One year on

This time last season Terry Skiverton was appointed manager of Yeovil Town, replacing the sacked Russell Slade. There's a nice little piece on the Ciderspace news page giving the facts and figures of Skivo's time in charge. I said at the time of his appointment that it was a pretty cynical piece of opportunism by the board, an attempt to dilute fans anger at the disgraceful way Slade had been treated by appointing a fans favourite to the role and of course it worked. As badly as we all knew Slade had been done by, no-one wanted to rock the boat overmuch by giving Skivo and right-hand man Nathan Jones a hard time.

How does Skivo's report card read after a year in charge then? For my part I'd give him a C+ with these comments: 'Shows promise. Terry is a generally popular boy and a good leader of the class. Tends towards verbosity at times and his descriptions of field trips sometimes don't tally with actual events. Coursework is generally handed in on time though he did leave it late last April in particular. Terry is sometimes reluctant to use certain items which might assist in the smooth running of the school and occasionally tends to force square objects into round holes, but he seems to be overcoming that particular tendency at last. He's shown he can be flexible when starting a task, but sometimes needs to be more proactive when substituting one item for another. Given the tight school budget this year has generally used his resources well, but perhaps through necessity has tended to over-borrow items from other schools to an almost excessive degree. Terry is aware of this fault and has promised to rely more on in-school resources in future. All in all Terry can feel pleased with his first year as Head Boy. He still enjoys the backing of most of the school, though a small minority have begun to grumble about some of his decisions. A strong finish to the academic year will silence the doubters.'

Hmmm, yes, enough of the academic analogies. What I'm trying to say is that even with the blip we've suffered over the least few games, I reckon Skivo's doing well on the whole. He needs to rediscover his winning formula at home and tighten up on the road, but it's undeniable that in the majority of games I've personally seen (the home games in other words) the football has generally been entertaining and we're still punching above our weight. I said it at the start of the season and I'll say it again now, success for YTFC given our budget, crowds and resources is survival in this division. Skivo is still on track to deliver that survival and he deserves our support in his efforts.

Tomorrow the Glovers travel to high-flying Charlton, and apparently we're on a hiding to nothing. The last time we played at The Valley we won and I reckon the surprise of playing on what will be a good pitch might just be enough to inspire the boys into shocking Charlton again. The bookies naturally disagree, making the home side 4/7 odds-on favourites. The draw is priced at 14/5 and a Glovers win an improbable 5/1. I've had enough of betting against us (despite winning £11.50 on Tuesday night!), so my fiver's going on the away win. Come on you greens! Running total: +£3.50p.

Just read: Lustrum by Robert Harris. Terrific follow-up to Imperium, the story of the rise to power of Marcus Tullius Cicero in ancient Rome. Don't expect swords and pitched battles, Lustrum chronicles the politics of the time and brings to life the characters familiar from history - Cicero, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar - in an absorbing and fascinating way. Harris is an excellent writer and while I'd recommend reading Imperium anyway as it's another superb novel, it's not necessary to have read it first to enjoy Lustrum. The good news is that there's a third novel in the pipeline to complete the story of Cicero, the self-styled Father of the Republic. Can't wait.