Gloversblog (Page 26)

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Football can be cruel mistress.

Laurie Walker had a night to remember at Huish Park as the Barnet ‘keeper single handedly kept his side in the game long enough to allow for a couple of late suckerpunches as Barnet took a 2-1 win from Huish Park.

Here’s Ben’s five conclusions, he’s slept on it and it hasn’t really helped.

If that game was played out on Football Manager or FIFA 23, you’d rage quit, without saving your progress, throw the controller at the wall and promise you’d never play the game again ever… until next week.

I cannot truly explain just how dominant Yeovil were for 98% of the game across 98% of the pitch.

Some of the football we played, particularly in and around the midfield was genuinely brilliant. Quick, one-touch, confident football  the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite a while.

But… and you knew this was coming.

None of that matters if you don’t put the ball in the onion bag.

I’m not going to have a go at the three chances which led to genuinely brilliant saves from the Barnet ‘keeper, that can happen.

But there were occasions where we’d worked a position but couldn’t convert, Linton fired a shot down the keeper’s throat, Pearson produced a tame effort in the second half when bearing down on the keeper and Fisher did amazingly well to bring a ball down from a free kick only to fire it straight into the waiting arms of the flourescent keeper.

Fine margins, but as the manager spoke about, its time to start being more ruthless… the neanderthalic football fan in me thinks that in some cases that means… just leather the bloody thing.

Sam Pearson

Sam Pearson is the real deal and needs to stay with us beyond his month.

I think the midfield three of Worthington, Perry and Pearson properly excites me.

Perry was right in this game when I felt he went missing in the game against Scunthorpe, Worthy is a new man, he’s the senior man with a licence to get forward – is this the Worthington Dale Gorman was holding back?

But Pearson has all the attributes to go far in the EFL.

Strong, fearless, attacking, needs to add more nous and experience will help some of his decision making but everything he does is exciting, he battled through an injury and some… agricultural opposition to put on. a very good show.

Now, I’ve mentioned him once, but the it was the Ghost of Christmas Past in Dale Gorman who will be the talking point for many.

Yes, he should have been sent off, yes he could of – and arguably tried to – hurt someone, but I wanted to make a wider point.

The contrast of style of play Gorman and Worthington have shows we are very much in a new era of YTFC.

We are no longer the masters of the dark arts, we are no longer trying to worry more about how we rile up the opposition, or trying to slow and break up the game. That’s moved on… quite literally to Barnet.

We’re a football team now.

I’m not saying either is right or wrong, they can both be equally as effective and both as entertaining to watch.

But this is HargreavesBall starting to take shape. The Poop-house has closed for business at Huish Park.

Now, I’d like to break Rule 1 of the Gloverscast (Rule 1. All refs are rubbish at this level, live with it, don’t moan about it).

But I’m not allowed to tell you it might have been the single most petulant, awful, inconsistent, making the game about himself, loves the sound of his own whistle and gives out more cards than your Grandma at Christmas performance from the worst referee I’ve seen at a Yeovil game in some time…. so I won’t tell you any of that. ?

Instead my final conclusion is this…

Getting the first win is gaining importance quickly.

Not because if we don’t win on Saturday we’re suddenly in a relegation battle, because we’re not – I haven’t even invoked the Green Day clause yet (I’ll judge our position when September ends).

But more because the noise will grow, the same negative voices are already starting to make silly comments, and the best way to shut that up is to win a game, even if we don’t play all that well.

I’m genuinely excited by the football this team is trying to play, when we are heavy in possession 3-5-2 is a real asset of ours and I truly believe we have a squad and team to get behind, but then again, I would, wouldn’t I?

See you at Altrincham

? Photos Courtesy of Mike Kunz unless otherwise stated.

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The first match under Chris Hargreaves at Huish Park ended with a 1-1 draw with the National League favourites Wrexham. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions (although it could have been more) from a scorching afternoon of football.

Let’s not write off the 3-5-2 just yet. I wondered if we’d see a back four against Wrexham after the terrible first half against Scunthorpe. What do I know though? It was significantly more effective against Wrexham and we we’re on the front-foot with it too. Charlie Wakefield and Jamie Reckord were wingers more often than they were at full-back. Matt Worthington and Sam Perry got early touches on the ball and we used them in the midfield far better than last week. But for the sloppy opener, it felt like things started to click yesterday.

Josh Staunton was imperious in the second half. In the first 45 minutes, Wrexham got a lot of joy. It felt like Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin were given a bit too much license to dictate. After the half time break, there were a couple of moments where Palmer dropped deep to pick up the ball and Staunton was on top of him immediately to prevent it. He won duels with Mullin in the second half and showed why he’s pivotal in that back three. Based on yesterday, I’d have Staunton at the heart of the defence moving forward.

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Because Matt Worthington stepped up and took charge in midfield. It feels like we say every season is a big season for Worthy, but yesterday was one of the best games I can remember him having in green and white. In a trio of Perry and Sam Pearson, Worthington is the experience. He’s always had experience around him, whether it was Charlie Lee, Jimmy Smith, Staunton or Gorman, Worthington has always been the ‘young’ one. But, yesterday he showed what he can be about. He never stopped running, he never stopped challenging for headers that he was never going to win, he put himself about and (just about) managed to stay out of trouble. Towards the end of the game, he went shoulder to shoulder with Paul Mullin and came out on top with the ball and got a move going nicely, which typified his performance.

Gime Toure could be a fans’ favourite. His first touches of the ball saw him wriggle through three Wrexham players and earn a free kick. His second touches of the ball saw

Gime Toure fires a ball in. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

him drive at the right back and flash a wicked ball across the face of goal that was screaming to be tapped in. He showed moments of skill and a real intention to drive forward. He’s a different type of attacker to anyone else we’ve got at the club and hopefully he’ll build off of that cameo and produce even more.

Malachi Linton can be the star of this team. His first game in front of the Huish Park faithful will be one to remember. A goal as good as any you’ll see at Huish Park, smashed home with frustration after missing a guilt-edged chance moments earlier says a lot about the character of Malachi. Like his teammates, he never stopped chasing, he fought for the team and that effort led to the chance that Howard saved. Last weekend he showed enough to make me optimistic and yesterday I thought the same. He’s off the mark now, let’s see where he goes!

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Well, we are off and running for the 2022/23 season and the outcome of the opening game wasn’t what any of us were hoping for.

Ben was there for BBC Somerset and has rattled his brain for some thoughts.

Having watched the game against Scunthorpe from the press box at Glanford Park I feel like I could have 10 conclusions and narrowing them down to five key ones isn’t going to be easy.

However, we will have a go.

Firstly. 3-5-2… simply didn’t work.

It’s a thoroughly boring subject to most people if you want to get deep into the nuances of tactics and their pros and cons, at its best, with plenty of the ball and a rock solid spine, 3-5-2 is lovely.

Wing backs flying forward, crosses galore and plenty of extra bodies in wide areas.

At its worst… well, it looked like that first 50-odd minutes.

Two huge holes of space where full backs would normally be gave Liam Feeney and others all the time in the world to create and attack.

It made players like Morgan Williams move out of position and kept Charlie Wakefield far too defensive.

It might be better at home when we have more possession, but it cannot be the go-to set up with that personnel.

However, credit where its due, the change to bring on Pearson and the switch to 442 sparked us into life.

This is something of a double header conclusion actually because I am really excited to see what Pearson brings to this side during his time with us.

Fearless, exciting, quick, direct, strong and powerful. More of that please, he has to start against Wrexham.

The ‘jekyll and hyde’ performance showed just how important the senior players will be.

Staunton probably didn’t have his best game in a midfield that was getting overrun with ease, especially in the first half.

But Smith made big saves, Reckord was outstanding on the left and Fisher was desperately trying to make something happen and grab a moment by the scruff of the neck.

There were shaky moments for Hunt and Richards-Everton, but with time I think they can be a formidable partnership in both boxes.

It was only when I looked at the team sheet and saw a very youthful bench did it really hit home how much we need some significant and senior players in the door

The match was crying out for Lawson D’Ath, how amazing would it have been to bring a senior front man on instead of a young lad who has goals at Warrington Town on his CV and not a lot more. I’m excited by the young lads; Grivosti, Perry, Pearson, Craske, Hulbert etc etc, but we cannot be asking them to save us or win us games.

I’ve got to end on a positive note haven’t I?

What I saw in the first half was a shell shocked, undercooked, rabbit-in-the-headlight side who didn’t know if they were coming or going. But, the last 20 minutes showed me enough that there’s something to build on, to learn from, to be excited about, to get behind.

We did look dangerous and if Alex Fisher’s studs were longer or their keeper doesn’t pull off a couple of good late saves, we would be talking about a point or maybe even three. It’s a big week coming up for a lot of people at Huish Park, that’s for sure.

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We here at the Gloverscast have done the leg work for you and scoured the internet (well, Instagram) for some of the previews and predictions for the upcoming season and here’s what we found.

Four Four Two Magazine
Yeovil Town Prediction – 11th

Ok, solid start, slightly above midtable which seems reasonable.
The magazine’s season preview pull out suggests a “low-key” start to the summer recruitment offers little inspiration towards a more positive outcome.

 

 

Racing Post – Big Season Preview Pull Out
Yeovil Town Prediction – Urm… Not mentioned

We assume this means ‘somewhere in midtable’ as we clearly aren’t in the reckoning for promotion or relegation.

They do suggest, Wrexham will win the league, Torquay will get promoted with them, Dagenham and Woking both also making the top seven.

@NL.HUB on Instagram
Yeovil Town Prediction – 12th

The first of our prediction table has the Glovers finishing slap bang in the middle of the division with Chesterfield (and that man Quigley) winning the league.

Notts County are the side that have going up via the play-offs with Scunthorpe set for the double drop.

 

 

 

 

 

@NLBible1 on Instagram
Yeovil Town Prediction – 19th

Time for anothe 1-24 now and this time, we’re not happy. 19th!? Nineteenth!?

Not sure many will be happy with a relegation scrap that ends that close… but again, Wrexham aren’t winning the league here either.

It’s the end of the road for Dorking, Aldershot, Maidstone and Gateshead.

 

 

 

 

Edward Walker – Podcast Host D3D4Football
Yeovil Town Prediction – 14th

Yet again Wrexham aren’t winning the league, but again, unfortunatley it’s the bottom half of the table for the Glovers…
Another preview where Scunthorpe sit dangerously close to the drop zone.

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Williams (@tomhwilliams23 / @notts_stats on twitter)
Yeovil Town Prediction – 23rd

Ok, now we are getting silly – the full preview can be read HERE

The overall thoughts of the author read “I believe they have one of the weakest squads in the divison” Behave.

I didn’t read the rest of the preview.

 

 

 

There’s probably more out there, so feel free to point them in our direction.

But, as you can see, no-one has a clue what the season will look like at Huish Park, Play-offs, Mid table, and apparently, second-from-bottom are all possibilities…

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Somerset Premier Cup Winners 2022 ? SomersetFA

We here at the Gloverscast always like to get the views of opposition fans and so we’ve been sliding in the DMs of fellow National League fans for their opinions. We asked them all the same five questions;
Who will win the National League this season?
Who will go up through the play-offs?
Who will finish bottom?
Where will your side finish?
Where will Yeovil finish?

… and here’s what they had to say.

Dagenham & Redbridge – @9Men

Dagenham

Who will win the National League this season?
I would expect Notts County, Solihull and Wrexham to be battling it out. Wrexham are obviously big favourites with the bookies and will not stop spending, but will they have enough heart to go all the way? Solihull for me.
Who will go up through the play-offs?
Probably Notts County.
Who will finish bottom?
There’s plenty of sides in trouble this year, and the gulf between the bottom few and the top few looks as big as ever. I think several of the promoted sides will struggle. Eastleigh could end up bottom – they had a terrible second half of the season and I can’t see much changing.

Where will Dagenham finish?
I think we can improve on last season and squeak into seventh. Relative to the other contenders, I don’t think we’ve done enough to go beyond that.
Where will Yeovil finish?
Sorry to say, I don’t like the look of the summer business done by the Glovers. I’d expect you to remain relatively solid at the back but struggle for goals again. Maybe 14th?

Maidstone United – @JPonComms

Who will win the National League this season?
I think Wrexham will win the league because anything else is going to strongly be considered failure. With the money and expectation around Wrexham it’ll be a tough case to argue otherwise. With signings such as Elliot Lee who has dropped a number of divisions, you can see Wrexham have assembled debatably their strongest team yet especially going forward. However chesterfield will be a close second for me considering the strengthening they’ve done throughout the squad by bringing in players such as Armando Dobra from Ipswich who is by all accounts a fantastic signing.

Who will go up through the play-offs?
Building from the last question, I think Chesterfield will be the team to go up should they not win the title directly. Big squad, big budget, great manager in Paul Cook and topped off with some good signings at the moment. It really boils down to luck, mentality and consistency when considering the playoffs, so it’s anybody’s guess as we saw Chesterfield bail out of the playoffs when it mattered last season.

Who will finish bottom?
Maidenhead United – having lost their number one forward Josh Kelly to Solihull, with nobody coming in to replace him as of writing. It will be tough to score goals considering he scored almost 1/3 of their goals past season. I am a fan of the signing of Eweka as someone with potential but for me the other incomings have not been up to a necessary standard. They could however see someone like Koby Arthur perform very well and create opportunities, but with the loss of a finisher in Kelly that could prove difficult.

Where will Maidstone United finish?
16th – I think Maidstone do have a chance of finishing in vastly different areas of the table this coming season. Generally fans are very much undecided on our prospects with many thinking we will struggle to survive and others backing us for a playoff push. For me, smack bang in the middle of these opinions is where we will finish. The club has lofty ambitions, but as the new boys on the block we have to try and secure survival before regrouping next season and aiming higher. With Joan Luque injured and many of our new signings and wider squad unknown quantities in the national league we may take a little while to get going. However, I think we will become more consistent as the season continues and push up to 16th for a comfortable avoidance of a relegation fight by the end of the season.

Where will Yeovil finish?
17th – A Club who for me should be aiming much higher than their recent finishes. The new boss has come in and will have to implement his style within the squad. As for outgoings, Dale Gorman was someone who I thought could offer something to Yeovil this season despite being somewhat underwhelming last year, he has some quality for sure but has since departed. Furthermore the loss of Wilkinson to Woking could prove to be an area of concern, 32 games played last season and his experience going with him will obviously spell some sort of shuffle around at the back. At the end of the day, to move to the upper mid table and playoff spots squad depth is going to be key. As it stands the Yeovil squad isn’t quite big enough and another few additions throughout the squad will benefit them over the next couple weeks. At the moment, 17th for me.

Torquay United – @TORQUAYTALK (Danny Burnell)

Who will win the National League this season?
Anyone other than Wrexham would be a surprise. Must have been embarrassing for them not getting promoted last season.
Who will go up through the play-offs?
Can see a few being in the running. Chesterfield and Notts should be up there. Woking have made some very good signings. The usual suspects like us and Yeovil should be in and around it. I’ll opt for Southend.
Who will finish bottom?
Gateshead. No reason why. It’s miles away.

Where will Torquay finish?
Seventh.
Where will Yeovil finish?
Eighth – pipped to the last play-off place. See answer above.

Woking – @1887Cardinals (Jacob Greenwood)

Who will win the National League this season?
It’s hard to see past Wrexham. However, being such strong favourites can bring its own challenges. Playing Wrexham will be everyone’s cup final this season, whether they like to admit it or not, and that can make it difficult. That said, with limitless amounts of money and an already star-studded squad, my pick would have to be Wrexham.

Who will go up through the play-offs?
Southend started very poorly last year but once they stabilised they looked a decent side. I don’t think they’ll have enough to win the league but I can see them getting in the play-offs. They might be an outsider but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go under the radar and then win promotion.

Who will finish bottom?
I think all the promoted sides will have enough momentum to avoid last place. A lot of the sides that finished in the bottom half last season have improved their squads but someone will have to finish last. I fear for Barnet. Although their fans seem to think they are doing good business in the transfer window, I think they were poor last season and a lot of their signings hint at a relegation fight rather than a play-off one.

Where will Woking finish?
This season is a fresh start for Woking with only a few players being kept on from last season. At the time of writing I don’t think we’ve replaced the goals scored by Kretzschmar, Effiong and Campbell, and it is for that reason I think we will struggle to meet expectations. I predict we’ll finish 10th.

Where will Yeovil finish?
I can see a similar outcome to last season, maybe a couple of places lower. So I will say 13th.

Wrexham – @RobRyanRed

Who will win the National League this season?
Got to say Wrexham, haven’t we? Another summer which has brought investment and Phil Parkinson has upgraded on those he let go in a bid to provide the squad depth that was missing at the back end of last season. A full season of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer promises to bring goals, goals, goals (we hope, anyway). Trying to be optimistic here…

Who will go up through the play-offs?
Let’s go with Solihull Moors. They were mightily unlucky to miss out last season and in keeping Joe Sbarra and Andy Dallas, plus making some very clever signings such as Josh Kelly from Maidenhead, they will be a force to be reckoned with again in 2022-23. Few teams go to Solihull and get much out of them and we expect that to continue. Likely to be run close by Chesterfield in the PO race

Who will finish bottom?
Bottom is always a prediction that can bite us – and it was easy last season going with Dover. We’ll go with Maidstone United. Hakan Hayrettin’s side are going to come up against sides – like us – that have huge budgets for this level and we cannot see them going into many match days as favourites to pick up the points. This is almost certain to bite us on the backside when they come to the Racecourse.

Where will Wrexham finish?
Like other fans answering these 1 and 4 might tally. We’ve been in this league for so long now it seems a tad ridiculous to keep predicting we’ll win it but there’s nothing like blind optimism in pre-season. With the level of investment and the continuity in this squad, surely to god this is it?

Where will Yeovil finish?
Yeovil could finish anywhere from the play-offs to 18th and we wouldn’t be shocked. Jamie Reckord is an interesting pick-up for you. Solid but unspectacular. Looking at Chesterfield, Notts County, Solihull, Wrexham and others like Dagenham, think a play-off position May be a stretch. We’ll go 10th.

Altrincham – @Golfroadgoals

1.National League Winners

I think this year will be FC Halifax Town, the transfer business they’ve done this summer has been amazing.

2.Playoff winners

For me has to be Chesterfield, they have a great attacking line and just seem to me as likely candidates for playoff winners or potentially Bromley for me due to their FA trophy triumph last season.

3. Who will finish bottom?

Maidenhead, for me they’ve struggled in the last couple of seasons and just seem likely to finish bottom or Gateshead maybe due to loosing some key players this summer.

4.Where will Altrincham finish?

With the signings we have made so far especially the return of Jordan Hulme and James Jones I think we will finish anywhere between 12th and 9th, bringing in a number of attacking and defensive signings this summer due to some high profile departures but anywhere mid table for me this season it’s anyone’s season!

5. Where will Yeovil finish?

In my opinion Yeovil will finish 6th to 8th, towards the bottom end of the playoffs. I reckon this season Yeovil will do very well after perhaps not living up to expectations in previous seasons.

FC Halifax Town – @LewisRWalsh

Josh Staunton & Matt Warburton
Pic Mike Kunz

1.Who wins the national league?
I think right now it’s hard to look past Wrexham as this year’s champions to be honest. Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer proved that they’re easily the best strike partnership in this league from January onwards last season (and so they should be with the money that Wrexham have spent to get both of them) – and now that they’ve added Elliot Lee into the mix, it’s going to take something special to stop them this season.

2.Who goes up via the playoffs?
There’s definitely a lot of teams that you could make solid cases for in terms of who will go up via the playoffs, but for me Notts County will be the ones to do it. Macauley Langstaff and Cedwyn Scott proved to be absolutely lethal up top together for Gateshead last season, so to bring them in together is certainly a shrewd bit of business. There’ll be questions asked of whether they can handle the step up in quality, but I back them to do it – and that bit of firepower will get them up via the playoffs in my opinion.

3.Who finishes bottom?

This is a bit of hard one to predict as I don’t particularly feel that there’s one side that stands out as clear favourites to finish bottom – it could well be the strongest the league has been in years in terms of the quality at both ends of the table. If I were to guess though, then I’d say Gateshead, purely because I don’t know how they’ll manage without the goals of Macauley Langstaff and Cedwyn Scott.

4.Where will Halifax finish?

This pre-season has seen us undergo our biggest rebuild job yet, as on top of losing key players such as Billy Waters, Kieran Green, Niall Maher, Tyrell Warren and Tom Bradbury, we’ve also lost our manager, Pete Wild to Barrow. Further key losses could follow, as centre back Jesse Debrah is heavily linked with a move to Huddersfield, whilst there is also a level of interest in Kian Spence. Our new manager, Chris Millington (who was previously Wild’s assistant) has done a decent job of replacing our outgoing players so far, bringing in the likes of Festus Arthur, Jordan Keane and Mani Dieseruvwe, but I have a feeling that this might just be one rebuild too far – there’s only so many times that you can sign an entirely new squad and have it pay off. With that in mind, I don’t think we’ll be troubling the playoffs as we have been doing in the last couple of seasons, so I’ll put us down as finishing 11th.

5.Where will Yeovil finish?

From the outside looking in, I think the aim of this season needs to be stability for Yeovil. Ownership problems are never easy to navigate and until those can be resolved, the club needs to be as stable as possible in order to make the process of ironing out those issues as smooth as possible, whether that be the current owner coming to his senses and running a club as it should be run or whether a potential buyer is found. The signings so far appear to be solid, if unspectacular, which is probably what’s needed during that stabilising process. With that being the case, I would say Yeovil will finish 14th this season.

Chesterfield – @Tom_Atkins107

Warm up at Chesterfield ? Ben Barrett

1) Who wins the League? Chesterfield of course
2) Who wins the play-offs? probably Solihull, they’re not going anywhere from last year and have recruited impressively
3) Who finishes bottom? Dorking. Think it may be too much of a step up
4) Where will Chesterfield finish? you already asked me this
5) Where will Yeovil finish? 15th. I think you guys need a new era, something to pick the club back off the recent slump. I’m not sure you’ve had that just yet but hopefully it happens sooner rather than later

 

Notts County – Gerrit Forward (Paul Smith)

Who wins the National League?
Wrexham. It’s an obvious choice but there’s a reason for that. It’s all set up for them to run away with it, given the resources available to them and the signings they’ve made. It would be a huge failure even to finish second and, with a passionate backing from their many season ticket holders, I think they’ll have far too much this year and will have learned some lessons from last season’s failure.

Who goes up via the playoffs?
I think the usual suspects of the other well-backed and supported teams, such as Chesterfield, Notts County and Southend, will be in and amongst it again. But I think one of the so-called smaller clubs will pull it off as they will feel the pressure less in the cauldron that is playoff football. My candidates are Woking, Solihull Moors and Bromley but I’ll stick my neck out for a the latter to sneak into seventh and make it through, against the odds. They are horrible to play against – especially at home – and have lots of firepower.

Who finishes bottom?
I think the likes of Eastleigh and Aldershot should be nervously looking over their shoulder and will be wondering how the promoted clubs take to the higher level. But, it’s probable at least one of them will struggle with the transition so I’ll go with Dorking Wanderers.

Where will Notts County finish?
I’m confident of the playoffs – again. And much will depend on how high we can place in terms of our chances of overall success. Probably only a home semi-final gives us a sniff, given our away record over the time we’ve been at this level. Our chances of getting second or third are largely dictated by two things – how we replace Cal Roberts, and keeping Ruben Rodrigues being one. And the highly thought of new talent from National League North, including Macaulay Langstaff and Cedwyn Scott, carrying on where they left off at that level being the second thing. If both of those come off for us we could be in business.

Where will Yeovil finish?
I’ll be honest, I thought it was a worry for Glovers fans to see their manager leave for Woking. Having seen Woking’s business this summer though, it was clearly a financial move from him and he is being backed more you’d think with the Cards in terms of bringing players in. Given the money being spent by plenty of teams again, though, it’s hard to picture Yeovil among the frontrunners. Chris Hargreaves is an interesting appointment and I think, given his background, Yeovil will be reliant on unearthing some gems and younger talent to make a push for the playoffs. I think you’ll have enough for the top half.

Solihull Moors – Bandwagon Fanzine – @BandwagonZine

1) who wins the National League
Are we allowed to say Wrexham? There are a lot of strong sides crammed in the bottleneck again, but let’s say Wrexham just because the Wrexham circus is getting boring now and it would be better to inflict in on League 2.

2) who goes up via the play offs?
Again, a lot of strong candidates. We have made some shrewd transfer business and added to our existing quality, so if we can show the same consistency as through 2022 so far, who knows? There will be a few BELTs (Yeovil don’t as a BELT as you seem to accept you are now rubbish again) challenging in amongst it. Expect Chesterfield and Notts to be strong again.

3) who finishes bottom?
Gateshead have had a shocker of a summer considering they won the National League North at a canter. Not sure why people seem to fancy Maidstone to avoid the drop so much too.

4) Where will Solihull finish?
Playoffs.

5) Where will Yeovil finish?
Ask the magic 8 ball; it’s probably been paying more attention to your summer transfer business and preparations…

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Throughout June we asked supporters of Yeovil Town FC to fill out our survey to share their views on the club and we’re delighted to share the results back with you on the slides below.

Thanks to Ben Sharpless for taking a look through the data and picking out some key points and thanks to the 499 of you who completed the first ever survey we’ve run. Here’s to next year and getting over 500.

 

[pdf-embedder url=”https://gloverscast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/21_22-Survey-Findings.pdf” title=”21_22 Survey Findings”]

You can download the slides from here.

 

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The after the night before with the historic win by England Women over Germany at Wembley and, to give this news a Yeovil Town twist, we asked BBC Somerset Glovers’ report, occasional Gloverscast guest and host and former Media Manager of Yeovil Town Ladies Sheridan Robins to give us her take on the moment.

It has been 24 hours since England Women did what has often felt like an impossible task.

They won a major trophy – and they did so by beating long-time rivals (and eight-time winners of the European Championships) Germany.

I could make many jokes about how if you want something done properly, make sure it is done by a woman (and I have), but this is about more than that. This is about the women’s game capturing the hearts of the nation and – crucially – being a product of immense quality.

The Lionesses were six minutes from exiting the tournament in the quarter finals and were dealt a blow when Germany equalised yesterday, but the talent, the game management, and the tactical substitutions of Manager Sarina Wiegman secured a precious victory which finally brought football home.

People will now always remember the names Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly – and rightly so. However, this is now the time to ensure attendances at grassroots level and beyond continue to rise.

I commentated last season on Ella Toone and Mary Earps as they beat Bridgwater United Women 2-0 in the Women’s FA Cup. It was a wonderful occasion with more than 2000 people turning out to support the Somerset team. But I will be honest – it was tinged with sadness.

As a lifelong Yeovil Town fan, it felt like we should have had that experience as Bridgwater were formerly our very own women’s team donning green and white. Yeovil Ladies were supremely successful and won the WSL2 (now the Championship) back in 2016 at Huish Park. Little old Yeovil in the Women’s Premier League! It was a huge achievement and one I was blessed to be a part of. I worked as the club’s Media Manager for ten months back in 2018, before being made redundant – and ultimately the club fell not long after.

The remarkable achievement of England takes me back to when Yeovil won their first ever top flight match against Everton. A hard fought 1-0 win with more than 1,000 people supporting them and I remember being as proud of the attendance as I was of the players.

Those memories are amazing but the way it ended (and there were a multitude of reasons for it) feels like an opportunity missed. I remember Matty Dolan creating content with Yeovil Ladies’ captain Annie Heatherson and I long for that connectivity again between the men and the women’s game – especially because of the progress which has been made in just a few short years.

I don’t play, I just speak about the game and for the past two seasons I have been focused on talking about the men’s game and minus a few choice comments (mainly at opposition grounds) my gender hasn’t been talked about. I credit the managers, players, and society for the fact it is changing. I feel I belong in this industry, and it feels like we (Yeovil) are missing a piece of the puzzle with regards to a women’s team.

I hope this changes soon. How great is it to see male players tweeting about the England match? Not to mention attending and joining in the celebrations. They know what it takes to win and considering the last trophy Yeovil Town won was won by the women, and now the same can be said for England – this is surely the time to capitalise on this growth.

Yesterday was an incredible day and one which should be looked back on with such pride. Don’t get me wrong, I am just as excited about Scunthorpe away on Saturday (yes, really), but let’s keep the conversation going about ensuring young girls can see they can play football, too. And what better place to do so than the beautiful county of Somerset?

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With pre-season now at an end, Chris Hargreaves’ next match day squad will be for the National League opener at Scunthorpe United. BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins was at the last friendly in Weston-super-Mare where the Glovers sealed a 1-0 victory. Here are her five conclusions…
We look to be enjoying playing a back three, but it can be fluid. This was the first time I have seen the Glovers play three centre backs and as was so clear last season, that area of the pitch looks very good indeed. Charlie Wakefield at wing back is an interesting prospect and, as ever, if you give him the ball, he is so dangerous. Jamie Reckord won the penalty getting high up the pitch on the left side and we looked dangerous – particularly in the first half. I am looking forward to seeing the system develop as we switched back to a four in the second period.
Ben Richards-Everton could be the experienced head we need. He was my man of the match against a stubborn Weston side who offered a lot going forward. He put his body on the line, had good positioning and was commanding. I also noticed Morgan Williams was much more vocal than I have seen before, and our new signing could really guide him through after what was a brilliant campaign last season for the centre back/right back/left back!
Striker Alex Fisher 
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
We may need goals, but we have one ridiculously hard-working striker. The manager was honest about the lack of goals in the side currently, and we need not only more bodies but our midfielders and defenders to ensure they are chipping in too. However, Alex Fisher never stops running – and now I remember his first spell at Huish Park was very much about that tenacity. I try to forget about the 2017/18 season as much as possible, but he always played for the shirt. I hope his goal is the first of many because his attitude and endeavour is second to none and he had some nice layoffs too. Feed the fish etc…we all want to see that GIF again.
Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
We need a relatively injury free season. This may seem obvious, but for real success this season, management of players will be crucial. With Lawson D’Ath having his minutes managed, and a few niggles for our key creative players yesterday, it is apparent how much we need those star players. Any team which does well often has luck on their side injury wise. I think we are definitely due some!
Chris Hargreaves is so excited to be back in management. It was almost written in the stars that Chris Hargreaves’ first match would be on BT Sport after his punditry work for them. But it is infectious to see just how excited he is to be in the dugout for the opening competitive match. I am so pleased we got him in early, so he had time to get to know the players he inherited and add his own characters. Speaking to fans yesterday, there is no doubt they are supporting him, and I am sure he will get a fantastic reception at Glanford Park. Here we go again – let’s hope for a good start!

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What do you do when none of the Gloverscast trio are at a game? You put out a call to arms.

Thankfully, Elliot from our friends at WeLoveYouYTFC was there at the Avenue Stadium and he had five thoughts he’d like to share with you on the 0-0 draw.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Signings are needed. It’s no secret we have a small squad, however we need more bodies, otherwise we may have a real issue with squad depth this season. Last night, for instance, we had a couple of injuries and all of a sudden players were having to play out of position, Charlie Wakefield a prime example of this. Which brings me to my next point..

Charlie Wakefield is wasted at right wing back. Charlie was at his best last season when given license to run at defenders, and in a way, neglecting any sort of defensive role. Which makes you question where he fits into a formation with 5 at the back? You’d imagine Hargreaves and co. have a plan for him, and hopefully that isn’t back up right wing back.

Josh Staunton modelling the 2022-23 kit. Picture courtesy of YTFC.net.

We look solid defensively. We may have a new manager this season, but the personnel defensively remains largely the same as last season, and it shows. We look very good defensively, it is clear to see the centre back trio of Morgan Williams, Josh Staunton & Max Hunt have played with each other for a while now.

Sam Perry is a very good signing. In previous friendlies against Exeter and Plymouth respectively, Sam Perry, alongside the majority of our team, hasn’t seen as much as the ball as he’d perhaps like, but tonight he excelled with the ball at his feet. Walsall fans evidently see something in him, and rightly so.

Sign up number 24 + 25 (Trialist b + c). Out of all the trialists we have seen in action over pre-season, these two, for me, have shown the most talent, and are the most deserving of a contract. Trailist b played at left wing back on Tuesday night, and showed pace and skill, as did trailist C. As previously referenced, we need more bodies, and I’d like to see these two signed up.

We’re you at the game? What did you think?

Thanks to Elliot for helping us out on these five conclusions.

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In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Five Conclusions, Gloversblog
Charlie Wakefield holds off his marker

After a couple of draws in their opening two pre-season friendlies, Yeovil Town suffered their first defeat of the campaign at home to League One side Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.

Having held their opponents at bay in the first half, Chris Hargreaves’ men were undone by two goals from the visitors’ Ryan Hardie and Finn Azaz in the opening 15 minutes after the restart, before Matt Worthington and Plymouth wing-back Bali Mumba saw red for a scuffle.

Here are Marcus Duncomb‘s conclusions on a difficult afternoon at Huish Park…..

 Max Hunt. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Our trio of centre-backs are very solid. It seems as though Chris Hargreaves is set on lining up with a back three/five, depending on which way you look at it. The three centre-backs of Josh Staunton, Morgan Williams and Max Hunt were all key players last season and know each other well. This showed against a very strong Plymouth side who struggled to break us down in the first half after putting six past Torquay United in midweek. I think these three will be important.

Don’t expect the cards to disappear. Under Darren Sarll, Yeovil were no strangers to cards – in fact we consistently had the most cards in the leagues. It seems like that might not change immediately. When Matt Worthington and Bali Mumba got into a scuffle the whole Yeovil team and dugout instantly went into defend their teammate – this was only a friendly! We also saw Chiori Johnson, who had a tough afternoon, foul tricky wing-back Mumba time after time and he almost certainly would have been booked if it weren’t pre-season.

Chris Hargreaves wants runners in his side. The midfield trio was made up of Worthington, Sam Perry and Tom Knowles slightly more advanced. Yeovil fans already know all about the work rate of Worthington and Knowles – they are probably the two Yeovil players who have clocked up the most distance over the past two seasons and Perry is no different. Up front, Alex Fisher never gives up and his work rate in that position has been much missed over the past few years while Malachi Linton’s quick pace and eagerness to press gave Plymouth defenders little time on the ball. Let’s see if they’re still doing this come Boreham Wood away in April..

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We don’t really know where Charlie Wakefield fits in yet. Wakefield hasn’t been fully fit to start a friendly and the only position we’ve seen him play is right wing-back. Yeovil fans know that Wakefield can offer so much more than a wing-back. Last season while we mainly saw him operate on the wing, he did also feature up front and very occasionally at wing-back towards the end of games. There are no out-and-out wingers in Hargreaves’ current system and Knowles has been placed in the no.10 role while we are waiting to find out where Wakefield’s long-term future is. Surely he wouldn’t have signed the contract extension if he was told he’s going to be a backup wing-back?

It will be interesting to see how we play against weaker opposition. Our final two friendlies against Dorchester and Weston-Super-Mare are more likely to give us an idea of how we are going to play. Against Plymouth we probably had about 20% possession and so it was really an exercise of defensive structure. We barely saw Yeovil with the ball, but when we did it looked promising. One particular move in the first half started with Grant Smith and ended with a Knowles long shot going narrowly wide. But the ball never went in the air once and it was all played along the ground nicely through most of the team, beating the Pilgrims’ press.