There’s been a conscious uncoupling between the club and the community sports trust, the lads are back in training as we’re getting fixture lists and a new kit this week!
Short and sweet, just like Ben.
Yeovil Town has issued a public response in the increasingly bitter war of words which has seen them split away from the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust.
On Thursday, the Trust issued a lengthy statement revealing they had been asked to stop using the club’s name and branding in any communications, effectively cutting ties between the two organisations. Read more about that – here.
A further development made later on Friday is that Yeovil Town Women will also come under the club having previously operated under the Trust, led by CEO Jamie Phillip, who previously coached Cardiff City Ladies.
In the first update on Friday, the club responded to a number of claims by the Trust that the club’s owners Prabhu and Bhavna Srinivasan had “chosen a path of division” with the Trust, the club has claimed that “a shared way forward” could not be agreed between the two parties.
In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, the club said: “The club and the Trust had worked together under a formal service agreement, one the club was willing to continue to honour.
“When a shared way forward could not be agreed, we concluded that the club’s community work and effort are now best delivered directly by the club to honour the Yeovil Town brand ethos.
“That formal relationship will therefore come to a close, and we thank everyone who contributed to the Trust’s work over the years and wish them well.”
The split follows the establishment of a partnership with Yeovil College to set up “an elite player pathway” which will see the college, led by manager Roy O’Brien, run the Glovers’ under-19s side, which previously came under the Trust.
The Trust accused the club of “undermining it” by establishing the programme with the college which “directly competes with the programme the Trust has been successfully running for the last two years.” It adds: “These negotiations and subsequent agreements have been ongoing without informing or consulting the Trust in advance.”
The Trust has said it will continue to operate without the Yeovil Town name, and the split had doubt around where Yeovil Town Women would fit in the new structure. That was until Friday evening when the club issued another statement saying confirming the team had “returned to the ownership of the football club.”
The women’s team won South West Regional Division One South and will play in the fifth tier of the women’s game next season.
The club’s statement added: “With a proud history and a successful women’s side in previous years, we are committed to building on that legacy and continuing the journey back to where this team belongs. Bringing the women’s team back under the club’s ownership marks an important step in strengthening the connection between every part of Yeovil Town Football Club and creating a clear pathway for the future.”
Following the demise of Yeovil Town Ladies, who competed in the top flight of women’s football, in 2021, the women’s set up reformed in 2023 as Yeovil Town Women and have competed in the Somerset County Women’s league for the 2023/2024 season.
With that part clarified, the big outstanding question remains the future of the community activities, including summer soccer schools, undertaken by the Trust using the Yeovil Town name.
In its first statement on Friday, the club said: “We will share more about our community plans in the coming weeks.”
Overall, neither the club or the Trust has come out of this situation looking good and the public exchange of statements and social media posts has caused a seemingly unnecessary swirl of confusion.
It is the hope of us at the Gloverscast that this can be the end of this undignified behaviour on both sides and both the club and the Trust can get on with doing what they both claim is their main focus – supporting the football-loving public of Somerset.
The Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust has announced that it has officially split from the club and will no longer operate using the Yeovil Town name.
In a lengthy statement posted on Thursday, the Trust – which is now going under ‘Community Sports Trust’ – said it had been told to “remove the club’s badge and branding” from all communications and told the club “no longer wish to continue a formal relationship.”
It follows intensive promotion by the club of a new “elite football and education pathway” now being run between the club and Yeovil College which will oversee the Under-19s team, previously managed by the Trust.
The Trust has accused the club of “undermining it” by establishing the programme with the college which “directly compete with the programme the Trust has been successfully running for the last two years.” It adds: “These negotiations and subsequent agreements have been ongoing without informing or consulting the Trust in advance.”
It should be noted at this point that the club has been responding to questions on its Facebook page where it has said the Trust was kept informed about the situation. The Gloverscast has approached the club for a response and assured that something will be issued soon.
The Trust added: “The club knew the Trust had 12 learners going forward into a second year and had recruited a further 28 learners to start their first year in September. The club is now actively trying to divert these learners to the college which is unprincipled and fails to appreciate that many participants do not want to attend a college to undertake a BTEC course.”
The split throws in to question the future of community soccer schools and the fate of the Yeovil Town Women, which operated under the Trust last season. The Trust has said it continue to operate without the club name adding that the decision “provides clarity for the future of our organisation.”
It adds: “All the Trustees have a long-standing relationship with the club and the local community and they are determined the Trust will move forward with renewed purpose and vigour we regard this division between the club and the Trust to be temporary. We will reunite.”
On 2nd July, trustees listed on the Trust’s website include current club Executive Chairman Stuart Robins, former Chief Executive Officer Martyn Starnes, who is Chairman of Trustees, ex-Glovers’ captain Josh Staunton, former player and club Commercial Manager Dave Linney, Chris Roberts and Marilyn Cottle. However, the only people listed as directors of Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust Ltd on Companies House on 2nd July are Stuart Robins, Martyn Starnes, Dave Linney and Johanna Harris, a teacher at Buckler’s Mead Academy.
The Trust’s statement added: “We have always believed that football should unite communities. It is incomprehensible that the current owners are choosing a path of division between the club and the Trust, particularly as ‘community’ has been promoted as one of the club’s core values.”
Announcing the establishment of its new relationship with Yeovil College, which saw former defender Roy O’Brien appointed as manager of the Under-19s, director Bhavna Vohra said: “Giving young people a real route into careers through sport has been a passion of ours from the start, and in Yeovil College we have found a partner who shares that vision completely.”
However, the cracks between the club and the Trust were immediately clear with Trust posted on its social media channels: “We are disappointed to find out from social media about a new partnership between the football club and the college..” before going on to discuss its own Elite Performance Programme.
We spoke about this very public falling out on the latest edition of the Gloverscast podcast and called for clarity from the club about its future relationship with the Trust and the future position of the women’s team.
This latest unedifying chapter in the feud now means there is a question mark about the future of the young people enrolled on the Trust’s scheme, involved in its Junior Premier League sides and the future of community soccer schools. These appear destined to continue with the Trust, but without the club’s name attached or at any venue linked to it.
For the sake of these people alone, a swift clarification from the club is needed.
Another week, two new signings, one outgoing captain, a new league football, a new role for the Exec Chairman, a returning title winner for the U19s and some Academy shenanigans…
Plenty for Ben, Dave and Ollie Marsh to ponder this week.
Yeovil Town have signed off another busy week of transfer activity with the addition of defender Loick Ayina on a season-long loan from Salford City.
The 23-year-old becomes the Glovers’ 12th signing of the summer – and the first loan arrival with the previous 11 joining on permanent deals – and is the sixth new boy with defensive qualities. Reports suggest Ayina is a right-sided centre back whose career with experience of playing in a back three.
The other arrivals were Joe Gubbins (left-sided centre back), Jack Kingdon (centre back), Archie Davies (right back), Jordan Norville-Williams (left back) and Hayden Muller, who has played in defence and midfield at Sutton United. Given the exits of Kyle Ferguson, Finn Cousin-Dawson, Alex Whittle and the more recent departure of former captain Jake Wannell, our defence will have a new look next season.
Having joined Salford last summer after his Huddersfield contract expired, the young defender made just three appearances off the bench in League Two – including getting substituted on and off again in an opening day debut which lasted just 27 minutes.
Born in the Republic of Congo, Ayina was raised in Paris, France and came through the youth set-ups at a number of clubs before being brought to England by Huddersfield Town in 2019, signing professionally with them in 2020. The then 18-year-old had his first taste of professional football came in National League North in October 2021, picking up two Man of the Match awards in his four appearances, before returning to Huddersfield where he made his first-team debut in an FA Cup tie at Preston North End in January 2023.
Shortly after he began the first of two loan spells in the Scottish Premiership at Dundee United, making 13 appearances, before being sent up to Ross County in January 2024, starting 11 times. His loan spells north of the border gave Ayina experiences of big match atmospheres, twice starting against Rangers at Ibrox and an appearance at Celtic Park, picking up more than 2,000 minutes (roughly 25 matches) of experience.
Having signed for Salford last summer, he struggled for first-team minutes and played less than half-an-hour in League Two as his new employers recruited heavily in defence on their way to the division’s play-off final. Much of his game time last season came in the development teams at Moor Lane (if you were wondering where that odd social media tease came from!) and the departure of Karl Robinson as manager builds an unsettled picture.
One assumes he’s arrived at Huish Park on a ‘go and get games’ mission, and reports suggest he will bring speed, athleticism and right-sided central defensive cover.
Welcome to Somerset, Loick!
Former Yeovil Town defender Roy O’Brien has been named the Under-19s manager for the upcoming season.
Part of the Glovers’ side who won the FA Trophy in 2002, the National League title a year later and the League Two success in 2005, O’Brien is well known and well thought of at Huish Park and steps into the role ahead of the 2025/26 season.
The Under-19s finished third in Group E of the National League Under 19s Alliance League last season, two places but 16 points behind league winners Dorchester Town.
The appointment follows the announcement of an “elite football and education pathway” between the club and Yeovil College. In simple terms that is an academy for 16-18 year olds which means that players will study a Level 3 BTEC in Sport Coaching & Development (the equivalent of A Levels) at Yeovil College and train several times a week with coaches from the college and the club at Huish Park. Those players will also represent the clubs Under-19s in the Alliance Under-19s league and potentially the FA Youth Cup.
Announcing the partnership, Bhavna Vohra, director and co-owner, said: “Giving young people a real route into careers through sport has been a passion of ours from the start, and in Yeovil College we have found a partner who shares that vision completely. Their team has been outstanding to work with, and together, as two of the town’s cornerstone organisations, we are building a genuinely professional environment where the next generation can thrive. What we are creating goes well beyond playing football. It is about preparing young people for real careers right across the sport, whether they want to step onto the pitch, coach, analyse or manage. This is something we care deeply about, and we believe Yeovil’s young people deserve nothing less.”
The appointment of O’Brien as Under-19s manager makes sense in light of the partnership. The 51-year-old was appointed the college’s Head of Performance Football in late 2024 and this week’s statement said he would be joined by Lewis Winter, a former Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust coach who now works for the college.
Quite what this means for the position of Jamie Phillip, who coached the Under-19s last season, is less clear. He is still listed as the only member of ‘Senior Management’ in his Chief Executive Officer role on the website of Community Sports Trust, which appeared surprised by the announcement of the new partnership with the College on Tuesday. The Trust posted on its social media channels: “We are disappointed to find out from social media about a new partnership between the football club and the college..” before going on to discuss its own Elite Performance Programme.
Cue a post on the YTFC Academy social media pointing to the application form for the course it is offering with the college which read: “This course is the club’s own and only club endorsed pathway giving participants the chance to represent Yeovil Town FC U19s.” Go figure as to what that all means – except that the academy set up now appears to be a club-college initiative.
Roy was a Gloverspast Episode guest in August, 2023 You can CLICK HERE and listen to the episode.
Dagenham & Redbridge attacking midfielder Joe Haigh has become the eleventh signing of Yeovil Town’s summer after being announced on a two-year contract.
The 23-year-old was named the Daggers’ Player of the Season after an impressive campaign in National League South last season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists, and attracted attention from other National League Premier Division clubs this summer.
He turned down a new deal at the Essex club after his one-year deal expired this month, but the Glovers are likely to have to pay compensation due to the player being under 24 years old.
A product of the Chelsea academy, Haigh represented England at both Under-15s and Under-16s level before joining Aldershot Town and then moving to Step 4 side South Park in the Isthmian League South Central Division.
He impressed there and joined Farnborough in March 2024 and scored ten goals in the 2024/25 season before moving to Dagenham where his form continued last season.
Yeovil Town’s Executive Chairman, Stuart Robins has joined the National League Board of Directors.
Robins will serve a three-year term on the board which consists of representatives from all three National League divisions.
The move was confirmed at the League’s AGM at Celtic Manor.
In a statement the league said;
“Board members serve a standard three-year term, though their places are confirmed on a seasonal basis: because promotion and relegation move clubs between divisions each year, a member’s term can sometimes be cut short.
The National League Board is elected to serve its member clubs and, above all, the supporters who are at the heart of the game. Club representation on the Board is drawn from across the competition, with two members connected to the National League North, two to the National League South and six to the National League – a structure designed to ensure fair representation and diversity of voice across all three divisions.
The full list of club representatives on the National League Board for the season ahead is as follows:
National League
Tim Murphy (Solihull Moors)
Tom Lawrence (Southend United)
Mike Coulson (Gateshead)
Martin Copus (Sutton United)
Mark Hammond (Hornchurch)
Stuart Robins (Yeovil Town)
National League North
David Johnston (Darlington)
Joanie Roberts (Hereford)
National League South
Simon Gardener (Farnborough)
Ben Hudson (Hampton & Richmond Borough)”
Yeovil Town have been represented on the National League Board before, but we can’t tell you about the most recent occasion without mentioning the name of He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned.
Good luck to Stuart and here’s to a successful National League.
Yeovil Town have confirmed that they will not be taking part in the National League Cup competition for the 2026/27 season.
The Glovers have not taken part in any of the National League Cup campaigns as yet, with Leeds United U21s and Boreham Wood winning the first two editions.
Yeovil have said that ‘ambitious objectives’ in the League, FA Cup and FA Trophy competitions means that priorities remain elsewhere.
