Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 352)

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Yeovil Town caretaker manager Charlie Lee has said he is “really excited” by the opportunity to take charge of the first-team following the shock departure of Darren Sarll.

The former midfielder has taken the job for “the forseeable future” after the manager who brought him back to the club as his assistant last month quit to take over as National League rivals Woking on Monday.

Lee, who  made more than 400 Football League appearances in his career, will be in the dug-out for Saturday’s visit to Barnet, when the Glovers are looking to continue a run of three back-to-back victories.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, he said: “It’s been a strange weekend and a big 24 hours, but I am really excited by the opportunity.

“The boys were excellent, they are a great group and they work really hard and today was a successful day.

“The performances have been really hard, training has been top quality and I am really looking forward to the game Saturday.

“It will be exactly the same, the performances have been high, the boys have been spot on and the boys are really looking forward to the game.”

He admitted there were “mixed emotions” among the squad, many of whom were brought to the club by Sarll, but said they could not allow the departure to detract from the weekend’s fixture.

Lee added: “It’s an exciting time for me, but also a sad time because we were all very close to the Gaffer – but he’s moved on and we have to calm down after what has happened after the past few days.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to be, I am ready to take charge on Saturday, it’s game by game and I will do it until I am needed to do something else.”

 

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Former Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has been speaking exclusively to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins following his departure from Huish Park.

The full interview went out on the BBC Somerset Breakfast show (07:48am for anyone wanting to listen back), in it, he told Sheridan that the opportunity at Woking excites him, but that he’ll always have a connection to YTFC.

“We certainly had some hurdles to jump, Terry Skiverton always asked me about whether I’m going to write a book on the three years at Yeovil. 

“It would be very interesting, from the play-offs, the COVID situation – players staying at the ground for weeks on end before the play off game, and then obviously the worst of the lot, losing Lee Collins and dealing with that personally, but also kind of leading the club out of that situation, I don’t want to have to do that again.

“This year, being reenergised by a brilliant, young group, with a wonderful spirit with a big future ahead of them.”

“Every year was different in terms of coach, every year was different in terms of management of it, every year was different in terms of the challenges we had to face and overcome, but it’s all maths isn’t it? You just have to work out the problem and try and come to the solution.”

“You add resilience to your coaching style and to you keep moving.”

Sarll and Skiverton
Terry Skiverton & Darren Sarll.
Pic: Mike Kunz.

Sheridan pointed out that the reaction to Sarll’s departure was one of disappointment and the former gaffer admitted it wasn’t easy to make the move.

“I’ll always have a connection with the football club, more so because of Lee and those events, I had a wonderful time there, year one was fantastic in terms of the winning, some of the performances and the results, the people I’ve met over the three years have been absolutely great and I’ll keep in touch with them for life.

“It came to point where decisions had to be made and I was really excited by this option, this was an option of a journey, really trying to help a club maximise it’s professionalism on the pitch and off the pitch”

“My trade is football management, I’m not arrogant enough to think that management jobs are just going to come to me and fall in my lap wherever I am in the country”

“When I was made Yeovil manager, I moved to the South-West, took my children out of another school, put them in another school, and we will move back to our family home now and that process will happen again”

Looking ahead, Darren Sarll said he had full faith that interim manager Charlie Lee could help the Glovers get through to the end of the season in a positive vein of form.

Charlie Lee watches over the warm up ? Ben Barrett

“I recommended to Scott (Preistnall) that Charlie do it, the players absolutely love him, they’ve a huge amount of respect for him, he was a brilliant player, he’s a very, very good coach, and that’s something I am well qualified to say, he’s got a good eight or nine games and the team is in a bit of another winning run… he can’t lose, can he?”

 

 

Charlie’s first game in charge will be against Barnet, this coming Saturday.

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Toby Stephens claps the Yeovil fans

Yeovil Town midfielder Toby Stephens was in action this week and, like his parent club, was also on the winning side with Barnstaple Town.

Stephens started in midfield for his temporary side as they overcame Evesham United 2-1 in a big result for the Southern League Division One South & West strugglers.

He received treatment part way through the match after taking a knock to the head but did carry on.

Defender Ollie Haste was also in the side, Haste has been named on the Glovers’ bench on a few occasions this season and represented the team in the Somerset Premier Cup.

Former Youth Team goalkeeper, Lloyd Irish is also part of the squad.

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The Gloverscast has been nominated in the ‘Best Podcast’ category of the Non-League Bible channels across social media.

This is a category we have been nominated in before and are up against a range of other content creators in the category.

If you wish to vote for the Gloverscast, you can do so, by either leaving a comment on the twitter post we’ve attached below, or by heading to the website.

Link HERE – https://nonleaguebible.weebly.com/nlbible-awards.html

Good luck to all those nominated, apart from all the others in our category. 

 

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Yeovil Town supporters groups have issued their thanks to former manager, Darren Sarll.

The Glovers Trust have issued a short statement giving their thanks to the work done by Darren Sarll since his appointment in June 2019.

Sarll joined fellow National League side Woking ending a three year stint at Huish Park.

The Trust said the following: “The Glovers Trust would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Darren Sarll for all he has done for our club since 2019. He has led our club through some incredibly difficult times, and we wish him all the best for the future.”

The Green and White Supporters Club also released their statement this afternoon.

“The Green & White Supporters’ Club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Darren Sarll as he departs as Yeovil Town manager.

Since arriving just weeks after our relegation from the Football League, Darren has been shown a commitment, honesty and passion for our football club which has been appreciated by us all.

He has guided us through some of the most challenging times any of us can remember during his time at the club and the dignity with which he carried himself with has been outstanding.

We will miss his willingness to engage with supporters and wish him well with his future career, but our focus must now be on supporting our team.

Our club is now at a cross-roads both on and off the field and the importance of the decisions which will be taken in the days and weeks to come cannot be underestimated.

For supporters, we must get 100% behind Charlie Lee and the team to finish the job as strongly as we can.”

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Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

There might be some *other* news breaking at Huish Park this Monday, but it’s worth celebrating Lawson D’Ath’s inclusion in the official Vanarama team of the week. Do

He’s been a key part of the recent run which has seen Yeovil win three on the bounce, a stretch which included his first goal in green and white since his return from injury.

Congratulations, Lawson.

 

 

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Sarll chats to BT Sport

Yeovil Town have announce the departure of manager Darren Sarll as he takes up the hot seat at Woking.

As expected, a number of Yeovil players and those around the club took to social media to say thanks for his time at Huish Park.

Here are a selection, collated in one place.
This article will be updated throughout the day.

 

Midfielder Josh Staunton on Twitter

Goalkeeper Max Evans on Instagram


? Max_Evans12 on Instagram

Lawson D’ath, who was loyal to Darren Sarll, and vice versa following serious injury;

On loan Middlesbrough defender, Jack Robinson;

Media Officer Sam Collard on twitter;


BBC Somerset Commentator, Sheridan Robins;

 

Former Glovers Defender and BT Sport Co Commentator, Adam Virgo

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Darren Sarll

As Darren Sarll departs Huish Park to take up the First Team Manager’s job at Woking, we’ve crunched some numbers of his time at Yeovil.

1013 – The number of days Darren Sarll took charge at Huish Park.

His appointment on June 19th 2019, just a month before the season started, ushered in a new era following relegation from the Football League

114  The number of league matches Darren Sarll oversaw during his time at Yeovil

The early ending of the 2019/20 season prevented this from being higher, obviously, and doesn’t include any FA Cup, FA Trophy, Somerset Premier Cup games or the play-off fixture against Barnet.

45 – The number of league victories, during his tenure

Including a number of memorable post match celebrations with supporters and some wonderful results along the way (Ben drifts off back to Wrexham away…)

39.47% – Darren Sarll’s win ratio in league matches.

Which is broken down into; 45 wins, 25 draws and 44 defeats. This is the highest win percentage of a league manager since Gary Johnson’s first stint in charge.

153 – Number of league goals scored since the start of the 2019/20 season

It also means that for the first time since Steve Thompson’s reign after the departure of Gary Johnson in 2005, a permanent Glovers manager has a record including a positive league goal difference (+5, 148 goals conceded)

5 – Number of wins masterminded over Woking

… just saying, like.

There are far more moments we could look at beyond the stats and maybe we will over the next few days, but purely from a statistical point of view, the numbers add up to a very good spell as Yeovil Town manager.

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Darren Sarll. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Darren Sarll has stepped away as Yeovil Town’s manager to take up the vacant position at Woking. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from today’s shock announcement and Darren Sarll’s time in charge.

He was the man we needed when we were on our knees following relegation. When he came in to club in the summer of 2019, he picked up a threadbare club that had whimpered out of League Two. He brought Carl Dickinson and Craig Alcock back in from the cold after his predecessor’s abysmal decision to exclude them. He reinvigorated Courtney Duffus and turned him from profligate to prolific. And he brought in experienced players we could only have dreamt of recruiting the season before. 

He hasn’t had a fair crack. With just one month to build his first squad, he managed to build a squad of senior, experienced pros who made us dream in that first season before COVID-19 curtailed football. He admitted the recruitment pre-Christmas second season was poor and the only bright sparks were the discovery of Tom Knowles and the loan signing of Josh Neufville. With Scott Priestnall’s attempt to sell the club’s most valuable assets prevented, and his subsequent disappearance, Sarll was left with a shoestring budget to build a squad which has run itself into the ground, in what is now, his final season.

Like us all, he had his faults. When we’ve been in-form, our performances have been electric and results have followed. But when the form drops off, it really seems to drop off. Our run of six without a win after Christmas in 2019 saw us slip down into the play off spots after our bright start had us dreaming of an immediate return to the Football League. It took us 12 matches to pick up a league win in 2020/21 as we struggled repeat the start of 2019/20. Autumn 2021 saw an incredible run which was abruptly ended by Torquay on Boxing Day and with just one win from the turn of the year until March 19th, it was a bad start to 2022. At times supporters have criticised his lack of Plan B during these runs and his unwillingness to try different tactics, although this season he was left with little room for manoeuvre with his small squad.

You can’t blame him for leaving. With just three months left on his contract and a family to look after, he can’t gamble on his future. The uncertainty that wilts the football club off the pitch has infiltrated the dressing room. Certainty and clarity has been provided by Woking and he’s seen an opportunity to grab with both hands, rather than wait for any new regime to make a decision.

He carried himself immeasurably in the wake of Lee Collins’ passing. Darren Sarll’s reign at Huish Park can be split into two. Since the tragic passing of our captain, Sarll was the face and the voice of the club. He carried a grieving club on his back and dragged a team of young men to finish a season in unfathomable trauma. Lee’s passing will forever be a part of Yeovil Town and the way Darren Sarll picked us up in the aftermath will be too. You would not have blamed him for wanting to have a break at the end of last season, but he went about building a third squad in the three years, that embraced the club and memory of Lee Collins as a driving force. For all his faults, the way he carried himself as the ambassador of our club in this tragedy was exceptional and I’ll forever be grateful that we had him when we did.

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Darren Sarll has left Yeovil Town to take up the manager’s job at National League rivals Woking, ending nearly three years in charge at Huish Park.

The club confirmed the departure “with immediate effect” and confirmed assistant manager Charlie Lee will be in charge for “the forseeable future.”

Darren Sarll. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It is understood senior players were told about the decision following the 2-0 home win over Southend United at the weekend and Woking confirmed his appointment with their own statement.

In a statement, the Glovers said: “Yeovil Town can confirm the departure of Darren Sarll with immediate effect. 

“Sarll, who has been at the helm since 2019, has accepted an offer from another National League side. 

“All at Yeovil Town would like to place on record our thanks to Sarll for all his efforts over his three seasons in charge. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours. 

“Charlie Lee will take interim charge of the football club for the foreseeable future.”

Woking Chief Executive John Katz said that the Cards’ board had received dozens of applications for the job and considered Sarll “a top candidate from the moment we reviewed his CV.”

He added: “We were extraordinarily impressed with his aggressive playing style, budget maximisation, and the table positions he has achieved in his time at Yeovil, including reaching the play-offs in his first season.”

In a statement, Sarll added: “I am very honoured and proud to be offered the Manager’s position at one of the last great Non-League institutions.

“For years Woking has found success at the very top of Non-League, and in tandem with John, Drew (Volpe, the Woking co-owner) and the Board, my ambition is to close that gap that exists right now within what is a very competitive division.

“After 20 years of working in this industry, I hope my experiences can accelerate the professional on-field growth of the football club. I am looking forward to meeting the players and staff and all of you – the supporters.”

Sarll is out of contract at the end of this season and last month he spoke openly about the uncertainty which the on-off takeover was causing.

It is now three-and-a-half months since chairman Scott Priestnall set a seven-day deadline to conclude a deal. However, then, as it is now, it appears no employees at the club have been given any kind of update.

Speaking about the impact on his players and himself last month, Sarll said: “As a father, as a husband, and all the other fathers and husbands in our squad, not having an idea of where you are going to be working in five months time can be unsettling and it can be beneficial to know.”

Sarll has been linked with other jobs during his time in charge having been among the favourites with at least one bookmaker for the job at League Two Carlisle United last October.

The former Stevenage manager was appointed at Huish Park on June 19, 2019 following our relegation out of the Football League and reached the National League play-offs in the first season, cut short due to COVID-19.

Last season, the Glovers finished 16th with the season rocked by the death of captain Lee Collins, and presently sit 12th after 35 matches including three back-to-back victories.

Woking have been without a manager since the start of March when they sacked Alan Dowson and are in 15th in the National League, five points behind Yeovil having played a game more.

Ironically, the Cards have lost three times against Sarll’s Yeovil, twice in the league and once in the FA Trophy.