Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town

Full name	Yeovil Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Glovers
Founded	1895 (as Yeovil Casuals)
Ground	Huish Park Yeovil (Capacity: 9,665 (5,212 seated))
Chairman	John Fry
Manager	Gary Johnson
League	League One
2010–11	League One, 14th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Yeovil Town Football Club is an English football club based in the town of Yeovil, Somerset. The only Somerset-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at Huish Park, built in 1990 on the site of an Old Army Camp and named after their former home the Huish, itself famous for the notorious pitch, which had an 8-foot sideline to sideline slope. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004-05.

The club was founded in 1895 but took 108 years to enter the Football League when they were promoted from the Football Conference as champions in 2003. Having long been established as the most successful non-league team in the FA Cup – having defeated major Football League teams, most famously Sunderland in the 4th Round in 1949, going on to play in front of more than 81,000 against Manchester United at Maine Road. Since entering the Football League FA Cup results have deteriorated having only reached the 3rd Round twice most famously in 2004, against Liverpool for which the club released a record prior to the tie sold only in shops in the town, "Yeovil True" reached #36 in the UK Singles Chart. The only other succesful performance since then was in 2005 when they reached the 4th Round drawn away against then Premier League side Charlton Athletic where they narrowly lost 3-2.

History

For a statistical breakdown by season, see List of Yeovil Town F.C. seasons.

Non-League football

Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared their ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later they were 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.

The club came to national attention as 'giant-killers' during the 1948–49 FA Cup, 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 at Maine Road.

Between 1955 and 1973 they were champions of the Southern Football League three times, with the runners-up spot being reached on two occasions. 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. 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. 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.

Colin Lippiatt became manager 1998 – 1999 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. 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 which 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, taking 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, after having turned down job offers from both Plymouth Argyle and Derby County. He was replaced by his assistant Steven 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.

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. 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. After 1 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. The duo had to wait seven games before their first victory, which came against Swindon Town. The one-nil 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. Securing these players was considered vital if Yeovil were to remain in League One in the future.

Yeovil made a good start to the 2009–10 season with a 2–0 win over Tranmere but then went 7 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 drumming away at leaders Leeds United, on October 31, 2009. The return of fans' favourite 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 horrendous and saw them bottom of the table at Christmas. However, new signings like Max Ehmer and Paul Wotton helped turn the season around starting with an unbeaten run in January which saw Terry Skiverton nominated for Manager of the Month and Paul Huntington, who had scored three goals during the month, win Player of the Month. 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 and Carlisle helped Yeovil finish the season in 14th their second highest league finish. Dean Bowditch was again Yeovil's top scorer with 15 goals (7 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.

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.

International representatives

For a full list of all Yeovil Town players to be capped at full international level, see List of Yeovil Town F.C. internationals.

Rivals

Due to the lack of large football clubs in Somerset, Yeovil have few strong rivals. Yeovil have their strongest rivalry with Weymouth, dating back to their non-league games. However the two have not met in competitive circumstances for some time, and with the two clubs moving in opposite directions in league standings, the rivalry has decreased over the past years.

Matches against Hereford United could be seen as a grudge game. There is a genuine bad feeling between both sets of fans, and due to both clubs being fairly well matched in their time in non-league there is history between them.

Both Bristol Rovers and Bristol City are considered rivals, but due to Yeovil only recently becoming a league club, the rivalry is not as intense as others.

Of late they played Exeter City for the first time in the league. The game ended 1–1. AFC Bournemouth could also be seen as current rivals due to their close geographical proximity compared to other League One clubs.

Recent seasons

See also: List of Yeovil Town F.C. seasons

Season	League									FA Cup	League Cup	Football League Trophy	Top scorer
	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos
2003–04	Football League Third Division	46	23	5	18	70	57	74	8th	R3	R1	R2	Gavin Williams/Kevin Gall	13
2004–05	Football League Two	46	25	8	13	90	65	83	1st	R4	R2	R1	Phil Jevons	29
2005–06	Football League One	46	15	11	20	54	62	56	15th	R2	R2	R1	Phil Jevons	17
2006–07	Football League One	46	23	10	13	55	39	79	5th	R1	R1	R1	Wayne Gray	11
2007–08	Football League One	46	14	10	22	38	59	52	18th	R1	R1	R3	Lloyd Owusu	11
2008–09	Football League One	46	12	15	19	41	66	51	17th	R1	R2	R2	Gavin Tomlin	9
2009–10	Football League One	46	13	14	19	55	59	53	15th	R1	R1	R1	Dean Bowditch	10
2010–11	Football League One	46	16	11	19	56	66	59	14th	R2	R1	R1	Dean Bowditch	15

• Last updated: 8 May 2011
• Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal Scored; GA = Goal Against; Pts = Points

Players

Current squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Sam Walker (on loan from Chelsea) 2 DF Luke Ayling (Vice-captain) 3 DF Nathan Jones 4 DF Bondz N'Gala 5 DF Paul Huntington (Captain) 6 MF Dominic Blizzard 7 FW Andy Williams 8 MF Ed Upson 9 FW Steve MacLean 10 MF Gavin Williams 11 MF Anthony Edgar 12 MF Michael Woods

No. Position Player 14 MF Lawson D'Ath (on loan from Reading) 16 FW Jonathan Franks (on loan from Middlesbrough) 17 DF Jonathan Grounds (on loan from Middlesbrough) 18 FW Kieran Agard 19 DF Curtis Haynes-Brown 22 MF Dean Parrett (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 23 MF Billy Gibson 24 GK Gareth Stewart (Player/Goalkeeping Coach) 26 DF Kelly Youga 28 DF Richard Hinds 29 FW Jonathan Obika (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 31 DF Alistair Slowe

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 38 MF Lewis Clarke (at Weymouth until 27 March 2012) 39 FW Rob Clowes (at Bridgwater Town until 26 March 2012) 40 DF Rhys Baggridge (at Poole Town until 15 March 2012)

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Gary Johnson
Assistant Manager	Terry Skiverton
First Team Coaches	Nathan Jones
	Darren Way
Goalkeeping Coach	Gareth Stewart
Physiotherapists	Phil Cole
	Mike Micciche
Head of Youth Department	Scott Green

Managers

For more details on this topic, see List of Yeovil Town F.C. managers.

Years Manager 1923–1928 Jack Gregory 1928–1929 Tommy Lowes 1929–1933 David Pratt 1933–1935 Louis Page 1935–1938 Dave Halliday 1938–1946 Billy Kingdon 1946–1949 Alec Stock 1949–1951 George Paterson 1951–1953 Harry Lowe 1953–1957 Ike Clarke 1957 Norman Dodgin 1957–1960 Jimmy Baldwin 1960–1964 Basil Hayward 1964–1965 Glyn Davies 1965–1967 Joe McDonald

Years Manager 1967–1969 Ron Saunders 1969–1972 Mike Hughes 1972–1975 Cecil Irwin 1975–1978 Stan Harland 1978–1981 Barry Lloyd 1981 Malcolm Allison 1981–1983 Jimmy Giles 1983 Mike Hughes 1983–1984 Trevor Finnigan 1984 Steve Coles 1984 Ian MacFarlane 1984–1987 Gerry Gow 1987–1990 Brian Hall 1990–1991 Clive Whitehead

Years Manager 1991–1993 Steve Rutter 1994–1995 Brian Hall 1995–1998 Graham Roberts 1998–1999 Colin Lippiatt 1999–2000 Steve Thompson 2000 David Webb 2000 Steve Thompson 2000–2001 Colin Addison 2001–2005 Gary Johnson 2005–2006 Steve Thompson 2006–2009 Russell Slade 2009 Steve Thompson 2009–2012 Terry Skiverton 2012– Gary Johnson

Chairmen

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

1923–25 E.J. Farr 1925–27 E.P. Wrinch 1927–29 W. Stanley Johnson 1929–31 W.J. Farthing 1931–33 Stanley H. Vincent 1933–36 George E. Fox 1936–38 Stanley Gates 1938–48 H.A. Smith 1948–62 W.H. Farthing

1962–66 S. Pinder 1966–69 G.E. Templeman 1969–71 S. Norman Burfield 1971–74 I.B. Rendall 1974–82 D.J. Hawker 1982–91 Gerry A. Lock 1991–96 Bryan W. Moore 1996– John Fry

Honours

Football League One

• Play-off final runners-up: 2006–07

Football League Two

• Winners: 2004–05

Football Conference

• Winners: 2002–03
• Runners-up: 2000–01

FA Trophy

• Winners: 2002

Isthmian League

• Winners: 1987–88, 1996–97
• Runners-up: 1985–86, 1986–87

Southern League

• Winners: 1954–55, 1963–64, 1970–71
• Runners-up: 1969–70, 1972–73, 1975–76

Southern League Western Division

• Winners: 1923–24, 1931–32, 1934–35

Western League

• Winners: 1921–22, 1924–25, 1929–30, 1934–35
• Runners-up: 1930–31, 1931–32, 1937–38, 1938–39

Somerset Professional Cup

• 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
• Runners-up: 2010–11

Club records

• Most Overall Appearances: Len Harris, 691 (1958–72)
• Most Goals: Johnny Hayward, 548 (1906–28)
• Most League Goals: Dave Taylor, 285 (1960–9)
• Record Attendance Football League & (new 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: 5th League 1, 2006/07 season
• Highest Transfer fee received: £1,200,000 Arron Davies and Chris Cohen, Nottingham Forest, July 2007
• Highest transfer fee paid: £250,000 Pablo Bastianini, Quilmes Atlético Club, August 2005
• Highest Victory in the Football League: 6–1 v Oxford United, 16 September 2004
• Heaviest Defeat in the Football League: 5–0 v Brighton & Hove Albion, 14 March 2009

External links

Official websites

• Official website
• Yeovil Town at The Football League official website

News sites

• Yeovil on BBC Sport: Club News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club stats
• Yeovil Town news from Sky Sports