David Coates (Page 184)

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Player interviews

Andrejs Stolcers spoken about how he tried to encourage his Yeovil Town team-mates to play the ball through midfield after joining the Glovers’ side that would go on to win the League Two title.

The Latvian international had been released by Premier League Fulham in the summer of 2004 and linked up with former national manager, Yeovil boss Gary Johnson, in September.

Upon his arrival, Johnson spoke about Stolcers joining to build up his fitness as he looked for a move, but within three days he made his debut in a 1-0 home win over Swansea City in League Two.

The winger went on to play 43 times that season, scoring seven goals, and has spoken to the Gloverscast about his season at Huish Park.

He said: “I tried to bring something more to the team through my conversations with the lads to help them to keep the ball and manage the game rather than get it forward quickly.

Andrejs Stoclers on his debut as a second half substitute against Swansea City in 2004.
Picture courtesy of Ciderspace.

“When I arrived I saw that it was difficult to create much from midfield when you saw so little of the ball, so I tried to help us get the ball down, move it quicker and build up attacks rather than direct passes forward.

“We had some great full-backs and great wing players and we were able to use them more, but if we needed to play it direct, we knew we could do that as well.”

It did not take long for Stolcers to make an impact, on his debut as a half-time substitute against Swansea, he nearly combined to set up Phil Jevons with his first touch of the ball.

Then, in his second start, he scored twice in a 6-1 demolition of Oxford United at Huish Park, but it was the New Year’s Day trip to Swansea that season that sticks out as a memory for him.

He recalls: “I remember players telling me that Yeovil did not have a good record there and I spoke to a few of the lads about not allowing these things to stick in their heads.

“I told them to to put the past aside and stick to the game we knew we could play and the game plan the manager had set for us.”

The result was Yeovil won 2-0 and became one of only three sides to win at  The Vetch in the club’s final season at their old home – oh, and Stolcers scored the opener and set up Phil Jevons for the second.

The winger adds: “I loved that game in a big stadium, playing away from home where so many supporters are against you, it helps you focus and concentrate.

“I remember scoring a great goal there and then setting up Phil Jevons for the second – a brilliant performance which bred more confidence in our group.

“I think that game gave us more strength and understanding of what we could do, we wanted to be champions that year and we obviously went on to do that.”

However, having taken a drop of £14,000 a week in wages – according to manager Gary Johnson on his arrival – the winger was looking for a better deal than Yeovil were able to offer at the end of the 2004-05 campaign.

He recalls: “I wanted to stay, but I wanted to improve my contract a little bit and that did not happen.

“I felt I had given something special to influence the team’s performance, but it did not work out like that and I felt I had done enough so I left.”

Stolcers, who had signed for Fulham from Russian side Spartak Moscow in 2000, left Huish Park and joined FC Baku of Azerbaijan before returning to Latvia.

In 2009, he did have a trial at Yeovil, he recalls: “I went for a trial when Terry Skiverton was manager and I tried to get back, but he did not feel I was not good enough.”

He ended up playing for non-League Bath City and then Hayes & Yeading before retiring in 2010 and quickly got in to coaching the game.

In 2015, he was a youth team coach at Stevenage when current Yeovil boss Darren Sarll took over as Head of Youth.

Stolcers recalls: “I enjoyed my time at Stevenage and I did have a short time with Darren Sarll there, maybe three months.

“But, Darren decided he did not want to work with me, so I left – that is football, sometimes things do not work out.

“I am still coaching young players and working in schools with them, but I am ambitious to be a manager and applying for opportunities when they come up – but it is very competitive.”

 

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town’s players can expect to have an intense start to pre-season when they travel away to Stratford Town for their opening friendly this weekend.

The Glovers travel to the Step 4 club for the opener with manager Darren Sarll saying he expects all his players to play at least an hour.

Talking to BBC Radio Somerset reporter Sheridan Robins at a recent training session, the boss said: “I’m a little bit different to the general stereotype thinking of pre-season, lots of people do (give players) 45, 60, 75, 90 (minutes each).

“But you can see (from our players) our there that none of them need to just do 45 minutes, they’re all pretty fit, so there will be a good hour, maybe 75 minutes in everyone on Saturday.”

The manager added that he wanted the match at Knight’s Lane to be the start of a winning habit for his squad.

He said: “It will be the start of winning again, there will be no fluff in this pre-season, we want to win all our games as comfortably and thoroughly as possible.

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

“If you lose all your pre-season games, does that mean you are going down? No. If you win them all, does that mean you are going up? No.

“But I just want to get those good habits ingrained in to this new group, because there are only six or seven that are still here from last year.”

The game will be supporters’ first chance to see new signings including goalkeeper Grant Smith, defenders Mark Little and Jordan Barnett, midfielders Lewis Simper and Charlie Wakefield and welcome back Morgan Williams, who has turned out on loan for the club.

Stratford have confirmed the club bar at Knight’s Lane will be open to both home and away supporters with the club hoping to have a Pie & Pint stand open for the match. It will be located inside the ground near the turnstile entrance.

If you are attending the opening friendly match in Shakespeare country, don’t miss our Ciderspace Away Travel Guide on The Bards – here.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has praised the impact striker Reuben Reid has had since returning for pre-season training.

The 32-year-old forward managed just three goals in 27 appearances for the Glovers last season with only one coming from open play.

But, speaking with BBC Radio Somerset Yeovil Town reporter Sheridan Robins at a training session, the manager said Reid had returned from the summer break looking sharp.

Sarll said: “Reuben has come back (to pre-season training) seven kilograms lighter, his body fat percentage is under 10% and has not had a summer break and committed to his shape and his form.

“I think in that first (training) game there, this is the sharpest his finishing has been.

“Reuben has such football intelligence and I like it when he keeps things really short and snappy. I like it when he is quick with his feet rather than a bit elaborate and over-thought.”

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Darren Sarll has said he still believes he is two players away from getting the starting line-up he wants to begin the National League season with.

The Yeovil Town boss said he would like to bring in some more experienced heads before the campaign gets underway at Wrexham  on August 21.

Answering supporters’ questions on the club’s YouTube channel, he said: “I would like a couple more players that really impact the side, I still think we are two away in the eleven.

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

“I think the squad is thick with players of a certain age and a certain profile, young, up and coming and an asset.

“So I would like a couple of old men now, or some ridiculously talented players that we are capable of getting.“

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town defender Mark Little has called on the Government and social media activities to do more to identify online abusers.

The 32-year-old, who arrived at Huish Park this summer following his release by Bristol Rovers, was a victim of racial abuse on social media whilst playing for The Gas earlier this year.
He was speaking out after England players Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were subjected to sickening abuse after missing penalties for their country in a shoot-out defeat in the Euro 2020 final against to Italy.

Speaking to ITV Westcountry, Little said: “I have tough skin and I have been going through it for a while so I can deal with it now but my little boy is two years old and he doesn’t have that yet and I don’t want him to go through it in the future.

“I don’t want him to grow a tough skin, he shouldn’t have to do that and no children should have to.

“I don’t understand why the social media companies don’t do the identification.”

He admitted hearing the experiences of the international stars following the shoot-out defeat brought back his own feelings of “anger and confusion” from the abuse he suffered.

The former Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers player was subjected to racial abuse on his Instagram account following a match for Bristol Rovers and called then for social media companies to do more to identify abusers.

He added: “I am absolutely devastated for (Saka, Sancho and Rashford) because the amount of pride and the praise they should be experiencing at the moment. It is such a massive achievement and it should be a huge celebration.

“How they brought the country together after a terrible couple of years should be cherished and they should be feeling the benefits of that but they aren’t going to be are they?”

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has said the club will have to wait until nearer the start of the National League season to sign another striker.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel to answer fans’ questions, he said he would have to wait until players’ demands came within the club’s financial “capabilities.”

However, he said he believed that current strikers Reuben Reid and Joe Quigley could be sufficient backed up by support from midfield.

Asked if the squad was forward of attacking options: “We are only short if we carry on playing with two, if we play with one and wide players we are comfortable with Reuben (Reid) and Joe (Quigley).

“We are not close to signing a forward, we will have to wait late for that one because forwards go for higher premiums and we are going to have to wait til they come within our capabilities.”

He added: “In my first year (2019-20) we only had Rhys Murphy and Courtney (Duffus) until seven or eight games in and then we got Gold (Omotayo) and then we signed Chris Dagnall, so I think it may follow that trend this year.”

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Young midfielder Lewis Simper has joined Yeovil Town on a season-long loan from League One new boys Cambridge United.

The 20-year-old, who is described as “highly-rated” by the club’s official website, signed a contract extension with the Us last month to extend his stay at the club he joined as a six-year-old.

He signed on professional terms in January 2020 and made his debut eight months later, coming off the bench against Fulham in the EFL Trophy tie.

He had a spell at National League South side Concord Rangers last season, playing seven times and scoring twice and was involved in the Essex side’s delayed FA Trophy final match with Harrogate Town at Wembley.

 

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

In our efforts here at the Gloverscast to keep the legacy of the the Ciderspace website alive, we have published the first Away Travel Guide for our pre-season friendly at Stratford Town on Saturday, July 24.

The Guide is available here.

Together with Hugh Gleave, a Ciderspace original, we are in the process of salvaging and updating all the Away Travel Guides for the coming season – this is still a work in progress, so bear with us.

The Away Travel Guides are starting to emerge, but will appear here.

 

 

 

 

By:
On:
In: Uncategorized, Latest Yeovil Town News
Details of ticketing arrangements for Yeovil Town’s opening pre-season friendly at Stratford Town have been announced.

The Glovers visit the Southern League Central side’s Knight’s Lane ground on Saturday, July 24 and tickets can be purchased – click here

Stratford have asked supporters to buy tickets in advance of the game and, depending on the number of sales, tickets may be on sale on the day.

Prices:

Adults: £11.00
Concessions (Over 65s): £8.00
Youth Ticket (16-18): £5.00
Under 16s: £2.00
Under 12s: FREE (Must be accompanied by an adult)

Tickets are also on sale for the visit to Weston-super-Mare on Saturday, August 7.
Prices: Adults £8, Concessions £5, Under-16s: £2.
Tickets can be bought online for a 50p booking fee, here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/wsmafc/533304/

By:
On:
In: Gloversblog

To many supporters today, Huish is just a street dissected by the A30 down near the Tesco supermarket in the centre of Yeovil.

But, up until 1990, it was the home of Yeovil Town which explains why today’s stadium is named Huish Park despite being more than two miles away.

Huish
Huish Athletic Ground, which stood on land that is now a Tesco supermarket in Yeovil town centre, was the club’s home between 1920 and 1990.

The move had actually been more than five years in the making with negotiations between the club and Bartlett Construction beginning around the purchase of the town centre site and the move to a former army camp in Houndstone.

Gerry Lock, who had been chairman since 1982, was the man behind the deal and in 1987 he was overwhelmingly backed by the club’s shareholders to conclude the deal which netted the club nearly £2.5m.

That triggered a Public Inquiry in to the suitability of the site for a football stadium which would take a further 20 months to complete.

In Hendford to Huish Park, a history of the club by historian Kerry Miller, it is recorded there were “additional costings manifesting themselves almost daily” during the construction.

Gerry Lock, right, with manager Brian Hall as they collect the Isthmian League winners’ trophy in April 1988.
Picture courtesy of Tim Lancaster.

It also tells how there was supporter unrest about the lack of covered standing behind the goals – something not righted until a roof was put over the home terrace more than a decade after arriving – and no social facilities. Enough said on that latter point.

By the time the Public Inquiry drew to a close in March 1989, concerns over covered terracing were the least to the club’s worries – the cost of the new development had ballooned to £3.5m.

Hendford to Huish Park adds there was a £400,000 payment from Bartlett as “a gesture of goodwill“, but that still left the club in a financial hole before they’d even got in to the new stadium.

The first match was played on August 4, 1990, a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United, and followed a couple of weeks later by the first competitive match.

The first match at Huish Park was a friendly against Newcastle United on August 4, 1990.

That ended in a 2-0 win against Colchester United with striker Mickey Spencer scoring the first competitive goal at the new ground.

The first season saw average attendances of 2,639, an increase of 17.6% from those seen at Huish, and the club needed the money.

The problems become clear

By 1991, with the magnitude of the impact of the stadium move becoming apparent, Lock was forced out as chairman and replaced by a new board led by Supporters’ Club chairman, Bryan Moore.

Hendford to Huish Park describes how Moore was “pushed in to the chair” adding: “Moore’s first was to prepare the shareholders and the general public for the bombshell that was to come with the financial situation.”

With speculation that the club were in a financial hole to the tune of anything between £500,000 and £750,000, the clear and present danger of the club going to the wall was very real.

The Mecca bingo hall, today the Club Neo nightclub, hosted a public meeting attended by 1,000 people and there were bucket collections at home matches.

Supporters, board members and even players bought shares in the club, no transfer fees would be paid for players and the reserve team was scrapped to try and keep the club afloat.

FA Cup to the rescue

As was so often the case, the FA Cup came to Yeovil’s rescue when in 1992 they drew another of the competition’s famous giant-killers Hereford United in the second round.

A crowd of more than 8,000 packed in to Huish Park for a goalless draw and by the time the replay rolled around 11 days later, both clubs new a money-spinning third round tie against Arsenal was the prize that awaited them.

Paul Sanderson put the Glovers ahead in the tie before midfielder Paul Batty, who had bagged a hat-trick in the previous round against Torquay, missed a penalty and then Owen Pickard, who would go on to play for Yeovil, equalised for Hereford.

Then, with just seconds remaining, substitute and defender Neil Coates popped up with the winner.

Miller recalls: “It was a goal which was conservatively estimated as being worth £100,000.”

Add to that a shrewd move from the club’s commercial manager and a former Arsenal player, Alan Skirton, to make fans keen to attend the third round tie get vouchers from league matches in the run-up to it, and the club cashed in on the arrival of the Gunners.

It could have been even better had Arsenal agreed to move the game to a Monday night to accommodate the Sky cameras, who were willing to pay a further £100,000.

The Premier League side had a match the following Wednesday and were not willing to make the shift, so Match of the Day highlights it was.

It may be too simplistic to say Neil Coates’ goal at Hereford saved the club, but it certainly went a long way towards it.