Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 412)

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Alex Bradley has set himself the ambition of breaking in to the Yeovil Town midfield and manager Darren Sarll says he is not far away from doing it.

The versatile 23-year-old signed permanently last January having played as a right-back for his previous club Lincoln City and whilst on loan at Harrogate Town in the 2019-20 season and played 27 times for the Glovers last season – mostly at right-back.

Alex Bradley in conversation with manager Darren Sarll.

However, he has only started once for the Glovers this season in a midfield role in the 3-1 FA Trophy win over Woking in December and his only other game time has come from the substitutes’ bench.

Meanwhile, Sarll has brought in  Mark Little in the right-back slot and, when the experienced head was missing through injury he brought Dan Moss in on loan, with Morgan Williams also filling in.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Eastleigh on Saturday, the manager explained Bradley’s lack of starting appearances: “I signed Alex as a right back, but he thought – and I don’t disagree – that he would be more beneficial playing in midfield.

“If someone commits to another position, the manager is reluctant to play him in a position he’s reluctant to play in.

“That drove our recruitment for another right back and for support for Mark when he was injured and Dan Moss was a top signing for us.

“It meant Alex was not competing with Mark Little and Jordan Barnett for a spot, he was competing with a bigger pool of midfield players and you have to be the best one.

“I don’t think there would be too many arguments if I said Josh Staunton, Matt Worthington and Dale Gorman have been among our best players this season, so it’s been harder for him to force himself in to the team.

“Alex has all the potential in the world, when he came in last year I likened him to Jack Stacey who is now at Bournemouth. You have these things as a manager and I know if Alex goes in at right back he gives it his all.”

Bradley played 13 minutes at the end of Tuesday night’s defeat at Wealdstone and six minutes in the closing stages of the derby draw against W*ymouth, but Sarll said he had seen “a real resurgence” in the player in recent weeks.

He said: “We have had to have lots of conversations, he’s probably in a stronger position than he has been right now.

“He has been training really well and I have seen a real hunger and desire in him and he’s made an impression when he’s come on.

“Those conversations between Alex and I have been beneficial.“

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll is aiming to bring a new player in to his squad ahead of this weekend’s trip to Eastleigh.

(If you missed it, the new player concerned was striker Olufela Olomola – see more here)

The boss also expects to unveil his new assistant manager next week and said he has picked an individual who is known to him and will have “the biggest impact” on his side.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll alongside former assistant, Terry Skiverton who departed a month ago.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

After Tuesday night’s defeat at Wealdstone, Sarll called for “a spike” in the dressing room on the playing or coaching staff – and it seems like he may be getting both in the next week.

On Friday, he said: “In my first year here we brought (striker) Mark Richards in at this stage of the season.

“I remember Luke Wilkinson saying ‘is that Mark Richards, blimey?’ He knew we were serious and trying to win it. Those moments can ignite a dressing room.

“I’m not sure we can afford a Mark Richards but we are still trying to do some work and we are hoping there will be a new one in before tomorrow (at Eastleigh).”

With only three teams – Wealdstone and the division’s bottom two sides, King’s Lynn Town and Dover Athletic – having scored fewer than the Glovers’ 26 this season, it would be no surprise to see the arrival being in a forward position.

However, the new arrival does not seem like it will be left-sided midfielder Alfie Bridgman, the apprentice from Portsmouth who was reported to be training with the Glovers ahead of a loan move.

Sarll confirmed the 18-year-old trained with his side last week, adding: “There’s nothing much more to say about that.”

The manager confirmed he expects to appoint his new number two next week, filling the void left by Terry Skiverton‘s departure to take up a coaching role at Charlton Athletic almost a month ago.

Sarll said he had not had time to conduct any interviews with potential candidates so the selection had been made by him going after the people he wanted.

He said: “Over the last couple of weeks, I have made phone calls to people who have qualities that we need. It’s about the quality they will bring to stimulate the dressing room, to make a difference and that takes a small pool of people.

“I have spoken to some friends, former colleagues, former players and took advice and also tried to whittle it down to a point that I knew the individuals who were going to have the biggest impact on our team.

“All I care about is winning, so who is going to help us win the most for the resources we have got?”

Full-back Mark Little and left back-turned-midfielder Jordan Barnett are both back in contention for tomorrow’s trip to Eastleigh.

Jordan Barnett
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Neither were included in the squad for the midweek trip to Wealdstone with Little still making his way back to full fitness after a long lay-off, and Barnett having picked up an ankle injury against Solihull Moors last weekend.

Sarll said: “Mark trained yesterday (Thursday) and should be okay for tomorrow (at Eastleigh).

“Jordan should be okay. He’s got our training session today (Friday) to pass the test, but he should be okay.

“He would have been a real benefit to us on Tuesday night with his width, his left foot and his pace, so if he’s fit and available, he’ll be in contention.”

However, the trip to the South Coast is unlikely to see midfielder Lawson D’Ath feature.

The former Reading youngster did not feature in midweek having come off the bench to play 70 minutes of the goalless draw with Solihull.

The manager said: “We are trying to strengthen Lawson a little bit further. The 70 minutes (against Solihull) was maybe a bridge too far, even if he won’t admit it.

“We are doing a physical programme for him to get stuck in too. If I felt that Lawson could cope, he would play every minute of every game, he’s been fabulous.

“He’s a really good player and I want to make sure he does not go through the same journey as he did last year when he put himself on the coal face and almost cost his career (to help us).”

 

 

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There’s no real rush to get a new manager in at tomorrow’s opponents Eastleigh.

The Spitfires parted company with Ben Strevens following an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the National League’s whipping boys Dover Athletic – *cough* who we drew at home with *cough* – at the end of January.

His assistant Jason Bristow has been placed in interim charge which is expected to run until the end of the season with the club unlikely to challenge for the play-offs or get sucked in to a relegation scrap.

They head in to match with Yeovil on the back of six matches without a win since their 3-2 win at home to W*ymouth at the end of December.

But, five of their last six have come away from home with their only defeat on home soil coming virtue of an 89th-minute winner from Chesterfield a couple of weeks ago.

Under Bristow, they did manage to stem the tide of defeats with a 2-2 draw away at Maidenhead United last weekend conceding a late equaliser having led with 11 minutes to go.

The big news in recent weeks has been the signing of a South Coast legend in former AFC Bournemouth and Portsmouth striker Brett Pittman.

The 34-year-old joined on loan from Bristol Rovers until the end of the season having netted four times in 16 League two matches. He played 63 minutes at Maidenhead.

Eastleigh are looking to Pittman to replace the goals left by the departure of Ben House who joined League One side Lincoln City on transfer deadline day.

FROM THE MANAGER

Speaking after seeing his side concede a late equaliser to settle for a point at Maidenhead United last weekend, interim boss Jason Bristow was full of praise for his players.

He said he was “really frustrated” with the manner of the two goals his side conceded with the 87th-minute equaliser coming from another strike from the edge of the box, a carbon copy of the goal they conceded against Chesterfield the week before. Note to Tom Knowles: If you get a chance to have a dig from the edge of the box – have one!

The boss said: “The lads showed a lot of character, we were 1-0 down and with the exception of the first 10-15 minutes of the second half when they were on top, we played really well.

“We kept the ball well and we were unlucky not to have gone 3-1 up, so it’s disappointing but I’m pleased with the application of the lads.”

Like his Yeovil counterpart Darren Sarll, Bristow says he is looking for more goals from his side having scored 28 in their 25 National League fixtures – two more than Yeovil – who he says the side will pull together to face.

He said: “We have got enough there to see the lads are working hard and trying for the club and each other.

“We’ll come back in on Monday and try and put a plan together to beat Yeovil.”

 

TEAM NEWS

Centre back Alex Wynter is a long-term injury absentee having been injured at the end of last season.

The former Crystal Palace player has missed much of the past couple of seasons but was instrumental when Eastleigh reached the play-off semi-finals in 2018-19.

Attacker Sam Smart joined National League South side Havant & Waterlooville on Friday having not featured for the Spitfires for nearly a month.

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

Playmaker Tom Whelan and full-back Michael Kelly are the most obvious connection between with hosts this weekend.

Whelan was a regular feature in the first month of Darren Sarll’s time at Huish Park featuring in the first eight matches of the 2019-2020 National League campaign.

But, having seemingly fallen out of favour, he was allowed to leave on loan from Chippenham Town and then W*ymouth in the National League South, eventually being exiled to the Bob Lucas Stadium.

In fairness, in the murky depths of the Dorset coastline he shone and eventually saw sense and moved to the National League paupers of Cashterfield where it is fair to say he tore us a new one in a 3-0 win in Derbyshire last season.

He’s been a regular starter this season alongside full-back Kelly, who filled in at left-back when Carl Dickinson was unavailable for much of last season whilst on loan from Bristol Rovers.

The Scotsman was released by the Gas at the end of last season and arrived on the South Coast in the summer.

He was a regular under Ben Strevens but has not featured since the 1-0 defeat at Dover at the end of last month and was an unused substitute against Maidenhead last weekend.

In the green and white corner, Glovers’ captain Luke Wilkinson and a six-game loan spell at Eastleigh whilst a Portsmouth player back in 2010.

There’s a few other players with connections with both clubs including full-back Joe Tomlinson who played in the youth set up at Huish Park before arriving at Eastleigh via Bognor Regis and Hungerford – what a journey!

He impressed at National League level and made the step up in to the Football League at Peterborough United in the summer.

Christian Maghoma, who had a spell on loan from Tottenham in November 2015 and departed without playing a single game, ended his loan spell at Eastleigh last month and returned to his parent club, Gillingham.

Striker Ryan Bird scored eight times in 36 appearances for Yeovil in the 2015-16 season before moving to Eastleigh where he managed three in 16 the following year.

Other connections include Yemi Odubade, Alefe Santos, Aaron Martin, Marcus Barnes, Alex Lacey, Oscar Gobern, Jake Howells and a striker called Thomas Clarke, the latter having a Wikipedia entry as impressive as his lower league journeyman career.

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On today’s episode Ian and Dave welcome back Marcus Duncomb to talk about Tuesday’s defeat at Wealdstone.

Ian talks to yet another Ian – Ian Wilding, a freelance journalist who’s been covering Eastleigh for BBC Solent.

Plus we take your questions and we have the quiz.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, enjoy some retro content on Instagram. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

WANT TO ADVERTISE ON THE GLOVERSCAST? Send us an email for our rate card.

If you want to take part in the quiz, have an idea for the website or just want to send us a message, email ian@gloverscast.co.uk

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Portsmouth teenage midfielder Alfie Bridgman has been training with Yeovil Town ahead of a possible loan move, according to reports on the South Coast.

The Portsmouth News has reported that the 17-year-old, who made his first-team debut last season and has appeared just once this year, spent last week training with the Glovers ahead of a move.

Alfie Bridgman. Credit: portsmouth.co.uk

The report suggests his parent club require him for their Hampshire Senior Cup tie away at AFC Stoneham on Tuesday night, a game they won on penalties after a late equaliser cancelled out the midfielder’s “classy first half finish“.

The report suggests he turned in an “eye-catching performance” under the gaze of Pompey first team manager Danny Cowley, whose side’s next county cup fixture is not until February 23 when they visit Farnborough Town.

If keeping Bridgman closer to home to meet the demands of this competition were the reason for delaying a loan move, it would seem a deal could be wrapped up sooner rather than later.

He made his debut as a substitute in a 5-1 defeat at Peterborough United in the Papa John’s Trophy last January

This season, the youngster came on as a late substitute a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace Under-21s in the same competition back in November.

The Portsmouth News reports his two-year scholarship at Fratton Park ends this summer, with the youngsters waiting to learn whether they have futures with the club.

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Yeovil Town 2 Hartlepool 0 – Saturday 7th January 2006

In 2005/06, following two promotions in three years, it took some time for Yeovil to adjust to life in League One – it was a big step up in quality, and the team which scored over 100 goals and only failed to hit the target in three league games in 2004/05 was finding defences much more solid and difficult to break down. Yeovil only scored one goal in their first four games – from a defender, Kevin Amankwaah – and it took until Hartlepool away in September to register their first win, a scrappy 1-0 thanks to new signing Pablo Bastianini. Despite the difficult start and the loss of Gary Johnson after 11 games to Bristol City, as the games progressed the team did gain confidence under Steve Thompson and start to drag their way up the table. Thommo’s Yeovil won 13 points from his first 6 games in charge, including impressive wins over Swansea, Scunthorpe and a 3-0 stuffing of Nottingham Forest. The Glovers gradually moved up to mid-table and even once or twice were in a position to potentially think about playoffs.

The Christmas period was a mixed bag, with decent wins against Barnsley and Doncaster, a 4-1 hiding at Tranmere and a slightly disappointing draw in the first ever league tie against Bristol City, given they had lost nine in a row and had been bottom of the table in December. Following a decent 1-0 win at Doncaster, the Glovers welcomed Hartlepool to Huish Park, who were despatched 2-0 with both goals coming from Phil Jevons, the first an overhead scissor-kick following an impressive run from Kevin Amankwaah, who had been one of the most consistent performers in the first part of the season, and one of those who seemed most at home at his new level.

The win took Yeovil up to 10th, with 36 points from 27 games and seemingly any fears of relegation behind them. However, a takeover was happening behind the scenes, and everything was about to change. Former manager David Webb became the new owner, purchasing the majority of shares from Jon Goddard-Watts. Webb immediately set about reducing the budget despite the crowds being around 6,500, even higher than League Two and increased revenue in the previous two seasons from two significant FA Cup runs including televised matches. Yeovil started to sell their assets, with Darren Way sold to Swansea for £150,000, and Lee Johnson to Hearts for the criminal sum of £50,000. The two players who had been ever-present from 2001-2005 and were the heartbeat of the team, left the club within days of each other. Efe Sodje was also sold, to Southend, and more would depart at the end of the season.

Hartlepool would be Lee Johnson’s last game for Yeovil, after around 4.5 years, 230 appearances, 28 goals, 80 assists and two promotions. He had settled in well at League One – going on to play around 130 times in the Championship for Bristol City – and appeared to be playing with more freedom once Gary Johnson was no longer the manager. He was ever-present from the moment he arrived to the day he left, playing around 50 games a season aside from the occasional suspension. His usual midfield partner Darren Way had been out of the team for part of 2005/06 due to injury, and last played in November 2005 against his future club Swansea. 18-year old Chris Cohen had already come in on loan from West Ham to cover for Way and was an instant hit but Anthony Barry, signed from Accrington to replace Johnson, only played a few games before sustaining a horrific injury against Chesterfield and missing the rest of the season. In also came Daniel Webb who, being signed from non-league Weymouth, did not appear to be a League One striker. In two years at the club, he made ten substitute appearances, making no starts and scoring no goals before dropping back into non-league, where he failed to hold down a first team place at Isthmian League AFC Wimbledon.

As soon as those key players were sold, results began to suffer. After Hartlepool, which was Lee Johnson’s last game, there followed a run of only two wins in 13 games, as Yeovil slid down to 20th and relegation suddenly became a real possibility again. A vital 3-0 win at Chesterfield halted the slide despite major injuries to Anthony Barry and on-loan Tommy Doherty, and another crucial win at struggling Walsall in March gave the Glovers hope. Still hovering around 20th, a late rally with victories against Gillingham and a surprise away win at Huddersfield courtesy of another Phil Jevons brace, was just enough to see the Glovers safe and finish the season in the dizzy heights of 16th, six points clear of relegation.

The departures did not end there, as the playing budget was cut further and more players were sold or allowed to leave for nothing. At the end of the season Phil Jevons and Chris Weale both left on free transfers to re-join Gary Johnson at Bristol City. Amankwaah was sold to Swansea for £250,000. There was not much sign of the proceeds of these sales being put back into the team, except for the absolute steal of making Chris Cohen a permanent signing from West Ham for around £90,000. New manager Russell Slade saw his playing squad reduced from over 20 to around 16 as a revolving door of loan players became the new recruitment policy. Fortunately, Slade proved himself able to work with a small budget as he had done at his previous clubs, and also a canny mover in the transfer market, bringing in players such as Marcus Stewart, Lee Morris and Leon Best. Despite the apparent decrease in resources, Yeovil were able to stabilise in League One for several years and even get to the playoff final in 2006/07, very much against the odds. In the summer of 2006, Webb sold his shares to John Fry who became the owner after many years as Chairman.

At the start of the 2005/06 season, nine players in the Yeovil squad had been at the club since the Conference days. By the start of the following season, only Skiverton and Lindegaard remained. By the start of 2007/08, only Skiverton and Guyett remained of the team who had won League Two just two years earlier.

Team that day: Steve Collis, Kevin Amankwaah (sub. Andy Lindegaard 35), Nathan Jones, Terry Skiverton, Scott Guyett, Chris Cohen, Lee Johnson, Paul Terry, David Poole (sub. Arron Davies 85), Matt Harrold, Phil Jevons (sub. Kevin Gall 86). Subs not used: Chris Weale, Luke Oliver

 

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The Yeovil Town Under-18s team from its Elite Player Development Programme (EPDP) made it through to the quarter-finals of the British Colleges Knock-Out Cup.

The young Glovers beat Merthyr College from South Wales 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw salvaged by a late equaliser from Charlie Bateson.

The EPDP is run in partnership with Yeovil College.

The shoot-out success follows a 1-1 draw at Bridgwater United Under-18s in the South West Counties Youth League last weekend when Benjani Junior was on target.

They are back in action this weekend with a home match against Paulton Rovers at the Alvington Playing Fields on Saturday (10.30am kick-off).

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Yeovil Town slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Darren Sarll said he was ‘angry and frustrated’, Josh Staunton said the team had ‘let everyone down’. The Gloverscast has asked one of BBC Somerset’s finest co-commentators, Marcus Duncomb what he thought… here are his Five Conclusions.

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We could really do with some more goals. This one is somewhat obvious but it’s the main thing which is holding us back. In our 26 league games this season, we’ve only managed to score more than one goal in six games – the last time we did so was away at Wrexham in November. While it’s all well and good having a solid defence (not last night mind you…), you cannot rely on scoring one goal a game to win you matches. The more concerning factor is that it wasn’t like we had missed opportunities against Wealdstone. Reuben Reid was fairly ineffective and his replacement Adi Yussuf had a similar impact on the game. I heard there’s a striker Chesterfield have just signed who they don’t seem to be starting – wonder if they’re willing to loan him out yet?

I wonder if it might be time to start playing some full-backs. Morgan Williams has been one of our most consistent performers this season but, through no fault of his own, I wonder if we need to begin playing a back four of two centre-backs and two full backs rather than three centre-backs and one full-back. When we’re defending a lead or trying to keep a clean sheet, Williams is perfect for that role. Similarly when playing against a big side, you can see why Sarll puts him at full-back. However, when chasing an equaliser and struggling to create chances (as has been the case more often recently), I think it’s worth having a natural full-back there who can take on players and put quality balls into the box.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

We needed a playmaker to unlock Wealdstone’s defence. Throughout the game, as soon as we brought the ball to the halfway line, Wealdstone’s back five would drop deep onto the edge of their penalty area and their midfield trio would be just in front. At this point our midfield would pass it around and be unable to find that crucial pass. Sarll has said previously that it doesn’t suit his side to have more of the ball and that was evident last night. I think we missed someone like D’Ath last night to orchestrate play for us.

Defensive errors are starting to creep into this team. When a team is built on its defensive stability and ability to win games by not conceding, there can be no room for errors. We saw it with the goal we conceded against Weymouth and both goals against Wealdstone were really poor goals to concede. If you concede goals like those then you have to go up the other end and make amends by scoring a few. Unfortunately, this team never looked like doing so and the only way we scored was by being gifted a penalty.

Finally, and this isn’t exactly a revelation, but we are mid-table team. Before the season I think pretty much everyone predicted a mid-table finish this season. The pre-Christmas run gave us some great memories and away days, but what it also gave fans was a tiny glimmer of hope to sneak into the play-offs. Sarll said during that period that his players were playing at levels much higher than they should and that fans need to manage expectations. Unfortunately, the way of mid-table is that if you go on a good run, you should expect it to be balanced out by a not so good run later on and that is exactly what has happened this season.

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Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town midfielder, Josh Staunton spoke to the club’s YouTube channel after the defeat to Wealdstone saying the game was a “really hard one to look back on“.

Staunton was speaking to club media manager Sam Collard after the game and admitted it’ll take some time to get over a defeat of that nature.

He said: “We looked completely disjointed probably from start to finish, the goals were very bad timing for us, we found ourselves in the game, but we weren’t playing well, we had no harmony”

“Second half, we mounted and effort, but to be honest, we let everyone down.”

Speaking out conceding just before the half time interval, Staunton said they had no one other to blame but themselves.

He said: “We were probably the masters of our own downfall, we were guilty for the two goals we conceded were poor goals and to be honest, they just summed the performance up.”

Looking forward, he admitted that it won’t be easy, but that the team knew what they had to do as they prepare for a trip to Eastleigh on Saturday.

Staunton added: “This will be a hard one to let go, because we were so devoid of any flow or creative spark, it makes it very difficult to galvanise a group… we’ve got to focus on the next one and hopefully we can move on from this, find some sort of flow, some sort of rhythm to our play and push forward.”

 

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll told BBC Somerset he is dealing with a lot of “anger” and “frustration” following his side’s 2-1 defeat away at Wealdstone.

Speaking directly after the final whistle, the boss gave a frank and honest interview on how he saw the game.

He said: “(I’m) very disappointed for our travelling supporters, because they’ve come so far tonight, I think it’s very hard for any coach to defend any performance when the fundamentals of any game are not met and we had a unique habit of just giving the ball away.”

Sarll said on a couple different occasions that he felt his side played too many long passes and failed to show their optimum level of technical ability.

“Two of the worst goals (to concede) I’ve ever seen, by the way, and then you chase – and we’re not a great team at having a lot of the ball and creating lots of chances, we haven’t got a lot of creativity or that individual ability in the final part of the game to do something out of the ordinary, it’s an indefensible performance in my eyes”

Sarll said he’s left his players know in no uncertain terms how he felt, and said he was frustrated at his sides couldn’t figure out how to break down an ever increasingly defensive host.

“We did our absolutle best to take any momentum out of the game after that (Dale Gorman’s goal), we went from scoring goal – a bit of a razz – there was a bit of a melee and then we did our best to have a goal kick, which we will kick again on their head, then we give away a throw and not defend that properly and then we will give away a free kick where we are trying to fight and jostle our way back into the game… they take the sting out of the game”

There was praise for the introduction of Sonny Blu Lo Everton, but the manager highlighted the absence of Lawson D’ath who he did want to “break” with so many games in quick succession but he reiterated that he needed to find reinforcements on and off the pitch.

Sarll said: “This needs a spike in the changing room, it needs some characters, it needs some players, I’ll ask the question because it does need some freshness in there.

“I think some of the young ones are being worn down by a campaign, some of them are at the 25/26 game mark where they probably haven’t been before.”

“I definitely need to look at the structure of the coaching staff, who and how we replenish the position left by Terry (Skiverton) because I think that can be a big one at times”

Yeovil Town will hope to have a “spike” or two added before the away game at Eastleigh on Saturday.