Youngsters add to Ewe Rams’ hunger
DERBY County Women will have a different look and a different level of challenges in the new FA Women’s National League season.
But Sam Griffiths, continuing as first team manager, says she is looking forward to the challenge of working with a more youthful squad than has been the case in recent seasons.
The club have been within a whisker of promotion to the FA Women’s Championship – and official professional status – in recent seasons.
“In terms of consistency, we’ve probably been the stand-out side in the Women’s National League, having delivered top four finishes in each of the last four campaigns,” said Griffiths.
“We’ve achieved that through a squad mixed with high profile players who have played at Championship level and above, and young players who have either come through our academy and regional talent centre system or been recruited with a view to realising potential.
“It’s a model that has seen us progress and come very close to winning the title. However, with the well-documented issues that led to a protracted takeover of the main club, we’ve had to re-adjust our strategy and focus more on youth.
“In some ways the situation mirrors the one seen with the men’s team last season, albeit without a points deduction, and it’s a challenge that we are looking forward to.
“The average age of the squad is lower than in previous seasons, however the hunger and desire to succeed within the group is there for all to see and in some ways it’s brought a freshness to the management team and myself.”
Off the pitch, general manager Duncan Gibb is proud of how the club dealt with the main clubs’ period of administration.
“We operate a hybrid model that has been championed as an example of best practice within the female game,” said Gibb. “We develop significant levels of revenue ourselves, which in recent seasons, up to the point of administration, were complemented by additional investment from the main club.
“As a result, when administration came we were able to re-align ourselves accordingly and, in hindsight, made an excellent early decision to adopt a worst-case scenario and view the administration as a seasonlong challenge, which proved accurate to the exact day.
“We’ve prided ourselves on being open in terms of communication, which made things a lot easier than most expected and allowed us to deliver the highest league position in the club’s 32-year history.
“We also became an official stakeholder in the redeveloped stadium at Mickleover, our home for the past five seasons. With a new ownership group only recently taking over the Rams, we accept there will be a period of prioritisation and familiarisation, which will include the women’s arm of the club.”
A strong sponsorship base has been key to much of the women’s club’s success and stability for Gibb – and it still will be.
“The main club was still in administration when we came to setting our budget for the new season, so we set ourselves a highly ambitious 35% increase in sponsorship revenues against what had been our best season to date in this area,” added Gibb.
“I’m delighted to say that we’ve achieved that objective on the back of our existing partners continuing to buy into what we do and how we do it, and new partners buying into our vision.”
Last season, Ewe Rams were one of the best supported clubs in the National League and Gibb is hopeful that a combination of the England Lionesses’ success and a renewed feel good factor around the main club will only enhance that.
“The media spotlight on female football in the UK has never been greater than it is now, with fans recognising the standard of the product,” he added. “There is a real buoyancy in the city when it comes to all things Derby County and we hope to capitalise on both.”
Derby County Women open their campaign against Burnley at 2pm on Sunday, August 21 (2pm) at Mickleover’s Station Road ground. Admission is free for Rams season ticket holders, £5 for adults and £2 for juniors.