Ben Barrett (Page 158)

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Yeovil Town announced the signing of 21-year old Hereford United forward Gavin Williams on a two-year contract.

It was reported that the Glovers parted with little over £20,000 to sign the Welshman.

At the time Ciderspace described Williams as “an exciting twenty-one-year-old who can play anywhere up front, or in midfield. He has shone in a frankly poor Bulls team, and was the club’s top scorer last season. The Glovers have been interested in him for some time, and in fact tried to sign him in a double package with current Player of the Season Michael McIndoe during the 2000-01 campaign. His capture now, in the face of strong interest from several other Conference and League clubs, is testimony to the growing ambitions and stature of Yeovil Town. We at Ciderspace believe this will prove to be a signing of consequence, and are sure Gavin will be a great success in the green and white in the coming seasons”

Williams would, of course go on to become a Glovers legend across multiple spells, including a stint on loan in 2010 before joining the team permanently once again in 2011 and would end his time at Huish Park as part of the 2013 League One Play-Off winning squad.

Gav would eventually depart Somerset for West Ham in 2004 before spending time at Ipswich, both Bristol clubs, Woking and was most recently seen as Player-Manager at Merthyr Town in Wales.

Super Gav reperesented Yeovil 188 times, scoring 34 times.

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Carl Dickinson captained the side in the Glovers’ 3-0 loss to Wrexham but in doing so, reached a special milestone in the Green and White.

Dicko has now played 100 times for the Glovers since joining the club in June 2018.

 

The left-back, who turned 34 in March, will leave the club at the end of the season to take up the reigns at Hanley Town in a player-manager role.

The former Stoke City man can make it to 105 appearances for the Glovers should he play in each of the final five games of the season, but here’s a quick breakdown of his 100 games for Yeovil.

Games 100
League Games: 90 (86 starts)
FA Cup Games: 4
EFL Cup Games: 1
EFL Trophy Games: 2
FA Trophy Games: 2
National League Play Off Games; 1

Dickinson has scored twice for the Glovers, his first was the final goal in a 6-0 demolition of Newport County, a direct free-kick that went in thanks to some questionable goalkeeping and then just just three games later in a 3-1 loss to Crawley Town.

Some very quick maths suggests that Dicko has played in 39 wins, 20 draws (including cup games that went beyond 90 minutes) and in 41 losses.

Of course, the qualities he has brought to Huish Park go far beyond numbers, a wonderful left back, a vastly experienced campaigner who now passes three figures for the same club for the second time in his career after getting beyond the century for Port Vale.

He has led the side by example, a no nonsense, never give up, style defender who’ll whip a cross in with finesse and then boot the opposition winger into the car park – all totally legally of course!

Let’s not forget, this is a man who did not play a minute for us between a 2-0 League Two defeat at MK Dons on March 23, 2019 and the end of the season which ultimately cost us our place in the Football League.

Yet, he stuck around when he undoubtedly had other options and became a mainstay of Darren Sarll’s side which reached the National League play-offs last season.

There’s no doubt in the Gloverscast mind, that Yeovil Town have been miles better for having Dickinson in the side, than not.

Huge congratulations on a wonderful achievement, Carl, from everyone at the Gloverscast.

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Darren Sarll faced the media following Yeovil’s 3-0 loss against Wrexham and talked of the side’s fragility both mentally and physically.

All three goals came in the first half in Wales with Shaun Pearson, Luke Young and a wonderful free kick from Jordan Davies giving the home side an unassailable lead before the break.

When asked to sum up his side’s performance, Sarll said:“There’s a fragility to us, that’s probably the best way how we explain… and it’s all coming up at once, at a tough time for us all.”

Prior to the game, assistant Terry Skiverton said that Yeovil were down the bare bones in terms of fit and available players, a situation which has been made worse, with issues reported for Matt Worthington and Albi Skendi, who both had to come off before half time, with Max Hunt and Carl Dickinson playing through an injury as well as concerns for Alex Bradley and Rhys Murphy prior to kick off.

On his injury crisis, Sarll added: “If I told you the stories of injured players or ill players … I couldn’t write it.”

BBC Somerset’s Tom Seymour confirmed the full extent of the Glovers’ injury problems after the game.

 

Despite the negative result, Sarll did make sure to recognise the positives from a more resilient second half display. “I thought second half, we did better, we contained, we didn’t ever look like scoring a goal, and we were just patching up and plastering over our wounds from the first half.”

The second half also saw the introduction of Toby Stephens, an academy graduate and at just 17 years old, someone Yeovil fans would have been excited to see.

Sarll joked, he was the only fit central midfielder at the club at the moment, before taking time to praise the youngsters cameo appearance.

“Toby deserved to play today, the way he trained yesterday, he deserved to come onto the pitch today… he deserves the opportunity He’s with us for next season, under contract, I really like Toby, I have to remind of his midfield duties, but he took the ball, tried to win it back. For someone at 17 years-old, I think he’s got a really great opportunity, but we are going to have to create a better environment for him to progress.”

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Yeovil Town fell agonisingly short of the Playoffs in their first ever season in the Football League despite a last day win over Lincoln City by three goals to two.

An 8th place finish was confirmed as, despite beating Lincoln in 7th, other results failed to go the Glovers’ way, finishing outside of the top seven, on goal difference alone.

Yeovil finished 13 goals to the good, but Lincoln, who also finished on 74 points had a goal difference of +21.

On the day, it was Adam Stansfield who came off the bench to give the away side the lead, Jake Edwards would double that lead only to see the Imps peg the Glovers back to 2-2.

But Super Gavin Williams found a winner, which secured the points, but not the 7th place finish Gary Johnson was hoping for.

Yeovil XI-   Collis, Lindegaard, Lockwood, Hugo Rodrigues, Skiverton, Gall, Way, Johnson, Williams, Weatherstone, Terry.
Subs: Northmore, Stansfield, Crittenden, Reed, Edwards.

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The curtain came down on another successful season in League One with a 2-0 away win at Carlisle.

The win, thanks to goals from Jon Obika and Dean Bowditch, meant that the Glovers signed off the season with a six-match unbeaten streak.

Three points on the final day of the 2010/2011 season secured Yeovil a 14th place finish, level on points with Carlisle and Charlton who only finished above the Glovers on goal difference.

It also meant that Sheffield Wednesday finished below Yeovil Town in the final standings whilst Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers and Swindon were all relegated out of the division along with Dagenham & Redbridge.

Dean Bowditch ended the season as the club’s top scorer with 15 goals, whilst on loan ‘keeper Stephen Henderson picked up the majority of the end of season awards.

The Carlisle side that day included both Francois Zoko and Paddy Madden who would both go on to do alright in green and white later in their careers.

Yeovil XI – Henderson, Alcock (Ehmer, 45), Virgo, Ayling, Smith, MacDonald, Upson (Tutte, 22), Wotton, Welsh, Obika, Bowditch (Jones, 70).

Unused Subs – Stewart, Russell, Gibson, Fitzsimons

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Terry Skiverton gave a very honest assessment of how he’s been handling a tough season on and off the pitch at Huish Park.

When asked if the he was still enjoying his roles at the club, the club legend gave a very honest answer: “No, I’m not going to lie, it’s been probably my hardest time throughout my career at Yeovil.”

The club is still processing the shocking loss of Captain Lee Collins who passed away in March as well as trying to negotiate a behind-closed-doors season in a global pandemic.

“Because of what happened [Lee Collins’ passing] and my relationship with Lee within the squad, he was the Captain of the football club, he was number four, we shared the same shirt number, the same roles and responsibilities as a Captain, so no, it’s been really hard to come in every day and make sure we are upbeat and giving energy to the players.”

Skiverton acknowledged his role as a leader within the coaching staff and recognised that he had a part to play in getting his players, colleagues and supporters through a hard time.

“One thing that we do here, is make sure we come up to work, we arrive at work and make sure we are rocking and rolling, so the players know they have staff behind them ready to go. We are all in, we are going to turn up on a Saturday and try and get a result. They need to see that, feel that and they need to know that we are 100% behind them, alongside them, in front of them, and we are leading in the right way as well.”

There’s no doubt the events of the last month have taken their toll on everyone associated with Yeovil Town and it was refreshing to hear a club legend like Skiverton speak so honestly, and openly.

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Yeovil Town Assistant Manager Terry Skiverton took media duties ahead of the trip to Wrexham and he suggested that, despite the injury problems, the Glovers aren’t ready to take their foot off the pedal in the hunt for success.

Speaking to the BBC, when asked about the squad’s fitness status ahead of the trip to Wales, Skiverton said: “It’ll be touch and go, a lot of the players have been in, in doing their rehab. We’ve got a real small group training today [Thursday] and then tomorrow we will do something that’s very, very light and we will have to readjust and get the right squad that travels up so that everybody’s fit.”

With the season drawing to a close and the squad looking very thin, Skiverton – who also doubles up as the Academy Manager at Huish Park – said we might get to see a few new, younger, faces over the coming games.

“We are a little bit down to the bare bones, we’ve got a few of the younger boys that have come up and will be training with us today and maybe surprising by seeing one or two in the squad come Saturday, we will just have to wait and see.”

Yeovil included Toby Stephens in the squad for the game against Halifax who is a regular with the Under-18s, whilst goalkeeper Max Evans has been a regular in the travelling parties and of course, Alfie Lloyd – who has plenty of goals in green and white at youth level – has also made the squad this season.

Lloyd wasn’t part of the Under-18s last fixture following confirmation that he has spent time on trial with QPR recently, so his involvement is unclear.

When asked about how the club are tackling the run in to a season, which looks likely to end in a mid table finish, Skiverton admitted it hasn’t been easy for everyone, but that there’s no sense of throwing in the towel just yet.

“It’s been tough, even today with me coming in today and doing the press, the Manager [Darren Sarll] has been feeling a bit flat. We’ve had two really good performances and two good wins, but to come up short on Monday, we’ve been flat after that. We’ve still got to make sure we’re pushing, we’re playing for our supporters every week, who are right behind us – that’s right at the forefront of our minds. The group we’ve got, with the manager, with the football club, we won’t sacking nothing off, our supporters want to see hard work, determination, character. They want to see us defending well and scoring goals.”

With everyone at the club was fighting for their futures and plenty of players out of contract, Skiverton reaffirmed that the attitude of everyone continues to be hardworking and professional.

The Glovers head to play-off chasing Wrexham on Saturday with a 3pm kick-off.

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As the season draws to a close, clubs up and down the land are starting to formulate their plans for next season with plenty of players being either offered a new deal, or told to find a new club for the new season.

Below, we here at the Gloverscast will keep a list of the former YTFC players who have their decisions delivered to them, Gloverscast Ben will be keeping this list updated throughout the course of the next couple of weeks, if you spot any former Glovers on R&R lists, feel free to tag @benbarrett10 on Twitter and it’ll be added to the list.

We will divide the lists up by division according the league in which they played the 2020/21 season.

Premier League
To Be Completed

Championship
To Be Completed

League One
The MK Dons have announced that former Yeovil striker Kieran Agard will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
Agard famously became the words first ‘Twansfer’ after being scouted on social media after Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton announced he needed the help of Twitter to find some new players!
Agard leaves the Dons as their 3rd highest goalscorer ever.

League Two
To Be Completed

National League

The First National League side to declare their future plans are Dover.
Dover withdrew from the 2020/21 season and saw all their results expunged, including the 3-1 loss to Yeovil on 30th of January, the last time Andy Hessenthaler’s side played.
They have announced they plan to go part-time for next season and as a result, plenty of their full-time players have been released, including former Yeovil Town midfielder, Oscar Gobern.

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MAY 6th 2013

Ed Upson Day will live long in the memory for all Glovers fans.

Yeovil Town, under Gary Johnson, pulled off a miracle by getting promoted out of League One and into the Championship for the first time ever in 2013.

The Play Off campaign saw the Glovers face off against Sheffield United and despite losing 1-0 in the first leg, the story that unfolded on the Bank Holiday Monday of May 2013 will go down in EFL folklore, as Yeovil, once again, came back in the second leg to book their place at Wembley,

Goals from Kevin Dawson in the 6th minute and famously Ed Upson just before full time took the Glovers to the League One show piece for the second time.

The match itself ebbed and flowed, United hit the bar in the first half whilst Paddy Madden missed a glorious opportunity in the second.

Many a tale has been told of this magical day, with over 8000 in the ground and plenty more watching on TV,

Scorer Kevin Dawson said after the game;

“This means everything to the club. I can’t explain what I’m feeling. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life, unreal.

“We’re now 90 minutes away from the Championship and that’s where we want to be. I’ve never been to Wembley, so I can’t wait.”

Whilst Gary Johnson told Sky Sports; “It’s very special for our club, our town, our players… we’re a little old club in Yeovil and we’ve got ourselves to Wembley, one game away from the Championship.”

Supporters invaded the pitch after the full time whistle with celebrations from all sides of Huish Park still available to watch on You Tube to take us back to arguably Huish Park’s greatest day.

The highlights are below, take six minutes to celebrate the 8th Ed Upson Day celebrations

 

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Former Yeovil Town defender Luke Ayling has reiterated his love for his former club saying it was “the best decision I ever made”.

Speaking to Laura Woods and Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Sky Sports Super Six Podcast, Ayling spoke of how he felt like moving to Somerset made a huge difference in his career

“It certainly toughed me up, it was the best decision I ever made in football.”

“I was playing men’s football at 18 or 19… I was a little skinny lad, a centre half playing centre mid, who wasn’t very good at centre mid then dropped back to right back and found my spot.”

Ayling was brought in alongside fellow Arsenal academy graduate Luke Freeman by Terry Skiverton and would go on to become a fan favourite.

However, his time in Yeovil nearly ended much more quickly than he’d expected after recalling a training ground incident with defender Paul Huntington.

“There was one incident in training, we were playing a game and one of my mates scored, Hunts [Paul Huntington] started shouting and I went back at him. There was a bit of a thing and he said, ‘you’re gunna have to get back in the team you big time Charlie’.”

That wasn’t the end of the situation though.

“So, I was playing centre mid and the ball has rolled to him [Huntington] and I’ve ran 20 yards and clattered him, and said ‘how’s that for big time Charlie’? We’ve got up, had a little scuffle at the time and the gaffer at the time sent me in saying ‘you’ll never play for this club again’ I told him ‘I don’t want to play for this club, I’m done’.”

Thankfully for Glovers fans, a swift chat with his agent and an apology was all that was needed to right the wrong and Skivo soon had Luke in his plans once more.

On his relationship with Terry Skiverton, Ayling said:“I still speak to him now, he gave me my chance, we’re good.”

Akinfenwa asked about the League One Play Off success.

“I knew what us boys actually did, we started well and hit a run and got into the play offs… there was 40,000 at Wembley, it was so good to see all that green and white. There was 22,000 [Yeovil] fans there, there’s only 40,000 in the town of Yeovil. We won it, jumped in the off licence right outside Wembley, went to McDonald’s and got loads of stuff, went back to Yeovil and went to the pub for three days”

Ayling went on to play for Bristol City following Yeovil’s relegation from the Championship and then made a move to Leeds where he is playing his way into the conversations for international recognition under Gareth Southgate and England.

Ayling will always be part of the heroic 2013 Play-Off side who gave so many Glovers fans so many special memories, he scored three times in 185 appearances at Yeovil.

You can listen to the Super 6 Podcast wherever you get your audio on demand and don’t forget to subscribe to the Gloverscast whilst you’re there.