Yeovil Town (still) owner-in-waiting Matt Uggla has said that relegation from the National League will not see his SU Glovers consortium walk away from the club.
In his latest Twitter post, he described suggestions that the ongoing delay in the deal being finalised was down to the group waiting to see which division they were in next season was ridiculous.
He said: “I wish everyone would understand how complicated a transaction this really is. However no matter what division Yeovil find themselves in we are 100% behind them.
“The budget remains the same. We will be full time and in my head all a relegation does is set us back a year. This is a long, long journey and we love everything about Yeovil. We are down for the cause and always will be. However not having complete control has meant certain decisions haven’t been allowed to be made by us.”
In response (albeit not directly) to criticism levelled at his group by manager Mark Cooper after yesterday’s 2-0 home defeat to Southend United, which keeps the Glovers in the relegation zone and staring relegation to National League South in the face, he admitted it was “hard” to “justify spending 150K on a certain striker when at any moment the deal at that point could collapse and therefore we lose a huge amount on a single transfer.”
Uggla added: “We have had to have restraint in aspects like this and other areas. We have massive plans for the club but until the reins are off and there’s no issue with ownership it’s incredibly hard to sanction these things. We inherited bare bones.”
There is little doubt that the repeated timescales for completing the deal to purchase a majority shareholding in Yeovil Football & Athletic Club from (still) chairman Scott Priestnall has understandably stoked fears around the group’s commitment.
On Thursday, March 23, Uggla said the deal would be completed “within 48 hours“, and 48 hours later he said it would be completed the following Monday – all the deadlines came and went without any sign of it completing.
Now he says the deal is “very close“. We don’t blame you if you choose to believe that and we’re certainly not saying it is correct; even Uggla has told supporters not to trust his judgement on giving dates.
Add whatever level of salt you want to here, but he adds: “We did not expect the deal to take this long. But once those reins are removed, which is very close, we will begin laying the foundations for success both on and off the pitch. Until then we have one arm tied behind our back and can’t make all the decisions we feel should be made in the best interest of the club and laying these foundations.
“We are here to stay and love the club, this season also isn’t over. Yesterday was a tough result and in my opinion not a fair one. Their keeper made some incredible saves and fair play to him. But the leadership I saw from people such a (captain, Josh) Staunton shows me that this fight isn’t over just yet.
“We go until the end and if the end comes. So be it. We will come back stronger and with foundations and strategies in place to take this club back to where it belongs. We are a family and we will get up when we get knocked down. But we fight till the end and as our motto says – Achieve by Unity.”
The immediate responses on Twitter to the latest ‘Sunday Sermon’ – there was a similarly lengthy thread of posts the day after last weekend’s 1-0 home defeat to Bromley – suggest that at least some Yeovil Town supporters are grateful for the communication – and hopeful that this time “very close” comes to fruition.
As ever, we would invite you to leave your own thoughts – whether positive or negative – in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
Thank you Matt. We believe in the plan and the longest journeys are the most fulfilling ?
— Matt Crivelli (@MattCrivelli) April 2, 2023
You came to this club very late in the day for this season but hope we will stay full time if the worst happens. The fans won't be happy with anything other than immediate promotion back. I suppose miracles happen but it's not looking good.
— Tim H (@hyeovilfc) April 2, 2023
Honest comments which us fans appreciate. I for one think your passion for the club speaks volumes and hopefully the deal gets over the line quickly so that we can carry on to #AchieveByUnity ??
— ᴍìᴍìɴᴢüᴋů (@miminzuku_) April 2, 2023
Thought so. Priestnall still controls the club. It’s an absolute nightmare.
I think if we get relegated but stay full time with Mark Cooper at the helm we will come straight back up l am not sure what directer of football does but I believe we should give mark time if stays what was Southern league is still a descent standard of football
Thanks Matt realy appreciated the comments by yourself also the brilliant post game interview with Josh .who has long since been a firm favourite of mine.
If we all stick to our moto
” Achieve by unity ” we will over come