February 2023 (Page 6)

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Defender Ryan Law has joined Yeovil Town on loan from League One promotion chasers Plymouth Argyle for the reason of the season.

The 23-year, who made 24 appearances in League Two for Gillingham earlier this season, can play anywhere across the left side of defence and offers competition to recognised left-back Jamie Reckord.

He graduated from the academy at Home Park and was given his Pilgrims’ debut in November 2018 before departing on loan to Gloucester City and has subsequently had spells at Truro City and Torquay United.

Speaking to ytfc.net having arrived this week, he said: “It feels great to be here. I’m really excited to join for the rest of the season – I’m ready to get going now.

“My first day was good. All the boys have been class, the standard out there was good, it was just freezing.”

Plymouth first team coach and Head of Player Development Kevin Nancekivell said: “We’re really pleased that Ryan has joined Yeovil. They were really keen for Ryan to go there and play. It is an ideal place for him to get some minutes and to continue his development.”

With no match this weekend, the Devon-born defender’s first opportunity will come against National League leaders Notts County at Huish Park next Saturday.

Welcome to Somerset, Ryan!

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The Glovers’ Trust has published the minutes of its recent meeting with South Somerset District Council (SSDC) from February 2nd.

The minutes are as follows:

 

In attendance – SSDC

Jane Portman (Chief Executive), Robert Orrett (Commercial Property, Land and Development Manager), Councillor John Clark (Portfolio Holder – Economic Development including Commercial Strategy.

In attendance – Glovers’ Trust (GT)
Roger Pipe (Chair), Jane Haine (Board Member and Secretary), and Andrew Skirton (Member).

Reasons for purchase:

SSDC Members were made aware by Scott Priestnall of the difficult financial situation facing the club and were concerned that it would go into administration and be sold, with potentially the loss of the club completely. The Council therefore agreed to purchase the Stadium and the surrounding land for £2.8 million. This was not the amount received by the club as payments such as the release of covenants were made and deducted from that sum.

SSDC made it clear it did not feel that it was their place to influence or control where the money given to the club was to be spent but were aware that some was used to pay debts.

GT’s representatives made it clear that despite repeated requests no breakdown of how the money received has been spent or allocated has been received by the supporters.

Due Diligence
SSDC engaged independent advisers to ascertain the commercial value of the land and also undertook an evaluation of the club’s finances. No DD has been undertaken on the owner.

Rental
Yeovil Football and Athletic Club (YFAC) are obliged to pay the rent that will commence in May this year. The rental figure is 7% of the purchase price.

Buyback
The option to buy back rests exclusively with the Holding Company and extends until May 26. There are two leases one with YFAC and one with Yeovil Town Holdings Ltd ( YTH). SSDC stated that in their eyes both companies constituted Yeovil Town as they had shared interests. Both leases are linked meaning that one company picks up the obligations of the other. Failure for the club to pay the rental therefore would mean the Holding Company would be obliged to do so.

“Core land”
The area defined as the “core” i.e., that area needed to enable the club to function has changed from that set out in the Council report to members in December 2020. SSDC stated that this had been necessary to enable flexibility in the development. Potentially enabling the artificial pitch to move to the other side of the ground on land that was previously leased to the Club on a 999-year lease from SSDC. This land is subject to restrictive covenants preventing certain uses, so could be an area to relocate the artificial pitch and the two top pitches.

Development of the land previously owned by the Holding Company
SSDC stated that little had appeared to have happened since the purchase last May. It was suggested by GT that a meeting with planners to discuss and initial plan had taken place. GT does not wish to see a development up to the front and back doors. SSDC indicated that they would not influence the proposal that would be brought forward, and that proposals would be considered by the planning department.

GT expressed concern that the planning process does not offer the club sufficient protection.

The valuable option to buy back the land and the stadium rests exclusively with the Holding Company and extends to May 2026. It seems likely that Scott Priestnall will use this time to seek to gain valuable planning permission to develop the land surrounding the ground.

GT recognise that if such planning permission was achieved the value of the land could increase substantially. SSDC indicated that in such a scenario they would have no powers to influence where any of the windfall profits from any future sale of the land could be allocated. GT members expressed concerns that this could enable the owner to retain all profits without investing in the club.

GT members made it clear to SSDC that far from safeguarding the club the structure of the purchase has benefited the owner and will continue to benefit the owner.

SSDC agreed to answer any other questions put to them in writing.

 

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The rumour mill was in overdrive at the weekend at Huish Park. ITKs proudly trying to out-do each other with regards to the consortium who are looking at taking over Yeovil Town. If they were there, wonderful – things must be happening. If not, things are probably still happening. Some of the maths flying round at the weekend was outrageous, but let’s not get into that.

Since the announcement that the club had entered into an “exclusivity agreement” with a “preferred bidder” to become a majority shareholder of the club on New Year’s Eve, I’ve been reflecting on what I’d like to see under new ownership.

Unite the Supporters

The supporter base has been divided for so long. For the club to be truly successful, supporters have to have a vision, a mission to get behind. Years of broken and empty promises have left a once passionate fan base apathetic and for many, club-less.

Be open and honest with your ambitions for the club. Acknowledge where things have gone wrong previously, share the vision, market the hell out of it and bring supporters on the journey. This is not just an issue for recent years, communication has left much to be desired well before Scott Priestnall took over the club in 2019.

Survey the supporters. We run regular surveys on the Gloverscast that cost nothing using Google Forms – get insight from the people who care and are your direct customer base. Hold focus groups so you can really get to know supporters and their views.

Refresh the Supporters’ Alliance Group (SAG), formalise it, open it up to new people and from the group revive a supporter liaison role for someone who is visible, approachable, active with supporters and contactable in the week to create the conduit between supporters and the club. The SAG can play such an important role, but it needs to run effectively and transparently for all supporters.

I genuinely don’t believe that supporters expect you to tell them everything, but commit to regular dialogue that is shared effectively and you’ll get supporters buy-in.

Improve the facilities at Huish Park

To say it needs a lick of paint is an understatement. The last meaningful change at the stadium was the roof that was added to the home terrace in 2001. It would be wonderful to get a roof on the away end and create a more welcoming environment for travelling supporters – while you’re at it let’s add corners to the stadium too.

We were told a benefit of the sale of every piece of bricks and mortar the club owned was removal of the shackles of convenants which have been pointed at for stifling development at Huish Park – so use that freedom. Build a supporters’ bar that has been promised for decades, not just lifting an shifting a bit of the old marquee. Modernise the Alec Stock Lounge so you can serve more people more quickly. Get hot water in the toilets. Make it easy for people to pay on card anywhere. Make Huish Park a destination on a Saturday that provides supporters something to be proud of. The land feels lost, but if you can claw any of it back into club ownership, make it a site that the whole community can use. Replace the pitches with a couple of all weather pitches, build a load of five-a-side pitches.

Huish Park and surrounding land – as seen from a great height – and, no, that’s not the old Huish slope!

Some of these are long-term fixes that require a chunk of capital expenditure and some are short-term wins that will go a mile. Get the little ones right and the big ones will fall into place.

As the only professional football club in Somerset, we should aspire to be the county’s home of football for men, women and children.

Build a Culture at the Club

You’ve got a varied, passionate supporter base (who don’t always agree – see point 1) but that have been clamouring for change for so long. Bring them in, share your ideas with them and get everyone around the table to talk about the future.

If you support Tracy Crouch’s Fan Led Review and the recommendations in there, commit to some before the Government mandates it. Pledge to join the Fair Game group of clubs. Partner with Football For Future, the organisation championing environmental sustainability within football. Let’s build a club and culture that’s built around doing the right thing and setting the bar high.

The Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust does amazing work in the community already and with the right support it could do even more. We have always prided ourselves on being a community club and there is no part which encapsulates that spirit better than the Trust.

We’ve got existing areas we can build on too:

Partnership with HerGameToo

Relaunch of the womens’ club

Building on the legacy of Lee Collins and Young Minds Charity

Supporting Marcus Stewart and the Darby Rimmer Foundation

A wealth of legends who show their love for the club

I know it’s on the badge, but we’re a club that has been so divided for so long that it’s no wonder we’ve not achieved for a decade. Let’s have those difficult conversations, heal the wounds of the last few seasons and actually unite.

Invest in the getting things right on the pitch

In Mark Cooper we have a quality manager with a proven track record, who can get us back to where we belong. In his short time in charge he’s steadied the ship, strengthened as much as he is probably able to with the budget he has and I think, albeit with some blips, we’re seeing progression.

But he needs help. We’ve always been a club that’s had to have staff doing more than one job. At one point Terry Skiverton was Head of Academy and Assistant Manager. It’s evident that it’s held us back. Let’s have a team of physios and sports scientists. Let’s get the recruitment right. If we can become a club that follows the Brentford model and leans into data, hopefully we can move away from the reliance on loans and start building our own talent.

If we can get that back room team right and give the players everything they need to be successful, Mark Cooper will be able to coach a team to return us to the football league.

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Just when you thought postponed matches were a thing of the past this season, the on loan Glovers had another frustrating night.

Sherborne were meant to be playing Shepton Mallet, but Benjani Jr and Jake Graziano will have to wait as that game bit the frost.

Leamington were all set for a clash against Buxton, but a frozen pitch saw to that, Ollie Hulbert will have to wait for more game time.

W*ymouth did play, but Will Dawes did not, he fell foul of the “6th loanee” stipulation at the weekend, and that appears to be the same this midweek.

Truro didn’t have a game, Gillingham Town did though.

Rob Hollard played in the game against Bishops Lydeard, but Sam Hodges sat out – he is expected to be part of the Yeovil Under 18s National Cup team on Wednesday.

More positive news from Plymouth Parkway too,

Toby Stephens was back in the starting line up and clocked up 60 minutes before being replaced in their game against Merthyr a last minute winner secured all three points for Parkway.

Shall we try again on Saturday?

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Alex Fisher has found a plaice in the official Vanarama Team of the Week after his wonder -ish against Maidstone on Saturday.

Originally credited with both of the Glovers goals, the front man was reduced to just a single strike after the dubious goals panel realised, he got nowhere near the other one… which is fine.

He makes the team alongside former Yeovil midfielder Dale Gorman, who by all accounts, didn’t absolutley sky a couple of long range free kicks… who knew!?

Congratulations Alex!!

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What would your Monday be without another episode of the Gloverscast?

Ian, Ben and Dave are back to talk through the 2-2 with Maidstone on Saturday, and we answer your GCQs.

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.

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Earlier this week, the world marked Groundhog Day. The day when the groundhog of North American comes out of its hibernation burrow and looks to see if its shadow is captured in winter sun or absent due to Spring cloudiness. If it spots it, it retreats for a further six weeks until it is sure winter has gone.

Now, there were no groundhogs at Huish Park on Saturday, but there was a former England rugby union player Paul Sackey in the stands for the 2-2 draw against Maidstone United. One assumes he is not there to check on what the yellow marks in the penalty area in front of the Thatcher’s Stand are, and if the rumour mill is correct  he’s involved in the unnamed “potential investors” in an “exclusivity agreement” to become a majority shareholder in Yeovil Town.

It’s now more than a month since the last bit of news we were got about the ownership of the club – the New Year’s Eve announcement about the aforementioned agreement – and it appears that those “potential investors” have enough interest (confidence?) to attend a match.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we? In late 2018, Rob Couhig was photographed wearing a green-and-white scarf giving a big thumbs up and it looked like his deal to buy the club from then-owners Norman Hayward and John Fry was done. That deal collapsed and current owner and chairman Scott Priestnall took it on alongside business partner Errol Pope who later resigned from the board.

Rob Couhig, now owner at League One side Wycombe Wanderers, in 2018.

Fast forward to December 6th 2021, it was Julian Jenkins, the former Cardiff City commercial director and the frontman for the Simul Sports consortium, who tweeted that the group was looking to buy Yeovil Football & Athletic Club, the company which runs the Glovers’ football operations.

Both of those discussions reached the due diligence stages, at least from what we can see from the outside looking in, and now we appear to have more “potential investors” involved in an “exclusivity agreement” – so why does it matter?

Mark Cooper’s plans are being stifled

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Maidstone, manager Mark Cooper was visibly miffed (we can’t use the F-word) and spoke about players who he was asking some to “do things they can’t do.”

He concluded: “Once we get in what we want to get in, eventually, then that will turn around.”

It’s not the first time he has spoken about how he has ambitions to strengthen the team and one assumes it is the current owner which has enabled him to sign Jordan Maguire-Drew, Charlie Cooper and bring in loans like Jack Clarke and Edwin Agbaje, but he clearly wants to do more.

There’s rent to pay from May

From May, there’s going to be a hefty bill landing on the Huish Park doormat for the first rental payment to landlords South Somerset District Council (SSDC) and based on attendances which hover between slightly above and slightly below 2,000, there seems to be a huge rental income coming in.

The amount the club received from selling the land upon which the stadium stands and everything around it is presumably running low. So where is the money coming from to pay those bills?

Blimey, it feels a long time since September 2021, when we highlighted the risk of all this happening – see here.

As ever, we are not privy to any secret conversations, so we have to go on what we are being told. There’s been no real changes to suggest an influx in match day revenue. We reported in December that plans to create “a fan zone” behind the Thatcher’s Stand had been approved by SSDC, but there’s been nothing further said about that.


We just deserve to know!

Let’s not get sucked in to the whole ‘supporters or customers’ debate because we all know that we are both – but the reality is this football club would not exist without its fan base.

Go back to the 1990s when fans pulled together to save it from the taxman’s bill at its lowest ebb, then 2019 when a Crowdfunder raised more than £50,000 to boost coffers – and a donation to the Yeovil Hospital Charity, of course – and not least the thousands of people who part with their cash week in and week out.

Plus, let us never forget the football club is an employer to many people, do they not deserve a straight answer about the future of their employer?

We have no doubt that the “potential investors” have their reasons for not going public, but the rumour mill is turning, the jungle drums are beating and there seems to be a far more professional ways of introducing yourself than the drip, drip, drip of information. You never get a second chance to make a first impression afterall.

 

If the ‘groundhog’ spots its own shadow and retreats back in to its burrow, it could be a long winter at Huish Park.

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Yeovil conspired to draw yet another game yesterday after being 2-1 as the game entered stoppage time. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions after the draw against bottom of the table Maidstone.

This one is blindingly obvious, the first half performance was nowhere near good enough. I went into yesterday’s game pretty confident after our performance on Tuesday. I thought we were excellent against Wealdstone in the first half but we didn’t come close to matching that level. As Yeovil tried to figure out their own system, Maidstone got comfortable on the ball and scored a brilliant team goal. After fifteen minutes we switched from a back three to a back four and only with a double substitution at half time did we really start to impact the game.

Alex Fisher is Yeovil’s top scorer this season with five goals. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Alex Fisher made the difference. I was surprised that we started with no recognised striker and as the first half wore on it was apparent that it wasn’t working with Andrew Oluwabori through the middle. Fisher’s arrival immediately brought about a focal point to the attack and gave Maidstone defenders something to contend with. When Morgan Williams launched a hopeful ball towards the Maidstone box, Fisher had to watch it travel some distance and executed a fantastic volley into the top corner. He has so many different types of finishes in his locker but as Mark Cooper said afterwards, he needs to do it in every game.

Once again, Matt Worthington put in the ultimate team player’s performance. He didn’t see much of the ball when he started in his usual midfield role, but the half time change saw him move to right wing back. Much like Torquay on New Years Day he made an impact on that side as we focused our play down Maidstone’s left. Our second goal came from his cross with either an opposition player or Chiori Johnson getting the decisive touch. Worthington finished the match at left wing back – he really has become Mark Cooper’s Swiss army knife. (Honourable mentions to Morgan Williams and Edwin Agbaje who moved around as required too.)

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I thought I could manage to conclude without using the word frustrating, but Maidstone’s leveller was the epitome of frustrating. From an attacking position Yeovil attempted to kill some time and hold the ball in the corner rather than go for the third. Maidstone regained possession and got the ball forward quickly forcing Morgan Williams into a foul. Then, much like Yeovil’s first goal, a hopeful ball into the box was met by the man mountain Jerome Bindon-Williams who headed home. It felt like an avoidable series of events, which Mark Cooper put down to a mentality issue. We worked so hard to get ourselves in front and to somehow draw it was….frustrating.

It seems like things are moving on the takeover front. Rumours were rife yesterday that the club’s potential new owners were at the match. That’s a promising step that things are moving in the right direction. If we’re at the point where they’re comfortable to attend matches, it would be a welcome time for an update or an introduction to supporters. I understand the reluctance to get out there until the deal is done, Yeovil Town is a probably a case study in going public too soon. However, there are takeovers going on up and down the country at the moment and most supporters have an idea of who’s coming in (spare a thought for Morecambe). Let’s have a bit of clarity and some idea of what the future could hold.

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You’ve just got over the 90th minute Huish Park equaliser heartbreak and you’re thinking to yourself: “I wonder how our loan lads got on?”

Well, don’t worry, I’ve got you. Let’s find out.

We’re starting at Plymouth Parkway where Toby Stephens was a half-time introduction for his side as Parkway pulled off a cracking 1-0 win at Salisbury. He replaced a former Glovers’ loanee, striker Ben Seymour, at the interval.

Over at Truro, more splinters in the backside for Ollie Haste, who was an unused substitute for Paul Wotton’s side.

The White Tigers thrashed Yate Town 4-0.

Off to the Bob Lucas where the Seagull Botherers picked up a big win at the bottom of the National League South over Dulwich Hamlet but Will Dawes was not named in the match day squad.

Dawes’ initial month on loan still has a couple of weeks left, but Terras’ manager Bobby Wilkinson (the one who hates Yeovil, but is happy to take our cast offs) said Dawes had fallen foul to the five loanee limit.

W*ymouth moved up a place to third from bottom of the table, but are still in the relegation zone with teams around them having games in hand.

To Leamington where Ollie Hulbert played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Blyth Spartans in National League North.

The Brakes were reduced to 10 men shortly before half time with the resulting penalty the only thing between the two sides in the end. They are now two points off the relegation places.

At Sherborne, the result went against the Zebras, going down 3-1 against Saltash United, midfielder Jake Graziano was in the starting line-up, but Benjani Junior was not named in the squad.

We wrap up at Gillingham where once again goalkeeper Rob Hollard and Sam Hodges were in the Gills’ starting line-up but FC Bristol proved too strong winning 2-0.

Plenty more matches to come for the Glovers on loan as the weeks progress.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper admitted he was “f*ust*ated” at his side’s inability to kill the game off before bottom club Maidstone United nicked an injury time equaliser to take a point from a 2-2 draw at Huish Park.

The boss said he had been “screaming” at his players to go for a third goal after Alex Fisher/an own goal from visiting defender Sam Bone/a goal from Matt Worthington/a goal from Chiori Johnson (delete depending on your opinion) gave the Glovers a 70th minute lead.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, the boss admitted he had got his team selection wrong from the start and said he did not blame the home crowd for booing his team after a “horrendous” first half display.

He said: “On the second half performance we have to win the game, we wasted 45 minutes, that was nothing like we had set up to do and there were some poor individual performances in the first half and we had to react at half-time.

“If I was a fan in the first half, I would have booed and moaned. We just have to be more on the front foot and play with pace and purpose and that is what we have worked on in these last few days.

“When you score the second, human nature is that you drop off and protect and I was screaming for them to go and get another one because that (equalising goal) can always happen, a free header from 15 yards. It’s a great header, but if you don’t go and kill the game, you leave yourself open for that.”

He admitted the absence of suspended full-back Jamie Reckord and on loan defender Owen Bevan was a major blow, saying: “We had to put people in the team who are not overly comfortable with how I want to play the game.

“I am probably asking them things to do that they can’t do, we changed to four at the back, they banked in, got everyone behind the ball and just counter-attacked and we got sucked in to it.

“We were horrendous in the first half and I will take the blame for that because I probably picked the wrong team.”

Fisher arrived as a half-time substitute in place of on loan midfielder Jack Clarke and pulled his side level with an impressive 67th minute finish before having a role in what had looked like the winning goal three minutes later.

But, Cooper said he needed more from the experienced forward, saying: “I need that from him every game, every time he goes on the pitch I need him to be a handful. It can’t be every three games and I have been his biggest advocate ever since I have been here.

“All I am asking him to do is stand down the middle and get hold of it or flick the ball on, and he has to do that every time. I have given him so much praise, but I need that for him to play, he needs to play like that.”

The result puts Yeovil four points clear of the National League relegation zone although they do not play again until the visit of leaders Notts County to Somerset on February 18th.