Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 283)

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It’s that time of year where we all scratch our heads, go cross-eyed looking at a bunch of numbers and try to figure out what the fairly limited set of accounts for Yeovil Football & Athletic Club, the trading business of Yeovil Town F.C., actually mean.

The financial statements for the year ending June 30 2022 were published on Companies House on Friday (what do you mean you missed them?!) along with those of Yeovil Town Holdings Limited, the company which holds the exclusive buy-back rights to land at and surrounding Huish Park.

The obvious big change from previous accounts for both companies is the name they are filed under, chairman and owner Martin Hellier rather than……..that other guy – you know the one.

The other thing to say up front is these are historical and cover a period exactly a year ago, therefore they don’t necessarily the financial health of the club today. However, some interesting things did happen in that same period, notably the sale of Huish Park and surrounding land to South Somerset District Council (SSDC).

So what’s worth knowing from these accounts? Well, according to what we can see:

  • The amount SSDC paid for Huish Park was £1.71m – or to be exact £1,719,226.
  • The amount which the club has to pay SSDC each year to continue to operate at Huish Park is £195,000 – thanks very much…..the other guy.
    The statement says: “During the year the company sold its freehold and buildings. On the same day the company entered in to a leaseback arrangement with an annual rental charge of £195,000 per annum, with a rent free period for the first year.“
  • The buy-back option on the land and buildings from SSDC runs until 17th May 2026.
    The statement says: “The company has retained the option to repurchase the land and buildings from the existing owners, with that option lapsing on 17th May 2026.“
  • In the period ending June 30th 2022, the club owed Sport England just over £1m (£1,014,484 to be precise) for the loan it took out to overcome the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has 20 years to pay this back.
    The statement says: “…. £1,014,484 represents a loan issued by the English Sports Council which is repayable over a 20-year term and is secured by way of a floating charge over all assets of the company.”

As with most football clubs, not least those operating at non-League level, YF&AC is technically an insolvent company, but – as football finance expert Kieran Maguire has told us on previous editions of the Gloverscast – that is not a huge issue as long as the owner has the money to pay suppliers.

The accounts of YTFC Holdings tell even less of a story. Again filed by Hellier, they basically show the land held by the company – everything on the Huish Park footprint except the stadium itself – was sold during the period covered by the accounts, the year up until June 30th 2022.

Apart from that it is basically an empty company aside from some debt owed YF&AC, which it owns.

One other interesting nugget which watchers of Companies House records may have spotted is the discontinuation of a strike-off of Max Mae Limited, a company which describes the nature of its business as “development of building projects.”

This company has its registered office at Huish Park and has two directors, one is Jed McCrory, the businessman and owner of Stratford Town, and the other is……that other guy whose name we don’t mention. You know the one, he used to own Yeovil Town before Hellier.

At end of May, its Companies House records showed that a notice had been served against it for a compulsory strike-off due to not filing its accounts on time. But, on Thursday of this week it filed “accounts for a dormant company” meaning the strike-off has been lifted and it continues to trade.

What does that mean? Probably very little, but we’ll keep an eye on it.

For those that are interested, the full account document can be read below.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://gloverscast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/YTFAC-Accounts.pdf” title=”YTFAC Accounts”]

 

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Yeovil Town have announced the departure of Zanda Siziba to National League side York City after the mutual termination of his contract.

Arriving in March, under the Matt Uggla “Stewardship”, Siziba went on to make six appearances for the Glovers scoring one goal.

The former Ipswich Town player will once again join up with Uggla at The Minstermen, after the businessman acquired a majority shareholding in the Yorkshire side.

 

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Yeovil Town have confirmed that lead Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Wickens has moved on from the club.

The club have confirmed that Wickens has been given an opportunity in the EFL.

Wickens joined the club in the summer of 2021 and even had a one-match stint as assistant manager to Josh Staunton, the 1-0 away win at Altrincham on the final day of a tumultuous 2021-22 season, whilst also helping out the Under-18s set-up alongside Matt Percival.

We’d like to say thanks to Scott for joining us on the Gloverscast a year ago to talk about the pleasures (and pains) of managing a pre-season and we wish him well in his new role.

You can listen to that episode HERE should you so wish.

 

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Dorchester Town have put tickets on sale for the Glovers’ pre-season friendly game on Tuesday, 18 July.

The game kicks off at 19:45 at the Avenue Stadium.

Adults are £6, concessions are £4 with children at either £2 or £1 depending on age.

Tickets can be purchased via this link… HERE

Direction details can be found… HERE

A Reminder of the Full YTFC Pre-Season Schedule

11.07.26Melksham Town (A)Friendly15:00
14.07.26Merthyr Town (A)Friendly19:30
18.07.26Cardiff City U21s (H)Friendly15:00
25.07.26Wycombe WanderersFriendlyBCD
28.07.26Farnham Town (A)Friendly19:45

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Yeovil Town have announced the signing of National League South opponents Taunton Town defender Jake Wannell for an undisclosed fee.

Described by Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper as an “a big, uncompromising central defender“, he has plenty of experience from spells at Exeter City, Poole Town, Chippenham Town, Eastleigh and he was also at W*ymouth for a few seasons… but we’ll ignore that last one.

Wannell played at Huish Park in the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup last November, but was injured when the two sides clashed over two matches in the FA Cup last season. involved when the sides clashed in the FA Cup.

This deal represents his first crack at full-time, senior professional football at 28 years old, he told ytfc.net he was excited to get going.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, he confirmed that Cooper had been chasing him since the season came to an end last month.

Wannell said: “He’s been ringing me for 3-4 weeks now and he expressed the project he wants me to do and it suits me down to the ground.

“It is a great a set up with big stands and a lovely pitch, obviously I came here last year with the Taunton boys (in the FA Cup – let’s gloss over that, eh Jake?) and it was a tasty affair. I was injured at the time, so I am looking forward to getting going here.

“I like to think I am technical with a nice left foot, a big, strong centre half like you get in non-League football, but when Mark said he wanted to get the ball down and play, that suits me down to the ground.”

The defender was part of a Taunton team which kept 19 clean sheets last season (again, let’s not think about two of those!) last season and, whilst he was keen to praise Peacocks’ keeper Jack Bycroft for his role in that, he is looking forward to reuniting with Glovers’ keeper Will Buse.

The pair played together when Buse was on loan at Wordsworth Drive and won the Southern League Premier Division South in 2021-22.

Wannell said: “A defender’s bread and butter is clean sheets and to keep 19 in our first season in National League South was pretty remarkable, we did have a great keeper at the time, I need to take my hat off to him.

“I have some good memories with Busey after winning the Southern Prem with him. He was fantastic for (Taunton) and I look forward to working with him again.”

Welcome to Huish Park, Jake!

(cover pic C/O @TauntonTownFC/@gould_debbie on Twitter)

 

 

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Yeovil Town have announced the signing of former Tiverton Town goalkeeper Lewis Williams.

An Ilminster-born player, the 24-year-old signs on to work alongside Will Buse and former Tiverton goalkeeper coach Phil Osborn.

Having started out in Exeter City’s academy, he went on to played 123 times for Tiverton in the Southern League Premier South before departing at the end of last season with the club announcing that he was departing to “go travelling” – we’re assuming Huish Park was always his end destination!

Speaking to the Glovers’ YouTube channel, the keeper said that signing for the club he watched as a youngster was a dream come true for him.

He said: “It is every kid’s dream, so I am absolutely over the moon and I am glad it’s happened to me!

“I was full time when I was at Exeter and ended up stepping away from a full-time environment, so I am excited to get back in to it and get a better feel for it, being older and a bit more wiser.

“Being at Tiverton really developed me as a player, I made about 130 appearances (almost Lewis!) for them so that has obviously helped massively.”

Williams is looking forward to working with Osborn, who he was together with at Tivvy, at the end of the 2021-22 season before he moved away and Phil arrived at Huish Park last summer.

On the ‘keeper coach, he added: “Phil has helped me massively. I was only with him for a couple of months before you guys snatched him away but Phil is unbelievable and everyone knows what he is like here.

“He was only there a month or two and my performances shot up, so I am really excited to get in to full-time football with him. I really could not be in a better place.”

Speaking to ytfc.net, manager Mark Cooper added: “I’m really pleased to welcome Lewis to the club. He’s worked with Phil, our goalkeeping coach before, and is ready for the step up into a full-time environment.

“He fits the profile of local, hungry players who are desperate to succeed for this football club. He bolsters our goalkeeping department and I look forward to working with him.”

Welcome to Yeovil, Lewis, may your sheets forever be clean.

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Defender Jamie Reckord has left Yeovil Town following the “mutual termination of his contract“, the club has confirmed.

The 31-year-old, who was brought to the club by Chris Hargreaves last summer following his release by Boreham Wood, made 37 appearances for the club as they were relegated to National League South last season.

In a statement, the club added: “All at Yeovil Town would like to wish Jamie all the best for his future endeavours.”

The left back made a bright start to his career in Somerset scoring on his National League debut in the 2-1 defeat at Scunthorpe United on the opening day of last season.

He went on to score two more, including the winner in the 1-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge at Huish Park in late August, in the opening five games, making him the club’s top scorer for a long period.

He scored once more in the 2-1 defeat at Barnet in mid-March, taking his season total to four for the campaign – putting him third behind strikers Alex Fisher and Malachi Linton, who only managed one more all season.

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Yeovil Town have announced the management staff of the remodelled youth setup now known as the ‘Performance Centre’.

Jamie Phillip will be the Chief Executive of the newly founded Performance Centre, bringing with him a wealth of experience. Phillip is currently the first team manager of Cardiff City LFC, who won the FA National League Division One South West last season, which saw him earn the Manager of the year.

Overseeing the coaching standards within the green and whites youth system is the returning Mark Challen. Previously the Under 18’s head coach at Yeovil, the 38-year old had a successful nine years at Yeovil where he brought through the likes of Toby Stephens, Ollie Haste and Alfie Lloyd, before departing in 2021. Part of Challen’s role will be to create an inclusive coaching enviroment that will enhance player development.

Bob Thomas will see his role change from Football Development Officer with what was the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust, to Head of Development Phases. With more than 15 years working for the Glovers, Thomas’ knowledge of the club and its values will prove critical for the clubs youth sytsem going forward.

Ben Jones also joins the Performance Centre as the Head of Foundation Phases. Jones’ experience within youth setups will prove invaluable as he was previously head of the South Somerset Regional Talent Centre, based in Bridgwater. The Head of Foundation Phase role will see Jones give his support to players, coaches and parents at age group level.

Roy O’Brien has been appointed the Player Liason officer for the Performnce Centre,the Irishman will be a wlecome additon to the new setup. Having played over 90 games for club, as well as working for the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust, the 48-year old not only brings with him a wealth of experience but a sense of what it means to play for the Glovers, which he can pass onto potential first team talent. O’Briens role will see him be the connection between players, staff and parents alongside dealing with disciplinary cases.

O’Brien playing for Yeovil

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On today’s Gloverscast, Ian and Dave welcome Jake Gallagher back to the podcast to talk tactics after some of his recent twitter threads. We talk about team shape, recruitment so far, what else we need to do and all with some stats behind it. Thanks to Jake for coming on with research behind him. Enjoy!

We talk about formations in this one and Jake has provided us with some graphics bring the words to life.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.

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Commercial director Mark Robinson has said there is “massive news” coming about news sponsors for Yeovil Town.

But probably the biggest reveal from the interview published on the club’s social media was the presence of a marquee located behind the Thatcher’s Stand at Huish Park.

The structure had previously been left to rot alongside the 3G pitch outside the stadium despite the club securing planning permission to move it to the south-west corner of the stadium in December 2022.

Now it appears that has happened in line with a promise revealed by new owner and chairman Martin Hellier on his appearance on the Gloverscast to create a fan zone area in that location.

In his interview, Robinson confirmed rural internet specialists Jurassic Fibre would be continuing as the club’s main kit sponsor as part of a three-year deal signed two years ago.

He added: “We have got massive news coming out soon with the new kit launches, we have got sponsors for the kits, Jurassic Fibre are continuing with us as part of their three-year deal.

“But there will be some new faces in there which we are excited to announce in the coming weeks.

“Then after the kit we look at the stadium itself, every stand will have a sponsor’s name on it, which plays homage to where we are now as an organisation and the enthusiasm (of sponsors) to be part of it.

“Then, from the stands we filter down to the (pitchside advertising) boards, which will be the next key component to look at selling. We are still in June and I only have five (boards) at high level and six at low level still to sell.

“Having come to Yeovil Town pre-COVID, experienced a tough time through COVID, performances not clicking on the pitch, it has been a tough sell for the last three years.

“But this summer has been unreal and to be in this position, it is exciting and it gives me great pride for what we have achieved.

“Martin (Hellier) has come on board with a team and is making (the club) a fresh hub for business and a fresh hub for the town to be excited about in the coming weeks.”

Robinson also revealed there had been investment in the hospitality areas on the upper level of the Main Stand at Huish Park which would improve the matchday experience.

He said: “I felt the product we delivered last year was exquisite for our level, and we have made some investments upstairs in the restaurants and the bars for the matchday experience to improve.

“So anyone who wants to return, I would advise them to look at the matchday hospitality we have got and have a great day out at Huish Park. It is what we have been waiting years to do, so just come and enjoy it.”

The Huish Park marquee peeking out in the south-west corner of the site behind commercial director Mark Robinson.

The commercial director was one of two people who the owner announced in May would be becoming directors of the club. Rhys Rosser, Hellier’s barrister who played a key role in securing his ownership of the club, was formally appointed on the board when he was registered as a director of the club’s trading business, Yeovil Football & Athletic Club Limited, on Companies House earlier this month.

However, although he is now referred to as “commercial director”, as opposed to “commercial manager”, there has been no details given about when Robinson will follow suit and there was no reference made to it in the interview.

Asked about the mood among the club’s staff was excited and said this had filtered through to businesses visiting to discuss sponsorship packages.

He added: “I have had sponsors come in who I was talking to at the end of last season and they have highlighted to me there is a buzz and a spring in the staff’s tails when they are walking through the office.

“Everybody throughout the club is full of excitement and passion to make it asuccess and put the club back (where it belongs). I keep pinching myself regularly to remind myself that, despite all this excitement and enthusiasm, we did get relegated last year which was difficult not only for the players but for all the staff.

“It is not what we wanted to achieve but to have this enthusiasm it feels like we have won the league and I hope we can build on the momentum.”