September 2024

September 2024
During the month of September, Yeovil Town F.C played 4 League matches, 1 Europa League matches and 1 EFL Cup match.

Premier League: MD4
"Quite a heated match, this one! We have 2 of their academy players in our team in Reece Oxford and now Declan Rice and I think that made it quite emotional. They were tough for us to break down but we got the eventual breakthrough with an attack down the left.

Their goal was frustrating as we played well enough for the clean sheet. But Ruben Blanco rushed out to quickly to claim the corner and they managed to fumble it in. It's disappointing but we'll work hard to prevent this from happening in the future by getting our aerially dominant players to attack the crosses sooner. Ruben isn't the most physical of keepers so he does need additional protection. He always has done.

Finally, a very well earned EPL POTM award for Mark James for August. He has thrived on the right and his goal today was a nice reward for his hard work!"

Premier League: MD5
"Wolves have lost some key players this season and you have to feel bad for them. They look like they're going through a similar spell that we did last season where things just don't work out for you. They've yet to score a single goal in 5 games. Combined with the fact that so far, we have the best defence and we're full of confidence, this was always going to be a bit of a one-sided affair.

We started with Rhian Brewster as it was a good opportunity for Rhian to prove what he can do against a team who have built their recent success on the back of counter-attacking with a 5-man defence. Tactically, Pellegri would be better suited for the game as we could have made use of his physicality rather than force runs in behind. But it's good to mix things up and challenge the players from time to time!"

Europa League Group Stage: MD1
"That was tougher than I anticipated! They were really solid in defence and limited us to 5 shots. Sure, it wasn't our main eleven, but we should be breaking them down much better.

Their goal was a sucker punch and the consequence of playing a 17-year old. Jay Lewis went to ground and missed his tackle. The one-two was enough for them to exploit the space he had vacated and resulted in a free cross to pick out anyone he wanted. Thankfully, it didn't cost us. Lynch Sanchez scored a brilliant bicycle kick to put us ahead when we needed it most. The 3-points were needed against the lowest-ranked team in the group so we can now focus on masterminding victory again Stuttgart and Rangers.

We play Manchester City in 2 days. That game is going to be huge. We need to get revenge for last season as well as using this as a measure of our progress this season. Pietro Pellegri will start the game. He will be coming up against some of the best defenders in the world. If he can do it against them, he can do it against anyone."

Premier League: MD6
"What a game! We focused on playing out from the back to try and draw them up the field before hitting them with the pace of our wingers. All of the goals came from the counter too which is a little unusual for us. Defensively, we were under it for the entire game. 21 shots to our ten. I can only credit the defensive unit for holding out for so long. We were so close to a clean sheet but it was a well-worked move that caught us off-guard for their goal.

With three of the top 6 played in six games already, with Arsenal coming up next weekend, we only have Spurs and Liverpool between now and the end of the season to worry about. That's a lot of games played that could derail a season. We just need to make sure we keep our standards high for when we play everyone else in the league."

English Football League Cup: Round 3
"Classic "cup-set" right? Frankly, we didn't look like scoring at all. But the game was ended over those 10-minutes. Otherwise, we had control and had more than enough chances to take the lead.

We tried our variation of the 4-3-3 we have been playing, though it's closer to 3-2-2-3. It's still unfamiliar to us and it was harder for us given such a tactical burden to players who aren't used to such tactics. We learned a lot and for sure, we will try it again when we play Arsenal in the last game of the month.

Credit to Gillingham. They pressed us well and defended with everything they had. They deserved the win on the night. I hope they go the distance."

Premier League: MD7
"I have a really good feeling about this season. After beating all of the top teams, quite comfortably, it leaves it in our hands to beat the rest of the teams in the league.

Our set-up worked a lot better for us today. As we load the middle of the field with so many players, it leaves our wingers with so much space that it's really no wonder that they're both dominating the charts. 5 goals for Hudson-Odoi and 7 assists for James, who has an assist per game ratio at the moment. I think they'll get plenty more too! Pietro Pellegri has scored in every game he has played too! He picked up a little knock towards the end of the game, but he'll probably be fine for our next league game."

YeoLaTengo Monthly Review
An almost perfect month only stained by the result in the EFL Cup!

In the first 7 games, we have already equalled the same number of clean sheets (3) as we managed over the entirety of last season! With four goals conceded, we have the joint best defence next to Chelsea. This is a staggering difference compared to the last two seasons and is reflective of the impact of Declan Rice in the middle of the team.

Speaking of huge impacts, Pietro Pellegri played in each of the league games this month and scored in every match. He looks like an instinctual Striker who only needs one half-chance per game to get a goal. It'll be exciting to see whether he can carry this form until the end of December to at least equal the output of our former Striker, Steve Mounie.

Speaking of whom, he makes the trip back to Huish Park in our first league game of October! Most fans have no ill feelings towards him so it will be interesting whether that might change should he get on the scoresheet! Our Europa League campaign kicked-off this month and we're sitting top of the group at the moment! It was a tough game in the end, but we've taken 3-points against the team we needed to beat. With Stuttgart coming up next, we'll be able to measure ourselves against one of the favourites to qualify.

YeoLaTengo Player of the Month
It has to be Pietro Pellegri. Coming into the team late, he needed a few weeks before he was ready. But over October, he scored in every game he has played! Only 23-years old, the future is looking bright for this brilliant Italian!

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