The Glovers entertain Bournemouth tomorrow evening at Huish Park, 7.45pm kick-off, in a game re-arranged from Boxing Day after consultation with the Police. We've fulminated on these pages before on the wisdom or lack of it of re-arranging the match to the evening of the last Friday before Christmas so let's take all that as read and concentrate on the game itself, shall we?
Bournemouth is the closest League One club to Yeovil as the crow flies so this is therefore our local derby. Admittedly it doesn't feel like a derby - or it didn't the only other time they came to Huish Park for a competitive game, in 2003 when the Glovers won 2-0 in an LDV Vans Trophy match - but Bristol City aside, they are this season's Weymouth-in-disguise so we might as well make the most of it. The clubs do have various things in common - both have borrowed the Avenue Stadium at Dorchester in the past when their respective grounds were being worked on; former Yeovil director Norman Hayward was previously on the board at Dean Court and indeed has returned to the Cherries since; and of course there's striker Dani Rodriguez who preferred Bournemouth a couple of seasons ago after being offered the chance to stay at Huish Park where his career had been rescued from oblivion.
The Cherries have been in the news lately after accepting a £3.5 million offer from a firm of property developers for their ground, the Fitness First Stadium or as we prefer to call it, Dean Court. The club, which had debts of £7 million and was threatened by an Inland Revenue winding up order, can continue playing at the stadium for an annual rent of £300,000 and has staved off the immediate threat of administration, or possibly worse. On the pitch the Cherries are currently solidly mid-table in 9th position, with 33 points - 5 ahead of the Glovers. At the time of writing the only casualty is Stephen Cooke who will be absent with a knee injury.
Yeovil manager Steve Thompson is able to pick from an almost fully-fit squad ahead of the crucial Christmas period, with the exception of Darren Way. "Friday is the start of a very important period for us," Thommo told the Western Gazette today. "There is a lot attached to the game because both teams will be looking to keep their winning runs going. During our losing run it was not as though the performances were really bad - it was only the Oldham Athletic game (lost 0-2) where we were disappointing. We don't want to leave our run at two wins, we want to continue from there."
Selected betting odds: Yeovil win - 6/5; draw - 23/10; Bournemouth win - 15/8. Our recommendation: Our self-imposed rule of always betting on a Glovers win if the odds are evens or better when we are at home comes into play, so that's where our fiver's going tomorrow night. Record so far this season: +£18.63p
Supporters are reminded that tomorrow evening's game is ALL-TICKET. No tickets will be on sale on Friday with the ticket office at the club closing at 5pm tonight (Thursday). Although there are a small number of tickets left in various home areas of the ground the away end has sold out and there will be a big crowd at Huish Park tomorrow evening with a great deal of traffic heading towards that area of town. Combined with expected Christmas shopping traffic then the state of the roads in and around Yeovil tomorrow evening can just be imagined, so the message must be that if you can leave your car at home and either walk to the ground or use public transport then you'd be well advised to do so. Otherwise leave plenty of time for your journey. For those of us who like a drink or two in moderation (of course!) before the match note that there'll be an increased police presence around the town and the football club for tomorrow evening's game as well as the New Year's Eve fixture with Bristol City and that supporters who have perhaps over-indulged on the Christmas spirit should take care to moderate their behaviour at the club - anyone obviously having drunk too much will not be permitted access to the stadium.
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22 December 2005 : 
