December 2020

During the month of December, Yeovil Town F.C played 6 League matches.

They ended the month 1st in the League.

 EFL Championship: MD20

 J. Harrop

**Preston North End Post-match Interview**

"Really. We should have lost that. It is down to the poor luck of their forwards that they would hit the bar 3 times! Not to say that we were poor offensively, far from it. But we should have conceded more if we are to be truthful. As nice as our finishes were, I enjoyed the assists from Reuvers and Osei more! But what we're missing is some real steal in midfield. I actually think that Fane is better suited to playing CM. Maybe this is something we will look at in January. But that was a big result given the standings of the table. Onto the next one!"

## EFL Championship: MD21

 C. Duffus | 33'
 S. D'Almeida | 58'

**Blackburn Rovers Post-match Interview**

"Fitting that A. Bell would get his first assist of the season against the team he just departed. Was a great in-swinger from the byline, but yet again, Sessi has no right to be scoring a header. Especially since he just scored one against Preston too! I mean, it had more conviction in it than Courtney's header, and he's built for them! Downing deserved his MOTM today too. Set up chance after chance. The scoreline isn't a fair reflection really.

I tried S. Conde in midfield today to see if we could address that balance, and it was an improvement, but he just doesn't have the physicality for the role. We'll assess the situation and work something out soon."

## EFL Championship: MD22

 A. Oteh

**QPR** **match Interview**

"You know, that goal from Oteh was coming. He had 4 key misses in the game, all after good play from QPR. But he got his goal after Sowunmi was dawdling in possession. Which tarnishes what was otherwise a good game from us. Some decent goals in there. Sessi somehow scored for the third match in a row, and he didn't even start! You have to respect his determination to get into the box! We face Hull in a few days for our Christmas Eve fixture and I think it will be a tough fixture. But we'll be ready and we're determined to now end the first half of the season with a perfect record!"

## EFL Championship: MD23

 C. Duffus | 15'

**Hull City Post-match Interview**

"I took some gambles today. So obviously, I started Marcus Degerlund at CDM. We know he is calm on the ball, has good distribution and can get around the pitch well enough, so it felt like something worth trying. While I feel he did well, and we got the clean sheet, it's going to take some time for him to fully adapt to that role, and I am not sure we really have that luxury on our side. Then we had Courtney pick up a knock. He still scored, but we had to take him off at half time as it didn't look to get any better. So shifting Osei over from the right gave us a chance to put him closer to the goal and see if he could cause any damage. But really, I think he's better suited to the right for now.

There are some question marks over squad balance and some players futures, admittedly, as we approach January. Some of these players just deserve to be playing more. A. Santos, A. Gafaiti and R. Seager are in the last year of their contract and are weighing up their next move. We're in talks with them, but things are moving slowly. So we have some decisions to make soon. But aside from all this, to reach the halfway point undefeated and top of the league is amazing. But we're not getting carried away, hence why we don't talk about it much. But we are aware of our position. We're just taking it one game at a time."

## EFL Championship: MD24

 R. Seager | 33'

**Brentford Post-match Interview**

"Today we were forced into rotation. December has been so busy that I made the decision to rotate everyone except for Fane. And hey! 3 - 0. Today was a chance for certain players to step up and make themselves counted. They succeeded.

Seager scored a brace, Browne earned 2 assists. Olomola got an assist. Schram kept a clean sheet along with his defence. Santos came on and completed the scoring. I don't think we could have asked for me!

Honestly, this gives me a selection headache. But it's a good headache to have."

## EFL Championship: MD25

 Zhang Yuning

**West Brom Post-match Interview**

"Not this time! Sessi with the late winner really capped what has been the best month in the clubs history. It was a perfectly weighted ball from Reuvers to find the run as he bent it into the top of the net. He has been a revelation this month and if he doesn't win all of the awards, then there has been a serious misjudgement somewhere.

Foster, returning to his old home, had a huge game this evening. Two great saves with his feet and the double save after their corner was season-defining. He has both met and exceeded expectations since arriving. It's a wonder how West Brom is even in the relegation zone playing like that. But now we have an exciting FA Cup match against Leicester to look forward too. Hopefully, we can get some revenge!"

## YeoLaTengo Monthly Review

A clean sweep of results and now things are beginning to look really exciting. Sitting on 63-points after 25 games is a staggering amount. With the best goal return (51) and defensive record (14), we have looked more than comfortable at this level. Despite a few shaky results and performances, the grander picture is that they were just a bit of expected turbulence that every team endures.

10-points clear of Cardiff, we have some breathing room should we drop points. Which isn't ideal, but it's good to know we can. Maintaining this form will be another question altogether. But undefeated in the first half of the season... it looks good, doesn't it?

December was a long month, but as far as big performances go, no one had a foot on Sessi D'Almeida. Scoring in all but one games that he played, he was in inspired form in front of goal and helped everyone else look good too. Reuvers again had a solid month as he moves up to 5 assists for the season. Along with Fane, they two earned a Player of the Month nomination, though as the Sascha called, the oversight of Sessi is criminal!

January brings the winter transfer window. It will be interesting to see what happens. We know that 3 kids have secured a loan move and will be heading out, and the manager has hinted at some new signings. But getting them through the door is another thing. Let's see how it goes!

## YeoLaTengo Player of the Month

Sessi D'Almeida. Who else? The best month of his career here and he'll be looking to build on that next month!

## Contract news

C. Duffus extended his contract until **2023**

F. Schram extended his contract until **2023**

M. Degerlund extended his contract until **2023**

T. James extended his contract until **2024**

G. Rogers extended his contract until **2024**

D. Ojo extended his contract until **2025**

R. Seager extended his contract until **2023**