August 2024

August 2024
During the month of August, Yeovil Town F.C played 3 League matches, 2 Europa League Qualifiers and 1 EFL Cup fixture.

Premier League: MD1
"The exact sort of marker we needed. Going to Old Trafford and being strong and deadly for the majority of the game. Two great counter goals for the first two, almost identical assists from Mark James. This is exactly why I have brought him into the first team this season. His pace is scary and it's by using it today that he was able to set-up two crosses across goal—there's no chance their defenders were going to get back into shape on time! Untimely injury for Antonee Robinson but we hope he'll be back by the beginning of next month.

On Steve Mounie. We received a surprising bid from Newcastle United last week for the Striker. We let him know about the offer and it was really up to him. In the end, he fancied returning back home to his estate in the North to be closer to his family. He has been a huge player for us and has been the driving force behind our survival in the Premier League. £29,000,000 for one of the best statistical players in the league who's approaching 30-years old isn't bad business either. It will be great to come up against him later in the season!

On the side of the coin, we decided we needed to bring in a replacement. We like Rhian Brewster, but he's not there yet in terms of being the leading Striker for us for a whole campaign. Enter stage left: Pietro Pellegri. Once tipped for stardom, his career has been blighted by injuries. Last season at Wolfsburg, he stayed fit and played well and was on our radar as a potential player to bring in. Only 23-years old, the 6' 3" Italian is the perfect replacement for Mounie and we managed to snap him up for just £12,800,000! He didn't play today, and will likely miss Chelsea whilst we get him up to speed. But there's certainly a realistic chance that he will feature in our Europa League qualifiers for this month before seeing how he settles thereafter! "

Premier League: MD2
"One-nil. It has been a while! That was a professional performance and just what we have been working towards this season. We kept 60% possession, close the game out over the last 10-minutes and created a number of decent chances for ourselves. Unfortunately for them, Callum Hudson-Odoi returned to haunt them. Pity Lovre Benkovic was injured as I am sure he would have loved to of returned to Huish Park today.

Now we start our qualifiers for Europe. Pietro Pellegri will get his first start for us in a game he should find comfortable but not without its pressure. I am sure he will have a good game."

Europa League Qualifier: First Leg
IFK Norrkoping Post-match Interview

"Welcome, Pietro Pellegri! What a what to endure yourselves to the fans than netting a hattrick on your debut! This was the perfect match to get his first start and boy did it pay off. He was clean through on goal and should have scored with his first shot on target, but his namesake Pietro Maronilli had other ideas. I am just glad he scored his penalty as we've not scored in 3 out of the last 4!

Another solid performance from the team, though I felt we struggled to control the game for the majority of the first half. But taking a 3-0 lead back to Huish Park is ideal, though, after last season, it's not something I intend to count on until it's over the line!"

Premier League: MD3
"Tough game, but then again, I don't know why we're playing with 1-day rest after travelling to Sweden. Not only that but we only have 2 days rest before we play Oxford and then 1-day rest before the reverse fixture! It's a crazy amount of football. Not helped by the fact that Mats Hummels broke his toe and will miss a few months now. I realise fans will be calling for us to make another signing, but this is why we kept Jay Lewis around. Promoted last season along with Christiaan Bakker, they are only kids, but they have exceptional talent. If I didn't believe they could help us achieve our goals yet, then they would be out on loan. We'll be alright. Besides, this is an opportunity for Callum Davis to step into the first team again. Last season was a write-off for most. A fresh start and he has already helped us to a clean-sheet in Europe. We have plenty of kids who have yet to secure moves away available too, so we'll be fine for depth.

Leicester was tough and as always gave us a hard time. But it was a brilliant winner by Josh Sims to pick up his first goal for the club. I have a feeling it won't be the last goal he'll get from the bench this season!"

EFL Cup: Round 2
"That was a close call. It was tough because we fielded a team of inexperienced players and mixed quality. For example, this was Gonzalo Rescaldani's first game for us and he struggled. Elliot Carter struggled to impose himself from the wing and Tom James lacked fitness to keep getting up and down their flank. In the end, it was only through the quality Sigurdsson that was pulled it back—grabbing himself a goal and an assist. Sims this time turning provider as Siggy scored the winner. He doesn't score many goals for us, let alone headers, so it was nice to see!

We have a trip to Gillingham in the next round which should be fun. We need to be a lot better for that fixture as we don't even have the Home advantage. Now we have 2-days rest before playing IFK Norrkoping once again. I will try to do my best with the line-up but with West Ham United just 2-days after, I want a fresh a squad as possible. It will be a case of us trying to end this tie in the first half and then resting key players."

Europa League Qualifier: Second Leg
IFK Norrkoping Post-match Interview

"This game was ours completely until we got hit with the injuries. Yearwood had only been on the pitch for 10-minutes and now he's looking like he'll most the remainder of the year. Whilst Ward-Prowse is likely to miss around 2-months after tweaking his hamstring. Thankfully Robinson is back in training, but with Hummels sidelined too, it leaves us thin in key positions.

I have to admit, tonight I was very impressed with Jay Lewis. Partnering Omar Sowunmi, the two were very imposing and didn't look like getting beaten. I don't really blame anyone for the goals as it was a reaction to the injured players. I feel a lot better about Hummels' injury seeing how Lewis looks ready to fight for his place in the team. Only 17-years old too. I can't wait to see him strut his stuff in more tournament games!"

YeoLaTengo Monthly Review
What a hurricane of a month to start the season! Big games, big results and lots of drama and it's only August.

In the league, we got off to a 100% start after beating two giants of the league (and Leicester). To come away having only conceded two is a huge improvement for us! It was a similar story in Europe too as we reach the group stage of the Europa League for a third successive season! The games were more than comfortable and a good representation of our improved game management. We didn't concede a single goal 10-minutes before the end of the half for the entire month!

There was some transfer activity with a surprise move for Steve Mounie returning to the north of England. But his direct replacement, Pietro Pellegri, looks more than ready to carry the torch as our leading Striker. Unfortunately, we got hit hard with injuries. To the point where it's pushing our thin squad to the limits already and more game time for players who were set to take a secondary role this season. Hopefully, these will ease up.

But we're top of the league and on set for another great start to the season. What will be interesting is whether we can maintain our standards. Speaking of setting standards, former Yeovil winger Derick Osei Yaw has set the league alight! After being promoted last season alongside former Yeovil teammate Amari'i Bell, he currently sits top of the goalscorers charts with 4-goals in 3 games. His sale was a surprise to most people last year and he's certainly someone we could benefit from having at the moment, but it's good to see him thriving as the main man in an exciting Brighton team!

Finally, having qualified for the group stage, we are in Group J for this seasons Europa League! An exciting group! Stuttgart presents a chance for our German manager to visit home, while Rangers allows us to venture North of the border and into the passionate den of the Ibrox Stadium!

YeoLaTengo Player of the Month
Plenty of players deserve acknowledgement for their months of August. Hudson-Odoi hit the ground running in the league, Pietro Pellegri scoring 4 goals in 135-minutes of football, Rice for bossing the midfield and netting on his debut. But the unsung hero for the month is Mark James. The Striker-turned-Winger has had an impressive month down the right flank and bagged himself 4 assists in three games! With the move allowing Ward-Prowse to shift into a central role (or RB going off the last game), he has changed the dynamics of the attack whilst helping to maintain what we already had in place with Ward-Prowse. Once he can add a few more goals to his game, he'll become a well-rounded weapon!

League Table Preview
A snapshot of Yeovil Town in the Premier League, with the teams in close proximity.