Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2013 15:53:03 GMT
Interesting to read about Wildebeeste being so impressed by the spectacle of our televised game against Yeovil.
If truth be told I could never warm to Yeovil and always suspected that, when they were doing their Billy Big Bollocks thing in their non-league days, that they were specifically after our place in the Football League. I've no proof of this, just a mental image of Yeovil fans watching Westward Diary, Spotlight or whatever (assuming they could pick up Plymouth TV rather than Bristol) and constantly moaning that "Torquay are bloody rubbish. That should be us in their place!" Moreover I had a secret fear that the buggers could be right.
Obviously we've discussed Yeovil in this place in the past. But, for Wildebeeste's benefit, a few points need be reiterated.
Firstly, Yeovil has been - and still is - a strong manufacturing town. Think Westlands, other aerospace businesses, agricultural implements and gloves. There's an argument which says it's fertile ground for football.
Secondly, Yeovil has a sound football tradition which is both historic and also more firmly-rooted than in nearby towns such as Taunton and Bridgwater (where, in each, rugby was more pre-eminent). Yeovil and Petters United - the current club's predecessor - had a parallel history to Torquay United in the 1920s as members of both the Western and Southern League. They then started the habit in the 1930s of beating Football League clubs in the FA Cup.
Thirdly, Yeovil have "history" in terms of achievement. But it's not quite as it seems. They were, for instance, never quite as successful in league competitions as many people thought (and actually dropped out of the Conference on occasions). Nor did they have an outstanding record in the FA Trophy; only winning it shortly before they reached the Football League. Instead Yeovil's forte, as every football-loving schoolboy in Chesterfield knew, was the FA Cup. They did that extremely well no matter how well they were doing in league competitions. This bought grandeur, pride, glory, relative fame and crowds.
Fourthly, the business of Yeovil's crowds which were often better than many clubs in the Football League. Torquay's, at their historic best, would have exceeded Yeovil's. But, during that long-period between ours shrinking in the early 1970s and Yeovil eventually joining the Football League, their crowds often appeared to compare favourably to ours unless we were playing particularly well and them particularly badly. I had a conversation the other day - it may even have been with Jon - and I was reminded of a couple of 8-9,000 crowds that Yeovil had for crucial games in the Isthmian League when they were endeavouring to return to the Conference.
Fifthly, it's a moot point about the extent of the rivalry between Torquay and Yeovil. Well, it was probably there in the 1920s when we regularly met in league games. Then I wonder if we knew too much about each other until the arrival of regional TV in the early 1960s (allowing, of course, for earlier regional sports reporting on the Home Service). We heard about their cup exploits; they more regularly heard about our league performances. For a man living in Chesterfield the distance between Torquay and Yeovil is too vast to suggest a local rivalry; for us it was always an unspoken possibility. We didn't play them for years until - as a Football League club - we met them in the FA Cup on a couple of occasions and duly put them in their place. Then, rather emphatically, they added us to their list of FA Cup victims in the early 1990s. That, as they say, was an accident waiting to happen.
All of which brings us to our victory at Huish Park early in Yeovil's first season in the Football League. We were well-supported that day and I've always felt that, in Keeganesque fashion, "we loved it. Absolutely loved it" when we gave them a bloody good stuffing on their home pitch. Take that, you upstarts! And, as Wildebeeste may appreciate, we took great pleasure in beating them in that televised FA Cup tie. We, of course, were non-league at the time and Yeovil were League 1. Talk about symmetry. I loved it, absolutely loved it.
But, as we know, Yeovil remain in League 1 and we haven't played them in the league since their first season. That's now eight seasons in the third tier for Yeovil which exceeds in length (if not style) our spell between 1966 and 1972. I guess they may have been rather smug - in a "I told you so" way when we were relegated in 2007. That, if true, wouldn't surprise me as I've often detected a certain arrogance in some of Yeovil's following which reminds me of Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City. My fears about them being right about the clubs' respective merits were certainly coming home to roost.
But at least we're back in the Football League. Yeovil are over the hills and far away and I've not been back to Huish Park (save to see Taunton in the Somerset Premier Cup) since the day of our victory. Yet I'd still love the chance - absolutely love it - of giving them a good dubbing again. But, more to the point, what can we learn - or discuss - from Yeovil's consistency at a higher level? Are they an example of what we could achieve? Or are Yeovil something quite different?
If truth be told I could never warm to Yeovil and always suspected that, when they were doing their Billy Big Bollocks thing in their non-league days, that they were specifically after our place in the Football League. I've no proof of this, just a mental image of Yeovil fans watching Westward Diary, Spotlight or whatever (assuming they could pick up Plymouth TV rather than Bristol) and constantly moaning that "Torquay are bloody rubbish. That should be us in their place!" Moreover I had a secret fear that the buggers could be right.
Obviously we've discussed Yeovil in this place in the past. But, for Wildebeeste's benefit, a few points need be reiterated.
Firstly, Yeovil has been - and still is - a strong manufacturing town. Think Westlands, other aerospace businesses, agricultural implements and gloves. There's an argument which says it's fertile ground for football.
Secondly, Yeovil has a sound football tradition which is both historic and also more firmly-rooted than in nearby towns such as Taunton and Bridgwater (where, in each, rugby was more pre-eminent). Yeovil and Petters United - the current club's predecessor - had a parallel history to Torquay United in the 1920s as members of both the Western and Southern League. They then started the habit in the 1930s of beating Football League clubs in the FA Cup.
Thirdly, Yeovil have "history" in terms of achievement. But it's not quite as it seems. They were, for instance, never quite as successful in league competitions as many people thought (and actually dropped out of the Conference on occasions). Nor did they have an outstanding record in the FA Trophy; only winning it shortly before they reached the Football League. Instead Yeovil's forte, as every football-loving schoolboy in Chesterfield knew, was the FA Cup. They did that extremely well no matter how well they were doing in league competitions. This bought grandeur, pride, glory, relative fame and crowds.
Fourthly, the business of Yeovil's crowds which were often better than many clubs in the Football League. Torquay's, at their historic best, would have exceeded Yeovil's. But, during that long-period between ours shrinking in the early 1970s and Yeovil eventually joining the Football League, their crowds often appeared to compare favourably to ours unless we were playing particularly well and them particularly badly. I had a conversation the other day - it may even have been with Jon - and I was reminded of a couple of 8-9,000 crowds that Yeovil had for crucial games in the Isthmian League when they were endeavouring to return to the Conference.
Fifthly, it's a moot point about the extent of the rivalry between Torquay and Yeovil. Well, it was probably there in the 1920s when we regularly met in league games. Then I wonder if we knew too much about each other until the arrival of regional TV in the early 1960s (allowing, of course, for earlier regional sports reporting on the Home Service). We heard about their cup exploits; they more regularly heard about our league performances. For a man living in Chesterfield the distance between Torquay and Yeovil is too vast to suggest a local rivalry; for us it was always an unspoken possibility. We didn't play them for years until - as a Football League club - we met them in the FA Cup on a couple of occasions and duly put them in their place. Then, rather emphatically, they added us to their list of FA Cup victims in the early 1990s. That, as they say, was an accident waiting to happen.
All of which brings us to our victory at Huish Park early in Yeovil's first season in the Football League. We were well-supported that day and I've always felt that, in Keeganesque fashion, "we loved it. Absolutely loved it" when we gave them a bloody good stuffing on their home pitch. Take that, you upstarts! And, as Wildebeeste may appreciate, we took great pleasure in beating them in that televised FA Cup tie. We, of course, were non-league at the time and Yeovil were League 1. Talk about symmetry. I loved it, absolutely loved it.
But, as we know, Yeovil remain in League 1 and we haven't played them in the league since their first season. That's now eight seasons in the third tier for Yeovil which exceeds in length (if not style) our spell between 1966 and 1972. I guess they may have been rather smug - in a "I told you so" way when we were relegated in 2007. That, if true, wouldn't surprise me as I've often detected a certain arrogance in some of Yeovil's following which reminds me of Plymouth Argyle and Bristol City. My fears about them being right about the clubs' respective merits were certainly coming home to roost.
But at least we're back in the Football League. Yeovil are over the hills and far away and I've not been back to Huish Park (save to see Taunton in the Somerset Premier Cup) since the day of our victory. Yet I'd still love the chance - absolutely love it - of giving them a good dubbing again. But, more to the point, what can we learn - or discuss - from Yeovil's consistency at a higher level? Are they an example of what we could achieve? Or are Yeovil something quite different?
