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To see all news for May 2008 click here.
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8 May 2008 : Fixtures Release June 16th

The Football League has confirmed a break from tradition that normally sees the fixtures for the forthcoming season released on a Thursday, and those for the 2008-09 season will be published on Monday 16th June. The release time is expected to remain the usual 10.00 a.m.

Apart from the usual facility for clubs to pre-designate a number of alternative kick-off dates for clashes with long-standing events in their area, there's then a seven day period of grace for applications for further alterations, with final confirmation of each club's fixture list required to be lodged with the Football League by Monday 23rd June.

On a League One note, Cheltenham Town has confirmed that, although the ground share deal to host Bristol Rovers is still subject to contract, the Football League has already agreed to schedule the home matches of the respective clubs on alternate weeks.

8 May 2008 : Club Issue Second Leeds Statement

Yesterday, presumably after completing their talks with Somerset and Avon Police and their stadium safety staff, Yeovil Town issued a second statement relating to crowd disturbances caused by Leeds United fans being in the home ends of Huish Park.

Shortly after the event, Ciderspace wrote a lengthy article giving our observations on the evening and as part of that we invited a reply to any interested parties.

Given the timing of the club statement, we have collated the various replies we got from Yeovil supporters along with that statement and have also included two additional comments made by the police that were not replies to our article, but as they were in the public domain seem reasonable to provide views from the "other side of the fence".

All of the views, including the club statement itself are captured in a new article and can be read via the link below.

Link: Huish Park Crowd Disturbances - Reader Responses and Police/Club Statements.

8 May 2008 : Stewart Turns Down Contract Offer

This morning's BBC Somerset sports bulletin brings the news that striker Marcus Stewart has turned down an initial contract offer from the club, stating that the terms offered were insufficient. The BBC quotes Stewart (presumably via the WDP) as saying:

"What the club have offered me is disappointing and is not what I'm after."

The sports bulletin does describe it as a "first" contract offer. Whether Yeovil Town are prepared to negotiate any of the terms Stewart is unhappy with isn't stated either way.

7 May 2008 : No Messing For Ishmael

Fresh from being released from his contract today, former Glovers left-winger Ishmael Welsh has signed a year's contract with Conference National side Grays Athletic, returning him close to his former East London roots.

7 May 2008 : Leeds Hit With Arbitration Costs

The Football League today have issued a further statement on the Leeds United arbitration case today on the back of comments that have continued to be made by Leeds Chairman Ken Bates since the Yorkshire side had their appeal thrown out. Of particular note is that the tribunal have told Leeds that they must pay all arbitration costs, including those costs incurred by the Football League, after they failed in their attempts to have their 15 points reinstated.

In a letter written to all Football League clubs, League Chairman Lord Mawhinney has outlined certain aspects of the case and responded to criticism surrounding the situation, mainly from Bates himself, who came up with some worryingly xenophobic comments about Mawhinney after the case closed:

"I think the least they can do is the directors of the Football League Board should consider their position and Lord Mawhinney should resign and go back to Northern Ireland."

Mawhinney has since made it clear that he will not be resigning - hardly likely given the arbitration panel ratified the League's position - and he points out in today's letter that in accepting the 15 point deduction, Leeds were actually accepting the lesser of three evils. The other two options open to the League were demotion to League Two or cessation of membership entirely. In effect, Leeds got the lightest of the three available options.

Mawhinney has also hit back at claims that the Football League were responsible for the delay in the arbitration proceedings, pointing out that when Leeds had their appeal heard on August 9th 2007 that the legal document they signed in theory prevented them from mounting any other challenge and so as far as the Football League was concerned the matter was closed. The League have stated that the next contact they had with Bates was on February 4th 2008 - six months later - when Leeds gave notice of intent to commence High Court action. Even then, when the FA stepped in and pointed out to Leeds that they were bound by FA rules to resolve the dispute by arbitration proceedings rather than through the courtroom, Leeds took until Match 19th to instigate that process - another delay of five more weeks. The Football League therefore have drawn attention to their members the view of the arbitration panel that Leeds had been responsible for the succession of delays.

As regards to the future direction the Football League plan to take, Mawhinney admitted that with respect to the constitutional rule of allowing member clubs to vote on such an appeal that there would be likely to be changes saying "the Football League Board will take note of that point when it debates the judgment" - an independent tribunal is the solution recommended by the arbitration panel.

Meanwhile in terms of the problems clubs are having with HMRC, who have a policy to vote against Football Club CVAs at present due to the favourable terms for football creditors, Mahwinney said that HMRC's stance was "regrettable" but that the basic message to member clubs was to not get themselves into such a poor position in the first place:

"In most (if not all) cases the majority of the debts due to HMRC relate to PAYE and NIC and a substantial proportion of that will relate to player wages. Clubs which do not pay PAYE and NIC relating to their players are, in effect, spending more than they can afford on players. As a result, those Clubs that live within their means are at a competitive disadvantage. Whilst discussions with HMRC will continue, our focus should be on ensuring that all Clubs meet their obligations to HMRC as and when they fall due."

7 May 2008 : Schofield Signing Confirmed

Yeovil Town have officially confirmed that the widely expected signing of Huddersfield Town winger Danny Schofield will take place on July 1st when his contract at the Galpharm Stadium runs out.

Doncaster-born Schofield has been with the Terriers for 10 years, having joined them from non-league side Brodsworth Welfare. He is 28 years old (born 10th April 1980) and can operate as a left-winger, right-winger or as a supporting/deeper striker, with manager Russell Slade likening him to Arron Davies in the options he will give the side.

Despite making his intentions to leave the Galpharm clear at the start of this year, Schofield has continued to be a regular in Huddersfield's line-up this season and received a standing ovation on his final home appearance against Walsall just over a week ago when he capped his Huddersfield career by scoring the opening goal of the game. He then made his final bow a week later in their 1-0 away win over Luton Town.

Slade tried to sign Schofield back in August 2007, but was knocked back by former boss Andy Ritchie. Now with Schofield out of contract, he will join the club on a free transfer for the start of next season in what is expected (though not confirmed) to be a two year contract.

Welcome to Huish Park Danny!

7 May 2008 : Seven To Be Released

It's by no means official yet, but the first signs of a likely 'released list' are coming out now. This morning's BBC Somerset sports bulletin suggests that seven players were told yesterday that their services were no longer required.

The two biggest names are midfielder Anthony Barry and right-back Mark Lynch, whilst wingers Jerahl Hughes and Ishmael Welsh, strikers Wilfried Domoroud and Darryl Knights and midfielder Stephen Maher have all been shown the door.

There is no news regarding the other out of contract players yet, with talks in progress for the quartet of captain Terry Skiverton, striker Marcus Stewart, goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall and defender/midfielder Matthew Rose. However, the BBC report that right-back Craig Alcock has been offered another year's contract by the club and so will be added to the growing list for Chief Executive Martyn Starnes to deal with.

Update: This morning's WDP gives the same list - the paper suggests that Knights may head to Kidderminster Harriers where he has been on loan during the second half of this season. As an aside we suspect that this list is probably not exhaustive - there are two names we'd be surprised not to see released this summer.

Update: 10.30am: The club have now officially confirmed the above list of seven released players as accurate.

6 May 2008 : Women's League Cup Final Reminder

A reminder for those wanting to stretch out the end of the 2007-08 season that little bit longer - the South West Combination Women's League Cup Final takes place at Huish Park tonight between AFC Bournemouth and Plymouth Argyle, kick-off 7.45 p.m.

Admission is as follows: £3.00: adults, £1.00: children (10-15), whilst children under 10 can get in for free.

6 May 2008 : BBC Audio Interview From The Forest Game

For those that like to hear the audio versions of the BBC post-match interviews that are transcribed on this site, the BBC Sport website is now carrying Drew Savage's post-match interview with manager Russell Slade, conducted after the 3-2 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

Link: BBC Sport Website : Russell Slade Post-Match Interview From The Forest Game.

6 May 2008 : Welcome To The Rumourmill

With the 2007-08 season now truly over, we are of course at the start of the official Silly Season - the point at which every good supporter knows of a mate who has talked to a bloke in a pub who swears blind that he has heard from a very reliable source that Jason Scotland, Freddy Eastwood and Jermaine Beckford were all seen this afternoon in ASDA in Yeovil. Don't ask us why impending signings always go to ASDA and not Tesco - they just do, OK? Estate agents are also popular at this time of the year, we hear.

The coming week is expected to see Yeovil Town's list of released players to be made public as manager Russell Slade attempts to trim down his squad and make room for changes. Whilst many of the players listed are obvious ones, there is usually a Nick Crittenden or an Andy Lindegaard to cause a ripple of surprise - a player that has featured heavily in the season's games, but suddenly finds his time is up. In a season where there have been clear flaws in the make-up of the squad, we'd certainly expect this summer to be no different, with the outgoings likely to be fairly brutal.

Local journalist Chris Spittles has written a column for Monday's Western Morning News in which he predicts that Mark Lynch, Darren Behcet, Darryl Knights and Stephen Maher will head up that list, although we'd expect that to be the tip of the iceberg with no sign that Ishmael Welsh, Anthony Barry or Wilfried Domoraud are likely to be offered new deals at the club. Tuesday morning's BBC Somerset sports bulletin names Barry as expecting to be on that list as well.

Of slightly more concern is that central defender Terry Skiverton, striker Marcus Stewart and goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall have yet to sign deals, and the WMN article suggests that other parties may now be sniffing around the trio that represent probably Yeovil's greatest playing assets. It is suggested that a number of unspecified Championship clubs may be looking to secure Skivo's services, whilst Cheltenham Town are specifically named as an interested party in taking Marcus away from Huish Park. Meanwhile the article cites again the long running rumourmill connection between Mildy and Southampton, although in this instance we'd wonder how long such a rumour can be given credence, particularly given the multitude of managerial and boardroom changes that have swept through St Mary's over the past 12 months. Hence of the three links referred to within the article, this is the one we are the most skeptical about. Perhaps a case of the rumourmill producing a perpetual cycle?

On the plus side the WMN reference Aidan Downes and Danny Schofield as two players that they are confident will be arriving at Huish Park over the next month or two. You don't have to be the golfing buddy of Yeovil's chief scout to suggest that these two will not be the only arrivals.

What is inevitable is that the next three months will produce plenty of rumour and counter-rumour, and we'll do our best to sift through it all on Ciderspace. Don't rely on everything you hear or read as being true - the rumourmill is not a perfect beast and that bloke down the pub you've just talked to may not really have a brother who works as a football agent who's best mates with Russell Slade.

5 May 2008 : 2007-08 First Team Statistics Completed

The full set of first team statistics for the 2007-08 season have been finalised on the site database, following the completion of matches this weekend. Access all of the relevant pages via the links below, or find them at any stage in the future via the Statistics section of the site.

Link: 2007-08 First Team Results, Attendances and Scorers.

Link: 2007-08 First Team Goalscorers.

Link: 2007-08 First Team Appearances.

Link: 2007-08 First Team Bookings.

Link: 2007-08 First Team Final League One Table.

We'll hopefully provide similar final statistics for the Reserve and Youth sides in the next week or so.

4 May 2008 : Downes Deal Done With Toffees

Yeovil Town manager Russell Slade has this weekend revealed that he has agreed terms with Everton football club to take teenage striker Aidan Downes south to Huish Park.

Personal terms and a contract have yet to be agreed with the player, however Russell has confirmed that the Toffees will not be asking for a transfer fee for their academy player, provided a sell-on clause is built into the agreement.

Russell has also stated that he will continue to show an interest and monitor the progress of Ipswich Town winger Jaime Peters as he prepares to return to Portman Road. Peters scored in his final appearance for the club, and Russell indicated that if he could bring him back to Huish Park in some capacity then he would try and do so.

However, Russell said much depended upon Tractor Boys boss Jim Magilton and of course Peters himself, and what plans Magilton was likely to have for the player. Peters is under contract at Portman Road until 2010, hence the most likely option for Slade is to hope for another loan deal to be done for the start of next season.

Just to tidy up one loose end - Friday's Western Daily Press indicated that Livingston striker Steven Craig is unlikely to be coming to Huish Park. Despite news in the Scottish Press, including local station Key 107FM, the WDP describes such reports as "wide of the mark", presumably after consulting with Huish Park representatives although they aren't specific as to why they go against the Scottish media's version.

4 May 2008 : Russell's Verdict On The Forest Game

Following yesterday's 3-2 defeat at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, manager Russell Slade gave his usual post-match views to BBC reporter Drew Savage.

The full transcript of that interview can be found via the link below.

Link: Russell's Verdict On The Forest Game.

4 May 2008 : Forest Man Of The Match Voting

For those who went to the City Ground, remember to cast your Man of the Match vote for the game against Nottingham Forest. The game may have finished with a 3-2 defeat, but there were plenty of good individual performances to go round, so get those votes in.

This is the last vote of the season, so we'll keep the voting open until next Friday night and then hopefully round up the voting, including the player of the season, sometime over next weekend.

Link: Nottingham Forest vs Yeovil Town : Man Of The Match Voting.

4 May 2008 : Ups'n'Downs

With the main Football League season now complete as of this afternoon, and the play-offs about to begin, the League One set-up for the 2008-09 season is becoming clearer.

We definitely say goodbye to Swansea City and Nottingham Forest who have gained automatic promotion to the Championship. Meanwhile at the other end, Luton Town, Port Vale, AFC Bournemouth and Gillingham have disappeared into League Two after being relegated.

Coming down from the Championship after the last matches in the second tier were completed today are the rather familiar sights of Scunthorpe United and Colchester United, along with the slightly less familiar Leicester City, who join the third tier of English football for the first time in their club's history.

Coming up from League Two are MK Dons, Peterborough United and our friends from the Welsh borders Hereford United.

The League One play-offs mean that we will lose one of Doncaster Rovers, Carlisle United, Leeds United and Southend United. The semi-finals will be played on the 9th, 12th, 15th and 16th of May with the final on Sunday 25th May.

Meanwhile the League Two play-offs will see one of Stockport, Rochdale, Darlington or Wycombe Wanderers join us in League One. The first legs will be played on May 10th and 11th, with both second leg matches being played the following weekend on May 17th. The League Two play-off final will be on Monday 26th May.

For those who enjoy going to new stadiums, obviously Leicester City's Walkers Stadium will represent a highlight in the fixture list. However, both MK Dons and Colchester United have got themselves shiny new stadiums since we last played them, with the latter due to open their new ground for the start of next season. Peterborough United's London Road ground is an old-style stadium, but one that we assume most Yeovil fans have never been to for a Glovers match - our last visit was an FA Cup replay in 1946, so if anyone is planning their second visit next season, we're seriously impressed! Meanwhile you'll need to cheer on Stockport County in the League Two play-offs - the only potential new club out of the quartet taking part in the knock-out stages.

On a trivia note, whilst the Glovers mathematically retained their League One status against Swansea City two weeks ago, it was the point gained against Bristol Rovers on March 29th that ultimately gave them the points they needed to keep above fourth from bottom AFC Bournemouth. The Glovers finished 18th on 52 points in their third season of League One football.

4 May 2008 : A Happy Ending For Forest

Yeovil Town lost their final match of the 2007-08 season, but they made sure they played their part in a thrilling end-to-end contest against Nottingham Forest. Forest were able to make up for their woes from 12 months previously when the Glovers dumped them out of the League One Play-Offs - this time they were the ones celebrating on the final whistle when a 3-2 victory guaranteed them automatic promotion - albeit with the Glovers having caused a few jangled nerves in the sell-out crowd.

It's ironic that just as the season ends, that the injury list has cleared up and that manager Russell Slade has actually had the luxury of being able to field a settled side. For the third match running the same starting line-up was chosen, and once again the bench was formed from the same players. There's little doubt that ability to put out the same eleven has coincided with some improved performances, even if the opening half hour at the City Ground was to produce a mixture of refereeing ineptness, kamikaze defending and the odd deflection and ricochet that was able to put Forest in the driving seat at 3-1 up after just half an hour.

The Forest opener came with Marvin Williams lying on the deck, after he appeared to be the victim of a foul challenge from James Perch, who was able to take advantage of the additional space on the deck to square the ball to Julian Bennett, whose shot appeared to take a deflection into the corner of the net to put Forest 1-0 up and to induce a huge roar of relief from the City Ground.

The Forest fans were put into dreamland six minutes later as the Glovers sought to gift them a goal. Booting the ball out of defence as far as you can is often not pretty but it is sometimes the only way to go. Lee Peltier's crossfield pass to Terry Skiverton was short and suicidal, and when it bounced off the Yeovil captain's shins, Kris Commons took advantage of the charitable donation and clinically fired home to set the City Ground rocking.

That delight in the home ends lasted barely 60 seconds though, with the Glovers reminding Forest that they know a thing about City Ground comebacks. Almost straight from the kick-off, Marcus Stewart fashioned a low diagonal throughball that carved the Forest defence in two and put Jaime Peters in behind the Forest defence. He finished his shot cooly by striking a left-footed shot into the far corner to bring the scores back to 2-1.

The game was flowing from end-to-end, with the Glovers showing little fear or worries, but Forest determined to keep on the front foot. The home side's two goal advantage was restored just before the half hour mark with another point of controversy from referee Fred Graham. Terry Skiverton's header out of defence looked to be a perfect demonstration of a central defender winning a header, but presumably Graham felt Skivo had gone through his Forest marker to reach the ball and awarded a free kick. Up stepped Lewis McGugan, one of Forest's young rising stars, and he curled the ball over the wall to make it 3-1, and with Doncaster Rovers mucking things up against Cheltenham Town, to restore the volume at the City Ground.

The second half saw Forest play somewhat deeper, presumably with the goal of protecting what they had, rather than risk Yeovil catching them on the break. Perhaps a risky tactic given what happened to Forest the last time they did that against Yeovil, but initially at least it seemed to be working, with the pace of the game slowing down, and the play getting crowded out in midfield.

However, the introduction of substitutes gave the Glovers fresh legs and ideas, and when Jaime Peters played a quick short corner to Marc Bircham, the midfielder planted a cross straight onto the head of one of those new faces - Andy Kirk - who glanced the ball into the back of the net with 15 minutes to go. With news coming through of a Doncaster equaliser and Forest's lead a slender 3-2, the City Ground was completely silenced. Totally. Tense? Nervous? For once it was nice to be a Glovers fan and not particularly care - the same could not be said for the now nail-biting Forest players, as the Glovers hunted for the equaliser and left holes at the back, restoring the game back to its end-to-end state.

The Forest fans light at the end of the tunnel came not at the City Ground, but from Whaddon Road, where Cheltenham retook the lead against Doncaster, provoking a sea of celebration from the home parts of the ground. With the pressure somewhat lifted, the Forest players relaxed somewhat, even if they weren't quite over the finish line. Perhaps respectful of the Glovers intent, the home side ran the ball into the corner flag during injury time rather than take a long corner, and that prevented Yeovil from launching any last minute drama.

The final whistle saw a mass pitch invasion at the City Ground that sadly prevented all bar a couple of Yeovil players from being able to reach the travelling Yeovil army in the far corner of the ground. Forest were guaranteed automatic promotion when news came in from Whaddon Road that Cheltenham Town had held onto their lead again Doncaster Rovers. Instead the Glovers fans stayed and applauded their Forest counterparts in a far more sporting show of respect than the Leeds fans were able to offer on the previous weekend.

For the Glovers, the season may have ended in defeat, but this was a spirited entertaining match that once again showed some promising signs from some of the newer players within the Glovers ranks suggesting that if the right contract signings can be made over the summer, next season could be a bright and lively one.

Final Score: Nottingham Forest 3 Yeovil Town 2.

Scorers: Julian Bennett (12 mins, 1-0), Kris Commons (18 mins, 2-0), Jaime Peters (20 mins, 2-1), Lewis McGugan (28 mins, 3-1), Andy Kirk (75 mins, 3-2).

Nottingham Forest:
1. Paul Smith
2. Kelvin Wilson 4. Luke Chambers 5. Wes Morgan 29. Julian Bennett
7. James Perch 17. Lewis McGugan 15. Chris Cohen 8. Kris Commons
18. Brett Ormerod 9. Nathan Tyson

Subs: 6. Ian Breckin (72 mins for Luke Chambers) 12. Garath McCleary 14. Arron Davies (86 mins for Brett Ormerod) 23. Junior Agogo (65 mins for James Perch) 26. Matt Thornhill

Yeovil Town: (4-4-1-1)
1. Steve Mildenhall
27. Lee Peltier 4. Terry Skiverton 6. Terrell Forbes 28. Nathan Smith
32. Marvin Williams 8. Anthony Barry 20. Marc Bircham 33. Aidan Downes
16. Jaime Peters
10. Marcus Stewart

Subs: 3. Nathan Jones (84 mins for Aidan Downes) 5. Scott Guyett 9. Lloyd Owusu 12. Matty Rose (78 mins for Anthony Barry) 24. Andy Kirk (67 mins for Marvin Williams)

Forest Bookings: Lewis McGugan (90 mins, timewasting).
Yeovil Bookings: Marvin Williams (30 mins, dissent).

Referee: Fred Graham (Essex). Assistants: Andrew Newbold (Leicestershire) and Guy Stretton (Leicestershire). Fourth Official: Pat Miller (Bedfordshire).

Attendance: 28,520 (including 591 Yeovil fans)

3 May 2008 : Swansea Man Of The Match Result

The Man of the Match vote for the away trip at Swansea City was won by someone other than Marcus Stewart! The striker still won a large proportion of votes on the day, but was pipped by both Terry Skiverton, who scored the opening goal, and left-back Nathan Smith, who has been highly impressive since his arrival from Potters Bar.

The full results from the game that guaranteed League One football, are as follows:

1 Nathan Smith 144 (11)
2 Terry Skiverton 98 (4)
3 Marcus Stewart 80 (6)
4 Aidan Downes 42 (1)
5 Marvin Williams 22 (1)
6 Jaime Peters 20 (0)
7 Lee Peltier 18 (1)
8 Marc Bircham 6 (0)

OVERALL MATCH RATING: 8.76

Performance: 8.88
Entertainment: 8.64

VOTES RECEIVED: 24

3 May 2008 : Crewe Man of the Match Result

The home match against Crewe Alexandra certainly won't go down as a highlight of the season. Despite being in the game during the first 60 minutes, the last half hour saw the Glovers fall apart and lose out by a 0-3 scoreline.

Out of the darkness came two shining lights. Left-back Nathan Smith picked up a large share of the votes but he was pipped by Marcus Stewart, who started off playing in midfield, but moved up front towards the end of the match. The full results with outright MOTM votes in brackets, are as follows:

1 Marcus Stewart 460 (38)
2 Nathan Smith 336 (19)
3 Jaime Peters 58 (3)
4 Steve Mildenhall 56 (0)
5 Lloyd Owusu 46 (2)
6 Scott Guyett 36 (0)
7 Lee Peltier 26 (1)
8 Terry Skiverton 22 (1)
8 Stephen Maher 22 (1)
10 Andy Kirk 10 (0)
11 Terrell Forbes 8 (0)
11 Marc Bircham 8 (0)

OVERALL MATCH RATING: 3.57

Performance: 3.31
Entertainment: 3.82

VOTES RECEIVED: 65

3 May 2008 : Carlisle Man Of The Match Result

Yeovil Town's opening match in April was the long trip to Carlisle United that saw the Glovers horrendously unlucky not to come back with something from their travels. It looked like Marcus Stewart was going to be the hero on the day as he scored the opening goal, but despite the Glovers going down by a 2-1 scoreline, those who went to the game still recognised him as the player of the day. Full results with outright votes in brackets are as follows:

1 Marcus Stewart 78 (6)
2 Nathan Smith 36 (1)
3 Asmir Begovic 20 (1)
4 Lee Peltier 18 (1)
5 Scott Guyett 16 (0)
6 Terrell Forbes 12 (1)
7 Jaime Peters 10 (1)
8 Marc Bircham 6 (0)
9 Andy Kirk 2 (0)

OVERALL MATCH RATING: 7.45

Performance: 7.45
Entertainment: 7.45

VOTES RECEIVED: 11

2 May 2008 : Ciderspace Guide To Forest

The last of the 2007-08 Ciderspace opposition guides has been produced for this season and it is an update to the Nottingham Forest guide, which can be found via the link below.

Link: Ciderspace Guide To Nottingham Forest.

2 May 2008 : Another Pre-season Friendly

The Glovers will play their now traditional final pre-season warm up at Ladysmead. Monday 4th August at 7.45 p.m. sees Tiverton Town v Yeovil Town.

2 May 2008 : Nottingham Forest vs Yeovil Town Match Preview

Yeovil Town return to the scene of possibly their finest hour - or 120 minutes - when they travel to the City Ground tomorrow for a League One match against Nottingham Forest. Almost exactly one year ago, both sides met in a Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg match at the same venue, with the result being a pulsating 5-2 win over the former European Champions.

Whilst the scenario this year for the Glovers is far more low key - it is merely the final game of the 2007-08 season - the match is just as vital for Forest as it was 12 months ago. Forest need to beat Yeovil to stand any realistic chance of automatic promotion, and hope that Doncaster Rovers don't do the same as them at Cheltenham Town. Meanwhile they have Carlisle United breathing down their neck, meaning that any of three sides could find themselves celebrating promotion to the Championship, whilst the other two are consigned to the nightmare lottery of the play-offs - something that Forest would dearly love to avoid.

The Glovers go into the match with just one player missing from their squad, with Paul Warne's foot still in plaster - although he hopes to have that removed next week. The only other problem this week was striker Marcus Stewart, who missed two days of training earlier in the week, although his return to the training ground on Thursday should mean that he starts.

With Zoltan Stieber and Liam Bridcutt having returned to their parent clubs, the squad is now cut down to a smaller size, and with manager Russell Slade happy with the way his side performed in the last two matches it would be no surprise if he kept the same sixteen players for the final match of the season, particularly as no doubt his tactic will be to unnerve Forest and to hit them on the break, with Forest's players and management admitting that recent booing and heckling of their team has put Forest under pressure.

Forest have a slight doubt over midfielder Sammy Clingan who has been out with a virus, but otherwise they also present a fully fit squad, with Junior Agogo (calf) and Julian Bennett (groin) returning to training following injuries, whilst Brett Ormerod's knee injury sustained last week is not expected to cause manager Colin Calderwood any concern.

Forest go into the match having won their last three matches, all without conceding a goal, against Hartlepool United, Luton Town and Tranmere Rovers. That ought to put them in confident mood, even if the fact that two of those matches have been 1-0 scorelines suggests that they are having to battle their way through to secure the points. The Glovers form has been somewhat erratic, although their 2-1 win over Swansea City in their last away match shows exactly what they are capable of, given the moment.

The match kicks off at 3.00pm at the City Ground and is an ALL TICKET match - no sales will be made on the day of the game. The home end is sold out anyway, meaning that Forest are likely to grab their best home crowd of the season. Their current high is the 28,487 who watched the March game against Carlisle United. If you are not going then BBC Somerset will be covering the game live on 95.5FM throughout the afternoon.

The Ciderspace guide to Forest is already online and can be found in the Opposition section, but will receive some small updates sometime after 6.00pm tonight. We'll provide an update when the new version is available.

2 May 2008 : First Pre-Season Friendly Arranged!

Like the first daffodil in spring, the first pre-season friendly is always a welcome sign. Just before the current season closes, the first friendly of the 2008-09 season is now available.

The Glovers will play host to Championship side Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday 29th July at Huish Park according to the Western Morning News, and confirmed on the Argyle Official Site. The kick-off time has not been specified but is presumably 7.45pm.

2 May 2008 : Forest Home Ends Sold Out

Once again, Yeovil Town will play in front of a near capacity crowd tomorrow. That was confirmed when Nottingham Forest sold the last remaining home ticket for the match at the City Ground that will be the Glovers final game of the 2007-08 season.

If you haven't got your ticket yet, you need to sort one out mighty quickly with the Huish Park Ticket Office on 01935-847888 as this is an ALL TICKET match and the ticket office shuts today at 4.00pm.

2 May 2008 : League One Play-Off Dates

Of fairly academic interest to Glovers fans, though no doubt many will choose to watch on Sky Sports, the full fixtures for League One's play-offs have been published. These are as follows:

Friday, 09 May 2008 : 6th Place v 3rd Place, Play-Offs Semi-Final, L1, 19:45
Monday, 12 May 2008 : 5th Place v 4th Place, Play-Offs Semi-Final, L1, 19:45
Thursday, 15 May 2008 : 3rd Place v 6th Place, Play-Offs Semi-Final, L1, 19:45
Friday, 16 May 2008 : 4th Place v 5th Place, Play-Offs Semi-Final, L1, 19:45

Sunday, 25 May 2008 : League One Play-Off Final, 15:00

The Football League have claimed that fixtures will only be confirmed once the final rounds of matches are played, presumably to allow for the possibility of any objections from police authorities, however, both the BBC and Sky Sports consider this to be the published list.

2 May 2008 : Forest Tickets Final Reminder

A final reminder that tomorrow's match against Nottingham Forest is an ALL TICKET match. Contrary to initial information released, tickets will now NOT be sold on the day of the game and MUST be purchased from the Huish Park Ticket Office.

This is the final match of the 2007-08 season. The match takes place at the City Ground on Saturday 3rd May 2008 with a 3.00pm kick-off.

Ticket prices are as follows: Adults: £22.00; Over 60s: £16.00; Full Time Students: £10.00; Under 18s: £10.00; Under 12s: £5.00.

The Huish Park Ticket Office can be reached on 01935-847888.

At the Forest end they are predicting this match will be a near sell-out, with Forest having squeezed down the Glovers allocation. They are now allocating spaces to Forest fans in the Bridgeford Stand Lower Tier - presumably the blocks to the left of the away allocation - suggesting that they are running out of space in the City Ground.

Forest still have a chance of automatic promotion and need to better the Doncaster Rovers result at Cheltenham Town in order to squeeze into the automatic spots. However Carlisle United, who are home to AFC Bournemouth are also capable of doing the same. With Cheltenham and Bournemouth also involved in the scrap for the final two relegation places, it is likely to be an engrossing afternoon. Thankfully the Glovers will travel merely as interested spectators and attemptive party-poopers rather than having a serious interest in the final result.

2 May 2008 : Stewart Talks Commence

This morning's BBC Somerset sports report states that Chief Executive Martyn Starnes has claimed that he has now commenced talks with Marcus Stewart's agent, with regards to a new contract at Huish Park, and hopes that there will be something on the table for the 35 year old relatively soon.

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