Former Yeovil Town defender Carl Dickinson has been speaking to sports podcast The Grassroots Guy, conversation ranged from cheesing off Tony Pulis at Stoke, to a short stint in Iceland and of course a rollercoaster couple of seasons at Huish Park.
In the podcast, Dicko talks about how it was Assistant Manager Terry Skiverton who made the move to Somerset possible and despite a promising start to his first season, things didn’t go to plan.
“Terry (Skiverton) used to come up to Stoke City quite often, so I recognised him, I went and met him, had a good chat about everything and was really excited about joining.”
“We got off to a good start that season and then things started to change quite quickly”
That good start Dicko refers to included wins over Notts County, Stevenage, Grimsby and Newport County – a game in which he scored – and an EFL Cup Tie with Aston Villa.
But, the results soon turned against the Glovers and the cracks began to show.
“I didnt have the greatest relationship with Darren Way, I’ll be perfectly honest, we didn’t see eye to eye, we didn’t get on… but that’s probably a different story” (One you’re more than welcome to tell us here at the Gloverscast, Dicko… Just Saying)
“A lot of things happened in that first year where I questioned a lot about football and what I wanted to do… it got to that point”
It was clear to all Glovers fans at the time that at the end of the season, Dickinson’s time at Yeovil was going to come to an end, exiled away from the club and training with his former employers Port Vale to keep fit.
But, when Way and eventually Neale Marmon had come and gone Dicko’s Glovers career was brought back on track thanks to Darren Sarll.
“I had a massive chat with the Gaffer, Darren Sarrl, we had a proper, deep chat about what he wanted and i was like ‘come on then, lets have a go, lets see’ “
There was still work to be done to reintergrate Carl back into a side who had just dropped out of the Football League, had lost the vast majority of the squad and was going through a change in management, ownership and culture.
“The more we trained and spoke to the Gaffer more and more, he seemed to reignite something within me”
“He was able to squad together that was so close to achieveing something, a fantastic group – loved working under him”
That first season in the National League ended up being curtailed early due to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, but a table was settled on points per game and the Glovers were in the Play Offs, losing to Barnet in one of the most one sided games Yeovil have ever dominated, but lost.
Dickinson was quick to draw comparisons with some of his other former bosses, saying how Sarll and he were honest with one another, could argue, disagree, but always come back around to the same wavelength and get on with the job – something which Dicko says he respects.
Furthermore, it was noted how the Sarrl era had started to bring supporters back to the club after many had fallen out of love with the style of football and lack of success on the pitch.
“He managed to get a real togetherness back with the fans, I think there was a real disconnect with the fans, players and everything at club just looked like it was defeated”
“He’d probably say the same, but it was one of his biggest achievements, getting that togetherness back and having that bond between fans again.”
Attention turned to the crop of Yeovil players that Carl and a number of other experienced players have left behind, something which the left back says should excite Yeovil fans.
“There’s some really good lads, even this year, even though we didn’t do as well as we should have done, there’s some good lads there, some good young lads who could kick on and have very good careers”
“Looking at the signings they’re making now, I think they’ll be alright again – he’s made some good signings”
Dicko singled out a couple of the players he’s looking forward to seeing at Yeovil; “(Jordan) Barnett who was at Notts County, had a great game against us at their place, Mark Little who will be a massive signing… I really do wish them all the best, I’ve got some really fond memories of the last two years”
There was plenty of praise for the likes of Luke Wilkinson and Josh Staunton too.
Of course, the final words were left to the Glovers faithful,
“The fans were always fantastic with me, they know what happened the first year, they get it, but they know deep down, every time I went out on that pitch, I wore the shirt with pride, I always wanted to give them all the best, I just want to wish them – the fans, the gaffer, the lads – I do thoroughly wish them all the best, they deserve to be in and around the top of the table.”
“Im excited to watch Yeovil this season and see how they do”
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Harry has also spoken to Matty Worthington on his podcast – you can see the links to that podcast HERE
#NewPodcastFridays ??⚪️
This man needs no introduction does he?! The @carldickinson_3 episode is now live! ?
It was a genuine pleasure to speak to Carl about his career! His experience in the pro game is something we all dream about!
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/hwpHwuVPp6
— TheGrassrootsGuy (@_GrassrootsGuy) July 16, 2021