Yeovil to appoint ex-Plymouth, Grimsby, Hull, Oxford, Torquay, Northampton player

Yeovil Town are getting set to appoint ex-Plymouth, Grimsby, Hull, Oxford, Torquay, Northampton player Chris Hargreaves as their new manager.

The 50 year old was most recently an academy manager at Bristol Rovers, but is now going to be in the dugout at Huish Park, according to Somerset Live.

It’s claimed that he is the preferred choice and has beaten “40 or 50 applications” to the job role and should be confirmed in the next 24 hours following the exit of interim boss Charlie Lee.

All the very best to Chris #utg 🔵⚪👏https://t.co/WVdIiAMk51

— Bristol Rovers Live (@BristolLiveBRFC) May 16, 2022

It will be Hargreaves’ first permanent managerial role since being in charge of Torquay United between 2014 and 2015, but left having won 27 of the 74 games he managed, drew 14 and lost 33 with a win % of 36.5.

In September 2016, he was appointed under-21 coach at Bristol Rovers, before leaving his role by mutual consent in February 2022 having seen a number of his Development Squad players progress into the first team picture including the likes of Alfie Kilgour, Luca Hoole and Jed Ward.

Yeovil confirmed on Friday that Charlie Lee would be departing the Glovers after eight games in charge, being appointed on a temporary basis having seen Darren Sarll leave for Woking at the end of March.

Under Lee, the Glovers won once, drew five and lost two games in the National League with midfielder Josh Staunton taking charge of Sunday’s season finale versus Altrincham with Yeovil winning 1-0 to finish the campaign 12th in the table, with fans still holding protests against the ownership.

Also more recently, many will have seen incoming boss Chris Hargreaves as an analyst for BT Sport in their coverage of the National League, and is a columnist for the Non League Paper.

Jamie McAllister, who has been Lee Johnson’s assistant at Bristol City and Sunderland, was the fans favourite to take charge with 58 % of the vote in a recent poll by Gloverscast. But he’s likely to go to Hibernian with Johnson instead.

HARGREAVES’ PLAYING CAREER:

1989–1993 – Grimsby Town – 51 games (5 goals)
1993 → Scarborough (loan) – 3 games (0 goals)
1993–1995 – Hull City – 49 games (0 goals)
1995–1996 – West Bromwich Albion – 1 game (0 goals)
1996 → Hereford United (loan) – 17 games (2 goals)
1996–1998 – Hereford United – 82 games (8 goals)
1998–2000 – Plymouth Argyle – 76 games (5 goals)
2000–2004 – Northampton Town – 151 games (6 goals)
2004–2005 – Brentford – 30 games (2 goals)
2005–2007 – Oxford United – 73 games (6 goals)
2007–2010 – Torquay United – 105 games (10 goals)
2010 – Oxford United – 11 games (0 goals)
Total – 646 games (43 goals)

Fans reacted with Yeovil to appoint the ex-Plymouth, Grimsby, Hull, Oxford, Torquay, Northampton player…

@AndrewFoot84: I remember saying ‘who?’ when Gary Johnson got the job. I was disappointed when Darren Sarll took charge, too. Yet they went on to be two of the best I’ve seen. Give people a chance, back them and judge them on what they do/don’t do. #ytfc

@HgEaton: Can’t say I’m overly enamoured or keen on this appointment, IF it’s true, but I guess time will tell

@Jozzariou: Whoever is the next manager is going to have a hard time following Sarll. I’m not talking results wise or even performance wise, but DS was a personality and was very popular. Went out of his way to help others whilst getting no help for himself. Man is brilliant. Having said that, Charlie Lee did a good job in a bad situation. No experience, no chance to bring in fresh legs, no real support from higher ups. Letting him go is a mistake, even if he were kept as a coach he’d be an asset. Getting rid of Charlie Lee BEFORE the final game of the season was an utterly perplexing and idiotic decision by SP. Yes he has a new manager coming in, but keep the interim until then and not rely on a 26yr old player to do it instead. And why didn’t you just announce the new manager already, let them take charge of the last game and give them a chance to see what we have and what he wants to keep? What is the point in him starting after when they’re all free to go off and not come back?! SP really is strange. Can talk a good talk but yet to see anything productive come from him. Selling the land is a ridiculous idea, not keeping the fans informed during an apparent takeover which he gave a week to complete and didn’t say anything for months, is laughable. The club is in turmoil. This is a very big summer ahead. Probably even bigger than the 2019 summer when DS first took charge. I genuinely hope we get a good manager in, which is as hands on and involved as DS was. Someone also with managerial experience. I am extremely worried about the state of the first team come the start of the season. If we don’t have Smith, Wilko, Staunts, Wakefield, Knowles and Worthy as our main spine, we’ll be a lot worse off. Especially Staunts. That man is something else. What a role model he is. To go from having a serious injury and be out for the majority of last season, to be given only a 20% chance of playing again as well as the other stuff that happened last season, and today took charge of the club?! What a brilliant man. He cannot leave. Some positives I do have however, are @SheridanRobins on @bbcsomerset. She’s been utterly fantastic all season and has been a joy to listen to when I can’t make it. Also big praise goes to @gloverscast, keeping me updated and entertained all season. Well done all. Yes I may moan and whine about football and my club. But I live and die a Yeovil Town fan. They are my club and that’ll never change. The players, managers, owners and other people come and go, but the fans are a constant. We are the heartbeat of the club. Of course I’ll be back next season. I cannot wait to do it all again, even if it turns out to be worse than before. I am green and white, through and through. Also, @AlexBrianWhite
, you keep driving, I’ll keep going.