February 2025 (Page 4)

Yeovil fell to defeat at the hands of Wealdstone at Huish Park yesterday. I was under the H yesterday and here are my conclusions from a pretty terrible afternoon.

It wasn’t alright. A match between two poor, low on confidence teams didn’t make for the greatest spectacle. Usually we look technically sound and really in control of games (clearly that doesn’t guarantee victory) but I didn’t really feel that we were in control of any situations, especially defensively. Without Charlie Cooper we lose midfield control and without Morgan Williams we have to move Jake Wannell centrally and lose his input on the left-side of the back three. We struggled for any real cohesion going forward and the less said about the defending the better.

It was yet another bad result at home. Yeovil have won just four of their National League matches at Huish Park this season. You could forgive those early defeats to Hartlepool, Rochdale and Solihull as adjusting to the new level, because they we were winning against the teams you’d expect to beat. Now, Yeovil are not winning those games and while the games are tight, we seem to find ourselves in a perpetual struggle to break down teams and find the back of the net. Our home points total accounts for only 44% of our total points and only 46% of the goals we’ve scored, compared to 57% for both points and goals last season. Fortress Huish has been breached.

We don’t feel like a team at the moment. Our league-winning team has been dismantled since that trophy lift with only Wannell and Whittle left from that team starting yesterday. From our opening match day squad of 18, there were just eight in the squad yesterday, including Matt Gould who’s yet to make an appearance. With a revolving door of ins and outs, is it any wonder they don’t feel like a team right now? There’s been talk about different types of leaders, but at this moment we are absolutely missing the Terry Skiverton on that pitch. We’ve let Worthington go, Nouble (TL?) has struggled to make an impact, Smith has struggled for fitness, there’s no Murphy, Hyde or Fisher type bring off the bench. In my opinion, we don’t have the multiple ‘characters’ you need to get out of a rotten run like this and that is a concern.

The next two matches are huge. Last weekend’s point at Dagenham & Redbridge only looked good if we won yesterday. Now the visit of Tamworth and trip to Maidenhead have even more pressure on them. Tamworth could leapfrog us if they pick up the points on Tuesday and we don’t win at Maidenhead – I’m still trying to erase 2022/23 from my memory. Can this group handle the pressure? Our loanees are all under 22. We’ve got a new goalkeeper getting used to his defensive unit and – without Charlie Cooper – a lack of depth and pretty tepid midfield. Thankfully, Cooper will return and give us a bit of structure in midfield to control the game. We’re in must-win territory, especially at home.

The mood is dour. It’s been four weeks since the Friday night draw with Gateshead, so I expected a bit of a show. The Thatchers were certainly in good voice all afteroon, but come the final whistle yesterday the boos were as loud as they’ve been since the 2022/23 horror story. It was my first match as a punter yesterday – when you are on the radio you hear the vociferous grumbles in front of you but not the general mood as much. So yesterday was eye-opening. People are tired, again. People aren’t enjoying their afternoon out, again. And the atmosphere on social media – which is usually dialled up – feels like it’s in the stands too. We know from recent history that supporters of Yeovil will vote with their feet and not go to matches, which spells problems for a club that needs gate receipts. The playoff hopes are a distant memory now and with our current form, we should be looking over our shoulder at what’s creeping up behind us.