2005/2006 Season Preview - Yeovil Town

Yeovil: Zomerzet. Home: Huish Park 9,400 (5,212 seated) Nickname: The Glovers: Hate: Bristol Rovers/City, Torquay and Weymouth. Last Meeting: 1st Jan 2005 L2 Yeovil Town H L 0-2 I'm not going to bore you with all the 'most famous non-league club' bollocks, as they aren't non-league anymore, and I'm not going to bore you with a list of all their FA Cup giant killings as: a) I can't be arsed to find anywhere that lists them, and b) I can't be arsed to find anywhere that lists them. They probably beat Arsenal or Liverpool at some stage in their history - most teams do. Instead, I'm going to bore you with the following... One of only 5 clubs in League 1 who have a terraced away section, it will no doubt be a popular trip with Swans fans again this season seeking the thrill of legally standing up to watch Gueret slice yet another goal-kick into the stand. Be warned though, Huish Park is a barren playing field for the Swans - we have never ever in our entire history so much as scored a goal, let alone won a game there EVER… cough only cough played there twice cough . Back in the 1998/99 season, two men currently on the staff at the Ve...White Rock, took part in one of the best comedy goals seen for awhile. During the FA Cup tie between Yeovil and the Basseys, Yeovil goalie Pennock, as goalkeepers do, decided to roll the ball out in order to kick it up field, as you do. Unfortunately for Pennock, he didn't factor in Cardiff legend Kevin Nugent's lighting pace, agility and quick thinking (is that right?), and whilst lost in an Alan Tate-style reverie, pondering which blade of grass to drop the ball onto, Pennock looked on in horror as Nugent snook in, took the ball off him and stuck it in the back of the net. Nugent's goal had it's place in football folklore enshrined when it was shown on the 'What Happened Next?' section of A Question Of Sport'. At the time of their promotion to the League in 2003, Yeovil were one of only two of the current 92 league clubs that the mighty Swans had never beaten, the other being Everton. Given the respective positions of the two it was always likely to be the green-hooped heroes from Yeovil that would be crossed off the list first. To be fair, at the time, we hadn't actually played a competitive game against Yeovil in our history so it wasn't as if they were our bogey team, it's like saying we've never lost to FC Barcelona - true, but bollocks at the same time. Our first game against them was the away game in September 2003 that saw us lose 2-0 and witness delightful celebrations from head-slapping scummer Gavin Williams. The historic game that ended our life-long wait for a victory over Yeovil took place on the 23rd December 2003 in front of a bumper Xmas crowd at the Whi...The Vetch, and saw Yeovil come back from a 2-0 deficit to equalise late in the game with goals from lovely young chaps Williams and Gall. The script was already written for Lee Trundle though, and an injury time winner sent the Vetch into delirium and kept alive the Swans faint hopes of promotion. Bring on the Everton… As mentioned earlier, head-slapping cheeky rat-boy Gavin Williams joined West Ham reserves last season in a £250,000 deal. The Hammers gaining promotion to the Premiership has done his chances of first-team football little good, but made his chances of a first welsh cap more likely. Speaking to the press after the recent Yeovil Vs West Ham friendly, Williams, in response to a question about welsh honours, was quoted as saying: "Yes, hopefully! I think Wales have a game in August so it would be nice to be involved in that and get my first cap under my belt". Mmmm, the game he is referring to is obviously the Wales Vs Slovenia game at the recently renamed 'As New, Used Only Once, FSH, Stadium' in Swansea. I'm sure you'll get a lovely reception if you start slapping your head again Gav (something you are unable to resist in front of Swans fans). As for player signings, midfielder Nathan Jones has signed on a free from Brighton, Peter Crouch-style lanky giant Luke Oliver has arrived from Woking, midfielder David Poole moved from Man Utd after they disbanded some of their many reserve sides, and finally, 20-year-old Brentford forward Matt Harold has added more options to the clubs forward line. Johnson has also been impressed by the displays of Argentinean trialist Pablo Bastianini, and is tying to reach an agreement on a contract with his agent, although the club face competition from German and Portuguese clubs ('like we care?' I hear you say…) What can we expect from the Glovers this season then? There'll no doubt some annoyance and head-slapping from Kevin Gall, lots of goals from Jevons, some 'f k-me! which circus did they find him in?' comments about Luke Oliver, about 45 'Gary Johnson has been linked with the vacant manager job at <>' headlines, as well as lots of high-scoring games and an FA Cup upset thrown in for old times. They will finish: Higher than you think

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