All about Jazz...

This year we have seen stories about Helena Costa, Corinne Diacre and more recently, Shelley Kerr. All who have been appointed to coach professional men's team and have hit the media headlines with mixed reactions. Of course, there is no reason why women and men shouldn't be allowed to coach teams of opposite genders, in fact there is no reason they shouldn't be able play together. Yet, still we see women being overlooked in all areas of football, even if their CV is full to the brim of the appropriate qualifications.

So isn't it refreshing when people like Jazz Hervin come along? You may not recognise that name, it hasn't quite made the back pages of the national newspapers or the scrolling news feed on Sky Sports just yet.  But at only 19 years of age, Hervin is certainly on target to be one of England's most promising and successful coaches. Even some of the world's finest and most experienced coaches didn't start their managerial careers until their playing careers had ended, so she is well ahead of the mark.

Hervin has been a part of the Football Futures Leadership Programme for three and a half years and has attended all leadership camps from County and Regional through to National Levels. In 2011, she began volunteering and coaching at a grassroots club with an U8’s team. She spent a year picking up cones and watching other coaches, whilst also completing her FA Level 1 coaching and FA Youth Award Module 1 courses. 

From there, she spent the next couple of years devoting her time to coaching multiple teams of boys and girls, of varied ages at her club. Hervin attended FA National Leadership Camps and completed further coaching badges and modules along the way. 

She was selected to be a part of the National Coach Scholarship Programme and represent The FA at The National Coaches Academy at Loughborough University. Towards the end of 2013, she was offered a position on The FA National Game Youth Council for the second year running, as Head of Administration, where she is part of the senior management team, a mentor and the lead on a national research project. Around this time, she was also appointed as the ISFA (Independant Schools Football Association) England Women’s U18 Squad Head Coach on a one year deal, at only 18 years of age herself. 

Hervin has a real passion for coaching and assisting others, she says: "I currently coach many grassroots level teams, in both school and club settings, two academy teams and the ISFA England Women’s U16 Squad. As well as coaching, I enjoy helping others, so I mentor other coaches within my local area and across the south west region."

This year, Hervin was appointed as an FA National Coach Development Programme Mentor, where she presents at CPD events for coaches. She adds: "My duty requires me to support and deliver best practice, high quality coaching sessions to the candidates on the national programme."

Inspire Football recently held a National Coaching Conference, in which she attended as a special guest and they highlighted Hervin as 1 of 10 top young coaches from across England. Hervin expressed her delight: "Inspire Football have also chosen myself as the coach, within England, whose coaching journey they wish to support, follow and share with others on a international level, to continue my dream of inspiring others the best I can."

Hervin has a busy year ahead: "I have been asked to deliver coaching workshops at two major conferences within England, run by Kick It Out. This will be one conference in 2014, at a women's only event. And the other in 2015, at a national event, bringing the best of the best within football in England, together on one day." She has recently been chosen by The FA to travel to South Korea this month, to deliver both theory workshops and practical coaching sessions as part of an International Programme run by the UN. On top of that she has a UEFA B license course to look forward too.

Her latest appointement has been as Head Coach of the Stoke Gabriel Senior Men's First Team, who are competing in the South West Peninsula Football League, Premier Division. Hervin tells us that in the history of the South West Peninsula Football League, no team has ever had a female coach.

Hervin expresses her ambition in this latest role: "As a 19 year old girl, coaching a senior men's team, I hope that this will be another opportunity for me to inspire as many women and young people to challenge themselves and break the mould of what is seen as the 'norm'. As well as develop the belief from more people within the game, that women and young people can achieve what they set out to."

With an abundance of awards and qualifications to her name and many more to come, there are already so many chapters in Hervin's coaching career, her passion and drive are so admirable at such a young age. She is unique and ambitious, which hopefully will be acknowledged throughout her future career.

It is great to see women making incredible achievements in the modern world of football, especially when they make headline news for the right reasons. But we also need to remember, that football begins at the grassroots level. If we can change the culture of football, erase the stereotypes and relay the message that football IS for all, then hopefully more young girls like Jazz Hervin can achieve anything.

Battle Of Two Cities...

...Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal, Everton 1-2 Chelsea.

SOTB took a trip down to Widnes' Select Security Stadium, home of Liverpool and Everton Ladies FC, to watch the FA Womens Super League highlight of the season-'The Battle Of Two Cities'. Over 1300 fans were in attendance overall as London-based Arsenal and Chelsea beat Merseyside duo Liverpool and Everton. It was a great afternoon for fans, who got two high quality matches for just a £5 entry ticket. As well as a junior fanzone section outside the stadium for children to enjoy a range of activities, there was competitions and freebies available throughout the day.




In the early kick off, Liverpool spent the first half on top, with their ability to keep possession for long spells clearly winding up the visitors. Natasha Dowie and ex-Gunner Gemma Davison both impressed and had a few chances to put their team ahead between them. Unfortunately for Liverpool, after the break, defender Casey Stoney put Arsenal ahead from a corner as an initial attempt on goal rebounded up against her nose and into the net. Both sides had chances to score throughout the scrappy second half, as Arsenal got into their attacking flow and Liverpool brought in some early substitutions. Liverpool's last minute replacement keeper Danielle Gibbons was on brilliant form to keep the score down in the later stages.

After the first game, we got a chance to catch up with Liverpool's captain, Gemma Bonner. At only 22 years old, Bonner bears the qualities of a player who has been in the professional game for decades. She is clearly an all round footballer-great defensively, a natural born leader and even scores the occasional goal. Originally she started playing for Leeds United from the age of eight, Bonner moved to Chelsea in 2011, where she first started playing under Matt Beard. In 2012, she then met back up with Beard who was now Liverpool's manager, by also joining the Mersey club. 

Did you feel any pressure going into the game today with Arsenal at the bottom of the table and seemingly a lot to prove on one hand, but then they've also enjoyed recent FA Cup success? 


Arsenal have always been a good side over the years, historically they've always been the best in women's football. Although they were bottom of the league before today, we knew it would be a tough test. It showed out there, it was a bit scrappy, the goal itself summed the game up really. For me, it's patience. Once we've conceded a goal, we've got to keep doing the things we are doing well. The patience in the play then once we do get into the final third, take them risks.

How does it feel having a player like Natasha Dowie on the team, a proven goalscorer, surely that's a relief as a defender having her on your side?

Yes definitely, it's not just Natasha though, we have got a lot of good players. Like out on the wing for example we've got Gemma Davison, all across the team we have got players that can win games for us. Once it does finally click for us, we'll score more goals.

Do you see yourselves being able to retain the title again with ease, or is the competition from other teams becoming more intense and open now?

We're expecting to be up there with the players we've got. With the league more competitive then ever, teams are taking points off each other all over. It's going to be tight this year, although we lost today,we've got to remain positive. Other teams will be taking points off them too, so we will keep positive and improve on today.

You have started writing a new column on Liverpool FC's website. How is that going so far and was it your idea?

It was the club's idea actually to push behind the women's side. Using the men's fanbase, puts a lot more knowledge out there into the game and gives people more insight. Matt Beard and I are going to take it in turns on a monthly basis and hopefully that will improve the fanbase for us.

Coming up in July, you have the Merseyside derby with Everton. Sharing the same stadium, does that increase the rivalry even more on match days?

It's great every time we play them, there is always going to be some rivalry. They're always tough games against Everton. We found out recently as they knocked us out the cup, and it then was a tough game in the league cup. The derby and rivalry adds to the occasions, so it's always hard against them.

Last season saw Liverpool beat Bristol Academy 4-3, with your 86th minute rocket of a goal securing all three points. How does it feel knowing that goal helped put you back on top of the league and ultimately contributed to winning the season, with it being so tight at the end?

It was a great feeling scoring the goal but more importantly for us it was getting the three points. If it hadn't of gone in and been a draw, it might of been different at the end of the season. I was just happy overall to help the team get the three points.

Well done also for making the PFA team of the year, alongside fellow team mates Lucy Bronze, Fara Williams, Natasha Dowie and Nicole Rosler. What does having that strong Liverpool connection in there show to your league rivals?

For us, if you look at the season we had last year, the positive about it was the great team spirit that we had. There wasn't just one focus in the team. It shows, the recognition of the players together, it's great to have so many LFC players in there.
Lucy won the player of the year award, she had a great season and has been a good attacking outlet for us.


You had quite the season, also being nominated for the 2013 North West player of the year amongst Everton's Nikita Paris and Toni Duggan, with the latter winning the award. These types of recognition must surely boost your chances in the England senior set up?


It's always nice to get nominated for these awards, but ultimately it's on the pitch where you need to prove it. Last season was successful for us as a club, but it's a totally different season now. We've got to forget last season in a way, learn from it, push on and improve even more.

Regarding the England set up, it's a smooth transition from club to country, as you get use to playing with the same players more and against them each week in the league. The standards are a lot higher in training, and as you go back to your club you want to take those standards with you.

As a club, Liverpool FC come across very tight nit and almost a family in a sense. Do you get support from the men's side and vice versa?

The men's side of the club have been a massive support to us, the column is just another way of them wanting to put us out there. The club has a 'one club' philosophy and to be integrated into that makes you feel proud to be part of the club.

Lastly, what does the future hold for you Gemma, any ambitions to play abroad one day or at any other clubs?

I'm happy where we are as a club, I think we're in a good place. We have got Champions League football to look forward to, but we're focusing on the league campaign for now. I think we're being placed in the last 32 of the CL, so training will increase and the schedule will be tough with more games. We have got a good squad and now the youngsters are coming through with more league experience.

If last season was anything to go by, this year's FA WSL will still have plenty of twists and turns still to go in the race to the top. Liverpool sit mid table with nine more league matches as well as Continental Cup fixtures. And of course, they get to rub shoulders with Europe's elite players in the upcoming Champions League. Many thanks to Gemma for giving her time to be interviewed and also to the FA WSL and clubs for a fantastic day.

Both match highlights can be found here: Liverpool vs Arsenal and Everton vs Chelsea

Out with the old, in with the news...

...No More Page 3!

Picture the scene, August 2012, the London Olympics was in full flow. Athletes representing Great Britain were competing in all areas of sport, men and women were bringing in Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in individual and team events. The newspapers were boasting masses of results and daily analysis, littering the pages with Union Jack's and for that summer it felt like a nation was united with it's mutual love affair of sport. 

Why is it then, that the largest female image in the UK's most read newspaper-The Sun, is not of a gold medal winner, a league winning football team or a record breaking boxer? But it is that of a woman showing her breasts! That is the question Lucy-Ann Holmes, founder of the 'No More Page 3' campaign, started asking herself. Lucy began the campaign by writing a letter to The Sun Editor-Dominic Mahon, asking him to politely remove the page 3 image. Since then, with the help of social media, she has recruited more volunteers to join the team and created an online petition with currently over 195k signatures. 

On a personal level, when I began the SOTB website, I wanted to raise the awareness of women's football. It was a daily habit of mine to read newspapers, use social media and visit mainstream sports websites (e.g. BBC, SkySports, BT). Like Lucy, I found myself thrilled with the success of women's sport at the Olympics and the media coverage that surrounded it. I thought this would be a great foundation of future headlines, women would finally get a fairer share of news stories. Of course this wasn't the case, after the hype of Summer 2012, women's sports columns whittled back down to tiny 100-word segments if any. The Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) found through research that only 7% of sports media coverage is devoted to women. 

The Sun considers itself as a family newspaper, yet we see pages and pages of men in clothes running the country, succeeding in sport, politics, finance and other areas. If you went and got a Sun newsaper tomorrow, I can guarantee most of the articles involving women are fashion, body, celebrity or baby related. From the daily updates on Princess Kate's outfit choices, to Rihanna sunning on a beach in a bikini. Fashion tips and health advice on body shape/image in the lifestyle sections and most noticeable of all, the topless model on page 3. As quoted in the NMP3 website: "The front pages is where all the important news gets put. By putting a picture of a woman in just her pants, the newspaper is telling its readers that what is really more important about women is the way they look and their sexual allure. It does't care what they have to say, what their achievements or talents are."

NMP3 have this year raised money and sponsored kits for Nottingham Forest Ladies FC, Cheltenham Town Ladies FC and Scottish mountain biker, Lee Craigie.  SOTB recently spoke to NMP3 member, Lisa Clarke (pictured below), about the the sponsorships and the NMP3 team's growing success.

So Lisa, what made you personally get involved in the campaign?

I had been on my feminist journey for only a few months to a year I think when I first found NMP3 and it struck a chord with me instantly. For some of my childhood The Sun had been our newspaper of choice at home and still now page 3 is something I see all to regularly in my work as a nurse.

I signed the petition and shared it and then liked the Facebook page and followed on twitter. I instantly became engaged in debates on social media and went on the arrange two local demonstrations supporting the campaign as well as doing local radio interviews. Meanwhile our founder Lucy had been running the campaign with no formal support for the first five months and not surprisingly she became quite burnt out. I was one of the lucky people that she reached out to for help which really surprised me - she obviously saw something in me that I didn't see despite us never having met. NMP3HQ was then born. It started with 6-7 of us and has grown now to approximately 21 with about 12-13 of us currently actively running the campaign together at any given time. I can honestly say I feel completely privileged to be working with such an extraordinary and inspiring team of people.

What is the current amount of signatures on the petition? And did you ever think as a group, it would reach this level?

We hit the 194,000 boom today and have had a flurry of signatures. It's a strange thing. I think as a group we are constantly surprised by the scale and size this campaign has taken on, it's momentum, it's seemingly organic life force of brilliance supplied by our supporters who bring such creativity, dedication and commitment to it.  Yet at the same time I don't think any of us have ever had any real doubts that it would continue to grow, that more and more people would support and that ultimately we will win because we have to, it is completely the right thing, it's common sense.

What support have you had from those regularly in the media (celebrities, sports stars, musicians, politicians, etc)?

We get lovely little occasional surprises from celebrities who pop up and announce their support on twitter or elsewhere. Last week comedian Rhod Gilbert just came out with it beautifully matter of factly on his radio program whilst reviewing the papers and we find a lot of celebrity support comes form comedians who I suppose are good at seeing the ridiculousness of the situation - Chris Addison was there from very early on along as was Jennifer Saunders. The brilliant Chris O'Dowd popped up one evening last year asked where to sign, fought a barrage of trolling with utter eloquence and, when we offered him a T-shirt, he told us he had already bought himself one along with a badge. We've had overseas support from Roseanne Barr and actor Juliette Lewis and in the world of sport in the UK from the brilliant Claire Balding and the Women's Sports Trust.

We have some celebrities who have really gone out of their way for us - Gemma Chan, Emma Freud, Doc Brown (Ben Bailey Smith) and Robin Ince to name but a few.

Tell us about your recent kit sponsorships with Nottingham Forest Ladies FC and Cheltenham Ladies FC. Whose idea was it, how did the clubs feel about it, what reaction have you had, etc?

The idea of sports sponsorship, like many of the best things with NMP3 came entirely from supporters and it instantly made complete sense. The foundations of NMP3 lay in sport, so when we heard from a representative of Cheltenham ladies FC that they were fans of the campaign and were looking for some sponsorship, to share the No More Page 3 message it made instant sense. They had already given it some thought and looked into the feasibility of crowd sourcing for funds. We set up the Nimby account with a goal of a little under £3000 to cover the cost of new kits for the team and within the space of 2 weeks we had made around £10 000, more than triple.

As soon as we passed the original goal (pardon the pun) we started thinking hard about what we could do with the rest of the money. Sticking with the original theme we decided to extend the sponsorship of women's sport. We had a few emails from prospective teams and individuals and in all honesty we went with our hearts and chose Nottingham Forest ladies who were in dire straights financially having lost all of their funding from Nottingham Forest FC. Also, mountain biker Lee Craigie, who as well as being an athlete was involved in Cycletherapy - delivering services to socially excluded young people in Scotland.

All of those we sponsor have embraced the campaign and likewise we have really enjoyed sharing their successes and keeping their sponsors (our supporters) posted about how their sportswomen are doing.

For me the best bit of the partnerships has been watching Forest Ladies play (I'm a life long Nottingham lass) and sharing the action shots from the games from both teams which make me, a 40 year old woman, want to play football having never done so really in my life. It's looking at these images and the inspiration they give that makes you realise how much of a difference it could make to women and girls aspirations and self image if we saw more coverage of women in sports in our media.

The Sun is highly recognised as a newspaper with good sports coverage. However, it's such a shame that there is more emphasis on a topless model rather than articles/pages on female sport. It'd be great in that sense then if more sportswomen got involved in the campaign. Have you got more plans to sponsor any more female athletes or teams?

Well we haven't ruled this out although we have no definite plans for more sponsorship at the moment. Being a group of volunteers (working and caring for kids, having busy lives, etc.) as we all are, tends to mean that keeping the day to day running of the campaign going takes a vast amount of our time and energy. In addition I have always been a keen fitness addict myself and am currently training for my second marathon which I'm hoping to run for Forest ladies who are once again facing big challenges in funding next season.

It seems such a Catch 22 to us that women's sport struggles to engage sponsors and find funding whilst at the same time fighting for even minimum coverage in our mainstream media. Most days in our tabloid press there is a sea of pictures of men in sports gear, image after image of football action shots, all of them men. There is little or no coverage of women engaging in sport despite great successes and yet valuable column inches are devoted to sexualised images of female celebrities and topless pictures of very young women standing in their pants for the sexual gratification of men.

Unfortunately, we see everyday so called 'harmless' sexist banter in the media, especially where sport is concerned. With a government insisting that more people participate in sport regularly, sport is for all, and the recent 'Olympics Legacy', why do you think the general response from those people in power, like that of David Cameron is- If you don't like it, don't buy the paper?

There is a famous tag line used by an American campaign Miss Representation "you can't be what you can't see". It says it all really- if we as a nation are serious about wanting our young women to engage in sport and to exercise then we have to provide them with the inspiration to do that. During the summer Olympics of 2012 and this years winter Olympics our screens were full at times with the sporting achievements of our women. There was never any question that these achievements were any less than those of the male athletes and for a week or two women and girls were treated to a sea of inspirational coverage that showed we could be amazing, impressive and real achievers. That our bodies were not just useable commodities but powerful tools with which we could do great things.

Even when women's sport is covered though, we seemingly tolerate the very sexist behaviour of prominent sport presenters during major events who continue to draw attention to the physically alluring body parts of our female athletes; who suggest the reason a Wimbledon winner may have taken up tennis is she isn't "a looker" or that Jessica Ennis is so good looking she could be "doing other things" rather than wasting her time winning gold for her country. In football we seem to have increasing numbers of professional players linked to violent crimes against women and yet our FA take this trend so lightly that they see fit to give a convicted rapist back his very well paid job following his release from prison so that he can continue, despite his terrible crime, to be a role model to young boys and men.

Sadly women's sport makes up only 5% of sports coverage on average, the same as men's darts. Given that we aren't overrun therefore with young men desperate for the accolade of becoming the next big darts champion why are we surprised that on the whole young women aren't falling over themselves to take up football or athletics? Instead we overwhelm young girls and their male counterparts with a sea of sexualised women's bodies often broken down into parts. Despite a wealth of evidence of the damage this causes to boys views and behaviour towards women and girls, along with women and girls' view of themselves, despite signing up to an EU commission promising to reduce sexualisation and stereotyping of women - still our government fail to take this matter seriously.

As a campaign, we are not asking for legislation to end page 3, but it says a lot when our prime minister laughs at and belittles a female MP in parliament who dares to stand up and point out the connections between sexually objectifying images on page 3 and the huge, on-going problem of violence against women.

What big events have you got coming up in the NMP3 calendar?

Well we are having quite a week this week with lots of people joining in and sending us videos encouraging The Sun to #keepitup and drop page 3 for good after leaving it out of their free, world cup marketing copy. We have also heard of the support of another big organisation to be announced soon (shhh it's a secret).

Next week we have our AGM. As we are scattered all over the country the occasions we do get together are always full of energy and its then that we get some of our best ideas. I know we really want to do some more real life demonstrations and events up and down the country if we can and we are increasingly going into schools and colleges to discuss sexism, media and relationships so this is a growing area of the campaign.
Meanwhile we continue to keep up the pressure via social media, to keep pointing out the obvious - that in 2014 it is no longer acceptable that 50% of the population are represented 5 days a week in our best selling paper as nothing more than sexual entertainment for the other half

And lastly, with the success of Twitter support and t-shirt sales, what other ways can people get behind the campaign?

To be honest just about anything goes. Tell friends and family, keep the conversation going about gender equality and media equality. If you are a member of a group or organisation you could talk to them about the backing the campaign. If you are still at school or college why not get in touch and see if we can organise to come and talk or run a workshop? You could write to your MP or local paper, ask your local radio station if you can come on and talk about your support for the campaign, write a poem, make a short film, send us a pic of you in your T-Shirt and mostly just keep checking in and inspiring us to keep going. We really do rely on you all. This campaign truly is people power in action, whether that's the powerful kick of one of our strikers or that one extra signature you land for us when you chat to someone at work, either way - nice one, back of the net!!

Thanks Lisa for your answers and for that insight behind the scenes at the NMP3 HQ. Whether you are a football fan or not, whether you read or care about what is in the newspapers or not, the message NMP3 sends out is that sexually objectifying images representing women in the national newspapers are a thing of the past. Get behind the campaign by Twitter, Facebook, buying a T-Shirt or signing the petition. Hopefully one day we can turn to the sports section and see full page spreads on the FA Women's Super League matches for a change!

Player Interview: Georgie Giddings

Reading midfielder and captain, Geogie Giddings, talks to Ruth Dacey about her move from Sweden and her work coaching in the community.

Georgie Giddings returns to England to join the Royals revolution as the team aim to make a big impact in their FA Women’s Super League début season.

Giddings is joined by an array of glittering new additions including Welsh internationals Helen Ward, and Nicky Davies and former Republic of Ireland captain Ciara Grant.  

The former Chelsea player was with the London side for seven years before moving to America and playing for the University of Connecticut Huskies between 2009 and 2012.

After returning to England Giddings signed for Ashford Town (Middlesex) Ladies before quickly making the move to IK Sirius based in Uppsala, Sweden, but has returned to captain the Reading side.

“The whole atmosphere of the club appealed to me - there is a great sense of solidarity within the club and the team is filled with confidence after winning the South division last season,” the 23-year-old said.

“Everything has been coming together well, and Jane [Ludlow] has made sure she’s implemented her own philosophy about how we should play.

“We want to be competing at the top of the table but this season brings the unknown for all the teams in the division because of so many signings at all the clubs.

“As skipper I want to make sure there is unity in the team so everyone understands their roles and how important it is to contribute 100% if we want to succeed.”

The Royals will face a tough test with fixtures against the likes of Doncaster Rovers Belles, Aston Villa Ladies FC, Sunderland AFC Ladies and Watford Ladies FC in the second tier of the newly formed league.

With so much talent in the squad ambitions are high, and Giddings is confident Reading will be challenging at the top of the table come the end of the season.

“Looking around the team I don’t think we have any weakness at all- even anybody that would come on as a substitute is capable of making a big impact,” the central mid-fielder said.

 “We have real quality especially Helen [Ward] who brings such a fantastic reputation up front- and her goal scoring record and work rate will make a big difference.

“Also Ciara’s [Grant] experience at the back is also going to help in key moments during matches and Lois Roache in mid-field brings great technical skill with her.

“For me Doncaster Belles and Sunderland are the two teams to watch but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be up there competing with them.”

Giddings, who is coaching for Reading in the community, hopes she can inspire youngsters to participate in the game and increase the number of supporters watching female matches.

“I’m loving coaching because it’s such great experience and my game is benefiting because I am working with a lot of boys that have experience playing,” the former Chelsea player said.

“I get to work in schools as well and it great because this encourages more people to come along and enhance the atmosphere whilst we’re playing.

“The women’s game keeps improving and I hope attendances and participation in the sport continues to increase.” 

By Ruth Dacey

Player Interview: Chloe Jones

Aston Villa striker, Chloe Jones, talks to Ruth Dacey about Villa's title chances, life outside the game and her transfer from Liverpool Ladies FC in February 2013.

Q. Do you see yourselves as title contenders?

We can definitely be contenders to win the division, with the young team that we have- a lot of them are home grown players that have played in the development squads. The club allows young players like that to get a chance and see all their hard work pay off which they have been working towards for years.

We have a great combination of youth and experienced players. We have definitely got the ability and the skills that we need to make a really good team and contend for the top spot.

Q. Aside from playing a part in the team, what are your personal goals?

I want to keep improving as a player. I would like to think that I am not at my peak yet. I'm aiming to be as fit as I can and as strong as I can so I'm working really hard on and off the pitch in the gym.

I want to be one of the best midfielders and one of the best players in the league. I want to score a few free kicks and penalties.

Q. After a recent cup defeat to Doncaster Rovers, are you looking for revenge against them in your first league game?

We have learnt a lot since playing them in the FA cup and since that game we have just been improving more.

By the time that we go into the first league match against them we will be a completely different side for the better. We will go there more positively knowing what we have to contend with. We know how to beat them and just how good we are because of how we’ve been playing in the last few weeks.

Q. What were your reasons for leaving future league winners Liverpool last year in pre season?

It was for personal reasons. I changed my job to become a teacher in Birmingham and the travelling to Liverpool was just too much to keep going there every day.

Also, I know Aston Villa have always been a really good team in the Midlands and they are on the rise. It is a team that is developing and getting stronger and stronger and the whole club appealed to me. I knew they were going places.

Q. And how do you find it balancing football and your teaching?

Along with all the marking that I have to do, I generally try and train in the mornings and the evenings. So I would get to the gym at 6a.m, have a full day of work and then have a second session straight after work. 

I always give myself the week nights and weekend free because its an important to have that social work balance.

Q. How do you feel the women's side of the game is progressing, in terms of becoming more professional and moving forward?

The clubs all have to work towards becoming professional because of how the game is now. We look to the backing of men’s clubs and local sponsors- and this is the way it has to go for teams to keep up with those at the top.

I possibly moved from Liverpool at the wrong time because I missed out on being involved in their league title winning side but I had to make the move because of the personal situation at the time.

Q. Who would you say are Aston Villa's key signings this year?

Alicia Robinson is the main signing for us this season, she will make a real difference to the team. She’s a very creative player and I would like to think we will work well together. I hope the pair of us in midfield can help Aston Villa become more of a creative team and the team can build around players like her.

Emma Follis and Sarah Mayling will be key players in attack and then defensively I think we will be rock solid with Jade Richards, Erin Vaughan, Danielle Petrovic and Lauren Walker.

Lauren Walker has been a great signing, she's our left back.

Q. How has preparation for the upcoming season been going?

I don’t think it’s been a good thing that we have had such a long break since we finished our last season.

We finished in May time last year and we haven’t had much time off but because of so many players changing around. We focused on fitness up until the Christmas and then from January onwards, we have really focused on playing football.

It has taken time for us to get to know each other and fully understand how we are going to play but I think we have got there now.

Q. And lastly, who would you say is your biggest threat in the league?

I would say Sunderland and Doncaster pose the biggest threat to us this season.

By Ruth Dacey

Player Interview: Jordan Nobbs

Arsenal Midfielder, Jordan Nobbs, talks to Ruth Dacey about Arsenal and the upcoming FA WSL season.

                             

Jordan Nobbs is determined to make a big impact in midfield for Arsenal Ladies FC as they aim to win the FA Women’s Super League this season.

Nobbs joined from Sunderland in 2010 and made a big impact in both European and early Super League matches.

The central midfielder has captained England at the Under-17s World Cup and made her senior debut in 2013 where she has become a prominent member of the team.

After winning the FA Young Player of the Year award in 2010, the central midfielder has continued that form with some fine displays and goals in 2012 and 2013 and hopes this season will be the best yet.

“I want to play a major role for Arsenal this season and be part of the main England team,” the 21-year-old said.

“A main aim is to keep getting goals for the side and I’ve put in a lot of hard work which hopefully will pay off this season.

“With the team we have we are serious contenders for the title this year, although of course I think it could be very unpredictable because of all the changes and signings that all the teams have made.

“We are a confident team- we just need to push ourselves as players and we will try and do everything this season to win trophies and push ourselves to the very highest level.”

Arsenal have strengthened their squad with stellar signings including the two Japan internationals Yukari Kinga and Shinobu Ohno who helped Japan win the World Cup in Germany in 2001 and were silver medal winners at the London 2012 Olympics.

Other signings include England captain Casey Stoney, Holland international Anouk Hoogendijk, and Scotland international Christie Murray and Nobbs believes the tough competition for positions will greatly enhance the team’s performance.

“You can’t go wrong when you bring in two world class Japanese players who have won major trophies- I’m sure they will be a massive asset to the team this year,” the England international said.

“Bringing world class foreigners in like we have will strengthen the league further and improve the performance of English players- what ever can strengthen our league and strengthen our game can only be a good thing for the women’s game.

“The likes of Casey and Anouck who made the move from Ajax have come in to so this year it’s going to be fierce competing for places but this can only be a good thing.

“We’ve also brought in some youth players who are part of the England set-up who have the right mentality needed at this level so I think we have the balance just right.”

Last season Arsenal finished third in the FA Women's Super League (WSL), behind winners Liverpool and runners-up Bristol Academy but they remain the most successful team in the English game and won the WSL in 2011 and 2012.

“We want to back up there challenging for all the trophies and I believe our style of play can do that. We have always been a passing side and we will stick to that,” the former Sunderland player said.

“We have to look at all the title contenders and Liverpool poses the biggest threat for me- they won the league last year and they have strengthened their team again with the likes of Gemma Davison."

“But this year we will try as hard as we can and hopefully we will reap the rewards with lots of trophies.”

By Ruth  Dacey