Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 8)

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Former Hartlepool United director Ian Scobbie has been appointed to the Yeovil Town board with Executive Chairman Stuart Robins stepping down to become a non-executive director.

The Glovers announced on Thursday evening that Scobbie, an insolvency solicitor who left Hartlepool in 2020, will become a director alongside Sahil Prabhu, the son of owners Prabhu and Bhavna Srinivasan, subject to approval from the Independent Football Regulator.

Scobbie was part of the deal which saw the Srinivasan family complete the purchase of the club from former owner Martin Hellier in May 2025 with the club’s statement at the time name-checking him and his employer, Black’s Solicitors, as having “assisted in the transaction.” He has been a regular face in the director’s box at games and was spotted at the opening fixture of the season at Scunthorpe United last weekend.

Robins, who has been on the board since 2022, will now become a non-executive director with his recent appointment to the National League Board suggested as the reason behind his departure.

In a statement, the club said the changes made been made to “strengthen its governance and football expertise to support its long-term ambitions.”

It added: “Ian brings significant experience from across the football industry, having previously held senior football and governance roles at clubs including Hartlepool United and Scarborough Athletic. He was part of the Hartlepool United leadership team that secured promotion back to the English Football League in 2021 and will provide valuable strategic and football expertise to the Board.

“The Club is also pleased to announce the appointment of Sahil Prabhu to the Board of Directors. The son of Yeovil Town Football Club owners Prabhu Srinivasan and Bhavna Vohra, Sahil, has been involved with the Club since the initial due diligence phase ahead of the takeover. He has just completed a Sports Management degree at New York University (NYU). Alongside his studies, Sahil has gained experience in academy football across India, the Middle East and Europe. Across the close season he has been working closely with Billy Rowley on the First Team rebuild and sport operations. He now joins the Board as he takes on a more active role in supporting the Club’s continued growth and development.”

Ian Scobbie, right, was spotted at the weekend’s opening fixture at Scunthorpe United and has attended a number of fixtures in the North.

Scobbie’s involvement in football dates back to the mid-2000s when he was chairman of Scarborough when the former Football League club when it collapsed in 2007. It appears his insolvency experience was being his position on the board and, after the Seadogs’ collapse, he was among those looking to reform it working alongside the supporters’ trust.

He reappeared at Hartlepool in 2018 when they were bought out of a financial hole by businessman Raj Singh. He stuck around in a non-executive director capacity in the North East until November 2020. He resigned his position, but not in particularly acrimonious circumstances with “work commitments” given as the reason for his exit. He is known to be a friend of former Hartlepool president and broadcaster Jeff Stelling.

In both instances, Scobbie’s professional background as an insolvency specialist seems to be the reason for being involved in financially distressed football clubs. As far as our amateur financial expert eyes can see, there is nothing to suggest Yeovil Town are in any kind of distressed position, but with the ownership making development of land at Huish Park a clear ambition, his arrival is interesting.

Scobbie has a background of being involved in the governance of football clubs, restructuring businesses, insolvency and, during his attempts to salvage Scarborough in 2007 he made a deal with a local developer to sell its McCain Stadium. Speaking at the time, Scobbie made clear this deal was a last ditch effort to clear the club’s debts and have enough cash leftover to find it a new home. His attempts to launch a phoenix club failed with Scarborough being reformed as Scarborough Athletic with by its Supporters’ Trust which gave its thanks to Scobbie for trying to save the old club.

Returning to Huish Park, the Srinivasan’s confirmed that they had extended their exclusivity on the buy-back of the stadium and surrounding land with owners Somerset Council until 17 May 2028. In April, owner Prabhu Srinivasan insisted reuniting the football club with ownership of the stadium remained a priority.

There is no suggestion that either Scobbie or Sahil will take on the Executive Chairman role occupied by Robins, who it seems retains a role at Huish Park.

Stuart Robins, who will now become a Non-Executive Director at Huish Park. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

The statement adds: “The Club would also like to congratulate Stuart Robins on his appointment to the National League Board of Directors. Stuart’s experience, knowledge and passion for the game will be a tremendous asset to the National League, and everyone at Yeovil Town wishes him every success in his new role. Following his appointment, Stuart will step down as Executive Chairman of Yeovil Town Football Club and assume the role of Non-Executive Director.”

The club added that the appointments may take “several weeks” to clear the Independent Football Regulator, adding: “Once approval has been received, the relevant statutory filings will be made and the appointments formally recorded at Companies House.“

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town manager boss Billy Rowley has said that he is learning more and more about his side with each passing training session and match as his new group of players prepare for the first home game of the season.

Speaking to Josh Perkins of BBC Radio Somerset, he said that he’s excited to see what the ‘best version’ of this side looks like as they prepare for the visit of title favourites Carlisle United to Huish Park on Saturday.

He was asked about his feeling about 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United on the opening day of the campaign last weekend and what he learned from seeing his side in competitive action.

Rowley said: “[The result was] so frustrating. I was obviously planning training last night and re-watching that game again, along with some Carlisle stuff, and I’ve seen two or three movements where we’ve got one-on-one with the goalie that at least two of them should (not have been flagged offside), and we should probably score another goal.

“I said on Saturday, if you go 2-0 with 30 minutes to go, I feel that leaves us in a really good place to win the game. We very much hope these things are swings and roundabouts, and hope that they all level out across the season, but… I don’t know, we’ll see.

“I think you can learn a lot. I learn every day in training, so I had to join in there for 20 minutes, but you learn about, you know, players who can talk and organise defensively, you learn about players who want to run in behind more than others. So, I’m learning every day when I watch the game back, when I’m watching opposition, when I’m watching us play Scunthorpe late on in the game.”

The manager has said a few times during the pre-season campaign  – including on the Gloverscast Episode #514 – that the team will need time to produce their best football, he said it’s reasonable to expect to see things improve for a few months yet.

He said: “I would say probably around November time, you’ll probably see like the best version of us. That’s not to say that we’re not going to play well and win games until November, but I think back to my last club (Walton & Hersham), we were sort of in and around sixth or seventh place around Christmas time, and then we went on a four-month crazy winning streak. It took us that long to figure out balances in the team, who likes to play against certain opposition, who handles certain occasions, and then just learning how we play, learning new patterns and new shapes. So I think October-November time you’ll start to see a really good version of us here.”

This weekend’s opponents, Carlisle United, made a losing start to the new National League Premier Division season as they were beaten 3-2 at home to Worthing, but Rowley is wary the Cumbrians could be a wounded animal ready to bite back.

He said: “We’re expecting a very good team. Rob [Eliot] is a top manager and I know how he plays, how he wants to play, he’s got some superb ideas, and their players are technically gifted.

“All it takes is us to switch off at one moment, or get a press wrong and they can get the other side of you. I can expect them to be one of the top teams in this league. I’d have them in the like top five or top three this season, so I expect a very difficult game. I’ve re-watched all of their game against Worthing and, on another day, they probably could have been two or three up, so, we’re not going to look into that result too much and they’ll obviously have a point to prove..”

James Daly. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

Rowley revealed on loan Salford City defender Loick Ayina suffered a knee injury which meant he was not in the squad at Scunthorpe last weekend.

Looking ahead, he wouldn’t be drawn on a potential finishing position for the Glovers, but Rowley said he was ‘quietly confident’ about a positive campaign, especially with a couple of players to come back into the fold properly.

He said: “We’re quietly confident. This is such a boring answer to this, but we literally have to take every week as it comes. We’ve got to keep improving. We’ve still got Joe Haigh, who’s sat on the sideline for another four weeks, so there’s players that are not available at the moment that will make us stronger when they come back. We’ll just take each week as it comes.

“Joe’s obviously a massive part of how we’re going to play this year, so we’re not at full strength yet, and we’re not fully learning what we’re trying to imprint here. It’s going to be a bit of a process, this, but I’m sure the supporters will see us improve most weeks. It should be a really interesting and fun journey for us.

“I always say this, but I love going to Huish for matchday, especially at the moment, the pitch is incredible. Fans feel like they’re really buzzing to be back and watch this new team play. It’s our job now to turn up and put on a good performance and all stick together and deliver.”

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Man of the Match Voting

Jordan Norville-Williams has been named YOUR opening day Man of the Match following the Glovers’ 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe.

The wing-back headlined a trio of debutants on our mythical podium, with Mason Obeng taking second, thanks, in part to his wonderful goal and new ‘keeper Jos Barker finishing in third.

Much like last year your votes will be collated each and every game, with our MOTM ‘Winner’ getting three points, the second place getting two points with third picking up one.

Every month, we’ll tally the totals and declare YOUR player of the month.

Every vote counts and where points are tied, the number of individual MOTM wins will be the tie breaker. So if two players finish on 10 points for the month, but one was named MOTM twice, and the other just once, that extra spot at the top of the pile is the difference maker.

Make sure you come back to the Gloverscast website every match day evening to cast your votes.

For weekend games (including any rogue Friday night fixtures) votes will close on the following Thursday – unless there’s a midweek game in which case it’ll be kick-off of that midweek game.

For midweek games, votes will close on Fridays, we’ll share the results with a pie chart of the results and the full table below.

Almost 5,000 (4,936 to be exact) votes were cast last season – so that’s the target this year, the bigger the data numbers, the more accurate representation of the Glovers fans, so have your say!

DATEOPPONENTRESPONSES1ST
(Votes / Percent)		2ND
(Votes / Percent)		3RD
(Votes / Percent)
AUGUST
08.08.26Scunthorpe130 JORDAN NORVILLE-WILLIAMS
(91 / 70%)		Mason Obeng
(16 / 12.3%)		Jos Barker
(12 / 9.2%)
15.08.26Carlisle United152JOS BARKER
(71 / 46.7%)		Jordan Norville-Williams
(34 / 22.4%)		Zain Westbrooke
(14 / 9.2%)
22.08.26Gateshead168RYAN JONES
(57 / 33.9%)		Luke McCormick
(42 / 25%)		Archie Davies
(24 / 14.3%)
28.08.26Barrow174JOS BARKER
(114 / 65.1%)		Jordan Norville-Williams
(35 / 20%)		Luke McCormick
(10 / 5.7%)
31.08.26Tamworth156BRETT MCGAVIN
(87 / 55.8%)		Luke McCormick
(24 / 15.4%)		Jos Barker
(10 / 6.4%)
AUGUST PLAYER OF THE MONTH780 VOTES 🥇 JOS BARKER (8 PTS, 2 MOTM)
🥈 JORDAN NORVILLE WILLIAMS
(7 PTS, 1 MOTM)		🥉 LUKE MCCORMICK
(5 PTS, 0 MOTM)
SEPTEMBER--------------------------------------------------
05.09.26Southend United
12.09.26AFC Fylde
15.09.26Aldershot
18.09.26Solihull Moors
26.09.26Kidderminster Harriers
29.09.26Worthing
OCTOBER
03.10.26Boston Utd
10.10.26Wealdstone
24.10.26Altrincham
27.10.26Hornchurch
31.10.26FC Halifax Town
NOVEMBER
14.11.26Boreham Wood
21.11.26Forest Green Rovers
24.11.26Eastleigh
28.11.26Harrogate Town
DECEMBER
05.12.26Hartlepool United
09.12.26Wealdstone
19.12.26Boston United
26.12.26Sutton United
28.12.26Woking
JANUARY
02.01.27Altrincham
09.01.27Hornchurch
16.01.27
23.01.27Carlisle United
26.01.27Eastleigh
30.01.27Scunthorpe United
FEBRUARY
06.02.27Forest Green Rovers
13.02.27Kidderminster Harriers
17.02.27Worthing
20.02.27Solihull Moors
23.02.27Aldershot
27.02.27Gateshead
MARCH
06.03.27Barrow
09.03.27Tamworth
13.03.27Southend United
20.03.27AFC Fylde
26.03.27Woking
29.03.27Sutton United
APRIL
03.04.27FC Halifax Town
10.04.27Boreham Wood
17.04.27Hartlepool United
24.04.27Harrogate Town

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

We welcome National League title favourites Carlisle United to Huish Park on Saturday and we will also welcome referee Lewis Sandoe to take charge of proceedings.

We’ve had Mr Sandoe three times at Huish Park, most recently a 1-0 win over Truro at the back end of last season, where Will Merry scored a late, late winner in game which ultimately sealed the Cornish sides’ relegation.

Kyle Ferguson and Harvey Greenslade both saw yellow that day.

He took charge of a 3-1 defeat to York City, where he gave Tap-In Merchant Pearce a penalty.

As far as I can tell he’s never taken charge of a Carlisle game – which given his location in and around the South of the country makes sense.

He was the man in the middle for a bit of a thriller on match day one, Forest Green’s 3-2 win over Halifax, where he booked three players – all in the first 45 minutes.

Overall, his stats for the 25/26 season in the National League read; 11 games, 41 yellows (turning one of those a red card) zero straight red cards and three penalties awarded.

He will be assisted by Anastasiya Voloshchuk and Thomas Staten, Richard J. Morris is on 4th official duty.

Lewis Sandoe at Huish Park

Yeovil Town FC (First Team) v Carlisle United (First Team)
National League – Premier
Referee: Sandoe, Lewis
Assistant Referee: Voloshchuk, Anastasiya
Assistant Referee: Staten, Thomas
Fourth Official: Morris, Richard J.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

With more than 130 years of history, there is plenty of amazing stories to tell about our club. That is why we have teamed up with the Yeovil Town FC Heritage Society to bring you one monthly memory from our past.

If one is not enough, you can join the Society’s Facebook page, run by Glovers’ fan Michael West, which is a treasure trove for green-and-white history. If you are on Facebook, follow them by – clicking here.

We kick off this new feature with the story of how our club began 131 years to the very day…..

Today, August 12th, holds significant importance for Yeovil Town Football Club. On this day in 1895, precisely 131 years ago, Yeovil Casuals were established, laying the foundation for the club that has evolved into what we know and support today.

Naturally, association football had been a part of the club’s activities prior to that time. Historical records indicate the earliest documented match of a Yeovil FC, took place in November 1880, resulting in a decisive 9-0 loss to Dorset County School in Dorchester. Following a hiatus, by 1888, the association club was established and operating on a weekly schedule. Initially engaging in friendly matches, it eventually joined the Somerset senior league in 1891, alongside prominent teams such as Wells City and Street FC. Throughout this period, the football club served as the junior counterpart to the Rugby club, which held the primary spotlight in the town’s sporting scene.

Moving forward to August 5th 1895, at the AGM of Yeovil Football Club where a dispute emerged over a £25 debt the club had incurred. The rugby and association branches, coexisting within the club, clashed over the responsibility for this debt. The rugby faction pointed fingers at the association side, accusing them of not generating equivalent funds. At this juncture, farmers son Fred Bond, just twenty-one-year-old and captain of the Yeovil association , stepped up. He quickly calculated and voiced that there were a much higher number of rugby matches played compared to association matches, leading him to conclude that rugby had generated more revenue naturally. Moreover, Bond’s calculations revealed that on a per-match basis, the association side had contributed more significantly to the club’s finances. Following a lengthy and occasionally heated debate, the two branches of the club ultimately decided to part ways. Both sides agreed to share accountability for half of the debt, marking the conclusion of the dispute.

Fred Bond wasted no time, quickly taking action by securing a pitch at Pen Mill within days. Organised a sub committee. He also travelled to Shepton Mallet and engaged with the Somerset FA, gaining their approval to join the senior league. Equally impressive, he managed to convince two influential local clubs to align themselves with the new team: Yeovil Rovers, originating from the Pall Mall Tavern, and Congregational Swifts FC, affiliated with the Congregational church in Princess Street. Although the ‘Rovers’ request to name the new club Yeovil Rovers was declined, the new club’s reserves would graciously adopted the Rovers’ locally iconic blue and white colors.

On August 12th, 1895, a mere week after parting ways with the rugby club, a meeting took place at the Victoria Hall on Union Street, Yeovil. The purpose of this assembly was to ratify the proposed initiatives that Fred Bond had worked tirelessly putting together and officially adopt the cherished club we hold dear today. The attendees reached a consensus to shoulder fifty percent of the rugby debt and designated captains and sub-captains for the two initial teams, with the potential addition of a third team in the future. This pivotal moment also marked the establishment of the club’s committee. The name was also adopted ‘The Casuals association football club’. And lastly as the Western Chronicle reported it:

‘…. the question of the teams colours were discussed it was decided that the first teams colours would be green & white‘

After 131 years, the enduring presence of those green and white colors remains, and may their legacy carry on. If your sipping on a Thatchers today take a moment to raise your glass to Fred Bond and the Yeovilians of 1895. Without them, we wouldn’t have had one of the most important parts of our lives.

God bless ’em all!

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Five National League Premier League clubs have been placed under transfer embargo for breaching financial regulations.

AFC Fylde, Aldershot Town, Altrincham, FC Halifax Town and Hornchurch were all placed under ‘ongoing’ embargo yesterday for ‘non-compliance of league financial regulations’.

The National League website states:

The National League may place a Club under embargo if it meets one of the following criteria:

  • (a) where a Club has undergone an Insolvency Event;
  • (b) where a Club has been served with a winding-up petition which has not been satisfied in full or to the satisfaction of the petitioning creditors as evidenced by written agreement; or
  • (c) where a Club has either defaulted on such an agreement or has omitted or incorrectly reported its failure to adhere to the terms of any agreement.

An embargo prevents the Club from signing a new player or changing the terms of an existing loan, except where the terms of the Embargo allow.

Of the clubs affected by embargoes, AFC Fylde are the first opponents which Yeovil Town will face with the Lancashire side due to travel to Huish Park on September 12th, closely followed by a trip to Aldershot Town three days later.

UPDATE: Altrincham has since had its embargo lifted after filing necessary paperwork and FC Halifax and AFC Fylde have also reassured their supporters that it they have both supplied required paperwork.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Podcasts

A ‘winning draw’ to kick the season off at Scunthorpe, Ben Dave and Andy Craig ask has any group of fans ever been quite so pleased with a 1-1 draw and conceding a 90th minute equaliser?

We’re not sure, but we’ll talk about it all, we have an exclusive post-match chat with Goal Scoring Spud-man Mason Obeng and we answer your GCQs

By:
On:
In: Distant Glover, Latest Yeovil Town News

Starship Enterprise National League

A point away from home, a new-look side playing some eye-catching football and more than 5,000 people there to witness it. Sounds suspiciously like a decent start to the season to us.

But, as ever, our resident cartoonist Distant Glover has applied cold, hard Vulcan logic to Yeovil Town’s opening day draw at Scunthorpe United… 

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Loan Watch

We’re back for a new season and for now, we only have one Yeovil Town player on our Loan Watch radar.

Defender Dan Ellison is now with Salisbury and was key in their opening day win in the National League South.

The defender played his part in a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Hampton & Richmond.

Former Wycombe Wanderers front man Jaiden Bartolo scored a hat trick for The Whites and really cemented the win.

Ellison has joined the Wiltshire side on an initial six-month deal, and marked his first appearance in a friendly against Havant & Waterlooville in their final pre-season friendly where he recorded a lovely assist for his side’s second goal.

Images Courtesy of Harry Phillips Photography @HarryPhillipsPhotography.7 on Instagram

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Latest Yeovil Town News

We. Are. Back!

The summer of waking up at stupid a.m. for an advertising/hydration breaks in the middle of a game between two nations we don’t care about is over, we have the proper football! We’re all a little bit (too?) excited and we are off and running with National League action.

Ben was on the mic for the season opener at the Attis Arena here are his key takeaways.

We saw some really nice debuts.

Throwing in so many new faces all at once was something that Billy Rowley had to do, he didn’t have much of a choice. But what he saw was a really positive showing from all his new lads.

I’ll highlight a few, but honestly, I think the vast majority gave a great account of themselves as individuals and as a unit.

Mason Obeng’s goal will rightly take the headlines (and the spuds), but he was a constant threat down the left hand side. If anything I think we maybe under-utilised him during the first half, but the way Archie Davies was getting success down the right, I understood.

Jos Barker didn’t put a glove wrong in goal, one first half save in particular was crucial. Joe Gubbins is going to key at the back and organised things well and kept Scunthorpe’s danger man Danny Whitehall quiet.

Jordan Norville-Williams is going to be a real fans’ favourite. Never gives an inch, runs for his life and adds something in attack and defence equally.

Jordan Norville-Williams is going to be popular with Glovers’ fans. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

We saw two really good goals.

He meant it. There might have been a suggestion that Luke Brennan’s last gasp equaliser was a bit fortunate, but being in the Press Box right behind it and having him confirm it post match as he walked past the media teams, we saw a genuinely brilliant goal.

No blame on Jos Barker, maybe our defenders could have closed that space down a bit quicker, but sometimes, you doff your cap to a brilliant goal.

Was it better than Obeng’s though? They’re not far apart! A seriously good finish to a seriously good delivery from Ryan Jones’ free-kick.

Mason Obeng puts Yeovil into the lead at Scunthorpe.

There’s more to come.

We didn’t see either Charlie Lennon or Ste Walker at all, both saved for another day as we looked to sure up in the second half, and that’s quite exciting. On loan defender Loick Ayina was there with the group but now we have that thing called ‘depth’ we had to leave him out. That’s bonkers!

At home, having the ability to bring quality players, exciting game changers off the bench at different times should fill the fans with optimism, and hopefully put a little fire in the belly of those who missed out at Scunthorpe.

Stephen Walker was an unused substitute at Scunthorpe. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Permission to believe. 

We would have lost that game at the exact time last season, in fact, my guess is it would have gone the same way as those Hartlepool openers the last two seasons, cagey, dull and eventually a bit of a damp squib.

But we didn’t yesterday. We’re gutted not to win, away at one of the toughest, most physical teams in the league who I expect to be play-off bound once more. That’s not something to take lightly at any point in the season. Plenty will come away from Glanford Park with little more than a Danny Whitehall bruise or six and a total of zero points.

The officials are allowed to be rusty as well, right?

You’ve probably seen the screenshot on social media of the third contentious ‘offside’ call against Luke McCormick by now. If you haven’t it’s below. I don’t think referee Michael Barlow or his friends were really up to speed yet. They are coming back off the break too, but being overly lenient in that game didn’t really do any favours to anyone and they called at least two (possibly three offsides) in the hosts’ favour that clearly were not.