October 2022

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Mark Cooper has secured his first signing as Yeovil Town manager, bringing Jamie Andrews in on a short-term loan from West Bromwich Albion.

The 20-year-old centre midfielder will add an extra body in a position that we’ve been a bit short in at points this season, and he’ll go straight into the squad for El Sarllico tomorrow night.

Speaking to YTFC.net, the Glovers new number 18 said: “It feels great to be here. I wanted to come and experience playing in front of the fans and grafting to get those three points, I just can’t wait to get started.

“The manager and I had a few good conversations where he said what my role would be. He wants me to come in and add some more legs, something which I’m happy to do; I’ll run up and down the pitch all day.”

Andrews, who spent time on loan a Leamington in the National League North last season revealed he spoke to former Yeovil loanee, Ted Cann, before signing: “Ted and I spoke, he told me what the Club is like and how his time went here. All he could say was good things, so I really couldn’t wait to get down here!”

Welcome to Huish Park, Jamie!

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Ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Woking in the National League, new Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has been speaking with the media about his first few days in charge. Here is his discussion with BBC Somerset reporter, Sheridan Robins…..

SR: Tell us what it was that made you choose Yeovil.
MC: I wanted to get back to work. I spoke to one or two clubs and this just seemed right. I could have waited for another League job or a ‘better’ non-League job but I wanted to get back to work.
Whenever I have been to Yeovil I have enjoyed the atmosphere, so it’s a job I am looking forward to.
It is very rare you go in to a job where everything is right and everybody is smiling, you usually go in to a job where somebody has been sacked for a reason.
It’s a difficult job, but I am looking forward to it.

SR: What can supporters expect from a Mark Cooper team?
MC: My teams have always tried to dominate opposition with the ball, but at the moment it is about simple, clear messages and trying to get confidence back.
When you are on a bad run, people lose confidence so it is about trying to play in the opposition’s half, get crosses in to the box and sustain some attacks and try and get supporters behind the team.

SR: Did you see that, particularly in the first half, against Maidstone?
MC: In the first half, sure. Second half there was a little bit of fear because (we felt like) we’re not supposed to be winning, so we take a step back rather than take a step forward.
The first half was really encouraging, the players gave a great effort and if we can replicate that effort and keep adding layers to our work and showing the players what we need, we will be alright.

SR: It was a penalty decision which cost you three points, but is it just a confidence thing that you couldn’t put the game to bed?
MC: Of course, we had a couple of chances where you think ‘if you get the second goal, that is game over.’ We can talk about the penalty decision all you like, but I’ve made a promise to myself to not get in trouble and be a good boy!

SR: Fans can be impatient and they want to get out of the bottom four, but is it a case of taking it game by game and learning to walk before we can run?
MC: It is important we go game by game, that is the only way we can approach it. Over the last few years that impatience grows and if you don’t win one game, there’s people shouting for you to be out.
That is social media, that’s the way it is now, and we have to accept that.
But if fans are seeing that players are giving everything they have got and they want to do their best, that can forgive a lot.

SR: You brought in a number of players at Maidstone who had not been in the team with the previous manager, are you wanting to see all the players you have at your disposal?
MC: When a new manager comes in, some players automatically see it as an opportunity if they have not been playing. I feel sorry for Chris, I have watched a lot of games back and at times he was unlucky with some results.

Mark Cooper watches on from the stand at Maidstone United.

SR: Is one of the benefits of your ban being that you can get a better view from the stands?
MC: My ban is served, it was served before Saturday. You see so much more from up there. It’s something I have done over the years, I have watched part of the game upstairs to try and get a good overview of the pitch.
It can be difficult down there to see from the dug out, so I will watch different parts of different games from that position because you see so much more.

SR: You were able to give messages to Chris Todd who has obviously been here all season which must be a positive as well.
MC: The staff have been great, they all want to do well for the club and to learn – and Chris got plenty of phone calls on Saturday, that is for sure.

SR: The atmosphere here before Chris lost his job was pretty poor and you know the situation with the ownership, everyone has to come together, haven’t they?
MC: Ideally, yes. You can’t succeed with a disconnect between fans and players because players need backing. I don’t think (the form) has been down to a lack of effort, it is very rare you see a player not trying.
It’s about uniting the players and the staff, whatever goes on above us we can’t affect that but what we can affect is out there on the pitch.
Every team I send out there will give 100%, we won’t win every game, we might draw a few and lose a few, but they will give 100%.

SR: At Forest Green Rovers you had that winning mentality and at Yeovil at the moment that
MC: You have to build from the bottom, put the processes in place. That doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time, you have to get everything right, your recruitment, to get that winning mentality and formula. That has to be the

SR: Do you have the backing of the board to bring new players in?
MC: If we do bring players in, we might have to move a couple on. The squad is big enough, I think we just have to add a bit of freshness and athleticism.
But, goals are a difficult one. If you want a 25-goal-a-season striker, you have to pay a lot of money. Fish (Alex Fisher) scored a good goal on Saturday, he’s not been scoring (this season) but he looked a really good player on Saturday.

SR: We seemed to struggle with set pieces which are particularly important in the National League, aren’t they?
MC: We have got a really big team, but I’ve been told we’ve not scored from a set piece this season. I have just been talking to Toddy (Chris Todd) down in the office and we need to really look on that. It’s something to work on.

SR: Chris Todd and Marcus Stewart are going to be important for you going forward, aren’t they?
MC: They are great football people. Chris was a really good centre back at this level and he’s been invaluable for me for getting to know the squad and those little intricacies of how players work.
Marcus was a fantastic centre forward. If he was ten years younger we wouldn’t be struggling for goals.

SR: Tuesday is going to be another tough game against Darren Sarll, an opponent we know well. Are there players who will be wanting to prove to you they deserve a start?
MC: I am yet to experience an easy game in football, because somebody always wants to beat you. But you are playing against another 11 players, so the first thing we have to do is compete.
I want us to be really front foot, intense and play in the opposition’s half. It will be a tough game, they are flying, Darren’s done a really good job there, like he did here, and he’ll be desperate to beat Yeovil.
But we need to have something to say about that.

SR: How much time have you had on the training ground with the team since arriving?
MC: I have had probably 30-40 minutes on Friday morning, but I liked what I saw in the first half on Saturday. The fans that went will have seen the effort and commitment and a little bit of what we are trying to do.
We need to improve and that is the aim.

SR: It seems to be just about getting the team over that line and getting that first win, doesn’t it?
MC: I was hoping we could get over the line (at Maidstone). We should have had a corner, but it was a goal kick, they kick it down the pitch and we get a decision against us.
But that happens and now we have to react to that and I’m looking forward to that first win.

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It’s time for your views on October. Obviously, last week we saw the departure of Chris Hargreaves, who was replaced with Mark Cooper – given that Hargreaves was in charge for all but one game in October, base your score of the manager on his performance, rather than Cooper’s one match.

Here’s how it went on the pitch…

1st October – Southend 1 – 0 Yeovil Town
4th October – Dorking Wanderers 1 – 1 Yeovil Town
8th October – Yeovil Town 1 – 0 Solihull Moors
15th October – Yeovil Town 0 – 0 Taunton Town
18th October – Taunton Town 1 – 0 Yeovil Town
22nd October – Oldham 2 – 0 Yeovil Town
25th October – Yeovil Town 0 – 2 Aldershot
29th October – Maidstone 1 – 1 Yeovil Town

Off the pitch, Scott Priestnall also shared an update regarding various topics.

 

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A fifth goal of the season for striker Charlie Bateson lifted Yeovil Town Under-18s up to second in the South West Counties Youth League with a 1-0 win at Bath City.

The frontman struck after just four minutes of the match played at Twerton Park, a venue where the Glovers’ first team have crossed swords with the Romans on many occasions – albeit not for quite a number of years.

The result pushes Matt Percival’s side on to 11 points which puts the second, five points behind leaders Bridgwater United who have played a game more.

Yeovil Town Under-18s: Robert Hollard, Max Dyer, Jacob Shore, Harrison Foster, Jake Graziano, Sam Hodges, Mason Hunter, Jack Bareham (for Alex Stevens, 60), Mason Alden (for Ethan O’Sullivan, 60), Charlie Bateson (for Joshua Haskett, 85), Benjani Junior (for Joshua Sutton, 80).

In the Junior Premier League, the club’s Under-14s picked up a win over Bridgwater but there were defeats for the Under-12s and the Under-16s to Torquay United and Bridgwater respectively.

The Under-11s picked up a draw in their match against the PJSS Academy. All the youth teams represent the club as part of the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust.

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An penalty in second half injury time saw Mark Cooper kick off his career as Yeovil Town manager with a draw at Maidstone United.

The result leaves the Glovers one point inside the National League relegation places as they prepare to take on Darren Sarll’s Woking on Tuesday night.

Inexplicably, Dave made the trip to Kent from his Lancashire home and here’s how he saw it…..

 

It was better than it has been. Let’s start with the positives. There was much more desire and bravery to attack the game in the first half (we’ll get to the second half soon enough) and we completely deserved to be in at the break more than one goal ahead. Was it the shame of knowing they held a good slice of responsibility for Chris Hargreaves’ sacking, or some pearls of wisdom from their new manager, Mark Cooper? Who knows, but it had an impact…..in the first half.

Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Feed the Fish and there’s a chance he’ll score. Having come in for some unwarranted stick from his own ‘supporters’ four days  earlier, Alex Fisher responded in the best possible way. In the first half, he held the ball up well, brought team-mates in to play and, most importantly, scored our first goal since Chiori Johnson’s winner against Solihull three games prior. He benefited from the Maidstone keeper being out of position, but never the less.

Confidence is key. Having put so much good work in during the first half, I dearly hoped we would have come out and done more of the same in the second half. But, sadly it was an all too familiar story of dropping deeper and deeper and inviting Maidstone to attack us. This is a poor Maidstone side, but our tactics gave them confidence and as it poured in to their performance, it visibly drained from ours.

Too many round pegs in square holes. Call them fish out of water or round pegs in square holes, a big part of our problem was players not in their best positions. Ben Richards-Everton is no more a left wing-back than I am and Chiori

Mark Cooper watches on from the stand at Maidstone United.

Johnson, who seems every bit a wing-back capable of playing on either side, is not suited to the midfield. I have managed zero EFL matches, never played professional football and have more Cub Scout badges than UEFA ones – but playing players out of position when better options exist is not good.

There’s a lot of work to be done. There was plenty of gesticulating from Mark Cooper in his position in the stands where he will have been able to “get a good look” (don’t mention the ban) at his new squad. That second half performance will tell him a lot about what needs needs putting right – I doubt he’ll read this though. He knows there’s a lot of work to be done and there undoubtedly is. But, to finish as I started, it was better……in the first half.

There is a sixth conclusion but it completely smashes Rule 1 [Gloverscast Rule #1 – Don’t complain about National League officials, they are all awful] and, on the balance of opportunities created, Maidstone did deserve a point from the game. But, if you’re wondering what I am talking about watch until 8 minutes and 20 seconds in to these highlights……

 

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Both Truro City and Plymouth Parkway were in first round action of the FA Trophy on Saturday with different outcomes for the Glovers loanees.

Ollie Haste was not named in Paul Wotton’s side as Truro were dumped out of the competition.

Presumably, he was withdrawn from availability to avoid being cup tied for later rounds should Yeovil require him.

No such selection issues for Toby Stephens, fresh off an impressive midweek display he was allowed to compete in Parkway’s tie.

He started, and played an hour as Ben Seymour sent them through to the second round.

As per the competition rules, Stephens is now ineligible to represent Yeovil in the FA Trophy.

 

 

 

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Glovers goalscorer Alex Fisher said the draw at Maidstone felt like a defeat. A late penalty decision, questioned by Fisher and new boss Mark Cooper, saw Yeovil let their one goal advantage slip.

Speaking to BBC Somerset, Fisher said: “Any team is vulnerable when they’re only one goal up. You’re just one decision away from being pegged back.It really hurts to concede to late on, it’s a draw but it feels like a defeat.”

Fisher scored an impressive header after 13 minutes, with his new manager watching on in the stands, and he said that Cooper had kept things simple in his first two days in charge, but that he expected him to ‘stamp his print’ on the squad soon enough.

Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

“He’s kept everything very simple. It’s a fresh start and we wanted to try and get the three points today, as we do every week, and its a shame that we could quite get that today.

“I think in time, any manager would like to stamp their print on things. And I’m sure in the coming weeks he’ll start to do that. Today our game plan was to try and enjoy the game as much as we could and keep things simple and for 94/5 minutes it seemed to work.”

“Often when there is a change you do get a spike, everyone’s playing for their position as they always have been, but there’s that extra impetus when there’s a new manager. We tried to go out an play with as much freedom as possible.”

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Mark Cooper watched on from the stands as his Yeovil Town side conceded a stoppage time penalty to draw 1-1 with Maidstone this afternoon, and the new Glovers boss was pleased with aspects of the performance – but said his side had to get the balance right.

Speaking to BBC Somerset following the match, Cooper said: “We asked the players to be more front foot, to play more in the opposition’s half, to try and get more balls in the opposition box, which is where the goal came from. We had another couple of little bits that we maybe we could have extended the lead – that was good.

“And the second half we conceded too much possession, and we allowed the opposition to have too much of the ball. so that’s the big part, we’ve got to get the balance right between playing too much football and being effective.”

Chris Todd was in the dugout, but in constant communication with Cooper, who *we think* was serving game seven of his eight match ban picked up when manager of Barrow. From his vantage point, Cooper said he noticed the side’s commitment and defensive strength.

“I think you saw the commitment. We defended really well, we cleared lots of balls, headed lots of balls. Listen all you can ask for is commitment, 100%, they gave us that and a little bit of quality. But, like I knew, we’ve got work to do and that’ll start again on Monday.”

He refused to be drawn on the penalty decision, which appeared to be a soft one: “I think when you get that deep into a game, you expect to win it. With seconds to go, you should really win the game. I don’t want to talk about the goal, I don’t want to talk about the penalty. I think when everybody sees it back, they’ll make their own assumptions about what it was.”

Alex Fisher opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his second of the season and Cooper was impressed with his front man’s performance and that his goal came from a result of the gameplan.

“It was ball in the box. We wanted to put more balls in the box to give the striker something to go off. I said to him today, I don’t want you running in the channels, I want you sating the width of the six yard box, always in the frame of the goal and that’s how the goal came about.”

Before the match, Cooper said he would be looking to add a couple of players to ‘freshen up’ the group and when asked after the match he reaffirmed the point. “We need to try and make us more competitive. More competition [for places], a little bit more legs, athleticism. So, if we can make the team better, we’ll try and do it.”

The new manager apologised for not being able to thank the travelling support and hoped that with spirited performances, supporters would continue to get behind the team.

“[Getting more supporters at games] only comes with winning games and getting spirited performances. If you do that they’ll come. So we have to keep doing that and if you keep getting results the fans will support the the team. They were great today,. I’m sorry I couldn’t get down to thank them today because I was up in the stands, they were great.”