'A horrible slippery slope' - Yeovil Town's fall from Championship to regional leagues

Yeovil slumped to their fourth relegation in 10 years and will spend next season in the National League South

Ten years ago Yeovil Town were enjoying their first taste of life in the Championship. Next season they will be playing in the sixth tier, after defeat by Wrexham confirmed their relegation from the National League back to regional football.

Fortunes change fast in the game, but this crash down the divisions has been particularly rapid and hard.

Yeovil's League One play-off final victory over Brentford in 2013 to secure their place in the second tier is arguably the greatest moment in the small Somerset club's history.

Founded in 1895, Yeovil spent most of their years in the regional leagues before securing promotion to the Conference in 1997, then stepping up to the old Division Three in 2003.

But their 10-year rise through the English Football League (EFL) has been followed by a dramatic spiral in the opposite direction, with semi-professional neighbours Weston-super-Mare AFC among their opponents next season.

"There was an awful lot of emotion," said Gloverscast podcast host Ben Barrett on Tuesday's defeat at Wrexham which sealed their fate.

"There was obvious disappointment, there was heartbreak, there was a little bit of anger, almighty amounts of frustration, even a little bit of fear crept in as to what the future holds.

"It's just one [relegation] after another, after another. It's been a horrible slippery slope."

A club in 'freefall'

There is no denying that this season results have been terrible.

Yeovil have won only seven of their 44 games and scored 35 goals, currently the lowest in the division by eight.

They have not won in their past 10 games since beating Eastleigh in March, while the team has chopped and changed so much that 42 players have stepped on to the pitch, the National League's joint highest.

However, the seeds of Yeovil's fortune have been sown in a mess brewing off the pitch for years.

The club were already on a downward trajectory when owner Scott Priestnall took over in 2019 as they dropped out of the EFL.

But his tenure has been marred by a lack of transparency that has rocked the ship more than steadied it, including the controversial sale of Huish Park to Somerset District Council last year.

In March a contingent called SU Glovers announced they were taking over from Priestnall, yet six weeks later the deal has not been completed.

Stephen Allinson, who was on the Yeovil board of directors for nearly 20 years until he resigned in 2015, says the blame is collective.

"In terms of those who have been leading the club in recent years, we've had the lack of transparency, the lack of communication," he told BBC Points West.

"Even now I see it - the fans are saying 'what is going to happen?' We've had talk of a long takeover, we still haven't had that. The people who are in charge now are the people who were in charge at the beginning of the season.

"Sadly it seems at the moment there is not that accountability or responsibility, and then that feeds through."

Allinson similarly pointed to the club "overachieving" when they reached the Championship in 2013.

"We should be a league club given where we were, and that's what's particularly sad," he added.

"What's gone on in the last eight years just indicates a club sadly in freefall."

'End the turmoil'

The discontent behind the scenes has seeped into the public domain and inevitably affected performances on the pitch.

Manager Mark Cooper, who was appointed in October, criticised the club's transfer policy this month which the prospective new owners responded to on social media.

"The line used by our captain Josh Staunton [after the Wrexham defeat] was there's a huge irony in the club motto 'achieved by unity' - a line that simply hasn't been adhered to for a very long time," Barrett said.

"There are so many variables and to be perfectly honest with you I don't think we've got many of them right."

Yeovil have won only five out of 30 matches under Mark Cooper this season

Yeovil have achieved something only Stockport County and, as of a few weeks ago, Scunthorpe United have in the past 50 years - dropping from the second tier to the regional leagues.

Stockport County spent six seasons in the National League North before clawing their way up to the fifth tier and then, last season, back to the EFL. They are currently pushing for a play-off place to win promotion to League One.

For Yeovil to get back there, fans need clarity over what is going on.

"For [the fans'] sake, the turmoil needs to end. They need a football club to be proud of again and start afresh, put the right people in the right places and start to build the club again," Cooper said.

Without that, Barrett believes Yeovil could find it difficult to climb back up the football pyramid.

"Don't underestimate the National League South. It will not be easy to get out of that division unless we are structured, have complete clarity or forethought on the way the football club is going to run on and off the pitch," he said.

"I'm definitely worried. We could see the entire overturn of a football club in the summer and that level of unknown is very scary."

Analysis - 'A club without a plan'

Sheridan Robins, BBC Radio Somerset, Yeovil Town commentator

It has been a season to forget for Yeovil Town, with uncertainty on and off the pitch. It is easy to forget that Chris Hargreaves was manager for just 15 games, before he was sacked in October.

Mark Cooper was then appointed swiftly after and looked to have steadied the ship. However, the SU Glovers situation has caused more unrest than positivity.

That all has been very recent, but in truth, from August to now, recruitment has been the problem. Close to 50 players have pulled on the green-and-white shirt of Yeovil Town this season, and captain Josh Staunton has even said that is clearly an issue for everyone involved.

The lack of consistency, the chopping and changing - that is not a club with a plan.

Is Mark Cooper going to be the manager next season? He clearly wants to stay, but if the takeover goes through, that looks unlikely.

Yeovil have been relegated with games to spare. They need to use that time to plan for life in the National League South. That includes players, management and ownership.

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