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To see all news for February 2012 click here.
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4 February 2012 : Johnson Hoping Owls Scouting Trip Will Bear Fruit
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Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson is hoping that a personal midweek scouting trip will give him good knowledge to take into this afternoon's match at Hillsborough. The Glovers boss travelled with assistant manager Terry Skiverton to see Sheffield Wednesday's away match against Milton Keynes Dons on Tuesday night as an opportunity to view how the Owls would play first hand.
The end result between the two promotion chasing sides was a somewhat odd 1-1 draw, with Wednesday goalkeeper Stephen Bywater 'scoring' the goal for Milton Keynes, whilst the Owls got their goal through home defender Gary MacKenzie as both sides put through their own net and ended up sharing the points.
That lifted Wednesday into third spot in the League One table ahead of today's game. Speaking to BBC Somerset, Johnson felt that one of their strengths was that they were a well-organised side with a clear game plan:
"They've got a very very good squad. Me and Terry (Skiverton) drove up in the batmobile to Milton Keynes, to watch Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday, and they looked a real strong unit. You've got to earn a result against them. Sheffield Wednesday have got their game plan. They all know exactly what they're doing. They've brought players in that can play that game plan. You've got to be ready for it. Hopefully we will be, because we've seen it first hand, and we'll see how we cope with it."
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4 February 2012 : Obika Needs A Goal To Spark Run Of Form
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Yeovil Town striker Jonathan Obika says that he is hoping that his next goal for the Glovers will help spark a run of form for himself. The 21 year old has had a somewhat lean season so far, scoring just once in 15 appearances, albeit with a lengthy lay-off between late August and November after he was sidelined through injury.
Since returning to the side on November 19th, the Tottenham Hotspur academy graduate has found the net in one match as part of the Boxing Day fixture against Charlton Athletic. That's a far lower return than usual for a player who has scored 15 goals across four loan spells at Huish Park, averaging one goal every four appearances. Speaking to BBC Somerset ahead of the weekend, Obika believes that once he scores again that it will spark another run:
"I'm enjoying playing, and I think my performances are getting better. Sooner or later, I'll get that goal, and go on to get a good run. You want to score in every game. You don't go out there not to score. So when I do get that next goal, I know they will start pouring in."
Link: Jonathan Obika : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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4 February 2012 : Saturday Sheffield Weather Watch
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For the avoidance of doubt, we are still not aware of any problems with this afternoon's League One match against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. One of our exiled Glovers tells us that he has "woken up to clear skies and a moderate ground frost in Sheffield." The undersoil heating at the ground should therefore be enough to keep this afternoon's game on. Wrap up warm!
The big bank of snow forecast for today is expected to hit Sheffield either during or just after the match. Hence this shouldn't affect the match, but may cause a few concerns after the game. Avoid routes home like the Peak District and Snake Pass, needless to say!
This morning has seen Charlton Athletic's match against Rochdale fall foul of a frozen pitch, whilst Scunthorpe United's six-pointer against Walsall has also been called off. This now gives the following list of matches:
The Following League One Games Are OFF:
AFC Bournemouth vs Exeter City
Colchester United vs Sheffield United
Notts County vs Stevenage
Oldham Athletic vs Leyton Orient
Preston North End vs Brentford
Scunthorpe United vs Walsall
Bury vs Hartlepool United
Charlton Athletic vs Rochdale
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3 February 2012 : Ladies Set Dates For Next Three Fixtures
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Neither Yeovil Town's Under-18s, nor Yeovil Town Ladies are in action this weekend, with both sides having an empty weekend in their fixture lists. The Ladies were due to play Havant and Waterlooville on Sunday, but that game was postponed due to Havant's involvement in another competition. A new date for that game has yet to be arranged.
However, the Ladies have received notification from the South-West Combination Women's League for their next three fixtures, giving them two home matches at Raleigh Grove, Sherborne, during the month of February. That's then followed by an early March trip to Havant in the first of two matches against the Hampshire side that could easily turn into promotion deciders.
The fixtures we do know about are as follows:
19/02/2012 : Yeovil Town Ladies vs Keynsham Development (Raleigh Grove, Sherborne, 2.00p.m.)
26/02/2012 : Yeovil Town Ladies vs Forest Green Rovers (Raleigh Grove, Sherborne, 2.00p.m.)
04/03/2012 : Havant and Waterlooville vs Yeovil Town Ladies
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3 February 2012 : Gary Previews The Sheffield Wednesday Game
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As part of the build-up to tomorrow's trip to Hillsborough, Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson spoke to the BBC about the game. With questions from BBC Bristol reporter Dan Albutt, Gary's thoughts on the Sheffield Wednesday match are available via the link below.
Link: Gary Johnson Speaks To The BBC As Part Of The Build-Up To Sheffield Wednesday.
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3 February 2012 : Sheffield Weather Watch
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With a significant amount of icy weather coming in this weekend, we're probably facing the first Saturday of the 2011-12 season to land a sizeable number of pitch inspections. At present, we're not aware of any problems up at Hillsborough for tomorrow afternoon's game against Sheffield Wednesday, and in fact the match should be one of the more likely ones to go ahead, given that the Owls have undersoil heating in place from their top flight days. Last season's postponed game was due to iced up pipes at the stadium; things shouldn't get quite as cold as that this time around.
At the time of writing, AFC Bournemouth vs Exeter City is off along with Oldham Athletic's home game against Leyton Orient, whilst in League Two, games at Gillingham, Morecambe and perhaps ominously Rotherham United's Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, have all fallen foul of frozen pitches.
There are also pitch inspections planned at Bury, Colchester United and Notts County in League One, with Cheltenham Town, Oxford United and Shrewsbury Town planning the same in League Two.
The BBC Weather forecast is for tonight's temperatures to drop to around minus three celsius and for tomorrow's day-time temperature to only reach freezing. There is also forecast snow later in the day, although it's questionable as to whether that will reach Hillsborough before kick-off. Hence be prepared to alter your travel plans on the way home, particularly if your route takes you across the Peak District.
Needless to say, if anything changes, we'll put out messages on our Twitter account as soon as we get them. But at present we're not aware of anything that would put tomorrow's game in doubt.
Update: The Following League One Games Are Now OFF:
AFC Bournemouth vs Exeter City
Colchester United vs Sheffield United
Notts County vs Stevenage
Oldham Athletic vs Leyton Orient
Preston North End vs Brentford
Bury vs Hartlepool United
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3 February 2012 : Owls Boss Accuses Skiverton Of 'Cock And Bull Story'
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Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson has accused Yeovil Town assistant boss Terry Skiverton of running with a "cock and bull story" as the Owls boss revisited last year's stormy encounter at Huish Park yet again. Despite winning the September 2011 game at Huish Park by a 3-2 scoreline, Megson seems unwilling to move on from the incident that saw Kieran Agard score a disputed first half equalising goal during the game.
Following Agard's goal - scored by Agard after Owls goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell and defender Rob Jones collided following an uncontested drop ball - Skiverton, who was then first team manager, accused Owls midfielder Jose Semedo of abusing him whilst pondering whether to allow the visitors a walk-in goal. Skiverton cited Semedo's aggression as one of the principle factors that swayed him against doing that.
Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Megson now claims Semedo did not abuse Skiverton, suggesting the Glovers coach had made up the story:
"Their manager at the time didn’t want to do it. He came up with some cock and bull story that Jose Semedo had verbally abused him. Jose doesn’t even know how to do that even if he tried. It also resulted in Rob Jones smashing his nose and it threw us out of our stride for five to 10 minutes. They all lost their heads a bit and that carried on into the tunnel a bit."
The tunnel incident at half time saw Owls goalkeeping coach Andy Rhodes found guilty of improper conduct by the Football Association after the game, following a report made by the Fourth Official. At the centre-piece of their disdain was Agard's decision to close down the Wednesday defence, and Megson today has continued his complaints about that incident:
"The kid (Kieran Agard) shouldn’t have chased the ball down. Once he did, he’s made a mistake. I can guarantee you if it happened with one of my players I would bring them all over to the touchline and we’d let the opposition score. We all want to win but we don’t want to win that badly."
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3 February 2012 : Hinds Sight On First Team Place
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Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson says that he is confident that new signing Richard Hinds will challenge for a first team place in the long run. With the 31 year old joining the club as a free agent, until the end of the 2011-12 season, he will go up against Paul Huntington and Bondz N'Gala for the current centre-back slots, and in the short term is a strong possibility to replace Huntington during his three match suspension.
Johnson told BBC Somerset that Hinds was joining the club with the attitude that he would grab a first team place at the club, despite having spent the tail end of last year playing in the Conference National division with Lincoln City:
"He's looking to get into a team where he can play first team football. We were looking for another centre-back to compete with our centre-backs anyway. He seems very keen. He's certainly an experienced player, and I think that might be good at this moment in time, for our younger players, with Hunts (Paul Huntington) out for a month."
Johnson admitted that scouring the market for free agents at present was not an easy task. However, he believed his new signing would add a large amount of experience during a time when his club captain would be out of the side:
"There's not many players out there who are available immediately. But as I've said, that little bit of experience at Hillsborough might tip the balance for us. It's a difficult game, and he might be handy to have around. He'll certainly be travelling with the team. Whether he will play or not is another thing. But it gives us another centre-back."
Johnson admitted that losing his Club Captain for a minimum of three matches was a sizeable problem, but added that despite that, he was still determined to give tomorrow's opponents Sheffield Wednesday a 'fright' in a game that the Glovers are widely expected to struggle in, against the promotion-chasing Owls:
"That's going to be a difficult one, because it's difficult to replace your 'Captain Fantastic', because he's been great since I've been here, and I'm sure he's been great before. We'll have to get on with it, kick the cat and move on. The bookies aren't expecting us to get anything from Hillsborough. So we're not necessarily under pressure. We'll take the pressure off the boys, and we'll make sure that we give them (Sheffield Wednesday) a fright."
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3 February 2012 : Downloadable February 2012 Fixture Poster Available
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With us now having stumbled our way into February (where did January go?!) Yeovil Town have got five fixtures during the month, with three of those on the road. Right in the middle, we have two home League One matches at Huish Park, with Scunthorpe United (11th) and Colchester United (18th) visiting on consecutive weekends.
For those two matches, there is a new Fixtures Poster that can be downloaded. The poster is available in two forms - both of which are displayed in PDF format (which requires Adobe Reader to open). Feel free to display either poster in any shop, school, or noticeboard where you have permission from the owner/authority to do so. The 'High Resolution' version is the higher quality version for printing, however for those happy to accept something a bit rough at the edges, then a 'Low Resolution' version is always available.
Link: February 2012 : Fixtures Poster (Low Resolution Version - PDF format).
Link: February 2012 : Fixtures Poster (High Resolution Version - PDF format).
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3 February 2012 : Ciderspace Guide To Sheffield Wednesday
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Tomorrow sees Yeovil Town make the journey back to Sheffield for the second time inside a month, having already done Bramall Lane in January. This time it's Hillsborough, home of Sheffield Wednesday, which last time round a few Glovers fans would have missed out on due to it being a midweeker. This time, we actually see Sheffield on a Saturday, and the Ciderspace guide has been updated to include directions, ticketing, travel, pub guides and other such stuff to help you through your day. Head via the link below.
Link: Ciderspace Guide To Sheffield Wednesday.
Link: Officials For Sheffield Wednesday vs Yeovil Town.
Link: Ticketing For Sheffield Wednesday vs Yeovil Town.
Link: GWSC Travel To Sheffield Wednesday.
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2 February 2012 : Imps Boss On Hinds Departure
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Lincoln City boss David Holdsworth was reported at the start of last month as citing his club's playing budget as being one of the factors that caused him to lose new Yeovil Town signing Richard Hinds. With the 31 year old centre-back agreeing a contract with the Glovers until the end of the 2011-12 season, he returns to third tier football, nine months after being released by Saturday's opponents Sheffield Wednesday.
Hinds made nine appearances for the Imps at Conference National level, scoring one goal, across the two months that he was at Sincil Bank. His last game was on New Year's Day, after which he turned down the offer of an extended deal in Lincolnshire. Speaking just after he left the club, Holdsworth explained that he wanted to keep the Sheffield-born defender, but wages and his wish to return to the Football League made that impossible for Lincoln to match:
"We offered Richard a contract until the end of the season, but he turned it down due to the fact that pennies are short. He has aspirations of playing in the Football League and unfortunately we could not afford his demands. So I had to make a decision, and it was not one that I wanted to do because his experience is invaluable, but I do not have the money to pay for that. I am so grateful to Richard for his efforts because he was a very good signing for us and I wish him all the best for the future."
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2 February 2012 : Hinds Signs On The Dotted Line
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Further to our earlier news, Yeovil Town have now completed the signing of former Sheffield Wednesday, Scunthorpe United and Lincoln City defender Richard Hinds. The 31 year old has agreed a deal until the end of the 2011-12 season, and will be available for the trip to Hillsborough on Saturday - not only a club he spent four years at, but his home town as well.
For a full profile on Richard Hinds, see the earlier news item. He will provide cover for club captain Paul Huntington, who faces at minimum a three match ban following his sending off last weekend - but may find that increased further if next Wednesday's FA hearing into a misconduct charge associated with the same game, results in further punishment.
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2 February 2012 : Glovers In Talks With Former Owls Defender
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Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson is in talks with former Sheffield Wednesday defender Richard Hinds about a possible move to Huish Park. According to BBC Radio Bristol, the 31 year old former Sheffield Wednesday, Scunthorpe United and Lincoln City defender could be brought in as cover for club captain Paul Huntington this afternoon.
If the deal goes through, then Hinds would stand a chance of making his debut on Saturday against a club he spent four years with between 2007 and 2011. He is Sheffield born - August 22nd 1980 - and started his career on the books of Tranmere Rovers as a youth team player, before spending five years at Prenton Park as a pro. He then spent two seasons with Hull City before moving on to Scunthorpe United for a similar period.
Following his release by Saturday's opponents Sheffield Wednesday, he signed a short term contract with Conference National side Lincoln City which expired at the turn of the year. He should understand the terms of his playing contract when it is put to him - he holds a first class honours degree from the Open University, obtained during his time at Hillsborough, in preparation for life once his playing career is over.
The BBC have also indicated that there are some legs to the earlier reports that the Glovers are interested in Blackburn Rovers striker Tom Hitchcock. However, the immediate suggestions are that this one is not quite so far down the line.
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2 February 2012 : Hitchcock Mystery Thriller Sequel
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Yeovil Town are reported to be chasing Blackburn Rovers striker Tom Hitchcock. His exact status is not 100 percent clear; Sky Sports claim that the Premier League club have released the former England youth international, which would make him a free agent.
Their website claims that Hitchcock's release is now attracting the attention of League One sides Milton Keynes Dons, Brentford and Yeovil Town. As usual, with Sky Sports, don't be too surprised if this involves his agent trying to drum up interest through the media.
He is a 19 year old striker born in Hemel Hemstead, on October 1st 1992, and is the son of former Chelsea goalkeeper Kevin Hitchcock, now goalkeeping-coach at Queens Park Rangers. His connection with Blackburn came through his father, who was performing a similar role at Ewood Park at the time.
Although a Reserve Team regular at Blackburn, he has not made a first team appearance for the club. He does have some Football League experience though, with Plymouth Argyle, having spent three months at Home Park, making five starts and five substitute appearances for the Pilgrims, although without scoring a goal.
Where we'd tend to put a dampener on this one is that this is the second time that Sky Sports have claimed that the Glovers were taking an interest in the player, having suggested we were taking him on loan at the start of the 2011-12 season. That came to nothing, with him moving to Devon on a loan basis instead. Possible as a "one for the future", but less likely to immediately challenge the current quartet of strikers on the club's books.
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1 February 2012 : Taff's Gloversblog : Damp Squib Is No Surprise
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Yesterday saw little of excitement on Transfer Deadline Day, from a Yeovil Town perspective, with no comings or goings. Whilst we all scoured the internet, and hit the refresh button in anticipation of news, the lack of concrete moves came as not too much of a surprise. Looking at what Gary Johnson is possibly targeting for improvement, and why he may be slow to bring those players in, the latest Taff's Gloversblog can be read via the link below.
Link: Taff's Gloversblog : Damp Squib Is No Surprise.
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1 February 2012 : Gilbert Jumps Through Hoops For Irish Move
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Former Yeovil Town right-back Kerrea Gilbert obviously enjoyed playing in Green and White Hoops this season. The 24 year old has signed for Irish League Champions Shamrock Rovers today, ahead of their 2012 pre-season. Having been released by the Glovers at the turn of the year, he has signed for the Hoops as a free agent.
Manager Stephen Kenny has said that Gilbert, who joins them in time for their pre-season training and build-up, will offer his side plenty of experience:
"Kerrea is only 24, but has played a lot of games in England including 34 games for Leicester City in the Championship during his one season loan period with them. We needed to add a right-back to the squad, and Kerrea is a very good addition for us. He is quick and is a very good defender.
"Despite his still young age, he has a lot of experience and I think his best years are very much ahead of him. We have added quality and ability with this signing. He has trained with the team for the last few days and he is hungry to well and make an impact with us this season."
Former Youth Team striker Jake Reid has moved to Conference National side Newport County, signing a deal with the South Wales side until the end of the 2011-12 season. Since appearing for the Under-18s as well as the Glovers reserves, the 24 year old has turned out for Team Bath and Weymouth and had been on the books of Salisbury City this season.
Reid just about misses former loan midfielder Tommy Doherty who had a short spell with the Glovers during the 2005-06 season. He has been released by Newport and becomes a free agent. Since leaving Queens Park Rangers, he has played for Wycombe Wanderers, Hungarian side Ferencvárosi TC and Bradford City before signing for Newport last summer.
One former Glover who didn't move on transfer deadline day was full-back/midfielder Stephen Reed. Currently at Weymouth on non-contract terms, he was widely reported as on his way to local rivals Dorchester Town. Having agreed terms on the Monday, Reedy was due to turn up on the Tuesday to sign his papers, but failed to turn up - a somewhat embarrassing situation for Magpies Chairman Shaun Hearn who had already declared "it's a done deal".
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1 February 2012 : Double Whammy For Huntington
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Yeovil Town club captain has been charged with a secondary offence by the Football Association, following his sending off against Preston North End. Already subject to a three match ban for 'serious foul play' after referee Oliver Langford dismissed him late on in the 2-1 win, he has now been charged with misconduct, with the FA claiming him to be in breach of Rule E3.
This rule is a generic one covering misconduct, and is the same one that Luke Ayling was deemed to be guilty of, following his red card against Stevenage. It states:
"A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour."
The most likely explanation is that Huntington is alleged to have done or said something following his red card, given out for a supposed foul on Preston striker Jamie Proctor. In the case of Ayling, he was given an additional match ban by the FA for foul and abusive language, believed to relate to language used as he passed the dugouts, within earshot of the Fourth Official.
Huntington has requested a personal hearing at the FA's Headquarters at Wembley. He will attend a meeting with the FA's Football Governance and Regulation next Wednesday.
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1 February 2012 : Walker Gets New Blues Deal
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Yeovil Town loan goalkeeper Sam Walker is reported to have signed a new contract with his parent club. The 20 year old is claimed by Sky Sports to have signed a deal that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2014, giving him two and a half years against his revised deal with Chelsea.
In addition to a loan spell at League Two side Barnet last season, Walker has had two temporary spells out on loan during the 2011-12 campaign, both under Gary Johnson. Having spent half a season with League Two side Northampton Town, he is now part of Yeovil's first team squad, and has so far made two appearances, with his home debut coming in last week's 2-1 win over Preston North End. He is currently on loan with the Glovers until the end of the 2011-12 season.
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31 January 2012 : Ex-Glover Smithy Gets In A Shots Loan Move
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Former Yeovil Town midfielder Ben Smith has gone out on loan again, as he continues his tour around the country. Smithy has signed a three month loan deal with League Two side Aldershot Town today, having had a short loan spell with Kettering Town, having largely dropped out of the reckoning with his parent club Crawley Town since their promotion into the Football League.
Since leaving Yeovil Town in 2001 after 144 appearances, the 33 year old has worked his way through Southend United, Hereford United, Shrewsbury Town, Weymouth, back to Hereford and then on to Crawley on his way to over 400 senior appearances across all clubs.
Meanwhile Bristol Rovers have brought in former Yeovil Town trialist Jim Paterson today. The 32 year old left-back trialled for the club at the start of this season, but failed to agree terms, eventually turning up at Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. He has been training with Rovers for a week and they have now given him a contract until the end of the 2011-12 season.
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31 January 2012 : Transfer Deadline Day: Full League One Round-Up
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The January Transfer Window has now shut, and bar the odd bit of lurking paperwork or late press announcements, all business involving League One clubs should be concluded. For the avoidance of doubt, we do not believe that Yeovil Town conducted any business today, even though the three match suspension of club captain Paul Huntington accelerated the need for defensive cover.
The rules are now that clubs can continue to sign free agents as normal, but that at Football League level there will be a seven day period in which no loans may take place. After that, the 'emergency' loan window will open, where players can be signed up either as youth loans, or under the emergency loan system for between 28 and 93 days.
There may be one or two omissions lurking, but the following represents the Deadline Day dealings involving League One clubs. Six clubs were busy playing matches tonight, which doubtless meant that they had attention drawn elsewhere as four of those six didn't conduct any business on the day:
AFC Bournemouth:
IN: Donal McDermott (22 year old winger from Huddersfield Town, undisclosed fee, three and a half year deal)
OUT: Michael Symes (28 year old striker to Rochdale, on loan, until May 5th)
Brentford:
None.
Bury:
None.
Carlisle United:
None.
Charlton Athletic:
None.
Chesterfield:
IN: Nicky Ajose (20 year old striker from Peterborough United, youth loan, until end of season)
Colchester United:
None.
Exeter City:
IN: Luke O'Brien (23 year old full-back from Bradford City, taken over contract, until end of season)
OUT: Chris Shephard (20 year old midfielder to Bath City, one month loan deal)
Hartlepool United:
None.
Huddersfield Town:
IN: Murray Wallace (19 year old centre-back from Falkirk, £300,000 rising to £700,000, loaned back to Falkirk for rest of season)
IN: Kallum Higginbotham (22 year old striker from Falkirk, six figure fee)
OUT: Donal McDermott (22 year old winger to Bournemouth, undisclosed fee, three and a half year deal)
Leyton Orient:
OUT: Stephen Dawson (26 year old to Barnsley, undisclosed fee, two and a half year contract)
Milton Keynes Dons:
IN: James Tavernier (20 year old right-back from Newcastle United, on loan, until end of season)
OUT: Anthony McNamee (28 year old winger, released from contract, signed for Wycombe Wanderers)
OUT: Adam Smith (20 year old right-back, loan recalled by Tottenham to go back out on loan to Leeds United)
Notts County:
OUT: Karl Hawley (30 year old striker to Crawley Town, on loan, until end of season)
Oldham Athletic:
STAY: Tom Adeyemi (20 year old midfielder from Norwich City, loan extension, until March 10th)
OUT: Ryan Brooke (21 year old midfielder to AFC Telford United, one month loan)
Preston North End:
IN: Chris Robertson (25 year old centre-back from Torquay United, undisclosed fee)
IN: Graham Cummins (24 year old striker from Cork City, undisclosed fee)
OUT: Clarke Carlisle (32 year old defender, loan ended so back to Burnley, then back out on loan to Northampton Town)
OUT: Juvhel Tsoumou (21 year old striker to Plymouth Argyle, on loan, until end of season)
Rochdale:
IN: Michael Symes (28 year old striker from AFC Bournemouth, on loan, until May 5th)
IN: Paul McCallum (18 year old striker from West Ham United, youth loan, until March 4th)
STAY: Peter Kurucz (23 year old goalkeeper from West Ham United, loan extension until May)
Scunthorpe United:
IN: Jonathan Parkin (30 year old striker from Cardiff City, one month loan)
IN: David Mirfin (26 year old defender from Watford, loan until end of season)
IN: Robbie Gibbons (20 year old midfielder, free agent, recently with Cypriot side Alki Larnaca)
Sheffield United:
IN: Will Hoskins (25 year old striker from Brighton and Hove Albion, on loan, until end of season)
OUT: Erik Tonne (20 year old midfielder to York City, on loan, until end of season)
Sheffield Wednesday:
None.
Stevenage:
None.
Tranmere Rovers:
None.
Walsall:
None.
Wycombe Wanderers:
IN: Anthony McNamee (28 year old winger, was with Milton Keynes Dons, released from contract, signed until end of season)
IN: Matty Whichelow (20 year old winger from Watford, youth loan, one month)
OUT: Scott Rendell (25 year old striker to Oxford United, until end of season)
Yeovil Town:
None.
Link: 2011-12 Latest League One Table.
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31 January 2012 : Huntington Appeal Thrown Out By FA
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Yeovil Town have had their appeal against Paul Huntington's sending off thrown out by the Football Association. The Glovers had appealed against referee Oliver Langford's decision to dismiss the club captain in the final few minutes of the 2-1 win over Preston North End, following an alleged foul on their striker Jamie Proctor.
However, that appeal has now been rejected and Huntington will now face a three match ban. He will miss the away matches at Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe Wanderers as well as the home game against Scunthorpe United.
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31 January 2012 : Johnson Jnr Leaves City
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Former Yeovil Town midfielder Lee Johnson has left Championship side Bristol City. The 30 year old had been at Ashton Gate since August 2006, after he teamed back up with father Gary Johnson, who was then their first team manager. In between leaving Huish Park, and joining the Robins, Lee had spent a year with Scottish Premier League side Hearts, but returned back south after he fell out of favour at the Tynecastle Stadium.
Five and a half years, 195 appearances and 11 goals later with Bristol City, he is now looking for a new club, having agreed to leave the club by mutual consent, with half a season left on his contract. During his time with the Robins, he has had loan spells with Derby County, and earlier this season with Chesterfield.
There are no clues at present as to where he may head to next, but earlier this month, Lee was firm that he would not be teaming up with Gary again, with the implication that playing for his dad carried charges of nepotism that he was not prepared to deal with a third time.
Link: Lee Johnson : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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31 January 2012 : Glovers Reject Gibson Approach By Imps
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Yeovil Town have turned down an approach from Conference National side Lincoln City for winger Billy Gibson. As reported earlier today, the Lincolnshire Echo had been suggesting that their manager David Holdsworth was looking to snap up the former Watford trainee.
Gibson, who has made 13 appearances for the club across his 18 months at Huish Park, has six months left on his contract, and today's confirmation of a rejection by the club would suggest that they are not looking to release him from his contract.
Link: Billy Gibson : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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31 January 2012 : Rendell Makes Oxford Switch
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Former Yeovil Town loan striker Scott Rendell has gone out on loan on Transfer Deadline Day. In a very low key start to the final 24 hours of trading involving the professional football leagues, the 25 year old has left Wycombe Wanderers to sign for Oxford United on a loan deal until the end of the 2011-12 season.
Rendell has already been out on loan this season, with Bristol Rovers having taken him for a month during October 2011. He's played 11 times for Wanderers this season, scoring one goal, but has dropped down their pecking order and has made just two substitute appearances since the first week in October.
As mentioned yesterday, former loan midfielder Lee Cox was due to move from Inverness Caledonian Thistle to League Two side Swindon Town. That's now been confirmed, with a two and a half year deal on the table for the 21 year old. The fee is officially undisclosed, although the Highland press have reported it as a £50,000 transfer.
As yet, we're not expecting any Yeovil Town movement; one of the local Press Association representatives this morning has tweeted that he has been told to not expect anything of consequence coming out of Huish Park: "Don't get too excited Glovers fans, I've been advised it's going to be quite quiet at Huish Park today" - of course no guarantees things will stay that way, but that's the way things stand as of late morning.
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31 January 2012 : Officials For Sheffield Wednesday vs Yeovil Town
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Officials for Saturday's League One match between Sheffield Wednesday and Yeovil Town have been published. The match takes place at Hillsborough on Saturday 4th February 2012, with a 3.00p.m. kick-off. The man in charge will be referee Mark Brown (East Yorkshire). Mr Brown has looked after a Yeovil Town football match on two previous occasions, and the good news is that both of them have ended in 1-0 away wins. A hat-trick please, Mr Referee?
The most recent of those was the 1-0 win at Prenton Park over Tranmere Rovers in February 2011. Possibly one of the worst matches for entertainment you'll have set your eyes on in recent years, although Oli Johnson's wonder strike was worth the journey. Mr Brown didn't have a lot to do on the day - just one booking early on, and not much out there to raise the hackles.
Mr Brown's other game in charge came in November 2010, when he saw our 1-0 win over Rushden and Diamonds in the FA Cup. This match brought that rare scenario of a referee gifting the Glovers the key decision in the game - namely the winning goal scored by Andy Williams. Even the most green-tinted of Glovers would admit that Dean Bowditch was probably interfering with play at the time the ball was hit towards goal, but after a lengthy consultation with his linesman, referee Brown awarded the goal. Rushden were furious, and probably with some justification.
In his official profile, he credits a number of people for having got him into refereeing, including "my ex-wife for moving out so I could concentrate on my football and not have to listen to her moaning all day and night". Given he's now in his second season as a Football League referee, one wonders if he is now hearing any less moaning on his Saturday afternoons?
Mr Brown will be assisted by Mark Griffiths (South Yorkshire) and Keith Lawson (South Humberside). The Fourth Official will be Daniel Meeson (Staffordshire).
Link: February 2011 : Tranmere Rovers 0 Yeovil Town 1.
Link: November 2010 : Rushden and Diamonds 0 Yeovil Town 1.
Link: Ticketing For Sheffield Wednesday vs Yeovil Town.
Link: GWSC Travel To Sheffield Wednesday.
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31 January 2012 : Gibson Linked With Imps Move
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Speculation in Lincolnshire is suggesting that Yeovil Town winger Billy Gibson may be released by the club. The former Watford academy player has slowly clocked up 13 appearances during the 18 months that he's been at Huish Park, although has only one league start to his name - one day after his 21st birthday.
Since October 22nd, Gibson has managed just eight minutes of first team football, and has not even made the bench during 2012. He last featured as a late substitute in the FA Cup Second Round Replay match against Fleetwood Town.
The Lincolnshire Echo suggests that the right-winger is a target for Conference National side Lincoln City, who were seen as short of attacking players, even before today's decision to release former Glover Gavin McCallum. Their paper claims that manager David Holdsworth is waiting to see if Yeovil Town choose to release Gibson before they consider a move:
"Billy Gibson, a winger at Yeovil, is also being monitored with speculation mounting that he is set to become a free agent. The former Watford player, who made one appearance for the Hornets, has figured 13 times for the Glovers in a two-season spell."
With today (Tuesday) being Transfer Deadline Day, Gibson would need to come off Yeovil's books by the time the window closes for the Imps to be able to sign him up permanently.
According to the BBC Sport website, the Transfer Window closes at 11.00p.m. on Tuesday night for all English divisions, and the Scottish Premier League, with the Scottish Football League keeping matters hanging on for another hour. At present, we're not aware of any definitive plans by Yeovil Town to sign up any new players, although boss Gary Johnson has made it clear that he does want to improve his squad by three players - whether that will happen today or during the loan transfer window will depend on whether any of Gary's legendary 'spinning plates' drop.
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30 January 2012 : Swindon 0 Yeovil 1 : Ladies Win Sees Title Bid Stay On Track
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A 24th minute Laura Bray goal saw Yeovil Town Ladies record a hard earned 1-0 win at Swindon Town Ladies on Sunday. Swindon entered the game unbeaten at home this season and the Glovers had to work hard on an uneven pitch, which made the Yeovil's normal passing game difficult, but was ideal for Swindon's long ball tactics.
It was clear before the kick off that the surface would make passing the ball more difficult, but despite the challenge of the pitch, the Glovers remained true to their passing game and were rewarded on 24 minutes when the front players combined well and Laura Bray made no mistake, finding the back of the net for a crucial Yeovil lead. Swindon's long ball game meant that the Glovers defense had to deal with a number of Swindon attacks during the first half, the best of which was an excellent chance clipped past the Yeovil keeper, Rachel Simkin.
In the second half Yeovil made an early change with Rosie Williams returning to the back four after being out for several months due to injuries suffered in a car crash. This change also meant Terri Trowbridge could move into the right wing position, a swap that paid off as Trowbridge was able to get the better of the Swindon left back on several occasions and test their defence with some great crosses.
Throughout the second period Swindon continued to try and push forward, but lacked invention up front and their attacks were easily swept up by the Yeovil defence. In an effort to grab an equalizer, Swindon changed their formation to field an extra attacker, but additional subs for the Glovers (Sarah Roxburgh into midfield and Leah Jennings to right wing), plus strong Yeovil defensive play, allowed the Glovers to see out the game.
Late on the Glovers even had some chances to extend their lead as Swindon’s search for a goal left gaps in their defence. The chances fell to Bray and Cornwall and although both missed the opportunity to double the lead, the Glovers defence held firm at the other end of the pitch and Yeovil recorded another crucial league win.
Yeovil Joint Manager Nigel Williams was pleased that the team came through a testing fixture on a less than ideal surface, he said:
"This match was never going to be a walk in the park and if we went into it thinking that way we would have not got this result - Swindon are a very physical side and had not lost at home this season. I was not happy about the pitch today - it was amazing that all parts of the field of play suffered from undulated ground, making it difficult to get a passing game going. We had to really dig in and fight for every ball. Swindon kept playing long balls up field - trying to get in behind our defence, but we held out, kept another clean sheet and swept up most phases of play."
With just 6 games in the league campaign left, Williams praised the squad’s potential and fighting spirit but underscored that he and Sarah Lawler (Joint Manager) were keen to see the team improve further, he said:
"We just need to keep our feet on the ground, there were some nervous performances out there today, but we showed yet again we can fight a battle as well as play decent football. We will continue to take every game as it comes and will work on things that are not quite there yet. Sarah and I will continue to challenge players to fight for their place in the team and it is great to see every player in the squad rising to the challenge of pushing us forward."
The win at Swindon means Yeovil remain at the top of the South West Combination, five points ahead of second placed Havant & Waterlooville, who have also played one more game than the Glovers.
Final Score: Swindon Town Ladies 0 Yeovil Town Ladies 1.
[Match Report by David Mills, Yeovil Town Ladies.]
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30 January 2012 : Brown And McCallum Search For New Clubs
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Former Yeovil Town centre-back Aaron Brown has become a free agent on the eve of transfer deadline day. The 28 year old has been released by mutual consent by League Two side Aldershot Town, after dropping down the pecking order at the Recreation Ground. Since mid-November, he's made just one substitute appearance, after re-joining the Shots for a second spell at the start of the 2011-12 season.
After leaving Yeovil Town in the summer of 2009, Brown has had a rather nomadic career, playing his way through Redditch United, Burton Albion, AFC Telford United and Truro City (under former Glover Steve Thompson) before the first of his two spells with Aldershot.
Then followed a brief reuniting with Russell Slade just after the former Glovers boss had arrived at Leyton Orient. They put him on loan to Stockport County before releasing him, which resulted in his return to Aldershot. The timing of his release would suggest that he has another club lined up in the next few days, particularly as the Shots had given him a two year contract.
Former Glovers loan midfielder Lee Cox is on the edge of signing for League Two side Swindon Town for a £50,000 fee, after Scottish side Inverness Caledonian Thistle decided to cash in on the fact that the 21 year old only had six months left on his contract and had expressed a wish to return south of the border.
He's a player you'd be forgiven for not remembering the name of. He never set foot on the field of play, having been one of former manager Russell Slade's last signings in January 2009, when the then Leicester City boss gave Yeovil an 18 year old Cox free of charge to help bolster the Glovers bench. Due to his lack of experience at the time, he only played for the Reserve team, but since leaving Leicester has carved out a decent three year spell playing north of the border.
Former Glovers Youth Team player Gavin McCallum is another player on the move. He has been released by Conference National side Lincoln City by mutual consent after 18 months at Sincil Bank. He scored six goals in 56 appearances after arriving from Hereford United. The 24 year old Canadian International has not played for the Imps since returning from Barnet following a loan deal. Local press reports state that Imps boss David Holdsworth decided to cut McCallum out of his plans after the striker allegedly refused to play in an FA Trophy replay against Carshalton Athletic.
One player who appears to have made a bit of a mess of his footballing career in the past few weeks is Barnet winger Mark Marshall. The 24 year old was a former Glovers trialist who had played in a couple of pre-season friendlies at the start of the 2007-08 season.
If you believe Sky Sports and their love of accepting feeds from players' agents, Marshall had been attracting interest from Charlton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Leeds and West Ham. He's now attracting the interest of the FA's Doping Control team, having failed a drugs test on Boxing Day. Once notified, the Bees suspended the former Swindon Town player, and due to the rumourmill have now confirmed the reasons for his absence via a statement:
"Mark Marshall has been provisionally suspended from football activities pending a disciplinary hearing following the results of a recent drugs test where he tested positive for the use of a prohibited substance. He has consequently missed Barnet's last two League matches. In mitigation he claims to have unwittingly taken a banned substance in a supplement."
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30 January 2012 : Williams Picks Up Team Of The Week Nomination
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Yeovil Town striker Andy Williams has been included in the Football League's Team of the Week. Willo scored his 6th and 7th goals of the 2011-12 season in Saturday's 2-1 win over Preston North End as he latched onto assists from Gavin Williams to secure the Glovers' second consecutive home victory.
The full side, which includes Somerset-born goalkeeper Ben Hamer, reads as follows:
Ben Hamer (Charlton Athletic)
Neil Austin (Hartlepool United), Magnus Okuonghae (Colchester United), Kevin Long (Rochdale), Joe Widdowson (Rochdale)
Antony Sweeney (Hartlepool United), Jonathan Douglas (Brentford), Danny Hollands (Charlton Athletic), Luke James (Hartlepool United)
Gary Alexander (Brentford), Andrew Williams (Yeovil Town)
Andy is the club's eighth nomination of the 2011-12 season, and the club's first of 2012. The full list of nominations for League One is shown below:
1) 13/08/2011 : Andy Williams (3-1 home vs Oldham Athletic).
2) 08/10/2011 : Gavin Massey (2-2 away vs Colchester United).
3) 22/10/2011 : Marek Stech (0-0 away vs Stevenage).
4) 19/11/2011 : Ed Upson (2-2 home vs Exeter City).
5) 26/11/2011 : Bondz N'Gala (1-0 away vs Hartlepool United).
6) 26/11/2011 : Dominic Blizzard (1-0 away vs Hartlepool United).
7) 17/12/2011 : Rene Gilmartin (0-0 away vs Rochdale).
8) 28/01/2012 : Andy Williams (2-1 home vs Preston North End).
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30 January 2012 : Clarke And Clowes Make Loan Debuts
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Yeovil Town's first year professionals Lewis Clarke and Rob Clowes both made their debuts over the weekend, yet both ended up on the losing sides. Both have started one month loan spells with non-league sides with the aim of giving them regular first team football.
Clarke travelled with Weymouth to play Oxford City and he played the first 79 minutes in a Terras defence that included former Yeovil trialist Alex Jeannin. However, two second half goals for Oxford meant that Weymouth slumped to their fourth defeat in a row at Court Place Farm, and Clarke was withdrawn eleven minutes from time.
Clowes got a full 90 minutes for Bridgwater Town in their 2-1 defeat at Gosport Borough. He was involved in a red card incident during the first half that saw him the victim of a poor challenge by Gosport's Dan Wooden, leaving the Hampshire side down to 10 men. However, by that time the home side were already a goal up, and they doubled their lead before Bridgwater could get a foothold in the game.
Second year scholar Lloyd Matthews sat out Frome Town's weekend match through injury, and so was at Huish Park on the weekend for the first team's win over Preston North End. We've already covered the progress of Rhys Baggridge over the weekend, in Saturday's article.
Link: Rhys Double Sinks Mangos.
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30 January 2012 : Paper Claims Westley Launched 'Al Qaeda' Missive Before Glovers Match
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Last Saturday's opponents Preston North End received 'interesting' motivational advice ahead of their League One match against Yeovil Town, according to a national newspaper. The Lilywhites boss - no stranger to controversy with his past clubs - chose to tell his team that they were in danger of a terrorist attack on their hotel, according to The Sun newspaper (yes, yes, we know - it may be rubbish but bear with us).
According to the tabloid paper, Westley sent a late night text message to his team - despite being widely criticised for one last week that saw four players dropped from his squad at 2.00a.m. via an SMS message. On the Friday night, after the Lancashire side had travelled down to Somerset, it is claimed that Westley told his team to beware of attacks from terrorist organisation Al Qaeda on their hotel:
"In view of the must win game tomorrow, beware of the low flying aircrafts as we are in a very high hotel which will be a target for Al Quaeda (sic) leaders. If we come under attack we must stick together and keep evolving as a team and bring pain on them. Make sure u have right footwear on in case of such events."
The Sun quote an unnamed source - who presumably leaked the contents of the text message to the paper with the source saying that the Preston first team squad "all think he's lost the plot". That wasn't the only thing Preston lost on Saturday.
Footnote: The Sun newspaper has now withdrawn their article from their website. There's no indication of why they have chosen to do this as yet. However, it was up there for long enough for plenty of folk on Twitter to give their views on it
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30 January 2012 : Gary's Pre-Kick-Off Preston Interview
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Just before kick-off in Saturday's home match against Preston North End, Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson spoke to the BBC about the game. With questions from BBC Somerset reporter Brendon Mitchell, Gary's pre-kick-off thoughts are archived via the link below.
Link: Gary Johnson Speaks To The BBC Just Before Kick-Off Against Preston.
Meanwhile a reminder of the other relevant post-match articles:
Link: Gary's Verdict On The Preston Home Game.
Link: Yeovil 2 Preston 1 : Match Report.
Link: Johnson Planning Red Card Appeal.
Link: Westley Unhappy With Preston 'Excuse Culture'.
Link: Man Of The Match Voting For Yeovil vs Preston.
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29 January 2012 : Bray Strike Keeps Ladies On Track
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A Laura Bray strike helped keep Yeovil Town Ladies on course for promotion, as they gained a 1-0 win over 5th placed Swindon Town Ladies in Wiltshire today. Bray's goal ensures the Glovers stay five points clear at the top of the South West Combination Women's Football League - a position that they've held since just before Christmas.
The five point advantage was maintained as second placed Havant and Waterlooville kept up the chase with a 7-3 away win against the Keynsham Development side, who lie rooted to the foot of the division. However, Gloucester City's promotion hopes are fading badly after they suffered their second consecutive defeat, going down 3-1 against 4th placed Forest Green Rovers.
Those results seem likely to turn the promotion battle into a two horse race, particularly as the Glovers still have two matches against the Hawks to come in their remaining fixtures. The Ladies were due to play Havant next Sunday at home, but that game is currently marked as postponed, with the schedule for the remaining matches yet to be determined.
Latest Table: 1. Yeovil Town (P12, Pts 34), 2. Havant and Waterlooville (P13, Pts 29), 3. Gloucester City (P14, Pts 26), 4. Forest Green Rovers (P12, Pts 25).
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29 January 2012 : Gary's Verdict On The Preston Home Game
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Following yesterday's 2-1 home win over Preston North End at Huish Park, Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson spoke to the BBC about the game. With questions from BBC Somerset reporter Brendon Mitchell, that interview can be read via the link below.
Link: Gary's Verdict On The Preston Home Game.
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29 January 2012 : GWSC Travel To Sheffield Wednesday
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Yeovil Town's next away trip sees us head up to Sheffield Wednesday for a League One match. The game at Hillsborough takes place on Saturday 4th February 2012 with a 3.00p.m. kick-off. The Green and Whites Supporters Club have announced their travel plans for this match and you can book your place now.
Coaches will depart from from Yeovil Bus Station at 7.15a.m. and from Huish Park at 7.30a.m. Cost of travel will be £27.00 with concessions available at £25.00. Non-GWSC members are welcomed and will pay two pounds extra.
To place your booking, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 or Rich Rendell on 01935 427072 (Evenings).
Link: Ticketing For Sheffield Wednesday vs Yeovil Town.
Link: Ticketing For Carlisle United vs Yeovil Town.
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28 January 2012 : Rhys Double Sinks Mangos
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Yeovil Town's first year professional Rhys Baggridge continued his fine form for Poole Town as the Dolphins got back to winning ways today. Having lost for the first time since the Welshman's arrival at Tatnam Farm in their midweek fixture at Clevedon by a single goal, they beat Mangotsfield United this afternoon by a 4-1 scoreline.
After the Dolphins fell behind to an early goal, Baggridge began to influence matters at the other end. He was involved in the build-up to Poole's equalising goal scored by Dan Cann, and then scored the South Dorset side's second and third goals. He has now scored three times for the Dolphins, who have climbed up to 6th place in the Southern League Division One South and West table, two points and one place outside the play-offs. Their fourth goal was scored by midfielder Carl Preston.
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28 January 2012 : Westley Unhappy With Preston 'Excuse Culture'
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Preston North End boss Graham Westley suggested his side played with an 'excuse culture' this afternoon, having watched his new team lose 2-1 at Huish Park. The former Stevenage boss has yet to see the Lilywhites win a game since swapping clubs, and the writing was on the wall for them just a couple of minutes into this afternoon's match, when their defender Craig Morgan was dismissed for a professional foul.
With his side down to ten men, Westley felt his side played like one that was already accepting defeat in the first half, and were prepared to use the early red card as an excuse for that:
"It is too easy to look for excuses in life and when we went down to 10 men in the first half we put in a performance that did nothing to lift us. It was only in the second half that we showed any sense of urgency. For too long in the game we played with an excuse culture and I don't do excuse cultures.
"This football club has been on the back foot. They took 16 points in 13 games before I came here and when you are losing games and not winning points it happens for a reason. There is a big shake-up needed. We knew that before the game and the process is in place and people are going to need to shape up or ship out."
So far Westley has been unable to change Preston's direction - they have picked up one point out of a possible nine since he arrived at Deepdale, with his side scoring one goal in three games.
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28 January 2012 : Johnson Planning Red Card Appeal
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Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson has said that he will look to appeal against the red card dished out to captain Paul Huntington today. The 24 year old became the club's sixth player to be dismissed during the 2011-12 season when his tackle on Preston North End's Jamie Proctor was deemed to be worthy of serious foul play by referee Oliver Langford.
Johnson told BBC Somerset after the game that he regarded it as a 'very good challenge' and said that he had already asked the match official to look at his decision on the match video:
"I was really disappointed with the red card. I thought he (Paul Huntington) had come back, and he's made a tackle. It's definitely one that we'll appeal. I've asked the referee to look at it, and he said that he would, but he thought it was an aggressive tackle. But that's the idea of a tackle; you've got to go and win the ball. You can't say "excuse me, mate, do you mind if I take the ball off you?" So we were disappointed with that, but we'll appeal it, and hopefully people will see it wasn't a reckless challenge, and that it was a very good challenge."
Johnson added that he felt that a number of high profile decisions in televised Premier League matches, followed by lengthy debates in the national media and on TV, were changing the way that referees were now making their decisions. The end result was that what would have been at most a yellow card a few years ago, was now resulting in players being sent off:
"I think that's exactly what's happening. It's not only me that's worried about it. The game is changing. One minute they're looking at something; the next minute they're looking at something else. They make a big thing about one thing, and then they make a big thing about another. For me that was just a proper tackle, and I'll be honest with you, if a Preston player had made that tackle, I'd have said the same."
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28 January 2012 : Man of the Match Voting for Yeovil vs Preston
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If you watched this afternoon's 2-1 win against Preston North End at Huish Park, don't forget to cast your Man of the Match votes. Choose your top three players from the match, plus entertainment and performance ratings along with any other comments you want to make on the game, using the form below.
Link: Man of the Match Voting for Yeovil Town vs Preston North End.
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28 January 2012 : Yeovil 2 Preston 1 : Willo Double Sinks Lilywhites
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Yeovil Town gained their second consecutive home victory under Gary Johnson, as two goals from Andy Williams saw them beat midtable side Preston North End by a 2-1 scoreline. A late rally from the Lancashire side, via a Clarke Carlisle header threatened to get them a point, despite playing 88 minutes with ten men after Craig Morgan was dismissed for a professional foul. But the Glovers also had to deal with the same problem late on as Paul Huntington was sent off for a foul, leaving both sides a man short, but Yeovil clung on for the win.
Team news saw Yeovil go into the match making just one change from last week's line-up at Bury. There were few surprises that the left-back position was the one adjusted, with Nathan Jones dropping to the bench. However, an Achilles injury for Kelly Youga meant that he was not able to take his place in the line-up, with Ryan Dickson dropping into a left-back position, and Gavin Williams coming into the starting line-up as a left-winger.
The game got off to a dramatic start with a red card coming out of referee Oliver Langford's pocket just two and a half minutes into the match. Andy Williams went on a strong run, and there was little doubt that he was hauled back by Preston centre-back Craig Morgan - the only question was whether the match official would dare class it as a professional foul that early in the game. Two years ago he didn't make such a key decision in a game at Huish Park against Southampton; this time he did, leaving the visitors down to 10 men for 88 minutes.
Preston perhaps showed their intent from that moment with referee Langford having to speak to goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann regarding timewasting a minute later. The Lancashire side were forced into an early substitution with the gap left by Craig Morgan filled by substitute Alex Marrow, making his debut for Preston, as Adam Barton was sacrificed in midfield. Early shots from Dean Parrett, Andy Williams and Gavin Williams showed Yeovil were in the ascendancy, but with perhaps one too many of them being outside the box, as the Lillywhites sat men behind the ball.
However, on the half hour mark, they got the lead their play deserved. With Gavin Williams coming back into the side following a couple of games on the bench, he fed Andy Williams over the top and through the Preston back four, and shot past the advancing goalkeeper to put Yeovil 1-0 up and to present a different problem to the Preston side, whose tactic following the red card had been to line up with two banks of four and attempt to frustrate; now they would have to attack.
That allowed Yeovil a lot more freedom to run at the opposition, and they dominated the final 15 minutes of the half. Andy Williams could have doubled the lead but Thorsten Stuckmann was equal to his shot, whilst Jonathan Obika and Joe Edwards also got in on the act, and perhaps the only disappointment was that the game hadn't been put to bed by the break. Whilst Preston remained just 1-0 down they were still in with a chance, and whoever scored first in the second period would be crucial.
The second half was slightly more reserved in its play, with Yeovil still passing well and having the glut of possession, with Gavin Williams, Joe Edwards and Dean Parrett combining well. They extended their lead further just past the hour mark; once again Gavin Williams the creator, as he received a crossfield ball, controlling it on the left flank before squaring it and putting it on a plate for Andy Williams to convert for 2-0.
Game over now, surely? Preston hadn't managed a shot on goal all game, whilst even their off target efforts were fairly tame. It was therefore something of a shock when with 16 minutes remaining, Clarke Carlisle put them back in the match; his header wasn't particularly contested from a Paul Parry cross, but it put the visitors back in the match at a stage when the game should have been out of sight.
Yeovil's performances in the final 15 minutes of matches have been their undoing far too often this season, and inevitably, the nerves began to creep in, both on and off the pitch. Dean Parrett was taken off after he picked up a booking, with Joe Edwards moving into the centre of the park, as Kieran Agard went wide.
As Preston began to attack, sensing a route back into the match, Jamie Proctor fizzed a ball across the face of goal which Agard cleared before anyone could get near it. Chris Holroyd tried his luck with an overhead kick, and in the dying minutes, even goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann began to come up for set pieces.
Referee Oliver Langford had been building a rod for his own back in the second half through a series of yellow cards to add to that early red card. When Paul Huntington's 89th minute hard challenge went in on Jamie Proctor, and when Preston players waded in on Hunts as relatiation for the tackle, Langford had a melee on his hands. His questionable judgement was a red for Huntington for the tackle, and a yellow for Proctor for his retaliation, although it opened up two questions - did Hunts win the ball for the tackle, and did Proctor throw a punch?
It was now ten vs ten, and with four minutes of injury time likely to become more than that, due to infringements, Preston put a great deal of pressure on the Yeovil goal as the game closed, but they couldn't find a route through. The Press Association statistics show that Yeovil had 15 shots against Preston's 3 shots - with their only one on goal being Carlisle's header - it would have been daylight robbery if they had got something out of the game. The win lifts them up to 18th in the table. The trick now is for them to stay out of the bottom four.
Link: 2011-12 Latest League One Table.
Final Score: Yeovil Town 2 Preston North End 1.
Scorers: Andy Williams (30 mins, 1-0), Andy Williams (62 mins, 2-0), Clarke Carlisle (74 mins, 2-1)
Yeovil Town: (4-4-2)
1. Sam Walker
2. Luke Ayling 5. Paul Huntington 4. Bondz N'Gala 12. Ryan Dickson
15. Joe Edwards 8. Ed Upson 22. Dean Parrett 10. Gavin Williams
7. Andy Williams 29. Jon Obika
Substitutes:
24. Gareth Stewart (GK) 3. Nathan Jones 9. Steven MacLean 18. Kieran Agard (77 mins for Dean Parrett) 19. Curtis Haynes-Brown
Preston North End:
1. Thorsten Stuckmann 2. David Gray 5. Clarke Carlisle 6. Craig Morgan 35. Jamie McAllister 9. Jamie Proctor 8. Paul Coutts 15. Adam Barton 38. Andrew Procter 17. Paul Parry 37. Chris Holroyd
Substitutes:
25. Andreas Arestidou (GK) 10. Barry Nicholson 13. Alex Marrow (7 mins for Adam Barton) 14. Steven Smith (66 mins for David Gray) 34. Jake Jervis (90 mins for Jamie McAllister)
Yeovil Bookings: Ed Upson (63 mins, foul), Dean Parrett (73 mins, foul). Red Card: Paul Huntington (89 mins, serious foul play)
Preston Bookings: David Gray (47 mins, foul), Paul Coutts (56 mins, foul), Chris Holroyd (72 mins, dissent), Jamie Proctor (90 mins, retaliation). Red Card: Craig Morgan (3 mins, professional foul).
Referee: Oliver Langford (West Midlands). Assistants: Mark Pottage (Dorset) and Paul Rees (Bristol). Fourth Official: Daniel Robathan (Surrey).
Attendance: 4,245 (including 559 Preston supporters)
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28 January 2012 : Team News For Yeovil Town vs Preston North End
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Yeovil Town have made one change to their starting line-up for this afternoon's home game against Preston North End. It's no surprise to find that comes at the team's problematic left-back position, with assistant manager Nathan Jones dropping out of the starting line-up. However, new signing Kelly Youga has a problem with his Achilles, and so can't take his place, meaning that Ryan Dickson moves into the full-back position, whilst Gavin Williams will take up a position on the left-flank in front of him.
Yeovil Town: (4-4-2)
1. Sam Walker
2. Luke Ayling 5. Paul Huntington 4. Bondz N'Gala 12. Ryan Dickson
15. Joe Edwards 8. Ed Upson 22. Dean Parrett 10. Gavin Williams
7. Andy Williams 29. Jon Obika
Substitutes:
24. Gareth Stewart (GK) 3. Nathan Jones 9. Steven MacLean 18. Kieran Agard 19. Curtis Haynes-Brown
Preston North End:
1. Thorsten Stuckmann
2. David Gray 5. Clarke Carlisle 6. Craig Morgan 35. Jamie McAllister 9. Jamie Proctor 8. Paul Coutts 15. Adam Barton 38. Andrew Procter 17. Paul Parry 37. Chris Holroyd
Substitutes:
25. Andreas Arestidou (GK) 10. Barry Nicholson 13. Alex Marrow 14. Steven Smith 34. Jake Jervis
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28 January 2012 : Sheffield United Away Man Of The Match Result
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Just 24 hours after Gary Johnson was reappointed as manager of Yeovil Town, he was on a bus up to Bramall Lane, and a difficult opener against Sheffield United. The game started with a team that Terry Skiverton picked, and ended with one that Johnson had changed at half time. The end result was a fairly emphatic 4-0 defeat, and a lot of work needing to be done.
Man of the Match voting saw a good spread of votes, with six different players picking up outright Man of the Match nominations. Once again, it was two defenders that grabbed the top two places, even if Jonathan Obika picked up a reasonable number in 3rd place. Luke Ayling, who spent the first half as a right-back, then the second half as a midfielder, was edged out by the tiniest of margins by centre-back Paul Huntington, who was the eventual winner.
Full results, with outright Man of the Match votes in brackets, are as shown below:
1 Paul Huntington 54 (4)
2 Luke Ayling 52 (3)
3 Jonathan Obika 48 (2)
4 Gavin Williams 30 (1)
5 Andy Williams 20 (1)
6 Rene Gilmartin 10 (1)
OVERALL MATCH RATING: 5.50
Performance: 5.17
Entertainment: 5.83
VOTES RECEIVED: 12
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28 January 2012 : Exeter Away Man Of The Match Result
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The month of January started with Terry Skiverton's final game in charge as first team manager. The 1-1 draw against Exeter City was a touch disappointing given the Glovers had held an advantage through a deserved Andy Williams goal. However the final 15 minutes turned into a rearguard action, with Richard Logan's equaliser making things uncomfortable for the Glovers.
There was a fair spread of voting for the Man of the Match poll, with nine different players being nominated by supporters at the game. However, it was the back four that impressed people the most, with the top four representing the line of defence. The two centre-backs came out on top, with Bondz N'Gala just edging out Paul Huntington in the end.
Full results, with outright MOTM votes in brackets, are as shown below:
1 Bondz N'Gala 126 (11)
2 Paul Huntington 110 (6)
3 Luke Ayling 84 (5)
4 Nathan Jones 48 (3)
5 Andy Williams 42 (1)
6 Jonathan Obika 34 (1)
7 Steve MacLean 24 (1)
8 Gavin Williams 22 (0)
9 Max Ehmer 18 (1)
10 Rene Gilmartin 16 (1)
11 Dominic Blizzard 8 (0)
OVERALL MATCH RATING: 6.00
Performance: 6.07
Entertainment: 5.93
VOTES RECEIVED: 30
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28 January 2012 : Marrow Becomes Preston's Fourth January Signing
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This afternoon's opponents Preston North End have signed up Crystal Palace midfielder Alex Marrow on loan. The 22 year old is familiar to Lancashire, having originally started his career as a Blackburn Rovers trainee. Hailing from Salford, he had a season long loan with Oldham Athletic during the 2009-10 season, before moving south to sign for Crystal Palace a year ago, following a half-season loan spell with the Championship side. He returns to Lancahire for the rest of the 2011-12 season.
Marrow is one of four signings their new manager Graham Westley has made, since arriving as manager at Deepdale. Accrington Stanley midfielder signed a two and a half year contract after leaving the League Two side for an undisclosed fee. Similarly, 25 year old Chris Holroyd has joined from Rotherham United on an eighteen month deal. Finally, the familiar name of Bristol City defender Jamie McAllister has agreed a one month loan deal, with the 33 year old having missed much of City's recent action with an ankle injury.
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