Arlesey Town started the season with manager Natasha Orchard-Smith and want others to follow suitYou see men going into women’s football; the door should be open for women to come into men’s. It sounds sort of obvious. So why is it so rare?Two former semi-pro players, Matt Endersby and James Hatch, took charge of the Bedfordshire club Arlesey Town, in the ninth tier of English football, at the start of June. Following relegation there were no players, they had no coaching staff and they had very little time to settle in. The first thing they needed to do was find a head coach and they phoned Natasha Orchard-Smith. Related: The 100 best female footballers in the world 2018: Nos 100-41...
After his embarrassing question to Ada Hegerberg marred Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, the French DJ didn’t pass up the chance to keep on diggingEnormous commiserations to French DJ Martin Solveig, the latest person to be filmed doing something in public that apparently doesn’t reflect who he is. The this-is-not-who-I-am defence gets a lot of run-outs these days, as cameraphones catch non-racist people being racist on buses, non-homophobic people screaming abuse at gay people outside a nightclub, or any of the other variants that increasingly adorn the age. The point is: this is not who they are.Very occasionally, the person saying the thing is saying it on a stage, in front of a large audience and multiple television cameras,...
Arsenal’s Australian coach fixed a leaky defence then introduced ‘balance and management’ to startling effectHow do you build a buccaneering team who sweep away all before them? How do you turn a team who suffer a 3-1 cup final defeat by invincible double winners into one who demolish them 5-0 in their next meeting to maintain an unbeaten start to a new season?Joe Montemurro’s three-quarter season in charge at Arsenal was about laying the foundations for just such a transformation. Working without expectations with a team laden with stars – not least four Dutch European Championship winners – but lacking direction, the Australian set about his task. Related: Hats off to Arsenal’s manager – not just Emery but Montemurro too...
USA spent much of the year on home soil but recent trip to Europe provided valuable experience on and off the pitchSince the United States lifted the World Cup in Canada in 2015 their journey towards next summer’s title defence has been littered with potholes. This year, however, something has clicked. They have won 18 of their 20 matches – draws against France and Australia in the SheBelieves Cup and Tournament of Nations respectively came in friendly competitions that they won – and despite the progress of their competitors it is hard to look past them retaining their crown.USA have spent much of the year on home soil but the decision to bring the team to Europe for their final...
A first professional league has changed the women’s game but how stable are the foundations of the pyramid?The first fully professional women’s league in the world, with a semi-professional second tier, is a huge step forward. For the first time, girls playing in playgrounds and schools, no matter the obstacles they may face, can see a pathway to a career in the game. The quality of the product is getting better and better. With Women’s Super League players not needing a job to make ends meet, technical and fitness levels are only going to continue to improve.But how stable are the foundations of this restructured pyramid which marks a new era for the domestic game? What are the commercial prospects?...