YEOVIL TOWN LADIES DEMOTED BY TWO TIERS

At the end of what has been a difficult season, Yeovil Town Ladies have received the news that they won't be competing in the Women's Championship next season after their licence application to compete in the league was rejected.

The Lady Glovers were relegated from the Women's Super League after receiving a ten-point for entering Administration earlier this season - but avoided insolvency due to staff cuts and - which ensured that they would finish bottom of the league. Sadly, they have now been told by the Football Association that they don't meet the relevant criteria to compete in the league.

However, the club have insisted that the possess a viable business plan.

Relegation from the top tier had meant that Yeovil would be reverting to part-time status, after turning full-time to meet the requirements for the Women's Super League last summer, but the FA requested to see proof of sponsorship income before issuing a licence - leaving them in a catch-22 situation.

The FA now have to decide whether to replace the Lady Glovers or not, or whether to open up applications for a licence from another club.

Since they first entered the Women's Super League in 2014 when they competed in WSL 2, the Lady Glovers gradually improved year on year, which culminated in promotion to the top-flight in 2016 by winning the WSL 2 title.

Now they have joined the likes of Sunderland Ladies, who dropped down from the Women's Super League to the Women's National League North, who were also unsuccessful in their bid for a licence.

Sheffield FC and Doncaster Rovers Belles also withdrew from the Championship last summer and Notts County Ladies were forced to fold in 2017.

THE CONTENDERS TO SUCCEED DEREK ADAMS

With Plymouth Argyle currently searching for a successor to former manager Derek Adams, we will now take a closer look at five names who have been linked to the post.

Ian Holloway (Unattached)

- If time is a great healer, then could know be the right time for Ian Holloway to return to Plymouth Argyle? Since leaving Home Park in the 2007-08 season for Leicester City, Holloway has led Blackpool and Crystal Palace to the Premier League and has also had a spell in charge of Millwall. He has since expressed his regret at leaving the Pilgrims in the way in which he did and has also admitted he is keen for a return to full-time management.

Graham Coughlan (Bristol Rovers)

- Current Bristol Rovers manager Graham Coughlan, who played a key role in helping Argyle win the Division Three and Division Two titles in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons, has made a promising start to his managerial with the Pirates by steering them away from the League One relegation zone. Coughlan has emerged as the bookies' favourite to succeed Adams, but has insisted he is focused on the task in arm at the Memorial Stadium.

Ryan Lowe (Bury)

- It is believed that Bury manager Ryan Lowe has already held talks with the Pilgrims board after a successful season which saw him lead the Shakers to automatic promotion from League Two - the division that Argyle have recently been relegated into. Last season, Bury were amongst the highest scorers in the Football League with 82 goals and the style of play implemented by Lowe drew admiration from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp following a pre-season friendly with the Reds.

Michael Flynn (Newport County)

- Newport County manager Flynn - who hails from Pillgwenlly in Gwent, the same town as former Argyle manager Tony Pulis - is another name who could be of interest the Pilgrims. Since keeping the Exiles in the Football League in the 2016-17 season, he has enjoyed a number of fine FA Cup runs and is currently involved in a play-off duel with Mansfield Town. Whether the potential of a bigger club is something that would interest Flynn at this stage of his career.

Keith Hill (Unattached)

- Hill spent four years at Home Park as a player between 1992 and 1996 after joining the Pilgrims along with midfielder Craig Skinner from Blackburn Rovers, in a deal that saw Nicky Marker join Rovers. As a manager, he has made his name in two spells with Rochdale (2006-2011 & 2013-2019) where he won two promotions from League Two - in 2009-10 and 2013-14 - and assembled several sides which were pleasing on the eye. He also oversaw a number of big money sales whilst in charge of Dale, including Glenn Murray, Adam Le Fondre, Craig Dawson and Scott Hogan and he also had a brief spell in charge of Barnsley in the 2011-12 season.

ARGYLE DOWN DESPITE FINAL DAY HEROICS

Despite beating fellow relegation candidates Scunthorpe United on the final day of their League One campaign, Plymouth Argyle were unable to escape relegation to League Two as results elsewhere went against.

Results in the games involving Southend United and AFC Wimbledon saw the Shrimpers and the Dons survive at the Pilgrims' expense - the Shrimpers beat Sunderland 2-1 and the Dons drew 0-0 with already relegated Bradford City.

Plymouth-born Lloyd Jones, on loan from Luton Town, gave the Pilgrims the lead on eight minutes when he headed home after Iron keeper Jak Alnwick had denied Argyle's Ruben Lameiras.

Top scorer Freddie Ladapo then doubled their lead in the 35th minute - after being teed up by Antoni Sarcevic.

Three minutes before half-time, Kyle Wootton pulled one back for Scunthorpe after Lee Novak's overhead kick had been blocked.

On the hour mark, the Iron equalised in the most controversial of circumstances when Argyle keeper Matt Macey, on loan from Arsenal, attempted to roll the ball out of play so he could receive treatment.

Scunthorpe's Josh Morris had other ideas and chipped the ball back towards goal and into the back of the net to level matters.

The week before Leeds United had scored a goal in similar circumstances against Aston Villa and Leeds manager Marco Bielsa allowed Villa to walk through and score an equaliser.  However, on this occasion, no such gesture was forthcoming from the Iron.

It was then left to the Pilgrims' talisman Graham Carey to restore Argyle's lead in the 70th minute and everything seemed to be going to plan as it was announced that Southend were drawing 1-1 with Sunderland. But the Shrimpers grabbed a late winner in the 88th minute which broke Pilgrims' hearts.

The challenge now for Derek Adams' successor to build a team that could take Argyle back to League One at the first attempt, and they will need to act quickly and swiftly to find said person.

ADAMS LED ARGYLE INTO THE LIGHT

It is often said that you never get the second chance to make a good first impression, and that certainly proved to be the case for Derek Adams when he was first appointed as Plymouth Argyle manager.

When appearing the BBC Spotlight studio, in one of his first media interviews on taking charge, he appeared donning a suit and green and black club tie and frequently referred to the Pilgrims as 'Argyle' rather than 'Plymouth' in his interview in which he came across as enthusiastic and raring to go in his first managerial role south of the border.

In becoming manager of Argyle, he became the latest in a long line of Scotsman to take charge at Home Park - joining a list that includes Dave Smith, Paul Sturrock and Bobby Williamson.

The former two had also guided the Pilgrims to three promotions between them (Smith once in 1985-86 and Sturrock twice in 2001-02 and 2003-04). It was hoped, after he had inherited a team that had reached the Play-offs under the predecessor John Sheridan, that he could add his name to that list.

Adams also arrived at Home Park with an impressive pedigree, having enjoyed two successive spells in charge of Ross County (2007-2010 and 2011-2014) - who he led to the Scottish Cup final in 2010 where they were beaten by Dundee United after beating Celtic in the semi-finals.

The game was also very much in his blood, as his father George was Sir Alex Ferguson's first ever signing as manager for East Stirlingshire in 1974 and also worked under Ferguson as a youth coach at Aberdeen.

Their father's connections meant that Adams junior became a childhood friend of Sir Alex's son Darren and their managerial paths crossed on several occasions - most notably in the 2016-17 season when Ferguson the younger was in charge of Doncaster Rovers. The Pilgrims completed the double over Rovers during that campaign - winning 2-0 at Home Park and 1-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium as they finished in second place in the League Two table, one place above Donny in third.

In his first season in charge, Adams led Argyle to their first Wembley appearance since 1996, as they reached the 2015-16 League Two Play-off final where they were beaten 2-0 by AFC Wimbledon after finishing fifth in the league.

The following season saw the Pilgrims build on a promising first season by finishing the 2016-17 season in second place - narrowly missing out on the title to Portsmouth on the final day of the campaign. In addition to this, Argyle also reached the third round of the FA Cup where they held Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield before losing the replay 1-0 at Home Park.

This was followed by the 2017-18 campaign, which could be described as a 'season of two halves'. The opening half of the campaign saw Argyle seemingly heading for an immediate return to League Two, but a remarkable revival in the second half of the season saw them finish 7th - and only a squad that was decimated by injuries stopped them reaching the play-offs.

Unfortunately for Adams, this momentum wasn't carried into the current season and a 5-1 defeat away to Accrington Stanley - a result which saw the Pilgrims drop into the relegation zone - proved to be the final straw as both Adams and his assistant Paul Wotton were dismissed from their posts.

Pressure had been building for Adams for some time as before Christmas he had described a section of the Argyle fanbase as 'yobs' and a period had refused to speak to the local newspaper the Plymouth Herald/Plymouth Live.

It was a sad way to end a managerial reign in which the Scotsman had brought a period of sustained succession to the club - following a number of seasons that had seen the Pilgrim's status as a football club come under serious threat at times. 

The Pilgrims now have just one game to save their season against fellow relegation battlers Scunthorpe United at Home Park on Saturday - under caretaker manager Kevin Nancekivell - to save their season and to ensure all the good work that Adams has done in the previous few years isn't undone.

A TALE OF TWO GARYS

Torquay United brought their Vanarama National League South title winning campaign to a close with a 4-0 win over St Albans City, bringing the curtain down on a season which proved to a tale of Garys.

Firstly there was Gary Owers, the manager who was unable to prevent the Gulls' slide into regional non-league football for the first time since the 1926-27 season in the disappointing 2017-18 campaign, and then there was Gary Johnson, the serial promotion winner whose CV included three promotions with Yeovil Town, one with Bristol City and a National League title won as recently as 2016 with Cheltenham Town - who dismissed him four games into the 2018-19 campaign.

Whilst United may have been 14th in the table at time of Owers' dismissal, they were only three points off seventh place - the league's final play-off spot - but ten points behind the then leaders Woking.

So impressive has been the Gulls' turnaround since that they finished the campaign ten points clear of the Cards, with a club record points haul of 88 to boot to secure a first ever league title.

The squad that Johnson inherited from Owers featured several players who played a key role in the Gulls' success in 2018-19.

These included leading scorer Jamie Reid, skipper Asa Hall, goalkeeper Shaun MacDonald and centre back Kyle Cameron - the latter two both hail from the North East, like Owers, and were brought to Plainmoor by virtue of his contacts in a region which is well known for being a footballing 'hotbed'.

Owers was also responsible for the initial loan signings of Jake Andrews and Opi Edwards from Bristol City - a link that continued under Johnson - and was also strengthened through his son, Lee being the occupant of the managerial hot seat at Ashton Gate - with the signings of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Saikou Janneh.

In fact Johnson has only added five new faces to the Gulls' ranks since taking over. In addition to the loan acquisitions of Lemonheigh-Evans and Janneh, Jamie Sendles-White and Kalvin Kalala both signed permanently - the latter followed Johnson to Plainmoor from Cheltenham, and midfielder Frank Vincent also arrived on loan from AFC Bournemouth.

Kalala, a Parisian wide player who looks comfortable on either flank, has the potential to have a very good career and has found the back of the net ten times in all competitions, including a brace against St Albans; the first of which proved to be the fastest in the club's history at 10 seconds- beating the record set by Jordan Chapell against Portsmouth in October 2013.

Frenchman Kalala is the fourth United to hit double figures as they scored a club record 109 goals in all competitions. His name stand alongside Reid (32), Janneh (18) and Andrews (12).

What is most remarkable about Reid's haul of 32 goals is that he had only found the back of the net once at the time Johnson was appointed as Gulls' manager.

Parallels can be drawn between Reid's prolificacy in front of goal and that of former Yeovil Town striker Paddy Madden. Irish striker Madden had only scored twice in 32 appearances for Carlisle United, but after signing for Johnson at Yeovil - firstly on loan, and then permanently - found the back of the net 24 times as the Glovers won promotion to the Championship.

Next season will see Johnson reacquainted with the Glovers, after they were relegated from the Football League - 16 years after he had ended their 108-year wait for league football by guided them to the Nationwide Conference title.

While it will be a long time before the 2019-20 National League fixtures come out, but it would be a big surprise if the Gulls didn't meet the Glovers at Huish Park and Plainmoor, or vice versa, on either Boxing Day or New Year's Day.

GULLS GO FULL CIRCLE AS THEY PLAN FOR NATIONAL LEAGUE LIFE

There is a slight irony that Torquay United's first two fixtures since clinching the 2018-19 Vanarama National League South title will be against Chippenham Town and Hungerford Town.

United's reverse  meetings between these two sides earlier in the season proved to be two of their most significant fixtures - the Gulls' home defeat against Chippenham proved to be Gary Owers' final game in charge and their visit to Hungerford was the first game of Gary Johnson's reign as manager.

So when United receive the divisional title at home to Hungerford on Easter Monday, it will signify how everything has come full circle for Johnson and his squad in what has been a relatively short space of time.

After Monday, a visit to St Albans City on the final day of the campaign will bring the curtain down on a memorable before Johnson and his backroom team, which includes assistant manager Aaron Downes and Pete Johnson, his brother, who works as United's head of recruitment, begin to assess their options for the 2019-20 campaign.

With around a dozen players under contract for next season, Johnson goes into life in the National League with a core of players who are more than capable of making step up to a higher level.

The question then will be whether United's title triumph could prove to be a stepping stone to a return to the Football League?

History has shown us that when the Gulls have enjoyed a strong momentum when in the National League they can win promotion from the National League to League Two in a fairly quick space of time.

In 2007, with the backing of the Alex Rowe-led consortium, which included the late Paul Bristow amongst others, Paul Buckle was able to build a side that beat Cambridge United in the 2009 Blue Square Premier Play-off final two years after being relegated from the Football League.

Also, since National Leagues North and South were introduced to the footballing pyramid in 2005, AFC Wimbledon and Newport County have both won promotion from National League South to League Two within a relatively short time period. The Dons followed up the National League South title triumph in 2009 with a National League Play-off final victory over Luton Town in 201; the Exiles won National League South in 2010 and three years later defeated fellow Welsh side Wrexham to secure a return to the Football League in the 2013 Play-off final.

Fleetwood Town have also done the same by winning National League North in 2011 before winning the National League title in 2013, with a team containing a certain Jamie Vardy.

The Gulls certainly have the fanbase and the management team to hopefully scale the heights of National League in the 2019-20 season and beyond, and providing that chairman Clarke Osborne continues to back the club to the financial tune that he has done in the previous two years then who knows.

WHEN THE GULLS WON IN THE WOLVES' DEN

It may not have the prestige and history of the FA Cup, nor the carrot of a Europa League place like the Carabao Cup.

In addition to this, it has also been much maligned in some quarters in recent years following the admission of a number of Premier League Under-23 sides - but the Checkatrade Trophy remains a regular staple for clubs in Leagues One and Two.

The 85,000 crowd that watched Portsmouth defeat Sunderland on penalties at Wembley in this years' final helped to restore some of the competition's gloss - but it wasn't always this way.

Back in the late 1980s - in the days before Football League play-offs were decided beneath the twin towers of Wembley Stadium - the Freight Rover Trophy, the Sherpa Van Trophy and the Leyland Daf Cup, as it was known in its various guises, represented the best chance many lower league pros plying their trade in Division Three and Division Four had of playing at the home of football.

And this was the case for the respective players of Torquay United and Wolverhampton Wanderers when they met in the second leg of their Sherpa Van Trophy Southern Area final.

Wolves had won the first leg at Plainmoor 2-1, thanks to a brace from Steve Bull and many believed that the return fixture between the two sides would be a mere formality.

Such was the hosts’ confidence that they would reach the final of the competition for the second year in succession - they had beaten Burnley in the previous year's final in front of a record crowd of 88,000 - that local coach companies were already taking bookings for the final and Wembley 1989 rosettes were also on sale at the ground.

In what was the first senior competitive match to be played in England following the Hillsborough disaster, many observers expected the second leg to be a formality for Wolves - after they had won the first leg at Plainmoor.

At this time Wolves were undergoing a revival under Graham Turner, which would see them return to Division Two after winning the Fourth and Third Division titles in consecutive seasons between the 1987-88 and 1988-89 campaigns.

Their upturn in fortunes was spearheaded by their formidable strike partnership of Steve Bull and Andy Mutch.

Bull had managed to find the back of the net 52 times in all competitions in the previous season for Wolves, and had scored 46 up until their second meeting with the Gulls in the 1988-89 campaign.

Mutch scored 23 in the 1987-88 season and would surpass the 20-goal mark again for Turner’s men in the following campaign.

Nevertheless, Gulls boss Cyril Knowles devised a plan to stop them - as he ordered his back five to sit deep and not allow Bull or Mutch any space to run in behind them.

Knowles had discovered that the pair preferred defenders to push up and mark them tightly, enabling them to beat the offside trap – so Knowles’ plan was designed to stop the pair from doing this.

His scheme also meant that he was very reliant on his attacking players catching Wolves on the break.

Another major decision that Knowles had to make was who to play in goal in place of the injured Kenny Veysey. Rookie keeper Mark Coombe was cup-tied - after having already appeared for Colchester United during a loan spell earlier in the season. This meant that Knowles was forced into bringing veteran keeper Kenny Allen out of professional retirement.

Since his release by the Gulls at the end of the 1987-88 campaign, Allen had signed for Newport County. However, his time with the Welsh side had come to a premature end after they withdrew from the Conference due to financial difficulties.

All of Knowles’ plans appeared to be paying dividends when the Gulls took the lead on eight minutes when Mark Loram picked out Edwards, who beat Wolves keeper Roger Hansbury with a shot from the edge of the area to score his eleventh goal of the season.

Wolverhampton born-and-bred Edwards had stood on the Molineux terraces as a youngster before later representing the club during his professional career; and now here he was playing a key role in potentially denying the West Midlands giants a second successive trip to Wembley.  

To add another significant twist to the tale - Edwards had twice been let go by Wolves manager Turner in his career; firstly when he was a youngster at Shrewsbury Town and secondly at Molineux in 1986.

Two minutes before half-time, the pair linked up again when Edwards was felled by Wolves left-back Mark Venus. It was then left to Loram to take a quick free-kick, which took the Wolves’ defence by surprise - as Loram was one of few people in the ground who realised that referee Brian Hill had not ordered the delay of the taking of the free-kick.

His effort saw United double their lead on the night and, more importantly, move ahead of their opponents 3-2 on aggregate.

In the second half, Bull missed a sitter three minutes after the re-start, which Wolves soon lived to regret as Torquay produced a defensive display that must rank amongst one of the best that the club has ever pulled off.

The recalled Allen made a string of outstanding saves in the United goal, and the defence in front of him - which featured a centre back trio of Jim McNichol, Matt Elliott and Phil Lloyd - stuck resolutely to their pre-match instructions from Knowles to keep Bull and Mutch at bay.

Allen summed up the feelings generated by the occasion when he commented after the match saying: “I now believe everything I ever read in Roy of the Rovers.”

And it was the contingent of 400 Gulls’ fans, who were vastly outnumbered by the home supporters, who returned home happy in the knowledge that their side that become the first of the three Devon professional sides to reach Wembley.

United were also one of only two teams to beat Wolves at Molineux that season; the other being Bristol Rovers in a league fixture.

The Gulls would lose 4-1 against Bolton Wanderers, but that shouldn't diminish the fact that beating Wolves on their home ground, with the odds stacked massively against them, must rank as one of the competition's greatest ever shocks.

A full account of this fixture and many others in United's history can be found at https://torquayunitedahistoryin50.bigcartel.com/product/torquay-united-a-history-in-50-matches