Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town
Full name Yeovil Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Glovers
Founded 1895 (1895) (as Yeovil Casuals)
Ground Huish Park
Capacity 9,565 (5,212 seated)
Executive chairman John Fry
Manager Darren Way
League League Two
2017–18 League Two, 19th of 24
Website Club website

Yeovil Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Yeovil, Somerset, England. They play in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club won the League Two championship in 2004–05, and promotion to the Championship through the play-offs in 2013. Founded in 1895, Yeovil took 108 years to enter the Football League when they were promoted from the Football Conference as champions in 2003.

Yeovil were one of the most successful non-league teams in the FA Cup, having defeated major Football League teams, most famously Sunderland in the fourth round in 1949, going on to play in front of more than 81,000 against Manchester United at Maine Road, temporarily shared with local rival Manchester City following the bombing of Old Trafford in the Second World War. After entering the Football League, Yeovil reached the FA Cup third round in 2004 and were drawn to play Liverpool, before which the club released a record sold only in shops in the town: "Yeovil True" reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] This success was repeated in 2005 when they reached the fourth round and were drawn away against Charlton Athletic, then in the Premier League, to whom they lost 3–2.[2]

Yeovil's home ground is Huish Park, built in 1990 on the site of an old army camp and named after their former home, Huish, itself known for its pitch, which had an 8 feet (2.4 m) sideline to sideline slope. The club's nickname "The Glovers" is a reference to the history of glove-making in the town of Yeovil, which became a centre of the industry during the 18th and 19th centuries.[3][4]

History

Non-League football

Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared its ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later the club was renamed Yeovil Casuals and started playing home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil and Petters United.[5] The name reverted to Yeovil Town before the 1946–47 season.

Yeovil's Huish ground in 1983.

The club came to national attention as 'giant-killers' during the 1948–49 FA Cup,[6] in which they defeated Sunderland 2–1 in the fourth round, in front of a record home attendance of 17,000. They were defeated 8–0 in the following round by Manchester United .[7]

Chart showing the progress of Yeovil Town FC in League and Non-League football from 1980–2017

Between 1955 and 1973 they were champions of the Southern Football League three times, and runners-up twice.[8] During this period, Yeovil Town applied for election to the Football League on a number of occasions, coming within a few votes of being elected in 1976.[9] In 1979 the Glovers were founder members of the new national non-league division, the Football Conference. In 1985, they were relegated to the Isthmian League. Yeovil won that championship in 1988 and returned to the Conference.

There was success in the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy in 1990 and three years later Yeovil finished fourth in the Conference, their best finish ever.[8] In January 1995, former Weymouth and Spurs player Graham Roberts was appointed manager, but demotion back to the Isthmian League soon followed. Yeovil secured promotion back into the Conference in 1997 after winning the Isthmian League with a record number of points – 101.[8]

Colin Lippiatt became manager for the 1998–99 season and brought Terry Skiverton to the club as a player. Gary Johnson took over as manager in June 2001 and Yeovil won the FA Trophy in his first season in charge with a 2–0 victory over Stevenage Borough in the final at Villa Park – the club's first major trophy.[8] Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the following season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin, accumulating 95 points and scoring 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park. Their team included many top players, some of whom went on to play Premier League football. Notable players include Gavin Williams who moved to West Ham United, Lee Johnson, Chris Weale, Darren Way and Adam Lockwood.

Reaching the Football League

Yeovil's first game in the Football League was a 3–1 away win over Rochdale. The Glovers finished their first season in eighth position, and reached the third round of the FA Cup before losing 2–0 at home to Liverpool. The following season Yeovil finished as champions of League Two with 83 points, earning promotion to League One. Partway through the season the club was sold by Jon Goddard-Watts to David Webb, who took over the role of chief executive from chairman John Fry.

Yeovil flag at Wembley Stadium

At the beginning of the 2005–06 season manager Gary Johnson left Yeovil for Bristol City. He was replaced by his assistant Steve Thompson and Kevin Hodges was appointed as his number two. At the season's end Thompson was demoted to first-team coach and he was replaced by Russell Slade. Around this time John Fry had bought all Dave Webb's share of the club, becoming Yeovil Town's new owner.[10]

Yeovil finished the 2006–07 season in fifth position, qualifying for the League One play-offs. In the semi-final Yeovil beat Nottingham Forest in the two-legged match 5–4 on aggregate, after losing the first home leg 2–0.[11][12] Yeovil met Blackpool at Wembley Stadium in the final, but were beaten 2–0.

The 2007–08 was less successful, as Yeovil finished 18th in League One with 52 points. Russell Slade continued as Yeovil manager into the 2008–09 season, but he left the position in February 2009.[13] After one game with assistant manager Steve Thompson acting as caretaker manager, club captain Terry Skiverton was announced as manager until the end of the 2009–10 season, with Nathan Jones as his assistant.[14] The duo had to wait seven games before their first victory, which came against Swindon Town. The 1–0 victory was vital considering Swindon were also flirting with relegation and it started a good run of form with two more wins and a draw against difficult opposition. Yeovil secured their League One status with a 1–1 draw against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday 25 April, an achievement which may not have been possible without the loan of Jonathon Obika from Tottenham Hotspur. It was Obika's four goals that kept Yeovil up. At the end of the season, Terry Skiverton had to discuss contracts with players such as Terrell Forbes and Lee Peltier.

Yeovil made a good start to the 2009–10 season with a 2–0 win over Tranmere but then went seven league games without a win. After this they went six games unbeaten including victories over Brentford, Carlisle United and Bristol Rovers before this was ended by a 4–0 drubbing away at leaders Leeds United, on 31 October 2009. The return of Gavin Williams, on a loan spell from Bristol City, helped Yeovil to end the season strongly.

Yeovil's first half of the 2010–11 season was poor and the club were bottom of the table at Christmas. However, new signings including Max Ehmer and Paul Wotton helped turn the season around starting with an unbeaten run in January; Terry Skiverton was nominated for Manager of the Month and Paul Huntington, who had scored three goals during the month, won Player of the Month.[15] In March, Yeovil recorded their highest away league victory with a 5–1 win over Leyton Orient. A six-match unbeaten run at the end of the season including wins over Notts County, Colchester United and Carlisle United helped Yeovil finish the season in 14th, their second-highest league finish. Dean Bowditch was again Yeovil's top scorer with 15 goals (seven in the last two months of the season) and Andy Welsh, who moved onto Carlisle United at the end of the season, finished with the most assists.[16]

The 2011–12 season again started poorly, and Yeovil found themselves in the relegation zone at Christmas for the second consecutive season, and this prompted a change of manager. On 9 January 2012, the club announced the re-appointment of Gary Johnson, with former manager Terry Skiverton becoming assistant. Yeovil made their best ever start in the 2012–13 season, picking up 10 points from their first four games. However the unbeaten run came to an end on 8 September as they suffered a 1–0 home defeat at the hands of local rivals Bournemouth. Yeovil hosted Premier League side West Bromwich Albion in the second round of the Football League Cup and although they took the lead early on, they ended up losing 4–2 after conceding two late goals from Shane Long and Yassine El Ghanassy. Yeovil finished the 2012–13 season in 4th place, reaching the League One play-offs, they reached the final on 6 May 2013 after a 2–0 home victory against Sheffield United, after a 1–0 loss at Bramall Lane in the first leg. On 19 May 2013, Yeovil defeated Brentford 2–1 in the League One play-off final at Wembley, reaching the second tier for the first time in their history.[17]

Yeovil spent one season in the Championship before suffering an immediate relegation back to League One.[18] The club's struggles continued the following season, manager Gary Johnson being eventually replaced by Paul Sturrock as Yeovil suffered another relegation, returning to League Two for the first time in 10 years.[19]

International representatives

Rivals

Due to the lack of other large football clubs in Somerset, Yeovil have few strong rivals. Yeovil have their strongest traditional rivalry with Weymouth, dating back to their non-league days.[20] However, the two clubs have moved in opposite directions in league standings in recent years (being four divisions apart as of the 2012–13 season), and have not met in a competitive match since the 1990s. Thus, the rivalry has decreased over the past years. Hereford United were also seen as rivals (before the club's dissolving in 2014) as both clubs were fairly well matched in their time in non-league. Both Bristol Rovers and Bristol City are considered rivals.[21]

In August 2009 Yeovil played Exeter City for the first time in the league. The game ended 1–1.[22] Bournemouth could also be seen as current rivals due to their relatively close geographical proximity. Swindon Town are also strong rivals for geographical reasons.

Recent seasons

Season Division P W D L F A Pts Pos FA Cup League Cup EFL Trophy Name Goals Average attendance
League Top scorer
2013–14 Championship relegated468132544753724th R4R2é
—
 Ishmael Miller10 6,589
2014–15 League 1 relegated4610102636754024th R3R1R1 (S) James Hayter
Gozie Ugwu		5 4,342
2015–16 League 24611152043594819th R3R1SF (S) Ryan Bird
Harry Cornick
François Zoko		8 3,936
2016–17 League 24611171849645020th R1R2QF François Zoko13 3,567
2017–18 League 24612122259754819th R4R1SF François Zoko15 2,941

Players

Current squad

As of 12 October 2018.[23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 England GK Stuart Nelson
3 England DF Carl Dickinson
4 England DF Gary Warren
5 Uganda DF Bevis Mugabi
6 England DF Omar Sowunmi (captain)
7 Antigua and Barbuda MF Rhys Browne
8 England FW Omari Patrick (on loan from Bradford City)
9 England FW Alex Fisher
10 England MF Jake Gray
11 England MF Jordan Green
12 England GK Nathan Baxter (on loan from Chelsea)
13 Ivory Coast FW François Zoko (club captain)
14 England FW Diallang Jaiyesimi (on loan from Norwich City)
15 England MF Gabriel Rogers
No. Position Player
16 England MF James Bailey
17 England MF Alex Pattison (on loan from Middlesbrough)
18 Martinique MF Yoann Arquin
20 Benin MF Sessi D'Almeida
19 England FW Korrey Henry
21 England MF Wes McDonald
22 England MF Tyrique Spencer-Clarke
23 Wales DF Tom James
24 England FW Olufela Olomola (on loan from Scunthorpe United)
25 England GK Steve Phillips (player-goalkeeping coach)
26 Italy DF Daniel Ojo
27 Republic of Ireland DF Shaun Donnellan
29 Luxembourg DF Enes Mahmutovic (on loan from Middlesbrough)
30 Brazil MF Alefe Santos

Non-playing staff

As of 10 August 2018[24]

Corporate hierarchy

Position Name
Chairman John Fry
Vice Chairman / Director Norman Hayward
Chief Operating Officer / Director David Mills
Director Brian Willis
Director / Company Secretary David Lee
Associate Director Alan Chamberlain
Associate Director John Dover
Associate Director / Club Secretary Jean Cotton
Club Secretary Kirstie Baker
Commercial Manager Dave Linney

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager England Darren Way
Assistant manager England Terry Skiverton
First team coach England Paul Terry
Goalkeeping coach England Steve Phillips
Physio England Mike Micciche
Football operations assistant Cyprus Giannis Iosif
Academy manager England Jamie Harrison
U18 manager Wales Terry Moore

Managers

Years Manager
1923–28England Jack Gregory
1928–29England Tommy Lowes
1929–33Scotland David Pratt
1933–35England Louis Page
1935–38Scotland Dave Halliday
1938–46England Billy Kingdon
1946–49England Alec Stock
1949–51Scotland George Paterson
1951–53England Harry Lowe
1953–57England Ike Clarke
1957England Norman Dodgin
1957–60England Jimmy Baldwin
1960–64England Basil Hayward
1964–65Wales Glyn Davies
1965–67Scotland Joe McDonald
  
Years Manager
1967–69England Ron Saunders
1969–72Wales Mike Hughes
1972–75England Cecil Irwin
1975–78England Stan Harland
1978–81England Barry Lloyd
1981England Malcolm Allison
1981–83England Jimmy Giles
1983Wales Mike Hughes
1983–84England Trevor Finnigan
1984England Steve Coles
1984Scotland Ian MacFarlane
1984–87Scotland Gerry Gow
1987–90England Brian Hall
1990–91England Clive Whitehead
1991–93England Steve Rutter
  
Years Manager
1994–95England Brian Hall
1995–98England Graham Roberts
1998–99England Colin Lippiatt
1999–2000England Steve Thompson
2000England David Webb
2000England Steve Thompson
2000–01England Colin Addison
2001–05England Gary Johnson
2005–06England Steve Thompson
2006–09England Russell Slade
2009England Steve Thompson
2009–12England Terry Skiverton
2012–15England Gary Johnson
2015England Terry Skiverton
2015Scotland Paul Sturrock
  
Years Manager
2015–England Darren Way

Chairmen

The following men have been chairman of the club's Board of Directors:[25]

Years Chairman
1923–25E.J. Farr
1925–27E.P. Wrinch
1927–29W. Stanley Johnson
1929–31W.J. Farthing
1931–33Stanley H. Vincent
1933–36George E. Fox
1936–38Stanley Gates
1938–48H.A. Smith
1948–62W.H. Farthing
  
Years Chairman
1962–66S. Pinder
1966–69G.E. Templeman
1969–71S. Norman Burfield
1971–74I.B. Rendall
1974–82David J. Hawker
1982–91Gerry A. Lock
1991–96Bryan W. Moore
1996–John Fry

Honours

A view inside a football stadium. The winning team are posing together for a photograph, and there are photographers and journalists on the pitch.
Yeovil celebrating their promotion to The Football League at Huish Park, 19 April 2003

Regional

  • Somerset Professional Cup:[27][28]
    • Winners: 1912–13, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57 (jointly with Bristol City), 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1968–69 (jointly with Frome Town), 1972–73, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2004–05
  • Forse Somerset Charity Cup:[29]
    • Winners: 1910–11

Club records

  • Most Overall Appearances: Len Harris, 691 (1958–72)
  • Most Goals: Johnny Hayward, 548 (1906–28)
  • Most League Goals: Dave Taylor, 284 (1960–9)
  • Record Attendance Football League at Huish Park: 9,527 v Leeds United, 25 April 2008 (Football League One)
  • Record Attendance All Time: 17,123 v Sunderland, 29 January 1949 (FA Cup Fourth Round)
  • Longest Serving Player: Len Harris, 14 years (1958–72)
  • Longest Serving Manager: Billy Kingdon, 8 years (1938–46)
  • Highest League Finish: 24th Championship, 2013/2014 season
  • Highest Transfer fee received: £1,200,000, Arron Davies and Chris Cohen, Nottingham Forest, July 2007
  • Highest transfer fee paid: Undisclosed (five figure sum), Pablo Bastianini, Quilmes Atlético Club, August 2005
  • Highest Victory in the Football League: 6–0 v Newport County, 15 September 2018
  • Heaviest Defeat in the Football League: 0–6 v Stevenage, 14 April 2012, 2–8 v Luton Town, 5 August 2017

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Yeovil net Top 40 Triumph". BBC Sport. 23 February 2004. Archived from the original on 24 February 2004.
  2. ↑ "Charlton 3–2 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 29 January 2005.
  3. ↑ "Gloves are off in Yeovil's bid for the big time for a club that couldn't come any smaller". Daily Mail. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Glove making and car congestion: Yeovil in 1949". BBC Somerset. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Managers". Yeovil town years. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Classic matches". Yeovil town years. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Season 1948–1949 and so to Maine Road". The Yeovil Town Story. Ciderspace. Archived from the original on 22 June 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Yeovil Town". Talk Football. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  9. ↑ Football League Division 4 1975–76 Archived 6 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Yeovil Town". Talk Fottoball. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  11. ↑ Yeovil 0–2 Nottingham Forest Archived 26 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine. – BBC Sport
  12. ↑ Nottingham Forest 2–5 Yeovil Archived 2 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. – BBC Sport
  13. ↑ "Yeovil split with manager Slade". BBC Sport. 16 February 2009. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "Terry Skiverton is named as Yeovil Town manager". YTFC Official Site. Archived from the original on 22 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  15. ↑ "Huntington named Player of the Month". The Football League. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Carlisle sign Yeovil Town winger Andy Welsh". BBC. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Brentford 1–2 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 19 May 2013. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "Brighton 2–0 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Yeovil 1–1 Notts County". BBC Sport. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Yeovil Town to launch 'comprehensive review' of pitch situation". This is Somerset. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Yeovil Town". Are you a big club or not?. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "Exeter 1–1 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "First Team Player Profiles". Yeovil Town F.C. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "Who's Who?". ytfc.net. Yeovil Town F.C. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  25. ↑ "Club Chairmen". Ciderspace. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  26. ↑ "Western Football League Award Winners". Western Football League. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  27. ↑ "Honours and Records". ytfc.net. Yeovil Town F.C. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  28. ↑ "Club Honours List". Ciderspace (an independent Yeovil Town FC website). Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  29. ↑ "A look at Yeovil Town FC's honours and records". Yeovil Town Football Club. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
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