Ground Huish Park Executive chairman John Fry League EFL League Two Nickname(s) The Glovers Capacity 9,565 (5,212 seated) | Ground Capacity 9,565 (5,212 seated) 2015–16 League Two, 19th Arena/Stadium Huish Park Manager Darren Way Location Yeovil, United Kingdom | |
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Full name Yeovil Town Football Club Founded 1895; 122 years ago (1895) (as Yeovil Casuals) Profiles | ||
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.
Contents
- Non League football
- Reaching the Football League
- Rivals
- Current squad
- Out on loan
- Backroom staff
- Directors
- Chairmen
- Club records
- References
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. 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.
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.
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. The name reverted to Yeovil Town before the 1946–47 season.
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 .
Between 1955 and 1973 they were champions of the Southern Football League three times, and runners-up twice. 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 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. 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.
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.
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 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. 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. 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.
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.
Yeovil spent one season in the Championship before suffering an immediate relegation back to League One. 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.
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. 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.
In August 2009 Yeovil played Exeter City for the first time in the league. The game ended 1–1. Bournemouth could also be seen as current rivals due to their relatively close geographical proximity. Swindon Town are also strong rivals for geographical reasons.
Current squad
As of 8 March 2017.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Backroom staff
As of 31 January 2017.Directors
Chairmen
The following men have been chairman of the club's Board of Directors: