Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 324)

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As Yeovil Town slipped in to the National League relegation zone following Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at Dorking Wanderers, manager Chris Hargreaves admitted he understood supporters’ frustration and indeed shared them.

Some fans took to social media to call for the manager to be given his marching orders after just 12 matches, but here supporter Jake Gallagher sets out why he believes the boss should be given more time by the Glovers fans…..

 

Well this piece got tougher and tougher to write as I drilled down into the analysis but the title remains and so does the sentiment, it’s my belief that Chris Hargreaves should be given time at Huish Park, to at least the end of October.

The Caveat

Look I get it, ten points from 12 games is not good enough. Nor is 13 points from 12 games which is where the algorithms and statistics – I’m talking about the dreaded xG [expected goals – how many goals a team should have scored based on the quality of the chances created]– suggest Yeovil Town should be based on performances. Looking at the squad, I’d suggest something closer to 16 or 17 points would be where we want to be – sat plumb in mid-table. I don’t think anyone would complain about that.

But 10 points and 21st place is a fact that is difficult to hide from.

With a new manager and fresh promise I naively bounced into the season regularly chanting about winning the f****** Conference in 2003 and hating those b******** in claret and blue. The ‘We want Priestnall out’ songs were loud and clear too, as the overarching message from us all that the owner is not welcome at Huish Park was coupled with getting behind the team.

 

Expected Goals

That bounce I mentioned has waned into a mild bob in recent weeks as good performances have resulted in fewer points than we deserve. The xG, expected goals, suggests that Yeovil should have three more points than we currently do – and that would put us 16th.

Expected goals (xG) calculates how many goals a team should have scored based on the quality of the chances created.

Now 16th is clearly not where we want to be either but it’s not in the drop zone. So where did those extra three points wriggle away from us? In two specific games actually, both in August. The first was the loss to Barnet at home which saw them go top of the league. Our 1.78 xG compared to their 0.88 was the epitome of a smash and grab away performance and rubber stamped our lack of ruthlessness which has plagued the season. Against Barnet we should’ve had at least a point.

And the second was away at Wealdstone, who were top when we played them, and we couldn’t turn our man advantage, 15 shots and xG of 1.91(!) into the solitary goal needed for the full three points rather than one.

I’m aware these are all ifs, buts and maybes and xG doesn’t win football matches, but these statistics do have weight when analysing performances.

But it’s not just those games and missed points, it’s the timing of them. If we did manage to back up the home win against Dagenham and Redbridge with a win at a Wealdstone who were top of the league when we kicked off against them on August Bank Holiday Monday that would have been a huge step in the right direction.

Confidence would’ve been high and we’d have kicked into a very winnable home game against York City. Instead we put in our worst performance of the season and these are the fine margins that have big consequences.

Yeovil were given rough fixtures at the start of the season seeing us travel to Scunthorpe, a relegated side wanting to put last season behind them in front of their own fans, followed by hosting the overwhelming favourites for the league title in Wrexham. That tough start has continued and now 12 games into the season you’ll find that Yeovil have faced eight teams currently positioned in the top half and four in the bottom half. To hammer home this point, two of those teams in the bottom half are 13th and 14th. We’ve played a higher standard of team in the league than the average, is what I’m saying. And not only have we played teams in the top half currently, but we played them when they were flying at their highest.

Now, due to sheer fact that all teams have to play each other twice over the course of the season – not exactly breaking news I know – means we’ll be facing some sides in the bottom half and have fixtures versus Oldham (16th), Aldershot (22nd) and Maidstone (15th) in October to look forward to.

Improvements must be made though – I know that. I’m not sat here typing this on my lunch break telling you that it will all be fine once we’ve played the poorer teams in the division. The signs are clear that we’re underperforming. Yeovil Town have dropped ten points from winning positions this season, no team has dropped more in the National League. There’s a clear mental block in the squad when we go a goal up that I cannot put my finger on, and I can’t dig out a statistic to explain it. We seem stuck between pushing for the second and sitting deep into a low block to protect the lead. In reality, we do neither.

The Glovers have had the second fewest amount of penalty box touches (144) in the league and our top goal scorer is our left-wing back. It’s time to make some tactical changes.


Solutions

So how do we get out of this situation? What are some actions we could take? Well, a change in formation must be the most obvious. In pre-season, Chris Hargreaves said repeatedly that we will change formation between games and within games based on the opposition but we’re yet to see that despite a run of bad results.

Changing to a back four is one call from the fans I can get behind. The issue though is Josh Staunton. Not because he’s not a good player, he’s arguably our best, but because I think Hargreaves is terrified to take such a reliable player out of the defence. If you push Staunton into midfield you lose Staunton in defence and the option of playing him in a back four isn’t feasible. Josh is perfect for that Conor Coady-esque role in the centre of a back three but Hargreaves must now push him into midfield, shielding the defence, as opposed to leading it.

So that’s settled, a back four is needed. But what about in front of it?

As we can’t hold on to a lead and seem to fade in games, a central midfield three making us less reliable on the ball playing abilities of Lawson D’Ath would be suggested. This would also mean our ‘five-figure’ signing Will Dawes, a winger, and Charlie Wakefield, a winger, could play in their actual positions. But not just Dawes and Wakefield, Gime Toure is very suited to the wide-forward role running at defenders with the ball at his feet.

The persistence in playing the 3-4-3 or 3-4-1-2 has meant we’re not putting our best attacking players in their best positions. Playing Wakefield at wing back, as you’ve mentioned on the podcast many times, is the squarest of pegs in the roundest of holes. Just play him in a wide-forward role, preferably on the right, give him the ball and tell him to run with it. Job done. Don’t overcomplicate things.

Conclusion

Confidence is everything in sport – one good result changes everything and with some very winnable fixtures coming in October I’d suggest patience with Hargreaves and his team. One thing you have to say is the players are leaving it all out on the pitch for the club – there’s no issues in motivation or playing for the badge or the manager or whatever cliché you want to trot out.

Just changing the formation though won’t be a magic pill that results in three points against Solihull on Saturday – but showing willingness to try something new is what’s needed on the terraces. If I see three at the back on Saturday at 3:00pm, it might be the last straw that makes me join the #HargreavesOut brigade.

 

We welcome everyone’s opinion here in the Gloverscast – goodness knows, you hear enough of ours – so if you fancy putting your point across about an issue relating to Yeovil Town, drop us a line at gloverscast@gmail.com.

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It was another performance which felt like an terrible child’s drawing pinned on the Gloverscast fridge which led to a seventh stalemate with a 1-1 draw at Dorking Wanderers on Tuesday night.

The ignominy of taking a point against a side which was playing county level football when we were plying our trade in the Championship is no slight on our hosts – every credit to them for their achievements – but a real yardstick of how far we have fallen as a club.

Our own Dave was among the away support at Meadowbank and here he gives his verdict on another chapter in the story of this season which shows little sign of getting better.

 

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Thank goodness for Grant Smith. There’s no doubt that in Grant Smith we have one of the best shot stoppers in the National League. One supporter tried to convince me that he was the best ‘keeper in the division which I said was a little far fetched, but if you need someone to pull of a point blank stop or deny someone one-on-one, I’d back him over most others. Thank goodness we had him as our last line of defence at Dorking, especially in the first half when he was absolutely exceptional. Grant got plenty of shouts of praise at the final whistle and deservedly so.

We’re the definition of insanity. It’s not often I’ll get the chance to quote Albert Einstein, but he did define insanity as:
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Three days earlier I watched us look a threat (even with ten men) when we pressed forward and therefore it was a blessed relief to see us start that way and lo and behold – we took the lead through exactly the type of positive press I refer to. Marvellous, we’ve cracked it. But in what seemed like the time it took me to think this, we’d reverted to type. We were 1-0 ahead and started to invite Dorking on to us by sitting back. We seemed devoid of ideas, our forward passes were wayward, our set pieces were shocking, and it all just felt so predictable. If you went to the 1-1 draw at Eastleigh and missed the one Dorking, you saw the same performance.

Experience counts, but the quality is there. Chris Hargreaves cited the absence of experienced heads, Jamie Reckord and Ben Richards-Everton, as a major factor in the performance at Dorking. With an average age of just over 23.5 years in his starting XI, rising to just shy of 24 years once his three substitutes (including 32-year-old Alex Fisher) came on, there’s some credibility in that argument against a Dorking side with an average age of just over 30 years old. However, as the manager himself in the summer, there’s players in the squad with plenty of matches on their CVs despite their age and that makes the experience argument a difficult one to swallow. There is unquestionably quality in the squad which I still argue has less deadwood than last season’s squad. There’s players in their who can’t hide behind their birth certificates and it’s up to them to show it.

The pressure is on Chris Hargreaves. Chris Hargreaves admitted in his post-match interview that he understood supporters were “not happy” and said he felt the same. There’s a quarter of the season gone and it’s not too exaggerated to say we are staring down the barrel of a relegation scrap. To only be drawing a game which was described by his own captain as “must win” just three days previous is simply not good enough. Any hope (fantasy?) of a push to improve on last season’s performance now seems a long shot, but do the club’s hierarchy have the stomach to act to prevent what could be a walk off a cliff edge.

Yeovil Town owner and chairman Scott Priestnall in the stands at Dorking Wanderers.

Did you hear us alright Scott? Chairman and owner Scott Priestnall was in attendance at Meadowbank and at half-time he told some supporters that he could not hear any calls directed against him. If that was the case in the second half, I would suggest a hearing test, it was far from the majority of the away support, but it was a sizeable and vocal minority. He appeared unmoved by the actions, even when a small group of fans moved closer to his position in the stand. There’s questions are being asked of the Chairman about the future of a football club which has been part of the community of South Somerset for the past 127 years. As ever, we’d encourage him or anyone else at the club to answer them.

 

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Yeovil Town boss Chris Hargreaves pointed to inexperience in his team after they recorded their seventh draw of the National League season at Dorking Wanderers on Tuesday night.

The Glovers’ boss was without defenders Jamie Reckord and Ben Richards-Everton through injury for the fixture with the team taking the field at Meadowbank having an average age of just over 23.5 years old, rising to nearly 24 years after his three substitutions.

He admitted that he was “not happy” with his side’s record this season and said he is looking to bring in new players before the weekend’s home match with Solihull Moors.

Asked by BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins whether he was frustrated to see his side surrender another lead, Hargreaves said: “Sometimes there’s an element of inexperience on the pitch. We have a little bit of experience in the team, but losing Jamie Reckord and Ben Richards-Everton before the game was obviously a blow, so we had to shuffle it quickly.

“It’s not so much about relinquishing leads, its more about not scoring when we do get chances. Today we didn’t create a great deal, but when we did it was just the wrong choice of pass and maybe bad execution.

“A lot of teams concede goals and go on to win games and we just haven’t had enough potency in games.”

Yeovil Town owner and chairman Scott Priestnall in the stands at Dorking Wanderers.

Chairman Scott Priestnall was in the stands to witness the performance and Hargreaves was asked whether he had the backing to bring further reinforcements in.

He replied: “I have the support to bring in players. We are looking at bringing in players constantly and that will continue in the next couple of days.

“I hope there will be an announcement before Saturday. The players are doing everything in their powers but the squad is a bit depleted so we are definitely looking to add for the weekend.”

Winger Will Dawes, signed for an undisclosed five-figure fee from Stratford Town, was handed his debut against Dorking and played 53 minutes before being replaced by Charlie Wakefield. The other player brought in for an undisclosed fee, striker Jake Scrimshaw, was unable to add to the 61 minutes he’s been given in four substitute appearances to date having been left on the bench at Dorking.

The final whistle was met by a mixed reception from the travelling supporters with both applause and angry shouts directed at the players, and Hargreaves admitted he understood the frustration.

He said: “I understand we haven’t got the results better than anyone, but the players will not stop giving everything.

“The fans can see the effort, I can understand they are not happy, it’s quite obvious but neither am I. I’m having to work with some players that this is their first outing in the National League, so we’re having to work hard with them all the time to get them better. That’s what we are working with.”

Hargreaves said both Chiori Johnson and Lawson D’Ath were withdrawn as precautions on the artificial surface in Surrey. Johnson was replaced by Alex Fisher after 75 minutes with Sam Perry coming on for D’Ath with nine minutes remaining.

The boss said: “But, I did have to shuffle it (with Chiori Johnson going off) and obviously Lawson (D’Ath) was struggling, Chiori was struggling.

“It’s a small group which is giving absolutely everything and we have to patch them up because we have another massive game coming up (against Solihull Moors at home on Saturday).”

Of D’Ath, he added: “I told him to tell me if he was really struggling on the artificial surface and that’s what he did. That’s what he has to do because I don’t want to lose him for six or eight weeks.

The boss said there was no major concerns about goalkeeper Grant Smith, who pulled off a number of outstanding stops to keep Yeovil in the game on Tuesday night, despite him requiring some lengthy treatment. Hargreaves said the keeper was suffering with a thigh issue but insisted he had “no concerns” about it.

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Venue: Meadowbank
Tuesday October 4th, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Dry but a little chilly
Pitch: Plastic

Attendance: 1,525 (no away attendance given, but something like 150)

Scorers: Sam Pearson 3 (1-0), Jack Muitt 53 (1-1)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town:  Chiori Johnson 29, Josh Staunton 87
Dorking Wanderers: Bobby-Joe Taylor 40

Referee: Matthew Russell


Yeovil Town : (3-4-3)

Grant Smith

 Owen Bevan  Josh Staunton   Max Hunt

                              Morgan Williams  Matt Worthington   Lawson D’Ath (Sam Perry 80)   Chiori Johnson (Alex Fisher 75)

Sam Pearson    Malachi Linton   Will Dawes (Charlie Wakefield 55)

Substitutes (not used): Oliver Haste, Jake Scrimshaw.

Dorking Wanderers: Lincoln, Fuller, Gallagher, B. Taylor, McManus (for Jebb, 75), J.Taylor, McShane, Muitt (for Mekki, 66), Bowerman, Ottaway, Seager (for Egan, 59). Substitutes (not used): El-Abd, Quick.

Match Report

This game, which Yeovil Town’s players and management has described as “must win”, ended in the seventh draw of the season as the Glovers slid in to the National League drop zone.

Having taken an early lead through Sam Pearson, the visitors reverted to type defending against a Dorking side more than happy to press their advantage and draw level early in the second half through Jimmy Muitt’s goal.

With Yeovil chairman and owner Scott Priestnall watching on from the stands at Meadowbank, the game concluded with angry chants directed at him at the final whistle.

Here’s how Dave saw another night filled with the F word…..

First half

Having dominated the opening exchanges, a ball forward found Sam PEARSON bursting through to hold off his marker and slam a powerful effort so far in to the corner it stuck there.

Far from looking like the side out of form against their in-form opponents, it was the visitors asking the questions.

But, after a muted speech start, Dorking began to work their way in to the game with some hectic defending from the Glovers to clear a barrage of balls in to the box.

On 18 minutes, Grant Smith was forced in to a point blank save from Grant Smith to deny Harry Ottaway followed by a scramble to clear

Even more worryingly, a slip on the artificial surface saw Smith go down for treatment. Cue a terrace discussion about why we won’t have a keeper on the bench.

Luckily the keeper stayed on and on 23 minutes he got down smartly to turn an effort from Ryan Seager. Yep, that Ryan Seager.

Possession was undoubtedly in favour of the home side (67% in favour of the hosts according to Statman Ben) with the early pressure applied by Chris Hargreaves’ side switching to playing on the break. I mean, when has sitting back ever failed us before, right?

However, for all their possession, it took until the 41st minute for Dorking to create a meaningful chance – and they did it twice in a matter of seconds.

First was a speculative high ball from the right side seemed like it was going out of play, only to come back off the bar and bounce away and eventually land to Seager whose effort was turned aside by Smith.

Two minutes later it was Smith to the rescue again, this time saving with his legs from a point blank effort header from Ottaway.

The half-time whistle was met by a sigh of relief from the away support who began a period of silent prayer that Smith would return after the break.

Half time:  Dorking Wanderers 0 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

The artificial surface at Meadowbank certainly got some questioning looks from the Yeovil players in the first half and seven minutes after the restart it committed a heinous foul to deny a good break forward from Dawes, who stumbled and fell.

The second half started in a similar fashion to how the first half ended with the home sides on the front foot and the visitors on the back foot. The result was inevitable and on 53 minutes Dorking drew level.

More last ditch defending saw the ball pinball around inside the area and it was Jimmy MUITT who turned it home.

The instant response was to replace Dawes with Charlie Wakefield and the substitute almost immediately found Worthington who wasted his opportunity to test the keeper.

That seemed to spark a lacklustre Yeovil who started to venture forward a little more, but a couple of speculative Malachi Linton efforts were all we had to show for it.

Dorking seemed happy to sit back and let us enjoyed possession without any cutting edge.

It took until the 71st minute to force Dorking keeper Dan Lincoln in to a save. Wakefield’s cross was met by the head of Pearson who effort was turned over.

But that was it as far as meaningful chances for the visitors went as chairman and owner Scott Priestnall, watching from the stand at Meadowbank alongside club ‘volunteer’ Martyn Starnes, was the target of chants calling for him to go from a section of the away support.

The hosts, who were playing nine tiers lower than the Glovers less than a decade ago, continued to press for a winner with substitute Adam Mekki shot wide and Bobby Joe Taylor bent a free-kick just over the bar.

As the game crept towards the final whistle, a group of supporters approached the stand to voice their displeasure at Priestnall, who sat impassive before departing with a member of club security at the full-time whistle.

The response to the players was mixed with applause for some – not least Smith, without whom the hosts would have been out of sight by half-time – but angry words for others including some directed at manager, Chris Hargreaves.

Drawing a must win game is truly peak Yeovil.

Full time: Dorking Wanderers 1 Yeovil Town 1

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Chris Hargreaves has rung the changes as Yeovil Town seem to pick up only their second win of the National League season at Dorking Wanderers tonight (7.45pm kick-off).

Max Hunt, Chiori Johnson and Malachi Linton all return to the starting XI and there is a debut for Will Dawes, signed from Stratford Town for an undisclosed five-figure fee.

The formation appears to be a 3-4-3 with Linton up front alongside Dawes and Sam Pearson, whilst Ollie Haste, recalled from his loan spell at Truro City, is named on the bench.
Yeovil Town : (3-4-3)

Grant Smith

Owen Bevan  Josh Staunton Max Hunt

Chiori Johnson Matt Worthington Lawson D’Ath Morgan Williams

Sam Pearson Malachi Linton Will Dawes

Substitutes: Ollie Haste, Sam Perry,Charlie Wakefield, Jake Scrimshaw, Alex Fisher

 

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Yeovil Town have been given a Somerset derby home draw against Taunton Town in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.

The tie will be played at Huish Park on Saturday 15th October with £9,375 of prize money for the winners and £3,125 for the losers.

The local rivals met in the competition’s Second Qualifying Round back in 1996 with the first game at Huish Park finishing goalless before Graham Roberts’ Glovers won 5-3 in a replay at Wordsworth Drive, with violence flaring at the final whistle and Roberts ending up in front of local magistrates a few weeks later.

Last season saw the Glovers draw local rivals W*ymouth in last year’s competition with a 1-1 draw in Somerset in the first game followed by a penalty shoot-out win on an unforgettable night on the other side of the border.

 

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Last month, we published a blog, The Priestnall Tapes – Five Months On – which looked back at words spoke by Yeovil Town owner and chairman Scott Priestnall to supporters in April and reviewed where his promises had got to in the months that had passed.

Among the topics we covered were the issue of the almost £1m (£998,538, to be precise) in loans the club took out from Sport England to help the club survive the COVID-19 pandemic – yes, that’s on top of the sale of the club’s stadium, surrounding land, the £50,000 raised by supporters in the Crowdfunder and furlough payments the club took during the period.

For your recollection, here’s what that blog said about the loans from the Sport Survival Package:

 

Sport England loans

Scott said: “We’ve taken not as much as some other clubs and only what we needed and we have been promised as a league by the Sports Minister that over the next four years, he is working towards getting those loans written off.”

What’s happened since? The Sports Minister, Nigel Huddlestone, is the same man who promised Scott and his fellow club owners he would be working towards getting the almost £1m which we have borrowed written off. We’ve got in contact with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to ask how the Minister is getting on – but, to be fair to the department, they’ve been in charge of arrangements for The Queen’s funeral in recent weeks. We’ll let you know if we hear anything…….

Now, we’re people of our word and far be it from us to promise something and not deliver upon it, so here’s the response we’ve had back from the DCMS today:

  • The terms of the loan repayment remain the same as when it was provided in early 2021. We expect every loan recipient to fulfil the terms of their loan.Loans were provided to beneficiaries of the Sport Survival Package at a low interest rate, with a flexible approach to loan terms and repayment holidays.
  • Sport England is in regular contact with every loan recipient and we will continue to work closely with them to understand each individual organisations’ circumstances. If an organisation is concerned about its ability to meet repayments, we would encourage them to contact their relationship manager in the first instance as soon as possible.
  • We do not comment on the specifics of individual Sports Survival Package cases given their commercial sensitivity.

The other thing to correct is that on the day we published The Priestnall Tapes – Five Months On blog, Nigel Huddlestone was replaced as Sports Minister by Stuart Andrew. Either way, there seems no appetite from the DCMS to cancel the loans or turn them in to grants.

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Gime Toure. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The Football Association has confirmed the three-match ban that faces Glovers’ forward Gime Toure following his red card in the 1-0 defeat at Southend United.

His dissmissal has been listed as “Kicking – Violent Conduct” and comes under Law 12

After the match, Chris Hargreaves said the front man would not only have to suffer missing out for a few games but would also be paying in the way of a fine for his misdemeanour.

As it stands, the red card applies to all first-team fixtures, so he will miss games against Dorking Wanderers on Tuesday night, Solihull Moors at home next weekend and and the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Fixture slated for the weekend of October 15th.

He’ll be available again for the away game at Oldham Athletic on October 22nd