Ben Barclay

On loan defender Ben Barclay‘s stay at Huish Park until the end of the season is expected to be completed today (Friday).

The Stockport County centre half is due to conclude his second month’s stay after tomorrow’s home match with Southend United.

Ben Barclay. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking to the Gloverscast’s Ben Barrett ahead of the fixture, Yeovil boss Darren Sarll confirmed the 25-year-old “should get authorised today.”

He added: “Ben should be staying until the end of the season. The class of Stockport has been unrivalled, their sporting director, Simon Wilson, has been unbelievable for us.

We are very grateful to Stockport, both Dave Challinor and Simon, that we can keep Ben until the end of the season.

A few hours after Sarll said his at his pre-match press conference on Friday, the club confirmed Barclay’s loan had been extended – see here. However, we’d expect any deal to prevent him from turn out against his parent club when they visit Huish Park on April 23.

The boss also confirmed that Max Hunt, whose absence through injury coincided with the arrival of Barclay, was back in training with the first-team coach but said he does not expect him back until the middle of April.

But, of loanees forward Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and defender Jack Robinson, Sarll said the pair would have to fight for their places in the squad.

Sonny’s last appearance came in the 2-0 defeat to Grimsby Town a fortnight ago whilst Middlesbrough loanee Robinson has not been seen since the loss at Wealdstone at the start of February.

The manager said: “Sonny has to compete and get himself back in. There’s no divine right to play, I’ve probably shown in three years I have left out a lot of bigger players.

“Reuben (Reid) had to fight, Adi (Yussuf) has had to fight, it’s a meritocracy. My duty is to the club and the changing room and I have to give them the best chance to win matches.

“It won’t be the first or last time in Sonny’s career he’s had to fight. I’m not sure there’s another teenager which has made 16 starts in the National League. The contribution he’s had will stand him in stead.

“Jack is in and out with injury with a reoccurrence of a couple of injuries. He should be back on the training pitch next week, but when he’s fit he will have to fight Morgan Williams for that shirt.


Sarll has also defended his decision to bring in loan goalkeeper Ted Cann instead of throwing number two Max Evans in to National League action.

The boss said that if he had not been able to bring in a more experienced keeper following the injury to first choice Grant Smith he would have played the 19-year-old.

Max Evans

He said: “My duty is to the club and the dressing room to get the best available, if I didn’t think there was anything out there that was better and immediately available, I would have played Max.

He knows his development plan, we’ve outlined that very clearly. He’s learning every week. Goalkeeping is a pressurised position and if you get it wrong at an early stage with a goalkeeper it’s curtains and I didn’t think it was the right time.

Max has a big future, I would love him to be here next year and continue his growth and he will be a very good goalkeeper.

To ask him to play away at Dover and at home to Bromley, who we assumed would have been a physical team, that would have been hard for Max.

I would rather he got good experiences and built slowly than jump to the next bit and had to go back down.


There was praise for striker Reuben Reid after he impressed with his performance in the midweek win over Bromley.

The game was only his third start of the season having suffered a hamstring tear in pre-season and he has got just one goal in his 15 appearances.

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Sarll said: “His story is unfair on him, we started pre-season and building around Reuben and Joe (Quigley) being our two forwards, Mark Little in that back four and then between week four and five of pre-season you lose Reuben and Mark.

So we had to change, went through the adaptation process and went to a 4-3-3, we go on a great run and come away with Reuben fit, but playing a system I did not think would suit Reuben.

I have always played Reuben in a front two since he joined. I wanted Adi (Yussuf) against Dover because he’s chaotic and the work he does against defenders, but then at home I wanted to smooth us out.

So you take two destructive players like Jordan (Barnett) and Adi and bring in Reuben and Lawson (D’Ath) and they were great, but that was the quality I expected of him when he signed.”


Josh Neufville went from “rusty” to “breath-taking” in his performances between last weekend’s win at Dover Athletic and Monday morning’s training session, according to Sarll.

The winger arrived for his second loan spell at Huish Park last Friday and played the last 15 minutes in Kent and then got a further 21 minutes on Tuesday night against Bromley.

Sarll said: “He’s a young man who’s had a career-threatening and is still finding his feet. When he was training on Friday and when he came on on Saturday he looked rusty which is inevitable, but he was breath-taking on Monday, so the shackles are coming off.

Everyone was excited to have Josh back and the players who were here last year went through a hell of a time, so the bond that players who were here then is stronger than it is with other players.

So, we were all pleased to see Josh and pleased to know he’d recovered and he was playing again, he did a lot for us last year and we did an awful amount for him.”

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC Youtube

Yeovil Town’s on loan defender, Ben Barclay has been names in the official Vanarama team of the week after scoring his first goal in green and white in the 2-0 win over Dover Athletic on Saturday.

With a clean sheet and a goal in the bag, Barclay is named alongside Grimsby’s Andy Smith and Woking’s Tom Champion in the mythical back three with a certain Patrick Madden also in the team for Barclay’s parent club, Stockport County.

Good work, Ben.

 

… there’s a bank-based pun in that headline, but I can’t quite figure it out, anway...

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC YouTube

Yeovil Town have announced the extension of Ben Barclay’s loan deal from Stockport for an additional month.

His original deal was close to completion but Manager Darren Sarll had made no secret of his desire to keep the defender for longer, saying after the midweek game he was waiting on the ‘big man’ to authorise the deal.

The ‘big man’ has found his clicky pen and signed the documents to keep the centre back at Huish Park for another month.

Prior to the weekend’s game vs Chesterfield, Barclay and his defensive unit have conceded just three goals in the last five games and will be hoping to keep former Glover Joe Quigley and Co quiet in the Saturday tea time kick off.

Yeovil Town Manager Darren Sarll said he was frustrated to come away with only a point on Tuesday night against Maidenhead.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, he spoke of his disappointment at not picking up the win.

“I was disappointed in the end that we haven’t won the game, I’m frustrated we haven’t won the game because the players and I are hugely ambitious, we don’t want to be a mid table team, our play is improving, but I want us to be more than that.”

“I don’t want to keep leaning on age, or resources, because that’s not fair to the supporters who travel so far and spend so much money. 

The last two away games, that should be six point rather than two.”

The Glovers had two goals ruled out during the game, one for a foul by Luke Wilkinson in the first half and a late strike by Rueben Reid ruled out for offside.

Luke Wilkinson and Reuben Reid celebrate the FA Cup win over Stevenage. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

In all, Sarll was disappointed by the officials.

“I thought the first goal – the Wilkinson header – was a goal, he’s just more aggressive and builds momentum from the delivery and heads it in. If you’re going to give free kicks for that then oh my life.”

“He (the Ref) was poor all night, some of the decisions were astronomical, they were really poor and it just spoils the game”

“We’ll look at it, report it and nothing will get done”

On a brighter note, Olufela Olomola scored his first goal of his third loan spell with a neat finish, unfortunately his match was cut short by injury in the second half.

“He’s got good technique, I’m a little bit worried about what he’s come off for… but it was a good strike, he was a threat, a real threat and he’s got that capability of receiving back to goal and being strong and also really threatening in behind”

Regarding the injury, Sarll says he expects the on loan Hartlepool front man to get a scan ahead of the weekend trip to Chesterfield.

“I’d be a little bit concerned about that right now… or he’s a wimp and I don’t know him well enough and he rocks up fit for Saturday”


  • Ben Barclay‘s loan is expected to be extended until the end of the season, we reported earlier that the Manchester Evening News had reported that an extension was on the way, but Sarll himself confirmed he was waiting on the final paperwork to be completed. “I think that’ll go through tomorrow (Wednesday), we’re just waiting on the big man (we presume he means Scott Preistnall, rather than God, Santa Claus or Peter Crouch) to authorise it. Ben wants to stay, he’s been fantastic for us, I think we’ve conceded something like three goals since he’s been with us.”
  • Lawson D’ath completed 60 minutes and the manager was pleased as he continued his recovery from long term injury. “He’s fabulous, some of his touches and awareness. I just thought the 60 minute mark was enough because he started to look fairly frail, bless him, but he will push with that game time he will push, the great thing with Lawson is he is a big player for us, even in that 60 minutes, it’s better for us to have Lawson out there”

The Manchester Evening News reporter Sam Byrne is reporting thay Stockport County are likely to allow defender Ben Barclay to remain at Huish Park for the remainder of the season.

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC YouTube

Byrne, who covers Stockport for the MEN tweeted on Tuesday that with the loan due to expire this coming week a decision was due to be made and it appears that it has fallen in the Glovers favour.

Last week, Yeovil boss Darren Sarll said he’d be hopeful of keeping the central defender beyond his current stint and that appears to have been granted.

There is likely to be a recall clause in the deal, much like with Fela Olomola incase of emergency at the parent club, but we hope to hear some good news from the gaffer on the deal this week.

Barclay has been part of the Glovers defence that has kept three clean sheets since he joined.

Darren Sarll is hoping to keep central defender Ben Barclay on loan from National League rivals Stockport County until the end of the season.

The 25-year-old has impressed in his five appearances since being brought in to fill the void left by an injury to Max Hunt at the end of January.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s home game with Dagenham & Redbridge the manager said he was happy with the recruitment he had done this season not least the former loan signing of Millwall full-back Dan Moss.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Sarll said: “The recruitment has had to be good because we can’t afford to waste a penny. There was a framework around our recruitment to bring in young, athletic players with something to prove and an ambition to play higher.

We are very tight in terms of capabilities and I’m happy with all our recruitment. Ben has been fantastic and I’m hoping he will be with us until the end of the season.”

Unfortunately, due to his own work commitments our Gloverscast roving reporter Ben Barrett could not attend today’s press conference, so that closing remark is as much as we know about the manager’s ambition to keep Barclay at the club.


Defender Max Hunt will definitely be missing for the weekend as he makes his way back to fitness from an injury which has put him out since the 2-1 defeat to Wrexham last month.

Midfielder Dale Gorman is out through suspension and will also miss next Tuesday’s trip to Maidenhead United.

Of other injuries, the manager added there would be a couple of late checks on players including on-loan defender Jack Robinson who was not involved at Eastleigh last weekend.

Sarll said: “It’s touch and go for one or two of them, Jack Robinson is one of them, I won’t say the other one.


The anticipated windy conditions with Storm Eunice expected to be hanging around in the Westcountry over the weekend could decide the way Yeovil set-up against Dagenham.

Sarll said: “With the conditions, it is going to be a massively difficult task. If there’s one condition that everyone in football hates, it is wind.

That will change how we prepare and might change how we select the team, instead of being a bit more creative, we might be a bit more destructive.

We will have to see, those decisions can be left to game day. We have been fabulous away, but we have to be better at home.”


The manager said he believed the return of Charlie Lee as his assistant manager will have “an impact on the dressing room” at Huish Park.

The former Glovers’ midfielder was confirmed as Sarll’s number two on Thursday having agreed a short-term deal which we assume is until the end of the season.

Charlie Lee controls the midfield
? Mike Kunz

The manager said: “No-one knows me better than Charlie. He’s been one of the toughest players I have ever manager in terms of how spiky he is, he’s a real sod at times!

“But I wanted that impact in the dressing room, he doesn’t suffer fools and he’s a winner if you look at his career, he’s a winner.

“The things I can give him is an exposure to this position. I’m two decades in and Charlie’s less than a year in, so first and foremost he’s a brilliant guy who wants to be part of the football club – and he can handle my tantrums!

But the boss was keen to point out that Lee would not be a like-for-like replacement for his previous right-hand man, Terry Skiverton, the club legend who left to join League One Charlton Athletic’s coaching set up.

The boss had to stop himself from (perhaps) being critical of the decision to allow Skivo to leave the club saying: “Terry was Superman at Yeovil and unfortunately…..(pause, grimace, contemplation)…you realise what you had when it’s gone and we as a club were not in a position to protect that legacy.

“That’s a shame but as one door closes (another one opens) and it’s a big opportunity for Charlie to taste this world and how different is from playing.


“He has a good football brain, he’s seen a lot of things in football and he isn’t here to replace Terry, that’s impossible at this club.


“He’s here to bring something we have not had in recent weeks, it has been a tough four or five weeks without Terry, so I am delighted he’s with us.”

 


Striker Olufela Olomola will improve as he gets more matchday minutes, the boss added.

The Hartlepool United man made his third Glovers’ debut in last weekend’s goalless draw at Eastleigh having arrived on loan the previous day.

The manager said: “Every team has different levels (of fitness) and he’s probably playing in a different position to the one he’s had to play recently.

For different positions, you need different physical attributes, so I think it will take a few weeks to get him back up (and running).

“It was a much better performance in terms of the types of chances, I’m still disappointed at some of the work we did in forward areas.

“But, the midfield had better control, and I thought we were good value (for the win) given the level of dominance we had.

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC YouTube

Yeovil Town’s on loan defender Ben Barclay has been named in the Non-League Paper’s Team of the Week for his performance in the Glovers’ 0-0 with Eastleigh.

The centre back, on a temporary deal from Stockport has been named alongside Aaron Drewe of W*ymouth and Wealdstone’s Jaydn Mundle-Smith in the mythical back three.

Barclay is scheduled to remain at Huish Park for four more games including this Tuesday’s Somerset Premier Cup tie at Cheddar.

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC YouTube

On loan Glovers defender Ben Barclay is pleased with the point gained against Eastleigh but hopes the side will build on their defensive resoluteness to win more games.

Speaking to BBC Somerset, he said;

“After Tuesday night’s result, we had to come here and prove a point to ourselves, to the manager, to the fans, we owed it to them. We were a bit soft on Tuesday, so we performed and come (away with) a clean sheet”

The visitors did see off a late scare with Eastleigh nearly grabbing the points at the death, but Barclay was happy to have made the last ditch block

“You see it in the programme every week, we discuss it in the changing room ‘would you rather a last minute goal or a last minute block’ us defenders always say a last minute block that was nice”

There was plenty of praise for both Luke Wilkinson beside him and the returning Fela Olomola on his 3rd debut, but there was an admittance that the focus needs to be on scoring a few more.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had three clean sheets out of five, which is not bad… we’ve shown real control today, in the territory, as a centre half I’ve spent most of the game on the half way line. We just need a bit of quality in the final third and the goals will start coming.”

Barclay has 4 more games with the Glovers (including the SPC on Tuesday) before his initial one month loan spell comes to an end.

Yeovil Town have announced the loan signing of central defender Ben Barclay from National League leaders Stockport County.

Barclay, 25, joins the Glovers on a short term deal for a month and will be in the squad for the match against Woking.

Ben Barclay who has joined on a one-month loan from Stockport County.
Picture courtesy of Stockport County.

Speaking the club’s official website, the former Brighton youngster said: “It’s all happened relatively quickly, I spoke to the manager a few days ago, he showed interest and I was open to coming out on loan and playing some football. I got here yesterday (Thursday) and I’m ready to go today (Friday). 

“I’ve seen that the club has done well during the start of the season, obviously there’s been a little bit of a blip recently, but I want us to get back on track and climb back up the table.”

Barclay played the first half in Stockport County’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Glovers earlier in the season, but hasn’t featured in any games since County lost 1-0 to Rotherham in the FA Cup back in early December.

The Cup defeat is the only match he has started since Dave Challinor took over from Simon Rusk in Greater Manchester. Rusk and Barclay had worked together in the youth set-up at Barclay.

Indeed, it was Rusk who brought him to Stockport in the summer following his release from League One side Accrington Stanley, where he made 36 appearances in a two-season spell.

When Yeovil manager Darren Sarll faces the media this morning, we hope to receive an update on the fitness of captain Luke Wilkinson, who it is hoped will be back from a hamstring strain to for the trip to Woking, and midfielder-turned-defender Josh Staunton, who limped off in last weekend’s home defeat to Wrexham.   

Welcome to Huish Park, Ben!