It was defeat for Yeovil Town in Altrincham yesterday as a they could not hold out against intense pressure from their play-off-chasing opponents. Distant Glover, aka Alex Russell, was among the 192 travelling supporters on the terrace at Moss Lane yesterday and here are his thoughts.
That felt like our whole season in one match. We started well, then struggled after key players got injured. We worked a lot harder than the scoreline might suggest. We didn’t make the most of our chances. We would have won if they’d been below us, but they’re a team above us, so we lost. Defensive lapses led to the opposition scoring. The pitch had more bobbles than Claire’s Accessories and was sufficiently sandy for no-one to have blamed any of the players for thinking they were already on the beach. The ref was notable for all the wrong reasons – have you seen Alex Whittle’s forehead/gorehead? (He didn’t endear himself to the Alty fans either.) At least a couple of our best players didn’t sign for other clubs at half time and I don’t remember seeing an opposition fan sporting a giant robin head anywhere else.
Aaaand breathe. At about four o’clock on Saturday 5 April 2025, a profound sense of calm fell over a south-westerly area of Greater Manchester. How very welcome it was to see the world seem to stop again, simply because Jake Wannell put his foot on the ball. Any doubts that it might take him a few games to get his composure back went out the window. It really was like he’d never been away. Okay, we didn’t manage to hold on long enough to get a point, but somehow it seemed more likely we might tease out a draw with him out there again. Oh, we’ve missed him.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. What might have happened over the winter if we’d been able to consistently field a largely unchanged team? It’s probably not a coincidence that our recent winning mini-run came with the same line-up, or that we started promisingly with them again at Altrincham (only to concede shortly after the enforced substitutions). The season’s not over yet, and I really don’t want to seem ungrateful about what a big deal it is to get promoted and finish mid-table-ish. (Insert cliché about biting your hand off last August here.) But last season rekindled a long-forgotten taste for winning and I can’t help wondering how things might have been if injuries hadn’t put paid to the same core group of players being available every game.
Solid Stone. The more I see of him, the more I like Aidan Stone. On a very bumpy pitch, he looked completely comfortable with back passes and it was telling that their attackers didn’t feel inclined to use up too much energy pressing him. We were stood right behind him in the first half; he was communicating (shouting) all the time, not just with defenders, but the midfield too. His distribution is great – he can kick a long way and it’s accurate. He pulled off a great save from Linney and couldn’t have done much about either goal. For the first time in a while, we’ll have a keeper for more than one season, and he’s a good one.
We’re not dull, are we? Lordy, what a couple of weeks. I’m going to put my positive hat on (despite what people may say, it was never off). Yes, there’s a barrow-load of unknowns right now, but at the risk of sounding like someone from HR who’s about to deliver some very unsettling news, there’s a load of opportunities too. It’s reassuring that Stuart Robins’ calmness and professionalism will be navigating us through whatever happens next. Rather than just write off the season marketing-wise, initiatives like Kids For A Quid will get bums on seats before the end of the season, and have an eye on the future. Finally, the relaunching of the Glover’s Trust gives us fans the chance to help shape the future of the club. Let’s not waste it.