Yeovil Town fans demand answers over new ‘stewardship’ of their club as manager Mark Cooper has his say on the ongoing situation.
Mark Cooper says Yeovil needs to get “back up on its feet” after the club was placed under the new stewardship of SU Glovers.
According to Companies House, SU Glovers was established by Julie-Ann Uggla and Matthew Uggla.
The latter, along with ex-England rugby union player Paul Sackey, was present at Huish Park on Tuesday for Yeovil’s draw with Altrincham. Sackey is also believed to bee involved in the new venture.
The National League chairman, Scott Priestnall, took over in 2019, but his tenure has been mostly controversial, stating that the club entered into a period of exclusivity with a preferred shareholder to make it a majority shareholder in December as he was looking to sell.
Yeovil dropped down to the fifth tier after 16 years of participation in the English Football League, but are currently 19th in the top tier of non league and looking over their shoulders at the teams below them.
However, there are still a lot of questions about what stewardship means for the club’s ownership and long-term stability.
“That’s the most important one, to get this club back on its feet and give it a little bit of love and care that it deserves because it’s been run down for a long time,” manager Mark Cooper told BBC Radio Somerset.
“Then it’s to recapture the enthusiasm of the fans because this place can be a fortress.”
🎙 The boss’ post-match view.#YTFC đź’š pic.twitter.com/uhKFsgyhLy
— Yeovil Town F.C. (@YTFC) February 28, 2023
❄️ Ice cold. @jmaguiredrew | #YTFC 💚 pic.twitter.com/C9Ja1wb4fg
— Yeovil Town F.C. (@YTFC) March 1, 2023
🎙 Manager Mark Cooper talks to @bbcsomerset after Jordan Maguire-Drew’s second-half penalty rescued a point for Yeovil in a 1-1 draw against 10-man Altrincham.
Earlier SU Glovers announced that they have “taken on the stewardship of Yeovil Town Football & Athletic Club Ltd…” pic.twitter.com/Ae77PHnjvR
— BBC Sport Bristol (@bbcbristolsport) February 28, 2023
SU Glovers & Yeovil Town Statement
SU Glovers are thrilled to announce that we have taken on the stewardship of Yeovil Town Football & Athletic Club Ltd and we are committed to working with the community to build a successful and thriving club. We recognise that there have been historical tensions and issues, and we aim to work together with the community to address and fix those issues.
Our vision for Yeovil Town is to create a club that is not only successful on the field, but also plays an integral role in the community. We believe that football has the power to bring people together and create positive change, and we are committed to making a positive impact in the Yeovil community.
We understand that building trust and positive relationships takes time, and we are committed to being patient and persistent in our efforts. We are looking forward to working with the community and our fans to achieve our shared goals. We hope that you will join us on this journey.
Thank you for your support and we can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.
– STATEMENT ENDS –
Ben Barrett, presenter of the Gloverscast podcast, said to BBC Radio Somerset: “People are hanging on that word stewardship and whether it means there is a physical handing over of the deeds to the company.
“I think the overriding feeling is a cautious optimism because it’s not just the long-term stuff we need to sort out it’s the here and now.
“We need to get out of trouble at the bottom of the table but if SU Glovers can start to do some of the things that they talk about in their statement, working with the community – we have a wonderful community sports trust that just needs the freedom to go and make stuff happen.”
As mentioned, Yeovil fans demand answers over the new ‘stewardship’ of club as manager Mark Cooper has his say, this is what is being said…
@JohnAOakes: Plenty of questions to be answered. But let’s hope for some positives – investment; actual running of a football club maybe…Reserving judgment.
@samuel_birch: This is very vague. Who are the people behind SU Glovers? What is the stewardship? Does Scott still own the club and you are managing it on his behalf? Have you taken any control of the stadium and surrounding land? For me this creates more questions than answers
@Ytfc_heritage: Congratulations and look forward to having a relationship and working on some plans together
@CL_908: Not keen on the vague wording of this statement. But room for very cautious optimism – maybe!
@eddie494: A tentative “welcome to Yeovil” from me. We’ve been battered and gaslit for so long, we have no clue as to who to trust any more, but hopefully looking forward to much better times ahead!
@Dextertyson51: Welcome and please release funds straight away for MC to find some decent players so we have a chance to stay up.💚🎉
@TherealStevieP: Far from excited about this statement. Deliberately vague. More owners that won’t have the clubs best interest at heart. The land around us is and will continue to be the curse for our club. This is far from over
@tdwbi95: Complete lack of transparency from the get-go. Not a good sign.
@chrisgiddings86: Please somebody get these people some basic PR. No idea who or what this group is, no mention of more info to come. This should be good news but gives more questions than answers. Massive opportunity to get fans back on side here!
@RoliePolie_Olly: This is not positive in the slightest. Who are SU Gloves. Obviously Scott still owns the club they do a very good job of avoiding all mention of owning the club. Murky and dangerous
@TomGreen91: I can’t be the only person thinking “what the fuck does this actually mean?” The most vague announcement with lots of questions and zero answers! Building trust with supporters comes with honest and transparent communication, now would be a great time to start… who are you?
@AlexBrianWhite: Don’t want to piss on anyone’s bonfire, but this feels deliberately vague, hell they don’t even attach their names to it. We should all want, demand even, a lot more than this before we are won over. #ytfc
@RotundC: What? Who? Fancy releasing a statement that tells the fans nothing and talks about working together. FFS, not a good start. Cue fans desperately googling and getting very confused.
@Martyn_Lucas: Gonna need more info than that before I decide if it’s good news
@MikeH88: Hoping for the best. Hoping this is good news (we need it). But questions to be answered. Mainly who, what, and how. Hopefully more info to come. Hope their first move is to reach out to supporter groups. And btw @scottpriestnall & @Southsomersetdc this isn’t the end. #YTFC
This is fantastic news. Look forward to listening and hopefully learning more. I understand people will have apprehensions due to our past learnings, and rightly so, but worth sitting tight one more day rather than guesswork. #ytfc 💚🧤 https://t.co/BeE0vM4qCt
— elliot watts (@ytfcwattsy) March 1, 2023
You must be logged in to post a comment Login