July 25, 2011 | Twohundredpercent

Day: July 25, 2011

The Twohundredpercent Premier League Previews: Everton

Posted by Ian | Jul 25, 2011 | Latest | 3 |

As 1983 drew to a close, Everton Football Club was in a state of crisis. On New Years Eve, with just over 13,500 people rattling around Goodison Park like marbles in a tin box, they played out a dismal goalless draw against Coventry City which was seen by the nation that night on Match Of The Day. Two and a half weeks later, a late goal from Adrian Heath at The Manor Ground saved the club a draw against Oxford United in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. According to legend, Heath’s goal also saved Howard Kendall’s job, and this subsequently changed the history of the club. They won the replay against Oxford comfortably and, while they went on to lose in the final of that competition after a replay against Liverpool, they did win the FA Cup with a victory against Watford at the end of the season. A year later, they were the champions of England and the winners of the European Cup Winners Cup. At the time of Everton’s impending crisis at the start of 1984, it was almost fourteen years since their last major trophy. At the time of writing, it is a little over sixteen years since Paul Rideout’s goal won the FA Cup for the club against Manchester United, their last major trophy win. Everton Football Club continues to exist in the shadows...

The Womens Super League Resumes After Its Summer Break

Posted by Ian | Jul 25, 2011 | Latest | 0 |

After the success of the Womens World Cup, the Womens Super League restarted last weekend after a break, and the early signs seem to be, encouragingly, that the summer tournament in Germany might have piqued the interest of quite a few in the domestic game in this country. Womens football in Britain has benefitted significantly over the last couple of years from a £3m investment from the Football Association, which led to the founding of the Womens Super League. The league isn’t fully professional yet – it is hoped that it will become so in years to come if it is successful – and the players that have signed semi-professional contracts with clubs are some way from earning full-time money, but it is hoped that this new league will encourage an improvement in standards, and England’s reasonable performance in Germany this summer, where they were just a penalty shoot-out away from a semi-final appearance, seems to give plenty of grounds for confidence in the future of the womens game in this country. Birmingham City lead the table, four points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and with Chelsea in third place. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the league, Liverpool have just three points all season. A crowd of over 900 was present at Boreham Wood FC’s Meadow Park to see Arsenal beat Liverpool by three goals to nil, thanks to goals...