Ian Perkins (Page 24)

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Mark Cooper’s frustration with his Yeovil Town side was clear in his post-match interview following this afternoon’s FA Cup defeat. The Glovers tripped at the first hurdle of this season’s competition, losing 1-0 to National League South side Chesham United.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Chris Spittles, Cooper bemoaned his side’s attacking play on the day and in previous weeks. It was another game of keep-ball from the Glovers, but no cutting-edge.

Cooper said: “Full credit Chesham, they hung in there, didn’t they? We had all the play – dominated the game. We had loads of play around the edge of their box, but we didn’t get opportunities to kill it off.  We were really sloppy at the top of the pitch today. We didn’t take care in and around the penalty area. We should be scoring at least two or three today.”

Expanding on his side’s woes in front of goal, he added: “We haven’t scored enough goals for our play. That’s another game where we haven’t [scored]. We scored one last week and we dominated the game, we had loads of chances – we scored one. We scored one the week before, scored none the week before that, we scored none today, you know. So we can only do so much.

“We get the ball safely from the our goalkeeper, and we play nice, and we get the ball to the edge of their box and it breaks down, or we pick the wrong option, or we miss the target, or we smash it straight at the keeper. I think there’s one great bit of play where Josh Sims has got an open goal from five yards, and he hits it straight at the goalie, just roll it in the corner with a bit of composure. So, really frustrating. 

“we are really nice to watch from tee to green, but once we get on the dance floor, not quite enough”

Yeovil started the day with Ciaran McGuckin, Josh Sims, Frank Nouble and Jordan Young as the attacking quartet, and were able to introduce Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Sam Pearson in the second half, but still couldn’t find a way through. Expanding yet further on his side’s woes in front of goals, Cooper really mixed his metaphors…

“If you look at our forward line, we’ve got Josh, Sims, who played 20-odd games on the Premier League, got Frank [Nouble], who’s played in the Premier League. We’ve got Ciaran McGuckin, who’s a young lad, scored two in two for us, and got we’ve Jordan Young, who was player of the year last year. So, you know, we expect. It’s not just the forwards, because we have set pieces, we had free kicks, shots from the edge of the box, but the forward boys have got to start scoring.  I’ve said to them in there, I can’t keep defending you if we keep missing chances and keep taking the wrong shot or finding the goalkeeper. Your job in the team is to score great goals. And we are really nice to watch from tee to green, but once we get on the dance floor, not quite enough.”

The set piece winner came deep into stoppage time through Jack Cawley’s header after the Chesham man rose highest above Raphael Araoye to break Yeovil hearts.

“We give them a free header. Our centre-half young Raph [Araoye], he’s coming out of U21s football, you have to learn that you have to head that ball. You can’t let your man jump above you, because that one action means that we’re out the FA Cup and not going back to a replay. So it’s great for Raph, because he has to learn that that can’t happen. And I’m sure Bristol City will be delighted, because that’s part of his learning. But, it doesn’t help us at the moment.

“[I’ve got] no qualms about the overall performance. We looked comfortable, just not ruthless enough in front of goal, and that’s been the case all season,” he added.

When asked what the next steps are to find the goals and if he needs to find the ‘devilment’ in them, Cooper said: “We either do that, or we say to the chairman, right, we need to bring some more attacking players in, because the ones we’re not we’re not quite firing. But I’ve said to them, I’ll stick with them, we keep working with them and try and make them better. And that’s your job as a coach.”

On a positive, Cooper said he expected to have Aaron Jarvis back next weekend, but that he could have been back for today: “We missed out on the protocol by 12 hours. You know, [I’m] not sure we did everything properly. We should be having Jarv coming off the bench today and winning us the game, but we didn’t, and we’ll have to wait until next week.”

Cooper finished off by setting the bar for the next few games, and promised a hard week of training for his team.

“Now it’s going to be a tough week for the boys. They’ll be in all week, and we have three games now, Wealdstone, Tamworth and Maidenhead that I want to go and take a real big points haul to propel us up the table.”

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Ian is back with Dave and Ben to preview Yeovil’s match with Dagenham and Redbridge, in what will be Mark Cooper’s 100th match in charge of the club. There’s some reflection, his first teamsheet plus we had an email that made us feel old. 

Football Content Awards. Thanks to you, we are nominated in two categories! The Best in Non League – Editoral for this silly website and Best in Non League – Podcast for football chat and nonsense such as ranking roast lamb lower than pork. In spite of that, please do go and vote for us here.

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Charlie Wakefield holds off his marker

We didn’t have to go too far back in the history books for this one. Signed by Darren Sarll in 2021, Charlie Wakefield spent two seasons at Huish Park and became a fan favourite in short order. Charlie spent a Friday evening in September chatting to Dave and Ben about his time in green and white including his goals, his departure, his ‘Man Up’ documentary and more. Sing it with us…Oooh baby do you know what it’s worth…

At the time of his departure, friend of the pod, Jake Gallagher wrote this Ode to our star man.

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Yeovil came from behind to draw 1-1 with Aldershot in an exciting afternoon at Huish Park. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from the Press Box.

It was an open game. With both sides having struggled to find the back of the net in recent weeks, I wondered if this would be a cautious, cagey affair but it was far from that. Aldershot were open, we were open and both sides created plenty of chances. I think Jordan Young should have put Yeovil 1-0 up when he was through on goal and then from the resulting corner Aldershot break and open the scoring. The visitors rattled the bar from a corner, Charlie Cooper was denied by a save from Dewhurst and Frank Nouble should have done better when he was through on goal too. I thought it was an entertaining afternoon, with both teams going for it.

Dom Bernard sends the ball forward. Pic Gary Brown

We were shaky at the back in the first half. The quest for goals left us susceptible to the counter attack and I was impressed by the running of Hady Ghandour and the string-pulling Josh Barrett. He seemed to always find space and be one step ahead of everyone and scored a wonderful opener. We’ve not found ourselves cut open very often this season but in the first half, Aldershot could have scored three or four. We seemed a behind in moments at the back, and shot ourselves in a foot a couple of times, but we rode our luck and did what we had to do to get a point.

That was Jordan Young’s best game in some time. I think we got to see a Jordan Young that looked more like last season’s player. He was picking up the ball facing goal and taking opponents on. He had a couple of his trademark efforts cutting in from the right onto his left foot. Although he should have put Yeovil ahead, you can see that he’s starting to gain confidence and re-discover a bit of form. As well all know, he can be a difference maker when it comes to those attacking areas and he had a big role in the equaliser…

Ciaran McGuckin scores his first Yeovil goal. Pic GARY BROWN

Ciaran McGuckin was a handful. The loanee was preferred ahead of Aaron Jarvis for Aldershot and offered another dimension to Yeovil’s attack. McGuckin was less of a squabbler with defenders and more of a runner. He linked play well and his energy levels kept the pressure on the Shots back line. His goal was a good example of everything he’d been doing well. He gets on the ball – looking like he’s about to cramp up in a big way – knocks it to Young before getting beyond his teammate for the return and puts a great finish past Dewhurst. It’s a tricky angle, there’s Aldershot bodies getting back and there’s plenty to do to find the bottom corner.

The supporters stuck with the team. As always there’s been a lot of talk about the reaction of supporters at Huish Park. The home supporters, who have not been given a great deal to cheer about thus far in 2024/25, were on form yesterday and no doubt contributed to that second half performance. Frank Nouble won the toss, which meant the Glovers had their preferred second half attacking the Thatchers Stand, and you could feel that energy compared to previous matches this season. That energy was fuelled by some decisions by the match official, who decided there was no need to stop play when Sam Pearson nearly had his head kicked off, nor the repeated shirt pulling on Aaron Jarvis. 

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Pictures courtesy of Gary Brown. Please ask for permission before using.

 

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Frank Nouble spoke to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after Yeovil’s 1-0 defeat at Oldham. Here’s what he said.

JP: Frank, never easy to do these after a loss I imagine. A disappointing result?

FN: Yeah, yeah, frustrating result. Nobody wants to lose games, especially when you feel like you put a lot into the game. I’m just proud of the team, really. Sometimes you lose a game and you’ve been outplayed or you know that position will better than you. You hold your hands up. Today I don’t think that was the case, I thought we done well. We frustrated them quite a lot and they’re big team in our division. So I’m glad we went toe to toe with them. I have confidence in the group, so just gotta keep going.

JP: What do you think it was? Because as you say in the first half you created chances. It was it was really there for the taking for both teams. What was it? What was the difference?

FN: I think they changed a few things [in the] second-half. I think they played better [in the] second-half. Sometimes a lot of pressure amounts to better chances, and I think they maybe edged it on better chances in second-half and they scored 1. So something we gotta learn from. We just got to keep going and you know the way we play our football it’s unique, I like to say. I think we’ve gone up a league and we’ve played exactly the same way. We try to play the ball on the floor, every now and then, mix it up and we’ve got personnel who are still blending with each other, you know. Partnerships are building every week, but we want it to build with winning as well. So you know we’re not going to be silly and say that we want to keep building and lose games either. Just gotta keep going and I’m proud of the group.

JP: And are you proud of yourself as well? Because, especially in the first half on that left hand side, you were playing off the shoulder of other defenders and cutting the ball into Jarvis I remember in the first half, so are you proud of yourself this season?

FN: Yeah, yeah, I feel like I’ve been OK. I’ve been good. I know if the attacking players are playing really well, we’ll win most games, so just gotta keep pushing for that form. I know it’ll come because we’re good players. It’s not a league we’re afraid of either. You know we’ve got me, Youngy, Jarvis, Sam Pearson. Eventually somebody’s going to, or a couple of us, will hit real rich form and when that does happen, we know that the back boys have been unbelievable as well, all year.. So we just got to stay together and the supporters are behind us, which is brilliant, so that gives us an extra push.

“it’s frustrating not to get it, especially in that moment of the game”

JP: And just describe to me because there were a couple of, crazy moments in thelast few minutes of the game. That apparent penalty call, shout whatever you wanna call it on Morgan Williams, was it a penalty?

FN: Yeah. Yeah, it’s a blatant penalty. Maybe the referee didn’t see it, maybe he got blindsided, cause [there’s] a lot of bodies in there, but it felt so obvious that you would think he would give it. So it’s frustrating not to get it, especially in that moment of the game there’s a big decision for referee to make. You know, we’re upset about at the time but we’ve got to move on quickly. We’ve got a game Tuesday against Sutton, which should be another tough game for us. But, you know, we’re quietly confident and we’ll keep working towards achieving the goals that we want to achieve which is looking up the table, not behind us.

JP: And as you say, tough game against Sutton. What else can you expect from that game on Tuesday?

FN: Sutton will be a good team. I think they come down from League Two last season, so we expect them to be good. I think they won today, I just checked the results. So we look forward to a tough game. I think they’ll be athletic. I know a couple of boys down there. We look forward to it, but they’ve got to deal with us as well. And I feel like we’re 5% away from giving someone a real hiding. So hopefully that could be the case on Tuesday. It’s also my birthday Tuesday as well, so I’m looking forward to it. So hopefully we can get the result. I wanted to keep it quiet until the game, but yeah, hopefully we can do it and we’ll just keep positive. The group is so positive in there. We’re disappointed today but it’s my job as one of the older players and a few of us to keep our head up high, long journey back home, rest up and be ready for Tuesday.

JP: 21 again on Tuesday is it?

FN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. How did you know?

 

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Yeovil Town assistant manager Chris Todd was on the media duties this afternoon following the Glovers 1-0 defeat at Oldham, in a match that saw Mark Cooper sent off. Todd spoke to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins.

JP: Chris, what’s your assessment of the 98 minutes?

CT: I believe we should have come away with something, whether that was a point or three points. It was a performance away from home that was capable of coming away with that, you know, at least. To not come away with anything is very disappointing but the referee’s performance, I’m sorry it has to be better. You can accept a few mistakes, that’s football, that’s that’s normal. But there was too many. It was very, very much disappointing for us as staff and very frustrating on the sideline, when you keep seeing decision after decision go the other way, you’re going to get frustrated. But then to send off the gaffer as well, which is madness because he’s got to understand, as a fourth official, the referee’s having a bad day. You can’t allow that to happen.

JP: So do you know exactly what it was that got Mark Cooper the red?

CT: I think it was just persistent us moaning at him really, I suppose. But when decisions aren’t going your way and they’re that bad, it’s gonna happen. You’re gonna get really frustrated. You’re gonna get annoyed. And to send him off, it just summed his performance up. I’m sorry, but it did.

JP: It wasn’t a straight red, it was kind of an accumulation of yellows. Is it fair that Mark Cooper once he’s on the should tread the line carefully?

CT: No, not at all because it wasn’t nothing after that. It wasn’t as if he was like screaming at him. Do you know what I mean? We all were. We were all like saying like ‘you need to be better, he needs to be better’. You know, it wasn’t like swearing or anything like that, which was malicious. It was nothing. Even their side said ‘Come on, like that’s embarrassing’  but there we go.

JP: Only one goal, to be fair, Oldham, you know created more, maybe, chances in the first half, but Yeovil still were it at the end of the first 45…

CT: 100%, it’s away from home, you know, but as I said, like you expect pressure, you expect a bit of defending to do. That’s normal every time you come away from home for sure you’re gonna get that, but the performance was worthy of at least a point, in my opinion, and you know, listen, we haven’t got it now and we have to go again. We have to pick ourselves up. We thank all the fans for their travelling and their support because they outstanding, I thought. And they deserve more on the day.

JP: And Sutton on Tuesday, you know, not too long, I guess, to kind of, as you say, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and go again. What can you expect from Sutton United on Tuesday?

CT: A good team, a good team. Obviously [they’ve] come down. Obviously they’ve done quite well this season so far. Every game in this league, there’s never an easy game and we understand that. So we can’t take our foot off the gas and we’ve got to keep performing. But if you keep performing and you keep putting on performances, the results will come because the quality we’ve got in abundance. We have got quality in the attacking force and then I know defenders can score and midfielders and score. So, we just have to stick together, keep working hard and turn this turn the corner basically.

Todd also spoke to the club’s official channels which you can watch below.