Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 288)

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Yeovil Town striker Malachi Linton says this weekend’s trip to fellow strugglers York City is “the perfect time” for the side to bounce back from consecutive defeats.

The Glovers lie just one position and two goals on goal difference off the National League relegation places following a 4-1 home defeat to leaders Notts County last Saturday followed by a disappointing 2-0 loss at Maidenhead United.

Linton played almost an hour in the reverse last weekend and came off the bench as a 72nd minute substitute for Lawson D’Ath in midweek.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins ahead of the weekend, the frontman said: “It’s the perfect time to bounce back. If we go there and win we pick up some momentum, we are off the back of two defeats so we don’t want to get too down.

The good thing is there’s days, not a full week until the next game, so we gave to go there and do a job. There’s lots goes on behind the scene but the games are where it matters and that is what we are paid to do and come a game day, you want as many games as you can.”

The former Wycombe Wanderers player, who has four goals to his name this season, admitted his team-mates were “disappointed” with their performance against Maidenhead following on from an improved performance against in-form Notts County, who scored twice in the dying minutes at Huish Park.

Linton said: “Notts County was a very different test, Maidenhead bring you in to the game they want to play and they are very good at doing that and maybe we got caught up on that.

“We have to stick to our game plan, play how we want to play and not be too concerned about the opposition. When you look at a game like (Maidenhead) it is a must win.”

Speaking on Thursday, manager Mark Cooper admitted that the off-the-field situation at Huish Park, with speculation about a takeover of the club continuing to rumble on, was having an impact on the players.

Asked about the situation, Linton said: “All we can control is what is going on on the pitch, we hear different things and whispers about x, y and z but until something is done and dusted we can’t do anything about that.

“We do not want to use that as an excuse at all, there are other things that don’t maybe go in our favour, but we can only concentrate on the things we can control.”

 

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Mark Cooper has played down the significance of Yeovil Town’s trip to York City as his side go looking for only their second away win of the season this weekend.

The Glovers made the long trip knowing that only two goals on goal difference separates them from the National League drop zone, but travel to a York City which have lost five and drawn one of their last six league matches.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins before the game, Cooper said: “I think it’s important we make it just another game. I just want us to go and put a performance in really.

“You see teams around the bottom win a couple of games and then go and lose four or five and it’s that lack of consistency as to why you are down at the bottom.

“We have been quite consistent but we have not won enough games so that will carry on for the remainder of the season. We just have to stay true, consistent and keep fighting and I think we will be alright.”

Don’t miss our chat with York City fan Tim Mercer on the latest edition of the podcast – “The last time I was on I cried” – click here.

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Yeovil Town director Stuart Robins has said he believes the club is “getting close” to a deal which would see an unnamed party take over as majority shareholder at Huish Park.

Talking on BBC Somerset’s Claire Carter on Friday morning ahead of tomorrow’s relegation clash with York City, he said talks between an unnamed party which signed an “exclusivity agreement” and  chairman Scott Priestnall to take a majority shareholding in the club were taking “a lot longer” than either party would want.

Asked if a deal was imminent, he said: “It will be done when it’s done, these things have to be done properly and they are. My sense is we are getting close and we are hopeful.

“There is a lot of goodwill on both sides to get this completed as quickly as possible, it has accelerated just recently and all parties are nose down to get this completed and there is an awful lot of goodwill on both sides.”

Asked why Priestnall was not speaking to supporters about the discussions, he added: “There is an awful lot of energy expended when you are going through some form of acquisition and that includes the Chairman. It’s his transaction and he’s got a lot of work to do and it’s not easy.

“I am heavily involved in a lot of that as well, there is a lot of due diligence to go through, and it’s taking a lot longer than any of us would like, but it is complex it’s not one of those things that can be done in the work of the moment. (Scott) is heavily involved in that.”

The last statement – see our article here – was made on New Year’s Eve when Priestnall confirmed the agreement with an unnamed party which would see them take the Chairman’s majority shareholding in the club. Robins holds a 20% stake in the club with the Chairman understood to hold a further 72%, the remaining shares being made of a number of smaller shareholders.

Speaking on Friday morning, Robins praised Priestnall’s decision to recommend manager Mark Cooper for the job at Huish Park following the sacking of former boss Chris Hargreaves in October.

He said: “It was Scott that recommend to me that we employ Mark and that has been an unbelievably good decision. It has helped us develop the players tremendously.

“I work with Mark on a day to day basis and I never knew him before he came to the club and it has been an unbelievably good decision and recommendation by Scott. I have the highest regard for (Mark) because he is doing an unbelievable job in difficult circumstances.

“All I want to do is make sure we do what we can to help him.”

On other matters, the director said the club had been close to appointing a new physio this week – only for the candidate it had been interviewing to pull out.

It is understood that winger Will Dawes, who has physiotherapy training, has been combining his playing role giving treatment to the first-team squad. The club has been without a physio since Kai Hepworth departed at the end of last year.

Robins added: “We were hopeful we would make an appointment this week but after a number of interviews the candidate decided he wanted to go elsewhere which was disappointing.

“It’s been very difficult, not just now but historically, to get qualified physios in to the club. Clearly we are covered on a match day, we have to be, and we are very fortunate we have some resource in the club which helps – it’s not perfect.

“We are still searching for a physio, we might have to look at an alternative which might be a little more expensive than we would like, but I understand Mark’s frustration there but we are doing everything we can.”

Asked about plans to build 250 houses around Huish Park, revealed published by documents from South Somerset District Council, Robins said that he could not comment until he sees the full plans.

However, he agreed that the loss of parking and pitches behind the away terrace at Huish Park through any developed were “quite rightly being looked at.”

He added: “It’s nothing to do with me, I am not involved in any of those developments, all I am concerned is how the football club is protected and the big issue is parking.“

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It’s been a week hasn’t it? It’s been dismal. Ian, Dave and Ben are here to make (non)sense of it all. We talk about Maidenhead, the fallout from it and what the future looks like. We’ve got York on Saturday so we speak to York City fan Tim and take your questions.

Thank you for your continued support of the Gloverscast. Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news and views from Huish Park.

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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Mark Cooper has admitted Yeovil Town is “not in a good state” as he seeks to pull them away from the National League relegation places with a six pointer at fellow strugglers York City this weekend.

The Glovers’ boss said the latest takeover saga engulfing the club could give his players “excuses” for a run of form which sees them without a win in four matches, having lost 2-0 at Maidenhead United in the week.

It is now almost two months since club chairman Scott Priestnall announced he had signed an exclusivity agreement with an unnamed party to become a majority shareholder of the club and, since then, plans to build 250 houses around Huish Park have been revealed.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins ahead of the trip to York, the boss was asked how concerned fans should be about his post-match comments in the week that the club would have folded if it had not been for director Stuart Robins and chief executive Martyn Starnes.

He said: “It was probably not my place to say, but somebody had to say it. It’s not in a good state, is it? Everybody knows that but somehow we have to galvanise a siege mentality as players and staff to get enough points to do what we need to do.

“When you put it in to context, we have had one poor game. We all understand that and we know we can be better as a group, but obviously there are things happening. We have to make sure we do not give the players excuses and they can have excuses at the minute.”

He added: “It is a difficult time because there is a protracted takeover going through and everyone wants what they can get out of it.

“Until that is done it is going to be a difficult situation, so what can we do? We have to be inventive, make the best of what we have got and with Stuart – who I wasn’t aware gets a lot of stick – but if Stuart wasn’t here then we would be snookered.

“I can say that since I have been here he and Martyn Starnes (the club’s chief executive) have been top draw and without them the club would have been long gone.”

Asked if the situation he inherited when he arrived at the end of October, he said: “Yes. I do not want to use that as an excuse because, in the circumstances, the players and the staff have done remarkably well and we have to keep that going and, knowing the players like I do, I think they will do. They need some help, we need some bodies in to freshen things up…..it’s a tough gig but I am enjoying it.

“I am like everyone else, you don’t know what is around the corner, do you? I enjoy working with the players and trying to make them better and the way they are with what is going on they just get on with it. They could have a million excuses if they wanted, but they get on with it.
I want to try and stay to help them and get them where they need to be.”

Answering speculation on whether he would leave if he was considering walking away due to the situation on and off the pitch at Huish Park, he insisted he had no plans to “jump ship“.

He said: “If you look at my record, I tend to stay where I am wanted quite a while. I stayed at Forest Green for five years which is quite unheard of on the managerial merry-go-round.

“I am not one to jump ship. If Manchester United asked me to go and be their manager I’m going tonight (!) but that’s not going to happen, is it?

“I want to stay, I want to fight and I want to make sure the club stays in the league because it would be an absolute crime if this club was not at least in the National League.”

Speaking after the defeat at Maidenhead, Cooper said he was hoping to bring additional players in before the trip to York and would be speaking to Robins and Starnes.

Asked about progress on this, he added: “We are still trying, there’s lots of things going on in the background that will decide that, but we are trying to beg steal and borrow. So let’s wait and see.”

He added that defender Chiori Johnson could return for the match, but that on loan Chesterfield play-maker Jack Clarke and central defender Max Hunt were “nowhere near returning from injury.”

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Here’s little mini round up of the Tuesday night Glovers loanee action.

BR-E couldn’t back up his MOTM debut for Scunthorpe, his side were undone by two Paul ‘”Tom Daley” Mullin goals at Wrexham.

Leamington picked up a big away point at Telford to extend their unbeaten run, Ollie Hulbert played 86 minutes in the 1-1 draw.

Truro suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Poole Town, Ollie Haste was an unused substitute.

None of Gillingham, Tiverton or Sherborne had a game on Tuesday, with their respective loanees expected to be part of the Yeovil youth squad in the National League Cup on Wednesday. 

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In a game that was more of a must-win than Dorking Wanderers earlier this season, Yeovil fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers Maidenhead United last night. Ian watched it on National League TV through his fingers and here are his conclusions.

We are in trouble. I feel like we kind of knew it, but thought Mark Cooper could see us through to the end of the season. If anyone can, it’s probably him. But once again, we failed to test the keeper enough, had to change the system at half time again and barely mustered an effort on target. This fixture was big, York is now even bigger. We’re now without a win in four, York are winless in six, you know the script right?

We had to change the set up again. After a great performance with a back four against Notts County, we switched to wingbacks again and it didn’t work. We struggled to keep possession and other than Jordan Young’s first half free kick we didn’t test the Maidenhead goalkeeper. The half time switch to a back four brought us to life for the first five minutes of the second half but Maidenhead adapted like the Borg and rendered our attacks useless.

I, Borg - Wikipedia

We’re conceding sloppy goals. Our strength this season has been our defence, but in our last five games we’ve conceded 12 goals. Quite rightly we’ve tried to get on the offensive to solve our goalscoring woes, but the result of that is we’re more vulnerable at the back. The first goal came from a pretty poor delivery into the box that an unmarked Sam Barratt was able to bundle in. The second was shambolic defending too, Ryan Law’s shanked clearance fell to Reece Smith who smashed home with no one near to block the shot.

The lack of depth is costing us. Mark Cooper said he was worried about the fixture after the energy expended against Notts County. He does not have enough players to rotate in this dreadful run. We’re asking players like Lawson D’Ath to play every game. Josh Staunton is hobbling around the pitch in pain. How long until we break Matty Worthington? We don’t have a physio to check if the players are fit enough. We need more players. We need more staff. Mark Cooper said without Martyn Starnes and Stuart Robins, “the club would have folded ages ago”. If you need help reading between the lines there, I don’t know what more there is to say.

Nothing changes until everything changes. Sorry to Coatesie for stealing his line, but here we are again. Anyone else getting flashbacks to 2019? Some people might be getting flashbacks to early ‘90s. It could be even worse. If we manage to stay up this season, and nothing changes, the direction of the club is one-way. While plans for houses surrounding Huish Park go into SSDC, the part we all actually care about is withering away. A win on Saturday will not change the trajectory of a club that won promotion to the Championship ten years ago.

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Lawson D’Ath challenged his Yeovil Town team-mates to “roll their sleeves up” as they fell deeper in to the relegation mire with a 2-0 defeat against Maidenhead United on Tuesday night.

The midfielder, who was replaced by Malachi Linton in the 72nd minute in Berkshire, admitted the performance was “not good enough” against one of their National League relegation rivals.

The Glovers travel to fellow strugglers York City on Saturday with just two goals on goal difference keeping them out of the division’s relegation places after Gateshead picked up a valuable 2-1 win to boost their fight to stay up.

D’Ath told BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins: “We know that is not good enough, it is just the basics and you only have to look at the (first) goal. If we had come in at 0-0 we would have had a better chance, but it’s not good enough.”

Manager Mark Cooper pointed to the energy the players expended in Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat to leaders Notts County in his post-match interview, but D’Ath said they could not use that as an excuse for their performance.

He added: “We have Saturday-Tuesday weeks coming up, so it is not a good enough excuse. Yes, we are tried after a tough performance both physically and mentally against Notts County but we should have come and at least got a point here and moved on to the next game.

“I still think we had chances early on in the second half, it was just a lack of quality and then we got done on the counter attack.”

Asked if his position as one of the squad’s more senior players added extra responsibility, he said: “No matter how old you are, who you are, where you have come from, we have to roll our sleeves up for this club and fight for every point.”

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his players knew their performances in the 2-0 defeat at Maidenhead United were “unacceptable” and urged everyone to “stick together.”

A goal in each half in Berkshire saw the Glovers drop to within goal difference of the National League relegation places on Tuesday night and they travel to fellow strugglers York City on Saturday desperate for a result.

He told BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins that he would be looking to bring “a spark” up front with no win in their past four games.

The boss said: “I was worried about tonight after the energy we expended (in the 4-1 home defeat to Notts County) on Saturday. If I could I would have changed five or six players, but I could not really do that.

“I don’t think we would’ve score if we had been there until tomorrow night, we were powder puff up top and the difference in the teams was their centre forwards were a handful.

“I look at myself first and I did I get the selection and the tactics right? You’d have to say ‘no’, but tonight is about desire to keep the ball out of our net and make sure we get ‘nil’ against us and see what happens – but we didn’t and we were never going to score tonight.”

He added: “Games are decided by good and bad decision making. On Saturday (against Notts County), we lost because of bad decision-making and again Maidenhead made more good decisions than we did.

“We can cry about it or we can pat Maidenhead on the back and try somehow to get a couple of players in which gives us a little bit of spark at the top of the pitch.

“You can defend all you want, but if you don’t have that spark at the top you are never going to win games.”

With the club still operating without a physiotherapist (and unused substitute Will Dawes giving treatment to his team-mates, Cooper admitted he does not have the staff to decide whether many of his squad were fit to take the field at the moment.

He said: “I am not using that as an excuse, I am just stating facts. The team we put out should have got a result, but there was not too many changes we could have made.”

Asked if he had the support of the club’s hierarchy he added: “I need to go and speak to Martyn (Starnes, Chief Executive Officer) and (director, Stuart Robins) who have been magnificent if they were not here, the club would have folded ages ago.

“So fair play to those two they have kept it going, so I am going to speak to them now and see if we can do some magic before the weekend.”

Cooper concluded: “We have to stick together. It’s difficult, they understand that tonight was not acceptable and they have to understand that and then we move on.

“Tomorrow we rest and on Thursday we start again and come up with a play and, like I say, hopefully we can bring in one or two that can hopefully help us.”