Stuart Robins speaks to BBC Somerset
2025-05-05
Ahead of the final match of the season, Yeovil Town interim chairman Stuart Robins spoke to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah. He spoke about his first month in the job, provided an update on talks over a takeover at Huish Park and discussed the situation with a number of supporters who have been banned from attending home matches for comments on social media. You can read the interview in full here:
JK: One month in to the role how have you found it?
SR: It feels like six years, not a month! It has been great, I just love the club and it has been so good to be involved at this level. The support I have been given is just fantastic and that is from everybody. It has been really exciting. I know I have plenty of white hair, but you can never stop learning.
JK: What aspect of the job has surprised you?
SR: Probably the intensity and the stuff you get brought in to. The top level stuff is fairly straightforward because you can just make decisions, but there are a lot of stakeholders in the club. The supporters, the staff who have worked tirelessly and the volunteers, they all deserve being looked after. But it is great. Home match days are very busy and there is a real buzz. We have had some great crowds at Huish Park recently and the busier it is, the more exciting it is.
JK: The big question everyone wants to know is, how is it going with the sale of the club and when do you expect to have answers?
SR: The Hellier Group has entered in to an exclusive agreement with a third party. We have been working on this for some months and we are moving forward and everyone behind-the-scenes is working very hard to bring this to a conclusion as soon as we possibly can. There is a huge amount of goodwill on both sides to get this done and as soon as I can give more information, I will be more than happy to do so.
JK: Can you explain what ‘entering in to an exclusive agreement with a third party’ means in simple terms?
SR: We have had quite a number of parties that have been interested in investing in the club, and we felt this party was the best fit for the long-term sustainability of the club. The agreement is that neither party will talk to anyone else and the Heads of Agreement says that, unless something unforseen happens a takeover of the club will take place.
I cannot give you a precise date but we are working to do it as quickly as we possibly can.
JK: I have chatted to manager Mark Cooper and he has said that the club cannot move forward in terms of contract renewals or recruitment until this is sorted.
SR: We have been working with (manager Mark Cooper) to see what we need to do budget-wise next year to be more competitive than we have this year. Every party understands that speed is of the essence, but there is nothing anyone will do to slow things down. We want to speed everything up.
JK: Are you optimistic that in the coming weeks that the club will be able to plan for next season?
SR: I have been in business long enough to say ‘it is never done until it is done’, but we are working hard to get this completed as soon as we possibly can.
JK: When we spoke last time, we spoke about the banning orders for supporters. Is there any update on those?
SR: All those people which have been effected have been contacting and they are all aware what we are doing. That issue has been addressed?
JK: So all the individuals involved have been contacted by the club and arrangements have been made on an individual basis?
SR: Not just by the club, but by me personally.
JK: So have any of the bans been overturned or is that an individual thing?
SR: We will make an announcement as soon as the season is completed, but every individual has been contacted personally by me. They all know what the situation is.
JK: There is never a boring season with Yeovil Town, is there Stuart?!
SR: That is true and I am hoping next year will be even less boring as we see more success on the field. I want a non-boring season with all the excitement at the other end of the table!
JK: I have spoken to Mark Cooper about the core of this squad. Do you believe that if you have a fully fit Aaron Jarvis, Brett McGavin, Jake Wannell, Morgan Williams for a season and you can make a few signings around them, is there any reason why Yeovil couldn’t be pushing for promotion next season?
SR: You wouldn’t expect me to talk about individual players, that is for Mark, not me. But what I would say is the basis of the club looks pretty strong, they all seem very committed. The training ground is Mark’s domain, and they seem a tight, happy squad. We want to give Mark and the team as much help and obviously budget to see what we can do next season.
JK: What has been your highlight of this season?
SR: I was delighted with how we dealt with Oldham Athletic (in the 2-1 home win). I know they were on a bad run of form, but we played well and should have won 2-0 instead of 2-1. That performance for me was just fantastic, the way we played that day against a squad that had the budget they have was just fantastic. I just really enjoyed that one.
Cooper: The pitch will make it a game of chance
2025-05-05
Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has slammed the state of the playing surface at Aldershot Town for the the final fixture of the National League Premier Division season.
The Glovers’ boss said he did not believe the pitch at The Recreation Ground had been cut and said he felt it would impact on the style of football played.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off, he said: “I was really looking forward to it until I came and saw the pitch. I would think when the referee sees that he has to have questions whether it is a health and safety risk.
“They have not even cut it, it is like they are waiting for the cows or sheep to come and eat it. You would not see that at the bottom level of Sunday morning football – but there we go!
“Apparently they have a lawnmower that broke and they have just not bothered, but that is their issue. I am sure it will frustrate the staff at Aldershot because they want to play good football. It will make sure the game is probably not a spectacle in terms of football. It will mean a lot of long balls forward and a game of chance.”
The manager has made two changes to the starting XI which began the 2-1 home defeat to Sutton United in their last game with winger Lewys Twamley handed his first start and captain Jake Wannell returning to the defence after injury.
Twamley signed from Southern League Premier Division South side Merthyr Town in January and has appeared off the bench.
On the 21-year-old, Cooper said: “He has come out of the Southern League Premier Division, he is physically behind the rest of the group and when you add that to his size, it has been difficult for him to catch up. We need to have a look at him today and see if he can step up. He has the ability to score a goal and that is where we are short.
“We are all looking to next season and looking at who can go with us because we want to compete if we can, depending on what happens above us (with the takeover of the club).”
Team News – Aldershot Town (away)
2025-05-05
Winger Lewys Twamley has been handed his first Yeovl Town start for the final National League Premier Division fixture of the season at Aldershot Town (3pm kick-off).
The 21-year-old, who signed from Southern League Merthyr Town at the end of January, is one of two changes to the Glovers’ XI from their last match, a 2-1 defeat at home to Sutton United. Central defender Jake Wannell returns to the starting line-up as part of a back three.
Finn Cousin-Dawson drops to the substitutes’ bench alongside Harvey Greenslade. They join midfielder Brett McGavin, who returned to training last week after suffering what appeared to be a season-ending injury, and striker Aaron Jarvis, who came off the bench against Sutton.
Robins: Lots of work going on to complete takeover
2025-05-05
Yeovil Town interim chairman Stuart Robins has confirmed that “a third party” is in talks with owner Martin Hellier to complete a takeover.
In a statement posted on the club’s social media ahead of the final match of the season at Aldershot Town on Monday, Robins said there was “still a lot to be done” to complete the deal.
He said: “As many of you know, we have been trying diligently to get new ownership and investment in to the club. The Hellier Group and a third party have been working behind-the-scenes to try and make that happen.
“There is a lot of work which has been going on and still a lot to be done, but there has been an awful lot of goodwill on both sides. As soon as I am in a position to give you a further update I will. Everybody is working hard to make this happen as soon as they can.”
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of kick-off, the interim chairman added that the Hellier Group had entered in to “an exclusive arrangement” with the unnamed third party.
He said: “We have had quite a number of parties that have been interested in investing in the club, and we felt this party was the best fit for the long-term sustainability of the club. The agreement is that neither party will talk to anyone else and the Heads of Agreement says that, unless something unforseen happens a takeover of the club will take place.
“I cannot give you a precise date but we are working to do it as quickly as we possibly can. We have been working with (manager Mark Cooper) to see what we need to do budget-wise next year to be more competitive than we have this year. Every party understands that speed is of the essence, but there is nothing anyone will do to slow things down.”
Asked whether he hoped that the manager could start focusing on renewing players contracts in the coming weeks, Robins added: “I have been in business long enough to say ‘it is never done until it is done’, but we are working hard to get this completed as soon as we possibly can.”
The club director, who took over the reins at Huish Park following the owners’ decision to step down as chairman a month ago, concluded his statement on the club’s official social media by thanking the club’s staff, Cooper and his coaching team, and the players for securing a place in the National League Premier Division for next season.
He added: “Most importantly I would like to thank all the fans. The atmosphere you create at Huish Park is just incredible and the away support we have is fantastic. You have no idea how much it is appreciated by the club, the players and of course myself. I hope you have a great summer and I am looking forward to seeing you all again when we kick off in August with our next campaign.“
Foot In The Opposition Camp: Aldershot (A)
2025-05-05
It’s the last foot in the opposition camp of the season, and Dave has caught up with our mate Pete to chat about the Shot’s season.
Playoff Round-Up 2024/25 – NLN/NLS Semi Finals
2025-05-04
We’re one step closer to discovering the rest of Yeovil’s 2025/26 opponents, as the remaining playoff participants battle it out for a place in next season’s National League. The table below features all the teams taking part (with the exception of the champions of course), and those struck through have been eliminated already; you can read more about that here.
Participants
| Final Position | National League North | National League South |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (Champions) | Brackley Town | Truro City |
| 2nd | Scunthorpe United | Torquay United |
| 3rd | Kidderminster Harriers | Eastbourne Borough |
| 4th | Chester | |
| 5th | Chorley | Boreham Wood |
| 6th | ||
| 7th | Maidstone United |
It had been confirmed for a couple of weeks already, but with the EFL regular season ending on Saturday, it’s 100% confirmed that Carlisle United and Morecambe are the two relegated sides to join the National League next season. Morecambe were confirmed as relegated on 21st April following a defeat against Salford City, and Carlisle United’s relegation was confirmed a week later after a 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham Town.
Results
The semi-finals were contested in the following fixtures:
National League North
Scunthorpe United vs Chorley
Kidderminster Harriers vs Chester
National League South
Torquay United vs Boreham Wood
Eastbourne Borough vs Maidstone United
We’ll start on Saturday afternoon in the north, where Scunthorpe United went one step further than last season’s heartbreak against Boston, by defeating Chorley in an enthralling encounter! It was a frenetic first half, with Danny Whitehall opening the scoring five minutes in, before Chorley equalised through Kole Hall. Whitehall got his second of the game 15 minutes later, before Callum Roberts added a third for the Iron three minutes later. Things calmed down for a while, before Carlton Ubaezuonu struck a fourth for Scunthorpe to end Chorley’s hopes, despite a late Kole Hall consolation goal.
It was a much less exciting match in the south, despite the upset – Boreham Wood frustrated a buoyant Plainmoor, defeating Torquay United courtesy of a scruffy Matt Rush goal. Torquay huffed and puffed, but were eventually condemned to a third consecutive season of NLS football.
Sunday saw two 2-1 score lines, and further upsets, as playoff drama hit its peak! We’ll start in the south this time, as the 10 men of Maidstone United defeated Eastbourne Borough to boost their place in the final.
Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong gave the visitors the lead shortly before half-time, before Alfie Pavey equalised for Eastbourne just after the hour. With eight minutes remaining, Charlie Seaman was sent off for a second bookable offence, but up stepped Aaron Blair to score the winner in the 90th minute, leaving Eastbourne to lick their wounds after an impressive season.
In the north, Chester came from behind at Kidderminster Harriers to reach the playoff final. Kyle Morrison opened the scoring for Kiddy just 19 minutes in, but 10 minutes before half-time, Dylan Mottley-Henry equalised for the visitors. The second half was closely contested, before an 82nd minute Declan Weeks hit sent the Blues fans into raptures, as Kidderminster prepare for a second season of NLN football.
Both finals will be played on Sunday 18th May, with the northern final being hosted at Glanford Park by Scunthorpe United, and the southern final being played at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park.
Final Scores
National League North
Scunthorpe United 4-2 Chorley
Kidderminster Harriers 1-2 Chester
National League South
Torquay United 0-1 Boreham Wood
Eastbourne Borough 1-2 Maidstone United
Match Preview: Aldershot Town vs Yeovil Town
2025-05-04
The National League Premier Division season comes to a close with a trip to FA Trophy finalists Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday.
Form Guide…
Neither side are finishing the season in style with Yeovil Town picking up seven points in their last six matches, and Aldershot Town getting just four.
Last time out Yeovil went down to a 2-1 defeat in their final home game of the season against Sutton United. Aldershot were defeated 4-0 at champions Barnet, a result which secured the title for the Bees.
In fact, The Shots have not picked up a win since they clinched a place in the FA Trophy final. Four defeats in their last five matches have seen them ship 17 goals, including a 7-2 defeat at York City.
Conceding goals has been their issue this season. They have let in 82 goals in their 45 games and only the division’s bottom two, Ebbsfleet United (96) and AFC Fylde (82) have let in as many.
Aldershot will be without a key player in full-back Ryan Jones who suffered a broken leg in the 3-0 defeat at local rivals Woking on Easter Monday. The former Bristol Rovers youngster has been a stand out performer for them this season.
Key Players…
Yeovil – Finn Cousin-Dawson
The form of the summer signing in the second half of the season has been largely overlooked, but he has impressed stepping forward in to midfield.
His aerial ability and calmness on the ball has been important as he has both filled the voids left by injuries to first choice central defenders Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell, and when he has moved up the pitch.
He’s also a player who remains under contract for next season having signed a two-year deal when he arrived from Bradford City in the summer.
James Henry tries to find a way past Ollie Wright in the 1-1 draw at Huish Park in September. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
Aldershot Town – James Henry
At the age of 35, James Henry should be slowing down but the former Millwall player has proved vital for Aldershot since joining last summer.
He has contributed 15 goals this season playing mostly in a wide position, just one goal behind top scorer Josh Barrett who will be another one to watch.
But Henry’s consistency and experience has added even more for our hosts on Bank Holiday Monday.
That’s what he said…
You may have heard that Aldershot Town are in the FA Trophy final with Spennymoor United their opponents six days after they take on Yeovil.
But Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper is under no illusions that Aldershot will be taking it easy with a trip to Wembley next weekend.
Speaking ahead of the Bank Holiday fixture, he told BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah: “I think they will be full strength and trying to get a bit of form going in to the final and they will want to get this sorted on Monday. I do not buy in to talk about that they will rest players, people told me that about Sutton United (before the 2-1 home defeat at Huish Park last time out) because they had (the National League Cup) final the following Tuesday and none of that happened. It is about on the day, you have to be up for it because otherwise you will get beaten.”
Aldershot assistant manager Hugo Langton stepped in front of the camera following the 4-0 defeat at champions Barnet in their last match and admitted his side had not been good enough recently.
He said: “We can’t hide the fact we have not been on a great run lately. We have got nine games until the next game, so we have a good week ahead of us and sometimes we have to be brutally honest with each other.
“The things that have been disappointing recently, we have got to get right. They are things we have been working on and we just have to work harder at it and that is what we will do.”
We’ve met before…
This is the tenth meeting between Yeovil Town and Aldershot Town and the previous nine results have ended in three wins, three draws and three defeats for each.
The last two meetings have ended up in 1-1 draws with Ciaran McGuckin levelling after Josh Barrett’s opener at Huish Park in this season’s reverse fixture at the end of September.
Last time we met at The Recreation Ground was on Yeovil’s way out of the National League Premier Division on Good Friday in 2023. Callum Harriott (remember him?) equalised in the second half for the Glovers.
Don’t I know you…
Shots’ central defender Christian Maghoma had a loan spell at Huish Park in 2015 – but failed to make a single appearance. He joined a Yeovil side bottom of League Two as an 18-year-old on loan from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur.
Who’s been naughty then…
Aldershot midfielder Cameron Hargreaves, son of ex-Glovers’ boss, Chris, is available again having served a three-match ban for his sending off in the 7-2 defeat at York City.
There are no suspensions affecting Yeovil Town.
SUPPORT THE GLOVERSCAST
The Gloverscast is a volunteer run website which costs money to maintain. If ever you feel like supporting with our running costs, which include our website hosting, Zoom subscription, The Daily Glove, we’d be extremely grateful for your donations.
Jarvis: I feel good
2025-05-02
Striker Aaron Jarvis has said the injured hamstring which has kept him out for three-and-a-half months is “feeling good” and he is hoping to feature in the final match of Yeovil Town’s season at Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday.
The frontman had eight goals to his name when he suffered a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury which he suffered earlier in his career during the 1-1 draw at Ebbsfleet United in mid-January.
Speaking about that moment to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Friday, he said: “I knew straight away because this is the third time I have done it. I knew what I was about to go through rehab-wise, so mentally I was prepared for it.
“I just started chipping in with a few more goals and I felt confident, we had 20 games left and I was trying to think what figure of goals I wanted to end on and then that same night the hamstring said ‘no thanks’.”
The 27-year-old appeared as a 67th minute substitute in last Saturday’s final home match of the season, a 2-1 home defeat to Sutton United, and admitted it was a “bitter sweet” moment to return to fitness with just two matches of the National League Premier Division season remaining.
He said: “It is a bit bitter sweet because there is only one game left and I did not think I would be back on the pitch this season, but I am glad I am and hopefully we can go out on a high on Monday.
“I have had this same injury before and have re-torn it just before the summer break, so (deciding to play before the end of the season) was a big ‘risk or reward’ situation, but I feel good and I am happy to be out there and help the boys.
“I have been in full training for a few weeks now, so it is just a case of building it up when we can on the pitch. Match fitness is completely different to training, I can do as much as I can in training and extras but you cannot replicate match fitness.”
On Monday’s game, he added: “We want to end the season on a high. Unfortunately we could win the last home game last Saturday, but we can use that as motivation to finish the season on a high at Aldershot. From a personal point of view, if I am selected to get some minutes, hopefully I can progress my fitness. As a team we want to play well and end the season with three points.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCJZxe–K8Cooper: We need six or seven players this summer
2025-05-02
Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said he believes he must add “six or seven players” to his squad for them to compete for promotion next season.
The Glovers’ bosses pointed to his side’s lack of goals this season as a major factor in their mid-table finish as they prepare for their final game of the National League Premier Division season at Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday.
They are the division’s fourth-lowest scorers this season with only bottom club Ebbsfleet United (38), Braintree Town (49) and, somewhat ironically, play-off hopefuls FC Halifax Town (48) having scored fewer. Relegated AFC Fylde have also scored 50 this season.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Friday, Cooper said: “If you really dust it down we have not scored enough goals when we have needed to and that is something we need to put right in the summer. We have to try and find a way of scoring more goals as a team, we have not scored enough goals from set pieces this year, we have not had enough people chipping in with goals.
“There is a key group of players there that are good enough to compete at this level, as we should at the start and midway through the season when we were up and around the play-offs. If we can keep that tight and add some quality, we can be really optimistic about next season.”
The boss pointed to the uncertainty which remains at Huish Park as we pass the one-month mark since interim chairman Stuart Robins told fans getting new investment was his “highest priority“ following the decision of owner Martin Hellier to step down as chairman.
Cooper said: “I can’t give any definitives at the minute, we are in limbo to see what happens, it could be a good summer, it could be a really long summer. We need to add 6-7 players, like you probably do most seasons. Ideally I would like those to be real quality players that could help us score more goals.
“I can’t do anything at the minute, we have players that are out of contract that we would like to re-engage and there are players we have been monitoring that we would like to bring to the club but until things get sorted, we can’t look too far ahead.”
The manager revealed midfielder Brett McGavin will return to the squad for the Bank Holiday Monday visit to Aldershot Town. The 25-year-old has not featured since picking up an injury in the 1-0 home defeat to York City on 15th April, but has been involved in training this week.
Cooper said: “Brett will not be properly fit because he has not trained for a long time, but we putting him in to give him a little bit of incentive to go away with in the summer.”
Defender Michael Smith remains a doubt with a hamstring injury which has dogged him this season.
Monday’s opponents have the small matter of an FA Trophy final against Spennymoor United at Wembley the following Sunday with a support expected to be pushing 20,000 travelling from Hampshire to support them.
The Shots sit two places and two points behind Yeovil in 16th place going in to the match and are without a win in their last five matches. However, Cooper has dispelled any thoughts that the opposition will have one eye on the final at The Recreation Ground.
He said: “I think they will be full strength and trying to get a bit of form going in to the final and they will want to get this sorted on Monday. I do not buy in to talk about that they will rest players, people told me that about Sutton United (before the 2-1 home defeat at Huish Park last time out) because they had (the National League Cup) final the following Tuesday and none of that happened. It is about on the day, you have to be up for it because otherwise you will get beaten.
“Their budget will be a budget in the bottom half of the league. I know the restraints that Tommy (Widdrington, the Aldershot manager) will be working under, because they will not have one of the big budgets. I think over the last two years, finishing eighth last season and then reaching the Trophy final this year, they have done unbelievably well. They have had two great seasons.”