Five Conclusions

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It was another three points for the Glovers and another unconvincing performance, but who cares? Ian was at Huish Park for the 1-0 win against Truro City and here are his Five Conclusions…

We looked exhausted in the first half. It was the main point Billy Rowley made in his post-match interview, but from kick off we looked dead on our feet. Terrell Works, normally buzzing around pressing, wasn’t. Delano McCoy-Splatt and Brett McGavin weren’t able to control the midfield – I thought the first half passed them by in truth – and we ended up lumping it to the Truro defence for them to rebuild over and over. The wingers were on the ball sparingly and Truro could have gone in 2-0 up at half time was it not for poor finishing and Jed Ward in the middle of our goal.

Terrell Works puts the pressure on | Photo by Gary Brown

We improved in the second half. I’m not so sure if the players got a rocket at half time or not, but you didn’t need a body language expert to understand how the manager was feeling in the first half. Rowley praised Darren Simpson for the positional tweaks which improved the Glovers and I think it was evident early on in the higher press and the early chances. Until…

We started dropping like flies. Our threadbare, (small squad of quality™) patched up team started to fall victim to their gruelling schedule. Since Morecambe, Yeovil have travelled more than 1300 miles in round trips. Away trips to Wealdstone, Gateshead, Southend in seven days will have killed any sort of meaningful preparation. Aaron Jarvis and Jake Wannell both exited through injury, Joy Mukena was on one leg and we found out pre-match the Josh Sims is out for the season too. Fitness has been an issue all season and the importance of getting it right in pre-season is even more evident given our current situation.

Will Merry still had some fuel in the tank. The youngster was full of running throughout the match and was Yeovil’s brightest spark. When a bit of space opened up in front of him in stoppage time he only had one thing on his mind and as he glided past the Truro defence and put the ball past Aidan Stone the roof came off Huish Park. It was, once again, pure relief as we found a way to grab all three points.

Will Merry slots home | Photo by Gary Brown

We need this season to finish. In my five conclusions following Sutton I said “each game will be it’s own cup final with varying levels of severity as we muddle through until May.” I think that’s generally how it’s gone. We’ve not seen much of a playing style come through for various reasons but with us now (all but mathematically) safe and sat in 13th we can relax. As I said on Friday’s podcast, I think we can go into the summer with calm off the pitch, but there is pressure on the Jamie ‘the HR guy’ Hedges, and the brain trust behind the recruitment plan to get it right to make us competitive. I hope we’ve spent all this time working on a strategy so as soon the final whistle goes after Solihull we know exactly what we’re going after in summer and we get our business done early.

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Gloverscast Ben was in the commentary box at the Gateshead International stadium. Here are his five key takeaways from the game.

Knackered. This has been a long ol’ season, even by Yeovil Town standards. I thought that yesterday started to show just how much energy our recent schedule had taken out of us. We definitely missed the energy and running of Daly and Sims from the off and, without question, have a few players feeling the effects of their recent exertions. There wasn’t a lack of effort, I think the legs just didn’t work like they had done prior.

Discipline and officials. Now, if you can’t control the fatigue in the body, you can control the mind. I actually thought Finn Cousin-Dawson played rather well in the middle of the park, we had a lot of defending to do at times and he certainly offers us that protection. But in a game that got feisty, and got away from the ref, he really didn’t need to make that challenge in the 93rd minute, 2-0 down away from home, with a busy schedule ahead of us.

Now, let’s caveat that by saying the ref helped absolutely no-one all game. He could (should) have sent one, maybe two, Gateshead players off for different altercations and bizarrely didn’t send off Jake Wannell for giving away the penalty. (My theory is, he probably regretted booking him for the offence of being elbowed in the head by a Gateshead player). He had no control over the game and everyone got unnecessarily frustrated. Gateshead played that situation better than us.

Finn Cousin-Dawson. Picture courtesy of Frank Reid.

The curious case of Millar Matthews-Lewis. I can’t figure this one out, he gets his start after a couple of cameos and unused sub appearances and it was a strange 20 minutes from him. He tried to hold the ball up, but a couple of times he looked to be on a different wavelength/planet to those around him and nothing really stuck. We assumed he was nursing an injury when taken off, but we were told it was tactical after the game.

Jarvis came on to get his shirt ripped off on every occasion and did offer far more. But we’re going to need our entire squad for the next six games, is he destined to be filed alongside Jahmari Clarke and Reo Griffiths as strikers that happened, but we dont quite know why..? Maybe.

More the Merry-er. Yes. I tell you who isn’t looking knackered, Will Merry. I know it’s the smallest of sample sizes, but this lad has something. Simple, direct, he almost floats with the ball at his feet. He has an eye for a run too and is happy to drift off a defender and find a position. Let’s get this lad on the pitch a lot over the next six games and see what he’s about. In the name of planning for next season, these might be the sort of raw youngsters that come in to the group.

How to motivate a side on the beach? As we edge closer to the end of the season, the maths will start getting worked out and we’ll soon discover our spot somewhere in the lower-middle pack. But, over 100 people went to Gateshead yesterday, plenty will be at Southend and so on and so forth. They deserve that effort to be matched, if not bettered.

It’ll be interesting to see how we show up for this run in with the ever-decreasing jeopardy this season holds. Those fans still need something to cheer and something to get behind and remember, there’s season tickets and new kits and sponsor board to sell for next season.

 

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A resurgent Yeovil Town ran out as 2-0 winners at Wealdstone on a bitter Wednesday night; Tom Bailey was there for Green and White Radio, here’s what he made of it…

What a great team performance! There were concerns post-Woking that the team looked unmotivated, that there was a lack of fight, togetherness and desire… well that did a complete 180! Every single player looked like they would run through a wall for each other, FCD and McGavin put their bodies on the line in a powerful midfield display, variations of Sims, Jones, Daly and Works all pressing as duos, and an organised backline showed that these guys can be a team, as they outworked and outsmarted a rotated Wealdstone side.

Before I call out my man of the match, I want to give an honourable mention to Ryan Jones for pulling off a roulette inside his own half under pressure from multiple Wealdstone players, nerves of steel on that man in a fantastic individual display.

James. Daly (again). Can I just use last Saturday’s thoughts for this bit? Once again, an electric performance while in the central striker role – have we had our missing striker at the club the whole time?? His turn of pace is elite for the level, causing defences headaches all game, and his linkup with both wings was exceptional. Take a bow son, take a bow!

He’s done it again. James Daly celebrates his sixth goal of the season.

The pressure has been eased tremendously now. There were concerns among fans headed into this trio of games (Morecambe, Wealdstone, Gateshead) that they could define our season. Two wins from the first two of those games have made that gap to the bottom four look like a chasm in comparison to a week or so ago.

The fans, the staff and the players should all give themselves a pat on the back for stepping up when it’s mattered most, as we look increasingly like a National League side for next season!

The red. Yes I’m afraid I’m going to mention it, we can’t have all five points be positive can we?! Troy Perrett has come in for criticism at times this season, with a bright start to life in green and white dying off pretty quickly. In absence of Dakarai Mafico, he’s started the last two games and while there were sparks of brilliance, it’s not quite come together for him yet.

However, having slept on it (important here on Gloverscast) – that’s really poor for me. I came in for stick when I said Jarvis shouldn’t have been dismissed against Rochdale (I WAS VERY WRONG), and this incident felt weirdly similar to me. In the moment, I didn’t quite understand how it was even a booking, never mind a red, but upon seeing the replay, he’s earned every bit of that red. Hopefully this is a learning experience that he can take forward in his career, marking a low point of an uninspiring loan spell.

Troy Perrett
Pic c/o Gary Brown

Let’s end the season with a flourish! I was keen to just stay up, even if it was close, I just wanted to stay up. Maybe I’m giddy from seeing us sit in the dizzying heights of 15th, but I feel weirdly relaxed about the rest of the season now. Let’s enjoy ourselves, keep up the impressive performances and end the season with a high. Wins against the likes of Gateshead, Truro, Eastleigh and Solihull would see us very comfortably into mid-table, let’s manifest a few more wins!

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Yeovil Town’s topsy-turvy season continued on Saturday, as they defeated Morecambe at Huish Park in what had been billed as a six-pointer. Tom Bailey was there for Green and White Radio, here’s what he thought.

Well that was great fun… What an entertaining game of football! Entertainment value has often been criticised at Huish Park this season, with Cooper-ball and Copper-lite-ball under Richard Dryden leading to some turgid performances. If this is what we should expect under Billy Rowley next season, then sign me up! It was a game of high quality, but it didn’t disappoint in the entertainment department!

James. Daly. Boy am I glad we have James Daly in this team. A slow start to the season, followed by injury saw Daly’s stock fall as Christmas approached. But after finding fitness, and a regular run of games allowing him to build momentum, he’s come into his own, particularly following the absence of Luke McCormick.

His pressing and relentless energy makes him a joy to watch, and his goal was well taken today, taking his league tally to five for the season. Even his 99th minute press of the Morecambe ‘keeper was the perfect example of why we need to play to Daly’s strengths next season.

James Daly reflecting the mood inside Huish Park.

The players showed a bit of something today. I mentioned above that while entertaining, the quality of the game wasn’t necessarily great. Both teams were desperate to win this game, which was a stark contrast to the drab midweek defeat at Woking for the Glovers. Everyone put in a hell of a shift to earn those three points today, and even if they aren’t staying beyond the end of the season, that is a performance that Yeovil fans should be proud of.

Delano McCoy-Splatt, welcome to Yeovil! When McCoy-Splatt’s signing was announced midweek, there were mixed responses, with some relief that we had more midfield depth, but some concern over his age and lack of game time. Thankfully, he made a brilliant start to life in green and white, coming on as a substitution on the right hand side. His linkup play with Josh Sims and Finn Cousin-Dawson was excellent, and his vision for the pass to Terrell Works for Daly’s goal was awesome. More of that please and thank you!

Onto Wealdstone. Let’s take the positive feeling following a hard-earned victory and carry that momentum into the midweek game at Wealdstone. A lot of people earmarked these three fixtures (plus Gateshead next Saturday) as our three biggest games of the season, and with three points on the board already, let’s carry on this good work into Wednesday’s game.

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The roller-coaster season took yet another dip as defeat at Woking last night put Yeovil Town fans’ stomachs in their throats. Ollie Marsh was among the almost 500 who turned out for the rearranged midweek fixture in Surrey and here are his thoughts.

You know what I’m going to say don’t you? The ‘some halves maybe good, some halves maybe s***’ trend continued, albeit in reverse to Saturday’s defeat at Boston. This time we got the rubbish half out the way first, and marginally improved in the second – and it was at least encouraging to see us come out after the break with a bit of spark. Unfortunately, that 15 minute spell of pressure and a late surge failed to create any clear cut chances of note.

Second half action inside the Woking area. Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.

These players don’t look like they’re standing up to be counted. We’ve now entered the final ten games left of the season, and you’d hope for players to be raising their levels – whether that’s for the club’s position, or for their own Yeovil Town careers. There are a few individuals who can come out of last night with a modicum of credit in that regard, but there are also so many members of our team that simply aren’t showing what you’d want to see from the players in their roles.

Billy’s post-match interview didn’t make for pleasant listening. Our gaffer criticised the mentality of the team, urging them to “show some passion.” I’ll be honest, I haven’t noticed a complete lack of effort or commitment from the group – as they have been throughout this season, they look simply unfit and low on confidence rather than not trying. But a group of professional footballers playing in front of 400+ fans who have travelled on a Tuesday night shouldn’t have to be reminded at half time to “give their all.”

Screenshot

Millar Matthews-Lewis, the floor is yours. With Aaron Jarvis now missing two games through suspension thanks to a tenth yellow card – and it was a bit of a silly booking to pick up in truth – we’ll surely be seeing a bit more of our new man against Morecambe on Saturday. It’s partly for this reason that I was surprised he wasn’t introduced earlier last night, instead being brought on with just six minutes of normal time remaining. In his limited game time – he also got 12 minutes against Boston – MML has at least shown he’s capable of getting in good positions, and has held the ball up well on a couple of occasions.

With this defence, we’ll do well to keep the Shrimps out. Morecambe have scored 17 goals in their last six games, and that fills me with dread. Woking cut us open incredibly easily last night, destroying us in the channels without really having to do too much. Our back line will have to be far more resolute at Huish Park this weekend, in what could be a season-defining clash. A win is almost essential and could see us rise enough places in the table to quell the nerves. Lose, and I fear an impending sense of doom could loom over us…

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80 travelling Yeovil fans were left disappointed after the Glovers saw Aaron Jarvis’ opener cancelled out by two Boston goals. Here are Ollie’s five sad conclusions from Lincolnshire.

It’s that old cliché again… We’ve been saying it a lot lately – and Alex Whittle said it post-match too – but it really was a game of two halves. Yeovil looked relatively in control and composed on the ball in the first 45, and looked dangerous going forward on a few occasions. After the break, it was a different story – with the Glovers unable to build anything of note and having to deal with pretty much one-way traffic from Boston. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what causes the second-half drop off, but whether it’s a lack of fitness, a lack of options from the bench, or an inability to adapt when our opposition turn the screw, it’s incredibly frustrating.

Ryan Jones and Josh Sims formed a good double act. Aside from Aaron Jarvis’ bolt from the blue that put us ahead, most of our dangerous moments in the first-half came from Jones and Sims’ good work down the right. The two were very much on the same wavelength, linking up well on a number of occasions, with Sims in particular causing trouble. Jones has been at the heart of a lot which has been good in recent weeks and it was a shame to see him taken off on the hour mark. Although Sims still showed endeavour, he wasn’t as effective without his mate.

We should have lost by more. Make no mistake about it, although there was only a goal in it, the hosts had more than enough clear cut chances to put the game out of sight – and they probably should have taken them. In-form Tom Cursons had two showdowns with Jed Ward – the first saw him round the keeper only for Kyle Ferguson to slide in heroically on the line, and the second saw our number one manage to get down not once, not twice, but three times to stop Cursons from slotting home. Despite riding our luck at one end, we did little to take advantage at the other – even the introduction of new striker Millar Matthews-Lewis with 15 minutes remaining did little to shake things up.

I’m not going to blame James Daly. The substitute may have given away possession in the lead-up to Boston’s winning goal, but he was surrounded by three yellow shirts with no teammate within 15 yards of him – it wasn’t the first time he had battled away for balls only to have no support to help him out. And of course, when you look back at the replay of the goal, it’s hard to see much determination to win the ball back as Boston break.

We’re putting pressure on ourselves here. We may have ended the day still seven points clear of the drop zone, but the longer we go without getting the points required for survival, the more precarious our position will seem. Results at the weekend went our way and we have a fairly favourable run-in all things considered, including games against three of the current bottom four. What a shame it will be if those games mean something by the time they come around. Anyone see how Tuesday night’s opponents Woking got on today by the way? If you didn’t, maybe try not to look.

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Yeovil fell victim to a professional performance against Scunthorpe United. Here are Tom’s Five Conclusions from Huish Park.

We definitely weren’t bad! This sounds like I’m scrabbling for positives, but genuinely we performed really well in the first half. We looked like a team hunting for a win, not just accepting a 0-0 like we may have in previous years. Sure, things unravelled towards the end of the 90 minutes for us, but I don’t think I could sit there and say we didn’t give it a damn good go, we just need that final finish… speaking of which…

Goodness me, we need a striker. The majority of Yeovil fans can see that Billy Rowley is having to make do with the sum of the parts available to him, but one glaringly obvious gap in the recruitment this season has been the lack of a competent striker.

Aaron Jarvis looked better today, but I don’t think it’s hard to look better than he has in recent performances (looking at you Rochdale…), meanwhile Tahvon Campbell continued to look lackadaisical at best, and lazy at worst. Both players have had opportunities across their last few performances to take the striker spot as their own, but neither have done so. Put it this way, if we had someone like Danny Whitehall in our side today, I think we’d have stood an even better chance…

The lads looked tired. It’s easy to say something like that considering the scoreline and the run of fixtures in recent weeks, but it’s unfortunately true. Right from the off, even in our better periods during the game, we looked somewhat leggy, unable to get that extra yard of space we may have found with rested legs.

The second goal completely sucked the life out of the squad, which was telling for the third goal, so hopefully this week of rest will help us come back against Boston all guns blazing.

Let’s not panic. Yes, we’re still eight points above the drop, and yes the team’s behind are picking up points. But, teams are also sinking; look at Sutton and Braintree from just today as an example. We’ve proven we’re capable of picking up points too. Looking at the table with the glass half full, if results go our way next weekend, we’re 12th again. Suddenly, we can look up again, rather than behind.

Today will hurt, but let’s stay calm, back the squad and the staff, and they’ll get us over the line, one way or another.

Billy Rowley
Pic c/o Gary Brown

Roll on the summer. As mentioned above with the striker situation, we need to get some holes filled in this squad in the summer. A heavy reliance on the loan market has had mixed results, and while a lot of the recruitment has been alright, we’ve built a squad for FOUR different managers.

We can see the foundations being laid for the next season, but we’ve just got to get through these last 11 games and look forward to next season; some strikers, some proper wing-backs, and a replenishment of contracted (and preferably good) midfielders, and then we can really begin to judge the Billy Rowley era. Up the Yeo, and all that!

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A great performance from the Glovers saw them coast past Tamworth last night. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from Huish Park.

How comfortable was that? From the first ball being kicked, Yeovil felt in total control across the pitch last night. How Tamworth are 10th in the division I have no idea. They kept things condensed centrally, but as soon as we were able to get the ball into wide areas they didn’t really know how to contend with us. We should probably have created more in the first half for our dominance but in a team that’s rebuilding confidence and trying to find a rhythm after a dismal Cup exit, it’s understandable.

Close from Troy Perrett and he knows it.

We were defensively sound. You can only contend with what you’re up against, and Tamworth had nothing other than route one for the majority of the match, but the back three of Jake Wannell, Declan Skura and Joy Mukena dealt with everything they had to with relative ease. They handled the Tamworth big lads well and in the latter stages when the visitors started working crosses into the box, they dealt with that too.

Jake Wannell
Pic c/o Gary Brown

Ryan Jones is coming good. He’s been in and out because of being cup-tied and postponements but after last week’s decent performance, Jones stepped it up again. He was a constant threat on the left hand side and really thrives when he’s carrying the ball. I don’t want to be hyperbolic, and I’m not going to be, but the way he moves with the ball and runs reminds me of Michael McIndoe. Clearly it’s too early to say he’s the second coming, but clearly there’s magic in those boots. His wonderful first touch, his fleet footed dribble through defenders and drilled shot into the bottom corner was superb.

Ryan Jones tackles Kwaku Donkor. Picture courtesy of Debs Curtis.

It was the reaction we needed. After a terrible weekend everyone had to follow up. Did the Sutton win paper over the cracks? What’s going to happen to the teams around us? Well, pleasingly we really built on last Wednesday – albeit against very different opposition – and managed to get ourselves up to 14th and eight points clear of the bottom four. The nervousness of last week has dissipated and we can go into another home match on Saturday with confidence.

Billy Rowley
Pic C/O Gary Brown

We need to build on it again. The lack of consistency has been the story of our season. The elation of Sutton to the despair of Southport and then the uncomfortably comfortable win last night is our season in a microcosm. We’ve got an opportunity to step up against Scunthorpe – who are without a win in six matches – and show that we really are coming good. It’s not going to be perfect, but back to back wins at home gives us enough reason to be positive.

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The Rowley-coaster took another sharp dip as Yeovil Town’s FA Trophy dream died at the hands of lower league Southport. Dave was among the away supporters in Merseyside yesterday and here are his thoughts.

The dream is over and we only have ourselves to blame: Penalties are a lottery, but we picked all the wrong numbers in that second half. We were the better side in the first half but missed too many chances to put ourselves further in front at half-time and with the scoreline at 1-0, and that meant Southport always had a chance. They came out for the second half with that knowledge firmly in their minds and our substitutions assisted, we just got deeper and deeper as the second half progressed and Southport took full advantage. The miss from Chris Sze about 20 minutes before their equaliser should have been a wake up call, but we just did not wake up.

We lost the penalty lottery: After Brett McGavin had shown the way with the first penalty in the shoot-out, the choice of Aaron Jarvis for the next one was bizarre. In his pre-match comments, Billy Rowley had said Jarvis had travelled separately having been suffering with food poisoning and it showed, he offered nothing for the entire second half and to not even get his penalty on target spoke of someone who was either ill or has given up – or both. Jed Ward’s heroics in shoot-outs has got us this far in the competition, but there’s only so much he can do when two of his team-mates can’t even hit the target.

The sun sets on our dreams of a Wembley final.

Is there any point mentioning the need for a striker?: It feels like we say it in every one of these Conclusions articles, but when you look at the chances we spurned before James Daly pounced on a mistake, it seems so blindingly obvious. I get the difficulties with finding someone at this stage of the season, but when you see other clubs in our division signing strikers, is it really that hard? Really?! Campbell did alright when he was on in the first half, but the fact he can’t complete more than 45 minutes speaks volumes. Less said about Jarvis the better.

Credit to Southport: You have to tip your hat to Southport, they never gave up and the 3,000-odd fans inside Haig Avenue created a fantastic atmosphere. The fans I met before the game had much more of a sense of humour of the ribbing about being Scousers than the more sensitive ones on social media, and they thoroughly deserve their place in the semi-final. I hope they get a Merseyside derby against Marine in the FA Trophy this time around.

James Daly in happier times. Even this was more paper over the cracks.

This has to be a wake-up call: The progress in the FA Trophy has papered over some cracks in our squad, but now they have to be laid bare. There is no point in glossing over it, with the exception of a very select few, this squad is simply not up to it. There are 13 more league games left to play and we have to hope that there’s enough desire and quality in this side to get us over that line. If anyone in a position of control at the club thinks there is going to be the type of success which will bring in the crowds without major investment in the playing squad, they need to think again. If you ever thought this wasn’t a roller-coaster, the thrilling high of late win against Sutton on Wednesday and the devastating drop at Southport tells you differently.

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How’s your heart rate today? Ian’s is still pretty high after another Rowley Rollercoaster. Here are his Five Conclusions from Huish Park…

That was a bonkers finish. When the seven minutes of additional time went up there was a roar of hope rather than expectation but what unfolded in that stoppage time was unlike anything I can remember at Huish Park. Jack Sims in the Sutton United goal had barely been tested in open play all evening and somehow we managed to find the reserves to not only equalise, but go on and win it. No doubt there are early leavers who woke up this morning knowing they could have witnessed a remarkable finish.

Brett McGavin celebrates a late, late winner in front of the Thatcher’s Stand.

James Daly was the fox in the box. It was a bit Dryden Experimental Experience seeing Daly through the middle but when it mattered most he was there. He was the sharpest to react to Sims’ spillage of Luke McCormick’s penalty spill and when Ryan Jones (who I thought worked tremendously hard all night) whipped a teasing cross in, Daly was there to lift the roof off Huish Park. The winger (…striker?) has boundless energy and may not score two more important goals this season.

It wasn’t a vintage performance. Plenty left Huish Park before 90 minutes last night and who could blame them? I thought struggled to create, looked like a team that hadn’t played a lot of football together and – in the second half in particular – were largely second best to Sutton. Passes were loose, Sutton disrupted us when they had to, and when they came down our left hand side it felt like there was something on every time.

But, a win is a win. You cant understate the importance of that result, no matter how it came about. Everything that needed to happen around us did, Braintree lost, Morecambe and Gateshead expended everything to draw 4-4 and we are now sitting pretty eight points clear of the bottom four, but who’s counting? It was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination but in terms of Huish Park moments, Brett McGavin’s penalty is up there. The relief, the joy, the trauma, all of it exploded in that moment and it was an unbelievable feeling. Who’d be a football fan eh?

I think it will be this way for the rest of the season. I’m not sure we’re going to see much identity shine through as the season draws to a close. As cliched as it is, each game will be it’s own cup final with varying levels of severity as we muddle through until the May. Until Billy Rowley has exactly what he needs to implement his vision of the team, In my opinion, we’re just seeing a patched up squad to get us through. This has undoubtedly been a baptism of fire for Rowley, and as he admitted last night he’s learnt a lot in his short time at the helm.