Stam suffers an unkind cut

The bad news is that the Glovers lost 2-0 at Charlton on Saturday. The really bad news is that club captain and central defender Stefan Stam is out for the rest of the season with a torn hamstring, and if you don't think that's a problem for us then you've not been paying attention.

A loss to the likes of Charlton isn't going to define our season. Sure, it would have been nice to have taken something out of the game but far more important we win/draw games against those below or around us in the table. We may be in the same division as the likes of Charlton, Norwich and Leeds; we're not in the same league in terms of resources. Anything we can get from those games is a bonus and if we get nothing then it's not the end of the world.

The loss of Stam however is a real blow. Aside from the fact that he had started to come into some good form lately his absence leaves us with only two (count 'em!) fit central defenders in Terrell Forbes and on-loan Steven Caulker to call on, with Craig Alcock as the only back-up with any kind of experience of playing in the position. That's not enough. Skivo himself is still registered as a player and if it was up to me I'd be happy to see him make himself available to play again, even if it was in emergencies only; but it's not up to me and I doubt he'll be thinking that way. The only other alternatives are the loan market or finding a free agent. I suppose it's not impossible that out there somewhere is a decent central defender without a club and who's capable of playing in Division Three, but if there is we probably couldn't afford his wages anyway. Which leaves the possibility of bringing in yet another loan player and the problems that would entail. Seven into five means two loanees sitting on the sidelines each week, hardly an ideal situation. Whatever, doing nothing is not an option. The best of luck for a speedy recovery to Stefan Stam, let's hope he's back playing as soon as possible.

The Glovers travel to Walsall today looking for revenge following the Saddlers 1-3 win at Huish Park last December, probably one of the worst, if not the worst performances of the season so far. Please god we can't play that badly again, but the omens aren't good. Walsall's pitch is in even poorer condition than ours thus negating any of our pretensions of playing passing football, plus they play the kind of direct, attritional style we generally find difficult to cope with. No surprise then to find that the bookies have made the home side 10/11 favourites to win the match, with the draw priced at 12/5 and a Yeovil win at an ungenerous 3/1. With the best will in the world I can't see us scoring at the moment, never mind winning and I don't like betting on the home team at odds-on. By default then my fiver's going on the draw. Running total: -£2.50p.

Just read: The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland: Wonderfully atmospheric and authentically grim portrayal of life in an English village in the 12th century, with superstition, the dead hand of the Church and the lord of the local manor dominating all. Read it and be glad you weren't born in those times.