Words by Seb White
On April 22, 1993, the day before The Glovers beat Boston United 2–1 at home (Mickey Spencer scored a brace. Of course he did) the release of the Mosaic Web Browser marked the genesis of today’s internet. Three decades on, we live in a time of information overload, the incessant pinging of social media notifications, and instant communication with friend or foe via a litany of apps. It’s sometimes easy to forget how things used to be, how different it all was. The mid to late nineties was a time of landlines, pagers and me and my mates getting our first mobile phones. Communication was doable but sporadic.
Finding out the latest news about your favourite football club was hard, and it was even harder if that favourite was in the 5th tier of the English football pyramid. If you were lucky, the latest signing or managerial change would be announced on Ceefax or Teletext. It seems ridiculous now, but you’d wait for a local newspaper to come every Thursday for a shred of commentary, opinion or analysis outside the basics. God bless the Western Gazette.
“I had no real idea who people with daft names like Badger, Taff Glover, Hoagy or HHH were, but I knew they really liked the same thing I did”
Then the internet came along—which we’d have to dial up to—and initially, it was just a lot of text on screen. But it was something. ytfc.com was the first website I’d go to, and not long after, it was also something brilliantly named called ciderspace.co.uk. The forums on both sites were the first time you could chat with people outside the actual match. It really was a whole new world, and I was in hook, line, and sinker. I had no real idea who people with daft names like Badger, Taff Glover, Hoagy or HHH were, but I knew they really liked the same thing I did and had given us all a platform for us to chat about that silly thing, and seemingly they sounded like they knew what they were talking about.
As the late nineties edged towards a new Millennium, awaydays would also involve joining the dots and making online real-life connections. Can I remember exactly the first time I met Badger? Or Hugh? Or Taff Glover? I won’t pretend and say I did, but I know, looking back at some point, the nods became greetings, they became chats and sooner or later, they were just the people you gravitated to on match day. It helped that they literally mapped out their pre-match schedule in brilliantly and accurately researched away day guides that would take you away from the beaten track. As an information resource, Ciderspace was more than enough for a fan of a 5th-tier football club: it also had a brilliant tone of voice, no cut and pasting of press releases, but proper analysis that got to the nub of the matter and communicated exactly what you need to know just like a fan on the terraces.
Off the pitch, Yeovil Town fans were spoilt rotten, really, thanks to a gang of hardy, funny volunteers who somehow, in between their day jobs, created and fed a community that grew and grew. Community, for me, is and will always be the most important thing about football. The goals, the highs and lows, and the awaydays all help to embellish the moments and experiences but are nothing without other people and a real bond.
“If it wasn’t for Ciderspace and the basis of knowledge, support, potential contributions, and customers, I’d probably not have started a football fanzine”
It may have just been an independent fan site, but If I’d not messaged someone called will_ran on the Ciderspace forum to see if he wanted to go halves on a room for a pre-season tour, I might not have ended up having a drink post a Yeovil game a few years later with his sister-in-law who ended up being my wife. If it wasn’t for Ciderspace and the basis of knowledge, support, potential contributions, and customers, I’d probably not have started a football fanzine; if I’d not done that, I wouldn’t have made that first step in a career in football media that has shaped my life. If it wasn’t for Ciderspace, I wouldn’t have set up the Capital Glovers and made friends for life. If it wasn’t for Ciderspace, the Capital Glovers wouldn’t have a WhatsApp group which, a few years back, expressed concern that Martin Badger Baker hadn’t been heard from on a match day. I lived closest, so I jumped in an Uber to go and check on him, but I was much too late and then had to ring and tell HHH that he was no longer with us.
And if it wasn’t for Ciderspace, there wouldn’t be the same WhatsApp group of Yeovil Town fans of different ages, different backgrounds, different stories suddenly pinging into life in the early hours of the morning because the daughter of one of the said group has to explain the cancer her dad didn’t want anyone to know about had taken the life of a wonderful man prematurely.
No more pre or post-match pints dissecting on and off-the-field shenanigans as we had done and hoped to do so for more years to come. No more relying on the Yeovil Town oracle to clarify or confirm a cloudy memory or hazy recollection of a green and white past. We’ve been through this process when Badger unexpectedly passed away. It will feel like something is missing on a match day, but life does indeed have to go on.
“One thing is for sure: Taff, Badger and Hugh more than did their bit and should be remembered as much as those on the pitch in the annals (physical or digital) of Yeovil Town history.”
It might feel a bit like the end of an era now the three founders of Ciderspace are no longer with us, but in Gloverscast, their spirit very much lives on. Enjoy it, contribute to it, support it and make the most of it.
Who knows how Yeovil fans will follow goings on via the Information Super Highway about their favourite football team in the years and decades to come, but one thing is for sure: Taff, Badger and Hugh more than did their bit and should be remembered as much as those on the pitch in the annals (physical or digital) of Yeovil Town history.
I missed the funeral as I was on holiday, and the lads tell me the ales were raised. Consider this my contribution to paying respects. So thank you, Hugh, for your contribution to my and many other people’s Yeovil Town fandom. As a teacher, father, and grandfather, you already leave a great legacy, but you made a bigger mark than most by also doing a daft website with your mates. Rest in peace, sir.
Lovely words Seb. The three of them are YTFC legends.
Thanks Seb. Brilliantly written. We’re grateful for those days, those memories and how we all got connected through Ciderspace. Cheers to Hugh, Badger and Taff!
Beautiful, Seb – thank you.
Excellent Seb.