April 2023

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Let’s wrap up a few final loan watch notes as the season draws to an end.

Obviously, Ollie Haste and Benjani were back with the first team for the trip to Boreham Wood, but others were out and about.

In the National League, Charlie Wakefield didn’t play for Woking.

Woking will have a Play-off eliminator fixture this week.

Hungerford Town finished the season with a 5-0 defeat against Champions Ebbsfleet, Max Evans was in goal for the National League South’s bottom side to end his (very) short stint as emergency goalkeeper.

Leamington finished their campaign off in the National League North with a win over Southport, Ollie Hulbert played 74 minutes.

Jake Graziano was back in action for the Zebras of Sherborne Town in their draw with Ilfracombe too!

Rob Hollard had a crazy afternoon with Wincanton Town who were in Play Off action against Oldland Abbotonians.

The game ended 2-2 and so went to spot kicks… ALL 22 players took a penalty, but sadly Wincanton lost in the cruelest fashion with the Glovers loan stopper missing the final penalty.

Wincanton Town have had nothing but praise for him when we asked, they said “he’s obviously devastated, but the lads looked after him, he’s been great for us and he’s a great lad” 

Obviously, we hope Rob is ok and will come back stronger.

We’ve reached out to some of the clubs to give some thoughts on our loanees, but the general feeling is that all of them, especially those in the Under 18s set up have conducted themselves with great professionalism whilst representing other clubs under the YTFC banner.

A huge thanks to everyone who has read these little updates, and a huge well done to all the loanees for their work in keeping me with things to say.

Congratulations to the Class of Loan Watch 2022/23:

Charlie Wakefield, Will Dawes, Max Evans, Rob Hollard, Ollie Hulbert, Ollie Haste, Mason Hunter, Sam Hodges, Charlie Bateson, Benjani Jnr, Jake Graziano & Toby Stephens.

A message from Sherborne Town.

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That’s that then! As Yeovil Town made it 20 defeats – to surpass their total of draws by one – with a 1-0 defeat at Boreham Wood on the final day of the National League season.

Coatesie was among the 226 supporters in the away end trying desperately to avoid getting sun stroke on the terraces of Meadow Lane, here he desperately tries (and fails) to come up with an original conclusion.

 

Thank God that’s over. My overriding emotion at the final whistle was one of relief. Relief that for at least another three months I will not have to wait for the inevitable “moment we switched off” or hear my fellow supporters shouting “just f***ing shoot” as we enjoy possession and fail to have a meaningful effort on goal. Forget the off-the-pitch stuff (for now, see Conclusion #5), on-the-field this is one of the worst Yeovil Town teams I have seen in a long while and many supporters have told me they feel it is the worst they have ever seen. I’m not knocking the effort of some and the quality of others is undoubtedly there, there’s off-the-field issues which have played a part, but the stats don’t lie – those who have turned out for us this season have failed to deliver too many times. They have a relegation on their playing records now and (by and large) they deserve one.

Story of the season klaxon. It’s right up there with the ‘we know our problem is scoring’ and ‘things happening off the pitch aren’t helping’ in the list of Yeovil Town’s lines which are trotted out in every interview going – this performance was the story of our season. Concede a goal through failing to do the defensive basics, fail to turn up for a 45 minutes (the only question is whether it is the first or the second 45 minutes), and then spend the other 45 minutes dominating possession, huffing and puffing and failing to blow anyone’s house down. I lost count of the amount of times we got the ball, played it around and failed to test Nathan Ashmore in goal for Boreham Wood. When the club’s official Twitter account is talking about one of their own players and “fluffing their lines” to summarise Reo Griffiths’ 68th minute ‘chance’, it tells you everything. Though if it were a player with ‘less back story’ then perhaps the tweet would have been different.

Ollie Haste is some player. Let’s try and inject a positive in to these conclusions, Ollie Haste looks some player. He was obviously highly rated in our Under-18s set up and I seem to remember him looking a bit gangly, but a season on loan at Truro City has done him wonders. Against some very good centre forwards in Tyrone Marsh and Lee Ndlovu, he was brave in the tackle, powerful with his head and looked every inch the one who would throw himself in front of anything-type defender we have needed. I don’t think it’s true to say that him playing more would have changed anything this season, but I hope that we see a lot more of him next season. An honourable mention also to Benjani Junior, who it was great to see come off the bench for his first senior appearance.

Ollie Haste.

Do-do-dooooo, relegation party. Allow me to throw a few statistics at you.

Boreham Wood: 226
Wrexham: 217
Solihull Moors: 176
Aldershot Town: 526
Gateshead: 191
FC Halifax Town: 103

Those are the number of away supporters who attended our last half-a-dozen matches this season. At Meadow Park on Saturday there were inflatables being chucked around, singing, chanting ‘Yeovil til I die’ and even doing The Worm (Hi, Pete!). I’ve said it before and I will say it again, but this club has betrayed the unblinking loyalty of these people in recent years. I just hope they can begin to repay the huge debt they owe them – and soon!

Owner-in-waiting Matt Uggla (blue shirt) was joined on the terraces by Paul Sackey and Sky Andrew.

 

We’ve done our part (again), over to you. Which brings me neatly on to my final conclusion. Matt Uggla and Paul Sackey – accompanied by Reo Griffiths’ agent Sky Andrew – were in the away end until about a minute before the final whistle and telling people to “ask <INSERT NAME OTHER THAN THEIR OWN>” what was going on. Stuart Robins and Martyn Starnes turned up to glad hand people at the final whistle and were quick to say they couldn’t say anything about the cliff edge our club is at. No surprise whatsoever that Scott Priestnall (the biggest villain of this pantomime out of them all) was nowhere to be seen. The players have failed (honourable mentions, as standard) on the pitch, the supporters (see Conclusion #4) have played their part – and now it’s time to deliver. Enough of the ‘there’s something happening we can’t talk about’ and ‘if you only knew about….’, enough of the ‘it will be next week’, do something. In the same way the history books will reflect the failure of this squad this season, it is these people who will be judged by what happens next and history is unkind to losers. We’re judging you on what you do, time’s up – now do something.

Conclusion 5a. I promised him that if I got the chance, I would add in a conclusion which London Green, Mark Green, gives to me every match. That was sh*t. Mark, I could not agree more. Season over.

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Earlier this week, we asked readers of the Gloverscast to cast their vote on if they felt the protracted takeover of the club by SU Glovers was going to get over the line. 

757 of you voted with a majority of 626 (83%) thinking the takeover WON’T happen and just 131 (17%) thinking it WILL happen. There are some interesting comments on the poll which you can read here.

Lets ask you another question…

Do you want SU Glovers to complete their takeover of YTFC?

View Results

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Yeovil Town striker Jordan Young believes injuries to key players have cost the club in their fight against relegation from the National League this season.

The frontman, who has missed a number of games through injury since joining from Chippenham Town in January, played 77 minutes in the 1-0 final day defeat at Boreham Wood yesterday, but failed to find the net meaning he is still looking for his first goal for the club.

Just a few of those missing in Hertfordshire were defender Morgan Williams, midfielders Jordan Stevens, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Lawson D’Ath and striker Alex Fisher, all players who you would have had in your starting XI.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, he said: “After the (2-0 win at) Dagenham (at the end of January) I came in and I felt we were really in control and had a good squad, but injuries have played a massive part, we have missed some big players at some big times which is obviously not ideal.

“Obviously the new boys have come in and people need time to get used to everyone, that is probably the problem we have had.”

Yet again, the summary of the match was one of ‘a story of our season’, which Young summarised as: “We concede a bad goal which is probably a free-kick (for a foul on Scott Pollock in the build up) but we don’t mark in the box, concede and it’s a mountain to climb.

“We just struggle creating chances, and it’s not for the want of trying, everyone showed today what they are capable of. It’s such a difficult one to take.”

Having come up a division to arrive at Huish Park three months ago, the 23-year-old is now returning to National League South – including a trip to his old club ( “….Chip-pen-ham awaaaaaaaaaaaay…..”) – and believes there is enough in the Glovers’ squad to compete for a return next season – albeit with the usual caveats.

Young said: “I have come from that league and know what it is about and I think if we can sort things out, get a good squad together, stay full time, I think we will have no problems.

“I don’t think we are miles away, you can see today we are a good team at times and we just have to start afresh, come in for pre-season ready to go and have a good season next year.“

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Yeovil Town finished the season with defeat at Boreham Wood, but Mark Cooper praised his unpaid players for battling on the final match of the season.

Speaking to BBC’s Sheridan Robins, he said: “I think they could have easily sacked it off couldn’t they? They ran, fought, scrapped, all of them who took part today, you wouldn’t have known they hadn’t been paid. Full credit to them.”

The boss praised his side’s performance but bemoaned the lack of firepower and the amount of injuries in the squad.

“I thought we passed the ball really well today. They had one chance didn’t they? We left the centre forward free in the six yard box, which is not really a good idea and he had a free header. A part from that, I thought we controlled [the game], certainly in the 2nd half.

“I want to be a team that controls large part of the game and gives the opposition limited time with the ball. Which for me that means they don’t have many chances or opportunities to attack your goal and we did that. But to do it successfully you need fire power at the top of the pitch on a regular basis, but we’ve not had that during the season.

“You just have to look at the players who are sat behind me in the stand to realise why we are where we are. There’s 10-14 players injured and a large group of that we’ve missed severely,” he said.

Prior to kick off, Cooper was forced into a late change, with Josh Staunton dropping out with illness. 18-year-old Ollie Haste played the full 90 in the heart of defence and the manager was full of praise.

“I thought he did great. I drove down to Plymouth the other night, to watch them [Truro] play in the play offs and he wasn’t in the squad, which he was really upset by. We were short of bodies, so I thought I’d call him back and give him some minutes today. And he’s not done himself any harm at all.

He’s been here a little while and he understands what the club means and he wants to do well doesn’t he? So he scrapped and fought and battled and he’s never never wanting in that department.

The manager also reserved praise for the 226 supporters who travelled for the final game: “They’ve followed us up and down the country, across the country and it’s really important that we show our appreciation. I just hope that next year when we’re going to these grounds, London, local, that we pack these stadiums out and we show what a really big club we are.”

And when asked about his future and the future of the club, Cooper was as knowledgeable as the rest of us, but excited about the prospect of leading Yeovil in National League South.

“I dont know really, just wait for the phone to ring. I want to try and speak to people to make sure the staff and the players are getting paid at some point this week. Then if we’re allowed to we need to try to put a plan together to make sure we put ourselves in with a real chance of bouncing back at the first attempt.

“I’m really excited. For me, I am not worried about the level [NLS]. It’s about working with good people. I’d sacrifice the level just to work for really good people. I think that’s so important and in football now, there’s not many jobs where you work with good people. At the minute I’m working with really good people in Stuart [Robins] and Martyn [Starnes] and all the other staff.

“I don’t think there’s anybody under any illusions that the club needs a resolution. Because it will only hamper the preparation. It’s a legal matter with lawyers and things like that, I’m not sure how long that will all take.”

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Venue: Meadow Park
Saturday, 29th April, 5:30pm kick-off

Pitch: Pristine for a final day pitch
Conditions: Coatesie was dodging sunstroke in the away end

Attendance: .. (226 away supporters!!)

Scorers: Tyrone Marsh 26 (0-1)

Bookings:

Yeovil Town: None
Boreham Wood: Kelly Evans 90

Referee: Matt Corlett

Yeovil Town (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Reo Griffiths (for Linton 58), Andrew Oluwabori (for Siziba 69), Benjani Jr (for Young 77)

Boreham Wood: Ashmore, Ilesanmi, Rees, Ndlovu, Marsh (for Lewis 74), Fyfield, Payne, Sousa (for Kelly-Evans 45), Brunt (for Ricketts 80), Bush, Agbontohoma Substitutes: Evans, Newton


Match Report

Yeovil Town’s finished the National League season with a 1-0 defeat on the road at Boreham Wood.

A first half goal from Tyrone Marsh was enough against a depleted Glovers side who had to make a change just before kick off with Ollie Haste coming in for the ill skipper, Josh Staunton.

Here’s how Coatesie saw it…

First half

The opening 15 minutes offered very little in the way of attacking chances from either side with the opening ‘chance’ coming when Boreham Wood centre half Jamal Fyfield went down inside the box. Nothing doing from the referee.

Charlie Cooper had a free-kick deflected wide on 12 minutes for a corner which can only be described as ‘peak Yeovil’. Just terrible.

On 16 minutes, it was the turn of Zanda Siziba to have a penalty shout. Having jinked his way in to the box, he went to ground under a tackle. It was probably no more of a penalty than the one at the other end.

Cooper fired a long range effort on 18 minutes, but the deadlock was broken by the home side on 26 minutes.

A great ball in from the left wing found Tyrone MARSH in space at the back post to head home a controversial opener, after a foul on Scott Pollock in the build up. 1-0

That gave the home side a lift and soon after Bush has an effort deflected wide followed by a number of half chances which put the visiting defence under pressure.

Siziba pulled an effort wide on 43 minutes after good interplay with Freckleton, but in fairness the interplay of inflatable items was more entertainment than was offered in front of Nathan Ashmore’s goal.

Half time: Boreham Wood 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Not surprisingly, having a shot on goal was the issue for Yeovil going forward in the first half. At the start of the second, they did the exact opposite.

On 47 minutes, the ball came to Chiori Johnson on the edge of the box, he lashed in an effort which Ashmore turned wide. A shot on target, make a note of the day.

Having offered nothing in the first half, it was the Glovers who were offering more going forward.

Malachi Linton tumbled inside the box on 55 minutes and two minutes later he was replaced by Reo Griffiths, much to his disgust. He refused a handshake from Mark Cooper and then took his frustration out on a water bottle.

On the hour, Charlie Cooper has a long range effort tipped over the bar by Ashmore.

But the best chance of the half (and therefore the game) up until this point fell to Griffiths. Played in by Siziba on 68 minutes, he was one-on-one with Ashmore but his effort enabled the keeper to make an easy save.

On 69 minutes, Oluwabori replaced Siziba.

Whilst the attack was still leaving a lot to be desired, the performance of Ollie Haste in defence was a highlight. Up against experienced campaigners in Marsh and strike partner Lee Ndlovu, he was not afraid to put in a forceful tackle.

If we are looking for positives, another came on 77 minutes when Benjani Junior, another graduate of the Under-18s set up at Huish Park, replaced Jordan Young.

I honestly lost count of the number of times I heard the shout of “just have a shot” echo out of the away end.

35 goals in 46 National League games. Tells you everything you need to know.

Full time: Boreham Wood 1 Yeovil Town 0

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The team news is in for Yeovil final match of the season at Boreham Wood.

Ollie Haste and Benjani Jr tops the subs bench up to four and there’s no place for Matt Worthington who limped off last Saturday against Oldham.

Fair play to the players – who haven’t been paid – for putting themselves on the line for the club.

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We understand from a number of different sources at Yeovil Town, that the players and staff have not been paid their wages today. Whilst we believe there is a plan to right this wrong, it is another troubling sign of the state of our club.

We are sure we speak for every supporter when we call on the leadership at the club to step up and address the uncertainty at Huish Park and give clarity to the hard-working people – both on and off the field – who are the lifeblood of our club. Achieve by Unity.

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On this episode of the Gloverscast we welcome Brendon Owen to look back at the glory years and the books he authored at the time. We also take your GCQs on yet another week of deafening silence.

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.

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