The new year/century begins badly for Yeovil Town FC, with the desperately sad news that former player Paul Muir - a Yeovil lad born and bred, whose father George himself played for the club - has died in hospital after being attacked in the street the previous summer.... Murray Fishlock plays against Dover but has to come off injured with back trouble....

Murray Fishlock departs from the Dover pitch with a chronic back injury

Acting manager Steve Thompson has a reported bid of £25,000 turned down by Woking for defender Michael Danzey, plus the K's knock back a reported offer of £40,000 for midfielder Gary Patterson..... Thommo is also turned down by out-of-favour Cardiff striker Dai Thomas (he of 'Panorama' fame), so a lucky escape for Yeovil there.... Matt Hayfield is injured, out for 4 weeks.....Yeovil receive £10,000 from Birmingham after Jerry Gill makes his 10th appearance for the Blues.....Rumours abound that David Webb is to be appointed as Director Of Football......Thommo increases his bid for Michael Danzey to £30,000, but Woking say 'no' again.... transfer-listed midfielder Phil Simpson undergoes an operation on damaged ligaments.....Warren Patmore is voted 'Player of the Millenium' by readers of the Clarion....

Adrian Foster's brilliant diving header opens the scores in Yeovil's FA Trophy against Stevenage

The Gazette reports that work on the new terrace roof will start in May, chairman John Fry agrees with the Gazette.....The YTFC Youth Team win the SW Counties Youth League title after a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, a superb achievement.....2 London men are charged with the murder of Paul Muir..... Former Glover Steve Browne takes over as Slough Town boss, whilst Graham Roberts is appointed as manager of Hertford Town....... Webb for Director Of Football rumours are even more rife, Brentford fans appear for the first time on the Ciderspace Forum, warning against his appointment......Tony Pounder becomes a dad for the first time.... On the field it's a good month for The Glovers, winning 3 out of 4 Conference fixtures and knocking Stevenage out of the FA Trophy by 2-1..... Kiddy take the lead at the top of the Conference for the first time in the season, but Rushden are still clear favourites with the bookies at 5-4, with the Harriers at 5-1......

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Reports indicate that Yeovil are interested in signing Bashley midfielder Wade Elliot.....Injured midfielders Steve Stott and Matt Hayfield are reported as being on the road to recovery..... It turns out that Wade Elliot has been recommended to the club by Dave Webb.....

Warren Patmore reels away in delight as he scores a farcical rebound goal at Bedford in the FA Trophy

Reserve team player Anthony Tonkin plays for British Universities v an FA XI...."The Glovers must go up this year" says Chairman John Fry to the Gazette..... YTISA launch their Independent Barmy Army fanzine, first issue sells out.....Thommo tells the Gazette that he's not interested in buying Wade Elliott as he hasn't even seen him play.... David Webb finally joins the club on a non-contract basis as 'Football Advisor'.... The Glovers beat Bedford 4-0 away from home in the 4th Round of the Trophy and are drawn at home to holders Kingstonian in the 5th Round...... Wade Elliott signs for Bournemouth for £5,000......A week after joining the club as 'Football Advisor', Dave Webb leaves, John Fry saying: "Dave feels we are on the right track, and frankly can not see in which area he can help at the moment".... At the top of the Conference Kiddy are gaining momentum and pulling out a 6-point lead over Rushden. Yeovil are 3rd..... Despite putting out a strong team The Glovers are humiliated by Taunton Town in the quarter-finals of the Somerset Premier Cup, being thrashed 5-1.....Youth Team coach and Yeovil Legend Stuart Housley dyes his hair blond in recognition of his team winning the title.... Matt Hayfield returns from injury.....Warren Patmore is picked for the England semi-pro squad to play Italy in Padova, Rob Cousins is put on stand-by.... After a couple of days of 'will-he, won't-he?', left-sided wing-back Matt Hale signs for Yeovil from Weymouth for £10,000..... Paul Muir's funeral takes place at St John's Church in Yeovil..... After many delays and a few false starts the club finally launch their Official Website onto the waiting world....

Warren Patmore battles with Gary Patterson, but the Glovers go out of the Trophy to Kingstonian

It's a poor month for The Glovers on the pitch - a solitary win at Bedford in the Trophy at the start of the month is followed by a run of 4 defeats and a draw and the month ends with Yeovil crashing out of the Trophy as well, The K's winning 1-0 at Huish Park in front of 3,330, with reports of crowd trouble afterwards further spoiling the day.... John Fry denies saying that the team "must" go up this season, saying that the quote was meant more as an aim to achieve, or something like that..... The Glovers are still 3rd in the Conference table, 6 points behind leaders Rushden and 2nd-placed Kiddy but manager Thommo is not optimistic, saying "it would be a miracle if we won the league now".....The YTISA haven't given up yet though, offering the team a bonus of £1,000 for a party if they win the league this season.....

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John Fry pledges that the Yeovil fans who caused trouble against the K's will be identified and banned for life..... Wazza wins his 4th semi-pro cap in England's 1-1 draw in Italy, Rob Cousins comes on as an 80th minute substitute to earn his 1st cap....

Matt Hale makes his debut at Northwich, but the season reaches a new low with a truly awful 3-0 defeat

Former Bristol City youngster Ellis Wilmot signs for Yeovil until the end of the season.....Former Glovers head coach Colin Lippiatt returns to Kingfield and replaces Brian McDermott as Woking manager.... On the pitch Yeovil lose 3-0 at Northwich and draw 1-1 at Rushden, but the Conference title now looks out of reach for this season..... Out of the blue (geddit?) Dave Webb is appointed manager and Steve Thompson is demoted to Webb's assistant. Webb announces that the club will start the transition to becoming a full-time outfit immediately.... Thommo's assistant, Terry Cotton is released....Matt Hayfield is the first player to feel the wind of change, also being released. He teams up with Colin Lippiatt at Woking.... Tony Pounder follows him out of the door, with Steve Stott, Jason Eaton, Kevan Brown and Paul Tisdale all being told they can find new clubs....

Look who's waiting in the wings ... David Webb watches Thommo's last game in charge, knowing he's taking over on Monday

Webb's watches Thommo's last game in charge at home to Doncaster, the Glovers losing 3-1....By coincidence, his first game in charge is also against Doncaster, at Belle Vue this time....The Glovers, featuring the likes of Anthony Tonkin, Paul Steele, Andy Lindegaard, Glenn Poole and James Bent gain revenge, winning 3-0.....Wazza is picked again for the England semi-pro squad for their game v Holland, Rob Cousins joins up as sub.... Kevan Brown signs for Woking on a free transfer and Steve Stott has his contract cancelled by Yeovil - he too signs for Woking until the end of the season.... The Sunday Independent reports that work on the proposed new roof over the home terrace due to start in May could be put on hold.... Rushden & Diamonds are reported as making 3 seperate offers for striker Warren Patmore before the transfer deadline, all of which were rejected by Yeovil....Phil Simpson and Jason Eaton have their contracts terminated by mutual consent, Eaton signing for Newport County.... League chairman are reported to have agreed 'in principle' that 2-up/2-down between the Conference and Div 3 should be introduced, maybe in time for next season - they set up a working party to study the implications.... Glenn Poole becomes the first player to sign a full-time contract.... Webb brings in a 19-year-old winger/striker from Plymouth Argyle on a month's loan - Barrington Belgrave arrives at Huish Park.....

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Panic at the club as reports suggest that Paul Tisdale has been playing all season as a wrongly-registered player leading to suggestions that Yeovil could have up to 18 league points deducted - luckily it turns out to be an April Fools prank by an irresponsible website..... When asked by the Gazette to give details of Dave Webb's contract, John Fry refuses, saying it's "nothing to do with the public"....

Barrington Belgrave arrives on the scene and scores his debut goal at Hereford

Rob Cousins is the latest player whose future at the club is regarded as unsure.... Woking boss Colin Lippiatt says that he tried to sign full-back David Piper but was turned down by Yeovil, and admits to 'forgetting' to sign Tony Pounder before the transfer deadline, saying that the former Yeovil winger's availability had "slipped his mind".... Murray Fishlock has an appointment with a specialist to try and solve his debilitating back problem......The Huish Park crowd's favourite referee (not), Dorset's Mike North is promoted to the Football League list.... Stadium manager and former reserve-team boss Terry Rowles leaves the club 'by mutual consent'.... Central defender Terry Skiverton becomes the 2nd player to sign a full-time contract at the club....

Local lad Andy Lindegaard is part of the new wave of youthful Yeovil, and scores his debut goal against Hednesford

Fellow central defender Chris Sparks is transfer-listed....Goalkeeper Tony Pennock is called up by the Wales semi-pro team for the match against England in May....The YTISA have their request to present their Player of the Season Trophy on the pitch at Huish Park turned down by the club..... Better news on the pitch as The Glovers go unbeaten all month, winning 3 games and drawing 4..... Barrington Belgrave returns to Home Park after the end of his loan period, David Webb refuses to comment on speculation regarding the player's future....

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Left-back Anthony Tonkin and striker James Bent become the latest recruits to the club's full-time revolution.... An auction of sporting memoribilia raises £1,500 for the Erection 2000 fund, but it's all gone quiet as to when work will actually go ahead on the new roof over the home terrace.... In the penultimate game of the season Colin Lippiatt's Woking visit Huish Park and include 4 former Glovers in the side - The visitors spank Yeovil 3-0 to stave off the threat of relegation.... Central defender and favourite crowd scapegoat Dean Chandler is released on a free transfer, as is Ellis Wilmot.....

Controversy as the YTISA are forced to present their Player of the Season at Morecambe's ground. Tony Pennock gets the nod

The YTISA finally present their Player Of The Season trophy to winner Tony Pennock at the final game of the season at Morecambe, but there are rumours that Pennock and Webb are not seeing eye-to-eye.... The Glovers finish 7th in the table, 21 points behind title-winners Kidderminster.... Paul Tisdale is released on a free....The G&WSC;'s POTS trophy is won by Terry Skiverton..... Rob Cousins is finally released by Yeovil as his part-time contract expires and he refuses a full-time deal..... A war of words erupts between the YTISA and John Fry over the club's refusal to allow the ISA to present their POTS trophy to Tony Pennock.... The Glovers make an enquiry about Andover striker Andy Forbes but are rebuffed.... Former Glovers' Steve Stott and Phil Simpson sign for Slough.... Rumours around Huish Park suggest that midfielder Jamie Pitman is unhappy with the full-time deal offered to him by Yeovil and is holding out for more money... Keeper Tony Pennock makes his debut for Wales in the 1-1 draw with England at Llanelli, striker Warren Patmore misses the game through injury.... GKN Westland donate £50,000 towards the Erection 2000 Appeal Fund, but there's still no start date for work on the new terrace roof.... Midfielder Ben Smith signs a full-time contract at Yeovil, and Barrington Belgrave is reported to be having discussions with Dave Webb....

The season ends at Morecambe with a 1-1 draw, with more youthful talent on display from James Bent

The row between the club and the YTISA rumbles on, with all 3 local papers being more or less critical of the club's stance..... Andy Lindegaard and Youth Team striker Chris Giles both sign full-time contracts, but midfielder Jamie Pitman, recently voted as the YTFC Internet Fans Player Of The Season, refuses Yeovil's offer of a full-time contract and signs a part-time deal with - you guessed it - Woking.... Yeovil get their man however when Physio Tony Farmer signs a full-time contract.... John Fry attracts more criticism on the internet and in the local press when he downplays GKN Westland's £50,000 donation to the E2000 Fund and says work on the new roof may not begin for 5 years!.... Wing-back Matt Hale's future at the club is the subject of speculation despite him only having signed a couple of months previously following his refusal of a full-time deal... Youth Team goalkeeper Chris Weale signs a full-time contract and full-back Dave Piper becomes one of Webb's Chosen Few when he signs a new 2-year part-time deal with the club.... First-choice keeper Tony Pennock holds clear-the-air talks with Webb but is disappointed not be offered a new deal to replace his existing part-time contract.... The future of Warren Patmore is said to be next on the manager's agenda.... Meanwhile former Glovers boss Steve Rutter is appointed to England manager Kevin Keegan's scouting staff prior to the Euro 2000 tournament..... Rumours suggest that Yeovil are interested in signing 3 of Dorchester's out-of-contract players, striker Danny O'Hagen, and midfielders Roy O'Brien and Martin Sullivan being the names mentioned in the local press.....

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A quiet start to the month with rumours that Bristol City duo Matt Hewlett and former Glovers maestro Mark Shail are interesting Yeovil being the only thing to break the summer torpor.....

Rob Cousins bows out of Huish Park after four highly successful seasons, and teams up with Dave Norton at Forest Green

Until former Glovers utility player Rob Cousins signs for Conference rivals Forest Green Rovers that is, closely followed by Yeovil target Martyn Sullivan who prefers FGR's offer of part-time football to Yeovil's full-time contract offer.... Rumours suggest that former Plymouth youngsters Barrington Belgrave and defender Jon Ashton have been offered contracts by The Glovers..... Warren Patmore is the only YTFC player picked in the annual Conference Team of the Year Awards.... There's speculation on the internet that the top 8 Conference clubs will be offered places in next season's Auto-Windscreens Shield competition - that would include Yeovil, who finished 7th.... Mark Shail signs for Conference champions Kidderminster.... John Fry announces the formation of the Official Supporters Club, an organisation intended to incorporate all the various clubs and organisations that use Huish Park, all except the YTISA that is.... Former Glovers star Neil "Psycho" Coates is appointed manager of Dorset Combination side Shaftesbury... Yeovil unveil their new kit for the following season... Transfer target Jon Ashton signs for Exeter City and Dorchester frontman Danny O'Hagen also says no to The Glovers contract offer, citing 'too little money on offer' as the reason for saying no.... Big changes are proposed in the boadroom by the club, intended to "streamline the decision-making process" says John Fry, though details are sketchy as yet... The Gazette claims that Yeovil turned down a £90,000 offer from Rushden for striker Warren Patmore on transfer deadline day.... The Commanding Officer at HMS Heron, Yeovilton agrees to let the club use its facilities for full-time training next season... With the likes of Rushden and Doncaster signing new players and spending big money prior to the new season, the local press and fans are getting restless over the lack of new signings at Huish Park.....

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Go to 2000 Season Review Part Two

NOTE: : Photos 2, 4 & 6 © Western Gazette