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TERRY SKIVERTON TESTIMONIAL: Skivo's first decade with Yeovil Town
8:30am Friday 3rd July 2009

By Steve Sowden

YEOVIL Town player-manager Terry Skiverton first arrived at Huish Park
in the summer of 1999.

He started his footballing career as an apprentice at Chelsea in 1993
before moving to Wycombe Wanderers in 1995 where he made 20 first-team
appearances for the club in two years.

He eventually dropped down into non-league football with Welling United
before Yeovil's then head coach Colin Lippiatt brought him to Huish Park
along with other new signings Adrian Foster, David Norton and Jason Eaton.

While those three came and went, Skiverton remained and soon went on to
become captain during Yeovil's most glory-filled period in the club's
history.

He made his debut at a "wintery" Scarborough on the opening day of the
1999-2000 season. Rain, hail and snow fell - even though it was August -
as Yeovil crashed to a 5-0 hammering.

Skiverton came on as a second-half substitute against Scarborough - a
team managed by Colin Addison, who would later become the Glovers' boss.

Since that debut on August 14, 1999, Skiverton has gone on to make 380
appearances for the club and has just edged into the Glovers' top ten of
all-time appearance makers.

He has also scored 44 goals for Yeovil; his first coming in the far from
grand environs of Paulton Rovers where the Glovers gained a 2-1 victory
in the Somerset Premier Cup competition on November 2, 1999.

His first "proper" goals for Yeovil, however, came during a memorable
5-1 thrashing of Rushden and Diamonds at Huish Park on November 13,
1999, when he scored two with the others coming from Matt Hayfield (two)
and Ben Smith.

Yeovil finished a respectable seventh in the table in Skiverton's first
season and with David Webb at the Huish Park helm. Lippiatt had left in
the early stages of the season and was replaced by Steve Thompson only
for Webb to arrive in March.

The following season saw Yeovil go "so near, yet so far" when they
finished runners-up in the Nationwide Conference behind Rushden.

Webb departed the club in September 2000 and was replaced a few days
later by Addison.

It was a memorable season in many ways with Yeovil playing some of the
best football seen for years, while they also reached the FA Cup Third
Round where they finally bowed out at Premiership-bound Bolton Wanderers.

The club's title hopes dwindled in the final weeks of the season and
come the end Addison was on his way out of the Huish Park exit door.

The pre-season of 2001 was a traumatic one for the club with a number of
players leaving as the fall-out of Addison's departure continued.

But Skiverton, already seen as a key member of the Huish Park set-up by
chairman John Fry, remained.

The search for a new manager seemed to take an eternity before they
finally made an announcement and in walked Gary Johnson, who then was a
little known Cockney, who had just had a spell leading the Latvian
national side.

Nobody would realise the huge impact Johnson would have on the Glovers.

The 2001-02 season saw Yeovil finish third in the Conference, but they
also won the FA Trophy at an emotional-charged Villa Park where the
Glovers beat Stevenage Borough 2-0 in the final.

Skiverton was able to lift the Trophy - but it would not be the last
piece of silverware to be placed into the captain's hands.

The following season Yeovil marched to the Conference title - amassing
an amazing 95 points and scoring 100 goals in the process.

Yeovil took their long-awaited place in the Football League, but
Skiverton missed out on the Glovers debut match at a sun-soaked Rochdale
on August 9, 2003, because of injury.

But he was soon back to playing action and led the team to the Third
Round of the FA Cup where they lost out to the mighty Liverpool at Huish
Park, while they missed out on a play-off spot on goal difference.

It was a good debut performance by Yeovil in the Football League and put
them in good spirits for the following campaign.

Yeovil waited until the last day of the season and a 3-0 win over
Lincoln City at a packed Huish Park to clinch the League Two
championship, while the campaign also saw the Glovers reach the FA Cup
Fourth Round for the first time since the famous victory over Sunderland
back in 1949.

Now in League One and with Skiverton still leading the backline of the
defence, Johnson departed Yeovil in the early stages of the 2005-06
season for a new challenge at Bristol City.

Once again it was Steve Thompson who was put in control of team affairs
and he did well to keep the Glovers out of the relegation zone,
especially as a number of key players departed Huish Park.

Russell Slade arrived as manager at Huish Park in 2006 and in his first
season he led the Glovers to the New Wembley and a spot in the Coca-Cola
League One Play-Off Final.

It was a day of mixed emotion for Skiverton, however, as injury had
robbed him of taking part in the games leading up to Wembley and he was
an unused substitute during the final which Yeovil lost 2-0 to Blackpool.

Injuries have taken their toll on Skiverton in recent years, but when he
is fit and available for action he still plays with the same passion and
hunger that he demonstrated when he first arrived at Huish Park in
1999...probably even more so given his unquestioned commitment and love
of the club.

Skiverton has seen the "highs and the lows" of recent times at Yeovil
Town and has met each challenge thrown at him with typical aplomb.

And in February of this year he was presented with his biggest challenge
yet - managing Yeovil Town.

Now - for tomorrow at least - he should be able to savour his first
decade with Yeovil with pride as he takes centre stage for his
testimonial match at Huish Park.