Quite a bit on the agenda this week; a new striker, a new kit, a new fixture schedule and a 4-1 pre-season win.
FGCQC Rob Manley was at Melksham and joins Ben and Dave to chat about it all.
Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley believes that midfielder Luke McCormick is on a mission to prove he is “one of the best players” in the National League in the coming season.
The 27-year-old missed the final two months of last season with a groin injury and returned with two goals in the first half of the Glovers’ 4-1 win at Melksham Town in their opening pre-season friendly on Saturday.
McCormick was handed the captain’s armband from the start and netted either side of new striker Stephen Walker’s opening goal for Yeovil before Brett McGavin added a fourth with a superb free-kick with 15 minutes remaining.
Speaking about McCormick to the club’s social media after the game, Rowley said: “It is so good to have Macca back. I feel there is a new lease of life in him, it was really devastating to lose him in the position we were in fighting for our lives last season. He is a top pro, he looks after himself and he has a hunger for football and scoring goals and we saw that in the first half.
“Daz (assistant manager Darren Simpson) and I were speaking at half-time and we felt like we had signed a new player that is better than (National League) level so I think there is a fire lit in him, he wants to be one of the best players in the league and I think he has that ability.”
The boss also had praise for Walker, signed from National League North side Scarborough Athletic last month, for his finishing ability. He said: “The first thing I noticed when we were scouting Ste was he has the best chop in football. I spoke to an old friend of mine who played with him at MK Dons and that is the first thing he said about him, so we will get used to seeing that. I thought he was going to shoot with the second one and he’s chopped again, so he has even done me there. He is a real talent, his upbringing and pedigree speaks for itself and you can see the talent that he has.”
The Glovers lost defender Joy Mukena after just 26 minutes with the manager saying the defender has a hamstring issue. He said: “We were aware that Joy had been struggling, he has got a bit of a neural hamstring injury. He saw a specialist yesterday and we think we have got to the root of it and we are going to try and patch him up for the next few weeks. It is not massively serious, it is just something we are going to have to manage with him and figure out how we can get the best out of him without doing more harm.”
His replacement was William Lannin-Sweet, a 19-year-old defender released from Premier League champions Arsenal’s academy in the summer, who was one of four trialists who appeared at Melksham. Here’s the who’s who of Trialists A-D:
In summary, Rowley was pleased with his side’s start to pre-season, praising a number of players who appeared in a completely changed second half XI – with the exception of Lannin-Sweet who remained.
The boss said: “We have trained maybe eight times and, considering that we have only trained that many times, I thought we looked quite familiar with each other, some of our movement, timing and understanding of what we wanted was good and, apart from the 35 degree heat, the fitness levels were top. All in all it was a really good day for us.
On the second half XI, he added: “I thought Slavi (Spasov) dropping down and connecting the game was excellent, Mason (Obeng) was great off the left, Johl Powell was top draw in the pocket. We asked Jack Kingdon to play high and right in the second half which is not natural to him, but he is probably the fastest player in the squad, so we felt we could utilise his speed with that. Brett and Hayden (Muller) were maestros in midfield, the pitch is quite sticky and hard but they managed to play out really well. I have not got a bad word to say about anyone, attitude was excellent, supporters were brilliant, nice to see so many of them, it was a really good day for us.”
Yeovil continue their pre-season campaign with a trip to National League North side Merthyr Town on Tuesday night before facing Cardiff City Under-23s at Huish Park next Saturday.
A first half double from midfielder Luke McCormick and a first goal for striker Stephen Walker saw Yeovil Town start their pre-season campaign with a win at Melksham Town on Saturday.
McCormick, who wore the captain’s armband, gave the Glovers the lead after just nine minutes before the home side pulled level just two minutes later before Walker made it 3-1 before the break.
There was the traditional full change to the starting XI for the second half and midfielder Brett McGavin fired in a trademark free-kick with 75 minutes gone to complete the scoring.
Another pre-season tradition saw a game of ‘Guess the Trialist’ with those turning out for Yeovil understood to be:
The starting XI saw six of the new summer signings given their first outings in green-and-white with goalkeeper Jos Barker, defenders Jordan Norville-Williams, Archie Davies and Salford City loanee Loick Ayina, midfielder Zain Westbrooke and striker Stephen Walker all in the line-up. Midfielder Jonathon Page, who was released at the end of last season having been signed in the middle of the campaign, returned under the name Trialist A.
The Glovers began with a back three of Norville-Williams, Joy Mukena, and Ayina with James Daly at left wing-back and Archie Davies at right wing-back, a midfield of Zain Westbrooke and Trialist A/Page with Luke McCormick, who took the captain’s armband, and Ryan Jones in behind Walker.
Norville-Williams was in the heart of the action as Yeovil took the lead after just nine minutes. The wing-back burst down the left side and cut it back to Luke McCORMICK who fired home the opener, but that lead lasted just two minutes as the home side levelled when Dan McBEAM scored the equaliser.
In the 22nd minute, Ryan Jones showed he is aiming to start the new campaign in the same way he finished the last with some great touches to break in to the box and force a good save from Melksham keeper Adam Forster. A minute later the referee called a World Cup-style hydration break with temperatures topping 30 degrees in Wiltshire.
When play restarted Joy Mukena came off with a knock and was replaced by Trialist B, believed to be Arsenal academy defender William Lannin-Sweet, and moments later Yeovil were back in front. Stephen WALKER found his way through the Melksham and fired home an instinctive striker’s finish to bag his first goal for his new club with 29 minutes on the clock.
Norville-Williams was in the heart of the action again on 34 minutes setting up McCormick to pull an effort just past the post before Westbrooke became the first Glover to pick up a booking in pre-season with five minutes of the first half remaining. Do refs even do bookings in pre-season? It appears so.
McCormick had the ball in the back of the net with 42 minutes played when he latched on to a ball over the top and lifted the ball in to the net, but could not beat the offside trap. Luke McCORMICK did get his second just before half time when he headed home a Ryan Jones free-kick to make it a 3-1 lead at half-time.
There was an entire change of personnel for the start of the second half with only Trialist B/Lannin-Sweet remaining from the team which finished the first half. with defenders Jack Kingdon and Joe Gubbins, the versatile Hayden Muller in midfielder and forwards Johl Powell, Mason Obeng and Slavi Spasov all getting their first outings.
Trialist C, former Cardiff City, MK Dons and Huddersfield Town striker Rhys Healey, who has been spotted training with the Glovers, was also in the starter line up and had a great chance to add to the advantage within four minutes of the restart. He met Brett McGavin’s free-kick with a header which was cleared off the line before Joe Gubbins tried to connect with the rebound before it was cleared by Melksham.
On 63 minutes, a great ball from McGavin found Mason Obeng who charged down the left and side and picked out Johl Powell barrelling in to the box, but it was blocked and landed in the hands of Forster in the Melksham goal.
The hydration break midway through the second half saw Healey receive some treatment to an injury he sustained in an earlier altercation. The 31-year-old has a history of injury
With 15 minutes remaining, Brett McGAVIN curled home a trademark free-kick to make it 4-1. Despite the number of goals this half compared with the first, Yeovil have undoubtedly been in charge of this half with both Powell and Obeng impressing in particular.
Healey was replaced with the game with a minute of normal time remaining, replaced by Trialist D, understood to be Bristol Rovers youngster Kian Hill.
First half – Yeovil Town: Jos Barker, Jordan Norville-Williams, Joy Mukena (for William Lannin-Sweet, 26), Loick Ayina, Archie Davies, Zain Westbrooke, Jonathon Page (Trialist A), Luke McCormick, James Daly, Ryan Jones, Stephen Walker.
Second half – Yeovil Town: Matt Gould, Jack Kingdon, Joe Gubbins, William Lannin-Sweet (Trialist B), Dan Ellison, Hayden Muller, Brett McGavin, Johl Powell, Mason Obeng, Slavi Spasov, Rhys Healey (Trialist C) (for Kian Hill/Trialist D, 89).
Melksham Town: Adam Forster, Jack Carter, Wayne Nderemani, Archie Milne, Alex Hallett, Dave Thompson, Kyle Witt, Max Williams, James Ollis, Dan McBeam, Kitan Jaiyeoba.
Scorers: Luke McCormick 9 (1-0), Dan McBeam 11 (1-1), Stephen Walker 29 (2-1), Luke McCormick 45 (3-1), Brett McGavin 75 (4-1)
Attendance: 683
Six new signings start for Yeovil Town as they get their pre-season friendly fixtures underway at Southern League Division One South side Melksham Town today (3pm kick-off).
Goalkeeper Jos Barker, defenders Jordan Norville-Williams, Archie Davies and Salford City loanee Loick Ayina, midfielder Zain Westbrooke and striker Stephen Walker all make the line-up.
There is also a Trialist A listed in the number 32 shirt. From those in Wiltshire, it appears to be midfielder Jonathon Page who has been spotted in pre-season training with Yeovil having been released at the end of last season. We’ll let you know more when we know it. Other possibilities are former Huddersfield Town striker Rhys Healey and Arsenal academy defender William Lannin-Sweet.
There are no substitutes listed on the team sheet published on the club’s social media, but expect the usual merry-go-round of players that pre-season always delivers.
Yeovil Town: Jos Barker, Jordan Norville-Williams, Joy Mukena, Loick Ayina, Archie Davies, Zain Westbrooke, Trialist A/Jonathon Page, Luke McCormick, James Daly, Ryan Jones, Stephen Walker.
Melksham Town: Adam Forster, Jack Carter, Wayne Nderemani, Archie Milne, Alex Hallett, Dave Thompson, Kyle Witt, Max Williams, James Ollis, Dan McBeam, Kitan Jaiyeoba.
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is planning to run coach travel to Yeovil Town’s remaining pre-season away friendlies at Merthyr Town on Tuesday night and Farnham Town a couple of weeks later.
Travel will cost £15 per supporter for both games.
As always, all services are subject to sufficient demand, so if you’re thinking of travelling it’s worth booking sooner rather than later.
Supporters can reserve their place by contacting the Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570.
50 supporters travelling with the Green & White Supporters’ Club to the opening friendly at Melksham Town. Picture by Paul Hadlow.
Manager Billy Rowley has said he expects to make a decision on who will replace Jake Wannell as Yeovil Town’s captain in “the next few days.”
The armband is vacant following the defender’s departure to National League South joining Torquay United and the boss said he has a “senior leadership group” to draw from.
The Glovers get their pre-season friendlies underway with a trip to Southern League Division One South Melksham Town on Saturday having with many of their 13 summer signings on display for the first time.
Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah, Rowley said: “(Jake) was brilliant for us last year. He’s 32, he’s got a young child on the way and he had a chance to join Torquay on a two-year contract, so it makes sense for him from a personal perspective. Nothing but praise from me on that and, obviously, well wishes.
“We’ve got Joe Gubbins in, who’s a left-footed defender who is 6’0″ and we’ve got Jordan Norville-Williams as well, another left-footed defender that can play centrally or out on the outside. We’ve got decent cover, it was just one of those things where Jake felt it was a good time to move on and we obviously wish him well.
“I think we’ve narrowed (the captaincy) down. We’re pretty certain on how the squad and the kind of hierarchy and the senior leadership group should look. But we’ve been so focused on getting back to training and getting fit and trying to embed some ideas, but I think in the next few days, we’ll be having those type of meetings. On the inside, we know how we’re looking with all that stuff, but nothing’s been announced just yet.”
On player who will not be featuring in pre-season is new signing Joe Haigh with the club confirming that the 23-year-old has had undergone surgery for “a minor ankle injury” which it had known about when the player signed last month.
Rowley said he does not expect to see the former Chelsea academy product on the pitch for the first couple of the months of the 2026/27 campaign.
He said: “Joe had his operation around two weeks ago and he was told it was going to be a best-case scenario of eight weeks, and a worst-case scenario of 12 weeks. I’ll always go worst case because you don’t want to get your hopes up. So he’s probably six to eight weeks away from training with the lads and then he’s going to be missing out on a whole load of pre-season and fitness stuff.
“He’s a really fit lad, he takes football really seriously and there’s not an ounce of fat on him, so in terms of getting him in shape, that won’t be a problem. It’ll be more just getting him a decent training programme to get himself confident and back ready to play.
“I could probably rule out August and probably most of September, then hopefully he’ll be available for definitely the winter months and it’ll feel like a new signing.“
The boss also revealed that Haigh had interest from the Football League when Yeovil were on the verge of completing his signing from Dagenham & Redbridge, saying: “We were due to sign him, I think it was on a Monday, and on the Sunday evening he had a personal phone call from a League One manager trying to persuade him to join them—and he still decided to join us. We’ve got a top-level talent, he’s 23, he’s hungry and I think if we can get Joe back fit, firing and confident, he’ll be one of the most exciting players that we watch.“
On the players who are expected to take the pitch against Melksham in the opening friendly, striker Slavi Spasov, who became Yeovil’s 13th new arrival having joined from Southend United, is a player who Rowley expects to be a solid addition.
He said: “He’s a very, very nice footballer. He’s another lad who’s like 6’0″, he can move well, he has got a great touch, he can drop down and link, but he also has got speed to run in behind. I think he had a really good goals-per-minute ratio at Southend and I think, given a good run along with Ste (Walker, the Glovers’ other striker signing) , we can expect really exciting things from him. He’s still very young and he’s got a lot of football that he wants to play, and he’s really hungry.“
With a busy summer of transfer business, Rowley has said he he is happy with the squad he has, but has not ruled out bringing in further players on loan if the right quality comes available. To date, the Glovers’ only loan is defender Loick Ayina, who has joined from League Two side Salford City.
The boss added: “We’ve got roughly two players in every position at the moment and we’ve got some players like Hayden Muller who can play probably three positions which helps. I don’t think we’ll do much more, but you never say never.
“Sometimes you get some incredible talents pop up late in the loan window where Premier League clubs are looking to get lads out to League One and then that doesn’t happen, and they call you up in the last week of the window and say they have got an England Under-21 striker available or something. I don’t want to say that’s going to happen, but it can happen. We’ve still got loan slots, so we won’t be ruling anything out like that. But, at the moment, really happy with the permanent boys we’ve got in the door.”
Yeovil Town’s route to National League Glory has been mapped out with the release of the 2026/27 fixtures.
The Glovers start with a nice local one, a trip to Glanford Park, Scunthorpe to take on the Iron – anyone who remembers out previous opening day fixture in Scunthorpe under Chris Hargreaves… we shuddered too!
After that, Carlisle and Gateshead make the trip south, the Heed Army will be in town for a lunch time kick off.
Then, on the road we go, to Barrow for some Friday night fun!- Some motorway miles in on the clock to get us going.
10 of the first 11 games are listed as being DAZN stream fixtures, with the league reaching a deal to broadcast every game in August.
Everyone looks forward to the festive fixtures with local derbies and big rivalries coming together over the Christmas and New Year period.
As such, the Glovers have a home Boxing Day clash with our near neighbours… Sutton United? We’re not sure there either, a couple of days later we go to Woking, and then kick off the new year just up the road in… Altrincham!
To wrap the season up, three of the Glovers’ final five are away from home.
We head to Sutton, Boreham Wood and Hartlepool in late March and April with a home game against Halifax in there before finishing off with a lunch time kick off against newly relegated Harrogate Town on Saturday, 24th April.
It’s worth noting all fixtures are very much subject to change, especially with cup runs and DAZN getting their mits on the big games as the season unfolds.
| Date | Opponent | KO | H/A | Competition | Score | Location | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July | ||||||||
| 11.07.26 | Melksham Town | 15:00 | A | Friendly | Oakfield Stadium | |||
| 14.07.26 | Merthyr Town | 19:30 | A | Friendly | Penydarren Park | |||
| 18.07.26 | Cardiff City U21s | 13:00 | H | Friendly | Huish Park | |||
| 25.07.26 | Wycombe Wanderers | TBC | A | Friendly | BCD | |||
| 28.07.26 | Farnham Town | 19:45 | A | Friendly | The Memorial Ground | |||
| August | ||||||||
| 01.08.26 | Newport County | 15:00 | H | Friendly | Huish Park | |||
| 08.08.26 | Scunthorpe | 15:00 | A | NL | Glandford Park | |||
| 15.08.26 | Carlisle United | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 22.08.26 | Gateshead | 12:30 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 28.08.26 | Barrow | 19:45 | A | NL | Holker Street | |||
| 31.08.26 | Tamworth | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| September | ||||||||
| 05.09.26 | Southend United | 12:30 | A | NL | Roots Hall | |||
| 12.09.26 | AFC Fylde | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 15.09.26 | Aldershot | 19:45 | A | NL | Recreation Ground | |||
| 18.09.26 | Solihull Moors | 19:45 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 26.09.26 | Kidderminster Harriers | 15:00 | A | NL | Aggborough | |||
| 29.09.26 | Worthing | 19:45 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| October | ||||||||
| 03.10.26 | Boston Utd | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 10.10.26 | Wealdstone | 15:00 | A | NL | Grosvenor Vale | |||
| 17.10.26 | FA4QR | |||||||
| 24.10.26 | Altrincham | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 27.10.26 | Hornchurch | 19:45 | A | NL | Hornchurch Stadium | |||
| 31.10.26 | FC Halifax Town | 12:30 | A | NL | The Shay Stadium | |||
| November | ||||||||
| 14.11.26 | Boreham Wood | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 21.11.26 | Forest Green Rovers | 17:30 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 24.11.26 | Eastleigh | 19:45 | A | NL | Silverlake Stadium | |||
| 28.11.26 | Harrogate Town | 15:00 | A | NL | Wetherby Road | |||
| December | ||||||||
| 05.12.26 | Hartlepool United | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 09.12.26 | Wealdstone | 19:45 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 12.12.26 | FATR3 | |||||||
| 19.12.26 | Boston United | 12:30 | A | NL | Boston Community Stadium | |||
| 26.12.26 | Sutton United | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 28.12.26 | Woking | 15:00 | A | NL | Kingfield Stadium | |||
| January | ||||||||
| 02.01.27 | Altrincham | 15:00 | A | NL | Moss Lane | |||
| 09.01.27 | Hornchurch | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 16.01.27 | FATR4 | |||||||
| 23.01.27 | Carlisle United | 15:00 | A | NL | Brunton Park | |||
| 26.01.27 | Eastleigh | 19:45 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 30.01.27 | Scunthorpe United | 12:30 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| February | ||||||||
| 06.02.27 | Forest Green Rovers | 15:00 | A | NL | New Lawn | |||
| 13.02.27 | Kidderminster Harriers | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 17.02.27 | Worthing | 19:45 | A | NL | Woodside Road | |||
| 20.02.27 | Solihull Moors | 15:00 | A | NL | Damson Park | |||
| 23.02.27 | Aldershot | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 27.02.27 | Gateshead | 15:00 | A | NL | Gateshead International Stadium | |||
| March | ||||||||
| 06.03.27 | Barrow | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 09.03.27 | Tamworth | 19:45 | A | NL | The Lamb Ground | |||
| 13.03.27 | Southend United | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 20.03.27 | AFC Fylde | 12:30 | A | NL | Mill Farm | |||
| 26.03.27 | Woking | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 29.03.27 | Sutton United | 15:00 | A | NL | Gander Green Lane | |||
| April | ||||||||
| 03.04.27 | FC Halifax Town | 15:00 | H | NL | Huish Park | |||
| 10.04.27 | Boreham Wood | 15:00 | A | NL | Meadow Park | |||
| 17.04.27 | Hartlepool United | 15:00 | A | NL | Victoria Park | |||
| 24.04.27 | Harrogate Town | 12:30 | H | NL | Huish Park |
Yeovil Town have announced the signing of Southend United striker Slavi Spasov on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
The Bulgarian forward scored against the Glovers in the November meeting at Huish Park last season contributing towards his nine league goals in 31 appearances last season.
The 24-year-old spoke to the club’s official social media on Thursday having joined his new team-mates for a training session where preparations for this weekend’s opening pre-season friendly at Melksham Town were underway.
He said: “I am buzzing to get started. I do not think there is any player in the world that likes the first week of pre-season training, it is mostly running but once the (friendly) games kick in and you start getting that match fitness back up it is exciting times. Hopefully I can score a few early on and get my confidence up.
“I probably had a slower start (at Southend last season) but when I did take my opportunity and scored some important goals, but I felt like I should have played more. It was a really good season with winning the FA Trophy at Wembley, that was a memorable day.”
The Bulgarian-born forward began his career in the academy at Oxford United before dropping in to non-League football initially with Hungerford Town before spending a season-and-a-half at Slough Town in National League South, scoring 21 goals in 62 appearances. One game Spasov did not notch in for Slough was in March 2024 when he appeared as a late substitute in a goalless draw against the Glovers.
His form that season earned him a move back to full-time football with Southend where he was often used coming off the substitutes’ bench. He missed out on some of Southend’s end of season run in games not appearing in their play-off game or in either of their FA Trophy semi or final clashes.
The new boy added: “Dropping down to non-League was a bit of an eye-opener being part-time, I enjoyed my time at Slough a lot and got my move back to full-time (at Southend) last year which is what I wanted from the day I dropped in to non-League. But I feel like that this move to Yeovil has come at the right time and I can keep progressing.
Spasov becomes the Glovers 13th new signing of a busy summer in the transfer market for manager Billy Rowley who is expected to field a number of the new faces against Melksham Town on Saturday. The Southern League Division One South side play three tiers below the Glovers and finished 18th out of 22 teams in the 2025/26 season.
Добре дошли! Yeovil, Slavi!
Yeovil Town have added an extra pre-season game to their schedule with League Two side Newport County coming to Huish Park on Saturday 1st August.
The game will kick off at 3pm and will see the return of Chris Todd who is currently in charge of the EFL side after the departure of Christian Fuchs earlier in the summer.
They will be the second League first team opposition with a behind closed doors game against Wycombe also scheduled along side the Under 21s of Cardiff and local non-league sides.
Yeovil Town announced their squad numbers for the 2026/27 season.
Given the huge amount of player turnover, there’s little in the way of headline news, but Dan Ellison has moved from 15 to 35 with defender Joe Gubbins wearing the number he also wore at Southend.
It’s the same for Zain Westbrooke who was number 25 at Scunthorpe before heading to Somerset.
