Coming Up: Yeovil Town

The drop

Perhaps Yeovil are a different team to the one we last encountered, but I've always thought of them as a model of what I wish we were. Last time we met them they were on their way to a place in the Championship while we were in the Conference. Now we meet as equals, but, it seems, on very different trajectories.

Three defeats preceded a narrow 3-2 win over Luton on Saturday. Luton themselves seem to be buckling under the pressure of being among the pre-season favourites; that was the second 2-goal lead they've thrown away in as many weeks. 

Are Yeovil struggling with the pressure resulting from their double relegation? If they are, then that helps us, this will be game five for us of which three have come down from League 1. There appears little to fear from those who have come down and hitting them when they're still getting acclimatised is an advantage. Only Leyton Orient seem to affecting a decent bounce back; but I'll take one out of four in the context of our promotion chances. From our perspective, our no-more-than-solid away form means that three points is the requirement today.

OUFC Retro 

The game is a designated OUFC Retro day. I approve, although in a season styled wholly on nostalgia it may be difficult to tell the difference between this and every other game this year. Plus, if you've ever spent any time in the South Stand Upper, you'll know that Matchwinner, Manor Leisure and Carlotti are not considered retro, but are the brands of a modern dandy.

Me? If I can be bothered to go into the loft, I'll probably go with the 1993 centenary shirt or this New Balance beauty from 1998. 

Old game of the day 

There was one point when Yeovil Town were set to do an Oxford United and become a plucky over-achiever dooking it out amongst the big boys. Instead, they seem to be regressing back to their more natural state.

This is from 2009 in the FA Cup; in some ways it captured the spirit of the time. Altogether a very proper FA Cup tie, even if it's slightly galling for us to be considered a giant killer.

From the blog

As good as that win was, my reaction to it was a pretty angry one:

"I suppose that Saturday’s win over Yeovil was a giant killing, but that seems to be a technicality only. Even ITV seemed at a bit of a loss in how to deal with the result. Ned Boulting’s knowing sneer, a constant presence when reporting on Tour de France cheats, was on display to let us know that the institution of FA Cup giant killing was being defiled."

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