Gloversblog (Page 21)

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Only one of the Gloverscast trio got eyes on the 2-1 defeat to Barnet.

Gloverscast Ben watched on the stream as Yeovil lost at the Hive and had to do so in silence as to not wake the youngest mini Barrett, here’s how he saw (but not heard) the game… he’s off to source some headphones.

Physically, it was a game too far.

The previous two results against Eastleigh and Chesterfield have been positive, four points from play-off contenders, who have gone on to put in good performances since.

Let’s not underestimate how good those outcomes were, but this one felt like we’d spent a lot of energy and had very little left.

The team news suggested as much, the slow nature of our counter attacks confirmed it.

We’re clearly nursing a few players through some games.

I’m not going to fault effort, but you are left wondering if we’re paying the price for having no physio for as long as we did.

That being said, we did have moments, but…

If you’re going to only get a few chances, you simply have to take them.

It’s perfectly acceptable to soak up pressure away at good sides, it’s fine to try and get a stereotypically away performance and try and scrap a 1-0 win and call it a day.

But, we did make chances, and I’d argue we could have made more of them.

Ryan Law had a first half header, we had moments on the edge of the box where shots were snatched at rather than placed or forcefully put into the far corner, we made some silly decisions at times which were counter productive in the final third and we had more than one cross or melee in the box crying out for someone to take the moment by the scruff of the neck.

Let’s starting chucking our bodies in the line of crosses, be a bit ugly in attack, be forceful… be a bit nasty up top.

Malachi Linton fires in a shot. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

If in doubt… keep it simple.

I’ve really enjoyed the freedom Mark Cooper has brought to this side, we’ve added play makers, we’ve given midfielders licences to play and try and get involved.

We’ve got a defence, who for the most part, have been solid and want to get involved, but sometimes, we need to keep things a bit simple in tight, important games.

Ryan Law lost the ball twice trying a little pirouette in midfield, we played ourselves into trouble at the back when a pass to or from the keeper got a bit close for comfort and finally, the second goal came from Owen Bevan trying to morph into peak Rio Ferdinand and take the ball out from the back.

Owen, you’re good, very good and I think you’re destined for the top, but just launch that one please.

Maybe, we’re not just feeling the effects physically (see point 1) but also, mentally.

It’s a fine balance and quite how Mark Cooper finds that level of releasing the handbrake, but also keeping things simple is how he’ll earn his corn over these final 10 or so games.

The game changed with the addition of Nicke Kabamba, I mean, of course it did.

He got his 18th league goal of the season when pouncing on Bevan’s mistake and it goes to show exactly what we have been missing.

That depth in quality just hasn’t been there, bringing on Reo Griffiths was a nice little addition, but how Mark Cooper would have liked to have turned around to see a Charlie Wakefield or Scottt Pollock to try something a little different or add a little star quality.

Matt Worthington ran himself into the ground (again), there’s no way he can be fully fit all the time – he’s only one yellow card from a two match ban, with an England call up to squeeze in next midweek too, you can see why M Cooper wanted to keep C Cooper out of the firing line for as a long as possible. This side is going to be squeezed for every sinue before the season is up.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

and finally, The season may hang on those all important games against Gateshead and Dorking.

There was a point last night where we were one goal away from being in 17th, leaping above York and Aldershot and putting seven(!) points between ourselves and the drop zone, we are instead wondering about Gateshead’s games in hand and if they’ll start catching us up.

Fine margins don’t just decide games, they decide entire campaigns.

Scunthorpe and York both came unstuck on Tuesday night, it’s impossible not to look at other results as we play, but after a run against three play off contenders we face the teams currently in 16th, 17th, 20th and 21st before the season is out… they will define our season.

 

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Huish Park was rocking last night as Yeovil Town picked up a crucial win in the battle to stay in the National League. Here are Ian’s conclusions from the 1-0 victory over Eastleigh.

A great leap (definitely not a push, ref!) by Matt Worthington for the opener.

The atmosphere at Huish Park was incredible last night. I can’t remember a night like that in a long long time. More than 2900 were at Huish Park last night, an increase of 700ish (minus the Eastleigh travelling supporters) versus last Tuesday. The reduced ticket offer brought people back and helped create an electric atmosphere. The crowd were vocal from the off, and in the second half they roared Mark Cooper’s side home. The celebrations at the end we reminiscent of the old days – I could get used to this feeling. 

We played for the whole game. It was a night where the Yeovil players put in a performance across the pitch for the whole 90 minutes. Cooper’s side were patient when they had to be, and forced the issue when the opportunity arose. Play off hopefuls Eastleigh, who were unbeaten in seven, could not have begrudged going in 2-0 down at half time. Jordan Young came inches away from heading in and fingertips and the post kept Jordan Maguire-Drew from scoring a cracker. With 45 minutes towards the raucous Thatchers Stand, Yeovil got their goal, could have got more and lifted the gloom after the recent run of results.

Jordan Stevens. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The Jordans are stepping up. With no shortage of Jordans in the squad and all three starting last night, they all put in a performance of quality. Jordan Young continues to improve. He held the ball up well, was direct with his running and is getting closer to finding that all-important goal. Maguire-Drew looked the classy player who made things happen over Christmas. He threaded passes, got shots away and with 60 minutes in the tank, looks to be rebuilding fitness. And, our new signing Jordan Stevens, looked a totally different player from the one against Woking. Comfortable running with the ball and rapid when hunting down opponents, he looks like to be a real coup for the club.

The system suited the players. Look, I’ve been very clear I don’t like three at the back. I’m open to it working eventually, but we’ve not been able to get a consistent tune this group all season. So when I saw our defensive unit warming up as a four, there was a bit of relief on my part. It worked as well. It was a pretty fluid front five, with Stevens, JMD, Worthington, Young and Law making forward runs and getting into the final third. A shout out for Charlie Cooper, who’s discipline in centre midfield is so crucial to allow his teammates to get forward. Matt Worthington, who had one of his worst games on Saturday, was immeasurably improved and leapt highest to score the winner after a great run into the box.

We need to stay grounded. There’s been so much happen in the last week. After the turbulence of the last regime, we’re all understandably excited. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves after this win. The teams around us good results last night, and we needed to keep up. We’re three points ahead of the relegation zone, but we’ve got some tough away matches coming against Chesterfield, Barnet and Halifax. We’re not out of this battle yet, but with new ownership in the door (although the deal isn’t quite complete) we can be more hopeful of staying in the league than we were over a week ago.

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On the day when Matt Uggla and Paul Sackey were officially presented to supporters, our former manager returned to burst the bubble at Huish Park. Here’s Ian’s conclusions from our 1-0 defeat by Woking.

It was a familiar story up front. Woking’s centre back pairing of Cuthbert and McNerney dominated Alex Fisher and Jordan Young in the first half. While Young is still adapting to this level, I felt Fisher should have been more prepared for a physical battle and he really struggled against Woking’s duo. While both strikers improved in the second half and Young should have equalised when he was one-on-one with Jaaskelainen. We’ve been saying it since the start of 2021/22, but we need to find a solution in the final third. Jordan Stevens showed glimpses, our wingbacks struggled to get any joy in attacking areas and Matt Worthington struggled to get on the ball to make things happen.

Jordan Young heads at goal. Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

Woking’s goal was a sloppy one. The other trend in recent weeks is the conceding of soft goals and Woking’s ticked that box. A good cross into the box from Edwin Agbaje was met by the head of Jordan Young, who could only head it at Jaaskelainen. Thirty seconds later, the ball was in the back of Grant Smith’s net. Woking pushed forward and when the ball reached Owen Bevan at an awkward height, he couldn’t head it, knee it or kick it and the ball was bundled to Lofthouse who smashed it in. While goals are obviously the big concern in the attacking third, the issue isn’t going away in the defensive third.

Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We got Darren Sarlled. Woking’s goal came after a golden opportunity for Jordan Young and once the Cards were ahead we saw a familiar pattern emerge. Yeovil returned from the break with momentum and put the pressure on Woking for the first 10 minutes, until our opponents got to grips with the situation and became masters of disruption. Players went down needing treatment innocuously, took forever to collect the ball for set pieces and goal kicks and showed their penchant for the dark arts – all facilitated by a referee who took no control of the time-wasting tactics. Yeovil just couldn’t get any rhythm in the second half and Woking saw the game out.

We need to start playing for the full game. Yesterday really was a rinse and repeat of our season. We struggled in the first half and then started playing after the break, until we got Sarlled. Mark Cooper referenced it post-match, our inability to play towards the away end. It’s a growing pattern that we only play towards the Thatchers. It has to be a mentality thing, as we’ve had plenty of teams over the years who’ve been able to score at either end. Of our 13 remaining fixtures, we’ve only got five more at home to make Huish Park a fortress and keep this team above the line.

Matt Uggla, left, and Paul Sackey, right, meet with some guy who we assume is part of their group! Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

A cloud has lifted at Huish Park. Despite the result, there was a feeling of relief at Huish Park with the presentation of Paul Sackey and Matt Uggla of SU Glovers before kick-off. There’s a lot of work to do, on the pitch and off of it, but it feels like we’ve got something we can get behind. Our new custodians introduced themselves to supporters, signed autographs, took photos, and mingled after the match too. Plenty returned to Huish Park yesterday for the first time in a long time and I’m sure more will come. While the result wasn’t what we might have scripted, it finally feels like we’ve got an ownership group who are genuinely invested in the future of our club.

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On the night SU Glovers Ltd announced they’d taken over the ‘stewardship’ of Yeovil Football and Athletic Club Ltd, the Glovers played a game of football. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions on the 1-1 draw with Altrincham.

I think this was a good point. I’d have snapped your hand off for a point going into the game given our form and Altrincham’s. With 11 goals in three matches prior to the visit to Huish Park and our run of five without a win, the mood was not hopeful. Altrincham worked hard in the opening spells of the game and Tyrese Sinclair was their out ball every time. Yeovil were evidently low on confidence and it wasn’t until the second half that Mark Cooper’s team started to take the game to Alty. We had decent control of possession, looked mostly comfortable and deserved an equaliser. It’s fair to argue that with 10 men we should have gone on to win the game, but a good point gives us something to build on.

Jordan Maguire-Drew converts his penalty. Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

We didn’t fall apart without Josh Staunton and Matt Worthington. Aside from Grant Smith, Staunton and Worthington have been absolutely pivotal this season, but with a pile up of fixtures, there was always going to be a point where they needed a rest. Josh Staunton has played every minute of every League game up until Tuesday and has been sporting the black knee tape in recent fixtures. I can’t be the only one wincing every time he goes to ground to make a tackle. Matt Worthington has been the engine room all season and has somehow upped it since Mark Cooper’s arrival. They were surprise exclusions and we successfully navigated a tricky fixture without them, maybe we do have a bit of depth?

A game of two D’Aths. In the first half the way Altrincham harassed Lawson D’Ath when he was on the ball and managed to dispossess him had me worried. On more than one occasion he got caught with the ball and allowed Altrincham to break. In the second half he, like others, really stepped up. Carrying the ball and driving forward with a real purpose. We’re managing his minutes, and whisper it, he’s keeping injury free…(apologies in advance.)

Alex Fisher – Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

I’d love another striker. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would. Alex Fisher’s early effort was a huge chance to put Yeovil ahead and he had a couple of chances in the second half, his unorthodox header brought a good save from Byrne in the Altrincham goal. Seb Palmer-Houlden looks to have something about him and has a good physicality but we just don’t have time to wait for things to click. Jordan Young looked bright when he came on, but we’re still missing something. Malachi Linton (hopefully inconvenienced enough to be fired up for the weekend) didn’t make it off the bench and struggled to make an impact against Notts County. Afterwards Mark Cooper said: “At this stage of the season it is difficult for people to let you have really good players, because they would not be coming here at this stage of the season. If we are going to do that we have to be really picky or it is going to cost an awful lot of money.”

We’ve entered into a new era. The announcement prior to kick off was met with a muted reaction. Obviously we’re still awaiting plenty of detail but we’ve seen snippets from Matt Uggla on social media today and he won’t need anyone else to tell him what needs doing at Huish Park. With media activity on the cards tomorrow, hopefully some further detail, a 40 goal a season striker, we could actually make a bit of day of it on Saturday and spoil Darren Sarll’s return.

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Back-to-back defeats in relegation six pointers left Yeovil Town a point and a place below the dreaded dotted line at the bottom of the National League table.

A second half winner from York City striker Lennell John-Lewis earned our relegation rivals (yes, don’t kid yourself this isn’t a relegation scrap) their first win in six matches and meant the Glovers are five without a win.

Here’s how Dave saw it from his position in the West End at the LNER Community Stadium…..

 

That first half performance was a team destined for relegation
Yes, there are a lot reasons (excuses?) which the players have – no physio, uncertainty over the ownership of the club, a crowded fixture list, too few players, the list goes on.
But, the body language of too many players was at best disinterested and at worst simply evidence they are not good enough.
I lost count of the occasions when Grant Smith got the ball and looked for options to distribute the ball to it, no-one was moving, no-one looked like they wanted the ball.
The biggest insult I can offer to that performance was it had echoes of the team which took us out of the Football League in 2019. Believe me, boys, that is not a comparison you want.

There was more effort in the second half
Whatever Mark Cooper said at half-time it got a response – but why does it always take that for us to get a response?
There was a lot more effort in the second half, we controlled the game and deserved our equaliser no matter how scrappy it was, but the quality where it was needed was missing – again.
It was needed in the putting the ball in the back of the net region, by the way.

What happened to our defensive solidity?
I feel like I have said this before, but if we can conclude we need to be better up front, I can repeat this one. What has happened to us in defence?
Yet again if it wasn’t for Grant Smith and wasteful finishing from the York attack this could have got much worse.
Even with Owen Bevan back there it felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants with us looking a disorganised mess at the back. The first goal was evidence of that.
We are definitely missing the heading ability of Max Hunt back.

Shopping in a bargain basement again
It is not a conclusion to say we are sorely lacking up front. Seb Palmer-Houlden was given a go up front alongside Jordan Maguire-Drew and Jordan Young, but struggled to get the better of a physical York defence.
It was an awful lot to ask an 18-year-old whose previous experience has mostly been in under-23s football to lead the line in such a crucial match.
I totally understand we have to try different things up front, but this combination looked utterly National League South, especially in the first half.
At the other end, our opponents who only recently came from the tier down (North, not South) had an experienced head in Lennell John-Lewis up top. If you are in a relegation scrap (and we are!), the moments of quality he showed are what you need – but we’re shopping in the bargain basement. We all know why that is.
And, whilst we’re on the subject, how bad do we have to begoing forward before Charlie Wakefield gets a go?!

Man of the match? I’ll give you 167 of them.
If there was one positive from our first ever trip to the LNER Community Stadium it was the 167 souls in the away end.
Many of them of them travelled the length of the country to be there despite everything which has been thrown at them by this club.
If ever there was a group of people who had excuses for not bothering it was us and yet for the vast majority of the game there was a tremendous noise to try and inspire the team – even if some of the noise was linked to throwing various toys around.
These are people who have paid hard earned money for the privilege of being there, and they did put a proper shift it.

 

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In a game that was more of a must-win than Dorking Wanderers earlier this season, Yeovil fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Maidenhead United last night. Ian watched it on National League TV through his fingers and here are his conclusions.

We are in trouble. I feel like we kind of knew it, but thought Mark Cooper could see us through to the end of the season. If anyone can, it’s probably him. But once again, we failed to test the keeper enough, had to change the system at half time again and barely mustered an effort on target. This fixture was big, York is now even bigger. We’re now without a win in four, York are winless in six, you know the script right?

We had to change the set up again. After a great performance with a back four against Notts County, we switched to wingbacks again and it didn’t work. We struggled to keep possession and other than Jordan Young’s first half free kick we didn’t test the Maidenhead goalkeeper. The half time switch to a back four brought us to life for the first five minutes of the second half but Maidenhead adapted like the Borg and rendered our attacks useless.

I, Borg - Wikipedia

We’re conceding sloppy goals. Our strength this season has been our defence, but in our last five games we’ve conceded 12 goals. Quite rightly we’ve tried to get on the offensive to solve our goalscoring woes, but the result of that is we’re more vulnerable at the back. The first goal came from a pretty poor delivery into the box that an unmarked Sam Barratt was able to bundle in. The second was shambolic defending too, Ryan Law’s shanked clearance fell to Reece Smith who smashed home with no one near to block the shot.

The lack of depth is costing us. Mark Cooper said he was worried about the fixture after the energy expended against Notts County. He does not have enough players to rotate in this dreadful run. We’re asking players like Lawson D’Ath to play every game. Josh Staunton is hobbling around the pitch in pain. How long until we break Matty Worthington? We don’t have a physio to check if the players are fit enough. We need more players. We need more staff. Mark Cooper said without Martyn Starnes and Stuart Robins, “the club would have folded ages ago”. If you need help reading between the lines there, I don’t know what more there is to say.

Nothing changes until everything changes. Sorry to Coatesie for stealing his line, but here we are again. Anyone else getting flashbacks to 2019? Some people might be getting flashbacks to early ‘90s. It could be even worse. If we manage to stay up this season, and nothing changes, the direction of the club is one-way. While plans for houses surrounding Huish Park go into SSDC, the part we all actually care about is withering away. A win on Saturday will not change the trajectory of a club that won promotion to the Championship ten years ago.

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

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

Unite the Supporters

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

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

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

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

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

Improve the facilities at Huish Park

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

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

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

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

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

Build a Culture at the Club

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

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

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

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

Partnership with HerGameToo

Relaunch of the womens’ club

Building on the legacy of Lee Collins and Young Minds Charity

Supporting Marcus Stewart and the Darby Rimmer Foundation

A wealth of legends who show their love for the club

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

Invest in the getting things right on the pitch

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

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

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

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Earlier this week, the world marked Groundhog Day. The day when the groundhog of North American comes out of its hibernation burrow and looks to see if its shadow is captured in winter sun or absent due to Spring cloudiness. If it spots it, it retreats for a further six weeks until it is sure winter has gone.

Now, there were no groundhogs at Huish Park on Saturday, but there was a former England rugby union player Paul Sackey in the stands for the 2-2 draw against Maidstone United. One assumes he is not there to check on what the yellow marks in the penalty area in front of the Thatcher’s Stand are, and if the rumour mill is correct  he’s involved in the unnamed “potential investors” in an “exclusivity agreement” to become a majority shareholder in Yeovil Town.

It’s now more than a month since the last bit of news we were got about the ownership of the club – the New Year’s Eve announcement about the aforementioned agreement – and it appears that those “potential investors” have enough interest (confidence?) to attend a match.

We’ve been here before, haven’t we? In late 2018, Rob Couhig was photographed wearing a green-and-white scarf giving a big thumbs up and it looked like his deal to buy the club from then-owners Norman Hayward and John Fry was done. That deal collapsed and current owner and chairman Scott Priestnall took it on alongside business partner Errol Pope who later resigned from the board.

Rob Couhig, now owner at League One side Wycombe Wanderers, in 2018.

Fast forward to December 6th 2021, it was Julian Jenkins, the former Cardiff City commercial director and the frontman for the Simul Sports consortium, who tweeted that the group was looking to buy Yeovil Football & Athletic Club, the company which runs the Glovers’ football operations.

Both of those discussions reached the due diligence stages, at least from what we can see from the outside looking in, and now we appear to have more “potential investors” involved in an “exclusivity agreement” – so why does it matter?

Mark Cooper’s plans are being stifled

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Maidstone, manager Mark Cooper was visibly miffed (we can’t use the F-word) and spoke about players who he was asking some to “do things they can’t do.”

He concluded: “Once we get in what we want to get in, eventually, then that will turn around.”

It’s not the first time he has spoken about how he has ambitions to strengthen the team and one assumes it is the current owner which has enabled him to sign Jordan Maguire-Drew, Charlie Cooper and bring in loans like Jack Clarke and Edwin Agbaje, but he clearly wants to do more.

There’s rent to pay from May

From May, there’s going to be a hefty bill landing on the Huish Park doormat for the first rental payment to landlords South Somerset District Council (SSDC) and based on attendances which hover between slightly above and slightly below 2,000, there seems to be a huge rental income coming in.

The amount the club received from selling the land upon which the stadium stands and everything around it is presumably running low. So where is the money coming from to pay those bills?

Blimey, it feels a long time since September 2021, when we highlighted the risk of all this happening – see here.

As ever, we are not privy to any secret conversations, so we have to go on what we are being told. There’s been no real changes to suggest an influx in match day revenue. We reported in December that plans to create “a fan zone” behind the Thatcher’s Stand had been approved by SSDC, but there’s been nothing further said about that.


We just deserve to know!

Let’s not get sucked in to the whole ‘supporters or customers’ debate because we all know that we are both – but the reality is this football club would not exist without its fan base.

Go back to the 1990s when fans pulled together to save it from the taxman’s bill at its lowest ebb, then 2019 when a Crowdfunder raised more than £50,000 to boost coffers – and a donation to the Yeovil Hospital Charity, of course – and not least the thousands of people who part with their cash week in and week out.

Plus, let us never forget the football club is an employer to many people, do they not deserve a straight answer about the future of their employer?

We have no doubt that the “potential investors” have their reasons for not going public, but the rumour mill is turning, the jungle drums are beating and there seems to be a far more professional ways of introducing yourself than the drip, drip, drip of information. You never get a second chance to make a first impression afterall.

 

If the ‘groundhog’ spots its own shadow and retreats back in to its burrow, it could be a long winter at Huish Park.

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

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

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

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

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

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

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

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