YeoLaTengo Season Review: 2021–22

Season Summary
Wasn't that a wild ride?! A season with so many highs, lows, success and edge of the seat drama... but we hung in there after a little scare.

Coming up from the Championship and establishing yourself as a Premier League side is a notoriously hard battle that many teams fail to achieve. Surviving this season has been one of the biggest accomplishments in the history of this great club. And with success of Premier League survival means a cash injection from the league which allows us to strengthen and cement ourselves ready for next year.

But getting to this point was a long road. We have our early season form to thank for the most part, as we only picked up 6 victories post-December. The fixtures piled up and with success in both the cups, we sustained a lot of injuries which derailed the team and at once point resulted in the emergency promotion of an academy player. It got pretty rough and there is a huge lesson to be learned here - if we're serious about becoming an established Premier League side, we will need more depth to better manage the highly competitive fixtures that come quickly through the weeks.

Premier League survival aside... Let's touch base on how Yeovil Town are about to enter European football for the first time in their history? In lifting the Carabao Cup (which officially becomes the EFL Cup next season) we are entered into the qualification stages of the Europa League for 2022-23! There is a lot of work to be done, but all we need to do is best a couple of teams and we are entered into the draw for the group stages! It will be interesting to see how that plays out, but with Daley Blind officially joining the team, we will have in our ranks a European winner who has lifting the trophy before, so the squad can draw from his experience!

In respect of our players, I think it is fair to say that some of them struggled to adjust to the pace of the Premier League. Some of them are clearly born to play at this level, but taking that step up is not always possible and it's fair to assume that some of them might be looking to secure playing time at other clubs in the summer.

All of the new signings have been a huge success! S. Mounie leads the line and scored vital goals in keeping the club in the league. L. Benkovic had a very slow start to life, but once he returned from his long-term injury, returned a new player and injected life into the team and picked himself up 8 Premier League goals. R. Oxford really started to establish himself as a player who was 'one to watch' to a special player that can have a huge impact at this level. Floating between CB, RB but mostly DM, he displayed the flexibility to play where he was needed and was able to excel at those roles. B. Renneke provided cover and depth to RB and January arrival, D. Yearwood, has quickly taken the league by storm and is being touted as a potential England International after moving up from League 1 for just £5,000,000!

So who makes the YeoLaTengo Team of the Year? It was very tough to call. But we got there in the end!

Defence of the Year
GK: F. Schram RB: T. James RCB: O. Sowunmi LCB: M. Degerlund LB: A. Bell
 * So I think if we are being perfectly fair, Frederik is one of the players who struggled to adapt to this league. The plan was for this to be his redshirt year as an understudy to Ben Foster so he can get ready for this level without being in the spotlight. But age hadn't been kind to Foster and after a series of poor performances, it was clear that his time at this level was up, with him announcing his plans to retire at the end of the season soon following. What becomes of Schram remains to be seen, but as he has been at the club for almost 5-years now and reaching his peak years, hopefully, he sticks around!
 * Tom had a decent season, though he never particularly stood out. He was quite offensively and didn't have too much trouble in defence. He has competition lined up for next season however and the two will hopefully push each other to become better players. Tom has age on his side so his future at the club should be pretty secure!
 * This was a tough year for Omar. Our Captain was forced to miss most of the first half of the season and this made it tougher for him to get up to speed once he was fit. He made an impact when he returned and although he wasn't able to stop us leaking goals every week, he brought stability to the defence and was a key figure to some of our more impressive results against the top teams!
 * No one made more appearances this year than Marcus. That level of reliability is huge and it was good that we could always count on him. He is another who had struggled at times, but he always gave everything and I think we can count on him again next year to continue our Premier League career!
 * Much like James, Bell had a very quiet year. No real mistakes, no real attacking threat. But he was always in place to help the winger cause the damage and for both of them, this was important for our attack. We scored the most goals in the league and our wingers all had fruitful statistics. They have Bell and James to thank for enabling them to create those chances!

Midfield of the Year
DM: R. Oxford RCM: M. Reuvers LCM: L. Sorensen
 * It was tough to decide where to fit Reece into this team. When Omar was recovering, he was our RCB. Then he became our go-to DM ahead of O. Fane and then moved out to RB once T. James picked up an injury. It will be interesting to see if he makes one position his own next year, but he seems to enjoy his football and that's all that matters!
 * Marwin had a peculiar season. He was a key figure but didn't really stand out as the player we've seen him grow into. His game evolved and he became an engine that allowed everyone else to thrive. He did pick himself up 5 goals and 7 assists, but this was in no way helped by his 3-month injury in February. He was missed and the team suffered as a result. Next year he can hopefully remain injury free and we can see him take further steps in his development!
 * Lasse is made for this level. You can see it in the way he strolls around the pitch. He is our best passer and his passing is a weapon that we desperately missed over his combined 4-months out injured. It is a shame that he only made 21 appearances in the League, but hopefully, that keeps the bigger teams of his trail for another year!

Forwards of the Year
RW: D. Osei Yaw ST: S. Mounie LW: L. Benkovic
 * Woah. I mean, we all knew he was a fantastic talent. But to end the season as the best Assiter in the Premier League at the first hurdle is something special. I think there is going to be a very real struggle for the club to keep a hold of him after those 17 assists. We hope he stays but some players are just destined for bigger things. Derick is one of those players.
 * This man is a walking battering ram. He never really set the world on fire at Huddersfield, but he was never really trusted to be their main man. Sascha Krause brought him in, told him he was going to be the main Striker, and kept him in the team at all costs. Ending the season as the third highest scorer in the league, it obviously paid off. We struggled to cover his absence during his injury, but thankfully he returned at the end and looked just as sharp as ever!
 * This was a tough one to call. For the most part of the season, LW was played by R. Browne and C. Duffus but both players struggled to really match half the output of Osei on the right. And at the time, Lovre was playing backup to Osei Yaw himself. But in the second half of the season, Benkovic found himself as a starter and suddenly, our wings became a two-pronged spear. Osei became the provider, while Benkovic provided the attacking flair to both provide and attack. He could seriously turn out to be one of the great Premier League players of his generation if he keeps up this form. That £3,000,000 looks like a steal now!

The Cesar Vinicio Pereira Junior MVP Award

 * Derick Osei Yaw

YeoLaTengo Player of the Year

 * Steve Mounie

English Premier League Awards

 * Team of the Season: D. Osei Yaw

Terry Williams: Rising Star

 * Callum Davis

Next Season Preview
In a perfect world, the next step is all about building on the success of this season and climbing the table. If we were able to finish anywhere between 7th and 12th, that would be a huge season for the club! If we are able to enjoy some more cup runs, even better!

Some new players have agreed to join already, some are leaving once their contracts expire, and it is basically confirmed that this could be one of our busiest transfer windows yet, especially from a depth perspective. Some faces will be seeking new clubs, some will be going out on loan. But the core of the team, you would imagine, will remain the same.

But one thing needs to be addressed and that's our defence. We conceded 89 goals this year. 89. We persisted with the 4-3-3 as we also scored the most goals with 75! Which in itself is just an insane record to have. It was the right call to make in the end, sticking with the setup that scored us loads of goals. But that just won't stick next season and if we were being realistic, we should aim to not concede more than 50, which is the around the average for where we want to be. With the incoming players, they're going to make a big impact and that is going to help us out a lot.

It's going to be long, fun, full of drama and probably going to have some surprises. We can't wait! See you there!

2021-22 World Overview
The Emirates FA Cup Carabao Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
 * West Ham (v. Nottingham Forest)
 * Yeovil Town (v. Crystal Palace)
 * Manchester City (v. Liverpool)


 * AC Milan (v. Club Brugge)