On this episode, we take a trip down memory lane with James Healey. James was the media officer at Yeovil Town during the highest of the highs and we go through what it was like during the amazing League One promotion season.
Enjoy!
Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has said the club will need to be careful with their recruitment as they prepare for a third season in the National League.
The Glovers’ boss said there were “ongoing discussions” with a number of players who are out of contract at the end of the current campaign, but said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of parachute payments would hit hard.
Speaking on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s match at Altrincham, he said: “We have lost huge amounts of money next year because our League parachute payments stop.
“I have to take my hat off to Scott (Priestnall) because he has taken over a club at the worst time ever with relegation from the League, then COVID and the loss of parachute payments, but he has always stood firm and tried to give me the best conditions to do my job.
“We learnt on recruitment by not recruiting early enough, which we went on record about earlier this year around Christmas when I was having a bad time.
“We have to spend very sensibly this year and recruitment has to be a lot better.”
He said he expected to have another busy summer with agents for players pitching him players and potentially having to react to losing players, adding the club had made “over six figures” from sales of winger Myles Hippolyte to Scunthorpe United last summer, and strikers Courtney Duffus and Alfie Lloyd to Bromley and QPR respectively.
Sarll said: “Those sales have kept us going, so are we going to have to do that again and have to react to losing players? I don’t know.
“We’re going to have a five-week period between now and the start of pre-season where we are going to have a more settled squad doing a full pre-season. That will be my aim because we have never had that.”
Darren Sarll is expecting to field another patched-up Yeovil Town side when they travel to Altrincham for the penultimate game of the season this weekend.
The boss has said he expects to be without defender Luke Wilkinson who was sent off for two bookings in the goalless draw with Maidenhead United in midweek, the first for kicking the ball away and the second for handling the ball in to the net.
Speaking ahead of the match, Sarll described the decision from referee Daniel Lamport as “silly“, but warned his players he would not accept them picking up bookings for dissent.
He said: “I have said to (Lee) that you are going to lose lots of money if you do that stuff – people are going to get fined.
“I don’t mind people getting booked for tackles, my teams normally play on the edge a bit anyway and if we are booked because we are trying to be competitive, but there is no room for dissent.
“We will probably lose him for the rest of the season which hurts us because he is a huge player for us and we have only had him for 18 games.”
The manager added he did not expect to have any key players including midfielder Matt Worthington or top scorer Rhys Murphy to be fit for the game.
He said: “We have taken a step back because of (the sending off of Wilkinson), I don’t think anyone would be back fit.
“I was hoping to have Alex John back fit and get him in some games because he is a brilliant kid and he deserves some games.
“I don’t think he will make it, I don’t think Worthington will make it, Charlie (Lee) is walking like he has glass in his shoe now.
“Murphy is nowhere near, so we are going to be very short.”
Sarll said he hoped his side would continue to be as motivated as they have been since to returning to playing following a break due to the death of club captain Lee Collins.
He added: “My lads have been heavily motivated and kept a very good attitude and sometimes that has not been good enough and sometimes it has.
“If we can replicate Tuesday’s performance on Saturday, that is all we can ask for.
“The only difference is we are going to be missing another central defender – it’s been a car crash of a season in centre halves.”
Altrincham have confirmed are limiting attendance to just 600 for the visit of the Glovers to “gauge the effectiveness in maintaining social distancing” with tickets on sale to home fans only.
In a statement, the club said: “After carefully considering the paramount importance of spectator safety and the need to test our procedures to gauge their effectiveness in maintaining social distancing, we are limiting the attendance against Yeovil to 600.
“It is our hope and expectation that we will then be able to accommodate the permitted figure of 1,231 for the following two games.”
Rhys Murphy has not yet accepted a contract offer to extend his stay at Yeovil Town.
The Glovers’ top scorer, who has 13 goals for the club this season, is out of contract at the end of the season and therefore free to leave on a free transfer.
Speaking ahead of the match at Altrincham, manager Darren Sarll said: “We have tried to discuss on several occasions with Rhys a new contract and, as of yet, he has not accepted any of those offers. It will be ongoing until he signs for Yeovil or somewhere else. We have taken players from lower leagues and players who were relegated with this club and made them better players, and those players have a right to investigate those offers. It is a job, they still have to pay their mortgage and you have to respect that.”
Murphy has not played since the 3-0 home win over Solihull Moors last month when he came on as an 86th-minute substitute and is not expected to play at the weekend.
This would have been the Good Friday (02/04) game; but the passing of our captain Lee Collins earlier that week put anything so trivial as playing a football match into perspective.
Saturday’s (22/05) rearrangement will be our first trip to Moss Lane in twenty-one years, since 29th April 2000 to be exact, when a 2-2 draw helped Alty on their way to relegation out of what was then called the Nationwide Conference into the Northern Premier League. Kick-off is 3.00 p.m.
From that time the two clubs veered along different paths, until now. With the formation of Conference North and South in 2004 Alty found their natural football niche: a yo-yo club between the North and the National divisions. They might have yo-yoed even more but for an unlikely sequence of good fortune. Between 2005-06 and 2007-08 Altrincham finished in the relegation zone all three seasons, only to be reprieved each time. In 2005-06 they were saved when Canvey Island resigned and Scarborough were demoted; saved again in 2006-07 when Boston United were demoted; and yet again in 2007-08 with the liquidation of Halifax. A couple of seasons later they were again back in the relegation zone, but this time had run out of clubs to be demoted in their stead.
Since then Altrincham has been up and down several times, the most recent move being upwards from North to National last season when PPG had them finishing sixth and they then beat Chester, York City and Boston United in the belated play-offs.
Back at Easter when the match was originally scheduled both clubs could still just about claim to have vague aspirations of unlikely bids for the play-offs. These are now long gone. Altrincham, 11th on 27th March after a 0-1 win away to Maidenhead, have not won a game since. Having only picked up a single point in the meantime – a 1-1 draw at home to Notts County – it’s been a steady drift down the table, to a current 17th.
This should be Altrincham’s first match with some fans back at Moss Lane (J. Davidson Stadium). The club is hoping to be allowed 1,200 spectators though there appears to have been some delay in getting the required confirmation from Trafford Borough Council. However, any hiccups are irrelevant to us as whenever it does get sorted it’ll be home fans only.
Yeovil Town has Alex Bradley and Luke Wilkinson serving suspensions. Billy Sass-Davies should know the Moss Lane pitch well having had two loan spells with Altrincham, the second earlier this season when he made seven appearances.
The Alty TV LIVE streaming service costs £9.99 and can be found via: Streaming on Alty TV LIVE | Altrincham Football Club (altrinchamfc.com) . At the time of writing purchase for the Yeovil fixture has not gone live.
The usual radio commentary from BBC Somerset Radio Somerset – Listen Live – BBC Sounds and Three Valleys Three Valleys Radio – Yeovil’s Sports Radio Station will be available.
Planning for the 2021/22 season is well underway for many clubs and it seems that Yeovil Town Under 18s have got at least one date set in their diaries for pre-season.
The Under 18s are confirmed as one of Wincanton Town‘s opponents in July as the Wasps prefer for their campaign in the Toolstation Western League.
Yeovil are listed as the hosts for the friendly which will take place on Tuesday July 20th with a 7pm Kick Off.
As you might expect, no details on supporter attendance or venue has yet been confirmed.
Now we know we’ve got no rogue entries into the league we can announce our pre season schedule @Axminstertownfc @ringwoodtownfc @ytfcacademy @SFC1888 @Wellington_AFC @CadburyHeathFC @Mallet_AFC #upthewasps ?? pic.twitter.com/8kD0nDqcAl
— Wincanton Town FC (@WincantontownFC) May 18, 2021
How I’ve missed that.
The sound of the turnstile as you push your way through the least covid-safe entranceway possible. The murmur of the crowd in anticipation of a match. The thud of a damp football being skidded along a slick surface. The echo of heavy rain driving on the metal roof. The joy of having a shared experience with people, actual people.
This season has been memorable. The disastrous start to the season, the owner attempting to sell the land, the covid breaks, injury after injury and the tragedy of Lee Collins. Last night was memorable for all of the right reasons. To be back at Huish Park, surrounded by familiar faces (a row further forward than normal) was the teaser of normality that many of us have craved.
The performance was good, I think? I mean, I enjoyed the game. I thought we played well and looked comfortable. But it didn’t really matter. The point was 1500 of us got to watch our team in a competitive match for the first time in 444 days.
Last night, I learned that a stream doesn’t do our players justice. The connection between a players genuine effort and drive is totally lost from behind a screen. Charlie Lee could have had that performance two weeks ago and it would have been fine. But to see it in person – his determination, his running, his quality – reminded me what being a supporter is all about.
Carl Dickinson, totally imperious last night, was winding up his winger incessantly. That was one of his final two matches at Huish Park and he absolutely revelled in it.
Josh Neufville got an applause like no other after his substitution. That was an outpouring of gratitude for being our standout performer since joining. He’s a highlight of our season and we’re only just able to give him the genuine appreciation he deserves.
The electricity of Knowles. Darren Sarll has been hyperbolic about Tom Knowles ability and he’s that player who starts to get the seats rumbling as he picks up the ball. He wants to make things happen and he’s going to be great to watch next season.
And the 4th minute. What a moment. If you listed a top ten moments at Huish Park that would have to be in it. The appreciation we’ve been yearning to show. To show each other what Lee Collins meant to us all. We’re still a club in grieving, but for the game to stop for applause across the pitch put a lump in my throat. Seeing Adam Smith wipe away the tears and Lee’s colleagues take a pause to feel that moment was something else.
It was an absolute pleasure to be back at Huish Park last night, supporting a team that’s been going it alone since March 2020. While we might have forgotten what that connection between players and supporters felt like through this torrid time, just a minute inside the stadium brought it all back again.
If the excitement of the Semi-Final comeback against Sheffield United wasn’t enough to tip you over the edge of footballing emotion, there’s a fair chance, what can only be described as 90 minutes of HELL would have done the trick.
Coming into the final, there were fears, much like in 2007, that the final might be one step too far following a rollercoaster route to the the Wembley show piece.
But, unlike in 2007, we saw the game through.
Yeovil got off to the best possible start – and who else could it be, but Paddy Madden?
The ball fell kindly to the Irishman and with the outside of the right boot, he found the top corner.
1-0. Crikey.
I’m convinced that this is the perfect time to bring out the old cliche, but if Messi or Ronaldo had scored that goal in a big final, they’d replay it forever, it’s that good of a finish.
The horrible truth is, that throughout this game – Yeovil were on the backfoot – defending stoutly throughout, there’s a reason Marek Stech got Man Of The Match,
You, me, any of the near 20,000 Glovers in the stadium would have taken a 1-0 lead into half time, but it would actually get better.
Dan Burn with a header, probably intended to just give something for someone else to latch onto made it through everyone, including a wild swoosh from James Hayter, to go in, clearly in – miles over the line.
2-0. Bloody Hell.
I was so nervous, this wasn’t meant to happen, Yeovil weren’t meant to make it to the Championship – Brentford were one penalty kick away from making it automatically, of course they’d win the play offs.
Harlee Dean thought so anyway.
Probably the only moment of defensive sloppiness came when Dean skipped past his marker and headed home to half the deficit.
The Bees continued to huff, to puff and to force save after save from Marek Stech.
As time went by, the nerves barely held on.
But Yeovil did.
There are many elements of that day never to be forgotten aside from the headlines created, by Madde, Burn and Stech; Jamie McAlister broke his nose, Gavin Williams got booked as a sub, cameo roles for Matty Dolan and Vitaljs Maksimenko too.
But, after taking 108 years to get to the Football League, it took just ten to reach the second tier, whatever happened after is for another story, on another day.
But this was magical. – My words won’t do it justice, very few ever will, but they can never take away the time OUR club won at Wembley.
Yeovil Town midfielder Lawson D’Ath was on media duties following the Glovers’ 0-0 with Maidenhead on Tuesday night.
The game represented the first game at Huish Park in over a year with supporters in the ground, something which Lawson said made a huge difference.
“It was class to have the fans back, especially when we came out for the warm up to a big cheer, and it just shows how much we’ve missed them, it gives you that extra yard.”
After the game he tweeted his pleasure at seeing Huish Park back to it’s best.
So good having fans back!! And thank you for today was unreal ?? #YTFC
— lawson d’ath (@lawsondath92) May 18, 2021
D’Ath surprised not just fans but Darren Sarll too by recovering from a frustrating season with injury to return and put in a couple of top quality performances, possibly ahead of schedule.
On his fitness, the former Reading man said;
“I am putting myself out there and trying to get the fitness going, it is hard work. I am happy, I did not think I would feel this good, to be honest, especially last Tuesday (at Aldershot) coming off the bench, I really felt like I was blowing a bit. But ,Saturday (against King’s Lynn) I felt really good. I don’t know where it came from but I managed to do alright. Today, I had moments where I felt heavy but it is going to be like that playing Saturday and then Tuesday.”
Finally, with one eye on the future, D’Ath signalled the Glovers’ intent to finish the season strong.
“We did well on Saturday and we have done well tonight and now we have to take that on to our last two games and take that in to next season. It is vital that we finish strong this season to take the form in to next year.”
Lawson D’Ath is one of a number of players out of contract this summer, with his recent form putting him in line for an extended deal during the off season.