Gloversblog (Page 38)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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It started with one supporter inspired by the off-the-field turmoil surrounding the takeover of Yeovil Town  to post his feelings about what the club meant to him.

That with the addition of a hashtag – #YTFCMeansToMe – quickly spread across social media with supporters posting what the club meant to them.

Here are a selection of just a few of the posts, starting with the first one from Glovers’ fan Eliott Watts…..

https://twitter.com/ArchieMorris87/status/1448629536149680130?s=20

…..if you are feeling inspired to read some more – especially if you are someone with a control over the club which means so much to these people and so many others – search #YTFCMeansToMe on Twitter or Facebook.

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It’s the worst kept secret in South Somerset and yet it still appears to be a secret.

The two consortiums bidding for the ownership of Yeovil Town are led by current club director Glenn Collis and another group led by Julian Jenkins, an ex-Cardiff City commercial director and CEO at Swiss side Servette for a spell.

The Huish Park rumour mill is fired on one side by a bizarre string of online articles and now YouTube broadcasts claiming to have knowledge on the Jenkins offer, and the other seemingly from conversations being had between Collis and supporters at matches.

A YouTube “banter broadcast” from earlier this week where it was claimed Julian Jenkins is in the running to buy the club.

As a result, on Tuesday the Supporters’ Alliance Group, which represents the club’s main fan groups including the Green & White Supporters’ Club and Glovers’ Trust, issued a public demand to owner Scott Priestnall to act.

The chairman and owner who bought the club from in the summer of 2019 has consistent in promising to do what is best for the club.

What he has been less consistent at is keeping to his commitments.

When we last heard from our AWOL owner, he promised improvements in the matchday experience, strengthening of the squad for a tilt at the play-offs and regular communication to with supporters.

To that end, we have seen a burger van appear behind the Thatchers’ End which was selling warm cans of beer, a squad filled up with young loan players in place of the experienced heads which departed in the summer, and a owner who no-one has seen or heard from in months.

The last public statement from owner Scott Priestnall from a video posted on the club’s YouTube channel in July.

On the pitch, manager Darren Sarll is under increasing pressure after less than convincing performances in the past three matches and a massive FA Cup tie with local rivals Weymouth coming up at the weekend.

In fairness to the boss, he has made mistakes tactically this season, but with the options he has he is doing his job with his hands tied behind his back.

And you can say that about just about every part of the club which feels both rudderless and taking on water, combination puts us in serious danger.

When it comes to  the owner’s promise of communication, this week supporters seem to be finding out more about/completely guessing at what is happening at the club from filings on Companies House.

With the club purchased with a loan secured against its own asset, and now seemingly being propped up by a Sport England loan (we’ve had no evidence of the contrary so how can we know?) it appears there’s a genuine possibility of a total catastrophe if a deal doesn’t get over the line.

The final line of the Alliance statement reads: “As a group of united supporters, we believe the time is now for genuine change and only one group at the table offers that hope for the future of Yeovil Town FC.”

It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines and understand who the Supporters Alliance Group are in favour of.

The most galling thing of all is the sheer contempt which Yeovil Town supporters having to publicly call on those in charge of the club to have the decency to communicate with their supporters and their customers.

All those who put their hands in their own pockets to raise more than £50,000 for the club this summer, can rightly feel this complete lack of action from those who claim to be in charge is a slap in the face.

The voice of Alliance echoes that of supporters from all corners of the fan base – do what you’ve said you’ll do, Mr Priestnall, and do the right thing by OUR club.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The land which sits around Yeovil Town’s Huish Park stadium has never really been anything which has probably bothered many supporters.

However, the land is now the centre of attention with speculation around a takeover of the club by one of two unidentified consortiums, according to a statement from the Glovers’ Trust – see here.

It was back in 2010 that then-chairman John Fry and owner Norman Hayward created Yeovil Town Holdings Limited, a company which the pair then transferred the freehold of the land which borders the stadium in to.

That land covers the astroturf, small car park and land where the club’s marquee stands at the front of the stadium, along with the top pitches, a good chunk of the main car park and the area behind the Thatcher’s Gold terrace.

Land owned by Yeovil Town Holdings Limited is bordered in red – except the bit in mint green which is owned by Yeovil Athletic & Football Club Limited.

A slice of land which includes part of the car park and borders Western Avenue is owned by South Somerset District Council.

Today, Yeovil Town Holdings Limited  has two directors, Glovers’ chairman Scott Priestnall and his fellow director Glenn Collis, following the takeover led by Priestnall and is (now former) business partner Errol Pope in 2019.

The land which the stadium sits upon is owned by another company, Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Limited, whose directors are also Priestnall and Collis.

The division of land has been this way since John Fry and Norman Hayward asked the club’s shareholders to vote in favour of the decision to divide the assets and won the vote – unsurprisingly given the pair held 92% of the shares.

The restructuring was sold as a way to enable the development of the land for the benefit of the club and the former owners tried – and failed – to get developments through. Who can forget the proposal with Chris Dawson, the owner of The Range, which promised a 3,500-seater stand where the away end now is back in 2011?

And who would disagree with that principle? The idea of developing land around the stadium to make it generate income seven days a week – as opposed to between midday and 6pm on a Saturday matchday – should be actively encouraged.

The question comes down to who benefits from the sale/development of the land.

Scott Priestnall has spoken of a desire to develop the land around the stadium and he told Somerset Live in December 2019 that he would only make decisions on development which were “right for the football club.”

However, within just a few months of making this statement, the COVID-19 pandemic struck with the jigsaw pieces going up in the air.

The next we heard of plans for ownership of the land was the sale and lease back deal offered by SSDC – if you need reminding about that, see here.

But with that deal seemingly off the table, what do we now about who owns of the land around Huish Park and the land the stadium itself is built on?

The simple answer is somewhat unsurprisingly – Scott Priestnall and Glenn Collis as the directors of the two companies which own the different parcels of land.

The Land Registry documents which confirm the ownership of both pieces of land both include a charge from MSP Capital, a Poole-based property finance firm, which the chairman raised money from at the time of his takeover.

In the recent accounts of CV Leisure, the company set up by Priestnall and his former partner Errol Pope to complete the takeover from Fry and Hayward in 2019, the loan facility from MSP Capital is worth £1.35m.

Back in 2019, Somerset Live described the charges as “effectively mortgaging” Huish Park and its land to complete the deal.

The same article explained that no development of the land can take place without the say so of MSP Capital and that the lender had the right to take control of the land in the event it did not get its money back.

In the article, Priestnall was quoted as saying: “Those charges may well change. They may well come off over the next couple of months depending on what we decide to do.”

The presence of the charges more than two years on would suggest that what the chairman decided to do did not involve removing the charges from the club.

In summary, what we know both the land which Huish Park sits on and the land around it are in the ownership of Scott Priestnall and, at least in name, Glenn Collis.

This is where the unanswered questions lie. If there is a takeover, will the deal be the assets held by both companies – Yeovil Town Holdings and Yeovil Athletic & Football Club, in case we’ve lost you by now.

One assumes that such a detail will only become public if and when any takeover is completed and presently the silence on that is deafening.

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

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

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

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

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

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