April 2022 (Page 4)

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Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall is attending the club’s home match with Stockport County at Huish Park.

The club’s official Twitter account has posted that he was “addressing supporters” in the Alec Stock Lounge ahead of the game with the Glovers’ Trust calling for fans to protest at the game and outside Huish Park after the final whistle

It is the first time the owner has been seen at the ground on a matchday since the FA Cup third round match, televised on BBC, in January, and comes after the club said last night that the chairman was “assembling a new board” for next season.

In the past 24 hours, it has also been revealed a deal to sell the club’s Huish Park stadium and land surrounding it to South Somerset District Council is close to completion, and director Glenn Collis resigned saying he had “questions about the club’s direction.”

We understand around 100 people were present to listen to the chairman talk, although there’s no indication is the event was open access. The video of his address to supporters will be made available on the club’s YouTube channel this weekend, it said.

In a statement posted on social media ahead of the game with the National League leaders, the Glovers’ Trust called on fans to “protest peacefully, but vocally” outside Huish Park immediately after the match.

It said: “We encourage all fans to make their voices heard during the game in a peaceful manner. We would also encourage fans to gather outside the club’s entrance to continue to make our voices heard after the final whistle.

“Let’s protest peacefully, but vocally. It has never been more important for fans to make their feelings known.

“This is bigger than any game or any season. This is about fighting for the future of the club we love.”

The Trust has also launched a petition calling on South Somerset District Council to reverse its decision to buy the stadium. By 1pm on Saturday, it had attracted more than 300 signatures.

You can sign and share the petition – here.

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Jody Brown at Billericay
? Billericay Town TV

Former Billericay Town manager Jody Brown has been named as assistant manager to caretaker Yeovil Town boss Charlie Lee.

On Easter Monday Brown was sacked by the National League South bottom club, where he worked with Lee who was on the playing staff at Billericay earlier this season.

In his matchday programme notes for today’s home match with Stockport County, Lee said: “You may notice a new face on the sidelines with me this afternoon, this is Jody Brown who I worked with earlier this season at Billericay Town.

“As you can imagine I’ve become stretched due to the limited members of staff, so having Jody alongside me, someone who has previously been an assistant manager at this level with Dagenham, will be an invaluable boost to our coaching capabilities.”

Brown was appointed Billericay manager in October following the sacking of Kevin Watson, the manager who signed Charlie Lee after his departure Yeovil at the end of last season, who managed just one point from his first six games in charge.

He led them to an Essex Senior Cup final victory last week but could not get them off the bottom of the National League South table and, with four games remaining, he was sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Chelmsford City.

Lee has been operating without an assistant since he stepped up to the Huish Park hot seat following Darren Sarll’s exit to join National League rivals Woking last month. Injured midfielder Josh Staunton has donned his coaching kit to support Lee on the touchline since his appointment.

Welcome to Huish Park, Jody.

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Glenn Collis has said he decided to quit his role as director of Yeovil Town after “months of soul searching and questions on the club’s direction.”

The club confirmed his departure from the board on Friday evening in a statement which revealed that chairman Scott Priestnall was “currently assembling a new board of directors.”

In a post on his LinkedIn profile, Collis speaks of his frustration at not being able to put his plans in to action.

He said: “This decision has not been taken lightly, however following months of soul searching and questions on the clubs direction, I have decided that the time was right to explore other opportunities within the footballing community and actually be able to put the relevant community based plans into action for the benefit of the club I am involved in.”

He added that he was “devastated to have not been able to deliver my plan to them first hand.”

The post concluded describing the club’s staff and players as “some of the strongest and most inspirational people I have ever met.”

He added: “Their strength of character and family unity has been something I am proud to have been a part of for over two years.”

Whilst it is questionable exactly what impact Collis had during his time at the club, he was a regular in the directors’ box at Huish Park and selected away games at a time his fellow director, Priestnall, was not.

Collis, 41, joined the board in February 2020 and was described as leading “one of Europe’s fastest growing sports management agencies and has also worked as a consultant to several of Europe’s most prestigious football clubs.”

He is registered as a director of Glenn Collis Limited, a company which lists  the nature of the business as “Other service activities not elsewhere classified.”

Announcing the departure of Collis, the club said the new board of directors being assembled by Priestnall would “include prominent local business people.”

It added: “We will issue a further update on board appointments in due course.”

Collis’ resignation epitaph ended a busy day of off-the-field news after it was revealed that South Somerset District Council is closing in on a deal to complete the purchase of the Huish Park site. Find out more – here.

That was swiftly followed by a petition launched by the Glovers’ Trust calling on the council to reverse the decision. To sign and share the petition – click here.

 

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Glenn Collis has left Yeovil Town as a director with chairman Scott Priestnall “assembling a new board of directors”, the club has said.

In a statement, the club confirmed the board would include “prominent local business people” ready for next season.

Glenn Collis YTFC Director
Glenn Collis

The statement said: “Yeovil Town can confirm the departure of Glenn Collis as a club director with immediate effect.

“Collis, who has been a board member since February 2020, departs with our best wishes. All at Yeovil Town thank Glenn for his hard work during his time at the football club.

“Chairman Scott Priestnall is currently assembling a new board of directors ready for the 2022/23 season which include prominent local business people.

“We will issue a further update on board appointments in due course.”

It concluded confirming the chairman will appear on the Gloverscast next week to “discuss club matters” and we can confirm we are scheduled to speak with him on Thursday evening with the recording released on Friday morning.

Collis, 41, joined as a director in February 2020 and was appointed a director of Yeovil Town Football & Athletic Club and Yeovil Town Holdings, the companies which own the club’s football operations and Huish Park stadium and the land surrounding the stadium respectively.

The announcement came hours after news broke that South Somerset District Council is close to completing a deal to buy the assets of both businesses and lease them back to the club. Find out more about that deal – here.

The Glovers’ Trust has launched a petition calling for the council to drop the deal which it describes as “a potentially catastrophic decision“. The petition is available to sign and share – here.

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Mark Little has warned his younger Yeovil Town team-mates against letting themselves down after having a good season.

Mark Little. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The 33-year-old said that players were now playing for their futures with five National League matches remaining and many understood to be without contracts beyond the end of this season.

He said: “It’s important to me to put in a good performance and for all of us to put in a good performance

“So the owner, the scout or the new manager, they will be watching the players and it would be a shame for lads who have played so well to be letting themselves down.”

He was speaking ahead of the visit of league leaders Stockport County to Huish Park for the weekend as they look to move another step closer to the Football League.

The former Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers player said he believed the team has been doing enough to win matches, but failed to capitalise on the pressure they put on relegation battlers Aldershot Town and local rivals W*ymouth over the Easter period.

Little added: “I think it’s down to experience. On Monday, I had a sense of urgency to go and get the goal but then seeing players around me who do not have that experience not having the urgency to do it.

“If I need to do something myself, I can go and do it but ushering other players to do it, it is difficult, and I do feel it is part of my job (as an experienced player) to do that.

“The two games we played over the Easter period, those two players are playing for their lives. Sorry, W*ymouth are gone [not quite, Mark, but well done for the sentiment!] but they are scrapping as it’s a derby and this weekend Stockport are up for promotion.

!It’s all about personal pride, pride in your performance, representing the club and the fans properly because they gave us unbelievable support on Easter Monday. It is about putting in a performance for them.”

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The Glovers’ Trust has launched a petition calling for South Somerset District Council (SSDC) to drop its plans to buy Yeovil Town’s Huish Park stadium and surrounding land.

After news broke on Friday that the council is in talks with club chairman Scott Priestnall about completing a deal, the Trust launched a petition describing the deal as “a potentially catastrophic decision for the long term security and viability of our club.”

The petition is available to share and sign, here: https://chng.it/vGkNJDcsqD

The council deal would see the ‘core’ (red) and non-core (blue) land bought by SSDC.

In its statement, the Trust added: “We are concerned that there will not be the safeguards in place to ensure the football club will see any benefit from the deal, or ever be in a position to buy the assets back. We also do not believe this is a responsible use of taxpayers money.

“We believe that Scott Priestnall, through his action, inaction, and silence over his tenure, has not earned the trust of supporters, to allow him to make this decision unchallenged. We call on all supporters, supporter groups, and local residents to voice their opposition to this deal. United we have a loud voice. We want to make sure that voice is heard.

“We will continue to communicate with supporters in the coming days and weeks to suggest other action we might take to protect our club.”

Due to the local elections taking place on May 5, SSDC is currently in a state of purdah. This means that no announcements can be made by the local authority regarding any major decisions. However, proposals can be completed during purdah.

Gloverscast understands that if the deal is not completed by the end of May 2022, the ability to complete the transaction will becoming increasingly difficult. SSDC merges with other councils to become one new unitary council and there is draft legislation which could prevent deals over a certain value being completed without a new approval process.

The Trust can also activate the Asset of Community Value held on the site from May 26 2022.

For more about what we understand about the deal, see – here.

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  • Gloverscast understands representatives of chairman Scott Priestnall and South Somerset District Council (SSDC) are working on completing the deal agreed in November 2020 which will see the council buy Huish Park and the surrounding land.
  • Due to local elections taking place in May, SSDC are currently in a period of ‘purdah’ meaning no announcements can be made by the council which may influence the elections – although a deal can still be completed.
  • SSDC allocated £2.8m in its February budget to complete the purchase, which will need to be complete before the end of May.

Representatives of South Somerset District Council and Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall are working on completing a deal to buy Huish Park and land surrounding the stadium.

The deal would then see the council rent the land and stadium back to the club.

As the ongoing uncertainty over a takeover by Simul Sports continues, the deal with the council is seen as one which secures the future the club, the only professional football club in the county.

Due to the local elections taking place on May 5 2022, SSDC is currently in a state of purdah. This means that no announcements can be made by the local authority regarding any major decisions. However, proposals can be completed during purdah.

Gloverscast understands that if the deal is not completed by the end of May 2022, the ability to complete the transaction will becoming increasingly difficult. SSDC merges with other councils to become one new unitary council and there is draft legislation which could prevent deals over a certain value being completed without a new approval process. The Glovers Trust can also activate the Asset of Community Value held on the site from May 26 2022.

We have approached Scott Priestnall for comment and, at the time of publication, have not received a response.

What do we know about the deal with SSDC?

  • SSDC has budgeted £2.8m to purchase the entire freehold and leasehold property and land interests held by Yeovil Town Football Club in the Huish Park ground. Part of the purchase price would be applied to securing the release of restrictive covenants that affect the title to the property. (This does not include Sport England’s restriction of development on the top training pitches)
  • The current 999-year lease from SSDC to YTFC (on land currently owned by SDDC) would be extinguished and a new 30-year lease of the whole property would be simultaneously granted back to the club. The deal includes a one-year rent break.
  • The investment will see the council make a 7% profit through renting it back to the club, which is line with the approved target level of commercial returns on investment property assets purchased by the Council.
  • The deal splits Huish Park into ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ land with separate leases for both. Presently the stadium is owned by one business Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Ltd whilst everything that surrounds the stadium is owned by another, Yeovil Town Holdings Limited. Chairman Scott Priestnall and fellow director Glenn Collis are both directors of both companies.

Under the SSDC Proposal the 10.2 acre area in red is the ‘core’ land, while the 14.5 acre area in blue is ‘non-core’.

Land owned by Yeovil Town Holdings Limited is bordered in red – except the bit in mint green which is owned by Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Limited.

 

SSDC Deal – Who’s said what?

Councillor Val Keitch, leader of South Somerset District Council.

The deal was approved by SSDC’s District Executive Committee on December 3 2020. In the aftermath of the decision, Council Leader Val Keitch said: “The decision to approve this proposal was made today following a detailed and thorough debate which was quite right given its importance.

“We have agreed to make an investment that will not only benefit a football club which has such an important role to play in our community but one which will also benefit our residents.

“It is our responsibility to ensure we offer any support where we can to businesses big and small, which we have done before and throughout this pandemic, and we will continue to do so.”

Speaking at the time,  Yeovil Town chairman Scott Priestnall said: “I would like to thank the officers at SSDC for their time and effort in putting together the proposal to buy the stadium and land at Huish Park.

Scott Priestnall.

“Being a chairman and owner of a football club is very different to operating other businesses and as a custodian of this fantastic club, I feel it is my duty to not only ensure its survival during these difficult times but also to give it the future the community and the supporters deserve.

“I would finally like to thank local councillors for their time and support today and I look forward to moving forward with SSDC and working with our supporters’ groups to deliver the best possible future for Yeovil Town Football Club.”

On January 2 2021, the Glovers’ Trust activated an Asset of Community Value held on the site, putting a pause to the deal for six months. A statement from the Trust said: “The Board recognises that the proposed sale of Huish Park and the surrounding land to South Somerset District Council (SSDC) is a pivotal moment in the history of Yeovil Town Football Club. With the ACV, the Board has the ability to enable a pause on the deal with SSDC, and consider putting together its own bid.”

The pause was to give the Trust time to raise the cash to make an offer to rival the council’s. It did not manage to do that but, during the moratorium period, it began conversations with Simul Sports, a group led by former Cardiff City commercial director, Julian Jenkins, which has subsequently publicly confirmed it is interested in buying Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Ltd..

Upon the expiry of the six month moratorium period, the Glovers’ Trust released a statement, including the following: “Without the delay, the proposed deal between owners of Huish Park and SSDC would have been rushed through by January 2021, long before any reasonable scrutiny could have been conducted. The delay has also given others the chance to reflect on the scheme and for the cultivation of a belief that a better route can be found to secure the long-term security of our club. The provisional plans shared with us by the SSDC may bring a limited short term financial boost, however there is no legal framework to guarantee that YTFC benefits from the scheme over the longer term. We believe that under this proposal the future of YTFC is in jeopardy.”

When SSDC announced the proposal in November 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it said: “Yeovil Town Football Club is the only professional football club in Somerset. As such, it contributes to the local economy and contributes more widely in terms of community, education and local civic pride. The COVID-19 pandemic has directly caused the loss of virtually all spectator revenue for the club. The club has sought to reduce its cost base. Overall, the remaining costs will cause the club to run out of money within a short period unless it is able to secure a substantial financial injection. The proposal is for the Council to purchase the main property and land asset of the club at Huish Park and lease it back to the club.”

In conclusion

Obviously, the situation that the club finds itself in now is different. Supporters have been able to attend matches all season and from the matches at Huish Park so far, the average attendance is 2355, (down from 2951 in 2019/20). The relationship between the owner and supporters has eroded over the course of the last 12 months with signs of ‘Priestnall Out’ appearing amongst supporters in the stadium and online.

On November 24 2020, a statement on YTFC.net announcing the deal included a plea regarding the ACV from Priestnall saying: “Simply put, we cannot wait six months to complete a deal with SSDC given our current financial position.” 18 months later, with nearly £1m in loans from Sport England held against the club (in fairness, Che$terfield have taken on more than YTFC), the club is still standing, however, rumours swirl about unpaid bills with local businesses.

As before, an aspect of this deal which is concerning, is that taxpayers’ money will be going to an un-ringfenced pot that is entrusted to an owner who has rarely been seen in public at Huish Park this season. If this deal is completed it appears that the immediate future of the land and football club will remain in the hands of Scott Priestnall.

There is a determination from SSDC to get this deal completed before the end of May and a belief that this protects the long term future of football in Yeovil, be that in it’s current form or in the form of a phoenix club.

In an open letter to Scott Priestnall from the Gloverscast team on 4 April (signed by nearly 1,500 people), we asked for answers to questions and following a conversation with Priestnall, we arranged an interview to be conducted on April 28 for an episode of the Gloverscast.

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Over the Easter period, Yeovil Town struggled against two sides – Aldershot Town and W*ymouth – who were in in poor runs of form.

They will have no such problems against a Stockport County side who have lost just twice since the middle of December and in the process picked up 22 victories.

In an epic exercise of clutching at straws, you could look at it that the Hatters have lost their last two matches away from Edgeley Park, a 2-0 defeat in the FA Trophy at fellow big spenders Wrexham and then a Good Friday loss at Grimsby Town where they played the final 55 minutes with ten men.

Myles Hippolyte in action for Yeovil Town. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Make no mistake, this is a very different team to the one which Yeovil turned over 3-0 at Edgeley Park. That performance was played under former boss Simon Rusk and since he was replaced by Dave Challinor in November, Stockport have looked unstoppable.

Their expensively assembled squad boast a frightening array of talent with no less than ex-Glovers’ hero Paddy Madden and Scott Quigley, top scorer for Barrow when they won this division two seasons ago, up front and another former Huish Park favourite Courtney Duffus unable to even make the bench.

They have added to an already strong squad with the signings of players including winger Myles Hippolyte, who played for Yeovil in the 2019-20 season.

Defensively they look strong as well having kept clean sheets in five of their last six games with captain Liam Hogan and Ash Palmer, who saw red in the reverse fixture in September, looking solid.

So, yeah, nothing to worry about.

 

FROM THE MANAGER

Boss Dave Challinor has targeted winning four wins out of their remaining six National League game to clinch the title and is aiming for one of them at the weekend.

Speaking after last weekend’s 1-0 win over Solihull Moors, he said: “Four wins is unassailable out of six. I’ll not say I will take three because that would not be enough – although I would take three if one of them with Wrexham because then they can’t catch us.

“We’ve just got to focus on Yeovil which is a tough place to go against a team which still has pride to play for in front of their own fans.

“They won’t want to lose the game so we have to make sure we are right and we do what we can to win the match.”

TEAM NEWS

Winger Antoni Sarcevic will be the biggest absentee for Stockport County this weekend.

The Manchester-born player joined on a free transfer in October after falling out with Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt and has been a regular starter since arriving.

He is serving the second game of a three-match suspension for a red card picked up in the Good Friday defeat at Grimsby Town.

Defender Liam Hogan went off injured with a “contact injury” against Solihull Moors last weekend, but boss Dave Challinor expected his skipper to be available.

 

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

If you don’t know the answer to this one – where have you been?! Mr Patrick Madden is a centre forward presently earning his trade at Stockport, having written his name in to footballing folklore in South Somerset.

24 goals in 42 games for the Glovers on the way to promotion to the Championship in the 2012-13 season – including a decent hit in the play-off final at Wembley that year – guarantee the Irishman a good reception from the home faithful. Just please don’t score, Paddy.

Another recent addition to the ranks at Edgeley Park is Myles Hippolyte. The winger joined from League Two (soon to be National League) outfit Scunthorpe United at the end of January and has made 13 appearances, scoring three goals including two in his last four. He was part of Darren Sarll’s first squad in 2019-20, making 34 appearances before moving to Scunthorpe.

Another member of the 19-20 squad, Courtney Duffus is another ex-Glover in the visitors’ squad having joined on loan from Morecambe, but such is the strength of the Hatters’ frontline that he is yet to make an appearance.

Winger Ben Whitfield, who joined from Torquay United in the summer, is missing through injury. He played more than 40 times in the 2016-17.

Then, in no particular order, other players who have a foot in both camps include:

  • Matt Warburton
  • Phil Jevons
  • David Poole
  • Andy Welsh
  • Joe Edwards

There’s probably more, but that’s enough to be getting on with.

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Gloverscast #163.

A bit of everything in this one, Ian and Dave talk about W*ymouth, Dave chats to Russ from The Scarf Bergara Wore Podcast to get the lowdown on Stockport County, then Ben and Dave preview the match before we announce an announcement at the end… and of course take some musical GCQs

Available down below or on all good podcast hosting platforms (and some rubbish ones as well)

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Olufela Olomola. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

On loan striker Olufela Olomola has been recalled by his parent club Hartlepool United with the League Two side suffering a mini injury crisis.

The 24-year-old, who brings to an end a third separate spell at Huish Park, has not been involved since scoring in the 5-0 win over Odd Down in the Somerset Premier Cup semi-final earlier this month.

He picked up up a slight groin injury in that match and, speaking at this press conference today, caretaker boss Charlie Lee said he hoped for have the former Southampton youngster at his disposal.

In his latest spell at the club, he played eight National League game, scoring once, the opening goal in a 1-1 draw at Maidenhead United in February.

His last league appearance was as an 86th-minute substitute in the 2-2 draw at Barnet on April 2.