January 2025 (Page 3)

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The long-term development of land around Huish Park will be done to benefit the club, chairman Martin Hellier has promised supporters.

Talking at a fans’ forum on Tuesday night, he insisted the buy-back of the land from Somerset Council was “on the radar” and said he has turned away proposals for development which did not fit his plans for the site.

In May 2022, the authority – then known as South Somerset District Council – bought the land from former chairman <NAME REDACTED> for £2.8m and rented back the “core land” which the stadium sits on back to the club on a 30-year lease. When he bought the club in May 2023, the owner negotiated the exclusive buy-back rights on the land until 17th May 2026.

Responding to fans’ questions about the future of the land, he said: “Whatever happens that land is going to get developed on. When you talk about the rent, I probably pay £100,000 a year to watch people walk their dogs on that land, so it is not my interests. Since the council bought it back for £2.8m, they kindly index linked that for us, so that is £3.2m and add that to the £3.8m (which has been put in to the club to date) we are in to £7m. We are well aware of the timeline, we have until May 2026 to buy back the land, we hold exclusive buy-back rights on the land, so no-one can come in and take that away from us. 

“We want any surplus that comes in from that development to come directly to the club, that is not to me, it is to the club. Without those buy-back rights, someone else could come in and become your landlord. It is on our radar, but I have to be sensible as part of the group I own and the funds we have available to allocate. 

“We have had several people approach us (with proposals), but their proposals would not suit what we want to do. We have to deal with the right fire in the right order. I am going to make more of that 3G pitch up that for some nine-versus-nines. The land is a concern for a lot of fans, but whatever comes from it will be for the benefit of the club. As long as I live in Yeovil I will not be looking to do anything (which does not benefit the club), because it is the golden egg for us if we do it in the right way.”

A reminder of the core and non-core land at Huish Park.

The Gloverscast contacted Somerset Council  in December to ask for its position on the long-term future of the land and having confirmed the details of the current arrangements, it added that it had not engaged in any conversations with other parties about the future of the land.

In response to our question about its intentions for the long-term future of the land, a statement from the council said: “It is highly unlikely that the Council would sell the freehold of the stadium or remaining land unless it judged that the decision would play a part of supporting the future of the club. Any such decision would be subject to our usual democratic decision-making processes.

“The use of the football stadium is also protected by the lease which permits use only for football club purposes and related ancillary uses. This lease runs until 2046.“

In response to a question from our own Ian Perkins at the forum, Martin Hellier said that he had put £3.8m in to the club since his takeover and said the council had made the value of the land at Huish Park “index-linked“, meaning its value rises in line with inflation. The chairman said this meant the land which Somerset Council paid £2.8m for in May 2022 was now worth £3.2m.

That is on top of the £195,000 which the club pays the authority each year in rent for Huish Park, a figure confirmed by the club’s accounts for the year ending June 2022.

The chairman added: “Since the council bought it back for £2.8m, they kindly index linked that for us, so that is £3.2m and add that to the £3.8m (which has been put in to the club to date) we are in to £7m.”

Chairman Martin Hellier, right, with manager Mark Cooper at the fans’ forum at Huish Park on Tuesday night.

In response to the question about the financial state of the club, he said: “It is in a far more stable position than it was. The first call I had when I came in was from HM Revenue and Customs saying ‘we are going to wind you up tomorrow if you don’t pay this large amount of money and you have to pay more next week. The first ten days probably saw us paying out five digit numbers every day, so we probably cleared away £500,000 of debt within ten days of arriving.

“We had numbers of staff paying bits and pieces on Ebay to pay bills, so the first thing was steadying a ship which had capsized. We have put £3.8m in to the club which is money we will undoubtedly not get back, but that is my problem. So it is a far better position than it was, but it is still a tough gig as it is for any club that is below the EFL and even at EFL you are breaking even. We are in it for the long run and because we love the club and clubs in this league exist for as long as the chairman is funding it. It is hard to make the numbers work but we came in with a long-term target of EFL. If you map that out from the beginning to where we are now, I would say that journey is going well. It will continue to need money, but that is what it is.”

You can watch the fans’ forum in full on the club’s YouTube channel – here – with the question-and-answer session starting around 30 minutes in to the recording.

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Swindon Town manager Ian Holloway has confirmed the League One club has a recall clause on midfielder Sean McGurk‘s loan spell at Yeovil Town.

The former Leeds United academy product has extended his initial one-month loan spell at Huish Park until the end of the season having impressed with two goals in his first five matches.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Holloway said: “I have a call back clause as well, so I have protected us if we get any further injuries. His agent wants him to play, he is enjoying playing every week and in my opinion I said he needs to be the one who is loved and in the team all the time and you have not earned that with me yet and you have not done it for a year.

“So he is out there trying to prove he can get some games under his belt. It has gone past the first 28 days, so it makes sense (for him to stay for the season) with us having a recall clause. We have been winning without him, he is out there enjoying it and getting some goals and I am glad he is doing it. I would have lent him anywhere else because this is what the boy needs to do, but if I need him at any time I can call him back.”

Having started in the academy at his hometown of Liverpool and then Wigan Athletic, McGurk signed a three-year deal at Leeds United in 2021 and featured heavily in the youth teams at Elland Road.

Holloway said he believed that academies at bigger clubs needed to “get real” with not giving young players enough exposure to men’s football and backed Glovers’ manager Mark Cooper to support McGurk.

The Swindon boss added: “These academies need to get real. Are they making talented people like him too comfortable? It is not about your talent, it is about how you are going to use it. Coops is a wonderful bloke, brought up by his father Terry Cooper who was my manager, so I could not give him to a better person who would believe in him, love him and get him doing what he needs to do.

“Leeds have told him, I have told him and was he doing it? No. If Coops can’t get it out of him, maybe we are both right, but I believe he can. I believe there is a really talented, brilliant little player in there if he can get himself fit, live right, train hard and get right without the ball. He needs a run of games and I am not going to guarantee him that.

“I have not given him away, I am still retaining him and it is down to him at the end of the day. I know he has loads of talent, he needs to start using it. He has a chance here and if I need him back, I can get him back.”

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Yeovil Town’s latest signing Lewys Twamley drew praise from Mark Cooper when asked about the new recruit at the Fan’s Forum on Tuesday night.

The gaffer revealed that the Welshman didn’t cost us a transfer fee and ticked a lot of boxes for what he was looking for.

“We’re trying to cover all bases, one eye on players that have a good pedigree and come out of the football league… but also look a little bit lower,

We look at what he’s done, an awful lot of goals and an awful lot of assists, but we have to look at the level he’s come from, it’s two leagues below, the level in between us and that one, we murdered that level last year.

We have to look at it and think ‘is he one that can bridge that gap?’. It might not be now, but I just felt that it was something we had to act on.

…I just felt that it was something we had to act on.

It wasn’t an expensive deal for us, there’s no transfer fee, he had a clause in his contract which meant we could get him.

He’s an exciting player, when you watch him play, he’s small, he’s got a real low centre of gravity, and what we like is he can beat people, late on in games, especially attacking the Thatchers End, we saw a couple of glimpses on Friday [against Gateshead].

We’re always looking for those players, the little nuggets that we have to shine them up and try and make them into players.

But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t look at that level, and we have to take a gamble on one or two.”

 

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Yeovil Town have said that they are in discussions with the Western Counties Youth Floodlight League to ‘appeal’ the decision which saw the Under 18s removed from the league.

Yeovil’s youngsters were unbeaten at the time of their withdrawal with a statement from the club saying that after attempts to play home games away from Huish Park were rejected their place in the league was no longer tenable.

Futhermore, the League issued a statement to the Gloverscast, which suggested Yeovil were no longer ‘following the rules’ – for point of clarity, when asked which rules that referred to, or where those rules could be found, the Gloverscast was met with ‘No Comment’

The issue was raised by our very own Ian Perkins at the fans forum where Chairman Martin Hellier and club Secretary Kirsty Baker responded with news of an appeal;

Hellier said “I know we went to great measures to try and replace a playing venue with somewhere else … it was a decision that was made not without a lot of consideration”

Baker added from the back of the room, “We are just going to add in that we are going through an appeal with the league at the moment, so we should have more of an update in a couple of weeks, but we are trying to get the lads to play somewhere else, there will be an update, it just takes time”

A lot of the Young Glovers are playing competitive men’s football in the local leagues – (insert plug here for our regular loan watch articles) and we hope that competitive football can return to the U18s under the YTFC banner sooner rather than later.

Corey Koerner (Green 7) challenges for the ball for Sherborne
Pic C/O Robin Caddy/The Wessex Way.

There was a question about youngster Corey Koerner who has impressed for the Under 18s this season and has been rewarded with England Colleges recognition, to which Mark Cooper said that he was pleased with the youngster but had to manage his progression. 

“It [England Colleges] is brilliant, and he’s done great, but we have to look at the level, Corey trains with us nearly every day, I’m not daft, Corey’s been on the bench, but he’s not ready to play in our first team yet, if he was, I’d put him in.”

Koerner has had spells with Plymouth Parkway and Sherborne Town on loan this season. 

 

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Midfielder Sean McGurk will be staying with Yeovil Town for the rest of the season, manager Mark Cooper  has confirmed at tonight’s fans’ forum at Huish Park.

The 25-year-old’s initial one-month loan deal from Swindon Town had been due to expire on Tuesday and he has impressed with two goals in his first five appearances for the club.

Speaking at a fans’ forum on Tuesday night, Cooper said: “We have agreed to keep him until the end of the season. I had a brilliant conversation with Ian (Holloway, the Swindon Town manager) last night, h e loves Sean to bits, but Sean just wants to play. He has great ability, we need to get him fitter but he is one that takes the level up.

“When we talk about players that get bums on seats and are exciting, he is one of the type of player we are trying to attract, but believe me it is really difficult. He has enjoyed his time and he will be a good one for us for the rest of the season.”

We will be doing our best to report back on a wide-ranging one-hour conversation between Cooper and owner and chairman Martin Hellier which attracted an online audience of almost 500 people and something in the region of 100 people in person.

Watch this space……

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Yeovil Town hosts a fans’ forum tonight for the first time in as long as I can remember. Aside from sporadic Supporters’ Alliance Group meetings (which are a thing of the past now as far as I understand) and You-Know-Who’s infamous meeting with supporters once our open letter (with 1,500 signatures) forced him to resurface, we’ve not really done this. So, credit goes to the club for inviting supporters in at a time when the discourse on social media sites has been highly critical in the wake of recent results and performances.

I don’t think its unreasonable to suggest that the commentary on social media has led to tonight’s forum, that both chairman and owner Martin Hellier and manager Mark Cooper will attend to answer supporters’ questions. This type of engagement has been long-coming and will hopefully be the first of a regular structured two-way conversation with supporters. But, it has to be constructive and respectful to be worthwhile.

The early scores on YeoGov survey that I threw out on Saturday suggest that the vitriol online doesn’t necessarily match with mood in general – a shock I know! In what will be a surprise to some, the 140+ respondents, on average, have scored above the middle score of 4 across the board for how they’re feeling right know. Maybe, we’re a fairly rational bunch on the whole after all?

I was reflecting on Friday night’s stalemate with Gateshead and the future of our attack. With top scorer Aaron Jarvis out for the next three months, Yeovil had to change the approach going forward with Ciaran McGuckin leading the line in a very different way to Jarvis. We’re not going to be tossing the ball up for defenders to battle in the air with McGuckin up top and as a result a decrease in those grappling-induced decisions which have frustrated players, staff and supporters might just help with our on-pitch discipline and keep heartrates down in the stands.

Ciaran McGuckin in the thick of it against Gateshead. Courtesy of Gary Brown

I’m not a huge fan of gambling on balls down the channels but with our patient possession we can draw defenders out (as we tried on Friday) there could he plenty of space for the speedy McGuckin to capitalise on. Defenders will have a much different task on their hands with him up front than Jarvis in these next few weeks. The misfortune of Jarvis injury means we’ve potentially found a Plan B (which will be Plan A for the foreseeable) but also leaves me wondering what could be with a classic four four f**king two!

Football’s heart is in the community that it serves in our part of the pyramid

If ever you needed a reminder as to why supporting a club that needs you trumps all, the alleged story emerging from Manchester United on X is that clear reminder. A dementia-suffering season ticket holder of 45 years has had his season ticket cancelled after not scanning the QR code for the last five matches because of helpful stewards letting him in with his paper copy. There’s plenty of top-flight football bollocks which is off-putting and this yet another example of it.

There’s an easy PR win for Manchester United here. But based on the new regime’s track record, it’ll stay on course while alienating local supporters to make that money on the tourist supporters. The COVID pandemic took the shine off of the Premier League for me. While clubs like ours suffered and had their property sold off, the big boys continued to rake it in and pay out to millionaire footballers (and even tried to break away to cash even further). Football’s heart is in the community that it serves in our part of the pyramid. The corporations and states might pretend to understand it, but they’ll never embrace it.

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Swindon Town boss, Ian Holloway told reporters at their game at the weekend that he “doesn’t know” what the immediate future holds for Yeovil Town loanee, Sean McGurk,.

Chatting to the Swindon Advertiser’s Joe Acklam he said:

“I have no idea at this precise moment. That is my answer.

“I let him go for a month because I wanted to see what he could do down there but I haven’t looked at his clips yet.”

McGurk’s clips would span a five-game spell which includes two goals – a tap in, and a not-a-tap in which has gone, fairly viral on social media. 

In what could well have been a three-word answer, Holloway actually drags it out for a while, he continued;

“What is good is that he went there and didn’t moan and he has been trying his heart out, so that is a major tick in his box.

“I won’t do that until I look at his bits and I will be looking at what he does when he hasn’t got the ball as well as those lovely bits he does, I think he did a Cruyff turn and nutmegged someone and belted it in from 30 yards the other day, which I have seen him do on the training ground. 

You’re right, Ian he did… 

“He is a wonderful little player, I absolutely love him to bits and I love his talent. I will watch all of his clips and I might even have him back to sit down and talk about it.

“He is doing much better there than he would be if he was sat here mulling things over. I love him to bits and I am glad he is doing so well, so I will have to think about it.”

Don’t take too long to think about it, will you mate? We’d quite like him to still be available for the upcoming trip to Rochdale if possible please.

 

 

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It’s been a bit since we’ve had a round-up, with FA Cup involvement, FA Trophy progression, and three more league games for Yeovil. The Glovers have been unbeaten in this period, however also remain winless in 2025, as they registered three consecutive draws against Woking (1-1), Ebbsfleet United (1-1) and Gateshead (0-0). With all of this, let’s see what’s happened across this timeframe for everyone.

We begin with the FA Trophy following the midweek National League fixtures in the New Year, and our first stop is with Aldershot Town, who defeated Chertsey Town handily, an 8-0 battering ensuring they entered the next round with ease, Kai Corbett bagging a hat trick in the process. In two all-National League affairs, there were upsets for top 5 sides! The holders Gateshead were defeated by Boston United at Stockton Town’s ground following concerns over being able to fulfil the fixture due to the sustained bad weather, while Altrincham defeated Barnet, both games finishing 3-1 to the victors. As a result of Boston’s win, their visit to Huish Park has been bumped back to 11th March.

Eastleigh defeated Basford United in a 4-1 thumping to take their place in the next round, while Forest Green Rovers knocked out high flying NLN side Chorley in a routine 2-0 win, former Glover Joe Quigley grabbing both goals. There was a big upset for a title chaser, as York City fell to a 1-0 defeat away at Gainsborough Trinity, and finally, Southend United snuck past Southport in a 1-0 win at Roots Hall.

There were midweek games too, as Sutton United defeated Tamworth 1-0, while Woking handled Radcliffe in a 4-0 victory. Finally, it took a penalty shootout for Rochdale to defeat Stockton Town, and work their way into the next round.

 

The next set of results are from the weekend of FA Cup action, where two National League sides faced off against higher league opposition, while the rest of the division battled with ice-cold conditions, with only two fixtures being completed (Yeovil being one of them, the 1-1 draw vs Woking). We begin with Tamworth, who despite their best efforts, fell to a valiant 3-0 defeat in front of the BBC cameras against Premier League Tottenham Hotspur; the game was taken to extra time, but the fitness of the visitors shone through in the end. The other side representing the division was Dagenham & Redbridge, who were defeated by the same scoreline by Championship side Millwall at The Den. The only other National League fixture saw Boston United and Ebbsfleet United play out a 2-2 draw.

 

Onto midweek National League action now, as 7 of 8 games were completed; Boston United vs Southend United on Wednesday was abandoned after 6 minutes due to heavy fog, and will be replayed at a later date. We start with Altrincham hammering Maidenhead United in a first half blitz,  including a hat trick from Alex Newby. The 4-0 win was a warning shot to the division that the Robins are not to be messed with! FC Halifax Town won on their travels in a 3-1 win at Gateshead, former Glover Andrew Oluwabori finding himself on the scoresheet once again, while an entertaining 2-2 draw was played out between Aldershot Town and Braintree Town. A big win came for Eastleigh on their travels, beating Solihull Moors 1-0, while Forest Green Rovers and Barnet came to a stalemate with a goalless draw. Wednesday night saw Sutton United and Wealdstone tie 2-2.

 

Finally, last weekend’s action (are you still with me?!) – we kicked things off on Friday night with a 0-0 draw against Gateshead, and the best action came in the evening kickoff, as Maidenhead United registered a massive 4-1 win over AFC Fylde to boost their survival hopes. It was a big day for the top of the table too, as Barnet won in convincing fashion at Southend United in a 3-0 drubbing to move within a point of 1st place (more on them later). An unusually high scoring affair came for Tamworth, as they won 3-0 at home against Boston United, while Oldham Athletic were toppled in a massive win for Aldershot Town as they continue to look over their shoulders at the bottom four, Josh Barrett’s hat trick stamping a big three points for the Shots.

More drama from the top of the table, as York City lost at home for just the second time this season, Sutton United getting the better of the Minstermen in a 2-1 win, former York striker Will Davies grabbing both goals in the first half for the U’s. A second 2-1 win came at the Silverlake Stadium, as 10 man Eastleigh fell at home to an in-form Altrincham side, boosting the visitors into the playoffs. There were two 1-1 draws, as a late Enzio Boldewijn equaliser bagged Wealdstone a point against Hartlepool United, while Woking continued their unbeaten start against an Ebbsfleet United side showing signs of life, with their third successive game without defeat.

The final bit of top-of-the-table drama came as Forest Green Rovers defeated playoff chasing Rochdale in a narrow 1-0 win to jump them to the top of the table, while Braintree Town scored a massive three points at home to Solihull Moors to move them away from the bottom four (for now) with a 1-0 win themselves. In perhaps the least surprising news of the matchday, FC Halifax Town had their home game postponed against Dagenham & Redbridge due to poor pitch conditions.

 

FA Trophy 4th Round results (NL teams in bold, 04/01/25)

Aldershot Town 8-0 Chertsey Town
Altrincham 3-1 Barnet
Basford United 1-4 Eastleigh
Forest Green Rovers 2-0 Chorley
Gainsborough Trinity 1-0 York City
Gateshead 1-3 Boston United
Southend United 1-0 Southport
Sutton United 1-0 Tamworth
Woking 4-0 Radcliffe
Rochdale 0-0 Stockton Town (Rochdale win 4-3 on pens)

FA Cup 3rd Round and National League results (NL teams in bold, 12/01/25-13/01/25)

Tamworth 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Millwall 3-0 Dagenham & Redbridge

Boston United 2-2 Ebbsfleet United
Yeovil Town 1-1 Woking

National League results (14/01/25-15/01/25) – in full

Aldershot Town 2-2 Braintree Town
Altrincham 4-0 Maidenhead United
Ebbsfleet United 1-1 Yeovil Town
Forest Green Rovers 0-0 Barnet
Gateshead 1-3 FC Halifax Town
Solihull Moors 0-1 Eastleigh
Boston United A-A Southend United
Sutton United 2-2 Wealdstone

National League results (17/01/25-18/01/25) – in full

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

National League table

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No game for Yeovil on Saturday, but there’s still a few Yeovil loanee out and about on loan.

At Torquay, they came from behind to snatch a point against St Albans in the National League South.

Jordan Young from the spot with their goal, but we’re focusing on Jordan Thomas who played the full 90 minutes once again.

Torquay are top of the table, at the other end, W*ymouth are bottom.

They fell 1-0 to Worthing today, Will Buse played the full game for them after extending his loan spell until the end of the season.

Corey Koerner started for Sherborne in their away game at Millbrook, but that game was never completed. Abandoned at Half Time due to floodlight failure.

Jacob Shore is now with Shaftesbury, he came off the bench in their 2-2 draw with Bashley.

As ever, team news is hard to come by for one or two others, George Geraghty was in the squad for Bridport Reserves – they drew 1-1 with Sherborne Reserves on Monday (who themselves were likely to have a couple of names we might recognise) but, we can’t find team sheets, or much in the way of detail.