Manchester United and Yeovil Divided by Money, Bonded by Short-Term Ambitions

YEOVIL, England —The FA Cup has never been a great respecter of traditions, as veteran reporter John Lukins was reminded ahead of Yeovil Town’s meeting with Manchester United on Sunday.

Lukins, who has reported on the Glovers for almost half-a-century, could not even get a spot in the press box for a third-round tie that had attracted representatives from all the national newspapers—despite the fact the press box at Huish Park carries his name.

Lukins was remarkably gracious about the snub, if that is what you might call it, but it was an indication of how drawing the most successful club in English football can create a number of logistical headaches for a club more used to operating in the more distant reaches of English football.

Yeovil boss Gary Johnson, the man hoping to take down United's reputation a peg or two, joked in the aftermath of his side's eventual 2-0 defeat that just three journalists had turned up for his previous post-match press conference, following the League One defeat to Leyton Orient. On this occasion there were over 100 credentialed media.

That is not to say the whole experience was completely unprecedented for the Somerset club. Yeovil have been here before—11 years ago they hosted Liverpool at the same stage of the same competition—but United is a different proposition. It’s perhaps an indictment of modern football, or at least the dominating nature of the Premier League, that a sizeable section of Yeovil fans also class themselves as United fans, creating a bumper market for the now ubiquitous half-and-half scarves that were being sold outside the ground.

The two clubs have faced each other in the FA Cup before: Back in 1949, United hosted the Glovers at Maine Road (Old Trafford was still being repaired after suffering damage in the war) in a fifth-round tie, an 8-0 win with an attendance of 81,565 that remains the second-highest ever for an FA Cup game outside Wembley.

“Typical Yeovil,” one fan noted. “Never quite good enough.”

In general, however, the clubs operate in different footballing circles, with the sides' differing trajectories since that Maine Road game allowing Yeovil citizens to follow both sides without ever suffering any real conflicts of interest.

Yeovil pottered around in non-league for much of the 20th century, selling their old Huish ground to Tesco in 1989. A new ground, further outside the city, was financed by the supermarket, and the new Huish Park has helped see the Glovers defy their limitations as they rose into the Football League around the millennium, culminating in last season’s memorable (if ultimately bittersweet) Championship campaign.

A repeat of that 80,000 attendance was never going to be on the cards, but the club did what they could: A temporary stand was erected in the days before the match, allowing the club to sell another 100 tickets or so with restricted views. Those were snapped up in minutes, with the final attendance numbering 9,264.

Alex Dimond

They came to watch a once-in-a-lifetime match, although few anticipated a shock to tell the grandchildren about. In one way, this tie came at the perfect time for the Glovers but, in another, it perhaps came a season or two too late.

The League One side made a loss of £464,000 last season, but the arrival of United for one afternoon is expected to inject over half-a-million pounds into the coffers, once television payments, ticket receipts and other revenues are taken into account. With relegation from the Championship in the summer bringing with it a significant loss in revenue, the tie will plug a financial gap at an important moment for the club.

But the excitement of such ties is found in the possibility of an upset, in the prospect of another giant-killing to join the competition’s brilliant history of them. On the surface of it, Yeovil manager Gary Johnson, a veteran of the Football Leagues, shares little in common with Louis van Gaal but he, like Van Gaal, is currently steering his side through a transitional phase, after his previous team was dismantled following relegation from the Championship last season.

Goalscoring midfielder Ed Upson departed for Millwall, as did uncompromising defender Byron Webster. Tidy full-back Luke Ayling made a lucrative move up the road to Bristol City, while goalkeeper Marek Stech returned home to his native Czech Republic to press his national-team ambitions.

Veteran captain Jamie McAllister was released (he ended up moving to the Indian Super League), although he and Webster were presented to the crowd at half-time against United—perhaps indicating some of the muddied thinking that went on in the summer.

Johnson had just seven players under contract at the start of the season, something he has been at pains to point out as results have disappointed, even if it hardly speaks well of his long-term planning. The club scrambled to bolster their staff, but so far many of those acquisitions have yet to pay off—the club are currently bottom of League One.

“I’ve been covering Yeovil for over 40 years,” Lukins said before kick-off, from his unfamiliar seat away from the press box. “This is one of the worst teams I’ve seen.”

“Some of our boys have proven not to be quite this level,” Johnson would later acknowledge.

Alex Dimond

Not that United would underestimate their struggling opponents. Perhaps with the League Cup embarrassment at the hands of fellow League One side MK Dons at the back of his mind, Van Gaal named a strong United team—with Radamel Falcao in attack, Wayne Rooney behind him and David de Gea and Ander Herrera among the supporting cast.

“Before the game everyone was excited, and when we saw their team we were more excited because you want to play the best,” Yeovil captain Joe Edwards, a boyhood Manchester United supporter, said. “If anything it gave us a boost.”

The game plan for Yeovil was simple, with “no regrets” the straightforward message Edwards gave his team-mates before they entered the tunnel. Johnson’s strategy for the game demanded high, persistent pressure from the home side, a tactic designed to deny United’s stars the time and space to get comfortable in the sort of setting they are perhaps not quite used to.

In the first half that approach worked brilliantly, although it did not make for much of a spectacle. Yeovil had little attacking threat but they kept United away from their goal, with on-loan keeper Jed Steer only asked to make one straightforward save from James Wilson as the game went into the break 0-0.

“In the first half they don’t give any time to us to play the ball, a lot of pressure. That was fantastic,” Van Gaal said approvingly. “Always the ball was under pressure … and then it is more difficult to beat the pressure.

“When you can organise your team like the manager of Yeovil has done, and the players believe in it, then you can achieve a lot.”

In the second half, however, Van Gaal switched things around—with injuries to Luke Shaw and Rafael da Silva leading him to withdraw both, replacing them with Jonny Evans and Juan Mata as he added an extra man to his midfield to preserve possession.

The Dutchman preached patience to his team, telling them that if they continued to move the ball, then the chances would come. So it would prove; Yeovil’s pressing would be too much to sustain for 90 minutes, even if it ultimately took a sumptuous moment of individual quality from Ander Herrera to break the deadlock on the hour mark.

“It was a great goal,” Van Gaal said. “A little bit of luck I think, but you need that also.”

By that time, Yeovil’s chance had been and gone. They did have one sight of goal, but striker Kieffer Moore—one of the few bright spots in recent times for the club—scuffed his chance straight at the relieved De Gea. An Edwards header was cleared off the line by substitute Angel Di Maria, but other than that United were able to take the sting out of the game before Di Maria’s deft finish in injury time confirmed a 2-0 win.

Both sets of fans—FA Cup regulations meant a sizeable travelling support filled one corner of the ground—chanted throughout, creating a memorable spectacle even if the action on the pitch never really ventured into the unpredictable.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful,” Johnson said, when asked if he felt it had been an opportunity missed. “It was bittersweet because I was so proud of the effort the boys put in. We wanted to affect the game and give them a fright.

“We knew they had all their quality and would have their chances, but we wanted to give them a fright and I think we did that. The high-pressing game, you need a lot of energy to do, and it is hard to keep that up against a team like that.”

For the fans, it was better than they had feared. Their club could go out with their heads held high, the players able to receive a batch of shirts from the United squad back in the dressing room without it feeling like a dismissive, condescending gesture.

“For world-class footballers to show that sort of respect for fellow professionals is brilliant to see,” Edwards said. “It only makes me more of a fan.”

Alex Dimond

Facing United was never going to be a yardstick of Yeovil’s abilities, but it was an opportunity to restore a little confidence, a bit of pride in the club and belief in its players. For Johnson, it put the club in the shop window, and perhaps added some money to the coffers.

“It might have helped the lads sitting at home, wondering if Yeovil is the club for them,” Johnson noted. “I think they’ve seen we’ve got a good stadium, a good crowd… maybe we will be able to bring in two or three that will make our squad stronger.”

For the players it perhaps served as a reminder of not just how good they really can be, but also the levels of commitment, concentration and hard work that are required, regardless of the level you are playing at, if you want to get results.

“We know we haven’t been good enough,” Edwards, who made sure to swap shirts with Wayne Rooney at the final whistle, admitted. “The fans were brilliant today, it was an unbelievable atmosphere and we know we need to take that into the league.”

The tie may just be a turning point for Yeovil, a point where the pain of relegation—and the abrupt halting of what had been an impressive ascent through the football pyramid—was finally absorbed, accepted and moved beyond. Perhaps it will spark improved league form, something that could be every bit as valuable as the money brought in by the tie.

United, too, remained focused on the league—with Van Gaal still insistent that the Premier League title is not beyond their reach. Over the festive period they have closed the gap to the top of the table by another point, evidence enough for the Dutchman that the dream is still alive in his first season in England.

“I repeat myself,” Van Gaal said, “but nine points is not so many—and eight points is less.”

But the lack of any European football, and that early League Cup exit, means the FA Cup is the only other shot at a trophy for United this term, a club that lives by such milestones. United will be hoping their visit to Huish Park is just the start of a long run in the competition, one that—who knows?—might end at Wembley.

“I have heard from my fantastic assistant [Ryan Giggs] that United have not won the FA Cup for 10 years,” Van Gaal said. “Maybe we can win it this year, but that is a very long way away.”

All quotes obtained firsthand.