Women's Football / Ralph Ellis / 25 August 2009 / Leave a comment

Ralph Ellis tells us how the England Women's team has grown in terms of resources and indeed ability and why Hope Powell and star striker Kelly Smith can challenge for top honours in the ongoing European Championships.

"England launch their campaign against Italy this afternoon, with the game covered live on Eurosport. And while in the men’s game that would be a dodgy opening fixture, for the girls it’s a bit more straightforward. England won 4-1 on the last occasion they met in 2005, and should be more than worth backing, even at the short price of 1.54, to do the same again."

You can tell it's the start of a major football tournament when reports leak out of off the field behaviour involving the England players. It's a bit of a tradition, really. There was Gazza and the dentist's chair before Euro 96, and Teddy Sheringham's drunken trip to Portugal before the 1998 World Cup. Later came reports of Michael Owen's massive losses in the card school during the 2002 World Cup. Then four years later it was the manager caught up in scandal with the Fake Sheikh revelations that cost him his job.

So now comes the gory detail of how the England women's team are preparing to launch their European Championship campaign in Finland today, the beans spilled by none other than star striker Kelly Smith. "We had Sunday off and a few of the girls went into town," she reveals in a Daily Mail column today. So you gasp, and wait for the tales of drinking dens, casinos, and clandestine meetings with the HABS (that's husbands and boyfriends). "Nothing was open, nobody was around, and there's nothing to do."

Okay, so we might actually find ourselves with a team concentrating on the football! And here's a good chance to be reminded that women's football - providing you take it at its own value rather than compare it to the men's game - can be good value.

England launch their campaign against Italy this afternoon, with the game covered live on Eurosport. And while in the men's game that would be a dodgy opening fixture, for the girls it's a bit more straightforward. England won 4-1 on the last occasion they met in 2005, and should be more than worth backing, even at the short price of [1.54], to do the same again. The Italians will be strong defensively, though, so have a look at [4.7] for a draw at half time before England win.

Manager Hope Powell must be one of the longest serving bosses in international football, having been in charge since 1998. As a player she once had to sleep on a gym floor the night before an away international match, so poorly resourced was the team. Now she's got the whole FA support of analysts, medical staff and computer gizmos that keep the men on the road.

She also has six players in the side - Smith, Alex Scott, Anita Asante, Karen Carney, Eniola Aluko and Karen Bardsley - who have just finished a full season playing as proper professionals in the American League. And that will give her arguably the best chance ever of landing a major competition.

Germany are almost inevitably favourites to emerge as winners, while Denmark and Sweden are always likely to be strong contenders. But the wide open nature of this competition was signalled by hosts Finland scoring a 1-0 win over the Danes in the opening game.

The market's only just forming, but as the Eurosport coverage raises awareness it will attract more interest. England are currently priced between [8.8] and [19] to lift the trophy. If you can get something matched around [15] it could be decent value - Powell's team proved in the last world cup that they have terrific team spirit, and might just be capable of setting an example to Fabio Capello of how to win a tournament.

Five things you might not know about Hope Powell

1. Born in 1966 in Lewisham, South London, she got into football keeping up with the lads when she was one of the first girls to go to posh Bethany School, which had been only for boys for 100 years. The FA banned her from playing with the boys team when she was 12

2. She made her debut for the England women's team aged 16, and won 66 caps

3. Her brother is Dirty Pretty Things and ex Libertine drummer Gary Powell

4. She has the same birthday - December 8 - as Sir Geoff Hurst

5. She completed her Pro Licence coaching qualification in 2003 on the same course as Stuart Pearce. She was the first woman to achieve the award