Long serving player, assistant manager and manager Steve Thompson has for the second time during his eight year career at Yeovil Town had his managerial responsibilities taking from him. The move has been announced today following weeks of speculation suggesting that the Glovers were about to make yet another change to the Huish Park hotseat. Thommo has been offered a new role at the club as "first team coach" but will lose his title as First Team Manager shortly when the club choose a new man as his successor.
The club's statement says that "following lengthy discussions, the Board of Directors of Yeovil Town Football Club have now confirmed, that subject to further talks, Steve Thompson has agreed to continue his role as first team coach, but to relinquish his football management duties in the near future."
Yeovil Town Chairman John Fry gave the following view on the situation to the official site: "Steve Thompson has made a fantastic contribution towards the success of this club during his eight years of service as a player, coach and manager. He is an essential part of future plans in developing a team for Championship football at Huish Park. It is the right time to make the necessary changes for the challenge of keeping the club in Coca Cola League One next season and the important task of appointing the next manager of Yeovil Town Football Club which will need to be completed by the end of this month. In the meantime negotiations will continue with out of contract players."
This is the second time the club have taken Thommo out of the management position after appointing him to the hotseat. Back in the 1999-2000 season, Steve spent six months as manager before being demoted back to assistant manager with David Webb - ironically now the club's owner - replacing him.
Rumours that all was not well between Thommo and certain sections of the Huish Park hierarchy have been circulating since as early as March, despite the former player guiding the Glovers to a highly respectable 15th place finish in League One this season - the highest in the club's history.
The club claim that there will be a replacement for Thommo by the end of the month. The rumourmill is currently pointing to former Queen's Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway who is currently on gardening leave and is believed to still own a home in north Somerset following his management spell with Bristol Rovers.
The rumourmill also persistently continues to suggest further changes could be afoot, with former director Norman Hayward's name having been on many people's lips since the day David Webb took over as owner of the club. Chairman John Fry has in the past denied that Hayward was returning to the club, although stranger things have happened.
There is no word on where this latest news leaves assistant manager Kevin Hodges, given that Thommo will effectively take up his position as soon as a new man is appointed.
Ciderspace would like to thank Steve for his fantastic, hard work throughout the 2005-06 season and of course for the seven preceding loyal years that he has put in at Huish Park. We hope he is able to still form part of the future of Yeovil Town, however, our thoughts are with him in what must be some very difficult news to stomach after keeping Yeovil Town in League One this season.
Comment on this News Item on Facebook
or Go back to Top of Page
|
17 May 2006 : 
