Thursday, 4 August 2011

SEASON PREVIEW # YEOVIL TOWN

Yeovil Town:

Ins: Gavin Williams (Bristol Rovers), Kieran Agard (Everton), Anthony Edgar (West Ham United), Dominic Blizzard (Bristol Rovers), Bondz N'gala (Plymouth Argyle), Steven MacLean (Plymouth Argyle), Curtis Haynes-Brown (Lowestoft FC), Max Ehmer (QPR Loan), Jed Steer (Norwich City Loan), Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle)

Outs: Andy Welsh (Carlisle United), Dean Bowditch (MK Dons), Nathan Smith (Chesterfield), Adam Virgo (Bristol Rovers), Martin Gritton (Stockport County), Alex Russell (Bath City), Sam Williams (Dagenham and Redbridge), Craig Alcock (Peterborough United)

After one of his busiest close seasons since he was appointed as Yeovil Town manager in February 2009, Terry Skiverton has assembled a squad that looks more than capable of holding its own in League One in the forthcoming 2011-12 campaign.

When the Glovers' squad regrouped for pre-season training with only a handful of contracted players, following the summer departures of players such as Andy Welsh, Dean Bowditch and Craig Alcock to name but a few.

However, since then Skiverton has since recruited a number of new faces to assemble a squad which is strong in a number of departments.

In goal, loan signing Jed Steer, who arrived at Huish Park from Norwich City, will be looking to emulate the form shown by previous loanee keepers Alex McCarthy and Stephen Henderson.

Skiverton has also boosted the number of defensive options available to him with the arrival of Bondz N'gala from Plymouth and the return of Max Ehmer from QPR on loan after a successful loan stint in the second half of last season.

Curtis Haynes-Brown, who was plucked from non-league side Lowestoft FC, will be doing battle with Player-Assistant Manager Nathan Jones for the left back spot.

In midfield, Gavin Williams has returned for his fourth spell with the Glovers after he was released by Bristol Rovers. Dominic Blizzard and Anthony Edgar will also be looking to stake their claims for a place in the centre of the park.

Up front, the voids left by the departure of leading scorer Dean Bowditch and the return of Jon Obika to his parent club, Tottenham Hotspur, look to have been filled by Kieran Agard, Steven MacLean and Rory Fallon.

The arrival of Agard from Everton created a stir after he was signed after Skiverton asked fans to recommend potential recruits to him via the social networking site Twitter. MacLean and Fallon both arrive from recently relegated Plymouth Argyle after a difficult season that saw them go without pay for long periods due to the Pilgrims' financial difficulties.

MacLean will be looking to return to the form he showed earlier in the career with Scunthorpe United and Sheffield Wednesday when he averaged almost a goal every other game.

In recent years, Yeovil have consistently defied their critics after being tipped for relegation in each of the last three seasons prior to the current one and they look more than capable of doing it again this time around.

Player to Watch: Gavin Williams

After Williams scored for Bristol Rovers against Yeovil, Terry Skiverton stated that his performance showed that he had been attracting the right loan players to the club after borrowing Williams on two occasions in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. Now, after spells away with West Ham, Ipswich and the two Bristol clubs, Williams is back at Huish Park for the second time and if Skiverton can get him performing to his full potential, the Glovers could make a serious impact in League One.