Gloversblog (Page 22)

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Another draw… that’s 13, another clean sheet… that’s 12… and another 5 conclusions to go alongside.

Gloverscast Ben had his stream beaming into Barrett HQ, here’s how he saw it.

Edwin Agbaje

I was fearful of Jamie Reckord’s absence, but the introduction of Edwin Agbaje might rank very high for debut performances for a young loanee.

Just 18 years of age, I thought the borrowed Ipswich man looked assured beyond his years, trying to get forward at every opportunity, linking well with his team mates and not afraid to stick a boot in where it hurt at a vital time.
I’ve said before I wanted a little more in the full back areas and based on that introductory 90 minutes, I’m hopeful we’ve got a good one.

The Thatchers Gold End – Photo Chris Fox

We need to talk about the pitch.

Just seven days on from the original postponement of this game the pitch was an early focal point.

The troublesome Thatchers End goal mouth was primed for sand castle building competition and the rest of it had its moments.

Lawson D’Ath tripped over nothing when trying to defend a through ball, the edge of the 18 yard box made a wonderful tackle on Andrew Oluwabori and if a Wealdstone attacker hadn’t turned his back on Grant Smith early doors, the keeper’s stumble and slip would have left a gaping goal.

There was plenty of misplaced footsteps and wobbles, the football you play is only as good as the surface its played on. Whatever has happened in the past couple weeks has clearly taken its toll on the surface and we could do with looking after it… not training on it to make a point.

Owen Bevan sees red from referee Scott Jackson.

The red card of course changed the game.

Firstly, I think it was a red card, not malicious or particularly dangerous, but certainly out of control and certainly worthy of the red circle of doom from Scott Jackson’s back pocket.

I think it forced our hands to make changes we didn’t want, or need to make and it means that our most assured defender will miss three games.

Ben Richards-Everton looked fairly comfortable when he came on, but Staunton is clearly hobbling more and is a warrior to the end.

I’m confident in Hunt, Williams or BRE to fill that gap, but I’d much rather have Bevan for the next few games.

Jordan Maguire-Drew. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

JMD is human after all!!!

Our new star man had his first off day, his Sat Nav hadn’t been configured properly, his radar needs some recalibration.

A couple wayward shots, a few set pieces not quite on their mark and suddenly we’re taking off our new number 10 as the reshuffle followed the red card.

He will turn the machine off and on again and be back again for Saturday.

Finally… time for an unpopular opinion…

Jordan Maguire-Drew, left, talks to Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I cannot celebrate or even enjoy a home performance in its entirety, when we have 0 shots on target.

Off the back of a very good away win, it was important to back that up with another positive result.

The Wealdstone keeper didn’t have to get muddy (or sandy) at any point.

He was never troubled. Not with 11 Glovers on the pitch, not with 10.

I found myself getting increasingly wound up as the game wore on, I found myself begging players to pull the trigger, to get a shot in on goal that at least wakes the keeper up.

Yes, we are OK at the back, but let’s not pretend we didn’t give up chances, Grant Smith cements his title as the best keeper in the league and a better opposition strike force probably score 2 or 3 with minimal fuss.

If we’re happy with that as a 0-0, wrap the season up, call it a day and let’s try again in August.

We enter February sat in no man’s land (on and off the pitch), and I want to be entertained.

I don’t want to try and win 1-0 but settle for a stalemate, I want to try and win 4-0 but settle for a 3-3.

I’d like us to set our standards higher. Our players our better than they were, the manager is better, the whole club is better than enjoying another 0-0 draw.




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Yeovil Town became the last National League side to pick up a win away from home as they saw off ten-man Dagenham on Saturday.

The win keeps the Glovers five points clear of the relegation zone with many of the division’s struggling sides picking up wins, but also means there are ‘just’ nine points between them and the play-off places.

Here’s what Coatesie thought of his most recent visit to the Chigwell Construction Stadium……


An away win, and what an away win. It would be easy to point to the fact Dagenham played for an hour with ten men, but let’s not forget they were in the play-offs at the start of the game and we had not won an away match all season. Far from the rusty display we saw after a period of not playing last time out against Bromley, we were at it from the off. We stepped off the gas after half-time which allowed Dagenham to create some good chances, but we were more than worth the win – plus two goals and a clean sheet.

The new boys made a difference. In the first half, the combination of Jordan Young’s hard work, the quality of Jack Clarke, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Andrew Oluwabori caused Dagenham all kinds of problems. We pressed them and, for players who are presumably still getting to know each other, there was enough to think we could have a way to improve our goals scored rally. Further back, I did not really notice Charlie Cooper much and that is to his credit. In a defensive midfield position, he was neat and tidy and seemed to do what he needed to do.

We finished enough chances, but still plenty to do. We scored goals – two of them! A coolly taken penalty from Maguire-Drew and then an absolute beauty from outside the box from Matt Worthington. But, if I am being greedy (and I am), it really could and should have been more. As he did at Bromley two weeks prior, Oluwabori had a great chance to add another. His pace causes problems and he gets in a lot of the right positions, if he could add finishing to his game he’d be almost complete. Then, right at the death, Alex Fisher will have been disappointed not to have added another to his tally.

Stay where you are, Josh. Josh Staunton back in defence alongside Owen Bevan brought that solid feel back to us which was sadly lacking at Bromley. It is early days, but if Cooper proves a good anchorman in midfield, I would be quite happy to see Staunton stay back for the foreseeable. Equally, Morgan Williams on the right and Jamie Reckord on the left coped well against a lively Dagenham forward line. I’d be quite happy to keep that defence…….what’s that about Reckord being banned?!

Now we need to follow it up. An away win on the board, three points, two goals – mission accomplished. But we need to follow this up with a win at home to Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Looking at our games throughout February it feels like we should be going in to next weekend’s home game with bottom club Maidstone United and the trips to Maidenhead, York to get three points. If we can do that, the taller tasks of a trip to Wrexham and a visit from Notts County can be free hits.

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Is it time the National League had a proper discussion about last minute postponements and how to prevent them? Amidst a cost of living crisis and spiralling costs that impact both clubs and match-going supporters, the late pitch-inspection and postponement has never been a bigger frustration.

The determination to get fixtures played at any cost puts players, staff, supporters and facilities at risk.

As Yeovil made the trip to Barnet on Tuesday evening and temperatures plummeted below zero, the Bees were still pushing tickets and programmes up until about 5:25pm – and I fully accept that these were probably scheduled posts – before the match was postponed at 6pm after the referee inspected the pitch.

Barnet had tweeted that ground staff had been keeping an eye on the pitch throughout the day and it was only once the temperature dropped at 4:30pm that the referee requested an inspection. At what point do we start trusting ground staff with the decision making? We’re as guilty of it as anyone.

When Yeovil played against Scunthorpe in early-December, one end of the pitch looked like it was North of the Wall. The ground staff at Huish Park worked throughout the week to get the game on but should it have even been played?

With temperatures across England well below zero at the start of December, Scunthorpe travelled 258 miles to play out a dire 0-0 against a Yeovil side riddled with illness and injury – what was the point?

A week later, Yeovil hosted Dorking Wanderers, which was subject to late pitch inspection. Prior to that game the referees instructions included warming up in the frozen area of the pitch to help defrost it. Presumably infuriating the ground staff who work all year round to make the surface perfect for football. What damage does that do to a pitch? How much does it cost a few months down the line? Why’s it all getting a bit “we’ve all had enough of experts” in a field (ahem) that people work damn hard to become experts in?

Supporters risk long journeys to see their clubs, and on some occasions in treacherous conditions, when sometimes its blindingly obvious that things aren’t going to go ahead. At some point clubs need to be brave enough to make an early decision. 

Snow covered Yeovil on Wednesday and temperatures aren’t forecast to get above 6 degrees before Altrincham make the trip to Somerset for Saturday’s National League fixture. Surely a sensible decision can be made more than 24 hours before kick off?

I’ve no idea who’s at fault, if if anyone is at fault? Is it the referees? Is it the macho football culture, is it the packed calendar of constant football? Are there too many clubs in the National League, forcing clubs to cram in fixtures? Should professional clubs be playing in their county cups?

There has to be a solution somewhere that stops putting people at risk, can the organisations that run the game authorities find it?

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It was a perfect start to 2023 at Huish Park as the Glovers earned a 2-0 win against Torquay. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions.

Mark Cooper got experimental. When the team sheet came out it was quite easy to put the line up into a 5-3-2 with Malachi Linton leading the line. When the players emerged for the first half and Ben Richards-Everton was in the front two with Linton many will have wondered if Mark Cooper had a few NYE drinks. The Richards-Everton experiment didnt produce much attacking flow, but after the match Cooper said it softened Torquay up. He also said Alex Fisher was sick and hadn’t trained and was only able to make a cameo from the bench. It wasn’t pretty at points but he managed to find a combination that got a result.

Andrew Oluwabori and Lawson D’Ath come on at half-time.

We had to change it at half time again to unlock Torquay. It was surprising to see Max Hunt and Jamie Andrews replaced, given that they have been two of Mark Cooper’s mainstays, but I think it was a nod to Ben Richards-Everton to move him to the back 3. Lawson D’Ath didn’t see much of the ball, but Andrew Oluwabori’s impact was instant. What we saw against Maidenhead and Gateshead in November was on display again. His ability to run directly with the ball and scare defenders in unmatched in our squad. There are moments where he choose the wrong option but in 80th minute when he drove down the left hand side and put an inviting ball across the six yard box for Matt Worthington, he showed what he can produce.

I thought Torquay played well. The table doesn’t lie, and many will be calling for Gary Johnson to be replaced, but in the first half they opened us more than most teams have this season. Grant Smith was the busier of the two goalkeepers all afternoon and had to make plenty of saves. They created several openings inside the 18 yard box where had they managed to connect more cleanly with the ball, it could have been a very different story.

Jordan Maguire-Drew. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

That was some finish by Jordan Maguire Drew. The player who struggled through his debut against Dorking is long gone. How we’ve missed a player with his radar for a pass. He got on the ball in the first half and came close to unlocking Torquay. His second half was quieter as we took a more direct approach to getting something from the game but he was in the right place at the right time to seal the game with a cute finish in stoppage time. While Grimsby have said the deal is just a loan, Yeovil are confident that it’s more than that and on the evidence of the last two matches, he’s going to be a key player for us this year.

It’s been a great start to the year. It’s been difficult to find positivity this season but as we move into 2023, we’ve won a game by two clear goals and kept a clean sheet, we’ve announced that we’re relaunching a women’s club and there’s a potential takeover on the horizon. The year has kicked off with hope at Huish Park, and although we’ve been here before and detail is limited, I think a bit of hope is a nice position to be in.

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How was life as Yeovil Town supporter in 2022? Well, here’s a summary ofthe year in just shy of 5600 words. Settle in if you fancy it. It’s been quite an eventful year. Five managers (including Josh Staunton), the departure of Skivo, The Legend Game, Glenn Collis, the SSDC deal, our open letter and as we close out the year, are we on the verge of a takeover? Who said it was boring being a Glover?

January

After Grant Smith’s Boxing Day dismissal at Torquay, the Glovers brought in a goalkeeper with first team experience in Dillon Barnes on New Years Day. As signings go, it wasn’t the best one. In his debut, he conceded direct from a corner in a 2-1 defeat, which also saw Jordan Barnett score our goal of the season (and perhaps the year…)

We had an FA Cup 3rd Round match against Bournemouth with over 7,000 supporters at Huish Park. A youthful – and eventually promoted – Bournemouth won 3-1, with Joe Quigley scoring the Glovers’ goal.

Dan Moss left. Not sure where he is these days. We spoke to him about his time at Yeovil.

Needham Market came to Huish Park looking to cause an upset in the FA Trophy, and they did. On penalties. The day was largely overtaken by the news that club legend Terry Skiverton was departing Huish Park after more than two decades at the club. We are awfully thankful of everything he did for Yeovil Town.

Amidst ongoing takeover rumours, Julian Jenkins of Simul Sports tweeted on January 18th that they were ‘engaged in the final stage of due diligence’ to complete a deal to purchase Yeovil Football and Athletic Club. 

Three days later we sold Joe Quigley to Chesterfield with Scott Priestnall blaming falling gates at Huish Park. Coates did some maths afterwards.

With Max Hunt and Josh Staunton injured, and Mark Little playing through injury, Darren Sarll said he needed ‘a bit of help’ to strengthen his side and brought in Ben Barclay on loan from Stockport County. On the 29th of January we confirmed the re-signing on Lawson D’Ath until the end of the season. D’Ath had been enjoying some time on BBC Somerset swearing at referees.

We wrapped up January with a 1-0 win at Woking through a sublime Charlie Wakefield goal. Woking eh? Who’d leave Yeovil to join a small club like that?

February

We began February at home to our arch rivals W*ymouth. Club legend Nick Crittenden assisted Sarll for the evening. On the night, we could have done with him on the pitch as the sides played out a 1-1 draw.

We spoke to Jamie McAllister. That was nice.

We lost 2-0 on the road at Wealdstone, that wasn’t nice and Darren Sarll described it as indefensible.

In our quest for goals, we brought back Olufela Olomola for a third spell in green and white.

After losing Terry Skiverton in January, Darren Sarll appointed former midfielder Charlie Lee as his assistant. Little did he know what he was getting himself into…

In the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield, Darren Sarll called for certainty regarding the ongoing takeover situation. 11 weeks prior, Scott Priestnall had issued a seven day deadline for a takeover to be completed.

March

The Glovers Trust put out a statement revealing the backer of Simul Sports consortium. The group included former Glover Marc Bircham.

An SSDC document stated the council had allocated £2.8m in its budget in order to proceed with the deal to purchase Huish Park and the surrounding land from the club. 

Albi Skendi – who never returned for preseason – signed for Orange County Soccer Club in California.

After defeats at home to Dagenham and Redbridge and Grimsby, Yeovil found themselves on a run of nine matches without a win. Darren Sarll said he might need to get ‘experimental’ in order to turn his sides form.

As experiments go, Josh Neufville returning on loan was an exceptional one. After breaking his ankle against Altrincham in May 2021, he returned to close his Yeovil Town chapter the right way.

We won a game!

We won another game!

We won again, on the day we remembered the anniversary of Lee Collins’ tragic passing. Goals from Reuben Reid and Tom Knowles saw the Glovers pick up a 2-0 win against Southend United.

Darren Sarll talking to Sheridan Robins after the 1-0 defeat at Chesterfield.

Less than 48 hours later the club confirmed that Darren Sarll was leaving Yeovil to join National League rivals Woking. Here were our conclusions from his departure. Charlie Lee was announced as Interim Manager “for the foreseeable future”, and he was really excited by the opportunity. 

In one of our favourite Glovers Pasts so far, we spoke to Lee Morris. Definitely add this to your list.

April

On the 1st of April the Glovers increased their debt to Sport England by £197,000, bringing it to almost £1m. Unfortunately this was no April Fools Joke.

Charlie Lee, who said he was ‘up for the challenge’, took charge of his first match at Barnet, where a late Reuben Reid goal earned Yeovil a point.

We spoke to Football Finance Expert Kieran Maguire on the Podcast about some of the filings from Companies House. 

We wrote an open letter to Scott Priestnall on change.org, which over 1500 people signed. On the 6th of April he committed to coming on the Gloverscast to answer some questions.

On the pitch there was another Desmond as another late goal, this time from Charlie Wakefield, salvaged a point at King’s Lynn Town.

A lack of killer instinct led to a 2-0 defeat at home to Aldershot (it wouldn’t be the only time we lost to Aldershot at home in 2022). In a theme of 2022, it was events off the pitch which made the headlines with a Yeovil Town member of the staff being accused of discrimination.

1300 Yeovil supporters made the trip to the seaside to watch a stalemate with W*ymouth.

We found out that SSDC were working on completing the deal to purchase Huish Park, after hearing nothing for months and assuming a takeover was on the verge of completion.

Suddenly, things started happening. Glenn Collis departed the club, with a club statement confirming the assembly of a new board including prominent local business people. Collis told his LinkedIn followers he quit after “months of soul searching and questions on the club’s direction.”

Closer to the pitch, Charlie Lee brought in Jody Brown as his assistant manager.

Scott Priestnall addressed a group of supporters in the Alec Stock Lounge ahead of the Stockport County match, while the Glovers Trust called for supporters to protest at the game.

Josh Neufville wheels away after scoring Yeovil’s second.

Tom Knowles and Josh Neufville goals helped us to a 2-1 win against the Hatters – and completing the double over the eventual Champions.

We asked the readers if they supported the deal with SSDC.

W*ymouth were relegated.

The address to supporters was recorded for the club’s official channels which Coates summarised in The Priestnall Tapes.

Here’s a summary of the summary:

  • There had been 40-50 applications for the manager job
  • The club were targeting a playoff finish in the National League next season…
  • The financial situation was ‘pretty healthy’
  • He hoped the long term vision would be place over the summer
  • The club was put up for sale without his knowledge by The Glovers Trust
  • Improvements to matchday experience were “in the pipeline”

Charlie Lee didn’t rule himself out of the running for the manager job.

May

In the penultimate home game of the season, we played out a 0-0 against Wealdstone, in a game we billed: “the no one gives a monkey’s derby”.

We hosted our 2nd annual Glovies before the final home game of the season.

Ahead of that match, the Glovers Trust called for further protest.

In what ended up being quite a feel good afternoon, Yeovil drew their final game of the season 2-2, with Luke Wilkinson scoring a free kick after 43509845 attempts through the season. The game also marked the return of the Get Pedalling 2022 cyclists, with Lee Collins partner, Rachel, and Terry Skiverton joining for the final stretch. You can listen to daily podcasts Elliot Watts recorded here.

SSDC confirmed that “legal and due diligence work” to complete the purchase of Huish Park and the surrounding land was underway, ready to proceed to sale.

Jordan Barnett was charged by the FA in relation to betting misconduct.

We won the Somerset Premier Cup with a 3-0 win over Bath City. Goals from Morgan Williams, Tom Knowles and Ben Barclay ensured the Glovers finished with some silverware.

Somerset Premier Cup Winners 2022 ? SomersetFA

After the match, Charlie Lee confirmed that Ollie Haste was signing professional terms with the club.

On the 13th May, two days before the final game of the season, the club confirmed Charlie Lee was leaving the club after being overlooked for the permanent managerial role. Josh Staunton was going to manage the team for the final game of the season, with Luke Wilkinson and Scott Wickens as assistants.

On Saturday 14th May, Kevin Gall and Abby Carter hosted the Legends Game at Huish Park. We spoke to some of the legends who took part in the day. You can watch the highlights here.

Luton recalled Josh Neufville before the game.

Thanks to a goal from Tom Knowles, Staunton became the only Yeovil Town manager with a 100% win record.

BristolLive reported that Chris Hargreaves was set to be appointed the manager of Yeovil Town. Two days later, Chris Hargreaves was officially confirmed as the new manager.

Chris Hargreaves was announced as Yeovil Town’s new manager on 18th May.

Club captain Luke Wilkinson left the club, and joined Darren Sarll at Woking.

SSDC confirmed the purchase of Huish Park. Scott Priestnall said the deal had released restrictive covenants enabling it to deliver “a viable plan to grow our infrastructure off the pitch” including putting together plans to develop the land around Huish Park, carry out maintenance work and invest in the playing squad.

Josh Staunton signed a new two-year-deal with the club.

The Glovers Trust, who activated an Asset of Community Value to prevent the SSDC deal in 2020 issued a statement following the confirmation of the deal saying: We continue to be concerned that the crucial assets of the club have been stripped away from the fabric of our club. For the first time since the 1930s we no longer own our home. We are worried, that this deal has placed the long term future of our club at risk.

Toby Stephen’s extended his contract.

As did Shagger Hips himself, Grant Smith.

We polled supporters on who you thought would benefit the most from the SSDC deal. You won’t believe the results.

A filing on companies house confirmed that CV Leisure, the company which owns Yeovil Town Holdings Ltd and Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Ltd, paid back the £1.35m it borrowed from MSP Capital to complete the purchase.

It was confirmed that Max Hunt was remaining a Glover.

Much to the relief of the entire supporter base, it was confirmed that Tom Knowles was also remaining at Yeovil after the club triggered an extension. Thank the lord.

SSDC sent us some answers to the questions put to them by the Glovers Trust.

Stuart Robins was appointed a shareholder and board member of the club.

Stuart Robins.

Damien Singh, the CFO at Canva, confirmed that attempts to purchase the club from Scott Priestnall had fallen through, putting an end to the Simul Sports takeover saga. Singh said: “We unfortunately could not conclude our negotiations despite a series of recent offers with funds placed on our solicitors account.” 

Founding member Brendon Owen stepped down as the Chairman of The Glovers Trust.

June

We did our player review of the season.

Lawson D’Ath signed a new contact and the club issued the released and retained list with Dale Gorman, Reuben Reid, Adi Yussuf, Mark Little, Jordan Barnett and Alex Bradley all departing the club. Matty Worthington and Max Evans both extended their contracts for a season.

Chris Hargreaves began building his backroom staff with Chris Todd joining as assistant and Marcus Stewart arriving as Head of Player Development. We thought things were going pretty well.

The club announced that season ticket prices would be frozen for the forthcoming season.

Chris Hargreaves joined us for an episode of the Gloverscast, where he told us he’d spoke with Ed Upson and Josh Neufville.

It was confirmed that Charlie Wakefield was staying at Huish Park, committing to the club for the next season.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Ollie Hulbert became the first signing for Chris Hargreaves, joining from Bristol Rovers. The 19-year-old had worked with Hargreaves in Rovers’ academy set up.

After teasing us with a potential Ed Upson reunion, the midfielder signed for Stowmarket Town, close to his home.

The club bolstered their attacking line with the arrival of Malachi Linton.

The stripes returned – what a kit!

New director Stuart Robins told the club’s channels that a return to the Football League was his top priority.

July

Jamie Reckord joined the club on a one year deal with an option for an extra year. The 30-year-old added experience and more than 200 first team appearances to the squad.

We tried to deduce what the Holding Company accounts showed.

There was shock amongst supporters as Dale Gorman joined Barnet rather than Woking.

We shared our five conclusions and the results of our first ever end of season survey which 499 of you took part in.

Chris Hargreaves said he had some ‘really positive’ discussions and was looking to bring in players who were ‘right for the club’.

Nathan Smith tussles with Manchester United’s Ander Herrera in the FA Cup third round tie in January 2015. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Nathan Smith joined us for one of our favourite chats on the Glovers Past.

Stuart Robins joined us on the Gloverscast and told us the discussions were ongoing with investors.

We picked up a 4-0 win in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Sherborne. 

Scott Priestnall set up an eight company, this one called ‘SP Trading Ltd’ using Huish Park as its registered address.

Sam Perry joined the club from Walsall on a season long loan.

Yeovil drew 0-0 against Taunton in a pre-season friendly. Always nice to get a visit to Taunton in.

Chris Hargreaves said he was hoping to have “a couple of bodies” in before the next match against Exeter. And he confirmed, exclusively to the Gloverscast, that Josh Staunton was going to be the captain for the season.

Former Glover Alex Fisher returned to the club, signing a two-year deal. Fish said it was a no-brainer to come back to Huish Park.

Tom Knowles scored as Yeovil drew 1-1 with League One Exeter at Huish Park.

Guess the Trialist came around again…

One of those trialists, Chiori Johnson signed on the dotted line.

It was officially confirmed that Stuart Robins was a director of Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Ltd.

We lost 2-0 to Plymouth in a pretty feisty friendly that saw red cards for Matt Worthington and Bali Mumba.

Speaking after the match Chris Hargreaves said this side needed to improve in the final third…

Phil Osborn was confirmed as the club’s new goalkeeper coach.

Yeovil drew 0-0 at Dorchester and Chris Hargreave said his side needed more belief in front of goal.

Later that week the club confirmed the signing of Sam Pearson on a one-month loan from Bristol City.

We welcomed Scott Wickens to the podcast to talk about what pre-season was looking like at Huish Park.

Centre back Ben Richards-Everton joined the club on a one-year deal following his departure from Barnet.

We picked up a 1-0 against Weston-super-mare in our final pre-season friendly and Chris Hargreaves said he was pleased with his side’s pre-season preparation.

August

Finley Craske joined from Plymouth on a Youth loan.

Joe Edwards joined us for an episode of the Glovers Past.

Chris Hargreaves said he was looking to add more attacking options to the squad as the first game of the season at Scunthorpe was around the corner.

Tom Knowles.

Tom Knowles left. No, I’m still not over it. #DFILWF

Charlie Wakefield spent much of pre-season playing at right wing back, but Chris Hargreaves reassured supporters that he would be an attacking threat in whatever position he played.

Max Evans joined Larkhall Athletic on loan. Ollie Haste and Toby Stephens both joined Truro on loan.

Will Buse, who had a blinder against the Glovers for Taunton in pre-season, joined Yeovil on loan.

Matty Grivosti, an ‘exciting addition to our group’ who had ‘shown a real maturity in front of goal at such a young age’ joined a Youth loan from Bolton.

The world got to witness the Glovers opening match of the season on BT Sport and it was not pretty. A poor performance and horrendous defending for the second goal saw Scunthorpe pick up a 2-1 win over Yeovil. Chris Hargreaves was disappointed but determined to add to his squad. He also added that Tom Knowles departure 48 hours before the first game of the season was ‘not ideal’ and that Knowles had wanted to go.

Yeovil Town announced the signing of Gime Toure who had been released by Carlisle United over the summer. 

Alfie Pond joined the club on loan from Exeter, in a deal that would last until January.

In a hugely improved performance, Yeovil drew 1-1 with Wrexham thanks to a worldy from Malachi Linton. The Glovers probably should have won, such was the quality of the football played.

Malachi Linton, left, celebrates with team-mates Jamie Reckord and Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

A few days later, Barnet came to Huish Park and executed the perfect smash and grab 2-1 win, including some poophousery from former Glover Dale Gorman. After the match Chris Hargreaves said he was frustrated at the soft goals.

Malachi Linton and Gime Toure scored on the road at Altrincham, but the latest of late goals from Egli Kaga saw Yeovil leave Moss Lane with only one point. Chris Hargreaves said it was almost the perfect away performance and Lawson D’Ath said the team would start picking up wins soon.

SSDC confirmed to the Gloverscast that initial discussions were underway around the development of the land at Huish Park.

After a string of impressive performances, Sam Pearson’s one month loan was extended to January.

Chris Hargreaves promised two new signings ahead of Dagenham and Redbridge’s visit and he delivered Callum Rowe on a short term deal and Jake Scrimshaw – a striker from Bournemouth – on a two-year contract.

On the 27th August we picked up our first win of the season with a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 against Dagenham. Jamie Reckord’s 34th minute goal was enough for the Glovers who defended impressively, particularly Alfie Pond.

Two days later, after playing against 10 mean for 81 minutes, Yeovil conspired to draw 0-0 against Wealdstone. A notable moment of the game came when Malachi Linton took the ball from Alex Fisher for a game-winning penalty and missed. Chris Hargreaves said he was frustrated at the lack of creativity his side showed against the 10 men.

September

We kicked off September with a new signing, or at least Stratford Town told us we had. A statement on their website by their chairman Jed McCrory confirmed that Will Dawes would be joining the club.

A filing on Companies House showed that the club’s new director, Stuart Robins, owned a 20% stake in the club.

Alfie Pond’s loan was cut short after he sealed a deadline day move to Wolves from Exeter City. No matter though, Owen Bevan, the youth captain at AFC Bournemouth quickly arrived to bolster the defence.

In an atrocious afternoon of football saw Yeovil fall to a 1-0 defeat at Huish Park against York City. Grant Smith saved a penalty from Lenell John-Lewis, who later scored the winner. The game was marred by a racist incident though, with the club’s highlights package revealing discriminatory chanting from a supporter in the stands. An investigation was launched into the incident.

Ed Upson was our guest on the Glovers Past.

On September 8th, it was announced that Marcus Stewart had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, but that he intended to continue his work in football. There is a fundraising page for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation here. 

Later that day Buckingham Palace announced the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, bringing a halt to events up and down the country – including Woking vs Yeovil Town.

Chris Hargreaves compared Will Dawes to Tom Knowles saying: “There will be a bedding in process of two or three weeks to bed him in to that intensity of training every day with this group. But he has huge potential, very similar to Tom Knowles when he came to the club, with that untapped potential that we need to focus on when we bring players to the club.”

Ollie Hulbert went out on loan to Gloucester City to gain fitness after returning from injury.

In midweek action, an early goal from Sam Pearson set Yeovil on their way against Eastleigh, but at 77th minute equaliser saw Yeovil draw again. Hargreaves said his side “didn’t play enough.”

Having had Ryan Reynolds force their hand, the National League confirmed there would be streaming in place by the end of the season.

Yeovil gave it a bloody good go against Chesterfield and took the lead twice, but sloppy defending saw the Spireites peg the Glovers back to salvage a 2-2 draw. Josh Staunton was frustrated and Chris Hargreaves was furious.

In the build up to Boreham Wood’s visit, the manager said he felt the Glovers were in a false position in 19th.

Dave reviewed The Priestnall Tapes five months on.

I think the Ikea joke started around now, as Yeovil managed yet another draw against Boreham Wood. After six draws in the opening 10 fixtures, Chris Hargreaves said he wasn’t feeling the pressure.

Speaking to Three Valleys Radio, Stuart Robins said the deal with SSDC had to take place for the club to survive. He also said that there were plans for a new ‘fan zone’ at Huish Park.

Chris Hargreaves said he had ‘the support’ to get the right player and the right deal for Yeovil Town should he need to make signings.

October

Gime Toure was sent off for kicking out at a Southend United player as the Glovers fell to a 1-0 defeat at Root’s Hall. Chris Hargreaves described it as unacceptable and unforgivable. Both he and Josh Staunton described the upcoming Dorking fixture as must-win.

We reached out to Sport England regarding the loans taken out during the pandemic and they told us there were no plans for them to be written off.

Yeovil Town drew 1-1 in the ‘must-win’ match at Dorking and dropped into the relegation zone. Hargreaves pointed to inexperience and said he understood the supporters’ frustrations.

Jake Gallagher reached out to us to share a defence of Chris Hargreaves amongst the growing unrest.

The club ended its investigation into the ‘alleged racist chanting’ at the York City match without conclusion.

Chris Hargreaves called for patience ahead of the visit of Solihull Moors.

We celebrated our 200th episode by welcoming Tony Pennock to the Gloverscast.

Tony Pennock celebrates the ICIS League title win in 1997. Picture courtesy of Tim Lancaster.

Ollie Hulbert returned from his loan at Gloucester.

We won our 2nd game of the session thanks to a Chiori Johnson winner against Solihull, a win that the manager hoped would be a ‘springboard.’

Luckily we had the welcome distraction of the FA Cup to build on that win. Before the visit of Taunton, Chris Hargreaves said he was hoping to harness the club’s FA Cup spirit.

In an update posted on the club’s website, Scott Priestnall revealed that Martyn Starnes would soon be appointed the new CEO of the Club. The statement also said that he hoped to have development plans and next steps out later this year. He also revealed that the club had written off £600,000 of shareholder loans.

Finley Craske was recalled by Plymouth.

Toby Stephens signed for Plymouth Parkway on loan.

Taunton took Yeovil back to the Cygnet Healthcare Stadium after a dismal 0-0 at Huish Park which saw boos from supporters at the final whistle. Hargreaves said his side ‘were nowhere good enough’.

Yeovil U18s striker Benjani Jr signed professional terms.

The winner of the replay between Yeovil and Taunton would face MK Dons in the FA Cup 1st Round.

A first half penalty was all Taunton Town needed to see off Yeovil in the replay and there were ugly scenes after the final whistle. Chris Hargreaves apologise and Josh Staunton said it had to be a wake up call for the team.

After a period of reflection following the collapse of Simul Sport’s takeover, The Glovers Trust board announced that it was ready to ‘go again’.

Chris Hargreaves had a couple of trialists at the club that he was hoping to get registered to turn his sides fortunes around.

They didn’t get done in time for Oldham Athletic at the weekend as the Glovers whimpered to a 2-0 defeat. 

Sam Pearson temporarily returned to Bristol City suffering with ‘fatigue’ with 19-year-old Ewan Clark signing for Yeovil instead.

Two late Aldershot goals consigned Yeovil to another defeat at Huish Park. The final was met with a level of toxicity rarely seen at Huish Park, leaving the manager in a totally untenable position. 

Local businessman and sponsor of the Main Stand at Huish Park, Martin Hellier, said he was ‘exploring available options’ amid speculation he was mounting a takeover bid for the club.

Mark Cooper in the stands for Yeovil Town’s 2-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic last weekend.

Two days after the Aldershot defeat, Chris Hargreaves was sacked as manager of the club. Reports suggested Mark Cooper was in the frame for the managers job, and that he would be in place before the weekend. Coates wrote a Gloversblog.

Speaking to BBC Somerset, Stuart Robins said that Hargreaves record had cost him, and that the club were looking to bring in someone with experience.

Mark Cooper was officially appointed as manager the following day. He said: “If you look historically, this can be a big club. We need to unite; the players, the supporters. Everybody needs to come together and that can play such a big part.”

Martin Hellier spoke to the BBC about his intentions.

Martin Hellier

Mark Cooper, who definitely wasn’t serving a touchline ban, watched from the stands as Yeovil Town conceded a soft stoppage time penalty and drew 1-1 with Maidstone United. Speaking after the match he said: “we’ve got to get the balance right between playing too much football and being effective.”

Jamie Andrews became Mark Cooper’s first signing, joining on loan from West Brom.

November

Yeovil travelled to Woking on the 1st of November and fell to a 1-0 defeat. Grant Smith’s heroics were not enough to keep out Darren Sarll’s side as Padraig Amond scored an 84th minute winner.

Martin Hellier tweeted that he would be making “a full offer” for the club following the 1-0 defeat.

Leroy Whale joined us for November’s Gloverspast.

Callum Rowe departed and Anthony Georgiou joined on loan from Leyton Orient.

Andrew ‘the right winger’ Oluwabori followed shortly after, making it onto the bench for Yeovil’s match with Maidenhead at Huish Park – which ended 0-0 – shock!

Andrew Oluwabori. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Chris Hargreaves released a statement saying he would learn from his experience at Yeovil.

Season long loanee, Sam Perry, returned to Walsall and Mark Cooper confirmed the club were waiting on international clearance for striker Louis Britton. The 21-year-old signed on and in true footballer fashion said: “I can’t wait to get going now.”

A brace from Alex Fisher (it should have been a hattrick) and a Malachi Linton goal earned Yeovil a 3-1 win over bottom of the table Gateshead! Hurrah.

Several supporters group issued a list of questions to the club, prompting a back and forth on social media between the club and the Glovers Trust.

Unagreed minutes from the October Supporters Alliance Group meeting were released, which we published.

Within them, the owner and chairman said the plans for development would be available before Christmas.

Matt Worthington said he was enjoying his new role under Mark Cooper.

In a 0-0 for the ages, Yeovil Town drew on the road at Notts County. Somehow.

Mark Cooper said Yeovil were miles away from the playoffs – not that anyone was thinking we were close. Ahem.

Elite Sports Group, the UK Distributor for Hummel, collapsed leaving many disappointed supporters kitless.

Ollie Hulbert joined Plymouth Parkway – and Toby Stephens – on loan.

A planning application to move the marquee to a new location behind the Thatchers Stand was submitted.

In an ugly ugly game of football, Yeovil managed to scrape a 1-0 win against Halifax Town at Huish Park. Matt Worthington broke Yeovil’s penalty duck for the season before a card-happy referee sent him in dubious circumstances.

Plans produced by SSDC showing the ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ land it owns at Huish Park.

SSDC confirmed to us that changes to the core and non-core land would open up the possibility of further development of the Huish Park site. It was thought previously that the 3G pitch was part of the core land and thus undevelopable. However, this was confirmed to not be the case, from the outset of the deal. Transparency all round.

Plymouth Parkway’s manager suggested that Ollie Hulbert’s agent would be looking to move him from Yeovil in January. Hulbert was Chris Hargreaves first signing as manager.

December

Jamie Andrews loan was extended to the 2nd of January.

Martin Hellier ended his month-long takeover bid – or did he?

The National League confirmed streaming would be available from the 10th of December.

Yeovil’s match with Bromley was abandoned 11 minutes in after the tragic passing of a supporter at the match.

Will Dawes – the future Tom Knowles – returned to Stratford on loan three months after being signed for an undisclosed five-figure fee.

Louis Britton got off the mark for Yeovil as the Glovers overcame the Pride of Somerset, Taunton Town, in the Somerset Mens Premier Cup.

Benjani Jr joined Sherborne Town on a one-month loan.

It was confirmed that Yeovil’s match with Scunthorpe would be available on the National League streaming service.

Gime Toure. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Gime Toure left the club by mutual consent.

Yeovil couln’t get revenge on Scunthorpe for the opening day defeat. The match finished 0-0, with Yeovil naming just three subs on the bench due to illness. Mark Cooper described it as a ‘brilliant point’ given the situation at the club.

He also revealed that Anthony Georgiou had returned to Leyton Orient as the club had to “balance the books.”

James Purefoy said he didn’t have time for a Yeovil takeover.

Snowy conditions meant that Yeovil’s midweek match at Barnet was cancelled, with everyone breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Mark Cooper said he was aiming to bring in a “real quality addition” ahead of the visit of Dorking Wanderers in the FA Trophy.

And he did, in Jordan Maguire-Drew from Grimsby. The club announced it as an initial one-month loan that would then become a permanent deal. Grimsby said otherwise – the proof will be in the pudding.

Yeovil unveiled a shiny new scoreboard ahead of the Dorking Wanderers match. 926 supporters got a good view of it as the Glovers lost a penalty shootout in front of it after failing to break down Dorking in 90 minutes.

The club got permission from SSDC to relocate the marquee.

Max Evans joined Bedford Town on loan.

The full launch of National League TV meant that Glovers fans would be able to watch the Torquay double header from the comfort of their home for just £9.50.

Ahead of the Boxing Day visit to the English Riviera, Mark Cooper said he was hoping for a scoring solution to solve Yeovil’s woes in front of goal.

On Boxing Day, Martin Hellier tweeted that he’d written a formal complaint to the FA and National League. He said: “I have, today, formally written to the FA and the NL over my treatment during my agreed takeover bid, and the lack of investment and interaction with the fans and supporter groups by the current club chairman, as I have deep concerns over the future viability of the club.”

Yeovil finished 2022 with a 1-1 draw in the Boxing Day fixture with Torquay. A second half goal from Malachi Linton salvaged a point.

Over the course of 2022, in the League, Yeovil averages 0.92 points per game, scoring just 41 goals, although they only conceded 50.

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2022 wasn’t going to go away quietly though was it.

On Thursday 29th December, Jacque Talbot, a blue-tick journalist, tweeted that Yeovil Town had been taken over and an announcement would be made on the 30th.

As of 11AM on the 31st of December, an announcement is yet to be made. Is 2023 going to be a different year for YTFC?

We can only hope…

So, later on New Year’s Eve, a statement from the chairman confirmed that a group had entered a period of exclusivity to complete a takeover of the club, but that it was premature to say the takeover was completed.

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As Yeovil fell out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle on Saturday, a total of 962 were in attendance at Huish Park to see the penalty shoot-out defeat by Dorking Wanderers. Given the circumstances around the club, that number was not totally surprising, but it has to be considered a disappointment.

Before recording Monday’s podcast, Ciderspace legend Huish Hugh asked the question when our last attendance for a first team fixture dropped below 1,000 and it’s actually pretty surprisingly rare to have less than 1,000 people at Huish Park for a first-team match.

Now, to clarify, this doesn’t include the Somerset (Men’s) Premier Cup, because the reality is that over the years we’ve used a mix of academy and first team players in the competition. Looking back over the years, including National League, FA Trophy, EFL, The League Cup, FA Cup, Johnstone’s Paint Pot Trophy (and it’s various guises) we’ve genuinely been well-supported.

Attendances below 1000

06.11.18 – West Ham United U21s – Check-A-Trade Trophy – 720
30.04.01 – Kingstonian – Nationwide Variety Club Trophy – 295
09.01.01 – Kettering Town – Nationwide Variety Club Trophy – 709
19.08.97 – Boreham Wood – ICIS Charity Shield – 873
26.11.96 – Yeading – Guardian Insurance Cup – 922
01.11.94 – Dagenham & Redbridge – Bob Lord Trophy – 719

Now, I think Saturday’s match with Dorking Wanderers was probably an anomaly. Given the cold weather, late notice of a pitch inspection, the festive period and the cost of living crisis, supporters will have certainly had a (not-so-difficult?) decision to make. However, aside from a cost-of-living crisis, these must have been factors the club have faced before. 

Malachi Linton fires in an effort. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

However, with supporters on Facebook deciding to boycott the FA Trophy fixture, and the growing unrest amongst sections of the supporters, there is a need to find a way to buck the trend of dwindling attendances. We’re currently on course to have our average attendance at the levels is was in the mid to late 1990s.

Average League Attendances

SEASONCOMPETITIONAVERAGEHIGHLOWPERCENTAGE CHANGE
2013-14Football League Championship661691084463+56
2014-15Skybet League One434668373509-34.3
2015-16Skybet League Two393660512954-9.4
2016-17EFL League Two356763062749-9.4
2017-18EFL League Two272137542205-23.7
2018-19EFL League Two295342232174+8.2
2019-20*National League295150562179-0.06
2020-21**National League149815001497-65.3
2021-22National League273839361260-7.4
2022-23***National League236028801906-14.8

*19/20 – season curtailed by covid
**20/21 – Covid season with two fixtures at limited capacity
***22/23 – Season so far (obviously)

Just how the club does it, who knows? Aside from the aforementioned SMPC, there’s no silverware left for the club to compete for this season. The tragic reality is that 2022/23 is now a battle for survival in the National League under Mark Cooper. The challenge for the club is how they can turn that into a compelling reason to get those undecided fans to part with their hard-earned cash to watch some gritty football for the rest of this season. We know there will always be a hardcore of supporters who will turn out regardless – but how do we attract others?

With the first annual rent charge due to SSDC in May (no-one is telling us how much that bill is – we’ve asked!), the club now need to find an extra wad of cash that they didn’t need to when they owned their home. The clock is ticking and for all we know (we’ve been told the square route of nothing), a few extra bums on seats – or feet on terraces – isn’t going to cover it. A sale of a contracted player might, mind.

There’s a difficult pattern re-emerging that were familiar with as supporters of Yeovil Town. After relegation from the Championship, attendances dropped, as we fell from League One they dropped, and as we circled the drain in League Two with uninspiring management and ownership the attendances dropped again. The result of this was less matchday revenue, less money to spend on players, lower-standard players, worse performances and relegation. 

the silent majority have been voting with their feet

After a season behind closed doors, you’d imagine a spike of people looking to return to a past time they loved pre-pandemic – things we’re pretty good before the season was curtailed in 2019/20. Alas, a fractured relationship due to broken communication and promises is resulting fewer people attending Huish Park. While there’s been little in the way of formal protest or action, the silent majority have been voting with their feet for many seasons now. 

Some will say there needs to be a change of owner. Some will say there’s not enough people in the town. Some will say people don’t have enough money to justify it. Some will say the matchday experience isn’t value for money. Some will say the football isn’t entertaining enough.

Perhaps is just a grim mash of all of the above. However you slice it, in 2023, something has to give.

Now, this has probably all felt a bit negative, such is the mood so let me try and offer a couple solutions which might go some way to helping mend fences.

  • I think a starting point would to give supporters the promised meeting and let them know what the future holds. Open the official, formal dialogue with the wider fanbase in an open setting. Broadcast it live on zoom, record it and make it 100% transparent for supporters who can’t attend as well. Only through this level of engagement will supporters feel they are listened to as a stakeholder of the football club.
  • Explain the nuts and bolts of the deal with SSDC. Who has the buyback? How much is the rent? If there’s nothing to hide, bring it out into the open. Bring the Chief Executive of SSDC or the Unitary Council along too.
  • Or for some, just sign a striker…

Note: After writing this, it was confirmed that the club had approval to move the marquee. A good step in the right direction for match day improvements for those who like a drink beforehand.

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Yeovil Town’s FA Trophy campaign came to an end in familiar fashion with an exit after penalty shoot-out for the second successive season.

Last season it was lower division Needham Market, this time around it was Dorking Wanderers – who are at least in the same division – but the result was the same, it’s concentrate on National League survival and the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup for Yeovil Town.

Here’s how Ian saw it…….

 

It wasn’t a game of quality in the final thirds. Yeovil were defensively strong (as per usual) and were barely troubled by Dorking going forward, whilst at the other end, Will Buse had a quiet afternoon stepping in for Grant Smith. Josh Staunton had Yeovil’s first attempt on target in the 70th minute with a header that was straight at the keeper. The Glovers rallied for a spell in the final stages, and thought they’d got it through Staunton but for an offside flag. We probably deserved the win on the balance of the second half, but without finding a goal we are always at risk of defeat.

We don’t like a penalty shootout. It feels like it’s becoming a bit of a thing now. We scraped through in the lowest quality shoot-out ever last season again W*ymouth in last season’s FA Cup, lost horrendously to Needham Market and yesterday we struggled again from the spot. The early work Mark Cooper did with building confidence will have taken a bit of a hit yesterday off the back of this, but what surprised me was who stepped up. Our usual takers Alex Fisher and Matt Worthington were off the pitch, but we had attacking players Malachi Linton, Charlie Wakefield, Andrew Oluwabori on for the shootout – but Jordan Drew Maguire, Max Hunt and Jamie Andrews took them. 

I’m not sure where the goals are coming from. We tried another combination in the attacking areas yesterday, with Chiori Johson in at left wing and Maguire-Drew on the right. Maguire-Drew looked like a player who hasn’t played a lot of football and although he added quality with his set pieces, he needs match fitness. Is a one-month loan enough to get it in? Alex Fisher, a mainstay in Cooper’s side so far, didn’t have his greatest afternoon and I wonder at what point we start Louis Britton. He’s been billed as a goal scorer who gets in the six-yard box which was what we were crying out for as the game wore on.

Alex Fisher battles for the ball. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The attendance yesterday has to be of concern. It was our first sub-1000 attendance for a first-team fixture for years. If we disregard SMPC and friendlies, the last time we played a first team fixture with less than 1000 supporters was in November 2018 against West Ham United Under-21s in the Check-a-Trade Trophy which was in the thick of a boycott of that competition across the country. Before that, we played Kingstonian in the Nationwide Variety Cup in April 2001 in front of 295. In the same season and competition we played Kettering in front of 709 supporters. In 1997, we played Boreham Wood in the ICIS Charity Shield with 873. Last season when we played Woking in the same round of the competition there were 1493 at Huish Park. Obviously, there were circumstances which would have led to that, the freezing cold, the late notice of pitch inspection, the last weekend before Christmas, but the level of drop off is a damning indictment of the progress (or lack of it) at the club.

Survival is all that’s left to play for. With defeat yesterday and no FA Trophy run on the cards now, all that’s left to play for next season is survival. On Friday’s podcast we spoke about how a cup run would give us a lift and something to get excited about in a season which has provided very little in the way of excitement. Alas, the “drama” of the penalty shootout put an end to it in the first hurdle and all we have now is to hope we have enough quality to remain a National League club.

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Back in August the Glovers confirmed the signing of Bournemouth striker Jake Scrimshaw. The 21-year-old signed for Yeovil from the Cherries on a two-year-deal and there was a fair amount of excitement around the signing.

He scored four goals in 19 appearances for Scunthorpe last season and had fleeting spells at Newport County and Walsall in the previous season. He had a prolific record for Bournemouth’s academy sides and came with a promising pedigree.

At the announcement of his signing, Chris Hargreaves said: “I’m really pleased to welcome Jake to the club. He’s a versatile forward who can offer us flexibility in the way we play and utilise him.

“Jake is the sort of player who will work his socks off for the team. He’s desperate to be a success here at Yeovil Town.

Scrimshaw in action for Bournemouth U21s ?AFCB U21 Twitter

Since his signing, Scrimshaw has made five appearances in the National League for Yeovil from the bench spending just over 13 minutes on the pitch on average. His last appearance was 8 minutes against Oldham Athletic in Chris Hargreaves’ penultimate match in charge.

Towards the end of September, Hargreaves did give an insight into ‘Scrimmy’s’ first months at the club: “It has been a tough position for him coming from Bournemouth to us, the National League has different elements to under-21s at Bournemouth. He’s fighting for his spot and there’s competition for places with Gime Toure who has scored and Malachi Linton, but Scrimmy certainly working hard to get that start.”

That start never came and since Mark Cooper took over from Hargreaves at the end of October Scrimshaw hasn’t been in a match day squad, although he was seen with the players at Woking.

It seems a safe assumption that all is not well there. Scrimshaw has largely been overlooked by two managers since his signing and in a side that has struggled to stick the ball in the net, he’s never been seen as the answer to the Glovers’ goal scoring woes. In truth, we don’t really have any idea what sort of player he is. When he joined Scunthorpe last season, then manager Neil Cox said: “He’s a centre forward who wants to play on the shoulder and run in behind, and wants to be in the penalty box to score goals. We’ll be patient with him and encourage him but I’m sure he’ll be an excellent signing for us.”

Cooper quickly recruited Anthony Georgiou, Andrew ‘the right winger’ Oluwabori and Louis Britton and gave Alex Fisher a clearly defined role in order to make Yeovil more productive in the final third. He has since let Hargreaves’ signings Ollie Hulbert and Will Dawes go out on loan.

The departure of Georgiou back to Leyton Orient to ‘balance the books’ raised eyebrows in the aftermath of Saturday’s 0-0 with Scunthorpe and if the scales still aren’t right, surely Scrimshaw will be high on the list of potential outgoings. The question is, with a two-year deal and just 67 minutes on the pitch this season, how on earth are Yeovil going to move Scrimshaw along if that’s the desire?

This isn’t the first (and won’t be the last) curious case at Yeovil Town, earlier this year we wrote about Alex Bradley…

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Well, streaming is here in the National League, and Gloverscast Ben has been exploring.

Ryan Reynolds and that other bloke who owns Wrexham, threw enough toys out of their pram and now, anyone in the world can dial in to watch their beloved National League side.

For the cost of a Motorway Services Meal Deal, I can, from the comfort of my own sofa, log into a site and watch the Glovers in action, and that’s exactly what I did on Saturday as Yeovil hosted Scunthorpe United.

I’ve long been a sceptic of streaming at this level, but I accept there are pros and cons to this, so I thought I’d jot a few down.

As ever, let us know what you think and how you think it’ll change (if at all) how you consume Yeovil Town matches.

The Pros

1) First of all, the entire process of signing up, pledging my allegiance to Yeovil and parting with my £4.75 via PayPal was all very easy.

2) The quality of image, audio and graphics were pretty good.

That’s a good start, we saw during the lockdown days that not every side has great coverage.

We at Yeovil had a ball tracking camera at one point which focused in on a bald lino’s noggin once or twice, but that isn’t the case here.

The camera operator might need a spirit level as it looked a little wonky at times, but there’s was some nice graphics, even a replay or two and at half time we were treated to an ‘as it stands’ table.

There’s clearly some sort of work going on externally, quite possibly a director and someone working on the games, which, is a pretty good effort from the National League.

3) I bought a ticket! That means that 60% of my £4.75 (£2.85) has gone into the club coffers. I wonder what they’ll spend it on?

In all seriousness, I wouldn’t have given the club a penny to consume that game before hand. All three Gloverscasters bought a stream. This will prove to be an extra revenue stream. (Hold that thought, we’ll come back to it later)

4) It got me thinking about who else might have purchased who may not have otherwise done so.

Friend of the pod, Elliot Watts said his grandad was set up with a stream, he wouldn’t have otherwise made the game and now he’s given the club £2.75.

How many grandads wouldn’t have fancied the cold today? How many are poorly and find mobility difficult? How many people miss out because of Somerset’s horrendous public transport systems in and around the towns and villages? How many exiles would have dialled in? How many people are working and finish too late to get to HP?

Those numbers might be difficult to quantify straight away, but I know those people listed above all exist and probably in not insignificant hoards.

Those people now need to be targeted, advertised to, helped, guided, shown how easy it is to access. For every Watts’ grandad, you need an Elliot to set things up. #BeMoreElliot

5) I was fearful of the audio. I didn’t know what we might get. Would it be something generic or just stadium ambience? It was actually really good to have BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins on commentary and ex-Glovers’ keeper Chris Weale summarising.

The audio was in sync too which was good.

I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the BBC Somerset team and both Ian and I know how much effort goes in to providing those without eyes on Huish Park good enough coverage on match days (and beyond).

It’s vital that a club like Yeovil has good local coverage from media outlets, we should protect it, support it and ensure we don’t let it become a secondary aspect of how we consume YTFC as a whole.

The Cons

1) I’m reliably informed it was really cold today. England were on the telly in the evening. Christmas shopping needs to be done. There was a chance the game might not be on. Fuel costs a fortune too.

That’s a lot of reasons to think…. nah, I’ll skip the game, watch online and go about other errands.

So if “Joe Bloggs” from just outside Yeovil likes to go to the game occasionally, but didn’t today… Yeovil Town have gone from getting 100% of an £18 ticket, plus maybe a sold programme, or a pie or a pint… old Bloggsy (as his mates call him) has now given the Glovers £2.75 rather than £27.50 ish… that’s quite a drop, multiply that equation by however many and that’s a massive shortfall.

It’ll take ten additional streams to make up for one Joe Bloggs…

That’s a massive challenge for every club at this level – what are you going to do to make a trip to Huish Park special?

Without trying to answer my own question (Hi CleaveO), the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust got 300+ kids at the game today, the England game was being shown in the Alec Stock lounge… there was a sense of ‘Match Day Experience’.

This has NEVER been more vital.

We can go deep into ticket prices, offers, loyalty schemes, quality of football, but, the crux of it is, should people stop physically going, this whole thing will be the end of football at this level.

I could ramble on here about people being physically present leads to a better atmosphere, a sense of belonging, helping your side earn a point, suck in the winner in the last minute, none of those things are tangible, but they matter.

What about getting volunteers? Who will volunteer to sell the programmes, or man the tea bars, or sell the golden gambles, or donate to the excellent Food Bank initiative if no one actually attends?

Physical presence matters. Big time.

2) Scunthorpe fans gave Yeovil Town next to nothing today.

The away crowds are an underestimated part of all this.

I’d bet that more Scunthorpe fans saw the game than would have done normally, ok, that’s cool. But how much easier do the excuses come for an away fan to not make the journey?

Scunthorpe is a long way from Yeovil. That’s a lot of fuel, a lot of time, a lot of effort… to watch a 0-0.

If even one Scunthorpe fan chose stream over travel, then Yeovil Town has lost out on 100% of that potential revenue. With just a tiny portion of a Scunny stream purchase going to be split among all 72 clubs.

Scunthorpe made their £2.75 (60% of the £4.75 stream fee), but with just 25% (£1.18) set aside for the big pot to be shared. And then taking that and splitting it 70/30 for National League/NL N&S… means Yeovil got… an equal share of 82 pence, which when divided by 23 other sides in the division gives Yeovil… 3.5 pence.

(I HATE MATHS)

Scunthorpe might be a long way away, but what about Torquay? What if they don’t sell 500 tickets, they only sell 400, because 100 would rather watch the stream?

I’m not going to do any more maths, but thats a lot of people to go from spending a minimum of £18 at Huish Park to 3.5 pence.

Now, this goes both ways of course.

I’ll watch the Barnet game on Tuesday, I wouldn’t have otherwise gone.

I’ll give Yeovil Town another £2.75. I’ll give Barnet 3.5 pence.

Will there be enough Gloverscast Bens to make up for the lack of Joe Bloggs? Only time will tell.

In conclusion

You can see the challenges that will occur, the pressure is now on clubs at our level to make sure the right people attend the game in good enough numbers whilst targeting stream viewers as extra revenue.

Can the club get a stream sponsor? Can they make sure those who have advertising boards REALLY appreciate how many extra eyes will see their product and their logo – look at the screenshots in this article, you can see, Westbury Packaging, Hellier Group, Garador, Jurrasic Fibre, Thatchers and more.

It’s worth noting that the stream figures above will double the other side of Christmas, the £4.75 fee is a half price offer to start things off.

It’s going to be a fascinating ride and I’m really not sure how it’ll all play out.

I’m fearful of the next big expected away crowd, if numbers start to drop, we could be in for a turbulent time, we’ve already heard the term ‘balancing the books’ from the manager.

The way the revenue is split, there are obviously a few clubs who will benefit more than most (Prynhawn da cefnogwyr, Wrecsam), the gap between top and bottom will only grow and those sides who get into the regional divisons below will have an even mightier task to provide a service.

There’s a huge lack of fairness here, especially half way through a season – I thought that every penny this season should have all gone into one pot to be split 72 ways.

If a side has already had its “big” days out away somewhere, those additional streams of fans who haven’t travelled have been lost.

How many Yeovil fans would have dialled into the game at Notts County for example, putting their couple quid into the pot at the same time?

Is streaming a good thing?

I’ll answer hypocritically – for me, yes, absolutely.

For Yeovil Town… I’m cautiously concerned.

 

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The stars aligned this weekend, a stomach bug combined with the launch of a National League streaming service meant Ian was able to stay warm and watch Yeovil’s 0-0 draw with Scunthorpe from the comfort of home. Here are his Five Conclusions…

That was a drab affair. This game won’t go down in history as the Notts County 0-0 will. With a heavily depleted squad, players on the pitch on antibiotics, two of the League’s poorer sides and an increasingly difficult surface, the quality was at a premium at Huish Park. In hindsight, a postponement of the match probably would have benefitted the Glovers. Mark Cooper said given the circumstances with the squad, it’s one of our best points of the season. But his comments after the match made it abundantly clear that…

The playing budget is tight, and that is an understatement. We knew it already right? Chris Hargreaves leant on the local loan network to bring in players and was definitely not shopping in Waitrose. Yesterday we named three subs, with only two outfield players, in a week where we let Gime Toure leave and had to let Anthony Georgiou return to his parent club to ‘balance the books’. The manager cited Jamie Reckord, Morgan Williams, Matt Worthington and Ben Richards-Everton as players missing, but Jake Scrimshaw has vanished, Will Dawes (our five-figure fee signing no less) has got back from whence he came on loan and Hulbert has gone out too. Parts of the summer recruitment has left a lot to be desired and a combination of factors left us really short yesterday. We’ve had two managers this season, who’ve both talked about the lack of budget, what exactly has the injection of taxpayers money done to the playing budget?

I think there should have been a red card for Scunthorpe. There was a heated 20 seconds in the second half where a great tackle gets penalised for a free kick to Yeovil and what followed was a blatant punch to the side of Ewan Clarke’s head. The referee’s intention was solely on sorting out the tackle (which ironically didn’t need sorting) so he misses the hit, if he keeps his eye on Clarke for a split second longer there’s no way he doesn’t give a red. National League refs, eh? What do you think?

Scunthorpe looked like they were there for the taking. There were moments in the first half where we seemed to have acres of space inside the 18 yard box, but rather than shoot we tried to over work it and the chance went away. Friend of the Gloverscast Chris Weale said on commentary that he thought the Iron’s defence was big, slow and narrow and that that Yeovil could get round them. Unfortunately we didn’t seem to do that enough and gave Scunthorpe their first clean sheet of the season.

And they probably should have won it. Scunthorpe grew into the second half as we tired and they looked much more of a threat. In a game that looked like it was going to be settled by one goal, they had the chance of the afternoon through a combination of Tom Pugh and Rob Apter, who somehow conspired to miss. It was the biggest chance of the afternoon and fortunately for the Glovers, Scunthorpe didn’t capitalise.

It was the kind of game where you’re grateful for the request to build a bug hotel during it.

On to Barnet…