Five Conclusions (Page 21)

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The dream of the Quadruple remains a mathematic possibility for Yeovil Town after progressing through to the third round of the Somerset Premier Cup with a 2-0 win at Larkhall Athletic.

There were not a huge number of travelling supporters at the tie but one of them was Jake Farrant, a member of the Green & White Supporters’ Club, and here are this five conclusions…..

Finding the ground is a total mystery. I’ve heard reports before that getting to Larkhall’s ground is a bit difficult – but even so I still didn’t imagine it being that much of a problem to find. Famous last words I suppose – even though we were using a sat-nav we ended up going round in circles on some quiet, steep, narrow sub-urban roads in Bath and then ended up on a newly built housing estate down a dead end street as the sat-nav didn’t appear to know where it was either! Eventually we managed to find our way there and had plenty of time for a pre-match pint! The ground is in a very remote location and it reminded me of Forest Green Rovers whereby you drive down a single track country road and all of a sudden it just appears in front of you. If we ever draw them again in the Somerset Cup I would recommend leaving with plenty of time to spare, use a sat-nav and take somebody with you to try and understand where the sat-nav is trying to take you!

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton continues to impress. I personally have liked Lo-Everton since he came here. It took him a while to settle down and find his feet but in more recent games he has looked very sharp, created chances and just generally looks like one of our more lively players. During the match it was the same story whereby his ability to run forward and provide Yeovil with opportunities was good to see. It was also nice to see him grab another goal as well even if it was a tap in from a free kick as any goal that he can score will hopefully increase his confidence levels and potentially raise his game even further.

Max Evans looked solid. Evans has been a regular on the teamsheet all season and with him being reserve keeper we naturally haven’t seen that much of him of late. Maybe it’s just me but I always like to have a backup keeper on the bench in every match we play in just in case Smith gets injured. It doesn’t happen very often but I do like to have comfort in the knowledge that there is another keeper we can call upon. Seeing Max make some excellent saves during the game and looking like a more experienced keeper than he currently is gave me even more confidence that he would be able to be first choice keeper if we needed him to be. He came to Yeovil’s rescue a few times in the match and it was nice that he kept a clean sheet and had something to show for his efforts.

Yussuf’s needless bookings continue. Whether you like Adi Yussuf’s presence on the pitch or not – I think there is something we can all agree on – and that is that he often picks up yellow cards for needless challenges and niggly fouls. The second yellow at Boreham Wood is a classic example of this and even getting booked at Yate Town when we were well ahead in the game also springs to mind. It was a similar story at Larkhall and it often prevented him from creating potential goalscoring chances as there were a few occasions where he had got himself into a good position but ended up giving away a foul or ended up trying to look for a free kick rather than taking the player on. It would be interesting to see how much his game improves if he manages to overcome this as he may be able to create a lot more chances for us going forward.

David Coates needs to hang his head in shame. I’ve known David for a good few years now and I was lead to believe that he was a die hard Yeovil Town supporter who would follow his club to the ends of the earth. Unfortunately that doesn’t include Larkhall Athletic! I looked everywhere for him at the game and after a while I had to come to the simply shocking conclusion that David simply wasn’t there! The Somerset Cup is a prestigious tournament – and the game at Larkhall last night was the biggest game in Yeovil’s season so far. I therefore don’t think that it is too much to ask for Mr Coates to make the trip from his home in Preston to Larkhall for a mid-week Somerset Cup tie – unbelievable!

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It was a game that Yeovil Town couldn’t really win. A defeat at Yate Town on Saturday and the headlines would’ve been of the heroic giant-killers who’d felled their hapless higher division opponents.

A win and the story is about the plucky minnows who tried their hardest and did ever so well to get to the first round.

So, an emphatic victory, a clean sheet and a place in the draw for the second round will have to do it. Here’s David Coates‘ Five Conclusions from his trip to Lodge Road….

Let’s start with the most obvious thing; that was exactly the kind of ruthless and professional display we needed. An early goal (whoever it was ended up scoring it) silenced a home crowd which never really got the chance to show it if could be hostile or not, and then two more in quick succession kicked the stuffing out of tie. Yes, we were playing against a team of HGV drivers and probate lawyers, but how many times has an FA Cup shock been produced by such professions? No, postmen in the Yate side, mind you. But, we needed to put them to the sword in the first half and we did that. Darren Sarll asked for us to be “ruthless and professional”  before the match and he certainly got both those things.

When we signed up a kid who’d been released by Bromley and had a history of injuries, I have to say I was not feeling inspired about what he could bring. But, I think I may be falling a little in love with Charlie Wakefield – in the Gloverscast spirit of falling in love with footballers, I mean. That boy never seems to tire of picking up the ball and running at defenders, and I don’t just mean at Yate although he displayed all the athleticism his manager has spoken so much about. No, I saw this for Charlie (not sure I can bring myself call him ‘Chaz’) the first time I saw him at Aldershot and every time I have seen him, he’s impressed me.

That said, Matt Worthington is starting to look the part. Now whether him playing alongside his fellow flame-haired midfielder Dale Gorman gives the impression of there being two of him or not, I don’t know. But, yesterday Worthington looked composed on the ball, was bursting forward in a way I don’t recall seeing him doing so and even if he didn’t score (or did he?!), he impressed me in his 67 minutes. Yes, yes, part-time time, lower league, minnows opponents and blah, blah….. but this looked like the Matt Worthington we spoke about wanting to see more of in the summer and I am all for it.

For a club with one of the smallest squads in the division and injuries to a couple of key players, our substitutes’ bench looks decent. We were only able to name six of the allowed seven substitutes, but to be able to bring on Luke Wilkinson, Joe Quigley, Alex Bradley and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton is a good position to be in. It was good to see Morgan Williams back in action, he was not really too troubled by the Yate forward line in his time on the pitch, but did most things well and hopefully we’ll see more of him in the weeks to come.

Finally, £22,629 is not a myth. That is the prize money for winning a first round tie. The manager suggested before the match that the financial benefits of progressing in the FA Cup were “a bit of a myth” – and in the context he meant of seeing it in his playing budget, he’s probably quite right. But, add the prize money for a first round win together with the fourth qualifying round prize money and you’re already over £32,000, and that is before you add in half the gate receipts for those ties. Glenn Collis, the director we are led to believe is part of one of two consortiums looking to buy the club, was clearly visible at Lodge Road on Saturday – which is more than can be said for his AWOL fellow director, club chairman Scott Priestnall. There’s been a suggestion that progress in the FA Cup – and the lure of prize money and gate receipts that comes with it – has led to those in charge of the club to not make decisions in the past. Let’s hope it is a myth that the current custodians, who have always claimed to want what is best for our club, are not motivated by prize money.

Look, I managed all that without mentioning that we look great at the back (which we do, incidentally) or that we struggle to score which is probably difficult to back up after a 5-0 win.

The quadruple dream lives on – bring on the Larkhall!

 

 

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The Glovercast’s Ben Barrett took up residence in the Thatcher’s Stand to see Yeovil Town pick up their first victory in eight matches with a much-improved performance and a 2-0 win over Woking.

Here’s his Five Conclusions on what he saw….

First thing is first, you’ll have to let me have one for myself, but it was really nice being a supporter again.

That sounds stupid, but I’ve only watched on streams, or on TV, or had my professional hat on as part of the media.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m VERY lucky to do occasional bits for the BBC and I’ll never turn those chances down. But to stand in what used to be something of my usual spot, just behind the left hand post in the home terrace with my Dad, a cup of coffee and a few familiar faces (hi, Foxy!) felt fantastic.

It’s been a while since I’ve had that feeling and whilst the overall ‘match day experience’ still leaves a lot to be desired, but being told by a steward ‘don’t worry about that, it’s only Woking’ as I held my arms aloft expecting a pat down, to Max Evans saying ‘evening’ with a little nod as we crossed eyes whilst I waited for Dad to go through the turnstile reminded me, that it’s not ALL bad at Huish Park.

Onto the football then and this is my first experience of the 4-3-3 formation and for me it has one main benefit and one major flaw.

We’ll start with the benefit, because you know… #BeMoreBarrett and all that.

Knowles and Wakefield are seriously dangerous attacking options in the front line.

Catching Woking on the break, quick one touch passing through midfield and either a ball whipped down the line or sprayed out wide was the order of the day and it worked nearly every single time.

That man Tom Knowles (#DFILWF) back in the goals – and we love to see it.

Having one of those split the full back and the central defender meant they didn’t really know how to defend against us, afraid to push their full backs on for fear of being caught and defenders being pulled out of their regimented shape.

Wrap these two up in cotton wool, protect them at all costs… and it’s absolutely fine to fall in love with footballers.

However, the Yin to that Yang is that I’m not quite sure where it leaves our midfield.

Jordan Barnett on the left of three is fine when in full attacking flow, but he did occasionally fall out of position as possession fell to Woking.

Matt Worthington continues to work his backside off, but he isn’t a right sided player, almost opposite to Barnett he DOES look fairly well placed when we don’t have the ball, save for a few uncontrolled hooked clearances, he wasn’t quite the attacking driver that Barnett was on the other side.

Dale Gorman was combative and all hustle and bustle, but at times in the 2nd half, I wanted a controller, someone to dictate the play and he isn’t quite that.

When I knew I was going to do these conclusions, I really hoped to have something concrete (and ideally positive) to say about whoever led the line up front.

But… after an hour of seeing him from the start… I just don’t know what to think about Adi Yussuf.

I think I enjoyed his first half performance, I think he was reasonable at the back-to-goal stuff, I think we played less hoof-ball that we seem to revert to for Joe Quigley, and I think he put himself about and ruffled a few feathers… but I don’t KNOW any of these things… you know?

He was pretty anonymous in the second half and I wasn’t surprised to see him come off after a pretty stale 15 minutes in the second period, I don’t know that we missed him, but I don’t know if there might be more in there.

I think I want to see him have a bit of a run in the side, I think I want him to have a bit more of a chance to impose his game on our style of play, but I don’t KNOW any of these things… you know? No? Sorry.

Finally, I’ve been thinking about what happens now we’ve ended the winless run.

After the 3-0 win against Stockport, we were crying out for a performance to back it up, to probe it wasn’t a one-off.

Now, I think we desperately need to back that performance up.

We can talk about ‘runs of one’ and resetting after the previous result, regardless of a win, a loss or a draw, but there isn’t a Yeovil fan out there who is desperate to see a bit of a streak of results.

Another three points on Saturday away at Solihull would lead us nicely into another big couple of weeks, with a prime opportunity against Yate Town in the FA Cup and then a couple tests with Eastleigh and Dagenham on the horizon in the league.

The Gaffer giving it the big ‘un after a much-improved performance. He’ll be wanting more like that from his side going forward.

That was a solid 2-0 win, about a solid of a win as you can ask for, there is an extra gear to find, a gear that will determine if we’re a side with ambitions of glancing up and thinking… ‘maybe’… or a side glancing over our shoulders thinking… ‘oh, maybe’.

Shall we do it again on Saturday? Yeah, go on then.

 

 

 

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Yeovil Town went down to a 2-0 defeat at National League table-toppers Grimsby Town yesterday, stretching their run without a win to eight matches. 

Marcus Duncomb, who was on co-commentary duties for BBC Somerset at Blundell Park, gives us his Five Conclusions from the match……

Being 1-0 down away at the league leaders at half time isn’t terrible. But it was clear that change was needed in the Yeovil team. We never looked like creating any chances (which I’ll get onto later…) and with Simper, Knowles and Yussuf all on the bench, I think Darren Sarll needed to look to his bench earlier than he did. This has happened in a few games now and while I understand that we don’t have much squad depth at the moment, there were at least three players on the bench who could have influenced the game.

We were actually quite solid at the back and retained possession nicely in midfield. Yes, we conceded two goals, but one of them was a penalty and the other was in the 90th minute when we’d lumped Max Hunt up front to go all out for an equaliser. As much as Yeovil couldn’t get forward much, the team did very well to limit the chances that Grimsby created. We kept the league leaders quiet for the majority of the match which is a positive.

We never looked like scoring. I don’t know what our attacking plan is or, indeed, if there is one but we never threatened Grimsby’s defence. We had a lot of the ball in midfield but the final ball was just non-existent. We’re missing that Lawson D’Ath-esque playmaker in midfield and also midfielders who make runs into the box like Jimmy Smith and Albi Skendi. I’m aware I’m just listing previous players who we could do with now, but we really are crying out for goals and creativity from midfield.

Get him some tequila because Dale Gorman bloody loves a shot. Any time he gets the ball with in 40 yards of the goal and with some space ahead of him, the Irishman will be lining up to thump one from range. Don’t get me wrong, we need goals so please try anything! Sometimes however, we’ve worked the ball into a decent position deep in the opponent’s box and could create a clear-cut chance but he just gifts the opponent a goal kick from a pot shot.

As Sheridan said in the Five Conclusions from the W*ymouth replay – Sonny Blu Lo-Everton is a very talented footballer. He’s got great skill and frightening technique, but some games just don’t fit his style or maybe he doesn’t suit Yeovil’s style. I really want him to succeed, and I know he can, but unfortunately he got pushed off the ball a few too many times and the game just passed him by leaving him somewhat invisible.

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Magic of the FA Cup? Maybe. Just maybe it could be ‘our year’ for a cup run after a rollercoaster match with fierce rivals Weymouth.  

Here are Sheridan Robins’ five conclusions from that 1-1 (2-1) penalty shoot-out win.  

The W*ymouth, Yeovil derby has been merely something which happened in our history for me, aged 30, and while no one wanted to be at the same level as them again, it is clear the bite of the tie has not been lost. The past two games have had atmospheres which have not been seen in at least five years, following relegation battles and the lack of away fans at National League level. I may be saying this because they have not beaten us in the past four matches against them – but I very much enjoy the fire in the fixture.  

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton is a supremely talented footballer – and wise beyond his years. I thought this was his finest performance in green and white with relentless running combined with wonderful skill which Weymouth’s back line could not handle. He also presented himself brilliantly in his post-match interview, seeming far older than his 19 years, but also with a lovely sense of joy that he just enjoyed playing for his club out there.  

Penalty shoot-outs can be low quality and exciting. It was probably a decider with one of the lowest numbers of decent penalties in history – yet it was edge of your seat stuff. Those you expected to score didn’t (Sean Shields, Tom Knowles) – and perhaps not your first choices dispatched it perfectly (Adi Yusseff, Dale Gorman). With Joe Quigley having missed in the dying seconds of extra time, too, the fact the Glovers managed to win that is quite something. I had thought we had seen the last of our penalty woes…but that is a worry for another day.  

We need to watch our opponents’ substitutes. A slightly more serious one – with both of W*ymouth’s goals coming from changes from the bench through Bearwish and McQuoid respectively. There is of course the question of slight naivety from our young side to concede goals so late, but our opponents did manage to change it up both times and affect us. Substitute Yussuf – of course – won the penalty late on, but other teams in our division seem to have stronger squads to affect change – but with Lewis Simper now back in contention, that may well change in the next few weeks. 

Terry Skiverton bleeds green and white. Ok, this is a cheat conclusion, as everyone knows this, but what a sight to behold to see a true Yeovil legend joining (and starting) in all the best chants with a host of young players he is helping to mould. He has been through so much with us and maybe doesn’t always get the credit he deserves. I have no doubt that Sir Terry Skiverton had a lot to do with the desire we saw on the pitch last night. 

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Four games in the spin at Huish Park and things couldn’t be much worse. Here are my five conclusions from the dire draw against Weymouth.

I stick up for Joe Quigley, quite a lot. After Tuesday I thought we needed to change it up and take him out of firing line, and his performance against Weymouth validated that view. He was given a torrid afternoon by Josef Yarney. The defender physically dominated Quigley. He was sharper. Quicker to the ball and had the nous to earn free-kick after free-kick at the expense of Quigley. Our top scorer’s awful afternoon was compounded when he failed to retain possession from a corner in the 90th minute when trying to wind the clock down which allowed Weymouth to get the ball up the pitch and find an equaliser.

We stuck with a 4-3-3 with Charlie Wakefield up front and it worked nicely in the first 45 minutes. Wakefield took his goal nicely and caused problems for the Weymouth defence. As we dropped deeper in the second half we struggled to get Wakefield on the ball and couldn’t utilise his energy. Wakefield is becoming a bright spark in what has been a dark couple of weeks for the Glovers.

As the second half wore on, the eventual equaliser was as obvious as Phil Jevons putting away a penalty. Grant Smith was taking time on his goal kicks in the first half and in the second we were in no hurry to chase a second goal. Weymouth made tactical changes, brought on fresh legs up front and we dropped deeper and deeper. We made Omar Mussa look like Xabi Alonso in midfield, giving him time and space to dictate proceedings. Our changes saw us bring on a left back for Tom Knowles and move a left back into his position. We were about bring on Lewis Simper to kill some minutes but we never got him on the pitch. Our tactics in the second half invited Weymouth onto us and we paid the price. The resilience and robustness we lauded at the start of the season has been replaced by fragility and fear. 

There were the most vocal chants against our absentee owner who, once again, couldn’t find his way to Huish Park. As the silence continues, the vociferousness of opinion will only continue to grow and he only has himself to blame for that. It was time for someone to stick their head out before the Altrincham game. The longer this goes on, the more toxic the football club is going to become. We’ve talked about the need for total change on the podcast and it could not be clearer now. One of those at the table was at the game today, he has to know the supporters don’t want him running the club. 

We need change in the dugout. Darren Sarll’s race is run in my view. He exited down the tunnel rather than face the fans and I think the signing of Mitch Rose and his comments in the aftermath have caused irreparable damage to the relationship with some supporters. The quality of football is down there with his predecessor’s. Once we’re on the pitch, we can’t change shape or system effectively. I think he’s a manager who has got his hands tied behind his back by his boss, but his cosiness with the “custodian” who is letting the football club die is irreversible. He’s not the man to unite the fans and turn the tide in my view. With anyone else in charge at the club, I think we’d see Terry Skiverton managing on Tuesday and I actually wouldn’t mind it. Sadly, while Scott Priestnall’s at the helm, I don’t see any change happening and that’s why we need a takeover to be completed as soon as possible.

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Yeovil were held to a 1-1 draw by Altrincham at home last night and here are our five conclusions…

We did play better(ish!). We had a lot more shots than Saturday and we did cause Altrincham problems in the open stages. The movement of Yussuf and Seymour did cause problems until the injury to Altrincham ‘keeper Tony Thompson at which point they shored up. It was damning that we struggled to test Connor Hampson, a left back, who came on from the bench to have a go in goal. Eventually, it became apparent that couldn’t catch anything in the second

Joe Quigley opens the scoring against Altrincham.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

half, which led to Quigley’s opener. But, inevitably, we let it slip, allowing our former player Ajay Leitch-Smith to equalise. Once again we were left lacking creativity, ideas and failed to break down a side that had been protecting their not-goalkeeper for more than 70 minutes. Although the players felt aggrieved not to have had a winner through Josh Staunton, we really should have been able to do more than rely on a decision from an official to find a winner. Beforehand,  I would have taken a draw against part-time Altrincham (such is our decline) but there is no doubt that we should have got more than that in the context of the match

Don’t fall in love with footballers. Tom Knowles, the shining light at the end of last season. The player who many have pinned our hopes on for this season. What’s happened? Where’s that spark gone? He was playing in a different role during the last campaign. Is he a bit shackled with our new defensive focus? He was withdrawn at half time on Saturday and the first off last night. Something’s not quite clicking in this system for Knowles and we need to get it right. When Knowles is confident, and playing well, we’re going to be a better team. Personally, I want him through the middle as close to the goal as possible.

Joe Quigley had another one of those games which make you question what we’re doing. I like Quigley, I think he’s scored more goals than we thought he would and I think he’s a better player than many give him credit for. However, we’re not playing to his strengths. He struggled to win any headers last night, yet we continue to lump it forward to him. We need his goals (no one else is scoring) but we need to try and switch up how we use him. Maybe he needs to come out of the firing line for a game or two and we give Yussuf and Seymour a go together. I thought Quigley and Yussuf sort of got in eachother’s way a bit in a 4-3-3 last night.

The pressure is on. Three disappointing results in a row at home and W*ymouth come to Huish Park on Saturday, in front of fans, for the first time since November 1999. The off-field uncertainty x growing unrest amongst supporters is not the most ambitious crossover event in history and it’s made Saturday feel like a must-win for Darren Sarll. Even if we win, it may not be enough.

The Supporters Alliance Group are united. On a night when our gate was 1640, with Scott Priestnall absent (again) and Glenn Collis in the Directors’ Box the timing of the SAG statement has made it abundantly clear for those in charge and those at the table. The supporters of Yeovil Town FC want total change. The supporters groups of Yeovil Town haven’t always agreed on things, but at this critical moment in the club’s history they are working for the same cause. We want change, we need change and it can’t come soon enough. Obviously, it’s the owners prerogative who he does a deal with, but with momentum and a united voice, supporters should feel empowered to make their feelings clear.

 

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Dion Pereira showed glimpses of his quality. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was a difficult afternoon at Huish Park for Yeovil Town as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Notts County. Here are our Five Conclusions from the game.

Once again it was another game with a lack of creativity. Two centre midfielders who play it safe, an out of form Tom Knowles and a new loan signing in Dion Pereira adjusting to his new surroundings struggled to create anything. Pereira showed glimpses of quality but the overall performance made it near impossible for him to make an impact. Charlie Wakefield looks better on the right hand side than the left, and looked a threat after his half time introduction, but Joe Quigley is looking increasingly isolated. I know it’s easy to say, but we need an Ed Upson. 

I think there’s a decision to be made about Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. The youngster is struggling to adapt to the physicality of the National League. He was withdrawn early against Chesterfield having made little impact. He came on against Maidenhead United when they were down to ten men and couldn’t unlock them. And yesterday he didn’t get a sniff out of Notts County. I’m sure Sonny has a very bright future in the game but right now his contribution in a Yeovil shirt is negligible. We’re on the verge of crisis territory and it’s unfair to put a young loanee in that environment because with every stray pass, every lost challenge the supporters’ frustration grows. 

For the second consecutive game Josh Staunton was voted the sponsors Man of the Match. It was another strong performance from the stand-in skipper and he’s proving what a smart signing it was last season. However, when your centre back is getting man of the match awards, it’s a damning indictment of the shape of things. Well done Josh, you’re becoming a leader and standard bearer, but I’d love a striker or a winger to be Man of the Match on Tuesday after scoring three and setting up two.

Minus King’s Lynn, we started well this season. A solid and dependable XI that we weren’t forced to change. The loss of Luke Wilkinson through injury has created a ripple effect through the side. With Staunton having to move back (mainly because of Morgan Williams’ injury) we’ve had to shuffle the pack a bit, including breaking up Staunton and Gorman. But are we changing things too much now? Three changes against Maidenhead United, after an alright (given the circumstances) performance against Boreham Wood in our last outing. Another three changes yesterday, and I’m not sure why. Jordan Barnett has been one of our better performers and was left out of the team yesterday for loanee Jack Robinson. Mitch Rose, regardless of the overwhelming negativity, started on Tuesday but was dropped for Notts County. History tells us that chopping and changing for every match doesn’t bode well, and now we can expect more on Tuesday.

Darren Sarll’s final substitution at 1-0 down yesterday was to remove Dale Gorman, the slightly more forward thinking of our central midfielders, for a defensive midfielder in Mitch Rose. We had an experienced striker in Adi Yussuf on the bench. I think with 20 minutes left at 1-0, we should have brought on another striker, tried something different and at least gone down swinging. That change was essentially us forfeiting the game in my view. Our rigidity is our strength in certain moments, but it is a weakness when we’re trying to do the same thing over and over again and failing to achieve anything. I know we’ve heard about ‘doing Plan A better’ in previous seasons but in the space of two weeks, the team appear to have been totally sapped of confidence and are barely carrying out Plan A. 

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Last night, the Glovers drew 0-0 with Maidenhead United at Huish Park, here are our five conclusions.

We’re not creating enough going forward is the blindingly obvious one. Darren Sarll reiterated a need for patience from the fans for the likes of Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, and the young players in the squad but for the final 20 minutes, Yeovil were up against ten-men. (Not that that changes games of course…) Against a semi-professional side who had not won since the 28th of August, we should have created more. Our system is robust and we didn’t give away a lot of chances, but I think it’s fair to expect more from a team who haven’t had a competitive fixture in 10 days.

Ben ‘don’t call me Tom’ Seymour showed signs of a spark. He’s got the pressing and chasing mentality that Gary Johnson’s strikers tended to have. He looked pacy and sharp and I think we can expect some good things from him if he’s served right. His low-effort at the end of the first half was his effort on goal but he worked hard and that’s a good sign.

Jordan Barnett who came on as a second half substitute in the goalless draw with Maidenhead United.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

What has Jordan Barnett done? I think Barnett has started well for us. Dedicated, decent defensively and happy to push forward too. I thought it was an odd circumstance to bring in Jack Robinson for his first game and leave out Barnett who had started every game. Robinson didn’t set the world alight and I think Barnett can feel hard done by to lose his place.

Last night Darren Sarll was asked about the signing of Mitch Rose for the first time since the midfielder signed for the Glovers. Rose, as has been widely reported, is serving a suspended sentence. When asked about the circumstances surrounding the midfielder, Darren Sarll said: “People should understand and know the full extent of any situation before we start beating people down. Mitch is an ex-youth team player of mine, I have known him years and if something untoward has happened in his life I have certainly not got any details about it.” It feels disingenuous to say you’ve signed a player without this information, especially when the player himself indicated the opposite. I would imagine the only reason we’ve signed this player is because of the ‘untoward’ circumstances. The manager had plenty of time to think about how this signing could be communicated in a positive and almost redemptive way, and he chose to plead ignorance. 

Another match where our absentee owner was nowhere to be seen. We’ve not heard any communication from Scott Priestnall since the Glovers Trust informed members that they were aware of two bidders for club. No denial, no acknowledgement. Nothing. In July 2019, when Priestnall met with supporters and the media ahead of his own takeover completion, he said: “I’m not going to put the club in danger, so I want to bring a fresh viewpoint on how the club moves forward.” At the end of the match last night, there were a few boos. I think they were aimed at the performance and the tactics and it seems there is a bubbling frustration amongst supporters, albeit a minority, which stems from the over-promising of the summer. If as an owner of a football club, when you insist that you’re building a squad for promotion and you fail to beat a ten-man semi-professional outfit, fans are well within their rights to vocalise their feelings on the state of affairs.

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Yeovil Town suffered a 2-1 defeat on the road to Boreham Wood yesterday. Here are five conclusions from the match.

Adi Yussuf let his team-mates down with his sending off. Two moments of stupidity in the space of five minutes cost Yeovil yesterday. The first was a needless push as the ball was running out of play and the second was another needless foul. Yussuf jumped in for a 50-50 giving the referee no choice. The team gave it their all in the second half with ten-men but it was an entirely avoidable situation to be in. Yussuf has since apologised to fans, recognising it was careless on his part.

Yussuf’s sending off laid bare the lack of game-changing attacking depth we have at our disposal. With only Sonny Blu Lo Everton to bring on we couldn’t change much. Neither Matt Worthington nor Dale Gorman were particularly inclined to get the ball going forward and it’s left to Charlie Wakefield, Tom Knowles and Joe Quigley to produce. Which is challenging when you have ten men.

Knowles came to life in the second half and created a couple of good opportunities, but we need more from him. He was our talisman last season and he hasn’t quite grown on those impressive performances. If we’re to reach the play offs this season, the nearly misses have to turn into goals and assists. We need him to be a killer in the box.

I probably won’t go to Boreham Wood again. Parking’s good, the facilities are nice and an okay cheeseburger. The atmosphere: non-existent. A good travelling contingent in Green and White made an atmosphere, but the Boreham Wood faithful barely made a peep throughout the 90 minutes.

Yesterday we signed Mitchell Rose, a midfielder with a criminal conviction for an assault on a man and a woman, that left the woman with a fractured cheekbone. It’s a decision that cannot go unquestioned. Months after endorsing the #HerGameToo movement, we’ve signed a player with a questionable past. After the match, Darren Sarll praised Rose’s character. After talking about the quality of player we’re able to recruit, we have to question what pool we’re dipping our toes in if we’re pulling out this type of “character”.