LADY GLOVERS NEED EXTRA FUNDS TO MAINTAIN NEW STATUS

Just days after their opening Women's Super League One fixture against Manchester City, Yeovil Town Ladies have been told that they will need to find more funds to finance their newly found status following a new FA ruling.

The FA have announced that a new, full-time, one-tier division will be introduced in time for the 2018-19 season. This means that the Lady Glovers, who are currently part-time, will need to be able to turn full-time to be able to compete in the new division and will also need to meet the following criteria.

A minimum of 16 contact hours per week for players, rising to 20 hours per week by 2020-21

A minimum level of financial investment required by each club

Financial Fair Play regulations and a squad cap

An academy at each club, compulsory as part of the licence

Since entering Women's Super League Two in 2014, Yeovil Town Ladies have grown from being a club playing at the Jones Stadium in Sherborne, home of Western League side Sherborne Town FC, to sharing Huish Park with the club's men's side. During this time, as well as winning promotion to the top-flight of the women's game in 2016, they have also twice been voted as WSL 2 Club of the Year in recognition of their off-field activities.

However, they are now facing a situation whereby they will need to raise an additional £350,000 in the space of 44 days, as the deadline for their application for a new licence for the division is on November 10th, 2017.

Yeovil's opening day fixture against Manchester City saw several leading figures of the women's game, including Lionesses skipper Steph Houghton and Jill Scott as well as Scottish stars Jane Ross and Claire Emslie, appear at Huish Park in front of a crowd of over 1,000. Occasions like this demonstrate the Lady Glovers' potential as a club, but time will tell whether they will be successful in maintaining their new found status.

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY UNITED VS MACCLESFIELD

1. Gary Owers isn't prepared to suffer fools.

When speaking to the press after his first home game in charge of Torquay United, one of the first things Gary Owers said was 'if the players think that's good enough to win a game at home then they are mistaken'. It is a message which brings back memories of when yours truly covered Plymouth Argyle when Owers was assistant to John Sheridan when the former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder expressed his own dissatisfaction with the Pilgrims' displays. However, Sheridan and Owers were able to drag the Pilgrims away from the relegation zone and that is precisely what Owers and his assistant need to achieve.

2. A goalkeeping dilemma could be on the horizon.

Once again Vincent Dorel excelled himself between the sticks for the Gulls in the absence of first choice keeper Ryan Clarke. He was deservedly voted as Man of the Match by the match sponsors after producing two top drawer saves towards the end of the first half to keep the score level at 0-0.
However once Clarke returns to full fitness, Owers will be facing a dilemma similar to the one faced by Ron Greenwood when he forced to choose between Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence whilst he was England manager in the late 1970s and early 1980s of whether to stick with Dorel and offer him a longer deal or to recall Clarke.

3. Could Josh McQuoid be the 'new' Wayne Carlisle?

Seven years since Northern Irish wing wizard Wayne Carlisle departed Plainmoor - could they have finally found his spiritual successor in new loan signing Josh McQuoid.
Former Bournemouth starlet McQuoid, who won five caps for the province between 2010 and 2011, showed a few promising touches when he came on at half-time for James Gray. He did look slightly rusty as he has only appeared once for parent club Luton Town in the Checkatrade Trophy against Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s, but there is every chance that he could start for the Gulls next Saturday away at Dagenham & Redbridge.

4. George Dowling was a big miss in the centre of midfield.

In his first three starts for Torquay United, young central midfielder George Dowling has found the back of the net and been voted Man of the Match by the match sponsors' twice. Therefore there is evidence to suggest that in theory the Gulls could have had a greater return of one point from their last two games against Barrow and Macclesfield, in which he was either taken off injured or absent from. However, given Gary Owers' connections with Bristol City, and most notably with Brian Tinnion, who is in charge of loaning out the Robins' young prospects, it is not inconceivable that Dowling could remain on loan at Plainmoor beyond the initial one month agreement which brought him to the club - possibly even for the entire season.

5. Liam Davis nears a return to full fitness.

After being regarded as the 'forgotten man of Plainmoor', left-back Liam Davis edged closer to making his long awaited debut for Torquay United as he took his place on the bench against Macclesfield. With a past career which has included a spell in the Championship with Yeovil Town in the 2013-14 campaign, it is hoped that Davis' experience will become a major asset for the Gulls once he eventually pulls on that yellow shirt for the first time.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT GARY OWERS

Following Torquay United's 1-1 draw with Barrow in Gary Owers' first game in charge as Gulls boss, we will now look at five facts about him.

• Owers is probably best remembered from his playing days for his time at Sunderland for whom appeared for in the 1992 FA Cup final against Liverpool. He becomes the seventh ex-Gulls boss to have featured in an FA Cup final after Billy Butler (Bolton Wanderers 1923), Jack Butler (Arsenal 1927), Bob John (Arsenal 1927 & 1932), Allan Brown (Luton Town 1959), Cyril Knowles (Tottenham Hotspur 1967) and Dave Webb (Chelsea 1970).

• After leaving Roker Park in 1994, Owers headed south to join Bristol City for a fee of £250,000 where he stayed for four years. During this time he helped the Robins win promotion from Division Three in the 1997-98 season.

• In the summer of 1998, Owers was released by Bristol City and was signed for Notts County by future Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and England manager Sam Allardyce.

• On his retirement from playing, Owers embarked on a managerial career with Bath City in 2004 and a year later he was appointed as Forest Green Rovers. Amongst his signings for Rovers was one of his former Notts County teammates, who would later find his way to Plainmoor, in the form of his predecessor as Gulls' boss Kevin Nicholson!

• Managing the Gulls isn't the first management or coaching role that Owers has held in Devon, as he was appointed as assistant manager to John Sheridan in January 2013, after originally joining the Pilgrims as a development coach at the start of the 2012-13 season. Whilst at Home Park, he worked with current United vice-captain Luke Young.

LATE GOAL DENIES OWERS A WINNING START

The road that leads to Barrow's Holker Street ground is the longest cul-de-sac in the country, but unfortunately for Torquay United it didn't prove to be the route to their first three points of the season.

Just when it looked as though James Gray's second goal of the campaign on six minutes would be enough to get Gary Owers' reign as manager off to a winning start. However, Byron Harrison broke Torquay hearts as he netted in the 90th minute to deny United what would have been a badly needed three points.

Gray got the Gulls off to a dream start when he drilled home from six yards following good work from Luke Young, but a makeshift United - that lost Ryan Higgins to illness in the warm-up and George Dowling and Jon-Paul Pittman to injury during the course of the 90 minutes - couldn't quite hold on to seal victory.

The game also saw Owers blood two new signings in the form of Callum Evans, who joined on loan from Forest Green Rovers, and former Bristol City winger Jennison Myrie-Williams. Evans started the game as a holding midfielder, he can also play as a full-back, and Myrie-Williams came on as a substitute for Pittman.

Before the match, the target for Owers and his assistant Martin Kuhl was 48 points from 36 matches now that objective has changed to 47 from 35 games - starting with next Saturday's visit by Macclesfield Town to Plainmoor.

GULLS APPOINT OWERS

After speculation linking names such as Ronnie Moore, Paul Cox and Graham Westley with the vacancy, Bath City manager Gary Owers has been unveiled as the successor to Kevin Nicholson as Torquay United manager.

Owers was currently in his second spell in charge of the Romans, who were eighth place in the National League South upon his departure from Twerton Park - one point off the Play-offs and three points away from top spot.

He will be assisted by his former Bristol City teammate Martin Kuhl, the former Birmingham City, Watford, Portsmouth and Derby County midfielder, who had a brief spell as interim manager of Reading in December 2015 following the sacking of Steve Clarke.

Born in Gateshead, Owers enjoyed a playing career which saw him feature for Sunderland, Bristol City, Notts County, Forest Green Rovers and Bath City amongst others. Arguably the highlight of his playing days was featuring for Sunderland in the 1992 FA Cup final against Liverpool.

His coaching and managerial has been mostly spent in the South West and began in 2005 when he became player-coach of Bath City in October 2003 before becoming manager a month later.

His first spell in charge of the Romans lasted until May 2005 when he was appointed as manager of Forest Green Rovers. In the 2005-06 season, he successfully kept Forest Green in the Conference as they retained their status with a final day win over Stevenage. However, after a poor start to the following campaign, he was dismissed in August 2006. Whilst he was at the New Lawn, he signed one of his former Notts County teammates Kevin Nicholson to join Rovers.

A brief stint as manager of Weston Super Mare followed before he was appointed as assistant manager at Aldershot Town in 2009 to Kevin Dillon - a position he held until Dillon's dismissal in 2011. During this time, the Shots reached the League Two Play-offs in the 2009-10 season where they were beaten by Rotherham United.

Owers then returned to Bristol City in 2011 following his departure from Aldershot, initially joining the club as chief scout before he was promoted to first team coach following the appointment of current Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes as Robins boss.

In 2012 Owers then moved on to Plymouth Argyle, who he joined as a development coach before being brought in to work with the first team in January 2013 when John Sheridan succeeded Carl Fletcher as Pilgrims manager.

He left Home Park in a coaching reshuffle in April 2014 and became head of recruitment at Scottish Premier League side Motherwell before returning to his native North East to join up with his former Sunderland boss Malcolm Crosby at Gateshead.

However, his return to the North East proved to be a brief one as he left the Heed in November 2015 following Crosby's dismissal.

Owers then headed back to the South West for his next appointment as he returned to Bath City for a second spell in charge of the Romans in February 2016 and successfully kept in National League South in the 2015-16 campaign.

His challenge now with Torquay United is simple: win a minimum of 48 points from 36 games to keep them in the National League.

Three players in the current Gulls' squad will be familiar to him in the form of goalkeeper Ryan Clarke, who spent the 2005-06 playing under him on loan at Forest Green Rovers, Yan Klukowski, who played under him in his first spell in charge of Bath City, and Luke Young, who worked with Owers when he was assistant manager at Plymouth Argyle between 2013 and 2014.

TISDALE BANISHES AWARD CURSE TO REMAIN TOP OF THE TREE

After winning the manager of the month award for the first time in his 11-year reign as Exeter City, Paul Tisdale successfully banished the curse associated with the prize as the Grecians defeated Forest Green Rovers.

In what was the first ever league meeting between the two sides, City came out on top winning 3-1, thanks in no small part to a brace from Reuben Reid.

Pierce Sweeney opened the scoring for the Grecians after four minutes before Reid opened his account for the afternoon 14 minutes later with his fifth goal of the season after Lee Holmes had had a shot blocked by Forest Green skipper Dale Bennett.

Reid later added his sixth of the campaign in the 53rd minute, with Holmes once again acting as the provider. Forest Green later pulled one back through Shamir Mullings, who netted his first Football League goal, but it proved to be a mere consolation as the Grecians continued their fine start to the campaign.

The win puts City three points clear at the top of League Two ahead of second placed Accrington Stanley.

FOUR THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY VS WREXHAM

1. George Dowling is a class act in midfield.

Bristol City loanee George Dowling followed up his goal scoring debut display against Chester FC last week with another assured display against Wrexham. Dowling initially joined the Gulls on loan for one month but one of the first task of the new United manager should be to extend Dowling's stay in South Devon.

2. Josh Gowling's return was a welcome boost.

It was probably to say it was more than a coincidence that the Gulls kept their first clean sheet since the opening day of the season against Tranmere Rovers on skipper Josh Gowling's return to the side.
In Gowling's absence since the Tranmere fixture, United conceded a whopping 20 goals in seven matches but his presence and organisational skills prevented the Gulls from adding to their goals against tally against Wrexham.

3. Chinua Cole is a capable left-back.

With summer signing Liam Davis still yet to kick a ball in anger due to a heel injury, Chinua Cole has proved to be a more than capable stand-in at left-back. As well as being assured defensively Cole, who can count Barnet and Eastleigh amongst his former clubs, is also good and pushing forward and adding greater fluidity to United's attacks.

4. A goalkeeping dilemma could be on the horizon?

With United's new French keeper Vincent Dorel keeping his first clean sheet and having only conceded just the once in the two games he has played since joining the Gulls - a big decision will need to be made about his future shortly. Whilst United/s previous number one Ryan Clarke was arguably the Gulls' leading performer before falling to injury - is there enough space on the club's wage bill for two goalkeepers? It's a decision that the new manager, which many believe won't be the former Stevenage, Preston, Peterborough and Newport boss Graham Westley, despite recent speculation.

CITY IN POLE POSITION IN LEAGUE TWO

After an unbeaten start to the 2017-18 campaign, the early signs are that Exeter City could go on to emulate neighbours Plymouth Argyle in winning automatic promotion after losing out in the League Two Play-off final last season.

With 13 points from their opening five league matches, the Grecians are currently top of the League Two table and are in good health off the pitch as well as on it.

After selling Ethan Ampadu, Ollie Watkins and David Wheeler to Chelsea, Brentford and Queens Park Rangers, Paul Tisdale has re-invested some of the funds raised with the signing of a number of new faces, including one that saw the club break the long standing club record.

In bringing Jayden Stockley back to the club from Aberdeen on transfer deadline day, Tisdale broke the club's record transfer fee - with a fee believed to be in excess of the £65,000 the Grecians paid Blackpool for the legendary Tony Kellow in 1980.

Tisdale also completed loan deals for West Bromwich Albion pair Kane Wilson and Kyle Edwards and agreed to sign former Plymouth Argyle loanee Hiram Boateng on a free transfer.

Also the City have also opened up negotiations with Tisdale to extend his 11-year stay at St James Park - thus potentially extending his tenure as the Football League's longest serving manager.

FOUR THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY UNITED'S DRAW WITH CHESTER FC

1. George Dowling's goal scoring potential from midfield

It proved to be a debut to remember for George Dowling after he joined the Gulls on loan from Bristol City, as he marked his first senior appearance in professional with United's opening goal - in what could be described as a 'game of loans', which one loanee (Dowling) and three non-contract players (Vincent Dorel, Chinua Cole and Andy Haworth) in the starting line-up.
Dowling's strike is only the third goal scored by a Gulls' central midfielder this season, following on from Luke Young's free-kick against Aldershot Town and James Gray's stunning long range effort against Woking, whilst he was acting as a stand-in midfielder.

2. Vincent Dorel was a calming influence in goal.

With Ryan Clarke currently out injured and on loan keeper Dan Lavercombe sustaining a broken fibula in training last week, United caretaker manager Robbie Herrera turned former Plymouth Argyle keeper Vincent Dorel on non-contract forms. The Frenchman, who was formerly the understudy to Luke McCormick at Home Park, produced an assured display and was unlucky not to keep a clean sheet as Ross Hannah scored a late equaliser for the visiting Blues.

3. Andy Haworth's promise on first start.

After making his Torquay United debut on Easter Monday against Woking from subs bench, Andy Haworth made an extremely promising first start for the Gulls against Chester. He was a constant thorn in the side of the Blues defence, especially in the first half, and played a key role in the move which led to George Dowling scoring United's opening goal.

4. Ryan Higgins' long throw-ins remain a useful weapon.

Just as Rory Delap's long throw-ins were a 'not so' secret weapon for Stoke City, as they first established themselves in the Premier League in 2008 under Tony Pulis - Ryan Higgins' long throws are proving to be an equally important weapon for Torquay United. In some cases they proved to be almost as effective as a corner and often asked questions of the Chester defence, including the eighth minute when Myles Anderson flicked one into the path of James Gray who was then denied by the reflexes of Chester keeper Alex Lynch.