Terry Skiverton

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Nearly 2000 people were in attandence to see the Yeovil Town legends, led by Gary Johnson return to the pitch in celebration of the life and career of Adam Stansfield.

Glovers fans, alongside those from around the area raised loads of money for the Adam Stansfield Foundation and played out an enthrawling 3-3 draw at Huish Park.

The South West side were 3-0 up at Half Time, but some tactical switches and some classic, old school…. urm… motivation from the gaffer inspired an almighty come back with goals from Kevin Gall (he got the ball, and scored a goal), Terry Skiverton from the spot and a last gasp equaliser from Taylor Stansfield.

You can watch the highlights from the day below or on Youtube and if you didn’t make the day itself but would like to contribute to the Adam Stansfield Foundation – you can do so, by clicking HERE

There is a gallery of the day courtest of Mike Kunz – Available HERE

There’s also a special edition of the Gloverscast where we spoke with many of the legends on show – which you can listen to HERE

 

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Terry Skiverton

Yeovil Town legend Terry Skiverton has joined AFC Wimbledon as Jonnie Jackson’s assistant manager.

Wimbledon have been hunting for a new manager and announced Jackson would be in charge for the 2022/23 season  on Monday confirming Skivo would join him at Plough Lane.

Skiverton left Yeovil have 20-plus years to join Jackson at Charlton earlier in 2022 before they were both removed from their roles before the end of the campaign.

 

 

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Terry Skiverton

Former Yeovil Town, player, captain, assistant, Manager and all round legend, Terry Skiverton has left his role as Charlton first team coach.

Skivo joined the Valley side to work with Johnnie Jackson in January but has left after Jackson was relieved of his duties on Tuesday.

In a statement Charlton’s Owner and CEO, Thomas Sandgaard, said: “I’d like to thank Terry Skiverton for his hard work and dedication during his time at the club. We wish him the very best for the future.”

 

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The worst kept secret in South Somerset football is out – Terry Skiverton has been appointed first-team coach at League One Charlton Athletic.

The Yeovil Town captain, player-manager, manager, assi….. let’s just go for ‘legend’ was formerly announced by the South London club on Tuesday morning.

Having taken his first training session on Monday, Skivo spoke to the Addicks’ website about the “exciting opportunity” working with manager Johnnie Jackson, who he knows from his football training days, and fellow coach, Jason Euell.

Terry Skiverton talks to Charlton’s website after taking his first training session on Monday.

He said: “I’ve been very loyal to Yeovil Town, but I felt the time was right and it’s an exciting challenge, especially where the club are and where the manager has taken them from, it’s a real chance for me to help support him and Jason [Euell] in trying to get up this league and make sure we’re competing.

“Speaking with the manager and the owner and the vision they’ve got for the football club, it really hit home to me how good an opportunity this is and one that you can’t turn down.

“I’ve learned my trade at Yeovil in every division apart from the Premier League, so I’m excited to come to such a prestigious football club.”

Jackson, who was named caretaker manager after the sacking of Nigel Adkins in October and then permanently last month, said his new coach had been someone he’d been considering for some time.

It has initially be suggested Skiverton would be taking the assistant manager’s job at The Valley, but Jackson confirmed he will be joint first-team coach alongside Euell.

Speaking to the club’s Twitter, Jackson said: “We’ve come across each other on courses and we know a lot of people who know each other and I have played against Terry’s (Yeovil) teams when he has been a manager.

“Our paths have crossed down the years, so he was someone who has been in my thoughts when thinking about who is going to come in and help.”

He added: “I’m quite aware that I want to save my voice for the right moments rather than the lads hearing one voice as it’s been in recent weeks.

“It’s another person who will see things that I don’t and Jason doesn’t, another opinion and these are important things when thinking about how you go about things.”


Thank You Skivo – check out the picture gallery of some of Skivo’s greatest moments – here.

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Terry Skiverton has said the time was right to make the “gut-wrenching” decision to leave Yeovil Town after almost 23 years with the club.

It was announced yesterday that the former captain, manager, assistant manager and coach had left the club and it is understood he is heading to League One Charlton Athletic.

In an interview with journalist Chris Hull, he said he had been “overwhelmed” by the messages which had poured in from supporters, players and managers alike since the announcement.

Terry Skiverton talks to Chris Hull about his departure from Yeovil Town.

He said: “Sometimes you feel the time was right. I tried to leave before but I got dragged back in by the then-Chairman John Fry, this time I knew the time was right.

“I need to move on with my career, I have got all my qualifications – my B, A and my Pro Licence – and with all of those things, I really want to give this a crack and it’s time to move away from Yeovil.”

The 46-year-old described Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll as “a true friend who will be a friend for the rest of my life” and spoke of his sadness at having to leave him behind.

Skivo said: “He brought me back in to the club and he gave me my passion for coaching and managing.

“The first year we had the play-offs, the second we have tragedy with the death of our captain Lee Collins, and to pick the club up with the most limited resources we have had in my time at the club, to get to where we are in the league is

“The football club is in a position where we need to kick on and we can’t quite do that at the moment and I am sad to be leaving him because he’s a great manager, an unbelievable coach and a real true friend.”

It is understood he will be appointed as Charlton’s assistant manager, alongside current boss Johnnie Jackson, and in the interview it was mentioned that agreement was still 48 hours from completion.

Of the move, Skiverton added: “I think I have earned my stripes. I got in to management a bit too early, I went from being a player one day to a manager the next, I had to learn on my feet.

“Now I would like to see if I can progress myself and see how far I can go as a coach and an assistant manager, moving forward with my career.

“I’ve given so much to Yeovil but sometimes you have to look after yourself and if you have an aim in life you have got to get after it.

“After the years and learning I have done, I really want to push on now.”

You can watch the interview in full with Skivo, here…..

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Yeovil Town legend Terry Skiverton has left Huish Park ending more than two decades with the club and is believed to be on his way to League One Charlton Athletic.

The club confirmed the exit in a statement following after a  penalty shoot-out defeat against Needham Market in the FA Trophy at Huish Park on Saturday and manager Darren Sarll spoke about his now former (*sob*) assistant in his post-match interview.

The statement said the former defensive giant, captain, player-manager, manager, assistant manager, Academy manager was departing to take up “a new role in the Football League” – but did not name a club.

We understand that Skiverton is on his way to The Valley who have had former striker Jason Euell as caretaker assistant manager to boss Johnnie Jackson since the end of last season.

It would appear Skivo and Jackson may have taken their coaching badges together at the same time.

If the move is confirmed, it would mean the 46-year-old follows in the footsteps of fellow former Glovers Nathan Jones and Ben Roberts who have both held coaching roles.

There’s a lot you can read between the lines of what Darren Sarll said in his post-match interview, where he repeatedly talks about wanting “to retain some kind of professionalism.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, Darren Sarll said: “Terry has left the club and decided to take up an opportunity in the EFL which is very sad.

“As his friend, I will miss him greatly. Professionally he is excellent, he’s done so well for me, he’s a brilliant character and a very good coach.

“All the other stuff of why and where are for him to speak about, he’s a grown man and he needs to answer those questions himself.

“I want to retain some kind of professionalism and dignity out of a pretty crappy day.”

The club’s statement included a quote from Chairman Scott Priestnall – who made a rare visit to Huish Park for last week’s televised FA Cup defeat to AFC Bournemouth – saying: “I’d like to thank Terry for everything he has done for Yeovil Town. He is undoubtedly a club legend, both for his service on and off the pitch. He will always be welcome at Huish Park.”

The statement went on to add: “Skiverton, departs as he moves into a new role in the Football League. All at Yeovil Town would like to extend our gratitude to Terry for his stellar service to the football club, and wish him all the best in his new role. “

Skiverton’s joined Yeovil Town in the summer of 1999 when he was signed from Welling United in the Football Conference by then-manager Colin Lippiatt, as part of a trio of signings alongside strikers Adrian Foster and Jason Eaton and midfielder Dave Norton.

His debut came in far from memorable circumstances with a 5-0 thrashing at Scarborough on the opening day of the 1999-2000 season, but the career which followed was memorable in just about every way.

Under Lippiatt, David Webb and Colin Addison he was a rock in the heart of defence, but it was the arrival of Gary Johnson in 2001 that truly elevated Skivo to legend status.

He lifted the FA Trophy as captain in Gary’s first season, skippered us to the end of 108 years of non-League football with the Conference title in the second season, and then the League Two championship in 2004-05.

In 2007 he was named in the League One Team of the Year having been at the heart of Yeovil’s charge to the play-off final.

Following the sacking of Russell Slade midway through the 2008-09 season, Skiverton answered the call of his club to take over as player-manager and guided us to safety in League One, calling an end to his playing days at the end of season. His final appearance saw him last just 36 minutes of a goalless draw at home to MK Dons – but we at least kept a clean sheet.

Having kept us up for the 2009-10 campaign in League One, his loyalty reached new levels when with the side struggling in early 2011, he stepped aside for the return of Gary Johnson becoming his number two.

Skivo then became a key part of the coaching staff which guided the club to its highest-ever level with promotion to the Championship in 2013, and even had a further spell in caretaker charge between the sacking of Johnson in February 2015 and the appointment of Paul Sturrock two months later, returning to the coaching staff.

Since then he’s been a coach, run the club’s Academy, been assistant manager and even got one of his sons, striker Finlay, playing for the club’s Under-18s.

Quite simply, he is Mr Yeovil. Skivo – thanks for everything, we’ll miss you!

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Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Josh Staunton is the most important player to the future of Yeovil Town Football Club since Terry Skiverton.

That’s a statement isn’t it? I’ve said it, heck I’ve written it down for you the humble reader of the Gloverscast.

You’ve read the headline, you’ve taken the click bait and now you’re waiting to see what I have to say for myself.

Well, I stand by it.

Skivo hung up his playing boots in 2010.

Since then, the Glovers have been okay, been very good and been utterly rubbish sometimes all at the same time.

We hung around in League One, got out of League One, fell back through League One before treading water in League Two and eventually well, here we are a non-League club again.

During that time, there are maybe only a couple of standout moments and teams, the main one of course being winning promotion to the Championship.

I’d argue that, of course, the 2013 team was full of these incredible players, but for me, it felt like a team who had won the Lottery. Marek Stech in goal, Ed Upson, Paddy Madden, Luke Ayling, Joe Edwards, Sam Foley, Jamie McAllister and so on and so forth.

How many of those players, honestly, at that point in time had their next five years planned out at Huish Park? Arguably, none.

We’d have wanted them all to stay but they were snaffled up, pushed out, on too much money, sold for big bucks, given opportunities at clubs they could only dream of playing for just a few months before that group got together.

Josh Staunton rises highest to a header. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

My argument here is that if you said to me, Josh Staunton has signed a deal at Huish Park until the summer of 2026, I’d not only believe you and I’d know we’d be able to build maybe more than group around him. The last player we could honestly say that with… Terry Skiverton.

Skivo marshalled our 2003 side out of non-League, he led the rampage through League Two, and even that incredible 2007 side to the League One play-off final against all odds..

The Yeovil sides that dropped out of League One with a whimper or sleep-walked out of League Two had a couple of good players and maybe if I’d have written this at the moment of relegation in 2019, this blog would have had a similar feel to it about Carl Dickinson – but he wasn’t exactly reaching his peak years.

Then there’s that first non-League side.

I’m still staggered Darren Sarll found the group he did in less than a month after being appointed, but knowing that group as we now do, I’m not surprised he galvanised them to a play off spot.

It wasn’t to be for Stuart Nelson, Luke Wilkinson, Dicko, Lee Collins, Charlie Lee, Rhys Murphy and Co., and, of course, only one of those names still plays for us.

Yeovil Town defender Luke Wilkinson.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Wilkinson isn’t exactly old at 31, he’s got a few more seasons left in him at this level, he could probably give the EFL another crack if the chance came along.

But, here again, Josh Staunton is just 26.

His best five or six years are just starting now.

He’s a leader, a midfielder, a central defender, he’s fronted up to the media after losses, and is right now the first name on the team sheet as something of standard setter.

Gloverscast CEO Ian spoke of how his arrival off the bench in the FA Trophy game against Woking from the bench– to protect the already booked Luke Wilkinson – helped change the game. We noticeably missed him in the only 45 minutes he wasn’t on the pitch.

His comeback story from being given a “20% chance of playing again” last season is, quite frankly ridiculous – even our Hollywood friends in North Wales wouldn’t write that script.

The idea of loyalty in football to the level Skivo has shown Yeovil is all but gone, it would be bonkers to think any player from this generation would be with this club until 2042 in some way, shape or form.

But in the following scenarios at the end of this season, with the next four or five campaigns in mind, does this current Josh Staunton not make every single one of them better?

  • We don’t go up, we fall short by 15 points finish 12th and have to rebuild with most of the squad leaving this summer.
  • We don’t go up, we lose the play-off final on penalties, we have to pick up this dejected young squad who would have never felt football anguish like it before.
  • We do go up, (yay!), but our best players are snapped up by rich non-League clubs and those more geographically suitable to their families.
  • We do go up (yay, again!) and we keep the bulk of this squad together.

In each of those four scenarios, Josh Staunton provides the on or off the pitch leadership we haven’t really seen since… you guessed it, Skivo.

So, yeah, sure we’ve all made fun about how much I think of Josh this season and how much we clearly missed him last season.

But if we turn the year with a new owner, or start to plan for 2022-23 counting every penny in just the same way we have this campaign, the first signature we should aim for is that of our number 32.

Not just short-term either, let’s set our stall out early as he is likely to be the mainstay of this side well beyond Wilkinson, Reuben Reid and Mark Little – the three elder statesmen of the group.

Staunton has (at time of writing) played just 24 league games for us, he’s about half way to playing more games for us than any other side in his career.

He can lead this side for 100 more games easily, maybe into the Football League and certainly through rocky patches ahead.

There will not be many 26-year-olds at this level with 150 games already behind them and playing at the level where 150 more are perfectly feasible.

Sign him on. He’s the present and future of our team, we cannot throw this chance away.

It has always taken a certain type of player to play for Yeovil. We’ve heard the stories of Staunton joining the other injured players last season in playing a key role in getting the side through the end of the campaign and we’ve seen him don the captain’s armband on a few occasions this term too.

Qualities are not always easy to define, but you know what I mean. We’ve had loanees that ‘get it’ and some that don’t, we’ve had plenty of permanent signings come and go without so much as a shrug of the shoulders, we’ve had short term flashes of brilliance… we haven’t had all those positive attributes wrapped up into one person, one leader who can shape what this football club looks like for the next generation… since, you know who.

I cannot stress this enough, Josh Staunton is the most important player to the future of Yeovil Town Football Club since Terry Skiverton.

Editor’s note.

I have gone back and forth with writing and publishing this, I’m fully expecting a level of ridicule and outrage, but the reason I’ve gone with it, is that, I want to start the chat about getting contracts sorted beyond this season and quite how our squad looks in the medium to long term and I believe Josh Staunton has every attribute Skivo had and we should everything in our power to harness that.

If Staunton isn’t the most important player to YTFC, why? Who else has affected us (or will affect us) on the pitch in that same time frame?

Let us know! 

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Ahead of what was an ultimately disappointing Boxing Day trip to Torquay United, it was Terry Skiverton who was up in front of the media to answer the question.

He was stepping in for manager Darren Sarll who was missing due to a family bereavement and it brought home exactly what we have in Skivo.

Sarll and Skiverton
Terry Skiverton, right, alongside Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The club’s website currently names him as Assistant Manager, but there’s little doubt he’s much more than that. He’s Skivo – club legend, Darren Sarll’s right-hand man, someone has the respect of anyone with any association to Yeovil Town, and a very decent coach to boot.

Let’s not forget that having joined in the summer of 1999 and making more than 300 appearances including many as captain, he stepped forward in 2009 after the departure of Russell Slade and became manager, keeping us in League One for three consecutive seasons and then stepping aside when Gary Johnson returned in 2012.

Make no bones about it, I don’t think there’s ever been someone more engrained in our club’s history than the man from Mile End – he quite literally is Yeovil Town.

Having previously held a role as manager of the club’s now defunct Academy, he will have been pleased to see the likes of Toby Stephens, Ollie Haste, Jake Graziano and obviously his own son, Finlay, playing a part in the first-team squad.

But, it sounds like he is really enjoying working with Darren Sarll – despite being a target of the manager’s banter, often referencing his hair colour. We know it’s Strawberry Blonde, Skivo!

Talking about his relationship with the Glovers’ boss to the media last week: “When he arrived he said to me ‘Tel, we’re going to work really hard, it’s going to be intense but one thing we are going to do is have fun along the way.’

“He’s delivered that and everyone gives in 100% and you can see that on the pitch. The players are fighting to be part of it.

“It’s been an enjoyable experience through some of the toughest times of my life with COVID, with (the death of club captain) Lee (Collins), with everything that’s gone on in the last two years.

“He’s been a shining light and the way he handled those situations has been credit to him because he went through some dark times.

“He lets everyone have a voice and an opinion, it doesn’t mean he goes with your opinion, mind you! He’s very charismatic and the staff give him his best.“

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Top scorer Joe Quigley is back in training with Yeovil Town as they head in to a busy festive fixture schedule.

The six-goal striker has not featured since picking up a knee injury in the 1-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge a little over a month ago but returned to training this week.

Assistant manager Terry Skiverton, who was deputising on media duties on Thursday in place of boss Darren Sarll who had a bereavement in the family, said the defender Mark Little was always “progressing well”   having returned after a long lay-off.

Speaking ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Torquay United, he said: “We have had a few back in training and it’s been good having Mark Little back on the training ground.

“Joe is doing little bits and pieces, Reuben is getting stronger with every game and training session, so it’s looking good.

“So, we’ve had a 7v7 and an 8v8 rather than a five-a-side in training which has been nice.”

He added: “The squad is getting stronger at the right time, so for us it is important we look to get results in these games.

“Recent results and performances means everyone wants to get in the team.”

Skivo was also asked about facing his old manager Gary Johnson twice over the Christmas period, the current situation with COVID-19 and off-the-pitch takeover rumours, here’s what the assistant had to say:

  • Skivo is backing his old manager, Gary Johnson, to “spike” his Torquay United side after going out of the FA Trophy at Tonbridge Angels last weekend.
    He said: “They were on a good run of results, especially the 2-1 win at home to Stockport and they beat Weymouth.
    “I watched their game against Tonbridge  and I know that when Gary is on the back of a disappointing result, he will spike them that next week.“
  • He recalled the 2-0 win at Plainmoor in January 2020 and also the 6-1 defeat there last Boxing Day, but said neither result would have any bearing on this weekend, adding: “That was then, but we have a totally different team now and Gary has four or five new faces of his own.“
  • The assistant said that there have been no cases of COVID-19 in the Glovers’ camp and praised the work of the club’s COVID officer for the virus not yet affecting preparations despite a large number of other clubs suffering from it.
    Asked about the possibility of games being played behind-closed-doors, he said: “Football without crowds is not the same. It took us a year to get back and celebrate with the supporters, because we have a special bond with them.
    “We missed that during that period and hopefully we don’t have to miss that again, but it’s there to save lives and stop the spread of this virus we have to do what the Government says. We will adapt and overcome but it will be a backwards step if we do.“
  • On talks of a takeover of the club almost two weeks after a deadline to complete a deal set by chairman Scott Priestnall passed, Skivo unsurprisingly could not offer any new information.
    He said: “Until something happens, that is something me, the manager and the players can’t control, all we can control is making sure we get three points.
    “Everything else, if it happens, it happens and we just work accordingly.“

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To many people, the Somerset Premier Cup doesn’t mean an awful lot, a Wednesday night tie against Bridgwater United only attracted a little over 300 supporters to Huish Park.

However, they got to witness a little bit of Yeovil Town history.

For the Skiverton family, a name synonymous with the green and white of Yeovil Town, it was a night of pride as Terry – the legendary Glovers’ player, manager, player-manager, academy manager, assistant manager – signalled for a subtitution, a substitution that would welcome his son, Finlay on to the pitch.

With the number 9 on his back, Skivo Junior not only made his first team debut but scored an 88th minute goal to wrap up a comfortable 4-1 victory.

We here at the Gloverscast are suckers for a statistic, so here are a few numbers we’ve crunched.

Between Skivo Senior and Skivo Junior, they have a combined 384 appearances and 45 goals for the Glovers’ first team, but of course, Terry has most of them!

Terry’s final competitive appearance for the Glovers came on Saturday 21st March 2009 – a 0-0 draw against the MK Dons, he came off after just 36 minutes in a game that included the likes of Chris Weale in goal, Paul Warne and Andros Townsend.

That equates to 4568 days since a Skiverton graced the hallowed turf of Huish Park.

As for scoring, Terry’s final goal in green and white came a few week’s before that on Saturday 22nd November 2008, a 23rd minute goal against Tranmere Rovers (see below) would be the last time the name Skiverton made the goal scoring vidiprinter.

So… with a little maths (and some help from Google…) it’s taken exactly 12 Years and 10 months  for the feat to be repeated – or if you’d prefer, exactly 154 months, or maybe 670 weeks, or 4687 days.

Number one in the music charts was ‘Live Your Life’ by T.I. (featuring Rihanna), in the Premier League that day; Man City beat Arsenal 3-0 thanks to goals from Stephen Ireland, Robinho and Daniel Sturridge.

(Feeling old yet? Me too)

Who knows what the future holds for Finlay at Huish Park, but everyone at the Gloverscast congratulates Skivo Junior for his debut appearance and goal… here’s to many more!