Ian Perkins (Page 68)

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Yeovil Town fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of National League leaders Nott County yesterday afternoon. Here’s Ian Five Conclusions from Huish Park…

The score line did not reflect the performance. If you weren’t at Huish Park yesterday you’d have seen that score and thought it was a hammering, but it didn’t tell the full story. Notts County’s manager Luke Williams said he felt very lucky to come away from Huish Park with three points. Many expected the Glovers to sit back and absorb a 90 minute blitz, but despite conceding in the first five minutes, Yeovil went toe-to-toe with table-toppers but in the hunt for a second equaliser left too much room for Macauley Langstaff inside the 18 yard box in the 94th minute.

Morgan Williams and Ruben Rodrigues – Image Courtesy of Mike Kunz

Mark Cooper set up his side with a plan to stifle Notts County and a big part of that involved Morgan Williams, who kept Ruben Rodrigues out of the game. Williams seems capable of doing every job asked of him. Yesterday he lined up as part of the midfield, tasked with following Rodrigues everywhere and preventing him from impacting the game and Williams did just that. Rodrigues barely got a sniff of the ball without Williams breathing down his neck to dispossess him. At one point in the second half Rodrigues celebrated a sliding tackle on Williams by the touch line which Williams laughed off – he clearly enjoyed the agitation of his opponent. Ultimately, Rodrigues made the difference from the spot, where Williams couldn’t shadow him, however the centre back, turned full back, turned wingback has shown he can also do a job in midfield too.

While the performance didn’t match the result, to gift the top goal scorer in the league was a cardinal sin. When Langstaff was allowed freedom of the six yard box to head home, it gave the Glovers an even bigger mountain to climb, and although they nearly managed it, its clear Langstaff is operating on another level. The striker is in the form of his life and is absolutely lethal in front of goal. His first was good positioning to spot space in the area, his second was less instinctive but a real poachers effort after good spell of patient possession and the third was the hunger to take home the match ball as Yeovil’s defenders switched off.

Andrew Oluwabori equalises for Yeovil – image courtesy of Mike Kunz

Despite going behind, we didn’t change our approach. It was clear that the plan was to allow the Notts County defenders to knock the ball about and bring it forward, but once they made it past the halfway line, Cooper, Worthington and D’Ath engaged and launched the counter attack. In the second half it felt like the momentum was with Yeovil and with the introduction of Andrew Oluwabori, Notts County had genuine pace up against them. Slocombe’s didn’t anticipate Oluwabori’s pace in the 65th minute and he nipped in to pinch the ball and was left with work to do to score a great equaliser. Slocombe was stretched again by Oluwabori and Jordan Young, but it was Jamie Reckord who should have levelled it before County’s stoppage time double.

 

We’re down to the bare bones again. For the third season in a row, we’re playing without a full bench and asking players to play through the pain barrier to get us through games. Mark Cooper mentioned the absence of a physio again yesterday, clearly a pointed message. We’re going into two huge games this week that we need to win. The sides below are picking up points and if were going to keep our heads above the water we need to do the same at Maidenhead and York City. Make no mistake, we are in a relegation battle and our players are going above and beyond for the green and white shirt. Everyone (okay, maybe not everyone) at the club is mucking in.

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Off the back of Somerset Men’s Premier Cup heartbreak at Paulton Rovers, Dave, Ian and Ben are back to talk YTFC and preview Saturday’s big match against Notts County. We welcome Chloe from the Magpie Circle Podcast for a view from the top of the table.

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.

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Mark Cooper is relying on the robustness of his younger players for the Glovers fixture pileup.

Speaking at today’s press conference the manager praised his remarkable players amidst ongoing uncertainty. When asked about the signing of Ryan Law and his versatility for the rest of the season he said: “That age group is usually more robust. We’re relying on a lot of players playing a lot of games. We’re trying to stay fit and be durable.

“It’s difficult, we don’t have a physio at the moment. Some players don’t know if they’re injured or not injured, they’re just going through it and giving it everything they’ve got. They could give me so many excuses at the minute, but they come in every morning. just get on with it and put themselves forward to play. Full credit to them, its a remarkable effort.”

How we’re in this position with injured players playing through the pain barrier, a depleted squad and no physio is anyone’s guess. For the second season in a row, uncertainty reigns supreme and after the departure of Ben Richards-Everton to Scunthorpe and an injury to Max Hunt and presumably eluding to the ongoing takeover situation, Cooper said he wouldn’t be able to bring anyone else in.

Speaking on Richards-Everton’s loan move he said: “I think its difficult when you know you haven’t got the support of a lot the crowd and that can really effect your confidence. That was an issue for him. Great Pro, lovely lad and also wanted to move back further North.”

“Max Hunt’s injured, he twisted his ankle over a week ago now. It is what it is. We cant bring anyone in and the minute and we’ve just got to get on with it.”

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Scunthorpe United have sealed a loan move for Ben Richards-Everton.

The centre back was signed by Chris Hargreaves last summer and made 19 appearances for the Glovers.

A statement on YTFC.net said: The defender had recently expressed a desire to move closer to home and with this loan move suiting all parties, we have allowed him to join Scunthorpe.

Ben Richards-Everton. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Scunthorpe, who currently sit in 23rd in the National League have been on a recruitment drive since their takeover was completed in January.

We’d wish you the best of luck Ben, but it’s all very tight at the bottom.

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After an football free weekend, Ian, Dave and Ben are back to talk about Yeovil Town, planning, the Glovers Trust, Paulton and more.

Plus Vern Edmunds is on the Fans’ Five!

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.

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The rumour mill was in overdrive at the weekend at Huish Park. ITKs proudly trying to out-do each other with regards to the consortium who are looking at taking over Yeovil Town. If they were there, wonderful – things must be happening. If not, things are probably still happening. Some of the maths flying round at the weekend was outrageous, but let’s not get into that.

Since the announcement that the club had entered into an “exclusivity agreement” with a “preferred bidder” to become a majority shareholder of the club on New Year’s Eve, I’ve been reflecting on what I’d like to see under new ownership.

Unite the Supporters

The supporter base has been divided for so long. For the club to be truly successful, supporters have to have a vision, a mission to get behind. Years of broken and empty promises have left a once passionate fan base apathetic and for many, club-less.

Be open and honest with your ambitions for the club. Acknowledge where things have gone wrong previously, share the vision, market the hell out of it and bring supporters on the journey. This is not just an issue for recent years, communication has left much to be desired well before Scott Priestnall took over the club in 2019.

Survey the supporters. We run regular surveys on the Gloverscast that cost nothing using Google Forms – get insight from the people who care and are your direct customer base. Hold focus groups so you can really get to know supporters and their views.

Refresh the Supporters’ Alliance Group (SAG), formalise it, open it up to new people and from the group revive a supporter liaison role for someone who is visible, approachable, active with supporters and contactable in the week to create the conduit between supporters and the club. The SAG can play such an important role, but it needs to run effectively and transparently for all supporters.

I genuinely don’t believe that supporters expect you to tell them everything, but commit to regular dialogue that is shared effectively and you’ll get supporters buy-in.

Improve the facilities at Huish Park

To say it needs a lick of paint is an understatement. The last meaningful change at the stadium was the roof that was added to the home terrace in 2001. It would be wonderful to get a roof on the away end and create a more welcoming environment for travelling supporters – while you’re at it let’s add corners to the stadium too.

We were told a benefit of the sale of every piece of bricks and mortar the club owned was removal of the shackles of convenants which have been pointed at for stifling development at Huish Park – so use that freedom. Build a supporters’ bar that has been promised for decades, not just lifting an shifting a bit of the old marquee. Modernise the Alec Stock Lounge so you can serve more people more quickly. Get hot water in the toilets. Make it easy for people to pay on card anywhere. Make Huish Park a destination on a Saturday that provides supporters something to be proud of. The land feels lost, but if you can claw any of it back into club ownership, make it a site that the whole community can use. Replace the pitches with a couple of all weather pitches, build a load of five-a-side pitches.

Huish Park and surrounding land – as seen from a great height – and, no, that’s not the old Huish slope!

Some of these are long-term fixes that require a chunk of capital expenditure and some are short-term wins that will go a mile. Get the little ones right and the big ones will fall into place.

As the only professional football club in Somerset, we should aspire to be the county’s home of football for men, women and children.

Build a Culture at the Club

You’ve got a varied, passionate supporter base (who don’t always agree – see point 1) but that have been clamouring for change for so long. Bring them in, share your ideas with them and get everyone around the table to talk about the future.

If you support Tracy Crouch’s Fan Led Review and the recommendations in there, commit to some before the Government mandates it. Pledge to join the Fair Game group of clubs. Partner with Football For Future, the organisation championing environmental sustainability within football. Let’s build a club and culture that’s built around doing the right thing and setting the bar high.

The Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust does amazing work in the community already and with the right support it could do even more. We have always prided ourselves on being a community club and there is no part which encapsulates that spirit better than the Trust.

We’ve got existing areas we can build on too:

Partnership with HerGameToo

Relaunch of the womens’ club

Building on the legacy of Lee Collins and Young Minds Charity

Supporting Marcus Stewart and the Darby Rimmer Foundation

A wealth of legends who show their love for the club

I know it’s on the badge, but we’re a club that has been so divided for so long that it’s no wonder we’ve not achieved for a decade. Let’s have those difficult conversations, heal the wounds of the last few seasons and actually unite.

Invest in the getting things right on the pitch

In Mark Cooper we have a quality manager with a proven track record, who can get us back to where we belong. In his short time in charge he’s steadied the ship, strengthened as much as he is probably able to with the budget he has and I think, albeit with some blips, we’re seeing progression.

But he needs help. We’ve always been a club that’s had to have staff doing more than one job. At one point Terry Skiverton was Head of Academy and Assistant Manager. It’s evident that it’s held us back. Let’s have a team of physios and sports scientists. Let’s get the recruitment right. If we can become a club that follows the Brentford model and leans into data, hopefully we can move away from the reliance on loans and start building our own talent.

If we can get that back room team right and give the players everything they need to be successful, Mark Cooper will be able to coach a team to return us to the football league.

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What would your Monday be without another episode of the Gloverscast?

Ian, Ben and Dave are back to talk through the 2-2 with Maidstone on Saturday, and we answer your GCQs.

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.

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Yeovil conspired to draw yet another game yesterday after being 2-1 as the game entered stoppage time. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions after the draw against bottom of the table Maidstone.

This one is blindingly obvious, the first half performance was nowhere near good enough. I went into yesterday’s game pretty confident after our performance on Tuesday. I thought we were excellent against Wealdstone in the first half but we didn’t come close to matching that level. As Yeovil tried to figure out their own system, Maidstone got comfortable on the ball and scored a brilliant team goal. After fifteen minutes we switched from a back three to a back four and only with a double substitution at half time did we really start to impact the game.

Alex Fisher is Yeovil’s top scorer this season with five goals. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Alex Fisher made the difference. I was surprised that we started with no recognised striker and as the first half wore on it was apparent that it wasn’t working with Andrew Oluwabori through the middle. Fisher’s arrival immediately brought about a focal point to the attack and gave Maidstone defenders something to contend with. When Morgan Williams launched a hopeful ball towards the Maidstone box, Fisher had to watch it travel some distance and executed a fantastic volley into the top corner. He has so many different types of finishes in his locker but as Mark Cooper said afterwards, he needs to do it in every game.

Once again, Matt Worthington put in the ultimate team player’s performance. He didn’t see much of the ball when he started in his usual midfield role, but the half time change saw him move to right wing back. Much like Torquay on New Years Day he made an impact on that side as we focused our play down Maidstone’s left. Our second goal came from his cross with either an opposition player or Chiori Johnson getting the decisive touch. Worthington finished the match at left wing back – he really has become Mark Cooper’s Swiss army knife. (Honourable mentions to Morgan Williams and Edwin Agbaje who moved around as required too.)

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I thought I could manage to conclude without using the word frustrating, but Maidstone’s leveller was the epitome of frustrating. From an attacking position Yeovil attempted to kill some time and hold the ball in the corner rather than go for the third. Maidstone regained possession and got the ball forward quickly forcing Morgan Williams into a foul. Then, much like Yeovil’s first goal, a hopeful ball into the box was met by the man mountain Jerome Bindon-Williams who headed home. It felt like an avoidable series of events, which Mark Cooper put down to a mentality issue. We worked so hard to get ourselves in front and to somehow draw it was….frustrating.

It seems like things are moving on the takeover front. Rumours were rife yesterday that the club’s potential new owners were at the match. That’s a promising step that things are moving in the right direction. If we’re at the point where they’re comfortable to attend matches, it would be a welcome time for an update or an introduction to supporters. I understand the reluctance to get out there until the deal is done, Yeovil Town is a probably a case study in going public too soon. However, there are takeovers going on up and down the country at the moment and most supporters have an idea of who’s coming in (spare a thought for Morecambe). Let’s have a bit of clarity and some idea of what the future could hold.

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Ian and Ben are joined by Chris Fox to talk about Tuesday’s 0-0 with Wealdstone. Maidstone fan Joe chats to Dave ahead of Saturday’s match and we take your GCQs.

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.