Whilst some teams get agitated about players coming in (or a lack of it), financial worries and the like, over at Huish Park they’ve taken indignation to a whole new level. The furore over their new kit has reached fever pitch, with fans now raising an online petition to have it altered.
The problem isn’t with the green and white design, nor the rather fetching black away kit either. The colours are fine, the essence of the problem is the three stars they’ve chosen to include above the clubs badge. They have announced that each star represents five years as a Football League club, and fans are not happy.
A group of fans have now started a petition to have the stars removed from an otherwise acceptable kit, claiming they make the club look ‘tin pot’ in it’s aspirations. Yeovil have been as high as the Championship in those 15 seasons, there is nothing ‘tin pot’ about them and their fans feel that to put stars on the shirt for their achievement is aiming their sights a bit low.
There are six other teams with stars on their shirts, Villa and Forest predictably for their European Cup wins. Huddersfield have three, signifying the three consecutive First Division titles they won in 1924, 1925 and 1926. Notts County have one, initially put there to commemorate the 120 year anniversary of their 1894/95 FA Cup win, but retained since then. Bury have two celebrating FA Cup wins in 1900 and 1903, and finally Ipswich have three, one for each major trophy that they have won (First Division in 1962, FA Cup 1978 and UEFA Cup in 1981).
Traditionally the stars are used to celebrate actually winning something, not just to signify a spell as a Football League club, and I can understand the ire of the Yeovil fans. It would be less embarrassing if we brought out our new shirt with to stars on, one for each time we’ve regained our Football League status! It almost feels like a celebration of not failing, rather than a celebration of achieving.
Rather ironically, Yeovil have decided to celebrate their achievement after the worst two finishes as a League club, 19th and then 20th in League Two. Average attendances have plummeted from 6,500 in 2013/14 to 3,500 last season, although falling from the Championship to League Two has been a major factor. They’re having a wretched pre-season too, Alex Lacey, Kevin Dawson and Matty Dolan have all left after being offered new deals, with Dolan signing for League Two rivals Newport County. It could be a long, hard season for the Glovers, with or without their three stars.
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