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24th Year Rule

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Most readers of this site would be aware of this implausible statistic since 1891, where every 24 years, Everton are crowned League champions:

1890-91, 1914-15, 1938-39, 1962-63, 1986-87

I’ve had my hopes dashed so many times by the football club and am despairingly pessimistic when it comes to Everton. I believe a top 4 challenge would be considerable progress next season, but am finding it difficult to ignore this sequence.

Obviously the game has changed considerably since the introduction of the Premier League and that could (and perhaps should), signal the end of the chain, but I am also old enough to remember the Kevin Brock back-pass at Oxford, when Inchy saved Howard Kendall from receiving his P45. An FA Cup duly followed and a League Championship the following season. Few would have thought that possible who witnessed that game at Oxford, the lack of belief and talent (or so we thought) evident.

With this current side's ability and a couple of additions, is it worth a tenner at 2501?
Liam Reilly, London     Posted 26/05/2010 at 08:33:58

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GJ Butler
1   Posted 26/05/2010 at 15:13:38

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No.
Joel Webb
2   Posted 26/05/2010 at 15:15:14

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...and according to the ever reliable goal.com it looks like we'll be doing it without the Yak :(

http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2010/05/26/1943809/exclusive-everton-striker-yakubu-agrees-deal-in-principle-to

Jay Harris
3   Posted 26/05/2010 at 15:21:39

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All that is certain is that NOTHING is certain.

Man U are certainly on the slide, Chelsea (despite looking like world beaters at the end of the season) are getting older, Arsenal are always a threat but no more and Spurs are also unpredicatable.

On the other hand the Premiership has brought an inequality in funding and all of those teams are capable of bringing in expensive world class signings in the close season which is something we are patently not capable of.

At best I think we'll ruffle the feathers of the elite with maybe a cup win and at worst expect to be at the bottom of the top 10.

But you never know.
Chad Schofield
4   Posted 26/05/2010 at 15:37:37

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£7m for the Yak... I think that's a bit cheap.
Gordon Blair
5   Posted 26/05/2010 at 16:10:54

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it's a nailed on cert.

I'm putting my mortgage on it; if it comes up, I'll be a multi-millionaire... if it doesn't come up, I'll get one of those IVA things, plan with no drawbacks — awesome!!!
Peter Warren
6   Posted 26/05/2010 at 16:25:04

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Worth £10k as an absolute cert.
Ciarán McGlone
7   Posted 26/05/2010 at 16:44:28

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Each way? Maybe.
Danny Burke
8   Posted 26/05/2010 at 16:22:36

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I would love nothing more. Sadly though, as my Grandad always used to say, we have two hopes: No Hope and Bob Hope!
Richard Parker
9   Posted 26/05/2010 at 17:21:01

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It's got to be worth £20 each way - if you lose, you stay out of the pub for a night. If you win, you stay in the pub for a week.
Tony Marsh
10   Posted 26/05/2010 at 18:18:45

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What about 1985?
Andy Crooks
11   Posted 26/05/2010 at 20:19:24

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Each way betting in the Premier League is a waste of money. In a 16 runner handicap, you'd be getting 1/4 the odds for the first four places. The Premier League is the equivalent of a 20-runner listed race with the first two places already sorted. Therefore, find a bookie who will lay without Chelsea, United and Arsenal. Under those circumstances, you could probably get Everton at 6/1 for 4th and 6/4 top six. Not as exciting as 250/1 but much more sensible.
Jay Dawson
12   Posted 26/05/2010 at 21:35:58

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if you put a grand on it, that'll be like winning the jackpot on Deal or No Deal!!
Phil Paulson
13   Posted 26/05/2010 at 22:18:39

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You'd almost certainly lose your tenner, but the bookies probably understate our true chances of winning it, so 250-1 is probably too generous.

Our championship record is certainly the unluckiest : two title-winning sides rudely interrupted by two World Wars, and the European ban.

You couldn't make it up.
Dennis Stevens
14   Posted 26/05/2010 at 22:34:53

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I remember the crush getting into that match at the old Manor Ground & then thinking how shite we were, especially David Johnson — we sold him when he was a promising youngster who went on to do well & then bought him back when he was shite!
Karl Masters
15   Posted 26/05/2010 at 23:14:25

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We're gonna win the League, we're gonna win the League, and now you're gonna believe us... WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!

£20 @ £250-1 = £5k

100,000 Evertonians do that, pool our money and we have £5,000,000,000.... that's right £5 billion!!

Buy the Club, build a new stadium, buy Liverpool and bulldoze Anfield and make them play their matches at Bellefield. About £4 billion left to buy players...... I really don't know why we haven't thought of this before....
Karl Masters
16   Posted 26/05/2010 at 23:20:37

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Of course, BK could just get a friend to stick £2M (probably the equivalent of Hibbert's wages for a year... so not so hard to find) on at the Bookies and use the £500m winnings to build a new stadium and give Moyesie £200m to spend on players.

Didn't Pompey do something similar when they parachuted Redknapp into Southampton and got them relegated. A ' mysterious punter' made something like £16m out of that relegation I recall. Oops, maybe I should not have said that!

I'm wasted in my current job. I'll make Everton rich again. Just a bit of lateral thinking required. :)
John Maxwell
17   Posted 27/05/2010 at 00:52:33

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So they give it to us every 24 years ?

Can't believe some people think we will win the league at all ?

Ok, we had good wins against Man U and Chelsea (with Donovan), a great win at Man City and should've won at the Emirates.

But we are far too inconsistent, we don't have the killer instinct to finish games off and aren't good the final 3rd... It's only since January we've scored more goals from open play rather than set pieces.

I'm looking more at 4/5th and a decent go at both cup competitions.
Tommy Coleman
18   Posted 27/05/2010 at 10:21:42

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Karl Masters

Brilliant idea, everyone just send the £20 to this account :

SC = 28-76-34
ACC = 193758636

I'll run round the bookies and put it on.

Eric Myles
19   Posted 27/05/2010 at 12:11:52

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Nice one, Tommy ;-))
Dennis Stevens
20   Posted 27/05/2010 at 18:20:23

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Good point about 1985, Tony. However, the 24-year rule is that we win the Title every 24 years — not that we ONLY win it every 24 years. As it happens, each 24-year gap alternates between having either no Title successes or having two. So, even the Title wins that don't fit the 24-year rule form a pattern around it. As follows:

1891 – our first Title & the start of the 24-year rule;
1915 – our second Title success, after 24 years;
1928 – the first non 24-year rule Title;
1932 – the second of the non-24-year pair ;
1939 – back on the 24-year cycle;
1963 – another 24 years without a win;
1970 – the non-24-year pattern starts to repeat;
1985 – the non-24-year pattern completed;
1987 – back on the 24-year cycle;
2011 – another 24-year wait?;
20?? } the non-24-year rule pair ...
20?? } of Title successes;
2035 – back on the 24-year cycle ;
2059 – another 24-year wait, but probably not for me!

James Flynn
21   Posted 30/05/2010 at 02:19:12

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Fine - But when we lift the Trophy next season, the 24-Year Rule is put to rest and the "Ferguson did it with ManU, so will our Scotsman at EFC" rule kicks in.

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