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17 June 2012 : Pompey Given Financial Warning By Insolvency Expert
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League One newcomers Portsmouth are still in grave danger of folding entirely, according to one of football's leading insolvency companies. Antony Fanshawe of Begbies Traynor believes the Hampshire side are living on borrowed time, and has told the Portsmouth News that they have around five weeks to sort matters out at Fratton Park.
Fanshawe is not entirely neutral in the situation - his company is acting as a financial advisor to Portsmouth Supporters Trust, who are one of two main parties attempting to buy the club from administrators PKF, who are acting on behalf of Pompey's creditors. Hence there's little doubt that there will be a degree of Mr Fanshawe seeking to push any prospective deal along as quickly as possible.
Of interest though are the eye-watering figures that come out of this. Pompey's current player wage bill is listed as £24.5m per year, propped up by £14.0m worth of parachute payments. That leaves Pompey needing to bring in around £10.5m of revenue per season to avoid racking up further losses, and clearly a Supporters Trust isn't going to be able to take that on.
Administrator Trevor Birch has recently revealed that one of Portsmouth's players is currently earning more money than an average League One club's entire wage bill - and no that's not a misprint! Unsurprisingly, the Supporters Trust wants to see some of the high earners sold off before they dare take on such commitments:
"We have always maintained that without a significant reduction in the annual wage bill it would be impossible for the trust to put together a sustainable bid. If the highest wage earning players are not removed soon the club is in very real danger."
Portsmouth's CVA meeting, where they will attempt to take the steps to exit administration, is on June 25th. At that point their creditors will vote on a package, and Fanshawe believes the critical date then becomes 28 days after that, whereupon any agreed CVA would become legally binding. Thus he sees July 23rd as D-Day for any high earners to be sold off for Portsmouth's future to be a stable one.
Pompey have to - by Football League rules - honour all football-related debts, including players wages. If they fail to do so, or do not set up a CVA in accordance with League rules, then in theory they can be expelled, although past situations involving the likes of Leeds United, Rotherham United and Luton Town have tended to result in a further points deduction.
Whilst Pompey's current problems sees them operating under a transfer embargo, Coventry City, who were also relegated from the Championship at the end of last season, are also in the same boat in terms of being able to sign players. The Sky Blues were put under special controls by the Football League after they failed to file their accounts at the end of February, and the situation has now dragged on for three and a half months, despite a club statement at the time saying that it would only be in place for the "next few weeks".
The problem appears to be that club owners SISU do not wish to continue paying out £100,000 in rent on a stadium that is jointly owned by Coventry City Council and the Alan Edwards Higgs Charity. Exactly how this will pan out isn't clear - there have been stories suggesting that SISU are looking to sell the club, others that claim that they are seeking to lower the rental payments, whilst others suggesting they are aiming to buy the stadium, either wholly or in part. It may be that all three options are being explored - one of the more recent reports is that they had an offer for a 50 percent stake in their stadium turned down. Exactly how this one will work out - and more importantly when - isn't clear.
Tomorrow morning, the Football League's 2012-13 Fixture Lists come out, pitching both clubs into third tier football. Given their summer problems, any club realistically will be hoping that they land early fixtures against the pair, before the fallen giants manage to get their finances and recruitment plans back on track.
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16 June 2012 : Westland Chairman Blasts 'Back Stabbing' Glovers
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Yeovil side Westland Sports have issued a second statement today, following their earlier press release, concerning the loss of their first team pitch facilities for the 2012-13 season. The Dorset Premier League Champions have revealed that they will now have to withdraw their first team from that league, as they look for new facilities to support the progress of their club.
Chairman Brian Rousell has attacked a series of people and organisations in a strongly worded statement, including Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson, Yeovil Town Football Club, Agusta Westland and South Somerset District Council, after they were denied the rights to the main pitch at their Alvington ground, with the Glovers looking to use the facilities as a first team training ground.
The Glovers took over the rights of the pitches four years ago, to satisfy requirements for their Community Trust and Centre of Excellence set ups, but despite the CoE being closed this summer with the exception of the Under-18s side, the Glovers first team will now use the facilities to train during the week, leaving Westland Sports without a suitable pitch to stage Dorset Premier League matches.
Rousell indicates that Westland will now not defend the Championship they won last month, and hits out at Gary Johnson, who presented the club's 2011-12 End of Season Awards in the Alec Stock Lounge at the end of last month, implying that the Glovers boss must have known his intentions to evict the club's tenants at that time. Rousell's full and unedited statement reads:
"It is with regret that I announce that following the recent events that have knocked the stuffing out of our club, we will not be competing in the Magna Dorset Premier League next season. However, I have requested a dispensation to defer our membership for the season ahead so hopefully we will be back in 2013, after we have gathered ourselves together and re-established our identity.
"Westland Sports will maintain its position in the Dorset Senior League next season and our youth team will play in the Dorset Youth (U18) League on Sundays. I hope the core of players will remain loyal to the club with pre-season training being announced soon. Next season we will have the exclusive use of two pitches at Alvington together with the changing rooms and training area so all is not lost. With these arrangements in place, I would now like to comment on the broader issues of why we find ourselves in this position:
"It has always been my worry since we were forced out of Westlands Sports & Social Club into the newly formed Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust that the inevitable tsunami of Yeovil Town FC would engulf us. We have never had our own assets or the financial stability to combat that. The main factors are deeper than that, firstly the greed of professional footballers and managers are crippling the amateur game. The blame for the loss of our pitch I put squarely on the shoulders of Gary Johnson, the manager of Yeovil Town FC. His demands at Yeovil Town to capture the use of the main pitch were our downfall. What sticks in my throat is that he came to present the awards at our presentation night then stabbed us in the back ! Well done Gary!
"Secondly, Yeovil Town FC must take part of the blame as they employed Mr Johnson in the first place, but I know they have tried desperately to accommodate both parties despite Gary’s demands, but Alvington proved too desirable in the end.
"Thirdly, Agusta Westland must share the blame in promoting the Community Trust. The purpose of the Community Trust was to encourage sport within the community, with Westland Sports being a major part. We have fulfilled our part in giving hundreds of youngsters the opportunity of getting into football, giving them the confidence to face the challenges of life. With this current blatant disregard for community welfare, I wonder if the Trustees have lost their way or even care.
"Fourthly, the Somerset District Council is also to blame. There has been little investment in sporting facilities within the Yeovil area over the recent years. Only talk and the planting of daffodils. The lack of suitable sporting venues is a disgrace but they do nothing. Yeovil Town FC will unfortunately bear most of the blame for the situation we are in, but I have every sympathy with them, as they too could be a victim of their own success in the search to upgrade their own facilities.
"No matter what happens, no one can ever take away the success of our club over the last 13 years that I have been involved. This has culminated in the unprecedented treble, a feat possibly never to be repeated. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the players, staff and supporters for their fine achievement. The memory of Michael scoring the final goal in the Somerset Senior Cup Final at Street and running round the pitch with his shirt off will be a moment of pride forever."
As yet, we've not seen any response from Yeovil Town to the earlier Westland Sports statement, to understand their thinking on this issue. However, the club's application to South Somerset District Council for a Food Store to be built on their current two training pitches looks to have heavily stalled since the end of March, with the club yet to submit their plans for replacement community and training facilities. Hence these two pitches at Huish Park will continue to be available for the foreseeable future.
The situation with Westland Sports perhaps illustrate why Sport England objected to the club's proposals - without those replacement facilities being identified, the fewer pitches that are available in the area inevitably have an impact further down the food chain and hit other organisations within the local community.
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15 June 2012 : Di Canio Confirms Williams Interest
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It's not been one of the summer's most closely guarded secrets, but League One newcomers Swindon Town have finally gone on the record to confirm their interest in former Yeovil Town striker Andy Williams. The 25 year old, who finished as the Glovers top scorer for the 2011-12 season, turned down the offer of a new contract at Huish Park, with last season's League Two Champions being named as favourites to sign him even before the season ended.
Now their manager Paolo di Canio has confirmed he does have an interest in a player who has played his entire career for South-West clubs, taking in Hereford United and Bristol Rovers. With Williams' contract at Huish Park running out on June 30th, the Swindon boss has told the Swindon Advertiser he hopes to finalise an agreement with the striker, although admits there may be other offers available:
"He’s a player that we’re interested in. We will see but I’m sure he is a target also for other clubs. But I presume that he would like to join Swindon. One day I’m sure we can do something to take him in. He’s a player that, in the numbers of the strikers that I want to have, he has the characteristics I would have here. I’m sure that one day he’s going to join us. I hope, I’m not sure."
Di Canio implies that he will be wanting to use Williams as a striker during the 2012-13 season, with the player's switch to a centre-forward position upon Gary Johnson's arrival at Huish Park having sparked a rich run of form in 2012 that saw him finish with a 17 goal return:
"He’s a good player and a player of a good age and a player who has ambition in my opinion. Obviously last year, especially in the last part of the season, he scored some important goals when he started to play as a centre forward and not as a wide attacker."
When Williams turned down Yeovil Town's offer of a new deal, he heavily hinted that his new club was closer to his Hereford roots. With Di Canio having now confirmed his interest, it would almost be a surprise if Williams wasn't unveiled as a Swindon player on July 1st.
Link: Andy Williams : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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14 June 2012 : Clarke Heading For Glovers Trial
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Yeovil Town are giving a trial to an Oxford City defender next month, to see if he is capable of rising up four levels from where he was playing last season. James Clarke is a 22 year old right-back who used to be on the books of Oxford United before making the switch across the city. He made 32 appearances for United between 2007 and 2009, but had his contract cancelled in February 2009, allowing him to join the non-league side. He has also played as a centre-back for City during his time there.
Oxford have recently won the Southern League Premier Division, and will play in Conference North next season, meaning that Clarke would be aiming to play four divisions higher than the league he played in during the 2011-12 season, if his trial is successful.
Oxford City manager Mike Ford told the Oxford Mail that he had given permission for the two week trial to take place, but implied that they would be expecting a transfer fee if Yeovil take up their interest in him:
"James is going to Yeovil for two weeks and although he is still our player (he is under contract), I didn’t feel we could stop him having the opportunity to go to a Football League club. If I’m being selfish, I would like him back at the club. I told him how valuable he has been to us, but I hope it works out well for him. If it doesn’t, then the door is always open for him to come back."
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14 June 2012 : League Cup First Round Full Draw Details
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Further to our earlier news item, the full draw for the League Cup First Round is now available. The draw was made this morning at 9.30a.m. giving Yeovil Town a home draw against Colchester United and is as follows:
Derby County v Scunthorpe United
Rochdale v Barnsley
Port Vale v Burnley
Notts County v Bradford City
Hull City v Rotherham United
Fleetwood Town v Nottingham Forest
Carlisle United v Accrington Stanley
Doncaster Rovers v York City
Crewe Alexandra v Hartlepool United
Bury v Middlesbrough
Chesterfield v Tranmere Rovers
Sheffield United v Burton Albion
Blackpool v Morecambe
Leeds United v Shrewsbury Town
Preston North End v Huddersfield Town
Oldham Athletic v Sheffield Wednesday
Cheltenham Town v Milton Keynes Dons
Ipswich Town v Bristol Rovers
Stevenage v AFC Wimbledon
Exeter City v Crystal Palace
Yeovil Town v Colchester United
Birmingham City v Barnet
Bristol City v Gillingham
Northampton Town v Cardiff City
Plymouth Argyle v Portsmouth
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aldershot Town
Walsall v Brentford
Millwall v Crawley Town
Torquay United v Leicester City
Dagenham & Redbridge v Coventry City
Peterborough United v Southend United
Swindon Town v Brighton & Hove Albion
Watford v Wycombe Wanderers
Charlton Athletic v Leyton Orient
Oxford United v AFC Bournemouth
All ties will be played on or around Tuesday 14th August, subject to television and policing requirements. There have been suggestions that a few clubs may switch their matches to the preceding Saturday; however with the Glovers planning a home pre-season friendly against Exeter City on that day, it is not currently envisaged that we'll be one of those clubs.
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14 June 2012 : League Cup First Round Draw Made
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Yeovil Town have been drawn against Colchester United in the First Round of the 2012-13 League Cup. They will play the Essex side at Huish Park in a match that will be scheduled on or around Tuesday 14th August, subject to policing and television requirements.
The full First Round draw will follow shortly on this site.
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13 June 2012 : Forbes Reunited With Smith
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Former Yeovil Town defender Terrell Forbes has been reunited with his old house-mate. He has teamed up with former Glover Nathan Smith at Chesterfield, who will start the 2012-13 season in League Two, following their relegation at the end of last season. The pair shared a house during their time in South Somerset, and there will be little doubt in that being a strong factor in the 30 year old Londoner making the decision to head up the M1 to Derbyshire.
Forbesy has signed a one year contract after being released by League One side Leyton Orient, following two years at Brisbane Road. His new boss John Sheridan suggests that he tried to sign Terrell whilst he was still on Yeovil Town's books, and so has wanted to bring him into his squad for some time:
"Terrell can play in a number of defensive positions and I am delighted he is joining us as he is a player I wanted to sign a couple of seasons ago."
A few notes to fill in on the rumourmill, regarding players Yeovil have been linked with, assuming you believe the notorious rumour websites. Striker Jonathan Parkin has today signed for League Two side Fleetwood Town, whilst former Arsenal player Rhys Murphy has headed to Dutch Second Division side Telstar. We're not convinced how credible either rumour was, but regardless, both are dead ducks.
Perhaps more intriguing is that Bournemouth Echo sports journalist Neil Perrett believes Yeovil Town tried to sign striker Michael Symes, who was released by AFC Bournemouth at the end of last season. According to the paper, Symes turned down Yeovil's offer, and has alternative interest from Leyton Orient, Bury and Colchester United. Symes finished the 2011-12 season playing for Rochdale, and is a 6'3" striker which would suggest that manager Gary Johnson is still after a player who can lead the line for the Glovers.
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13 June 2012 : New First Team Training Ground Causes Westland Sports Problems
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Westland Sports FC, who groundshare with Yeovil Town's Community Trust and Centre of Excellence sides, have announced that they have their rights to use the Alvington ground significantly reduced for the 2012-13 season.
The move comes because of Yeovil Town's plans to change their first team training ground, with the Glovers having plans to build a Food Store over the existing training pitches behind the away end at Huish Park. Despite planning permission not being granted at this stage, it looks as though the move away from the top pitches is going to happen irrespective of any further progress on that project, which has stalled significantly in recent months.
Westland Sports are now tenants at the Alvington venue, with Yeovil Town having taken over ownership a few years ago, and have recently had a highly successful 2011-12 season, winning the Dorset Premier League Championship Trophy, the Dorset Premier League Cup and the Somerset FA Senior Cup.
However, Westland indicate that the Glovers have now withdrawn their usage of the Main Pitch at Alvington, with Yeovil Town planning to use it as their new first team training ground for the 2012-13 season. That has had a knock-on effect, with Westland's management team resigning because of the reduced facilities they will have available to them. Kevin Leigh, Neil Waddleton and Lloyd Green have left their club and will now be looking for a new management team.
Westland Sports have issued the following statement to the press this week:
"It is with great sadness that we announce the resignation of Kevin Leigh, Neil Waddleton and Lloyd Green from their respective positions at Westland Sports FC. Kevin and Neil decided to leave the club following the Yeovil Town Community Trust decision to withdraw our use of the main pitch at Alvington and allow Yeovil Town FC to use it as its first team training ground.
"Westland Sports have been afforded the continuing use of the two remaining pitches at Alvington together with its training area and have entered teams in the Dorset Premier League, Dorset Senior League and Sunday Dorset U18 League for next season.
"Persons wishing to apply for the vacant First Team Manager's or Reserve Team Manager's positions should contact Brian Rousell, tel 01935 863516 or Alan Lamont, tel 01935 424863, email alan@lamont99.plus.com"
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13 June 2012 : Edwards Extends Ashton Gate Stay
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Former Yeovil Town loan full-back Joe Edwards has ended any possible speculation about his futute at Bristol City by penning a new contract at Ashton Gate. The 21 year old has signed a one year deal for the 2012-13 season, after his contract was due to expire at the end of this month.
The Glovers took Edwards on loan for a one month period shortly after manager Gary Johnson's return to Huish Park, but he picked up an injury that saw him return up the A37 after the loan expired with him still requiring treatment. However, there was at the time the implication that Johnson would return for the right-back when he regained full fitness, which didn't materialise.
Today's Western Daily Press indicates that Edwards did have other options to move elsewhere, but that he has chosen to stay put. Boss Derek McInnes has told the paper that he got good feedback from the player's time with the Glovers:
"When I first arrived Joe was at Stockport on loan, but I liked his approach from the outset. At times, he was playing out of position, but he was just desperate to get games. He was driven and wanted to do well. The next big move came from his loan spell at Yeovil Town. He did really well there and Yeovil were desperate to keep him. I know Joe sees his best position as right-back, but he can also play in a midfield three. He has great energy and must be a real nuisance to play against."
Meanwhile another former Glover - striker Phil Jevons - who was the club's top scorer during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, has found a new home after leaving Morecambe last year. He has signed for Hyde United, who have just been promoted to the Conference National division this summer.
Link: Joe Edwards : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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13 June 2012 : League Cup First Round Draw Seeding Details
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Yeovil Town are one of nineteen clubs who are unseeded in the First Round draw of the 2012-13 League Cup. The Glovers finished 17th in last season's League One Table, and are in the unseeded list for the Southern Section of the draw, which will be published at 9.30a.m. tomorrow.
There are 38 clubs listed in the Southern part of the draw, and 32 listed in the Northern part of the draw. The reason for this is a heavy imbalance towards Southern-based teams in League Two, meaning that the Southern section of the draw is larger and also meaning that the cut-off point is lower down than last season, where you needed to finish 11th to get a seeded place.
This means that Yeovil Town will be drawn to face one of the following teams in tomorrow's draw:
Southern Seeds: AFC Bournemouth, Birmingham City, Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Bristol City, Cardiff, Charlton Athletic, Colchester United, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Millwall, Milton Keynes Dons, Peterborough United, Portsmouth, Stevenage, Watford, Wolverhampton Wanderers..
The other relevant groupings are as follows:
Southern Non-Seeds: AFC Wimbledon, Aldershot Town, Barnet, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Crawley Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, Exeter City, Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Northampton Town, Oxford United, Plymouth Argyle, Southend United, Swindon Town, Torquay United, Walsall, Wycombe Wanderers, Yeovil Town.
Northern Seeds: Barnsley, Blackpool, Burnley, Carlisle United, Derby County, Doncaster Rovers, Hartlepool United, Huddersfield Town, Hull City, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Tranmere Rovers.
Northern Non-Seeds: Accrington Stanley, Bradford City, Burton Albion, Bury, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra, Fleetwood Town, Morecambe, Oldham Athletic, Port Vale, Preston North End, Rochdale, Rotherham United, Scunthorpe United, Shrewsbury Town, York City.
Update: 11.30am: The League have changed an earlier list to shuffle teams around, and now Yeovil Town are back in the unseeded list! Apologies for any confusion.
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12 June 2012 : Bulls Pre-Season Friendly Arranged
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Yeovil Town have added another pre-season friendly to their 2012-13 list. They will travel to play non-leaguers Hereford United, in a match that will be played at Edgar Street on Saturday 14th July, with a 3.00p.m. kick-off.
Hereford are under new management, following the resignation of Richard O'Kelly and the dismissal of assistant boss (and former Glover) Jamie Pitman, following their slide out of the Football League. They have got in 49 year old Salisbury-born Martin Foyle, who after managing Port Vale for three years has worked at Wrexham (coach), York City, Bristol Rovers (coach) and Northwich Victoria, and now faces the task of trying to get the Bulls out of the Conference at the first attempt.
As things stand, that will now be Yeovil Town's opening pre-season fixture, with the trip to Poole Town following three days later. For a full list of friendlies, see the Forthcoming Events tab on the Ciderspace Home Page.
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12 June 2012 : League Cup First Round Draw Schedule
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A precise time for Thursday's League Cup First Round draw has now been distributed to clubs. The draw will be published at 9.30a.m. and will give Yeovil Town their opening fixture of the 2012-13 season - a match that will be played on or around Tuesday 14th August, subject to television/policing requirements. There have been a few rumours that some clubs may bring forward their League Cup fixture to the preceding Saturday, although the Glovers have a pre-season friendly fixture against Exeter City on August 11th which would rule that out at present.
The usual format in the League Cup, which is under new sponsorship this year from Capital One, is for the First Round draw to be seeded and divided into Northern and Southern sections. If this is maintained, then Yeovil Town will sit in the Southern Section Unseeded pool. The usual cut-off for seeded clubs is around 11th in League One, based on the 2011-12 League Table. If/when seeding is announced, we'll put up a precise list of clubs here.
For League Cup round dates, and other 2012-13 season key dates, see the two articles linked below.
Link: Football League Cup Gets New Capital Investment.
Link: 2012-13 Season Key Dates.
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11 June 2012 : Vote For Fanpowerstadium Prize Fund Options
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Further to our earlier article confirming that Yeovil Town had been confirmed as 'Fanpowerstadium' competition winners, supporters can now choose how the winning money is spent. Organisers npower have asked all winning clubs to provide three options on what they could spent their money on, via their Facebook page.
For the Glovers, they have £20,000 to spend and it will be provided for one of the three following areas of the club:
a) General refurbishment of Conference Centre first floor facilities.
b) Improvement to and additional supporter Stadium catering facilities.
c) Supporter infrastructure safety improvements.
To vote, simply click on the link below. You'll need a Facebook account to be able to vote.
Link: Facebook npower Page: Yeovil Town Prize Winning Fund Question.
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11 June 2012 : Fanpowerstadium Prize Confirmed
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Further to last Thursday's news, the competition organisers npower have now confirmed that Yeovil Town have been confirmed as winners of the recent Fanpowerstadium competition.
The Glovers have picked up £20,000 for making the most 'noise' in League One, whilst Portsmouth and AFC Wimbledon were confirmed as the other divisional winners. The £10,000 awards for getting the most supporters to sign up to the campaign were given to Portsmouth, Exeter City and Dagenham and Redbridge.
Yeovil Town director Stephen Allinson has reacted to the formal confirmation, saying via his Twitter account:
"Brilliant - thanks to all the fantastic Yeovil Town fans. We are all proud of you. Thanks on behalf of the Directors."
Link: Chief Executive Thanks Glovers Twitterati.
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10 June 2012 : Interview With Sam Foley
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With Yeovil Town building a new squad for the 2012-13 season, one of the new arrivals to the club is midfielder/striker Sam Foley, who agreed a one year deal late last month. He caught up with the BBC, for an interview that was put out on Howard Bentham's show yesterday afternoon on BBC Somerset. Read what Sam had to say about his move to Somerset by heading via the link below.
Link: Sam Foley Speaks To The BBC After He Signed For The Glovers.
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9 June 2012 : EPPP Claims A Second Victim
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Former League One side Wycombe Wanderers, who were relegated from the third tier at the end of the 2011-12 season, have announced that they are to close their Centre of Excellence with immediate effect. The Chairboys have followed Yeovil Town in making the decision to dissolve their youth set-up, following the introduction of the new Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) scheme.
Wanderers have had a fairly successful CoE system running, having seen the likes of Jordon Ibe (Liverpool), Kadeem Harris (Cardiff City), Matt Phillips (Blackpool) and Roger Johnson (Wolverhampton Wanderers) graduate through their ranks, whilst current squad members Matt McClure, Jesse Kewley-Graham, Anthony Stewart, Josh Scowen and Charles Dunne are all home grown players. However, the wording of their statement would imply that they will not even run with an Under-18 side next season - a move that will lead to 10 full time employees and 25 part time coaches being shown the door.
Wycombe's situation is a little bit more complex than Yeovil's, and their decision to get rid of a scheme that has been highly successful for them shouldn't be entirely blamed upon EPPP. A month before the season ended, Wycombe were hit by a transfer embargo due to their failure to lodge their accounts with Companies House. At the time, a statement issued by their club claimed that "the matter will be resolved in the coming weeks" they are still in the same situation two and a half months later.
Last month it transpired that owner Steve Hayes was in negotiations with Wycombe's Supporters Trust to sell the club - in addition to his plans to relinquish control of rugby side London Wasps. With Hayes having bankrolled the club to a significant degree, the Trust are now looking to bring expenditure under control, meaning that this may have been on the cards anyway. However, they state that EPPP was a strong factor:
"Due to the club's financial limitations, together with the increased demands of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) for the forthcoming season, the club and the Trust - who are finalising a deal to take over the club - feel it will no longer be able to sustain youth development at any age level going forward. Whilst the current Centre of Excellence structure requires significant backing to operate each year, the new EPPP rules would demand increased investment to meet new criteria.
"Wanderers were opposed to the EPPP from the outset, voting against the proposal at a meeting alongside fellow Football League clubs in October. However, the ruling was passed and the club believes it is certain to change the way in which Football League clubs are able to operate at youth level. The long-term stability of the club is the number one priority and all resources are going towards ensuring the club is financially secure."
As yet, Wycombe are the only Football League club, apart from Yeovil Town, to make the decision to curtail their Centre of Excellence structure, although the expectation was that others would be following. The BBC Sport website believes that six of last season's Championship sides have applied for EPPP Category One status, although three of those teams have just been promoted into the Premier League. They state that around 20 Football League clubs have applied for Category Two status, with the 'vast majority' of other clubs applying for Category Three. Yeovil Town will be applying for Category Four, which will see the club only field an Under-18s side.
In addition to the EPPP changes which will come in for the 2012-13 season, the Premier League are looking to set up new Reserve Leagues for Under-18 and Under-21 sides, in addition to the existing senior Reserve Team structures. According to The Independent, they aim to play Under-21 fixtures over weekends, with the aim of scheduling them after their club's first team fixtures, meaning that those younger players who may currently be sent out on loan or be used to pad out benches, could be kept within their parent clubs, getting more regular football within their own set-up.
The move appears to be a reaction to the Football League bouncing fairly fanciful suggestions that Premier League sides could field 'B' teams in League One or League Two and helps deal with current concerns that English players are getting 'lost' once they graduate from their club's Under-18s side, leading to a number ending up failing to make the grade. The Independent believe that these changes will be introduced for the 2013-14 season, although this is not set in stone. The revamp of the Under-18s league, which would lead to the existing Premier Academy League being scrapped, is believed to be a move to align with clubs that reach EPPP Category One status.
Obviously, where Yeovil Town have made heavy use of the loan system, taking players from Premier League sides in recent years, the introduction of an Under-21 Reserve League could have a significant impact upon the availability of players. The FIFA-imposed restiction on emergency and youth loans, which will be imposed at the start of the 2014-15 season, will put further controls on when young players can go out to gain experience with Football League clubs.
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8 June 2012 : A Liddle Bit Wrong
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As prove that you shouldn't take all the rumours you read too seriously, it looks like any interest Yeovil Town may have had in former Hartlepool United defender Gary Liddle is about to be proven irrelevant. Back on May 23rd, the Hartlepool Mail reported the Glovers as one of a number of clubs interested in taking the former Middlesbrough trainee on a contract, after he turned down a chance to extend his six years at Victoria Park.
This afternoon, BBC Radio Nottingham - via the BBC Sport website - report that the 25 year old has agreed a deal with fellow League One side Notts County and is shortly expected to become their first signing of the summer. Hence this one can be pretty much considered to be a dead duck. In fairness to the Hartlepool Mail, the Magpies were one of the clubs they listed as being interested in the defender.
Meanwhile those who put faith in the Football Rumours website as well as the growing number of Twitter accounts claiming to carry transfer rumours, can also put a big cross against a couple of other player names that have been listed by those parties.
Former Coventry City striker Freddie Eastwood, former Cardiff City striker Jon Parkin, Chesterfield full-back Nathan Smith and Southampton full-back Ryan Dickson are all ruled out by manager Gary Johnson in a Glovers Player interview today, with only the latter player providing some possible interest to the Glovers boss. Even in Dickson's case wage would rule out any chances of taking him to Huish Park on a permanent basis at present.
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8 June 2012 : Foley Passes The Test
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Further to this morning's news, former Newport County player Sam Foley has now successfully passed his medical at the club. The 25 year old midfielder/striker will now formally sign the one year contract at the club that he agreed last month, making him part of the first team squad for the 2012-13 season.
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8 June 2012 : Full-Back Kennedy Given Glovers Link
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Newspaper reports are linking Yeovil Town with a move for former Swindon Town full-back Callum Kennedy. The 23 year old is a free agent after being released by the League Two Champions during the middle of last month, as they prepare for life back at third tier level.
The Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph names the Glovers as one of three interested parties in the Chertsey-born player, with League Two play-off finalists Crewe Alexandra also named. However, before anyone gets too excited, the paper claims Kennedy is favouring a move up to Lincolnshire, citing Scunthorpe United as favourites for his signature.
Kennedy played 23 times for Swindon during their promotion season, and has turned out 43 times overall, after coming through their youth ranks. He also had brief loan spells with Gillingham and Rotherham United during the 2010-11 season.
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8 June 2012 : Foley Heads For Club Medical
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Yeovil Town's new midfielder/striker Sam Foley has today indicated that he will finalise his contractual situation today with the club. The 25 year old has already verbally agreed a one year deal for the 2012-13 season, that will see him leave Conference National side Newport County after three and a half years service with the Welsh side.
Foley has indicated on his Twitter account that he will be having his medical at the club today, and will then follow that up with putting pen to paper on his actual contract.
The Glovers have also agreed verbal terms to take on a new Youth Team striker for next season's Under-18s side. Seventeen year old Liam MacDevitt has been playing for Wokingham and Emmbrook's senior side in the Hellenic Football League, which sits one step below the Southern League structure.
However, he has indicated this week that he has verbally agreed terms to join the club on a Youth deal at the club that will be signed on July 1st. Liam, who is currently based in Reading, describes himself as a 'Number 10' style striker, who can also play on the right wing. He will play for the club's Under-18 side for the 2012-13 season, and should bring plenty of pace to the team, given that he has represented English Schools in athletics competitions, competing at various sprint levels ranging between 100 and 400 metres.
Link: Foley Has Heart Set On League One Challenge.
Link: Foley Signed Up By Glovers From Newport.
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7 June 2012 : Chief Executive Thanks Glovers Twitterati
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Yeovil Town Chief Executive Martyn Starnes has praised the efforts of Glovers fans, after their persistence helped the club win a cash windfall. Those who have accounts on social networking site Twitter would find it hard not to be aware of the amount of 'noise' that has been made by supporters, tweeting as part of a campaign under the 'Fanpowerstadium' banner.
Pitched up against supporters of other League One clubs, the Glovers supporters dominated the proceedings from start to finish, and now it has (thankfully) ended, the club will - subject to the formalities of the results being announced next Monday - benefit to the tune of £20,000. Another League One side - expected to be Exeter City - won the £10,000 prize for the number of registrations by a single club. Glovers fans managed in the region of 106,000 'shouts' during the campaign - their next nearest challengers were understood to be around the 60,000 mark.
Speaking to this week's Western Gazette, Starnes said that getting an additional sum of money into the club that had not been planned for would make a difference to the club:
"For us to come through and win that prize is outstanding and I would like to offer my personal thanks to everyone that helped us get the money that will be very important to us. It was an extraordinary effort because it is not easy to get an extra £20,000 from anywhere. To have bought into that competition and to have won it is incredible."
At present, the Glovers haven't indicated if they have a particular part of the club in mind that will benefit from the sum of money. Oh and needless to say, we don't want to see another tweet with Fanpowerstadium tagged on it, ever again!
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7 June 2012 : Three Up, Three Down Under Discussion
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Last week's Football League Annual General Meeting discussed the possibility of opening up an extra relegation/promotion slot between League Two and the Conference National division. The matter was on the Agenda of the AGM which was held in Portugal across May 31st and June 1st and concerns the possibility of widening the numbers of clubs that would drop into non-league football at the end of each season.
What may surprise people is that this proposal was put forward by Barnet Chairman Tony Kleanthous - a case of turkeys voting for Christmas, given that based on the 2011-12 season League Two table, his club would have been in line for relegation under such rules as the 22nd placed club. Given the Bees suffered relegation from the Football League back in 2001, it's a brave man who increases the chances of that happening again.
The other club who is supporting this change is Burton Albion, who also have significant knowledge of Conference football, having only been promoted into the Football League in the summer of 2009. Their Chairman Ben Robinson. He has said that his main job would be that of trying to convince his fellow League Two Chairmen that it is in the interests of the game:
"We would support three-up, three down. But I am a realist and I think it will take a lot of hard work to convince the majority of clubs, unless a pot of money can be produced as a form of financial compensation."
The financial package that Mr Robinson speaks of would doubtless be modelled on some of the existing 'parachute payment' mechanisms that are in place currently between League Two and the Conference, and between Premier League and the Championship division. Relegated clubs would continue to receive a proportion of the central sponsorship and television revenues of the higher division to help shield clubs from existing contractual commitments.
Reports from the Football League AGM state that this will be tabled as an ongoing agenda item during the 2012-13 season, with a view to resolving concerns, prior to a formal vote on the proposals.
Link: Football League Consultation Rejects Artificial Pitches.
Link: Back To Seven Subs Again.
Link: Football League Seeks To Kick Out Gamesmanship.
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6 June 2012 : Taff's Gloversblog : Out With The Old And In With The New
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With all things Yeovil Town related having rather ground to a halt over the long holiday weekend, it's a good time to have a mid-Close Season check on where we are. In the latest Taff's Gloversblog, there's a catch-up on various comings and goings, and a few views on where that leaves manager Gary Johnson needing to do his summer shopping.
Head via the link below, and feel free to append your own views, via the foot of the article.
Link: Taff's Gloversblog : Out With The Old And In With The New.
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4 June 2012 : Gibson Rues Lack Of Glovers Opportunities
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Former Yeovil Town right-winger Billy Gibson has admitted that he was frustrated at the lack of opportunities that he got at Huish Park, during his two years there. The 21 year old managed just 13 appearances for the club, including just one start, after joining the Glovers back in August 2010 from Watford.
Having made just five substitute appearances during his first season at the club, Gibson gained his full debut against Bury in October 2011, just one day after his 21st birthday, following that up three days later with his second appearance for the club. However, after that quick burst, he failed to start another game. Speaking to the Cambridge Evening News after signing for Conference National side Cambridge United, he said he felt he should have been given more of a chance after that:
"I was at Yeovil for two seasons and I felt at times I should have played but wasn’t given an opportunity. When I did play, I thought I did well and still didn’t get a chance after that. Obviously, it’s a dog eat dog world and if someone thinks you’re not doing it, it’s their opinion, but when you don’t get a chance to show what you can do, it’s frustrating."
Gibson failed to even make a squad selected by Gary Johnson - a statistic that made the club's decision to turn down a January 2012 bid from Lincoln City a little surprising, in hindsight. Instead, the winger went on loan to Braintree Town where that got him noticed by Cambridge boss Jez George. Gibson hopes that by dropping down to non-league level, but becoming a regular in a first team, he can get himself noticed again:
"Sometimes you have to go down to go back up again and I feel I can play in this league. I scored two goals in seven games on loan at Braintree last season and got a couple of assists, so I definitely feel I can shine in this league and hopefully help Cambridge move forward."
Link: Billy Gibson : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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2 June 2012 : Reid Makes West Country Return To Sign For Glovers
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Yeovil Town have signed up former Oldham Athletic striker Reuben Reid for next season. The 23 year old has been released by the Latics and has agreed a two year deal with the Glovers to commence from July 1st 2012. Reid is a Bristol-born player, who started his career with Plymouth Argyle, and so is very familiar with the West Country, even though he has travelled well, with the Glovers becoming his twelfth club in his short professional career.
He was born on July 26th 1988 and stands at six foot tall. During his time with Argyle, he spent time out on loan with Kidderminster Harriers, Rochdale, Torquay United, Wycombe Wanderers and Brentford, without really establishing himself in the Pilgrims first team, and in 2008 moved on to Rotherham United.
His time with the Millers saw him notch up 19 goals across the 2008-09 season, and that was good enough to catch the eye of West Bromwich Albion, who signed him for an undisclosed fee during the summer of 2009. He never really broke through with the Baggies, although managed lengthy loan spells with Peterborough United and Walsall during that time.
He eventually moved to Oldham Athletic on January 28th 2011, initially signing for them until the end of the season, but eventually agreed a year's extension on reduced terms for the 2011-12 season. He was released by the Latics at the end of the season, having missed five months of the season with a torn thigh muscle, putting him out between October and March. Overall he made 22 appearances during the 2011-12 season, scoring six goals. His final return for the Latics was eight goals in 41 appearances across the 18 months he spent there.
Reuben's family already know Yeovil Town's set up well - his younger brother Isaac Reid was a striker for Yeovil Town Under-18s, with the Reid family attending some of the club's Youth Team matches during that period.
His contract at Huish Park will run until the summer of 2014, and he becomes the second Oldham Athletic player to sign for the Glovers, following in the footsteps of Keanu Marsh-Brown.
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1 June 2012 : Nathan Jones Bows Out After Seven Years At Yeovil Town
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Yeovil Town have announced this evening that first team player-coach Nathan Jones has left the club. The 39 year old left-back has spent seven years at the club, after signing for the Glovers from Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2005.
The Welshman moves on having been part of the club's management team for three and a half years, after his contract was terminated by mutual consent. The indications are that the move to leave Huish Park was initiated by Jones, who is believed to still own property in the Brighton area. His contract at Huish Park still had another 13 months left to run.
Nathan has had a long and lengthy career in the Football League, despite having a slightly unusual set of early clubs to kick his career off with. He only entered professional football at the age of 22, having started his career with non-leaguers Merthyr Tydfil, close to his birthplace of Rhondda. His first pro club was Luton Town, where he failed to make a professional appearance, but in an unusual twist to his career, he then played in the Spanish Second Division, taking in Numancia and Badajoz.
He returned to the UK in 1997, where he went on to have lengthy spells with Southend United and Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as a temporary spell with Scarborough Athletic. His release from the Sussex side saw Gary Johnson snap him up on a free transfer, and so began a seven year love affair with the Glovers, clocking up 211 appearances and two goals, along with captaining the side at Wembley Stadium, in the club's League One play-off final.
Jones also took his coaching badges, gaining management experience with Yeovil Town Ladies as a first team coach for the 2008-09 season, whilst continuing his playing career. In February 2009, he became part of the men's management team, taking on the role of assistant manager, after the controversial exit of Russell Slade and his assistant Steve Thompson. He spent just under three years in that position, until the return of Gary Johnson made for a managerial reshuffle, with Jones being given an untitled coaching role.
The suggestion is that Jones himself has initiated the departure, telling the club's website that "I feel that my progression as a coach was stunted a bit and as I want to develop as a coach, the best place is away from Yeovil", implying that he does have other options in mind.
The one true thing in football is that everything must come to an end. We'd like to thank Nathan for his hugely loyal service to the club, and wish him all the best for the future.
Link: Nathan Jones : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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1 June 2012 : Football League Consultation Rejects Artificial Pitches
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The Football League's consultation into artificial pitches suggests strongly that there is no significant interest amongst its member clubs to reintroduce them to the professional game. At the League's Annual General Meeting in Portugal, the BBC Sport website reports that the proposal to allow plastic surfaces has died a death after it got the thumbs down from both those present in Portugal, as well as those who replied to their consultation.
The League's meeting reveals a massive split amongst member clubs, with 13 out of League Two's 24 clubs saying that they want to see them brought in, but at Championship level clubs were unanimously against the idea. At League One level only two clubs wanted them introduced: Yeovil Town and Oldham Athletic were two clubs that had given the scheme positive vibes in the lead-up to the meeting, but it looks as though they were significantly in the minority.
The Football League have indicated that they received over 1,700 responses to their consultation earlier this year, with fans groups, refereeing bodies and leagues invited to respond. The Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association were two significant organisations to give it the thumbs down.
The meeting heard that the typical cost of installing such a surface to a professional standard was in the region of £500,000 - a dangerous amount of investment, given that promotion or relegation outside any divisions that did not allow plastic pitches would require that club to rip up the surface and replace it with grass.
As such, although the Football League have not formally said this to be the case, the level of opposition would suggest that this will be shelved for the foreseeable future.
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1 June 2012 : Gibson Signs Deal With Cambridge
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Conference National side Cambridge United have signed up former Yeovil Town winger Billy Gibson for next season. The 21 year old has agreed a one year contract that will see him contracted until the summer of 2013.
Gibson made just 13 appearances for the club across his two years at Huish Park, and disappeared down the pecking order sharply upon manager Gary Johnson's arrival, eventually ending up on loan at Braintree Town at the end of last season.
Cambridge boss Jez George has told his club's website that it was that loan spell in Essex that brought the former Watford Academy player's abilities to his notice:
"Billy is a player that we identified at the end of last season while he was on loan at Braintree. He has a good pedigree, having come through Watford's Academy, and is a young player with great potential. Billy will give us good balance, and will be capable of creating and scoring goals.
"He is predominantly right footed, has fantastic technical ability and composure on the ball plus good delivery from wide areas with both feet. We have done a lot of work in the last few weeks to secure his signature and whilst some of our fans might not know too much about him, we see Billy as a really important addition to our squad and a player that will be a real asset for the club."
Link: Billy Gibson : Yeovil Town Statistics.
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1 June 2012 : Back To Seven Subs Again
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More information on the Football League's Annual General Meeting has come out this morning. As detailed on this site last month, the League's member clubs have voted to reverse last summer's decision concerning the number of substitutes that a club may name in a matchday squad for a Football League match.
The history of this rule is becoming fairly tortuous. In the summer of 2008, clubs were allowed to name seven substitutes for FA Cup and Carling Cup matches - a figure that has remained constant for those two competitions ever since. In the Football League though, a decision in 2009 to allow both League and Football League Trophy matches to name seven substitutes was reversed last year following a proposal made by Championship side Burnley.
The League has now confirmed that a counter-proposal issued by Birmingham City and Derby County has been successfully voted through, and that clubs will now be able to name seven substitutes for the 2012-13 season. Although the Football League have not been specific here, we'd assume that this will apply for both Football League and Football League Trophy matches.
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1 June 2012 : Football League Cup Gets New Capital Investment
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The Football League have announced a new sponsorship deal for their League Cup competition. The knock-out tournament will now be known as the Capital One Cup following a four year deal that has been agreed with the credit card company, after Carling's nine year association with the competition ended.
The unsponsored title is the Football League Cup, although it's harder to remember that it has been known over the years as the Milk Cup (1982-1986), Littlewoods Challenge Cup (1986-1990), Rumbelows Cup (1990-1992), Coca-Cola Cup (1992-1998) and the Worthington Cup (1998-2003) until Carling stepped in.
The new deal will run until the end of the 2015-16 season. The competition will actually launch the 2012-13 season for most Football League clubs, with the First Round preceding the season proper, due to the London 2012 Olympics. Further details about the season scheduling can be found here.
The draw for First Round of the Capital One Cup will be released on Thursday 14th June. All Championship, League One and League Two clubs will take part with the exception of the two highest placed clubs in last season's league tables (Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers). Both clubs will enter the competition along with thirteen Premier League clubs at the Second Round stage (scheduled to be played during week-commencing August 27th).
The seven Premier League clubs that have qualified for European competition - Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Newcastle United and holders Liverpool - will enter the competition at the Third Round stage (scheduled for week commencing September 24th). The Final of the League Cup will take place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, February 24th, 2013.
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