Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 407)

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Rob Couhig, the American businessman who tried to buy Yeovil Town when it was eventually sold to current owner Scott Priestnall, has spoken about his efforts to buy the club.

Having failed in his effort to buy the club from then-owners Norman Hayward and John Fry, he went on to buy Wycombe Wanderers from its supporters’ trust in February 2019.

Speaking to the Price of Football podcast, Couhig said he was contacted by Mark Palmer who was brought to the club by Hayward in an effort to find a buyer.

Couhig said: “I met with Mark and my best friend, he and I had invested together in things for 40 years.

“When we walked out of the meeting with (Mark), my friend, Dick, said to me ‘under no circumstances and I investing in that, do not use my name, do not act like I am involved in this.

“I said ‘Dick, we have done everything together for  40 years!’ and he said to me ‘you’re not hearing me – I’m out.’

“But (my wife) Missy and I made the trip to Yeovil, we really liked it there, it’s a terrific area of the country, the people down there could not have been nicer, but they were in financial trouble so we lent them some money.

“That is when we first started to understand ‘maybe this thing was sliding away from her and towards what Rob wanted to do.

“We couldn’t get that deal together and we thought we were out.”

For those of you who don’t remember the deal with the Couhigs, back in February 2019 it appeared a deal had been done to to buy 92% of Huish Park Partnership, the company owned by Hayward and Fry which owned the club’s assets.

He spoke with the local news and the deal looked to be done until after the club’s relegation out of the Football League when the club issued a statement saying it had “not been possible to agree mutually acceptable terms and conditions.”

In his own statement, Couhig went on to say that neither the price or the club’s relegation were the reason for the deal collapsing.

There was then a bit of ‘will they, won’t they?’ with a consortium including former Glovers’ director Andy Rossiter which failed to conclude a deal with Hayward and Fry, and in June 2019, Priestnall and his fellow owner Errol Pope turned up and completed a deal.

You can listen to the interview with Rob Couhig in full – here.

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Terry Skiverton clears an early Newport attack
Photo © Ciderspace 2001
Photography Tim Lancaster

Good morning,

We’re now on day 18 of Scott’s seven day deadline.

The problem is we’re getting news, that’s not actually news. Another article appeared this week, saying the takeover was going to be done on the 21st. Here we are on the 23rd. We’ve been here before a few times.

It’s frustrating and disheartening to keep reading the nonsense, based on rumour and conjecture, repeated and taken with such credibility. Throw a dart at the calendar and hope it sticks.

As we’ve said before, the only people who know exactly what’s going on are at the heart of the deal – the individuals at the table. Everything else is noise and misinformation. Despite how it’s dressed up.

Terry Skiverton is taking the “gaffer’s presser” today in a bit of a switcheroo. I always think it’s interesting to hear from Skivo every now and then. As a bonafide club legend, his take on the situation at the club he’s been at since 1999 is always worth listening to. Plus, we’re up against another legend in Gary Johnson on Boxing Day – we hope.

The less said about our last trip to Plainmoor the better. This could not be a more different Yeovil Town heading to the English Riviera than last December. 

There’s a good interview with Grimbsy’s owner, Jason Stockwood on Grimsby Live, where he talks about governance within the National League and refers to Wrexham and Stockport County.

“The downside is the people who can come in and spend disproportionate amount and underwrite losses through advertising revenues that others don’t have access to.

“It completely distorts the wage structure and the expectation of fans if you can sign a player from a top team and spend over 5K a week.

“That makes it impossible for teams like Grimsby. It is outside the constraints of what is sustainable within our budgets and it would upset the wage structure within your organisation.”

“All power to the Wrexhams and Stockports. It would be disingenuous to say you wouldn’t want someone to invest at that level in your club. It’s just the potential consequences I worry about.”

He goes on to talk about Fair Game and Tracey Crouch’s review, as well. 

I’m just jealous of a local news outlet sitting down with the owner of the local football club for a multi-part interview. What a novelty.

Keep an eye on the website for all the latest news from the press conference. We’re recording tomorrow’s podcast at midday today so if you have any questions get them in early!

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‘Jez’ Simpson. Photo @WestmorlandFA

Yeovil Town’s FA Cup third round tie against Bournemouth will be officiated by EFL referee Jeremey ‘Jez’ Simpson.

Simpson was congratulated by his home County FA on Twitter for the appointment on Wednesday, before the FA had made any official announcement on the referee and assistant appointments.

The FA Website says of Simpson;

“He has refereed over 200 EFL games, and since the start of the 2016/17 season, has been part of the Select Group 2 Referee list”

Simpson is vastly experienced, even if he does have a slight reputation for giving out a few cards… only twice in the last two and half seasons has he failed to give at least one card in a game he has been in charge of.

Going back through the records, he has taken charge of a few former Glovers’ games.

The Johnson v Johnson clash was played under Simpson’s watchful eye as Gary of Yeovil played Lee of Oldham towards the end of the 2012/13 season.

A year later he was in charge when Yeovil squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 vs Derby in the Championship.

But the last time he was in the middle for a Yeovil game, we won!

A 1-0 win over Swindon in League One in April 2015. James Berret the scorer.

The FA Cup third round clash with Bournemouth is scheduled to take place at Huish Park on Saturday the 8th of January with a 17:30 kick off.

 

 

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Torquay United have offered some updated information ahead of our Boxing Day visit to Plainmoor.

The advice is pretty much identical to that offered by Yeovil Town to supporters attending last weekend’s 3-1 win over Woking at Huish Park.

The main points are:

  • No COVID-19 passports or proof of vaccination status will be required to enter the ground;
  • All supporters are advised to take a Lateral Flow Test before arriving at the ground – although you will not be asked to show evidence of the result to gain access;
  • Face coverings are advised (though not required) when at your seat/place on the terrace.
  • The club bar, the Boots & Laces, is not open to away supporters.

You can read the advice in full (there’s other stuff about going in the Club Shop which seems like less of a problem for away fans) on the Gulls’ website – here.

Don’t forget that tickets are not available to buy on the day and you need to get them on the Gulls’ website – here. The Ticket Office at Plainmoor will be open from 12pm-3pm for enquiries only.

Obviously, the one thing any of us can’t do is try and guess whether there’s going to be any further restrictions put in place by the Government, as putting ourselves in the mind of Boris Johnson is not a place we’d like to be.

If you are heading to Devon on Boxing Day, don’t miss our Ciderspace Away Travel Guide – here.

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It was the Welsh Government that went first confirming late on Monday night that all sporting events would be played behind-closed-doors from Boxing Day onwards in the battle to control the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Yesterday, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon followed that lead with limits of a maximum of 500 people for all outdoor events.

So far, for Yeovil Town and the National League, the only impact comes in North Wales where our Hollywood pals at Wrexham are forced to play their Boxing Day match at home to Solihull Moors without supporters.

Former Glovers’ midfielder and now Wrexham long throw chucker Ben Tozer left political leaders in no doubt about his opinion on how football was being treated against other ‘leisure pursuits’:

So that just leaves Boris, whose credibility to ask anyone to follow the rules is seriously questionable. England’s Prime Minister said on Tuesday evening that there would be no further restrictions but “naturally we can’t rule out any further measures after Christmas.”

It does rather feel like a prize turkey on Christmas Eve being told “you’re my favourite” by a farmer brandishing a meat cleaver, doesn’t it?

As ever, the best place to find out what is likely to happen is in the newspapers, and the smart money (if you’ll pardon the expression!) is further restrictions.

The Times reported on Tuesday that it’s expected there will be a ‘circuit breaker’ introduced from December 28 – yep, the same day our seagull bothering ‘friends’ from W*ymouth had been due back at Huish Park.

If England follow the rest of mainland Britain in restricting sporting events, there seems every chance that we’ll lose a pay day from both a derby and an FA Cup third round tie with AFC Bournemouth on January 8.

Let’s hope that the BBC or ITV wake up to the fact there’s life outside the Premier League and realise that neither Manchester United nor Aston Villa need the cash from a televised match – and you can watch Cristiano Ronaldo fall over and complain about his hair every weekend!

Alternatively, let’s follow Mark Little‘s lead and claim we’re all having a business meeting – if it’s good enough for Boris and his pals, it’s good enough for us, right?!

https://twitter.com/Litts_2/status/1473321917193011202?s=20

 

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Sport in Wales will be played behind closed doors from Boxing Day in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. This means our Hollywood friends, Wrexham will play Solihull Moors on Boxing Day without supporters at The Racecourse.

Wales Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: “Sporting events over the Christmas period are one of the big highlights of the year. Unfortunately, the new Omicron variant is a significant development in the pandemic and could cause a large number of infections. We need to do everything we can to protect people’s health and control the spread of this awful virus.

“Throughout the pandemic we have followed scientific and public health advice to keep people safe. The advice is clear – we need to act now in response to the threat of Omicron. We are giving people as much notice of these decisions as we can. Crowds will come back as soon as possible. We want everyone to be here to enjoy their favourite sports.”

What does this mean for Yeovil Town? At the moment not much. However, with the ever-changing situation being monitored ‘hour by hour’ it wouldn’t be a surprise if England followed suit – they probably just don’t know how to break it to us yet.

Update: This afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon has followed suit and said festive sport in Scotland will essentially be spectator free. With the Chancellor having delivered his package to support businesses, it wouldn’t be a shock to see similar restrictions in place in England over Christmas. Ugh!

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Monday’s FA Trophy fourth round draw produced far more emotion from me that I probably thought it would.

Firstly, having been promised a 2pm draw, I sat poised waiting with the Gloverscast.co.uk draft open, but we had the adverts, the travel, and chat about the cricket, Harry Kane red card shenanigans trophy… a quick dial into to TalkSport’s non league guru Tony Incenzo, who was quickly booted off air as he happened to be calling from what sounded like a wind tunnel at NASA… and then finally the draw.

The presenter made at least one error in team name – one can only assume the notion of reading a name next to a number is harder than it seems – we can only use our imagination at the looks the FAs independent adjudicator must have been giving him – but balls were drawn, names were called and Yeovil were drawn at home to Needham Market.

Who!? Not even a town, just a little Market..? “roll up, roll up get your 4th round opponents here…”

Ok, so it’s a bit more than a market, in fact some pretty famous people have come from there, the bloke who discovered Oxygen and June ‘Dot Cotton’ Brown is from there too.

But in football terms, they’ve got one FA Vase Semi Final to their name and not a lot more, they’re tiny and an away day at Yeovil is about as big of a tie since… well, putting Wealdstone out in the last round.

And it got me thinking about how in the space of just Seven days, the same 14 or 15 blokes will line up against a Bournemouth side almost certainly destined for the Premier League, and then little Needham Market.

It’s a stark contrast, the pressure free tie of welcoming some of the best in the 2nd tier and then being on the other side of that coin, hoping not to be the front page of Sunday’s Non League Paper for the wrong reasons.

You could argue that Bournemouth might not fancy the cup with bigger fish to fry and you could argue the part time side from Suffolk will probably have a torrid journey, a day off work and less chance of a hotel stay… but isn’t that what makes cup competitions so awesome?

Darren Sarll and Co will have no problem finding footage of Dominic Solanke, Gary Cahill and Ryan Christie, but I’m not sure how much scouting is possible for Luke Ingram, Callum Sturgess and Ben Fowkes (presumably not the England wicketkeeper)

This is cup football at its very best and that’s why we love it, Huish Park will bring us two very different ties on two very different Saturdays and I cannot wait… after all, the Quadruple is still on…

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Dale Gorman scores his penalty vs Weymouth
Credit: Weymouth Flickr

The Football Association has announced that FA Cup ties that finish as a draw after 90 minutes will NOT be subject to a replay in the 3rd and 4th rounds.

So, should Yeovil and Bournemouth, who meet in early January, play something of a stalemate and cannot be split after 90 minutes, instead of an away day at Dean Court 10 days later, the game will finish with 30 additional minutes, and if needed the lottery of a penalty shoot out.

An FA statement said that the decision had been taken… “in the wider interest of English football to alleviate the possibility of fixture congestion following several postponements in recent days and continued uncertainty ahead due to COVID-19.”

The Glovers have beaten W*ymouth, Yate Town and Stevenage to progress this far.

The game with Bournemouth takes place on Saturday 8th January with a 17:30pm kick off.

 

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Yeovil Town will host Needham Market in the fourth round of the FA Trophy

The Southern League Premier Division Central side put out National League rivals Wealdstone in the third round at the weekend.

The game will be played on Saturday, January 15.

The Suffolk-based side are managed by former Manchester City and Swindon Town midfielder Kevin Horlock and presently sit sixth-from-bottom of their division going to in to the Christmas fixtures.

The winners will receive £5,250 in prize money with £1,500 going to the losing side.

The draw in full is:

Alfreton Town v Bradford Park Avenue or FC Halifax Town

Dagenham & Redbridge v Southend United

Wrexham v Folkestone Invicta

St Albans City v Cheshunt

York City v Slough Town

Stourbridge v Guiseley

Tonbridge Angels v King’s Lynn Town

Southport v Solihull Moors

Notts County v Eastleigh

Dartford v Weymouth

Aldershot Town v Bromley

Boreham Wood v Maidstone United

Morpeth Town v Boston United

Yeovil Town v Needham Market

Stockport County v Larkhall Athletic

Spennymoor Town v Plymouth Parkway

 

 

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Morning readers!

It’s a weird feeling this isn’t it? Unbeaten in 12 (the Somerset Premier Cup counts dammit!) and confidence is running through these players. You have to go back to 2012/13 under Gary Johnson to remember a spell where we exuded such swagger on the pitch which was felt in the stands. The dark days of October are well and truly forgotten and it’s actually quite nice going to Huish Park at the moment – quagmire behind the Thatchers aside.

In my Five Conclusions yesterday, I wrote that Adi Yussuf changed the game when he arrived. He did, but those conclusions were written before undertaking Gloverscast Rule #2 (sleep on it) and it’s fair to say all three of the subs made a difference. Critics will say Sarll got his selection wrong, but he had to give time to Reuben Reid, Alex Bradley and Max Evans. With the little depth we have at our disposal, they deserved a chance. In the case of Reid and Bradley, those two need to get some proper match fitness as we need to take advantage of the limited bodies we have.

Yussuf made the most obvious impact with his two goals, but Josh Staunton was calmness personified (as always) when he was introduced. When we lost Luke Wilkinson against Chesterfield we fell apart but that fear of a team without Wilkinson wasn’t there on Saturday. If and when Luke Wilkinson feels his time at Yeovil Town is up, we have a ready-made leader to take the armband. I think we can all agree that we need this lot all signed up as soon as possible though.

Jaheim Headley enjoyed a strong start to his loan spell in green and white, but it wasn’t until we brought on Jordan Barnett that we saw the best of Headley. Headley’s cross for Yussuf’s first was inviting but the decoy run of Barnett allowed him the time and space to deliver. The on-pitch chemistry he and Barnett seem to have already is surprising given he only trained with the Glovers on Friday.

Today we’ll see the FA Trophy 4th Round draw take place. It’d be good to get a draw against a lower level team, just to keep things interesting more than anything. But with fixtures scheduled for January and with cases of covid rising, it feels like most fixtures the other side of Christmas will be in jeopardy.

At the top of the game, the Premier League are talking about having a round of fixtures off between the 28th and 30th of December. These are clubs with multi million (and some billion) pound assembled squads who have ridiculous depth and talent at their disposal. It’s hard to feel sorry for them when we’ve had four on the bench this season, including Ollie Haste and a keeper. Clubs in our position, especially with our off-field situation, don’t have the luxury of being able to take a game off. If our fixtures against Weymouth and Torquay, which should be box office, are postponed, that’s a massive hole in the finances of the club. Let’s hope we, and our opponents do the right thing and we get to enjoy some festive football.

Have a good Monday and try and hold onto this weird winning feeling!