Ian Perkins (Page 88)

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With the news of SSDC completing their purchase of Huish Park emerging on Friday, it feels like a lifetime ago that Chris Hargreaves was announced as the new manager of Yeovil Town FC.

While he was not a favourite for the job in the eyes of supporters (58% of Gloverscast readers wanted Jamie McAllister) he was a name that was on the rumour mill in the middle of April.

Having left his role as Bristol Rovers Academy manager in February to pursue first team manager opportunities, it’s been reported that he was unsuccessful in applications for Oxford City and Woking before getting the Glovers job.

As he lines up his coaching team (a former Glover who’s “only gone and done it” is among the rumoured names), there’s a chance of some post-season freshness at Huish Park – in the dugout at least.

Hargreaves experience since ‘taking Torquay out of the football league’ (as the negative narrative is) has been largely focussed on youth football and the academy system at Exeter City, Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers. His history at this south/southwest triumvirate, within a commutable distance from Huish Park, is probably an indication of the ‘project youth’ strategy Yeovil be taking this season. And who can argue with it?

In his first interview with YTFC.net, Hargreaves said: “Youth development is vital. I said to the players that want to stay at the club, I want to improve them as all coaches and managers do. We want to help them go and play as high as they can. It’s something that is very important to me, they have to produce for the club but we hope to be able to help them along their footballing journey. We have to be as sustainable as possible, so we need to develop our younger players and if the rewards are right for the club and for the player, then brilliant. That has to be a major part of it because producing players is a big part of what a club is about.”

Despite the club’s ‘pretty healthy’ financial position mooted by the chairman, and the recent injection of circa £2.8m, (who’s laughing at the back?) with ever-dropping gates at Huish Park, it’s reasonable to expect the budget will not see signings like Darren Sarll’s first season.

If we’re in the market for young, hungry players who’ve been let go from Rovers, Exeter and Bournemouth we should try and get ourselves to the top of the pile. Hargreaves’ connection with these clubs will hopefully provide Yeovil with a good pipeline of loans and an opportunity to sign some free agents.

Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

As we await our released and retained list, we’ve secured the most important player in Josh Staunton. His leadership within the squad is obvious and as the standard bearer of the dressing room, he will set the bar for those remaining and those joining. If the core of Staunton, Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Max Hunt, Tom Knowles and Matty Worthington stay, that’s a good base to build a squad from. 

While Hargreaves wasn’t everyone’s first choice, I was impressed with his first interview with the media. He spoke positively about the club and genuinely seems excited at the opportunity to manager our club. Despite the news which broke on Friday afternoon, I’m cautiously optimistic about the freshening up at Huish Park under his leadership.

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The Glovers Trust have released a statement today saying the long term future of Yeovil Town FC is at risk, following the completion of SSDC’s deal to purchase Huish Park and the surrounding land and lease it back to the club.

The statement reads:

The Glovers Trust note the sale and leaseback agreement announced by Yeovil Town and South Somerset District Council (SSDC) yesterday, the 20th May. We continue to be concerned that the crucial assets of the club have been stripped away from the fabric of our club. For the first time since the 1930s we no longer own our home. We are worried, that this deal has placed the longterm future of our club at risk.

We are disappointed that limited public consultation with fans by both the South Somerset District Council and the Football Club took place. To state that public consultation took place back in 2020, and that the situation remains similar, seems unreasonable considering the landscape of football, the club, and society as a whole has shifted dramatically since then. We are also disappointed that the immediacy of the deal being completed was not made clear to fans and supporter groups.

Notwithstanding the actual sale of the club assets itself, the Glovers Trust have a number of concerns and questions around the terms of the deal with SSDC. Although not an exhaustive list, these concerns include:

  • Within the leaseback agreement, what is the name of the new leaseholder? We would hope this will be Yeovil Town Football & Athletic Club, the footballing part of the business.
  • How much money from the deal will be used to cover debts that have been taken on to purchase and run the football club? 
    After the first rent free year, what are the annual rental payments? What percentage of the annual budget will this represent? What is the long term plan for making these repayments sustainable?
  • What safeguards or guarantees (if any) are there within this agreement to ensure the club benefits from this deal, both in the immediacy and long term?
  • We understand many fans are concerned at this time. We will continue to engage with the owners of the club to seek answers.

Many of these questions are the same questions we asked back in 2020 and failed to receive adequate responses. We hope to meet with Scott Priestnall soon in order to ask those questions and share those concerns. If members have questions or concerns of their own, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

In December 2020 the Trust board activated the Asset of Community Value held on the site, triggering a six-month moratorium period and preventing the sale.

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Gloversblog: No ground left to stand on

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Earlier today, Yeovil Town FC and SSDC confirmed that the £2.8m sale and leaseback deal of Huish Park was completed. You can read all about that here.

This deal is not without controversy, with plenty of supporters taking to social media to make their views known either way.

But, we’d like those of a green and white persuasion to answer the question below.

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After the Legends Game special on Monday, Ian, Ben and Dave are back on Zoom with a bit of everything and more.

We hear from:

Morgan Williams about his season and his Glovies.

Kevin Nicholson about the Legends Game and his mate Chris Hargreaves.

Plus we catch up about Altrincham, the Legends Game and, of course, our brand new manager, Chris Hargreaves.

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Yeovil Town have announced the arrival of Chris Hargreaves as the club’s new First Team Manager.

Somerset’s worst kept secret was reported ‘exclusively’ by BristolLive on Monday, and the club confirmed his appointment this morning.

The 50-year-old, who has signed a two-year contract, told YTFC.net: “It feels fantastic to be here. I’m delighted to be at such a brilliant football club. Yeovil Town has an immense fan base and a great history, I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

The former Bristol Rovers Academy Manager has plenty of experience coaching at youth level and he left Rovers to step into a first team role.

His last first team appointment was at Torquay United between 2014 and 2015, when the club were relegated out of the Football League. He ended his playing career at Plainmoor including captaining them to victory in the National League play-off final in 2009.

You’ll also recognise Hargreaves from BT Sport’s coverage of the National League.

There are no details given around any team coming to Huish Park with Hargreaves, who faces the media for the first time this lunchtime.

Welcome to Huish Park, Chris!

 

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It’s time for the weekly YeoGov poll. This week we want to know: Following the last updates from Scott Priestnall, do you think YTFC has a bright future under his ownership? Let us know your reasoning the comments below.

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Last week we asked if you if you felt Yeovil had overachieved, underachieved or performed as you expected this season. Here are the results.

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We also asked who you would choose to be a next YTFC manager from the names Coatesie wildly speculated, the results are below.

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According to an exclusive on Bristol Live, Chris Hargreaves is set to be appointed as the new manager of Yeovil Town in the next 24 hours.

The article says that Hargreaves left his academy manager role at Bristol Rovers in February to pursue a new challenge at a first team level and all the signs are that he will take the short trip down the A37/M5 to take over at Huish Park.

Hargreaves last first team managerial role was at Torquay in 2014-15 although he has remained in coaching at a youth level. You’ll also recognise him from BT Sport’s coverage of the National League.

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Saturday was a brilliant day. Today’s episode features the conversations with people we were able to speak to, who were all so happy to be back at Huish Park and be involved in raising money for a wonderful cause.

Gary Johnson’s Yeovil Legends XI came from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 thanks to a strike from Kevin Gall, a Terry Skiverton penalty (awarded by Trevor Kettle!!!) and a late, emotional equaliser from Adam Stansfield’s son, Taylor.

Thank you Abby Carter and Kevin Gall for allowing us to be a part of the day, speak to a few of the legends involved and most importantly raise money for The Adam Stansfield Foundation.

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Somerset Premier Cup Winners 2022 ? SomersetFA

Remember where you were on the night Yeovil Town’s first team won their first silverware since 2013. Ian was at Huish Park to witness the 3-0 victory over Bath City, and here are his Five Conclusions…

We won a trophy!! Firstly, congratulations to Charlie Lee and his team. As the professional side, they had to get the job done against Jerry Gill’s Bath City. Morgan Williams early goal showed the gulf between the two sides early on, but as the first half wore on, Bath City certainly showed they were no pushovers. Lee’s side had work to do in that first half, with Tom Smith getting a lot of the ball and Bath had three decent chances to hit back. The early second half goal from Knowles really put the game beyond doubt, as the Glovers eventually clinched their 25th Somerset Premier Cup in comfort.

It was a shame to not see some of youngsters last night. Our younger players have had a lot of minutes in the SPC and have played a huge part in getting us to the final. I understand the desire to treat it as a first team game and make sure of the trophy, but it would have been nice to have seen Toby Stephens, Ollie Haste (who has signed professional terms), Max Evans get their chance. It was great to see them front and centre of the celebrations at the end as they played an important role in getting us to the final.

It wasn’t the best night for Reuben Reid. The halcyon days of March and Reid’s signs of ‘what could be’ in green and white seem to have long gone. At points in March he was unplayable but last night was one of those frustrating evenings which can give the impression of lack of effort and lack of quality. He didn’t win many (if any) headers, he was out of sync with his teammates, passes were misplaced and nothing seemed to work for the striker.

Morgan Williams. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We can do worse than signing Ben Barclay in the summer. If we are to lose Luke Wilkinson (if you believe the social media rumour mill) and sweat on Max Hunt’s fitness – he was helped off with what looked to be a bad injury – we have a ready-made signing who will slot in perfectly in Barclay. His poise on the ball and reliability have shone through since his loan from Stockport. With Stockport on course for promotion to the EFL, you would presume he will be deemed surplus to requirements. Hopefully his time at Yeovil has made enough of an impression for all parties to want to extend it.

I’ll have what Morgan Williams is having. I said on Monday’s Gloverscast that I expected Morgan Williams to start because he’s a machine, and he proved it again. His signing last summer was met with cautious optimism, which quickly faded when it was revealed he was suffering with an injury and having to wear a special boot. What a season he’s had, however. Another 90 minutes last night, a goal, a solid defensive performance and a trophy to boot. After the season he’s had, it’s actually a bit of relief to know we’ll have him next season.