Sarll talk about his pride at the fees that he has picked up for players.

Myles Hippolyte was another who went for an undisclosed fee to Scunthorpe United in the summer of 2020, peak pandemic time – but that was 18 months ago, so we can’t count that.

On the field, the experienced heads of Rhys Murphy, Charlie Lee, Carl Dickinson and Jimmy Smith, who would have been among the top earners, departed our payroll in May, and off-the-field Sarll spoke yesterday about “staff shortages” – not least his lieutenant, Terry Skiverton.

Yes, we brought in Mark Little, another experienced head, but the majority of arrivals were of the youthful variety – hence having the second-youngest squad in the division.

So, with the thick end of £1m either borrowed or made through prize money, attendances dipping 331 below the levels of two years ago, transfer fees already brought in, a wage bill trimmed – and don’t even get me started on supporters’ donating more than £50,000 to a Crowdfunder when the chips were down in the summer of 2020.

After all that, we’re still in a position where we’re having to fire sale players to clubs we should be competing against for promotion, Mr Priestnall?

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Full-back Mark Little is playing through the pain barrier as he makes his way in to the Yeovil Town team.

The ex-Bristol City player has been missing for the past four months after rupturing the ligaments in his foot in pre-season.

Talking to the Gloverscast‘s Ben Barrett ahead of the weekend’s visit from big-spending Wrexham, the 33-year-old said that he had originally been told the injury may not be serious.

He explained: “The first two sets of people said just ice it and it will be fine, so I went to see a specialist and it needed surgery and there’s a plate to hold my foot together.

“The surgeon is happy it’s stronger than it was before, but I need to teach my foot to play football now. I know the more I play, the better it will be.

“This surgeon is saying ‘go and do what you want to do’, normally if you feel pain you will come out of training, but I have been encouraged to play through it.”

Little made his playing return in last weekend’s FA Trophy exit at the hands of lower division Needham Market and was one of four players to miss from the spot in a penalty shoot-out.

He praised the work of manager Darren Sarll for lifting the team after the defeat and the departure of assistant manager Terry Skiverton at the start of the week.

He said: “It was not great over the weekend which was sombre before the (Needham Market) game which led to the performance maybe, but we have had a full week this week.

“The manager is so good at this. He is upset and frustrated as much as we are, but he gets the mood in the camp better.

“We had two tough days Monday, Tuesday, rest day Wednesday and then two good days and we’ve had a perfect week leading up to up a match.”

Sarll said Little was “in contention” for a start against Wrexham at Huish Park this weekend.

He said: “We need to be a bit more progressive with Mark, I’m not sure he can do 90 minutes but he will certainly be in contention for a start.

“He gets closer every day, but he is a true professional and you can see why he’s played in the Championship for as long as he did.”