What are Yeovil made of?

Happy Christmas to all readers of Cherry Chimes' and AFCB supporters! I've really enjoyed sharing my views on the site since February and look forward to the New Year following the Cherries.

Merry Christmas to all fans of the Cherries.

I got a bit defensive of Yeovil last summer, when some other Championship supporters felt their teams would definitely finish ahead of the Somerset team. While Yeovil have been finding wins hard to get they have not been beaten heavily by anybody and they have beaten Nottingham Forest, Blackpool and Watford to keep their giant killing prowess going in this league. 

While the Glovers have found it more difficult that AFCB to reach the higher levels of the Championship, they are certainly stirring now as I thought they might. They were bound to have that togetherness like the Cherries which helped get them promoted, because they have a small squad and  they could not go out and spend big last summer. That meant much of the squad that came up are still playing for Yeovil and there are some familiar characters in their team.

I am sure that the Paddy Madden situation has not helped their cause. The unsettled striker was the star man last season and it is easy to see some comparisons with our Brett Pitman's inability to do as well this season as well. 

Luke Ayling's yellow card against Blackburn Rovers last game means he will miss the match at Dean Court which is a bonus for AFCB in my opinion, because I always feel that he is a leader by example on the pitch for the Glovers. Edward Upson has been a really tall defender and leading scorer for them this season, which is part of their problem. Yeovil are struggling to score in the Championship. But AFCB's central defenders will have to watch Upson on set pieces, especially corners where he has been impressive in recent weeks. He is partnered at the back by Everton's Shane Duffy, who has a one month loan.

James Hayter has also not played as much as he might of wished. The ex-Bournemouth striker though is capable of turning any match as we well know and he is on just one goal this season. Joel Grant and Byron Webster though are the strikers that we will probably see most of at Dean Court, while Ishmael Miller is also a danger man - on loan from WBA.

Lastly, let's not forget Gary Johnson who has guided the Glovers to the second tier in English football for the first time. Yeovil's manager has done a magnificent job and on a shoestring of a budget. If he keeps Yeovil up this season it would be a great achievement for him and the town and while I love my Bournemouth I would like to see him keep Yeovil up. I think us minnows like being underdogs and with AFCB's newly increased spending power there can be little doubt that Yeovil can claim to be playing catch up on AFCB and there is nothing they would like to do more than beat us in what we can virtually call a derby.

So don't think this is an easy win for AFCB. The Glovers were all over Blackburn Rovers the other week when Jordan Rhodes popped up against the run of play to get a winner. We know that feeling only too well and Yeovil are well capable of upsetting the best teams in this division as I am sure Eddie Howe will tell his players.

Yeovil Away form:
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AFCB Home form:
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As a little Christmas bonus KnowHowe 5 can now be watched if you click on the KnowHowe tab. This afternoon I'll also have an exclusive Rival Lines interview with the Ciderspace blog ahead of Yeovil Town's visit to the Goldsands Stadium.