November 2024 (Page 8)

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Well, on a fresh November afternoon, it was another win for the mighty Glovers, as they defeated Southend United in a 1-0 result; let’s see how the rest of the division got on today…

We begin in Yorkshire, where the league leaders York City asserted their position with a scintillating 5-3 win over Hartlepool United in one of the early kickoffs, Ollie Pearce grabbing a double in a frantic affair. Heading further down south, and it was a late comeback for Altrincham, as they rescued a point from 3-1 down at 80 minutes against Solihull Moors in a 3-3 thriller.

2nd-placed Forest Green Rovers kept pace with York in a thumping 4-1 win at Maidenhead United, and in a big upset, AFC Fylde handed Gateshead a heavy 3-0 defeat. A 93rd minute winner from Devante Rodney handed Rochdale a huge three points in a 2-1 win at home to Sutton United, and by the same scoreline, Braintree Town toppled Eastleigh on their travels in a huge win for the Essex side.

In the other lunchtime kickoff, relegation contenders Wealdstone won on their travels against 9-man Aldershot Town in a 2-0 win, while the points were shared amongst Tamworth and Ebbsfleet United, and Boston United and Dagenham & Redbridge in 1-1 draws.

An early goal at FC Halifax Town ensured they kept pace with the playoff runners in a 1-0 win over Woking, and in the evening televised kickoff, Barnet and Oldham Athletic cancelled each other out in a 0-0 draw.

 

National League results – in full

Aldershot Town 0-2 Wealdstone
York City 5-3 Hartlepool United
AFC Fylde 3-0 Gateshead
Boston United 1-1 Dagenham & Redbridge
Eastleigh 1-2 Braintree Town
FC Halifax Town 1-0 Woking
Maidenhead United 1-4 Forest Green Rovers
Rochdale 2-1 Sutton United
Solihull Moors 3-3 Altrincham
Southend United 0-1 Yeovil Town
Tamworth 1-1 Ebbsfleet United
Barnet 0-0 Oldham Athletic

National League table

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Yeovil Town took home all three points from Southend this afternoon but Mark Cooper was far from pleased with his afternoon in Essex. The Yeovil boss praised the ‘incredible’ travelling support and his players, but during his interview with BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins, took aim at Southend, the FA and some of the things he heard during the match.

Here’s the full transcript of the interview:

Josh Perkins: Mark, I imagine you’ve got to be fairly happy with that one?

Mark Cooper: Yeah, I’m happy with the result. It was a horrible atmosphere. Yeah, I lost a little bit of what is in my soul about football today, some things I’ve seen and heard, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.

Josh Perkins: Can I ask what you heard?

Mark Cooper: No, just ridiculous stuff.

Josh Perkins: Okay, focusing on the game when you’re in those moments, be it with the red card from their keeper and the red card for their head coach and things. How difficult is that to kind of get on top of? And you know, make sure that you play your game?

Mark Cooper: You have to stay calm, of course. All our players stayed calm. One of our players [Charlie Cooper] got a yellow card which means he’s suspended. Is, honest to God, some of the stuff like that. Again, I’ve seen and heard full respect to our players. They kept they kept it together, and played our football that we do, and dominate the ball for long periods and just a matter of time if we were going to score.

Josh Perkins: And, you won’t go in to what you heard potentially. But was it from a Yeovil or Southend contingent?

Mark Cooper: No comment. I’ll not comment on it, it’s just ridiculous. What I’ve heard.

Josh Perkins: Okay. And I guess happy with James Plant’s first goal for the club as well? You know, he said to me earlier, he didn’t mean it, but, you know, across ends up with a goal.

Mark Cooper: It was a great cross wasn’t it? So yeah, listen, we deserved to win the game. It was tough on them. The goalie gets sent off. It ruins the game as a spectacle. But I thought it was a sending off – he handled the ball outside the box. They appealed for a penalty. I’ve just seen it wasn’t a penalty. I feel really sorry for referees and fourth officials, because they’ve been put in a really difficult position where you can get booked, as a player, as a manager, for adopting a winning attitude. Or I’ve been sent off this season for raising my arms above my waist, so which was rescinded. Their manager has had the same, but the referees and the officials have nowhere to go with it because they’re instructed. And we’re just losing the spirit and the emotion of the game.

Josh Perkins: Okay. And looking forward, we’ve got the next game, you mentioned that Charlie Cooper is suspended for. But you know, what do you take from this game going into next week?

Mark Cooper: Three points. I can’t wait to get out, get home. I wanted to come and watch Southend last week, and they wouldn’t leave me a ticket. They wouldn’t even reply to our emails. They’ve refused to make any food for our players, which is a National League rule. So, yeah, I can’t wait to get home to be honest, Can I just say tremendous turnout from our supporters. Incredible. They follow us through thick and thin, and they’re unbelievable. Great turnout.

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A second half goal from James Plant saw Yeovil Town earn three points against ten-man Southend United in Essex on Saturday.

The home side saw goalkeeper Zach Jeacock dismissed with 27 minutes gone when he handled outside the box under pressure from loanee Pedro Borges. Referee Abigail Byrne showed him read and gave Southend manager Kevin Maher his marching orders before half-time for two yellow cards.

Plant’s cross which curled in to the Yeovil net with 66 minutes gone was enough to break the deadlock and in a game of few chances that proved enough to earn the victory.

Here’s how Dave saw it from his view in the Roots Hall away end…..

 

First half

With five first-team squad members (and arguably starters) missing through injury and suspension, the visitors started with loanees Pedro Borges and James Plant in the wing-back positions.

The opening 15 minutes did not offer much in the way of attacking threat, there was a lot of hard running by Harvey Greenslade, who took the lone frontman role previously held by the suspended Aaron Jarvis. But it took until the 17th minute before either side had a meaningful effort with Southend’s Aribim Pepple pulling a shot wide of Ollie Wright’s goal.

Soon after a bit of attacking purpose saw Kofi Shaw turn skilfully but saw his shot blocked before Pedro Borges was just over the head of Greenslade.

But the moment of the first half came on 27 minutes when Borges ran on to a ball forward and hosts’ keeper Zach Jeacock came out of his box to meet him. The ball appeared to hit the Lincoln City loanee on the leg before bouncing up and hitting one of his outstretched arms which referee Abigail Byrne considered to be in an unnatural position and showed him a red card. After much ‘consultation’, his replacement was Colin Andeng-Ndi and his first action was to watch a Charlie Cooper free-kick go wide.

But aside from an effort over the bar from Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in first half injury time, there was not much to talk about from either side until a Southend striker found himself bearing down on Ollie Wright in first half injury time. The two collided but referee Byrne decided it was a corner, a decision which Southend manager Kevin Maher disagreed with to the extent he got his second yellow card.

To say the woman in black got a hostile reception from the home support inside Roots’ Hall would be quite an understatement.

Half time: Southend United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The open effort of the second half saw Andeng-Ndi forced in to his first action to deny Kofi Shaw’s effort at the near post after some good pressure from the visitors before Plant and Borges combined for the latter to get an opportunity which he could not quite fashion in to a meaningful chance.
 
On the hour mark, Dylan Morgan and Brett McGavin replaced Greenslade and Lo-Everton. For Greenslade making his first start since suffering a shoulder injury at Boston United at the end of August, it was a tireless performance which saw him plug the void left by the absence of Jarvis.
 
The referee seemed determined to try and win some friends back amongst the home support with a flurry of yellow cards for the visitors. Jake Wannell picking up one of four which would be handed out.
 
 
The breakthrough came after 66 minutes when James PLANT got away down the left and lifted a ball to the back post, whether it went straight in or if it got a touch from Andeng-Ndi, I could not tell you from the away end. But I can tell you the away end did not mind at all how it got in to the end. 
 
There was an effort from Dylan Morgan with 77 minutes gone, but chances for either side seemed few and far between for either side. There was plenty of the ball seen by Southend but nothing which came close to threatening Ollie Wright in to a save, whereas Yeovil were typically controlled when they had possession.
 
On 87 minutes, Nouble found himself bearing down on Andeng-Ndi, hitting a powerful shot which the keeper did well to turn wide.
 
With two minutes gone, Jordan Thomas replaced Kofi Shaw as the visitors looked saw out the match to retain their seventh-placed spot in the National League Premier Division play-off places.

Full time: Southend United 0 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Roots Hall
Date: Saturday 9th November 2024 – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: James Plant 65 (1-0)

Pitch:  Looking in good nick
Conditions: Cold but dry 

Attendance: 6911 (251 away supporters)

Bookings:
Southend United: None
Yeovil Town: Cooper 32, Finn Cousin-Dawson 37, Jake Wannell 58, Alex Whittle 78

Red Cards:
Southend United: Zach Jeacock, 27
Yeovil Town: None

Referee: Abigail Byrne

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

Substitutes:  Brett McGavin (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 61), Dylan Morgan (for Harvey Greenslade, 61), Jordan Thomas (for Kofi Shaw, 88).

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Defender Jordan Thomas returns to the Yeovil Town squad for today’s fixture at Southend United (3pm kick-off).

The full-back, who has been on loan at National League South side Salisbury, is named as one of six substitutes named by the Glovers.

Brett McGavin and Dylan Morgan are also in the bench with loan signing Pedro Borges and Harvey Greenslade in the starting XI.

 

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After a week of Yeovil are back in action this weekend, as they travel to Roots Hall to face Southend United.

Form Guide…

The Shrimpers have been good form recently winning three out of their last five and losing twice. The most recent of defeats was last week in the FA Cup First Round proper in a thrilling 3-4 loss to Charlton Athletic.

In the league the Essex side have been mediocre, as they currently lie 14th in the table.

The Glovers on the other hand are coming off a week of rest after being knocked out the cup in an earlier round. Yeovil have been in a purple patch recently winning four out of their last five games, with the only defeat coming to Chesham United in the aforementioned cup tie.

Last time out the Glovers won 3-1 at home to Maidenhead United.

League wise however Mark Coopers men have been solid, and sit in the last playoff spot in seventh.

Key Players…

Southend United – Gus Scott-Morriss

That right back has had a brilliant season so far, making 15 appearances and scoring nine goals. Yes you read that right NINE goals. Whoever is down the left for Glovers will have to keep an eye on the inform right back.

And I feel that’s all I have to say really as his record speaks for itself.

Yeovil – Brett McGavin

McGavin started the season off well scoring regularly. The midfielder then has been through a quiet since but still sits seconds in the scoring charts for the Glovers. With current top scorer Aaron Jarvis out suspended for one match the scoring will be left to someone else and Mcgavin may have to fill that role.

Brett McGavin
Pic Gary Brown

Thats what he said…

Southend boss Kevin Maher gave his thoughts to local press ahead of the game. He said: “Yeovil’s away form has been very good and they’ve picked up some very good results.

“For us, the biggest challenge is repeating the energy and the atmosphere we had in the stadium [against Charlton], because this game is more important if anything. That includes everyone. Let’s make it difficult for opposition teams, we did that with Charlton, and we’ve got to replicate it.

“You can tell from their results how tough it’ll be. We’ve got to be ready for it and perform to our best to get a result.”

We’ve met before…

The two teams have played against each other a total of 23 times in their history, with the Yeovil leading the head to head with 12 wins. Southend have only the eight wins to their name with three draws in there as well.

The last time they met was last year in the FA Cup when Coopers men ran out 2-0 victors at Huish Park. However, the Glovers had lost the two matches before that 2-0 and 1-0.

Don’t I know you…

The Shrimpers have an ex-Glover as captain in the shape of full-back Nathan Ralph.

Ralph played a total of 41 times for Yeovil and was a part of the legendary League One playoff winning team during his three year stint at Huish Park from 2012-2015

Who’s been naughty then…

Morgan Williams, Aaron Jarvis and Dom Bernard all miss out due to suspensions.Southend have no one missing.

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National League general manager Mark Ives believes the league’s new cup competition involving Premier League B-teams is “fantastic” despite a virtual boycott by supporters of the 16 clubs which have entered it.

The league has unsurprisingly not published attendance statistics for many of the matches with the most recent round of fixtures seeing Braintree Town top the charts with 437 for their 4-2 home win over West Ham United’s kids. Woking’s 4-4 draw at home to Southampton B attracted just 157 fans – enough to draw jeers following the announcement of an away attendance in many league games.

Despite this, Ives went on the Price of Football podcast to pronounce the enthusiasm which clubs in the division which eight clubs – including Yeovil Town – decided not to particpate in. You can listen to the interview with the excellent Kevin Day and football finance expert – and friend of the Gloverscast – Kieran Maguire  wherever you get your podcasts – or find out more here.

He said: “I am happy with how the competition is going. Let’s remember it is part of the development programme to give wider experience to clubs. The games have been very competitive and a happy mix of Premier League and National League winners, draws going to penalties, and the feedback we have had to date has been positive.

“It’s a fantastic relationship. We have our own voice. We have an agreement from PL, the solidarity funding we get goes to our clubs. We have had an increase in our funding and the increase has gone from a £3m to over £6m when you add everything else in, which includes funding for the Football Foundation and additional solidarity funding for these clubs and the funding for this competition. If I am being critical of the Premier League, they do not sing quite as loudly as they should do for the support they give.”

 

Before you ask for some of whatever the General Manager has been smoking, it gets better. He said that the idea of adding further to the league’s fixture congestion was a positive – a view at odds with Yeovil boss Mark Cooper who said most managers who would “dreading” playing in the competition.

Ives said: “From a footballing perspective, it gives our clubs the opportunity to have competition with clubs in the Premier League and EFL, that they do not have at the competition. They will have the opportunity to mix with (Premier League) management teams and who knows they can pick things up from those operating at the higher level.

“It gives opportunity for squad players to get experience which they might not otherwise be able to. They would benefit from a wider playing programme because we do not have a league cup, so this was a fantastic opportunity to play against PL2 clubs. It is also a fantastic opportunity for the PL2 clubs to play against senior players from the National League, a competition they do not normally have.”

 

Scrapping of FA Cup replays

The cup competition is widely considered to be a ‘sweetener’ for the decision of the Premier League to deny non-League clubs the chance of FA Cup glory by removing replays from the competition’s First Round this season. Read Dave’s rant about that – here.

Now, we will cut Mr Ives some slack (stop booing at the back!) here because he was speaking on a podcast about the finances of football and therefore it is not surprising he went on to talk about the financial benefits of changes to this year’s competition.

We will leave you to decide what you make of his explanation, not least his opening sentence which appears to explain the reasons why the FA Cup is what he himself describes as “the greatest competition in the world” – before seemingly ignoring them with the rest of his answer.

The general manager said: “You can either look at the romantic view of the FA Cup, we all love the FA Cup [some of us more than others it seems, Mark], I am a fan as well. It is the crown jewel of the FA and the greatest competition in the world. The flipside of that an objective look at the finances and the business decision.

“I know some will say it is the lifeline of our clubs and many clubs have missed out on the opportunity of replays. Over the last five years, the average number of National League clubs to get a replay in the first round is three, second round it is one, third round it is 0.6. The number receiving financial benefit for replays is not that high when you consider there are 32 National League clubs in the First Round. 

“The FA invested in the funding of the FA Cup prize fund of £2.34m [about what Manchester City spend an hour on lawyers] which all went in to the prize pot for rounds one to three which increased the prize pot by 38%. That recognises 32 clubs from the National League system would be in the First Round. In the First Round, 75% goes to the winner and 25% to the loser for the first time ever, in Round Two it is an 80%-20% split which means the losers get paid for reaching that level.

“The average share of the gate for a replay is about £4,900, but any club which lost in Round One this season will make £15,000 compared to nothing last year, any club losing in Round Two will make £65,000 compared with £41,000 last year, and a club losing in Round Three makes £145,000 compared to £108,000. That moves benefits all 32 clubs (which make past the qualifying rounds) in the National League.”

This article is already getting far too long, so we will leave you to make up your own mind on Mr Ives explanation there. Feel free to add your comments at the bottom of the article as to whether you agree or disagree with his opinion.

For those of you with longer memories, you can watch our FA Cup second round replay victory over Hereford United in 1992 which set up a home match with Arsenal which saved the club from bankruptcy. Fortunately for those lucky enough to remember such games, the Premier League cannot take your memories – but they’ll probably make you a good offer for them.

New broadcasting deal with DAZN

Ives also spoke about the deal with broadcaster DAZN (pronounced ‘Da-Zone’) to broadcast live matches for the next seven years with “a mutually agreed cut-off point for us to step away” baked in to the agreement.

Asked what the value of the deal was to the league, he said: “We do not disclose the amount of money, but I will say it is more than our previous broadcast deal, so that is better for our member clubs.”

From Thursday 7th November, the old nationalleaguetv.com platform will not be available with subscribers having to sign up to DAZN instead. If you already have a subscription, this will migrate over to DAZN from this date and you should have received an email about switching. See details from the league – here.

Speaking about the method for sharing the undefined amount of cash generated from the deal, Ives said: “We have an agreed central distribution to all of our 72 clubs. As it is a joint venture, there is a potential profit share for running the platform.

“It is always a bit of a hot potato because there’s 72 clubs and 72 opinions. The representation is within the board (x6 National League Premier, x4 National League North and South). If you were to go out with every broadcast deal and discuss with the clubs you risk the cat getting out of the bag and we want to keep the confidentiality of it.”

“We have not maximised our commercial opportunities. From our fans’ point of view, they will see little difference with accessibility.”

Independent Football Regulator

For much of his 45 minutes on the podcast, Mr Ives repeatedly referred to “correcting a misnomer” – that’s a fancy way of saying ‘clearing up an inaccuracy’ – which almost suggests the National League has an issue with communicating with people. Far be from us to say that, of course!

One of the others he wanted to clear up relates to the establishment of an Independent Football Regulator and the suggestion the National League was siding with the Premier League which has come out strongly against it.

Mr Ives said this was never the case. He said: “You cannot fight against something which is protecting the club’s finances and heritage, ensuring the right owners are there on takeover to ensure we have a really meaningful owners and directors test. I am interested in the protection of our clubs.”

Just to add, former Yeovil Town owner <NAME REDACTED> – you know who we mean – was a director of the National League during much of his time in charge at Huish Park. But the National League is interested in the protection of clubs. Clear? Good.

Mr Ives continued: “The regulator is here, we support it, but my concerns are that the full cost of the regulator is borne by the clubs, not the Government. The clubs they are trying to protect the finances of are responsible for the total costs of the regulator. It would be a dereliction of our duty to ensure that when the bill comes in the correct proportion of funding comes from our clubs and it is increased to ensure the biggest bill is borne by the Premier League clubs.

“We are concerned about duplication because we run a licensing part to membership of the National League system which is very successful and the regulator is also bringing in a licensing approach which is likely to be asked in both ours and the regulators system. That duplicates work for the clubs. It is not the what we are challenging, it is the how it is being applied.”

If you’ve made it this far, well done, However, there is also conversation about the lack of an agreement for the Professional Footballers’ Association to be able to represent players playing in the National League, the use of artificial surfaces and the thorny subject of an increase in three clubs being promoted to the Football League.

We would encourage anyone interested to listen and subscribe to the Price of Football podcast which is a great listen even if there’s not someone talking about non-League football.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper believes the absence of a number of his regular first teamers offers an opportunity to other members of the squad this weekend.

The Glovers travel to Southend United on Saturday without suspended defender Morgan Williams and Dom Bernard and striker Aaron Jarvis, along with injured captain Matt Worthington and full-back Michael Smith.

The boss also told BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah that other members of the squad were struggling with illness ahead of the trip to Essex.

He said: “We have got (Morgan) Williams out suspended, (Aaron) Jarvis out suspended, Dom Bernard out suspended, we have got (Matt) Worthington and Michael Smith injured and on top of that we have got one or two struggling with this cold or flu. I’m sure the boys that are ill will put their hand up and want to play, but it gives some of the other boys chance to get some game time.

“It is very rare we have a full bench (of seven substitutes this season). I’m not massive on we have to have a full bench, because you can only use five. I’ll be happy if we can get to five on the bench on Saturday for sure.”

He added: “Suspensions have killed us this week, Dom Bernard and Jarvis both got a stupid bookings (in the 3-1 home win over Maidenhead United) and that hurts us. They are both in such good form and going into this game in a real good vein of form, it just puts the pressure on the other lads, which we could do without. But, we’re not going to cry about it, we’re going to go and try and get a result.”

Jarvis, who has three goals in his last two matches, and Bernard both sit out one-man bans for collecting five bookings whilst Williams serves the second match of a three-match ban for his sending off in the goalless draw at Tamworth. Cooper has said he hopes to have Smith back for the following weekend’s home match with FC Halifax Town.

Pedro Borges has made four appearances for Exeter City this season.

Former Glovers’ academy player Pedro Borges will be available having joined on loan until January during the week, and Cooper expects him to be an asset to the squad alongside fellow loanees wingers Kofi Shaw and James Plant.

He said: “Pedro is a young player like Kofi (Shaw), like (James) Plant, that wants to come and play some minutes. He is desperate to get some first-team football, he’s 6’1″ and athletic, he certainly adds to the forward areas of the pitch.

“We have had our eye on him because of his connection with the Yeovil area, being at Yeovil initially. I spoke to Gary Caldwell, the Exeter manager when we played them pre-season and just said ‘keep an eye on him, he’s going to be available at some point’, we got that opportunity at the start of the week to bring him in, with him being local as well, it’s a no-brainer.”

Having had no fixture last weekend due to the early exit from the FA Cup, the Glovers travel to Southend with the second-best record in the National League Premier over the last four games, with three wins and one draw, the same as leaders York City and second-placed Forest Green Rovers.

Southend went out of the Cup last weekend after a late extra-time winner from League One Charlton  Athletic, but won last time out in the league at Roots’ Hall, defeating Tamworth. However, home soil has not been the happiest of hunting grounds having won just three of their eight matches there this season.

On his side’s form, Cooper said: “When you win games it breeds confidence but as the coach it has been more about our performances. We have been playing well, we have spoken about the conversion rate (of chances to goals) as not being high enough, but we’ve been playing well and we try and talk about performances. If we keep doing that, the results will come.

“We’ve started to score goals and that’s been the only thing missing. The players have been great we have played some brilliant football and as I’ve mentioned, if you look at all the teams that we have played recently, they have all gone in the FA Cup last week, played against Football League teams and nearly all of them have won.”

Charlie Cooper celebrates his goal in the 3-1 home win over Maidenhead United. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

It will be exactly two weeks since the 3-1 home win over Maidenhead United when Yeovil run out in Essex at the weekend, but Cooper believes the break will leave his available players refreshed.

He said: “It is always good to have a freshen up, but only if you hit the ground running again. We knew after the last game that we were going to be missing players with suspension (against Southend), then on top of that you’ve got a horrendous bug going round the country, isn’t there? I’m sure most clubs will be missing players at the weekend with that, but we have to deal with it.

“We take the game in isolation and it’s one that I’m sure Southend are expecting a tough game and one that we are really looking forward to. The players that do come into the team are good players and they have an opportunity to show that.”

He added: “At the minute, I know that we’re in the play-offs and we want to try and win as many games and try and stay up there and we think we’re a reasonably-sized club for the level. The way we are playing we believe that can upset one or two of the big boys along the way and we want to try and stay around the top for as long as we can. We can only do that by taking it game-by-game.“