David Coates (Page 4)

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Farnham Town chairman Harry Hugo has said that Yeovil Town’s new striker Owen Dean has the potential to play in the Football League.

The entrepreneur who has been instrumental in the Surrey side’s rise up the footballing ranks knows the frontman better than most having seen him score goals during that ascent to the National League South.

That form earned him a move to Yeovil in a deal which was completed ahead of last weekend’s 6-0 home win over Boston United and the 22-year-old is expected to be in the Glovers’ squad for the trip to Wealdstone on Saturday.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Gloverscast, he said: “Owen is not your average number nine who is lazy until the ball comes into his area, he’s just not that player. He works his socks off, he’s incredibly physical despite his relatively small stature. He’s not a big, tall target man, but he’s brilliant in the air, great in the tackle, brilliant in duels and great at dribbling.

“The question mark over Owen is what full-time training will do for him. What lever does that pull? If he’s as good as he is now playing part-time, having trained just once a week until this season and twice a week this season, what happens when he’s training four or five times a week at Yeovil? Does that pull another lever?

“He’s got all the attributes you could want from a forward in the Football League.”

Listen to Harry Hugo talk more about about our new striker, his relationship with Glovers’ boss Billy Rowley and Yeovil on the latest edition of the podcast.

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Yeovil Town Badge on huish park

In August, an Asset of Community Value (ACV) registration covering Huish Park and surrounding land registered by the Glovers Trust expired.

You might remember the Trust activated this in January 2021 when former owner <NAME REDACTED> set wheels in motion to sell the stadium and surrounding land to South Somerset District Council (now Somerset Council).

That gave the Trust six months to make a counter offer – or find someone else who wanted to make one – and you may recall worked with a consortium, Simul Sports, led by former Cardiff City commercial director Julian Jenkins and backed by Canva Chief Financial Officer Damien Singh, in a deal which collapsed in May 2022. Cue the sale of the stadium to the council, an ultimately failed ‘stewardship’ by a consortium led by Matt Uggla, and the eventual takeover by local businessman Martin Hellier with the club on the brink of administration. In short, cue chaos.

Following the expiry of the Trust’s ACV, we at Gloverscast felt it was important it was reinstated and our status as a Community Interest Company gives us the ability to apply to register for one to run for the next five years. This week, Somerset Council has confirmed to us that our application has been successful.

A reminder of the core (stadium) and non-core (surrounding) land at Huish Park.

So what does this mean? 

An ACV means that if the owner of Huish Park or surrounding land – which today is Somerset Council –  intends to sell the properties then the community have an opportunity to express an interest in being treated as a potential bidder. This does not mean the property owner is obliged to accept any offer from the community, but the community will have the opportunity to delay any sale proceedings by six months to prepare a counter offer.

In this instance, it is the Gloverscast CIC which is the registered party which would represent ‘the community’ – that’s all of us, Yeovil Town supporters – just as the Trust did back in 2021.

The club’s owners, Inflection Holdings which is headed by club chairman Prabhu Srinivasan and his family, has made its ambition to buy Huish Park and surrounding land back from Somerset Council clear, and we at Gloverscast believe reuniting the club with the stadium and land it calls home is of huge importance.

In September 2025, Somerset Council confirm the owners had extended its exclusivity period to buy back Huish Park until 17 May 2028.

What this does not mean

This registration has not been made because the Gloverscast believes that Somerset Council has any imminent intention to sell the land. Indeed, its agreement of an exclusivity period with the club’s owners would seemingly prevent it from doing so.

This registration also does not mean that the Gloverscast believes the club’s owners have any intentions of doing anything which would not be in the best interests of the football club. To the contrary, we have no reason to doubt the public statements which they have made about any deal being for the benefit of the club.

However, as supporters of this club will know only too well, ensuring that we have even a small amount of protection and influence over any sale of Huish Park or surrounding land is critical. It is for this reason we have taken the action to reinstate Huish Park as an Asset of Community Value.

Yours in green-and-white, The Three Plebs.

P.S. If you are interested in the long, murky history of how we got to this stage in the first place – check out our blog post from September 2021 – HERE.

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Tickets for Yeovil Town’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at Leatherhead will go on sale tomorrow (Friday 9th October) at 5pm.

We have been allocated 300 tickets for the trip to the Isthmian League Premier Division on Saturday 17th October and initially they will be available only to Yeovil Town season ticket holders.

Each season ticket holder can purchase a maximum of two tickets per season ticket.

Ticket prices for the tie are:

  • Adults: £14
  • Concessions (65+ and full time students): £10
  • Under 16s: £6
  • Under 12s: £3

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Leatherhead FC have confirmed that the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie with Yeovil Town on Saturday 17th October will be an all ticket affair.

The Isthmian League Premier Division outfit have also said they hope to have ticketing details available soon.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Tanners said: “Ticketing arrangements and purchasing information will be announced in due course across our website and social media channels. We look forward to welcoming a bumper crowd for what promises to be a memorable occasion. Stay tuned for further details.”

The official capacity of their Fetcham Grove home appears to be listed at 2,000 – though some suggestions might be 500 higher than that – and there were 1,140 inside the ground for the third qualifying round tie against Hanworth Villa last weekend.

There is not normally segregation at the ground, however, for a high profile tie like this there may be some kind of segregation which might mean we could expect something in the region of 200-300 tickets.

Watch this space for details……

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The Green & White Supporters Club have announced their travel plans for Yeovil Town’s remaining away matches of 2026.

Wealdstone – Saturday 10th October
Member price: £28 – Adult, £26 – Concessions
Non-member price: £31 – Adult, £29 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 8.45am
Hornchurch – Tuesday 27th October
Member price: £36 – Adult, £34 – Concessions
Non-member price: £39 – Adult, £37 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 1.30pm
FC Halifax Town – Saturday 31st October
Member price: £43 – Adult, £41 – Concessions
Non-member price: £46 – Adult, £44 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 4.30am
Eastleigh – Tuesday 24th November
Member price: £24 – Adult, £22 – Concessions
Non-member price: £27 – Adult, £25 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 8.45am
Harrogate Town – Saturday 28th November
Member price: £46 – Adult, £44 – Concessions
Non-member price: £49 – Adult, £47 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 6.00am
Boston United – Saturday 19th November 
Member price: £45 – Adult, £43 – Concessions
Non-member price: £48 – Adult, £46 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 4.30am
Woking – Monday 28th December 
Member price: £26 – Adult, £24 – Concessions
Non-member price: £29 – Adult, £27 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 10.00am
Altrincham – Saturday 2nd January 2027
Member price: £46 – Adult, £44 – Concessions
Non-member price: £49 – Adult, £47 – Concessions
Coach leaves Huish Park: 7.30am
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570.

You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat. Prices are maximum and may reduce depending on booking numbers.

Payment can be made by bank transfer, please reference the match you are booking for and message Paul Hadlow to confirm the payment.

Account name: Green & White Supporters’ Club.
Account number: 8343 6772
Sort code: 20-68-15

If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.

You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.

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A rampant Yeovil Town blew away Boston United with four goals in 12 first half minutes to send Huish Park home happy on Saturday.

The Glovers opened the scoring when Ryan Jones weaved his way forward and slotted home with 34 minutes on the clock to begin the rout and he was quickly followed by Brett McGavin and James Daly before Johl Powell made it 4-0 at the interval in the second minute of first half stoppage time.

Then after the break boss Billy Rowley made a number of changes, including withdrawing scorers Jones, McGavin and Daly, before Mason Obeng made a fifth on 73 minutes and then Powell added his second from the penalty spot three minutes later.

First half

Ahead of kick-off, Yeovil unveiled a new signing with striker Owen Dean, who has joined on an undisclosed fee from National League South side Farnham Town, unveiled to supporters on the pitch ahead of kick-off at Huish Park.

The opening 60 seconds saw Johl Powell forced a good save out of the visiting keeper Luke Chadwick after making a dangerous run in to box and getting in a shot which was well pushed away by the keeper. Then on 17 minutes the keeper was in action again to turn a Slavi Spasov header over the bar.

But the Glovers’ striker should have given the keeper no chance five minutes later. Archie Davies robbed defender Georgie Gent inside the box and squared it to Spasov who got his feet in a tangle and failed to get anything on what should have been a golden chance to score.

On the half-hour mark, Jos Barker did superbly to get down to keep out Terrell Agyemang’s shot from the edge of the box through a forest of legs, before Brett McGavin had an effort from a similar range blocked at the other end.

Yeovil have been doing the vast majority of the pressing and their efforts got their rewards on 34 minutes when they took the lead. Ryan JONES picked the ball up on the right side, got past Gent and burst in to the box and slotted home his third goal of the season.

Then three minutes later it was 2-0 to Yeovil. Spasov was the creator as he picked out Brett McGAVIN on the edge of the box and the midfielder did superbly to bamboozle his defence and then fire home the second. Another fantastic move and a fantastic finish.

Yeovil Town celebrate after James Daly makes it 3-0. Picture courtesy of Indy Pitman/Indy’s Visuals.

The Glovers were purring and they added a third five minutes later. Jones made a move forward down the right, sold Gent a dummy and played a superb pass through to James DALY on the other flank and he hammered a shot across Chadwick and into the far corner.

Just when you thought it could not get any better, Yeovil added a fourth. Jordan Norville-Williams pinged a ball forward down the left side to find the on-running Johl POWELL. The Boston defence looked towards the assistant for an offside flag which never came, but Powell played to the whistle and coolly slotted home.

The whole of Huish Park (except those in the away section) were on their feet to applaud the Glovers off at the interval. Oooo-ahrrrrr, it’s a massacre!

Doesn’t that look pretty? Picture courtesy of Debs Curtis.

Half-time: Yeovil Town 4 Boston United 0

Second half

Yeovil started the second half in a similar fashion to how we ended the first – on the hunt for goals. James Daly prodded a chance wide two minutes after the restart before Jones flashed one just across the face of goal three minutes later.

On the hour mark, Yeovil boss Billy Rowley made a triple substitution with three of the first half goal-scorers, Daly, Jones and McGavin, withdrawan in place of Mason Obeng, Charlie Lennon and Zain Westbrooke. It says everything about the control which the Glovers have on this encounter that we can withdraw those players and with on 69 minutes there was another change with Ste Walker replacing Spasov.

With 73 minutes on the clock, two of the new arrivals combined to add a fifth goal. The move started with Mason OBENG who picked out Walker on the right side, but the winger continued his run and slammed home a fifth. There are Boston supporters in the away section who are leaving, but no-one of a green-and-white persuasion is leaving this one early.

Mason Obeng celebrates making it 5-0. Picture courtesy of Indy Pitman/Indy’s Visuals.

But it just kept getting better. Johl POWELL jumped on a defensive mix-up from the visitors and was brought down inside the box by substitute Gavan Holohan. Penalty and Powell made no mistake with 76 minutes on the clock. “Watching super Yeovil, putting on a show….” sings the Thatcher’s Stand and boy were we!

The final whistle was met by an almighty roar for a scintillating performance and a result which moved the Glovers up to fourth place in the National League Premier Division table with 12 games played.

Full time: Yeovil Town 6 Boston United 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 3rd October, 2026, 3pm

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Ryan Jones 34 (1-0), Brett McGavin 37 (2-0), James Daly 42 (3-0), Johl Powell 45+2 (4-0), Mason Obeng 73 (5-0), Johl Powell pen 76 (6-0)

Conditions: Cloudy – the floodlights were on in the second half

Pitch: Looking good – still

Attendance: 3,140 (121 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: James Daly 57, Jordan Norville-Williams 83
Boston United: Sai Sachdev 49, Jack Sutton 51, Connor McBride 59

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Charlie Lennon (for James Daly, 60), Zain Westbrooke (for Ryan Jones, 60), Brett McGavin (for Mason Obeng, 60), Ste Walker (for Slavi Spasov, 69), Joe Gubbins (for Ben Radcliffe, 74), Loick Ayina (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Boston United: Luke Chadwick, Sai Sachdev, Connor Teale, Jamie Grimes, Georgie Gent, Jack Sutton, Terrell Agyemang (for Gavan Holohan, 46), Ken Aboh (for Tom Cursons, 46), Connor McBride, Lennon Wheeldon, Lennell John-Lewis (for Jack Holmes, 83).

Substitutes (not used): Luke Faxon, Lewis Shipley, Niall Canavan, Ben Hammond.

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Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley has spoken of the importance of continuity after naming an unchanged starting XI for today’s home match with Boston United.

The Glovers’ boss has kept with the same line-up which began the 1-1 draw with Worthing on Tuesday night with the only new addition being defender Loick Ayina who returns from suspension on the substitutes’ bench.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall, said: “I think it’s important to give some of the lads continuity at times. If you win, you keep the same team; if you lose, you change your team. I don’t necessarily think we should always do that. I thought we played well against Worthing. I thought we could have scored two, maybe three goals in that game and won it. All of the lads played well and they finished on their backs, they showed a level of determination and care for the result to keep their spots.

“I don’t see that we needed to massively change the game plan today, so a pat on the back for all of the lads and a chance for them to go out and sort of right the wrongs from Tuesday.“

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Yeovil Town have signed striker Owen Dean for an undisclosed fee from National League South side on a deal until 2028

The 22-year-old has got four goals in nine matches for Farnham this season and has managed more than 20 goals in the previous three campaigns as the Surrey outfit rose up through the pyramid.

In a statement announcing his departure, Farnham said that Yeovil had met “a contractual release clause” and added that the deal saw them “retain a considerable sell-on clause across all future transfers.”

The statement added: “After news of Yeovil Town’s interest came to light earlier this week, the club made an improved attempt to keep Owen, but the opportunity to move up the pyramid and join a full-time operation to further his development was something Owen did not want to pass up.”

The deal was actually announced initially by Farnham on Saturday afternoon before Yeovil confirmed it around half-an-hour later. Dean was then unveiled to supporters on the pitch ahead of kick-off in the home match with Boston United.

New signing Owen Dean is unveiled ahead of kick-off. Picture courtesy of Indy Pitman/Indy’s Visuals.

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Yeovil Town have announced an unchanged starting XI for today’s visit from Boston United to Huish Park (3pm kick-off).

The Glovers welcome defender Loick Ayina back from suspension on the substitutes’ bench where they name seven subs for the first time in a number of weeks.

Otherwise, it is the same line-up which drew 1-1 at home with Worthing on Tuesday night.

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley believes there is still more to come from his side as they enter October in the National League Premier Division play-off places.

The Glovers were held to a 1-1 draw at home to new boys Worthing on Tuesday night which saw them finish September in sixth place in the table with 19 points from their opening 11 fixtures.

Appearing on the Gloverscast ahead of the start of the season, Rowley and his assistant manager Darren Simpson spoke about how they expected the squad to be finding their feet in the division by around November time.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of this weekend’s visit from Boston United, the boss said: “I would have definitely taken it. It was only two years ago that I had to rebuild a team at my previous club (Walton & Hersham) and it takes I think four or five months to really, hit top gear and I don’t think we’ve hit that yet. I think we’re closer than than I expected us to be with signing 15 new players, so I am really happy with where we’re at right now. But we know that performances and league table position are the only thing that dictate that, so if we get another couple of wins it is looking excellent, but a couple of bad results and it is not looking so good. We are just going to focus on the here and now, the game Saturday, and hopefully be standing here next week saying we’re we’re looking good.”

The draw against Worthing saw Yeovil create a host of goal-scoring opportunities but only managed to convert one of them when midfielder Brett McGavin’s goal-bound effort was turned home by a visiting defender.

As they prepare to take on a Boston United side which sits two points off the division’s relegation places going in to the weekend, Rowley knows that his side need to find a more clinical edge in front of goal.

He said: “It was definitely an entertaining game and I enjoyed it for the most parts. Obviously there are parts you are always critical of and we have had a meeting this morning where I have reminded the players that we are creating chances and banging that drum (that we need to take more of them). But I’m really happy with how the team’s looking, there’s a real good vibe around the lads.

“On another day, we could have scored maybe three or four goals, they had couple of big chances, but I think we had the better chances. It was a really open game and that was by design, we didn’t win, but we just weren’t clinical enough.”

Defender Loick Ayina will be available for this weekend after completing a three-match suspension for his sending off at Aldershot Town, but Rowley said that defender Joy Mukena was still “four or five weeks” available from being available after suffering a hamstring injury. Meanwhile midfielder Joe Haigh, who has not been seen in green-and-white since signing in the summer, is getting closer to taking part in full training.

Rowley said: “Joe hit his new top speed last couple of days, so his running mechanics are looking really good. He’s looking fit and strong and he’s been in the gym a lot, so he’s been able to build some like robustness that he probably wouldn’t have usually had during a football season. I think he’s going to be maybe two to three weeks away from proper ball work and then maybe four to six weeks away from from game time. But once we get Joe in, I think all the fans will be really excited to watch him play, and he’ll feel like a feel like a new signing for us.”

Joe Haigh has been involved in a number of pre-match warm-ups in recent weeks. Picture courtesy of Indy Pitman/Indy’s Visuals.

This weekend’s opponents, Boston United, arrive at Huish Park with only seven points fewer than Yeovil from their opening 11 matches, but sat just two points above the National League relegation places. They were held to a 1-1 draw at FC Halifax Town on Tuesday night having lost 1-0 at home to AFC Fylde last weekend.

Rowley said: “Sometimes teams will will turn up and and scrap what they’ve been doing in previous week weeks and and throw something new at you, so we’ll be prepared for that. I do feel it might be stylistically slightly different, but equally they do have some real threats in their team. They’ve got some excellent players, it’s just another standard National League game, you’ve got to be ready and be at your best, or you’re not going to win.”

Luke McCormick Update

No interview with the Yeovil manager is complete without a question on the status of club captain Luke McCormick and this one was no exception:

Jack Killah: Obviously the Luke McCormick situation is ongoing and you are hopeful that’ll be resolved one way or the other in the near future?

Billy Rowley: Yeah, like I keep saying, as soon as we have a definitive answer for the supporters, they will get it. I’m not trying to pull a pull the wool over anyone’s eyes on that, it’s just we don’t have anything for them right now. As soon as we do, we’ll tell you.