Thanks to all of the 552 supporters who filled out this year’s end of season survey and given us a snapshot of what the YTFC faithful are feeling. See some of the findings in the deck below. We’ve also shared the results with the club.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://gloverscast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/22_23-Survey-Findings-2.pdf” title=”22_23 Survey Findings (2)”]
Yeovil Town have launched a survey looking for supporters views as the club embarks on plans to evolve the ‘identity’ of the club.
It follows Martin Hellier’s tweet last month where he revealed he was looking at refreshing the crest.
A statement on the club website announcing the survey said: “In this exciting new era for Yeovil Town, we aim to proactively progress the club in all areas, both on and off the pitch, with the football club’s identity being one of the areas we are looking to improve.
“Our current identity was designed over 50 years ago and has served us well over the years, but in the modern-day era in which we live, our badge and brand need to evolve and meet and exceed the high standards we set ourselves.
This process will involve the evolution of the club’s badge and overall branding, which will be prominent around Huish Park and across our many outlets.”
Tinkering with clubs’ identities and badges is inevitably met with trepidation – especially after some rather high-profile missteps – and with that in mind the club has promised to involve fans in the process through surveys and listening sessions.
“All at Yeovil Town are extremely aware of the passion and love supporters hold towards the club, and we want you involved in this process. We assure you all that all opinions from our supporters will be treated with the utmost respect throughout the club’s rebranding; supporter consultation is and will remain a key component of this process.”
The survey closes on July 9th, 2023 and you take part here.
It’s been a pretty busy week in transferland since #259. On this episode Dave, Ben and Ian talk about the new(ish) arrivals and our hopes, dreams and fears and we take your questions.
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Striker Jake Hyde has joined the forward line at Yeovil Town having been released by League Two new boys Wrexham, the club confirmed on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old spent last season on loan at Southend United, scoring four times in 18 appearances including twice against the Glovers with the winner at Root’s Hall in October and the opener in a 2-0 win for the Shrimpers at Huish Park towards the end of the campaign.
He links up with the other goalscorer in the latter fixture, Rhys Murphy, who was announced as returning to Somerset last week following his release by Southend.
Speaking to ytfc.net, the frontman said: “It’s been nice to come and have a walk around the stadium, it’s been very welcoming.
“Every time I’ve come here, I can tell this is a proper football club; it’s got the stature, it’s been in the Championship.
“It’s nice to have a new start, a new challenge, to help get this football club back where it needs to be.”
Manager Mark Cooper added: “Good characters are exactly what we need and Jake is just that. He has experience at this level and above, with a proven goal-scoring record. He will be a strong addition to our changing room and I look forward to working with him.”
Much like Murphy, Hyde has an impressive scoring record across the number of clubs with more than 100 strikes to his name including at FC Halifax Town where he got 13 in 26 matches in the 2020-21 season, earning his move to big-spending Wrexham. Plus, you can add him to the #KnowsTheLevel club having managed 27 goals in 60 matches during two seasons at Woking at National League South level and has played there for Maidenhead United.
It has to be noted that – like Murphy – he comes with an injury record with hamstring problems keeping him out for large chunks of the season at Southend last season.
It doesn’t need too much football insight to be able to say that if the Huish Park fitness table sees very little of Murphy and Hyde next season, a tilt for the title is a very realistic possibility.
Welcome to Huish Park, Jake!
Former Yeovil Town attacker Charlie Wakefield has secured a permanent switch to National League side Wolking.
The silky winger, was apparently just what Darren Sarll needed this summer.
Wakefield was announced as leaving Huish Park at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The former Chelsea man played 57 games for the Glovers and spent the final stages of last season on loan at the Cards.
Thanks for everything at Huish Park, go well at Woking.
(any excuse to show that goal against Stevenage… Huish Park was rocking!)
Former Yeovil Town Under 18s Captain Jake Graziano has signed for Dorchester Town on a permanent deal.
Graziano spent time on loan at both the Magpies and Sherborne over the course of last season and made a couple of appearances in the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup for the first team.
In the announcement article, Dorchester boss Glenn Howes thanks both Matt Percival and Chris Todd for their help.
“Jake is another one of last season’s loan players who has committed for the season ahead. In his short spell with us, Jake more than demonstrated his competency at Step 3 and played a vital part in reinvigorating the team to improve the sides form at the back end of last season.”
“Although tender in years, Jake’s attitude and understanding of the game supports his versatility and we’re thankful to Matt [Percival], Chris [Todd] and Yeovil Town Under 18’s for allowing this to happen.”
Go well at the Magpies, Jake.
Midfielder Josh Owers has become the latest arrival at Huish Park as manager Mark Cooper builds his squad for the start of the National League South season.
The 21-year-old is a familiar face having had a loan spell at the club last season where he played two matches before being recalled to his parent club Bristol City alongside striker Seb Palmer-Houlden.
He was among the players named on the released list by the Robins at the end of last month.
Speaking to ytfc.net after his signing was announced on Monday, Owers said: “I’m really happy to be here. I’ve known about the interest for some time. I’m just happy now to get it done and be ready for pre-season.”
Manager Mark Cooper added: “Josh is a player we know well and fits the local profile of footballer we are after. He’s young, hungry and desperate to be a footballer.
“He can play a few positions which gives us great options when it comes to our squad. He’s a good size, athletic and left footed, I look forward to working with him again.”
The product of the Ashton Gate academy was a near ever present in the Under-21s and Under-23s set up and captained the Young Robins to the final Professional Development League 2 National Final, and has also trained and travelled with the first team.
We can add him to the #KnowsTheLevel club having had spells at National League North side Gloucester City at the start of last season and Bath City in the 2021-22 season when he turned out in National League South.
His father, Gary, is a well-known face in Westcountry football having played more than 100 times for City and managed Bath City and Torquay United. He is currently Head of Player Development at the National League.
The National League has confirmed it will be looking to stream National League South fixtures during the upcoming season.
Speaking at the league’s AGM, general manager Mark Ives said the success of the streaming service at National League Premier level had led to 117,000 subscribers from across the world tuning in, generating £1.4m gross in the second half of the season.
That meant, after costs were deducted, a total of £750,000 was redistributed to clubs across the pyramid.
On next season, the Non-League Paper reported Ives saying: “We are hoping to move forward with streaming at Step 2 domestically next season. We are planning to stream Step 2 games not covered by UEFA’s Article 48. It would be an extra 332 fixtures at Step 2 next season.
“Our spectator base has massively increased over the season. Across the three divisions, attendances were 3.09 million last season, up 22 per cent. Streaming has not had a negative impact. We are looking at the approach for next season to get the right position, but it’s all positive.”
Article 48 is a UEFA regulation which prevents matches being televised in England and Scotland between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday, which presumably means the new streaming service will only cover midweek, bank holiday fixtures and any rescheduled kick-off times.
The National League have confirmed a range of Key Dates ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Time to pop the following dates in the diary…
Fixtures will be released on Wednesday 5th of July (1pm), plenty of local derby fixtures for the Glovers this year and it’s on this date when we will find out which side gets the prime Christmas and New Year spots.
Speaking of which, alongside a Boxing Day clash, there will be a game on Saturday 23rd and for New Years’ Day (Monday 1st Jan)- however it is noted that teams are permitted to roll that fixture back 48 hours to Saturday 30th December should all parties agree.
The season starts on Saturday 5th of August and finishes 260 days later on April 20th 2024.
The play-offs kick off just three days later with the Eliminators with the Final of the post-season knockout competition on Sunday May the 5th for both the North and South divisions.
As an aside, the National League Play Off Final has already been declared for Wembley 24 hours prior, but no mention is given to a location for the NLS/NLN versions – there had been some debate about switching it from the home venue of the highest placed Play-Off contender to a neutral venue, but this has not been confirmed.
One assumes the open top bus tour around Yeovil will take place 24-48 hours after the final day of the regular season… maybe.
A full list of the 2023/24 Vanarama National League key dates are as follows:
• Fixture Release Day – Wednesday 5 July 2023, 1pm
• Opening Day – Saturday 5 August 2023
• Closing Day – Saturday 20 April 2024
• Play-Off Eliminator A (5th v 6th) – Tuesday 23 April 2024
• Play-Eliminator B (4th v 7th) – Wednesday 24 April 2024
• Play-Off Semi-Finals – Sunday 28 April 2024
• National League Promotion Final – Saturday 4 May 2024
• National League North/South Promotion Finals – Sunday 5 May 2024
Yeovil Town have re-signed striker Rhys Murphy after two years away from the club.
The 32-year-old has spent the past two seasons at National League side Southend United, and will rejoin when his contract at Roots Hall expires on July 1.
He made just 20 league appearances during a two-year spell in Essex which was ravaged by a knee injury.
However, the prolific frontman did score ten times during his time in Essex including once in injury time of the Shrimpers’ 2-0 win at Huish Park in April, a result which all but confirmed Yeovil’s relegation to National League South.
Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, he said: “I had a really good time here, so when this opportunity came to me it was an easy decision to make.
“I have some good memories here and it is such a big football club and the manager is a really good manager, so I am really looking forward to working with him.
“There are big plans for the club and everyone wants to be playing for a club which is ambitious and this club wants to be higher up the leagues. We want to be winning games and I want to be scoring goals.”
He confirmed he had spoken with manager Mark Cooper, owner Martin Hellier and captain Josh Staunton and revealed he had been “excited” following the conversation with Cooper, who he played under during a spell at Forest Green Rovers between 2016-2018.
Murphy added: “We talked about how we are going to play, his vision for the club and next season and he got me excited to come and play for the club again.
“Obviously being relegated last year is not ideal, but playing in a lower league can be a positive, if you get this place with some good momentum and get people enjoying coming here watching games again.”
He described his spell at Southend as “disastrous” having scored eight times in the opening 18 games, he injured his knee in a 2-1 home win over the Glovers in January 2022 which put him out for nine months.
Having returned in October 2022, he then suffered an ankle injury and ended up playing just 11 times, scoring twice, last season.
The former Arsenal youngster explained: “I started off fine, playing games and scoring goals, and then an injury which took longer (to recover from) and then I came back and got another injury, so I was out for longer.
“So I was out again for months on end with no pre-season and then it’s just muscle injury after muscle injury, so it has been good to have a good summer’s break to get my body right and now I am looking forward to a pre-season with some hard work and ready for a long, hard season.”
Murphy comes with a pedigree for goal-scoring matched by one for struggling with injuries. In his last spell in South Somerset he scored 34 goals in 64 games as Darren Sarll’s side reached the National League play-off eliminator in 2019/20 with the frontman netting 20 times in 33 appearances.
In his second campaign he managed 13 goals in 31 appearances with both seasons hit by injury and illness and yet still finishing top scorer on both occasions.
His last season playing at National League South level came in 2018-19 when he finished the season as Chelmsford City’s top scorer with 28 goals in all competitions, earning a move to Huish Park.
Welcome back to Somerset, Rhys!