This is the one we've all been waiting for if we're honest, right from when we first got into the football league. Bristol City, at home. The Gas were an appetiser, the prawn cocktail before the steak and chips as it were, but for most Yeovil fans City were the club that we really wanted to see at Huish Park, the local derby to die for, something to relish. And that was before Gary Johnson changed horses midstream...
Ciderspace will welcome Gary back to Huish Park tomorrow and this writer will applaud him if given an opportunity to do so either before or after the match. GJ deserves acknowledgment for where he left this club compared to when he first arrived and I for one hope that the majority of Yeovil fans will rise above the manner of his leaving and the knowledge of where he went to give him the respect he deserves for what he did for Yeovil Town while he was here. Once the game kicks off all bets are off of course and as the opposition manager he's fair game, he'll know that and will expect nothing less.
City come to Huish Park on the back of an unbeaten 4 match run and are expecting to be unchanged for the 4th match in succession, with only a slight doubt over keeper Adriano Basso, who dislocated a finger during City's 3-1 win over Rotherham at Ashton Gate on Wednesday evening. That win was enough to take the Robins out of the relegation zone for the first time in months and they now sit in 20th position, 3 points behind the Glovers and with a slightly inferior goal difference.
Yeovil of course suffered something of a shocker in the midweek at Tranmere, losing 4-1, but Johnson has warned his team to beware of a Glovers backlash: "I'll be warning all our lads about the great team spirit that they've got at Yeovil," he said. "I know that they will come back strong after the defeat at Tranmere on Wednesday and I'll be looking for our lads to match the spirit that they've got. It will be a passionate occasion on and off the field and it will be lively. Whoever performs best under the intensity of the atmosphere will prevail."
The news of David Webb's takeover at Huish Park and the implications thereof has perhaps inevitably meant that the Glovers preparation for the game may have been disrupted somewhat, though the Glovers current boss Steve Thompson welcomed the arrival of Webb, saying: "I only found out about it today and can't really say too much until I speak to Dave tomorrow [Friday]. I'm just carrying on as normal and preparing the team for Saturday's game with Bristol City. The club are in the highest position they've ever been in and we've had a successful few years. Dave has been in football a long time and it will be good to have another person with good football knowledge at the club."
The Glovers will be without midfielder Darren Way tomorrow, otherwise Thommo has a fully fit squad to choose from. Selected betting odds: Yeovil win - 13/10; draw - 11/5; Bristol City win - 9/5. Our recommendation: Our fiver can't go anywhere other than on a home win tomorrow. Er, well, yes it can actually. Our record on picking winning bets hasn't been too good lately, in fact that's an understatement - it's been awful. So, as a change is as good as a rest we're going to split our usual fiver and put £2.50 on a 2-1 Yeovil win at odds of 8/1 and £2.50 on Glovers skipper Terry Skiverton scoring at anytime during the game at 12/1. Desperate, us? Record so far this season: +£8.63p
A reminder to everyone coming to the match tomorrow that the game is all-ticket with none available on the day (it's actually been sold-out for weeks so you already know this) and that the kick off is at 12 noon. The home supporters marquee will be open from 10am and as with the Bournemouth game last week fans are urged to walk or use public transport to get to the gound where possible as the roads will doubtless be congested with a capital C. The police and stewards will again be out in force and supporters are again reminded that they will be refused entry to the ground should they be under the influence of drink. Good luck to Steve Thompson and the lads tomorrow. let's show the Big Club Up The Road exactly how far we've come in the last few years!
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30 December 2005 : 
