Toni Duggan is part of Manchester City's relaunched women's team, who are contenders to win WSL1. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
How is women's football changing?
"We think over the next four years WSL1 will be full-time professionals," says Kelly Simmons, the Football Association's director of the national game and women's football. "Four years ago I remember talking to England players and they were giving up their holidays, working full time, trying to train at night, giving it all up to play for England. A big part of creating WSL was to make them full time and raise the standards in this country."
Media interest is gathering pace as BT Sport will show live matches and a weekly highlights package, BBC 5 Live Extra will provide commentary for 16 matches, and a multimillion pound four-year deal with commercial partners is in place. With all this going on, Simmons says that even Manchester United, having long ignored the women's game, are now considering a women's team.
A new England manager, Mark Sampson, recruited from Bristol Academy, has enhanced the relationship between the international and domestic setup. At the recent Cyprus Cup tournament the FA invited a number of league managers – including Liverpool's Matt Beard and Arsenal's Shelley Kerr – to scout the opposition for England.
But with women's football's boom-and-bust past, how can the game be sure of a future? Simmons says the days of a men's team being relegated and disbanding their women's side, as happened at Charlton, are over, with WSL licences demanding separate bank accounts and boards of directors. "Making sure the legal framework around the clubs is there is really important, it protects them from some of those scenarios we saw before. The game is so much more visible now, some of the things that happened before would cause an outcry now."
Promotion and relegation begins …
After the debacle of Doncaster Belles' relegation before they had even kicked a ball last season and Sunderland's non-qualification for inclusion in WSL1, despite winning the Premier League, all for non-footballing reasons, Simmons says the FAWSL has finally solved the issue of its licensing regulations. "I'm pretty confident we won't see anything like that this season," said Simmons, who will work with the clubs topping the table in the latter stages of the season to ensure they meet the promotion criteria.
One of the sticking points for the Belles was their ground-share at the 15,000 seat Keepmoat Stadium with Doncaster Rovers and Doncaster Rugby League FC, which contravened the FA's criteria on prioritising women's fixtures. Conversations behind the scenes appear to have resolved that issue but whoever is promoted will still need to raise £75,000 to enter the top tier – a previous stumbling block for such as Sunderland.
Sunderland's director of football, Claire Robinson, says she remains supportive of the system. "There's been a lot of negativity and criticism over the FA and the way things went last season but if you look at the clubs in the league now they're fantastic franchises doing really well, so in my opinion the FA were right to do it."
Where are all the female managers?
Only five out of 18 WSL clubs have female managers – Shelley Kerr at Arsenal, Emma Hayes at Chelsea, Jayne Ludlow at Reading, Sarah Lawler at Yeovil, and at Sunderland Claire Robinson alongside Mick Mulhern. The recently appointed Ludlow, a former Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain, completed her A licence with Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood but believes that women-only coaching qualifications – such as the FA's Uefa B licence planned for this summer – could help improve the numbers.
"When I did my Level 2 many years ago I was the only female on the course and it's the same doing my Pro Licence now," says Ludlow, who also gained experience under the Wales coach Jarmo Matikainen. "For me, it wasn't an issue because I was enjoying it but for many females it can be an intimidating arena because they have to coach their male colleagues on the course or boys' under-18 sides. It can put a lot of females off."
Expect to see Arsenal's Kelly Smith as the next star name in coaching – the legendary midfielder starts her Uefa B next month and is already working alongside Kerr to gain experience.
Who will secure the WSL1 title?
Manchester City's relaunched team, with star signings and stellar facilities, prompted headlines that City could be favourites but, despite a strong spine in Toni Duggan, Jill Scott, Steph Houghton and Karen Bardsley, the squad remain largely untested. The manager Nick Cushing – a former City academy coach – has no experience of women's football. The defending champions Liverpool will seek to defy second-season syndrome after Beard last year masterminded their incredible route to the top, having finished bottom the previous season. Liverpool have the league's stand-out player in Natasha Dowie but are missing two key personnel in Nicole Rolser and Lucy Staniforth to cruciate ligament injuries.
Though rival teams plundered Arsenal's talent in the transfer market, Shelley Kerr's side bolstered their squad with the Holland international Anouk Hoogendijk, and Japan World Cup winners Shinobu Ohno and Yukari Kinga but it is Chelsea who have been most active, with eight new signings; manager Emma Hayes seeking to turnaround their second from bottom finish last year. Bristol Academy, having lost Sampson to the England job, will hope to continue their good form under new manager David Edmondson after narrowly missing out on last year's title.
Who will clinch the WSL2 crown?
Sunderland are obvious favourites, having won the last three Premier League seasons in a row. The 18-year-old Beth Mead has been the league's top scorer for the past two years and with renewed investment the club are set to shine this season.
Standing in their way are relegated WSL1 side Doncaster Belles, with the former England star Sue Smith, who says the team have regrouped after their disappointments. "We got things out into the open and made a pact to say we're going to stick together. That's something we've always had at Doncaster, a good team spirit. If we could get up in a season it would be brilliant but we're not thinking it's going to be easy."
Millwall have the advantage of expert advice from the WSL1 winner Beard, alongside the backing of the men's team allowing them to play at the Den each week, while with teams such as Oxford and Durham in the mix – both having joined from two leagues below in the football pyramid – there remains an element of the unknown.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Manchester City have the stars but squad are untested in Super League
With two divisions and more media and commercial interest, women's football has a new intensity this season
Toni Duggan is part of Manchester City's relaunched women's team, who are contenders to win WSL1. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
How is women's football changing?
"We think over the next four years WSL1 will be full-time professionals," says Kelly Simmons, the Football Association's director of the national game and women's football. "Four years ago I remember talking to England players and they were giving up their holidays, working full time, trying to train at night, giving it all up to play for England. A big part of creating WSL was to make them full time and raise the standards in this country."
Media interest is gathering pace as BT Sport will show live matches and a weekly highlights package, BBC 5 Live Extra will provide commentary for 16 matches, and a multimillion pound four-year deal with commercial partners is in place. With all this going on, Simmons says that even Manchester United, having long ignored the women's game, are now considering a women's team.
A new England manager, Mark Sampson, recruited from Bristol Academy, has enhanced the relationship between the international and domestic setup. At the recent Cyprus Cup tournament the FA invited a number of league managers – including Liverpool's Matt Beard and Arsenal's Shelley Kerr – to scout the opposition for England.
But with women's football's boom-and-bust past, how can the game be sure of a future? Simmons says the days of a men's team being relegated and disbanding their women's side, as happened at Charlton, are over, with WSL licences demanding separate bank accounts and boards of directors. "Making sure the legal framework around the clubs is there is really important, it protects them from some of those scenarios we saw before. The game is so much more visible now, some of the things that happened before would cause an outcry now."
Promotion and relegation begins …
After the debacle of Doncaster Belles' relegation before they had even kicked a ball last season and Sunderland's non-qualification for inclusion in WSL1, despite winning the Premier League, all for non-footballing reasons, Simmons says the FAWSL has finally solved the issue of its licensing regulations. "I'm pretty confident we won't see anything like that this season," said Simmons, who will work with the clubs topping the table in the latter stages of the season to ensure they meet the promotion criteria.
One of the sticking points for the Belles was their ground-share at the 15,000 seat Keepmoat Stadium with Doncaster Rovers and Doncaster Rugby League FC, which contravened the FA's criteria on prioritising women's fixtures. Conversations behind the scenes appear to have resolved that issue but whoever is promoted will still need to raise £75,000 to enter the top tier – a previous stumbling block for such as Sunderland.
Sunderland's director of football, Claire Robinson, says she remains supportive of the system. "There's been a lot of negativity and criticism over the FA and the way things went last season but if you look at the clubs in the league now they're fantastic franchises doing really well, so in my opinion the FA were right to do it."
Where are all the female managers?
Only five out of 18 WSL clubs have female managers – Shelley Kerr at Arsenal, Emma Hayes at Chelsea, Jayne Ludlow at Reading, Sarah Lawler at Yeovil, and at Sunderland Claire Robinson alongside Mick Mulhern. The recently appointed Ludlow, a former Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain, completed her A licence with Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood but believes that women-only coaching qualifications – such as the FA's Uefa B licence planned for this summer – could help improve the numbers.
"When I did my Level 2 many years ago I was the only female on the course and it's the same doing my Pro Licence now," says Ludlow, who also gained experience under the Wales coach Jarmo Matikainen. "For me, it wasn't an issue because I was enjoying it but for many females it can be an intimidating arena because they have to coach their male colleagues on the course or boys' under-18 sides. It can put a lot of females off."
Expect to see Arsenal's Kelly Smith as the next star name in coaching – the legendary midfielder starts her Uefa B next month and is already working alongside Kerr to gain experience.
Who will secure the WSL1 title?
Manchester City's relaunched team, with star signings and stellar facilities, prompted headlines that City could be favourites but, despite a strong spine in Toni Duggan, Jill Scott, Steph Houghton and Karen Bardsley, the squad remain largely untested. The manager Nick Cushing – a former City academy coach – has no experience of women's football. The defending champions Liverpool will seek to defy second-season syndrome after Beard last year masterminded their incredible route to the top, having finished bottom the previous season. Liverpool have the league's stand-out player in Natasha Dowie but are missing two key personnel in Nicole Rolser and Lucy Staniforth to cruciate ligament injuries.
Though rival teams plundered Arsenal's talent in the transfer market, Shelley Kerr's side bolstered their squad with the Holland international Anouk Hoogendijk, and Japan World Cup winners Shinobu Ohno and Yukari Kinga but it is Chelsea who have been most active, with eight new signings; manager Emma Hayes seeking to turnaround their second from bottom finish last year. Bristol Academy, having lost Sampson to the England job, will hope to continue their good form under new manager David Edmondson after narrowly missing out on last year's title.
Who will clinch the WSL2 crown?
Sunderland are obvious favourites, having won the last three Premier League seasons in a row. The 18-year-old Beth Mead has been the league's top scorer for the past two years and with renewed investment the club are set to shine this season.
Standing in their way are relegated WSL1 side Doncaster Belles, with the former England star Sue Smith, who says the team have regrouped after their disappointments. "We got things out into the open and made a pact to say we're going to stick together. That's something we've always had at Doncaster, a good team spirit. If we could get up in a season it would be brilliant but we're not thinking it's going to be easy."
Millwall have the advantage of expert advice from the WSL1 winner Beard, alongside the backing of the men's team allowing them to play at the Den each week, while with teams such as Oxford and Durham in the mix – both having joined from two leagues below in the football pyramid – there remains an element of the unknown.
Toni Duggan is part of Manchester City's relaunched women's team, who are contenders to win WSL1. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
How is women's football changing?
"We think over the next four years WSL1 will be full-time professionals," says Kelly Simmons, the Football Association's director of the national game and women's football. "Four years ago I remember talking to England players and they were giving up their holidays, working full time, trying to train at night, giving it all up to play for England. A big part of creating WSL was to make them full time and raise the standards in this country."
Media interest is gathering pace as BT Sport will show live matches and a weekly highlights package, BBC 5 Live Extra will provide commentary for 16 matches, and a multimillion pound four-year deal with commercial partners is in place. With all this going on, Simmons says that even Manchester United, having long ignored the women's game, are now considering a women's team.
A new England manager, Mark Sampson, recruited from Bristol Academy, has enhanced the relationship between the international and domestic setup. At the recent Cyprus Cup tournament the FA invited a number of league managers – including Liverpool's Matt Beard and Arsenal's Shelley Kerr – to scout the opposition for England.
But with women's football's boom-and-bust past, how can the game be sure of a future? Simmons says the days of a men's team being relegated and disbanding their women's side, as happened at Charlton, are over, with WSL licences demanding separate bank accounts and boards of directors. "Making sure the legal framework around the clubs is there is really important, it protects them from some of those scenarios we saw before. The game is so much more visible now, some of the things that happened before would cause an outcry now."
Promotion and relegation begins …
After the debacle of Doncaster Belles' relegation before they had even kicked a ball last season and Sunderland's non-qualification for inclusion in WSL1, despite winning the Premier League, all for non-footballing reasons, Simmons says the FAWSL has finally solved the issue of its licensing regulations. "I'm pretty confident we won't see anything like that this season," said Simmons, who will work with the clubs topping the table in the latter stages of the season to ensure they meet the promotion criteria.
One of the sticking points for the Belles was their ground-share at the 15,000 seat Keepmoat Stadium with Doncaster Rovers and Doncaster Rugby League FC, which contravened the FA's criteria on prioritising women's fixtures. Conversations behind the scenes appear to have resolved that issue but whoever is promoted will still need to raise £75,000 to enter the top tier – a previous stumbling block for such as Sunderland.
Sunderland's director of football, Claire Robinson, says she remains supportive of the system. "There's been a lot of negativity and criticism over the FA and the way things went last season but if you look at the clubs in the league now they're fantastic franchises doing really well, so in my opinion the FA were right to do it."
Where are all the female managers?
Only five out of 18 WSL clubs have female managers – Shelley Kerr at Arsenal, Emma Hayes at Chelsea, Jayne Ludlow at Reading, Sarah Lawler at Yeovil, and at Sunderland Claire Robinson alongside Mick Mulhern. The recently appointed Ludlow, a former Arsenal midfielder and Wales captain, completed her A licence with Les Ferdinand and Tim Sherwood but believes that women-only coaching qualifications – such as the FA's Uefa B licence planned for this summer – could help improve the numbers.
"When I did my Level 2 many years ago I was the only female on the course and it's the same doing my Pro Licence now," says Ludlow, who also gained experience under the Wales coach Jarmo Matikainen. "For me, it wasn't an issue because I was enjoying it but for many females it can be an intimidating arena because they have to coach their male colleagues on the course or boys' under-18 sides. It can put a lot of females off."
Expect to see Arsenal's Kelly Smith as the next star name in coaching – the legendary midfielder starts her Uefa B next month and is already working alongside Kerr to gain experience.
Who will secure the WSL1 title?
Manchester City's relaunched team, with star signings and stellar facilities, prompted headlines that City could be favourites but, despite a strong spine in Toni Duggan, Jill Scott, Steph Houghton and Karen Bardsley, the squad remain largely untested. The manager Nick Cushing – a former City academy coach – has no experience of women's football. The defending champions Liverpool will seek to defy second-season syndrome after Beard last year masterminded their incredible route to the top, having finished bottom the previous season. Liverpool have the league's stand-out player in Natasha Dowie but are missing two key personnel in Nicole Rolser and Lucy Staniforth to cruciate ligament injuries.
Though rival teams plundered Arsenal's talent in the transfer market, Shelley Kerr's side bolstered their squad with the Holland international Anouk Hoogendijk, and Japan World Cup winners Shinobu Ohno and Yukari Kinga but it is Chelsea who have been most active, with eight new signings; manager Emma Hayes seeking to turnaround their second from bottom finish last year. Bristol Academy, having lost Sampson to the England job, will hope to continue their good form under new manager David Edmondson after narrowly missing out on last year's title.
Who will clinch the WSL2 crown?
Sunderland are obvious favourites, having won the last three Premier League seasons in a row. The 18-year-old Beth Mead has been the league's top scorer for the past two years and with renewed investment the club are set to shine this season.
Standing in their way are relegated WSL1 side Doncaster Belles, with the former England star Sue Smith, who says the team have regrouped after their disappointments. "We got things out into the open and made a pact to say we're going to stick together. That's something we've always had at Doncaster, a good team spirit. If we could get up in a season it would be brilliant but we're not thinking it's going to be easy."
Millwall have the advantage of expert advice from the WSL1 winner Beard, alongside the backing of the men's team allowing them to play at the Den each week, while with teams such as Oxford and Durham in the mix – both having joined from two leagues below in the football pyramid – there remains an element of the unknown.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment