‘WE’VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO - WE HAVE TO PROVE WE’RE WORTH MORE’
A GROUP of Norwegian Stoke City diehards might have given everyone a little glimpse of the future when they belted out songs from first whistle to last earlier this month.
They had flown over for a Championship home game against Birmingham and stayed for Stoke Women’s Northern Premier Division game against Nottingham Forest. Both ended in defeat but the point was that they were there in the first place.
Stoke City Women currently play in the third tier. They are amateurs but ambitious, aiming to get into the Championship in the next three years and then, from there, well, who knows? It will need investment so now they are trying to show why they deserve it.
And this is the time to do it. Interest in women’s football in England and the Potteries – and occasionally its, ahem, Stoke-mad Oslo suburb – is peaking thanks to the success of the Lionesses, who have demonstrated they can pack out the bet365 Stadium as well as Wembley over the last few months.
Stoke’s crowds are increasing and they hope that more supporters will come down to get their local football fix while the World Cup is going on in Qatar. It’s a tasty FA Cup second round tie at Loughborough Lightning next weekend, hoping to get in the third round draw with the Super League big guns, before they are back at the Emerys Stadium, Norton, for a League Cup game against Forest again on December 4 (2pm).
They are under the guidance of head coach Warren Holmes, coach Lou Roberts and new general manager Angela Smith, trying to keep heading in the right direction in a division where some clubs are already paying players.
Kelsey Richardson is a postwoman, for instance, captain Meg Bowyer works in the rehabilitation of offenders, Sophie Thompson is in an NHS cardiology unit, there is a teacher, a charity worker, a scientist and five students… but they all come together, twice a week for training and on match days, embracing a professional approach and they are determined to do well for the club.
The Norwegians will be back soon enough – and hopefully so will more and more other supporters.
“We’ve got a really young squad that can only get better, including some really exciting prospects in the reserves,” said Smith. “And the main thing that has really hit me in the three months I’ve been working with the girls is their attitude and how hard they work. I can honestly say that this is like the Stoke men’s team of old where they really play for their shirt.
“The objective is to get out of this division in the next three years and to get into the Championship. That will take hard work and more investment. We’ve got a long way to go and while the club has given a much more healthy budget this year, we have to prove on the pitch that we’re worth more.
“I’m conscious that Ricky Martin (Stoke’s new technical director) was at
West Ham and took them from a portacabin to the Women’s Super League so I’m confident that he will want to integrate the women into the plans moving forward, after he has sorted out some other pressing issues.
“But there is no getting around it that at the moment you’re a cost to the football club and if we don’t do things now then we will miss the boat. Women’s football is very high profile thanks to the Lionesses and we have to make it count.
“The supporters who have been coming along are coming up and saying they will come back because they really enjoy it. Season ticket holders can get in free, tickets are £3 and £1 for apart from that and there’s the clubhouse to have a drink as well if you can. There’s cover, you’re not going to get wet, and you’ll enjoy watching a team that gives their all.”
Smith was brought in as general manager in the summer, hoping to use her experience across sport – and it doesn’t do any harm that she’s an avid Stoke fan too.
“I was asked to come in with the objective of improving standards, off the pitch primarily which should help on the pitch,” she said. “It’s to help get everything as professional as possible within our budget.
“I started women’s professional squash so I’ve experienced most of this stuff before. I’ve seen the pitfalls, seen how things can be improved and, when I’ve made mistakes, hopefully I’ve learned from them. It isn’t just me but when you bring in a fresh pair of eyes it helps to be alert to every possibility.
“There are things like making certain they are fuelled properly before games and changing what’s eaten after games, having properly prepared food. We eat breakfast together on match days that gets people together to get to the stadium. There’s a sense of unity.
“We’re trying to work with Staffordshire University to improve certain fitness testing, which will be great for us, and we’re doing stuff with the academy and academy staff. This week we’re focusing on nutrition, rest and recovery. We see them three days a week but what they do on the other four days is important.”
Changes are not just related to results, however, and Stoke have become one of the first clubs to change from white home shorts to red as issues unique to women’s sport are belatedly brought to the fore.
“It’s a little thing but when you’re a female of a certain age and you have a period it is difficult to wear white shorts and that in itself can affect and restrict confidence,” said Smith. “We made a decision as a group to change shorts. West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City have done the same and amazingly it’s been picked up in America too.”
The one regret for Smith, a world class squash player, is that she isn’t running out to play herself.
“If football had advanced plenty many years ago, I probably wouldn’t have played squash,” she said.
“I grew up playing football and cricket on our street and when I see Stoke run out I wish I could get in that shirt and get out and play too.
“The most important thing now is that young girls at school are being given a chance to play more than they are at the moment. It helps that we have people like Ian Wright, who has been a big advocate banging the drum for that. It needs to happen.”