David Coates (Page 135)

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Maidenhead United are hoping the prolific  Sam Barratt could return from injury in time for their visit to Huish Park on Tuesday night.

He rejoined the club in September after a disappointing spell at Southend United and has weighed in with 15 goals so far this season.

However, the 25-year-old has not featured since picking up an injury whilst scoring a hat-trick in the 4-2 win over Hartlepool United earlier this month.

Barratt has been joined among the goals by the towering form of strike partner Danilo Orsi-Dadamo, all 6’2″ of him, who has 17 goals in 28 games this season

The former Hampton & Richmond man will be familiar to the Glovers after scoring twice, including a late penalty, as Yeovil went down 4-2 at York Road at the end of January.

FROM THE (ASSISTANT) MANAGER

Speaking after the 3-0 defeat to title-chasing Sutton United on Saturday, Maidenhead assistant manager Ryan Peters said:

“We’re down to the bare bones at the moment and without these players we do not look like scoring many, and you are only going to hold out for so long before someone ends up scoring against you.

“We have nine players out and probably five or six that have played a (significant) number of games this season.

“We hope that Sam Barratt may be back for Tuesday’s game (against Yeovil) but there isn’t anyone else we can see coming back for Tuesday’s game. Potentially for the next game, but Sam is our best hope for Tuesday.”

 

TEAM NEWS

Whilst Barratt is touch and go for the midweek game, fellow Maidenhead frontman Nathan Blissett is expected to be missing for the game.

The former Bristol Rovers man has not featured since suffering a hairline fracture colliding with advertising hoardings in the 0-0 draw with Barnet at the start of April.

Fellow forward Josh Kelly is pushing for a restart after returning from injury and former Yeovil defender Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi returned from injury for the defeat to Sutton at the weekend.

Defender Ryheem Sheckleford will sit out the trip to Huish Park as he serves the final game of a three-match ban.

 

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

There seems certain to be two familiar faces in the Maidenhead starting XI with defender Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi and midfielder Rohan Ince both having turned out in green and white in the past.

Former Chelsea youngster Twumasi arrived at Huish Park in August 2013 but appeared just three times in the Glovers’ season in the Championship.

He was far more involved the following season as Yeovil nose-dived through League One, playing 30 times and getting sent off in his first appearance of the season, the 2-1 Capital One Cup defeat to Gillingham.

The 31-year-old departed for Newport County following his release followed by a couple of seasons at Maidstone United before arriving at Maidenhead.

Nana seems to still have a feisty side to his game having been red-carded in the club’s home game with W*ymouth last month – once a Glover always a Glover.

Ince’s flirtation with Yeovil was far more limited, appearing just four times and making a single start at the beginning of the 2012-13 season whilst on loan from Chelsea.

He went on to do okay for himself with six years at Brighton & Hove Albion and loan spells at Fulham, Swindon Town abnd Bury, before making a free transfer move to Cheltenham Town in July 2019.

Ince arrived at Maidenhead last November and has been a regular fixture in the side ever since.

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Altrincham have confirmed that fans will be inside the ground for the visit of Yeovil Town this weekend – but it will be home fans only.

In an update on the club’s website, co-chairman Billy Waterson said they were expecting up to 1,200 fans to be inside The J.Davidson Stadium.

He added that a meeting with Trafford Borough Council on Tuesday afternoon would confirm the arrangements.

The co-chairman added: “We are continuing our preparations and expect tickets to go on sale by Wednesday morning, exclusively to home fans and in priority order.
“There will be some important differences about attending the game to comply with COVID regulations and we will be communicating these at the same time the tickets go on sale.”

After the Glovers’ trip to Greater Manchester, Alty face Eastleigh and Gary Johnson’s title-chasing Torquay United in their final two fixtures.

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Remeao Hutton is among 13 players released by Championship side Birmingham City, it has been confirmed today.

Remeao Hutton in action for Yeovil Town during his loan spell in the 2019-2020 season.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The 22-year-old, who made 27 appearances on loan at Huish Park during a loan spell last season, spent this season on loan at League Two side Stevenage.

He was a regular starter for much of the campaign with 31 appearances in all competitions.

For all the latest on the whereabouts of former Glovers, visit our (as regularly as we can) updated released list – here.

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On May 26, the measure which has stopped the sale and lease back of Huish Park from owner Scott Priestnall and South Somerset District Council (SSDC) comes to an end.

The pause (or moratorium to use the correct term) was brought about by the decision of the Glovers’ Trust to activate an Asset of Community Value (ACV) it holds on the land, which has given it six months to make a counter offer to that proposed by SSDC.

It activated this option about six months ago and in an email to members on May 10, the Trust said it was “serious talks with parties who are keen to form a consortium and put together a credible bid.”

That and a statement from the owner – see here – on February 24 is pretty much all we have heard from either party in recent months. However, with the clock ticking down to the end of the moratorium we can only assume things are happening in the background.

So, here’s a look at what we (think) we know….

THE SSDC DEAL

On November 24,  Scott Priestnall confirmed he had approached SSDC to “buy Huish Park freehold land including the stadium, as well as the long leasehold parcel of land to the east of the site.”

In this statement at the time, the owner laid out the reasons why he felt the deal was necessary “in order to avoid serious financial distress in the coming months”.

On December 3, the council’s Executive District Committee met to approve the deal to “purchase and lease back property owned by Yeovil Town FC” including the Huish Park stadium.

In its press release following the decision, the council confirmed the deal would extinguish a 999-year lease between the council and the club and replace it with a new 30-year lease for the stadium and the land around it.

The full terms of the deal have remained confidential, but the authority confirmed it would be renting the site back to the club for a profit “of around 7%” per year.

It added the deal would also secure “the release of restrictive covenants” on the land which prevent its development of land at Huish Park.

The council added it would not be becoming the owner or a shareholder of the club, but recognised the value of the club to the community.

GLOVERS TRUST – ASSET OF COMMUNITY VALUE

In 2016, the Glovers’ Trust took out an Asset of Community Value (ACV) on Huish Park which gives it the right to make a counter offer if anyone sought to buy the stadium and surrounding land.

On January 2, the Trust’s board confirmed it would activate this option  and had until May 26 to make an offer counter to that proposed by SSDC.

Importantly, as Scott Priestnall pointed out in his November statement, the ACV only dictates he must consider the bid and he is not under any obligation to accept it.

So, what has happened since activating the ACV? Well, we don’t actually know, but the Trust’s most recent statement suggests it has been having conversations with people interested in backing them to make a counter offer.

In their email to members on May 10, the Trust said:

“We would like to assure you that we are in serious talks with parties who are keen to form a consortium and put together a credible bid. These are early days in the discussions and we will update further in due course.”

If you do want to get in to the detail of the ACV, the Trust has published a document which attempts to make the mind-bogglingly complicated see simple – see here.

 

SO WHO IS INTERESTED?

Well, the only party interested in owning the club that we can talk about with any certainty is the current owner Scott Priestnall and his fellow director Glenn Collis.

As mentioned before, we have not heard much from the owner on this subject since his update statement on February 24 , however, Glenn Collis has been more vocal on his social media – albeit not on the subject of the land deal.

Although his posts did including this cryptic tweet a few days ago though….

So, with SSDC making it clear it has no plans to become owner or even a shareholder, we’re all really guessing about who else might be interested and who the Glovers’ Trust could be speaking with.

Scott Priestnall has poured cold water on some speculation of entrepreneurs interested in a buy-out, and the only person who has made any positive noises about the club is former director Andy Rossiter,

The well-known supporter and local businessman was quite publicly part of a consortium which held talks with then-owners Norman Hayward and John Fry back in May 2019, when the club was sold to Scott Priestnall and his then-business partner Errol Pope.

There’s no suggestion that same consortium is ready to bid again, although on one of the virtual Q&As held by Scott Priestnall has said he “knows where Andy (Rossiter) is” which suggests the door may be open for the possibility – but doesn’t go as far as saying it.

COATESIE’S VIEW OF IT ALL

Hopefully that’s given you something of a summary of what I think we know, so the only thing left to give you is my opinion on what I would like to see come of it all.

Here we go…..

  • a  first team squad and management playing attractive, committed and (hopefully) winning football. We’re all Yeovil Town supporters not because we expect them to win every week, but because we want to see commitment every time the players step on to the pitch and excitement as many times as possible.
  • an off-the-pitch  set up that benefits its community first and foremost with facilities open to that community, and an on-the-pitch set up that recognises the importance of the community. That is the importance not only to generate players for the first team, but to give young people all the benefits we know the game brings.
  • a sustainable business model that washes it’s own face (as much as a lower league football club can) and is not a hostage to fortune.
  • a club that listens and that does not mean bowing to the whim of every fan – including loud mouths like me!
    If there’s a lesson we can learn from the  European Super League debacle, it’s that fans will only accept so much of being held to ransom by greedy, self-interested businessmen. Yes, I’m looking at you at you Mr Glazer, Kroenke, Henry, et al!
    There’s obviously a place for sound business minds in the modern game, we need that knowledge and investment to survive, not least at our level, but there’s limits that will be tolerated.

And that’s about it for my ‘demands’.

So, if Scott Priestnall and Glenn Collis, a consortium aligned to the Glovers’ Trust ACV, or anyone else out there interested in doing what is best for our club, our community and our supporters can deliver that, I’m confident you’ll find the support of almost all of us who call this club ours.

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Two-goal Tom Knowles has been named in the National League Team of the Day for his performance in the 3-1 home win over King’s Lynn Town.

The forward is listed in a front three alongside Rhys Oates of Hartlepool United and W*ymouth’s Andrew Dallas, who scored twice in their 2-1 home win over Altrincham.

Oates got one in Hartlepool’s 3-1 win at Aldershot Town.

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Darren Sarll was pleased with his side’s performance this afternoon against Kings Lynn Town. He reserved praise for star-man Tom Knowles, Emmanuel Sonupe and the players who returned to the lineup after injury.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking to BBC Somerset following the 3-1 victory, Sarll said: “I thought we were really going to put on a show at one point after Tom (Knowles) scored that second goal and I thought this could be a good day for us. We got a bit careless when players started coming out of shape a little too often and it left us a bit open. Adam (Smith) made some good saves in the second half from the header and when (Luke Wilkinson) cleared one off the line. Other than those two moments I thought we were pretty comfortable defensively and everyone can see the different the players we had coming back makes.”

The effect of the returning Lawson D’Ath, Carl Dickinson and Luke Wilkinson was clear for all to see, although the manager did say he felt Wilkinson shouldn’t have been playing, especially after a first half injury.

“Wilkinson should never have been playing, he is putting himself in harm’s way. He took a bang on his knee and he could be done for (the home game with Maidenhead United on) Tuesday. We wanted to take it one game at a time and we thought that after not scoring in three games, we had a positive response today and we will worry about Tuesday on Tuesday.”

Wilko did tweet the following after the game:

The manager was full of praise for D’Ath, who completed 85 minutes after three months out through injury.

“I had forgotten that Lawson had been out for three months and then I saw him stretching in the 80-something minute and I thought I better get Lawson off rather than (Tom) Knowles who I was thinking about bringing off. What Lawson does is bring calm to the chaos and we have missed that a lot this year. He puts his foot on the ball and if he can’t turn out naturally, he creates a way of turning out anyway.
“That can turn the game in your favour because you know if the ball lands with Lawson, you know he is going to retain the first ball and allow the team to change shape. His set plays were (excellent), how much have we missed that kind of delivery (this season)? I thought he was our best player today for his performance and what he has done for the club coming back after such a long period out with injury.”

Knowles has been in superb form of late for the Glovers and the second of his first-half strikes were of real quality. Sarll reiterated a point he made during Thursday’s pre match press conference: “I did say on Thursday that he would be one of the most exciting players outside the EFL. When I first started working with Tom, I thought as he got older he would become a centre forward like (Chris) Dagnall. He’s got those little, quick legs, he’s got good technique and he gets wonderful power in his strikes, which you can really see when you see it live. He is always capable of working the goalie and I like that about him. He struck the ball beautifully (for his second goal) at the end of a decent move for us, but it did open our shape up a bit and that is when we got a bit careless.”

Emmanuel Sonupe enjoyed a cameo from the bench and scored Yeovil’s third after being put through on goal by Joe Quigley. Speaking about Sonupe, the Yeovil boss said how excited he was about the ex-Tottenham academy player.

“It was pleasing for Emmanuel because he has been injured a lot since he signed. We know (his quality) is there and sometimes the hardest thing is to pull that (quality) regularly out of him. We saw it even after he scored his goal, the run where we went down the far side was really bright and exciting. Those really positive wide players are the players I really love watching. I thought he had a good influence going forward when he came on and he was good defensively as well. I am critical of his defensive willingness sometimes, but I thought he was good at that today. He is a clever footballer, he has a wonderful background (having started at Tottenham Hotspur academy) and if he can continue to play in that vain, he can finish the season very strongly. When he opens up he is quick, but sometimes he has so many touches he actually brings his speed down and I like it when he has less touches and covers more ground quicker. When you bring subs on, you want them to have a big influence and he had a big influence today.”

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Yeovil Town midfielder Tom Knowles spoke to BBC Somerset following his brace in the 3-1 win over King’s Lynn Town, but insisted it was a return to winning ways after three consecutive defeats  that mattered more.

“It is always nice to get a goal, but the main thing is getting three points. It is why you play  football, to get three points and win games . It has been a tough spell and things like this do happen in football and it is all about how you bounce back. You have got to go on to the next one and we have been lucky this season that when it has been tough there is always another game right around the corner. It has not gone our way the past couple of games, we have been working hard and you can see today it has come off for us and we have got the three points.”

Knowles now seven goals for the Glovers since his arrival from Cambridge in December with  Saturday’s game marking his 30th game for Darren Sarll’s side.

Speaking about his goals, Knowles said: “The first one Reuben (Reid) and Josh (Neufville) set a really good press and I was just behind it and luckily they found me and not the defender and I went through and scored. The second one was something I like to do, get on the half turn and shoot from a little bit further out, I do like to score good goals, so two different goals but I was very happy with both of them.”

Turning his attention to Tuesday night’s home game with Maidenhead United with supporters back inside Huish Park, the attacker said he is looking forward to making his first appearance in front of the fans.

He said: “I have not been fortunate enough to play in front of them yet, but I can’t wait, I am really looking forward to playing in front of them on Tuesday… I have heard really good things (about the fans) talking to the lads. They can really get behind us and drive us on and hopefully we can reward them with another three points. Everything we do is for the fans because they pay their hard-earned money to come and watch us, so we need to put in the performances because that is what we get paid to do.”

Knowles added that he had loved his first season with the Glovers, but was excited at the prospect of what the club could achieve next year.

He added: “I am really looking forward to next season, we have got a good base and if we can finish this year strongly, who says we can’t get promoted next season? We are a big club, a big team and we all want to play League football, so that is definitely going to be the aim for next year.”

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A brace from Tom Knowles and a late goal from Emmanuel Sonupe ended a run of three defeats for a patched up Yeovil Town against struggling King’s Lynn.

It was a miserable day at Huish Park with the wet weather assisting Knowles with his opening goal after the ball held up on pitch after eight minutes.

But, the midfielder’s second three minutes later owed everything to his amazing ability to connect with a ball as he bent the ball in.

The visitors pulled one back from the spot soon after before a second half which was as dismal as weather.

The only bright spot for the home side came three minutes from time when substitutes Joe Quigley and Sonupe combined for the midfielder to open his account.

Here’s how I saw it…..

FIRST HALF

If you made it to the live stream in time to watch the highlights of the 2-2 draw between the two sides on the opening day of the season, refer to Gloverscast Rule 1 when watching the handball and offside for King’s Lynn’s first goal. Horrendous, just horrendous.

The team news saw returns to the starting line up for centre-half Luke Wilkinson, making his first appearance since limping off after 26 minutes in the 5-1 defeat at Solihull Moors, and full-back Carl Dickinson who missed the midweek trip to Aldershot Town.

Lawson D’Ath, who appeared as a substitute in midweek, got his first start since the 3-0 win at Weymouth in January, and there were just four substitutes for the Glovers.

A pre-match downpour left the Huish Park pitch sodden and the ball was clearly holding up in some parts, but it was a bright start for Yeovil with Billy Sass-Davies turning an early D’Ath corner over the bar.

The conditions played a part in Yeovil’s opening goal when an underhit back pass to King’s Lynn keeper Theo Richardson held up on the surface, gifting Tom KNOWLES a gilt-edged chance to break through, stepped round the keeper and fired the opener.

Then just three minutes later, a nicely-worked move down the left, found KNOWLES on the edge of the box and he bent a beautiful strike passed the helpless Richardson.

At that point, it looked like a case of how many for the home side, but that seemed to spur King’s Lynn.

They found a way back in to the game on 23 minutes when winger Michael Gyasi was felled inside the box by a clumsy Wilkinson tackle.

The penalty was awarded and experienced striker Simeon JACKSON sent Adam Smith the wrong way from the spot.

Shortly after there was another definite call for the Gloverscast Rule 1 (NB: Don’t complain about National League refs, they’re rubbish, just live with it) when Wilkinson appeared to win the ball with a heavy tackle on Michael Gash.

The defender limped away and unfathomably got a yellow card. Suffice to say, captain Carl Dickinson was less than impressed and, to add injury to insult, Wilkinson was left struggling.

The slippy conditions and a lack of quality in both boxes made for plenty of action, but very little to test either Smith or Richardson.

Dickinson had a long range free-kick held and that was about that for the remainder opening 45 minutes.

 

Half time: Yeovil Town 2 (Knowles (2) King’s Lynn Town 1(Jackson, pen)

SECOND HALF

The rain continued to fall during the half-time break making the pitch even heavier and you just knew it was not going to be pretty.

Wilkinson did return for the second half, but it was King’s Lynn who started the half the brighter. On 50 minutes, full-back Tyler Denton whistled a shot just wide from 30 yards with Smith at full stretch.

If you did spend £9.99 to watch the stream, I would try and get a discount for the first 25 minutes of the second half which was one you could easily have made a drink during and not missed anything.

It was not until the 70th minute that King’s Lynn pressure saw midfielder Sonny Carey have an effort cleared off the line by Wilkinson, presumably kicking with the one fit and healthy leg he had left.

Two minutes later, a cross from Josh Neufville seemed to be heading towards Knowles on the back post, dreaming of his hat-trick, the script was written……..but Knowles slipped. Yeah, that kind of game.

It took until the 84th minute to cheer up when Yeovil’s substitutes Joe Quigley, on for Reuben Reid, played a well-weighted ball through to Emmanuel SONUPE who ran through and coolly slotted home his first goal.

That was pleasing for both players.  Quigley again showing that he is more than a targetman and Sonupe,  one of the few bright spots when he came on against Wrexham seven days earlier, getting off the mark with a nice finish.

A minute from the end, a great ball in by Payne and Michael Gash got a header which looped over and (I think) Smith got a touch on it to turn it on to the crossbar.

Three points, three goals and a nice fillip going in to Tuesday night’s home match with Maidenhead United with fans back inside Huish Park for the first time in a long time.

From this exiled Yeovil Town supporter, if you are lucky enough to be there – give the boys a cheer from me!

 

Full time:  Yeovil Town 3 (Knowles (2), Sonupe) King’s Lynn Town 1 (Jackson, pen).

 

Yeovil Town: Smith, Kelly, Wilkinson, Sass-Davies, Dickinson (c), Lee, Knowles, D’Ath (D’Ath, 87), Neufville (for Sonupe, 78) , Reid (for Quigley, 70), Dagnall.
Substitues (not used): Evans (GK).
Bookings: Wilkinson,

King’s Lynn: Richardson, Howard, Callan-McFadden, Fleming, Denton, Clunan (c), Gyasi (Babos, 65), Kiwomya (Payne, 65), Carey, Jackson, Gash.
Substitutes (not used):  Bastock.
Bookings: Callan-McFadden, Denton.

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There are returns to the Yeovil Town side for defenders Luke Wilkinson and Carl Dickinson for the visit of King’s Lynn to Huish Park on a damp Saturday afternoon.

Lawson D’Ath, who appeared as a substitute in the midweek feature at Aldershot Town, also starts with only four players on the bench.

Our opponents have just three substitutes, one of whom is 50-year-old assistant manager, Paul Bastock, who some Glovers’ fans may recall playing in goal for Boston United against us many moons ago.

 

Yeovil Town: Adam Smith, Michael Kelly, Luke Wilkinson, Billy Sass-Davies, Carl Dickinson, Charlie Lee, Tom Knowles, Lawson D’Ath, Josh Neufville, Reuben Reid, Chris Dagnall.
Substitues: Max Evans (GK), Emmanual Sonupe, Toby Stephens, Joe Quigley.

King’s Lynn:Richardson, Howard, Callan-McFadden, Fleming, Denton, Clunan, Gyasi, Kiwomya, Carey, Jackson, Gash.
Substitutes: Payne, Babos, Bastock.

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The whereabouts of exiled winger Gabby Rogers appears to have been cleared up.

A player by the same name turned out for Willand Rovers, a Southern League Division One South club based in Cullompton, near Exeter, in a friendly match at Clevedon Town on Friday night.

The team-sheet posted by Clevedon Town shows Gabby appearing as a number 10 for the visiting side.

Clevedon won 3-0 in the friendly fixture.

The Torquay-born winger has not featured since coming off the bench in the 3-2 FA Cup defeat at Stockport County in late Stockport.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Yeovil Town’s National League fixture with King’s Lynn, Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll was asked about the whereabouts of Rogers.

He said: “Nothing has changed from the first time around. I will only play players who want to play for the football club, it does not matter who it is. We want to produce a group of people that are highly committed to the club. Gabby was (committed to the club) but things change.”

If this does mean Gabby’s time as a Yeovil Town player has come to an end, all of us on the Gloverscast wish him the best for his future career.