After two away days, the Glovers are back at Huish Park today hosting York City. Ben’s caught up with our friend Simon from the ‘Same Old City Podcast’ about York and there’s plenty to talk about.
We’ve got a win to talk about and we’re delighted to welcome Alex Russell aka Distant Glover to the podcast to chat about Yeovil’s 1-0 win at Solihull Moors on Tuesday night! We look ahead to York City, get Alex’s thoughts on the manager situation and take your GCQs.
It’s the first Wednesday of the month and that means Glovers Past!
On this episode Dave is joined by Mike West of the Heritage Society to chat to former Yeovil winger Peter Conning about his time in green and white!
Yeovil got back to winning ways last night at league table-proppers Solihull Moors. A first half goal from Junior Morais saw Richard Dryden’s side get back down the M5 with all three points in a 1-0.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins, Dryden praised his team: “The lads have been absolutely fantastic this week. It’s been a tough week, but today we ground it out. The last half hour seemed like two days.”
Yeovil revert to a back three for the match, with Dryden prioritising the defensive shape.
“We’ve been looked at the last two games before this and conceded four [seven actually?] goals. There’s not a lot of time in working between games when you when you’re playing Saturdays and Tuesdays,. We did very minimal yesterday, but all we did was work a little bit on defending the box, not a lot. We just got a shape organised, and we felt if we defended our box well today, we’d have a good chance of winning the game.
“It doesn’t matter how well you play, if you don’t win games, it means nothing. It means nothing. We probably played better the last two games before this, and ended up with nothing. We played some football today, they pressed really well I thought they were a really good pressing side and made it really hard for us. But we’ve done horrible things really, really well today. And that’s what sometimes wins you games.”
Morais winner came with a stroke of luck after James Plant’s shot was deflected into his path but Dryden’s focus was solely on winning the game.
“We are expansive sometimes. I think Willow’s [Morgan Williams] cross field, pass, gets out to, I think Planty, and from there on, it’s just a little bit of a blur. I haven’t even seen anything about it yet, it’s just about winning the game. I think when you’ve lost the last three it’s about winning the game, or getting something out the game, you know. So we’re really, really happy we’ve kept the clean sheet. And that’s not just a goalkeeper and the back three. That’s that’s a whole team. I say we score together and we defend together. And, you know, everybody’s done their job today.”
Former Hartlepool Manager Anthony Limbrick, who has been linked with the vacant managerial position, was spied in attendance last night and when asked if he still expected to be manager this Saturday Dryden’s response was: “I don’t know. Just just doing the job. I don’t know if I’m honest.”
Well, we’re a month(ish) into the season and it’s fair to say it’s been eventful. The Glovers started with a 0-0 draw at home to Hartlepool before whimpering to a 2-0 at Forest Green Rovers. An unconvincing win against Brackley followed before defeats by Braintree Town and Gateshead sealed Mark Cooper’s fate. Yeovil finished August with a 3-2 loss at FC Halifax Town on Saturday.
The monthly YeoGov is back now we’ve kicked off so let us know what you’re thinking on sevon-point scale. It’s the usual questions around performance around the club and the optional matchday experience one and this month we want to know if you think the club were right to relieve Mark Cooper of this managerial duties.
Well, another lead let slip for the second match in a row (albeit a much finer lead) this time at FC Halifax Town. Dave and Ben share their thoughts on Saturday’s match, we’ve got some managerial voice notes, a brief look at Solihull on Tuesday and your GCQs.
FC Halifax Town are the hosts today and Ben has caught up with our friend from the Halifax Courier, Tom Scargill, ahead of today’s match. Ben recorded this one as the announcement of Mark Cooper’s sacking came out.
It’s been quite the week for Yeovil Town FC. Mike Hudson joins Ian and Ben to discuss the crazy Gateshead match and Mark Cooper’s subsequent sacking. We give our potential managerial options, a few thoughts on Halifax and answer your GCQs.
Mark Cooper has been “relieved of his duties” as Yeovil Town manager this morning, the club has confirmed in a statement.
The decision follows a disappointing start to the National League Premier Division season which came to a head with a 4-3 defeat at home to Gateshead on Bank Holiday Monday.
The Glovers had led 3-0 at half-time in the game before capitulating to their third defeat in the first five games of the season.
The statement published on Monday said: “We would like to place on record our thanks to Mark for his commitment to this club through some very difficult times and also his achievements during his three years at Huish Park. We wish him every success in his future endeavours.”
The statement added that coach Richard Dryden, who has worked alongside Cooper at a number of his other clubs and joined his coaching staff in the summer, would “assume responsibility for first team matters while the club begins the process of appointing a new permanent manager.”
The next fixture sees them travel to FC Halifax Town looking to bounce back after back-to-back defeats over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The statement added: “We encourage all supporters to get behind Richard and the squad as we focus our attention on this weekend’s fixture against FC Halifax Town.”
Speaking after the Gateshead defeat, Cooper said he had to take calls for his sacking “on the chin” after large sections of the Huish Park crowd turned against him following the second half collapse.
He said: “If you do not win games, that is what happens. I am a big boy and you have to take it on the chin. The biggest frustration is that we played so well (in the first half) and as a manager, a coach and as a staff, we set the team up to do what we did in the first half.”
Cooper arrived at Huish Park in October 2022 following a disastrous start to the season by then-boss Chris Hargreaves and oversaw the club’s relegation out of the National League Premier Division in seven months which saw the club rocked by off-the-field turmoil.
He guided the Glovers out of the National League South at the first attempt, winning the title by 11 points, but when he guided them to an 18th place finish last season, his ‘conservative’ tactics began to turn supporters against him.
The dismissal is the first major move by the club’s new owner Prabhu Srinivasan who has attended all of the club’s matches so far this season.
Where to start with that? It was an unbelievable afternoon at Huish Park in a match that had it all. Here are Ian’s five conclusions from emotional rollercoaster that was Yeovil Town 3 Gateshead 4.
The first half was scintillating. I cannot recall us blowing away a team in that fashion in years. Everyone was in sync, the football was flowing and the chances were taken. The players were much more comfortable in a 4-2-3-1 and the roles were clear. The energy of the forwards and the high press stopped Gateshead from getting any flow whatsoever and we forced them into mistakes which led to goals for Josh Sims and Junior Morais. Williams and Wannell looked their imperious best at the back, with Whittle and Pendleton on the overlap. Everything clicked and it was exhilarating.
I was a big fan of our McMidfield. After the Brackley Town match I said that I didn’t think we were particularly mobile in midfield and dropping Luke McCormick deeper to partner Brett McGavin felt like the solution in the first half. He was energetic, ran with the ball, played forward and showed that he’s, perhaps, better suited to a role deeper rather than one of the number 10 positions. His mobility and McGavin’s passing set us up well in the first half and when we lost McGavin to injury we lost that composure in the middle of the pitch.
The second half was abysmal. Everything that was good in the first half seemed to just disappear when the players emerged for the second half. Gateshead matches us up and reverted to a back four (wingbacks 🚮) took control of the game and got an early goal which immediately put the spooks on the players and Huish Park. You could almost sense the “here we go” murmur around the stadium. And boy, did it go. What was said at half time? How can a team go from being so confident to so withdrawn? The high press disappeared and we showed that age-old trait of sitting back and inviting pressure. Taking off a winger and bringing on a centre back 3-3 spoke volumes.
The players must take some responsibility. It’s unacceptable to be in such a position of dominance after 45 and to then crumble in such a manner. We were missing leadership on the pitch as the 2nd half progressed. Legs tired with the schedule (although Gateshead didn’t seem to have a problem?) Finn Cousin-Dawson came in for McGavin and did the battering ram role in midfield. Ben Wodskou had a huge chance after great work by Tahvon Campbell to get Yeovil a fourth but couldn’t finish like he did against Brackley. He should have scored. But, in that 2nd half we were crying out for some Sarll-esque characters to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and we don’t have them. Is that down to the players or the recruitment? The irony of Frank Nouble leading the front line and dragging his new team over the line, months after leaving under a cloud, was not lost. Credit to the players, they did go round to the supporters and front up to those who remained to applaud their efforts. The supporters have never not been behind the players.
I’m not sure what happens next, but we all know what needs to. The outrage was palpable from the equaliser. Huish Park was clapping along in unison to “we want Cooper out” from the Thatchers. As soon as the fourth went in the manager was down the tunnel as fury erupted from the stands. The decision makers were all in town for this one and just five games into their tenure they have a decision to make. The mood amongst supporters is clear, and it can’t just be brushed off as ‘people online’. No club wants to be seen as a sacking club and I understand that rationale, but the relationship with the majority of the fan base is irrevocable. Shortlists need drawing up and a plan needs to be made for change before Matt Uggla’s York City visit on the 6th September.
