Five Conclusions

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Yeovil Town pulled off a scintillating performance at Aldershot Town last night to pick up a vital three points just over 48 hours after the club was rocked by the news now former manager Danny Webb had quit after just 11 days in the hot seat. Here are Gloverscast Ben’s conclusions on a magical evening at The Recreation Ground. 

Where did that come from?

If ever there was a game the team could be excused for having a stinker this was it. The carnage of this week (see month, year or decade) would have seen lesser people throw the towel in and just write off a performance with a more than fair reasoning to go with it.

We could probably write 100 conclusions on the last week, but I really don’t think we should understate just how impressive it was for that group of professional footballers to put it aside and cut an Aldershot side open time and time again and do it with a massive smile on their faces. You’re a credit to yourselves, the football club and those who follow it. Thanks lads, we needed that.

Andrew Oluwabori during his first spell on loan at Yeovil Town. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Oluwabori has grown up

He is a different lad this time around isn’t he? We spoke on the podcast about how he was exciting and energetic but in the two boxes he lacked that extra bit of quality in his first stint, but with plenty of National League games and a few in the EFL under his belt, it does feel like we have got a slightly different player this time around.

He is making better decisions in key areas and has retained that eye catching ability to turn the edge of our box into the edge of theirs in a flash. He looks desperate for his first goal of his second stint and I feel like its not far away.

Penalty options

Remember when Yeovil getting a penalty meant fearing we wouldn’t have anyone capable of slotting a ball home from 12 yards?

Well, yesterday, with Messrs McGavin and Morias off the pitch, I was delighted to see not one, but two players race to grab a ball and march towards the spot.  Tahvon Campbell eventually got the nod after a little mediation from Luke McCormick to Oluwabori who looked just as eager to take it. 

Campbell scored, to make it 4-0 and put even the most tiniest Gateshead-based PTSD to bed. I like knowing we have spot kick options. 

Kyle Ferguson. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

The Kyle Ferguson conundrum

The simple act of showing Aldershot fans the four fingers as he waits on the sidelines, might have just tipped me over into DFILWF territory.  But here’s the thing, just about no Yeovil fan likes having a back three. So, how do you navigate this?

You can’t drop or shift either Williams or Wannell to a full back to accommodate, and you sure as anything can’t drop Ferguson right now. He’s playing as well as anyone in the team at the moment. Maybe… maybe we like wing backs now? *shudders* 

Avoiding an after the Lord Mayor’s Show

It’s been a frankly ridiculous (and yet somehow relatively normal) week and that response was absolutely brilliant. 

The 200 Yeovil fans there (and the rest watching on via the DAZN stream) are going to go home and tell people it’s excellent again. That might put some more bums on seats for the visit of Altrincham to Huish Park on Saturday, but whilst I’m reluctant to ask even more of this group, a home win to back that up would feel like it counts double.

We’ve done a bit of win one-lose one a bit recently, turning one of those into a positive run of form would do so much to alleviate some of the anxiety and worry the fan base has right now. 

We don’t do normal, do we?

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A stuttering start to the Danny Webb era for Yeovil Town, a scrappy 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tamworth.
Our resident artist, Alex “Distant Glover” Russell was in the ground for the game, here are his Five Conclusions.

Set-piece Fest
Maybe I have seen games where the opposition got more corners or throw-ins in the final third, but I don’t remember them.

However good you are at defending set-pieces, if you concede that many, the opposition will take advantage of one. And they did.

At the other end, our ability to make good passes seemed to diminish the nearer we got to Tamworth goal. Their defence seemed fairly comfortable dealing with long balls, but when we picked up the pace, hit an easy-on-the-eye shorter pass or took a player or two on, they looked more wobbly. Oh, and this isn’t just Yeovil, but older fans may remember a thing called crosses. They’re a bit like a set piece, but you don’t have to wait for the ball to go out of play, the defence don’t get time to turn the box into a mosh-pit and every now and then a goal happens.

Patience
As a famous man once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end”. And let’s face it folks, it’s just the beginning of the beginning. (That last sentence might not be word-for-word.)

Much as we’d all love it if Danny Webb could flip a switch and make everything Championship again by next week, Prabhu’s team are playing the long game and the appointment of Webb is part of that. There is lots of unwelcome stuff that needs changing: training near Birmingham, not owning Huish Park, maybe the crossed-out names and numbers on the back of the home kit. The proof will be in the pudding, but it looks like there’s a far more open approach to communication in place. Being open and honest with fans on a regular basis will make it so much easier to understand why we should be patient. Although we may be stuck with the ropey graphics.

What’s the story? (Nearly)
To paraphrase a slightly less famous man, that was nearly the best ten seconds of my life. Andrew Oluwabori’s previous stint with us wasn’t all that notable, but he fell into the category of “got a load better after he left us”. Webb has faith in him, and his return was nearly marked by what might have been a goal of the season contender. Nearly. Yes, he looked like a player who was having to find his way in a new squad in an actual match. But there was a mazy run past nearly 400 Tamworth players that hinted at the sort of quality that can change games. Nearly.

Them and us
Tamworth may not play pretty football and they have a terrible excuse for a pitch, but ten games in, they’re in the play-offs and ten places above us. Their rise has been remarkable and it’s all down to Andy Peaks, a manager who’s eked out something really special out of very limited resources. It was interesting to hear their fan Stuart on yesterday’s “Foot in the Opposition Camp” (look Ben – a plug).

The Tamworth model is to stay part time, and use their middle-of-the-country location to attract the cream of the want-to-keep-another-job crop of players. We’re not in the middle of the country and we’re full-time (thanks, Webb Senior), but we get waaaaay more than 1,199 (at least a quarter of whom were in green). This might sound like some dreadful corporate away-day workshop cliché, but I’d like to have a clear vision of what our model is now. Why are we special? What makes us unique? (Apart, you know, from all loving cider and the Wurzels.)

Weighing up walls
Webb is obviously assessing what he’s got to work with, and from his post-match interview, is going to shed players as well as bring them in. Time will tell if the small squad he’s inherited will favour the latter rather than the former, but he’s going to have to make some hard decisions as well as some canny signings.

(Can someone have a word, though, and tell him never to use the “worked their socks off” phrase again?) I always struggled with Cooper’s seemingly disposable approach to squad building.

Good teams are always more than the sum of their parts, characters who want to run through walls not just for the gaffer, but for each other and the club. Yes, there’s a balance – you can’t wait forever to see if the lummox actually is David Silva – but it’s hard to build that with a revolving door policy. If you want Huish Park to be a fortress, build a squad of regulars who make it impossible not to get behind. We won’t even mind if they demolish a few of the fortress walls.

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Yeovil grabbed their second home win of the season against Woking yesterday. Here are Ian’s conclusions from the Huish Park press box.

Huish Park needed that. After all the turbulence of the last few weeks the unveiling of Danny Webb before the match set the tone for what (eventually) ended up being a memorable afternoon at Huish Park. Richard Dryden said it in his post-match interview, and he’s right, the whole club needed that win. The players ran themselves into the ground and they earned it. The coaching staff who’ve been able to steady the ship and maintain morale amongst players earned it. The supporters who, especially at Huish Park, have been starved of moments. Luke McCormick’s late winner was one of those moments that will live long in my memory and can hopefully be the catalyst for this season under Danny Webb.

Trialist Luke McCormick runs past a Bristol Rovers player in a pre-season friendly match.
Luke McCormick on the move. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

Don’t fall in love with footballers. It’s a risky business having a favourite, they inevitably leave and break your heart. The performances of Luke McCormick in recent weeks have been the kind that make you catch feels. He had another good game yesterday and his stoppage-time goal was well-deserved for those recent performances. He’s built a great partnership with Brett McGavin in midfield and, to me, comes across as a real organiser on the pitch, looking for runs, making runs and playing positively with intent. After the match he said how he ‘loves the club’ and if he continues to play like this, we’ll love him too.

The first half was poor. It was, as the cliche goes, a game of two halves. Woking had the best of a very poor first half. I didn’t think either side was particularly brilliant but the visitors had a bit more control albeit with chances from outside the box. Woking couldn’t handle the second half reaction from the Glovers who, by the full time whistle, we were well worth the win. I thought the subs made an impact on the game, Tahvon Campbell could have got the winner himself, Aaron Jarvis was the disrupter-in-chief making the Woking defence (and keeper) as uncomfortable as possible.

Thanks to Richard Dryden. In the last couple of weeks I feel like we’ve got to see more of Richard Dryden and get a sense of what he’s about. He and Chris Todd have kept this group motivated, happy and working hard. Off the back of Mark Cooper’s departure I think it was generally expected that Dryden would follow, but he’s kept morale high and while results haven’t been amazing, you can’t say the players have downed tools while the managerial situation has been in limbo. There was a sense of relief with Dryden yesterday with Danny Webb taking the reins now and you have to give him  some credit for keeping things steady.  He deserved the win yesterday.

That was a great result going into the new era. This squad of players, united in victory, goes into a full week of training with a new manager with new ideas. There is a feeling of freshness, optimism and energy about the club and, I think, a manager that everyone will unite behind. Danny Webb got a good ovation before the game, was scribbling notes throughout the match and was in the tunnel waiting for his new players after the game. It’s exciting to see what’s next and it all starts with Tamworth next weekend.

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Better late than never as they say. Ian was at Huish Park on Saturday and here are his Five Conclusions from a difficult afternoon in the sun.

We were outclassed. The gulf between two sides couldn’t have been more obvious. York’s squad has been very expensively assembled and the way they controlled the game was impressive. The way they passed at pace with one and two touch passes is everything we should aspire to be. We had no response for their runners as they methodically pulled green and white shirts out of position.

James Plant needed help. I get the back three with our current availability, but poor James Plant was left on toast by Joe Felix all day. It wasn’t until it was probably too late that Josh Sims moved over to the left to offer more protection than Junior Morias. Felix had the better of Plant repeatedly and Plant’s afternoon was summed up with the conceding of the penalty. Would we have been better as a back four with a left midfielder to double up on Felix? Probably. Would that have taken an attacking threat away? Probably. Would it have made any difference? Probably not.

James Plant
Pic – Gary Brown

We look tired. Clearly having a small squad with injuries to key players increases the work load on these players and its showing. I thought our substitutes looked like they’d played the full 90 when they were on the pitch. With no back up in the fullback positions we’re asking a centre-back to come in do a job at right wing back, we’re asking Josh Sims – our most impressive attacking player this season – to cover off defensively when we need his impact higher up. Without Alex Whittle, Charlie Cooper and James Daly, this small squad of quality needs a top up sharpish.

Luke McCormick is quickly becoming my favourite. Since moving to centre midfield we’ve seen what a player we have in McCormick. Energy, running with the ball and a brilliant finish on Saturday shows he has goals in his game too….ahem. We need to protect him though, because if he has to come out of the team our midfield really is weakened. With Charlie Cooper still out and Finn Cousin-Dawson in the unenviable position of utility man, there is a lot of pressure on McMidfield to play the full 90 if matches are in the balance.

Luke McCormick scrambles the ball home against York
Pic – Gary Brown

We need to get this appointment sorted. I am all for patience. Hell, I was waiting two and half years for us to produce the kind of football we saw undo us on Saturday. But these players need direction, new ways or working and a bit of a rocket to get out of this funk. The next three matches are what I would consider winnable. We won’t just these players on York and Forest Green Rovers but if we’re going to be looking up rather than over our shoulders, Woking, Tamworth and Aldershot are the teams we must be competitive against.

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Gloverscast Ben was at his second game in a row as the mighty green and whites held off an aerial bombardment to claim all three points at Solihull.

Here are his five conclusions.

We dealt with the physical side of the game

We knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, Solihull sit rock bottom of the league, without a win to their name and there was only one way they could really go about things. Physically.

Not dirty, they weren’t kicking lumps out of us – even if Kyle Ferguson’s left knee might disagree (ouch!) – but they had every trick in the book to give it right go.

It was fairly route one from the hosts and the back line must have headed 100 footballs between them throughout the 90 minutes.

Dan Creaney is an almighty handful and the units they can call up on at the back made it easy for the local air traffic control to keep tabs on the intended targets.

The long throw was dealt with and the defence should be chuffed with the clean sheet.

Kyle Ferguson. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

We still need a little more nous.

Against Halifax, I cried out for a ‘quarter-back’, particularly when things get a bit hurried in the latter stages, and whilst Brett McGavin did that to a certain extent, I did find myself getting frustrated at the amount of times we gave up possession needlessly in defensive situations.

Too many times, the ball was hurried when a calmer – but still positive – options were on, too many clearances were rushed which gave our front line a tough task to keep the ball and relieve the pressure.

We need to make a few better decisions, on another day, we can beat that Solihull side far more comfortably. I understand a little chaos and uncertainty may have set in after throwing away some leads of late, I hope the confidence of that win will do them the world of good.

It’s a thin squad

Charlie Cooper was at the game in his tracksuit, but no sign of Jacob Maddox or James Daly and it’s hard not to take a sharp intake of breath when a player goes down.

If Luke McCormick or Brett McGavin were unable to complete the game, the system and style has to change. The same applies in either full-back area. We’ve got forwards in abundance and that’s brilliant to be able to call up players like Jarvis and Campbell, but they’re not like for like switches with Sims and Morias. 

Whether or not Richard Dryden has that wiggle room given the uncertainty at a longer term manager right now, but the games come thick and fast and it looked and felt like a few tired, battered and bruised bodies walked off the Damson Park pitch. 

Junior Morias chats to the BBC’s Josh Perkins

We have the exciting players to make things happen

We have seen Junior Morias score three in three now, but I wanted to highlight the work that’s going on creatively in and around him.

Harvey Greenslade probably wasn’t at his most mobile best on Tuesday, the context of the game and conditions didn’t suit – he also came off nursing an ice pack with a wince on his face – but his pressing and endeavour must be a nightmare to defend against. 

We’re starting to see the best out of McCormick, I think after a slowish start. He’s far more suited to being one of the central midfielders that one of the attacking ‘bank of 10s’, he can be far more effective and really help turn defence into attack.

Morias’ pumping tree trunk legs are a sight to behold, when they get moving, you either foul him or you don’t stop him. McGavin’s range of passing and ability to spot the play before it unfolds needs to be brought out of it’s shell a bit, but it’s there.

Plant and Sims have been given the nod to express themselves, with a little more final ball quality, they’re clearly a real danger.

….and breathe.

We needed that win, didn’t we?

No matter how it came, no matter who got the decisive winner, no matter how much it was substance over style – or what blend of them both it was – it was a win.

A win each of the last two games SHOULD have garnered.

It will calm the nerves, it will settle everyone in the crowd – and the boardroom – and shows that we have got a group to grow from.

It doesn’t get any easier, a well rested York come to town on Saturday, but we have a foundation to hand over to the incoming manager, whoever and whenever that may be. 

Sihal Shrinavasan, Nicholas Brayne, Richard Dryden and Chris Todd chat post match

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Life after Mark Cooper began in West Yorkshire for the Glovers, but despite fighting back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 at FC Halifax Town, Yeovil Town came away empty handed.

Gloverscast Ben was in attendance at The Shay and here are his Five Conclusions.

Confidence and mentality.

There’s no doubt in my mind that this group of players is good enough to win games of football at this level, plenty of them too.

But, from 3-0 up to lose 4-3 at home to Gateshead on Bank Holiday Monday and to fight back from a half-time sucker punch to lead 2-1 away at Halifax, and AGAIN come away with nothing has to sting.

Five goals scored in two games, but zero points returned.

Now, there was lots to like about the performance, you’ll read about some of those in a moment, but my overriding feeling is that we let a point (at least) fall by the way side.

In crucial moments, in the final 15 minutes, we don’t seem to be able to wrestle back control and dictate the play.

Who can be the one to put their foot on the ball and take charge, to be the quarter-back and let everyone else around them know it’s going to be okay, because they’re in charge? 

Find that quarter-back and we wont just be looking to control those key moments, but really turn the screw.

Harvey Greenslade and his missing match ball.

He was the first to admit it in his post-match interview, but he really should be taking home a nice new shiny football to play with.

I was really impressed with everything HG21 did on Saturday, ok, nearly everything.

I loved how he hung onto the central defender’s shoulder and spun off to create room, he can arch a run across the back line like the best of them at this level, his hold up play was good, his linking, particularly with Josh Sims was lovely and 100% deserved his goal.

But, he snatched at an early volley opportunity, he missed a chance to gamble from a Pendleton cross, had a one-one-one which bobbled the wrong way and slipped over after chopping the ball back onto his left foot with the whites of the ‘keepers eyes in his sights.

In a game of fine margins, these moments count and on another day, we’re out of sight by half time and Greenslade has a nice new shiny football for his collection.

Yeovil Town celebrate Harvey Greenslade’s goal to put the Glovers 2-1 up at The Shay.

The subs made a difference

Halifax had some real game changers to bring off the substitutes’ bench and they really shone when they came on after an hour.

Will Harris and Angelo Capello had half-an-hour to go at Yeovil and they totally changed the game. Capello, who isn’t an out and out left-back gave our right side all kinds of problems whilst Harris was a real handful and he and David Kawa were a really lively duo in attack.

Our subs, weren’t quite as impactful. I don’t think Tahvon Campbell was really suited to his wider role and Aaron Jarvis was deployed as something of a battering ram. Finn Cousin-Dawson was a make shift right back in place of Bryon Pendleton when he limped off.

I think that just shows the fragility of the depth, no obvious replacement for either full back or even the centre of midfield in case of emergency on the bench and I think FC-D is better than playing the role of the universal square peg for whichever round whole needs filling.

It would have been harsh to throw Ben Wodskou in, maybe, and Kyle Ferguson’s time will come, but we lacked that different option on the bench. Halifax didn’t; another fine margin that favoured the home side.

Overall, it was much better than we have seen of late.

Some of the things I enjoyed. Josh Sims dancing down the right whipping crosses in, Luke McCormick absolutely flying into tackles and travelling with the ball, Alex Whittle and Byron Pendleton with chalk on their boots forever being a proper outlet for an attacking pass.

There’s the link up play between the ‘bank of tens’ and there’s players not being afraid to try something, even if it doesn’t always come off. Aaron Jarvis hitting the post in the dying seconds, a McGavin free kick whistling just over a top bin and Junior Morias pumping his legs for 40 yards to chase down a 95th minute breakaway. 

We had a right go, and on another day, maybe with a bit more finesse and final quality, we win that game 3-2. 

There was an ‘easy’ out for the team today to defend and try and stifle a decent enough side but we didn’t, we rolled the dice and maybe found ourselves a little open.

But, so what? There was a sense that because it was entertaining, and at times brilliant, if one of those fine margin games goes the other way, so be it. 

Solihull is a glorious chance to get back to winning ways.

If the Halifax game showed that we can play with a bit of style, Solihull looks like a game for substance. 

The only team in the division without a win to their name – they lost 2-1 at home to Southend United in Saturday’s early game – and with 12 goals conceded, there’s a chance for more goalmouth action.

That’s the challenge now, against what will be a hugely physical side, can we find that quality to get out noses in front and stay there?

Can we control a big side in the aerial battles and make sure we stop the crosses coming in?

Can we find someone to replace Pendleton at right back if his injury in severe enough to not be able to feature on Tuesday? Can we find someone to play the role of midfield general? 

Let’s take the green shoots of the performance on the very green surface at The Shay and turn them into the perfect combination of style and substance. 

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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.

Josh Sims celebrates his goal at Huish Park.
Josh Sims celebrates putting Yeovil Town in front against Gateshead. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

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.

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After an eight-hour round trip to Essex and back, Dave gives his thoughts on the Yeovil Town performance at Braintree Town yesterday. Now all eyes turn to Huish Park tomorrow…


We could still be there now and not score: There were opportunities and you cannot fault the attacking intent there was at times, but the finishing was abysmal. Aaron Jarvis, Tahvon Campbell, Josh Sims, Junior Morias, Ben Wodskou, Harvey Greenslade, they all tried and they all failed. 12 shots (five on target, seven off target) and some of those off target ones were woeful. “We have to be more clinical,” says Mark Cooper – but how many times have we heard that? Alex Fisher, Reo Griffiths, Jordan Young, Malachi Linton, Ollie Hulbert, Jake Scrimshaw, Louis Britton, Seb Palmer-Houlden, Jake Hyde, Rhys Murphy, Frank Nouble, Jahmari Clarke, Sonny Cox, Olly Thomas, Ciaran McGuckin, Harvey Greenslade, Aaron Jarvis. I think that’s all the strikers we have had under this manager and how many have got in to double figures? Murphy, Young, Nouble in the 2023-24 season in National League South, I think. Yes, some were loans. Yes, there has been injuries. Yes, there’s a couple of duffers in there. But can it ALL be down to the fact that they are ALL really not clinical? I have my doubts. I’ve not even mentioned quite a few others who could have been on the ‘someone who can get goals’ list.

Why did we wait until injury time to have a go in the second half?

It was an improvement: My frame of reference this is only small with the opening day draw against Hartlepool (via the DAZN stream) the only other match I have seen in full, but many on the terrace at Braintree assured me that was the best we have looked. The stats back up that it was a game we just about dominated, except the most important stat, of course. The first 13 minutes were great, I was wondering what all the complaining was about, but after that Braintree started to get a foothold in the game. We were definitely better in the first half, but we started lacking control towards the end of it and when the goal arrived, it had been coming. So, an improvement from a low base, for sure. 

Plant and Sims a plus: For probably the first 20 minutes, James Plant looked electric and gave hope  he can bring a much needed creative spark. He tired as the game wore on, not surprising for a player who’s played 30 minutes of competitive football all season. Monday will almost certainly be too soon to put him in from the start again, but there’s reasons to be hopeful there. And, a more than honourable mention to Josh Sims. Who had him coming in to form on their 2025-26 season bingo card? I certainly didn’t, but he looked like the player we saw in flashes last season. Let’s hope he carries on that way.

Green shoots of hope from James Plant’s return to Huish Park? Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

A big miss which piles the pressure on: Accepting the cliches of their being no easy games at this level, Braintree is a side we have to be getting points from if we have any hope of improving on last season. When you factor in the amount of chances we had to put this game beyond doubt – and, yes, they had plenty of chances as well – this was a big missed opportunity to build on that win against Brackley. That puts even greater emphasis on Monday’s home match against Gateshead – Frank Nouble and all.

An uncomfortable sleep: Wake me up when September ends, right? Mark Cooper doesn’t even give himself that long, he’s said ten games is the time to make an assessment. Mark up Tamworth away on September 20th on the calendar. I had a couple of conversations in the away end yesterday with people saying it was too soon to be talking about him being under pressure, but this is not about four matches this season. To borrow a phrase from the manager himself, I’ve been consistent. 2022/23 basket case relegation = write it off as too much to deal with.  2023/24 promotion = success. 2024/25 18th place finish = failure. This is the season that Mark Cooper has to show he can improve us and, four games in, I don’t see or hear anything different to last season. There’s time to turn it around, but I have dwindling confidence he can do it. 

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The Glovers got their first three points of the season with the 2-1 victory over Brackley Town at Huish Park last night. Ian was back at Huish Park and here are his first five conclusions of the season.

It was important to get off the mark. The pressure was really on last night following the opening two matches and ultimately, the Glovers responded. A confidence-boosting goal for Josh Sims and a memorable first for Ben Wodskou in-front of the Thatchers was exactly what the supporters, players and manager needed to ease the pressure. With a weekend trip to Braintree, who got an impressive 3-0 win over Halifax at home on the opening day, but have since lost two on the bounce with red cards in both of those defeats, Yeovil have a chance to build a bit of momentum now.

Jed Ward during his pre-match warm up.
Jed Ward. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

We have Jed Ward to thank. The goalkeeper was certainly the busier of the two over the course of the evening, making a series of saves as Brackley Town peppered the glovers goal. Three matches in and Ward is proving to be an impressive bit of recruitment. Aside from the ropey short goal kicks, he didn’t put a foot wrong in between the sticks last night and without him, it probably would have been a different story.

Credit to Brackley. Pre-match, I wondered if we’d see the visitors dig in and frustrate but the opposite was true. They got on the ball and played some nice football, carving Yeovil apart at times. In the first half in particular, we struggled to deal with their direct running. I was really impressed with Morgan Roberts (their number 10) in the attacking midfield. He only had one thing on his mind every time he picked up the ball, get forward and cause problems, and he did from the first minute. Maybe it was the pressure, but in that first half, they looked like the team playing at home.

Harvey Greenslade. Picture by Gary Brown

Rotation paid off. There were four changes from Saturday’s dismal day at Forest Green and it showed. Harvey Greenslade was given the nod up front and his relentless running meant he was constantly putting pressure on the Brackley defenders. It was a shame he put his one chance over the bar when it fell to him, but I’d love to see more of Harvey. Kyle Ferguson stepped in for Jake Wannell and put in the type of performance we saw from him last season. The return of Brett McGavin from the start also meant we had a progressive midfielder with the ability to get us forward rather than the defensively-minded pairing of Charlie Cooper and Finn Cousin-Dawson. With games on Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday, we’re sure to see most of the squad this weekend.

We have to talk about the style. As brilliant as it was to get the three points (and stop talking about those cursed potatoes), it wasn’t the most inspiring night of football. That opening thirty minutes or so was dire. That is not a criticism of the players either, and clearly when Jed Ward realised it was working, he took responsibility on the pitch and sacked off the short goal kicks to cheers from the supporters. I don’t think we’re particularly dynamic in midfield and find it so frustrating when a visiting team comes to town and plays through us easily while we knock it about and struggle to make any meaningful openings. We’ve gone through change and brought in new players so some of that lack of cohesion is understandable, but we’re not an anomaly for that in the league. After all, what is pre-season for? I struggle to see an identity or attractive style of play, but hopefully the win will give us that confidence boost to play with a bit more freedom.

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The second game of the National League Premier Division season ended in a 2-0 defeat for Yeovil Town at the hands of Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn. The scoreline belied the dominance of the home side who spurned numerous chances to make it a more emphatic defeat for the Glovers. Ed Turnbull was among the 486 fans who made the trip to Gloucestershire and here are his conclusions.

The better team won. Probably stating the obvious when you look at the statistics, but it felt like only a matter of time before Forest Green were going to score. Five shots (2 on target, 3 off target) to our zero at half time and more than double that come full time highlights how dominant they were. We just got deeper and deeper and it felt like we were playing with ten men at times, when they scored their first it was game over. 
 
Super Jed Ward in goal. We said before the game that with the all out attack which Robbie Savage has spoken about bringing, Jed Ward was going to need to have a solid return to the club he started last season at. Thankfully he did. It could have been far more without him, some good last ditch blocks from his defence and wayward shooting from Forest Green. It was a decent rearguard action for 75 minutes and against lesser opposition (and there will be plenty lesser than Forest Green this season) hopefully that will stand us in good stead.
 
Jed Ward during his pre-match warm up.
Jed Ward. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
 

Two up top, but I’m not sure it worked. I was excited to see Aaron Jarvis get some company in the forward line in Tahvon Campbell, but surprised we tried it away to one of the strongest sides in the division. Forest Green found it too easy to get the ball forwards around us, with a lot of space behind the front two. For two big strikers, neither particularly held the ball up well which meant we struggled to keep the ball. I was not too surprised to see Campbell substituted at half-time. Mind you, it certainly was not any better when we switched to playing one up top in the second half. We talk a lot about shape, but for me it’s 11 players on the pitch either way, and it’s about how good they are more than the formation they play in.

Who wants that sack of spuds? If anyone wants the sack of potatoes being offered to our first goalscorer of the season, a good first step would be to find a way of getting possession in the attacking half. We managed it in second half against Hartlepool on the opening day, but in the other three 45 minutes of competitive football so far this season we’ve failed. I’d hoped Luke McCormick would be that player to put his foot on the ball higher up the pitch and provide that vital connection between defence and attack, but he hasn’t managed that so far. I would like to see if Brett McGavin can do any better from the start of a match. For me, as solid as they can be defensively, a midfield pair of Charlie Cooper and Finn Cousin-Dawson lacks that attacking quality and leaves our strikers looking so disjointed from the rest of the team.

There’s no need to panic. I hope this one goes without saying, but we are only two games in to the season. So far we’ve played two teams we’d expect to be up and around the promotion places come the end of the season. Yes, we’ve only got one point but that’s one more point than we got from these same two fixtures last season. The upcoming run of fixtures looks much kinder starting at home to Brackley Town at Huish Park on Wednesday night. It is a great opportunity to kick-start our season. Keep the faith!