S.U.W in August: "the captain’s armband was the icing on the cake..."

John Slingsby brings you August in review and the BIG interview.

Note from the editor: It’s a real pleasure to bring coverage of Sheffield United Women to The Pinch. Once a month, John Slingsby will be reviewing matters on the pitch and interviewing all the protagonists. And, if you’re after more coverage of the women’s team, go and check out Women of Steel, a new Substack newsletter by BladesPod host, Ben Meakin.

John Slingsby

For Sheffield United Women, last season undulated like Snake Pass. At the lowest ebbs, the Blades went six months without a win in the league. And on the crest of the highest waves we beat Coventry United 8-0 and won six of our last ten games to secure second-tier status.

Now the Blades are back for a fresh attempt at promotion to the top flight: the Women’s Super League. And in the run-up, there’s been a summer of freshening up, with major changes to the squad, staff and professional status.

In this first piece, we’re going to canter through some of those changes; we’re going to look at pre-season and our opening games; and then we’re going to end on the Big Interview with club captain, Sophie Barker.

Big Change Number 1: Professional Football

Arguably, the most significant change to the women’s team this summer has been the transition from part-time contracts to full-time, and this bucks a five-year trend.

Complimentary to that, the Blades’ Regional Talent Centre (essentially, the club’s academy) has been upgraded to a Professional Game Academy (PGA). The PGA allows us, for the first time in the club’s history, to have two full-time academy teams and it will see us enter an U21 team into the WSL Academy to play the creme de la creme of academies up and down the country.

These are big changes. Not only operationally, but fundamentally altering the perception of Sheffield United Women as “part-timers”. And more than that, full-time status allows us to protect ourselves financially, ensuring that we should get fees for players sold and hopefully, this helps us hang on to our best assets for a little while longer than we have done in previous seasons. 

It should be noted that our approach to pro status is one of ‘slowly but surely’. The club will be wary of the case of Coventry United. Coventry handed out pro contracts to all players but they struggled to pay for those pro deals. They were constantly on the brink of administration and after relegation this past season, their team folded. United are looking to avoid this situation by supporting players on both part-time and full-time contracts, smoothing out the transition to professionalism and avoiding any financial trouble that can arise during that transition phase.

Big Change 2: The Players

With the end of the 2022/23 season came a time of resolution and renewal. New players coming in. Some players leaving. Some signing new contracts. During this summer, United saw a major turnover in its playing staff with 10 players leaving the club. A lot of those players have been here since we joined the Championship five years ago. The players who left the club are:

• Ellie Wilson

• Nina Wilson

• Georgia Walters

• Grace Riglar

• Maria Francis-Jones

• Naomi Hartley

• Mia Enderby

• Courtney Sweetman-Kirk

• Alethea Paul

• Rhema Lord-Mears

In losing CSK and Mia Enderby, the club have lost two of their premier attacking talents from the previous two years. Whilst it is disappointing to lose players of this calibre and longevity (Alethea Paul leaves us after six years of service) we also managed to retain a lot of the players, including:

• Sophie Barker (Player/Head of Academy role)

• Charlotte Newsham

• Bex Rayner

• Maddy Cusack

• Molly Graham 

• Rachel Brown

• Sophie Haywood

• Bethan Davies

• Chene Muir

• Darcie Sugden-Brook (Youth Team Promotion)

• Fallon Connolly-Jackson (Youth Team Promotion)

• Charley Docherty

It’s full credit to the club that we’ve been able to keep last season’s player of the year Charlotte Newsham after such an impressive campaign last year. With Enderby departing, it was vital to secure the signature of Rayner after a season where she topped the assist table (7) last year. Seeing Molly Graham, a lifelong Blade and sister of former United academy product Sam, sign pro terms is particularly pleasing. A product of the club’s RTC, Molly had a cracking end to the last season and should be key in a retooled defence in what will be her first full year in the Championship. Definitely one to watch for the future.

New signings are also an exciting point of any pre-season and United have been quick to bolster our ranks with a slew of new signings. Those new additions include:

• Jess Sigsworth (Leicester City)

• Isobel Goodwin (Rugby Borough)

• Ashley Hodson (Liverpool)

• Jodie Hutton (Bristol City)

• Ella Kinzett (Manchester United)

• Fran Stenson (Arsenal)

• Tara Bourne (Manchester United)

• Olivia Page (Eastern Suburbs AFC)

• Alanta Brown (Burnley)

• Juliet Adebowale-Arimoro (London Bees)

• Ellie May (Burnley)

There is a nice mix of youth and experience in the first team. Jess Sigsworth is a product of our RTC and comes to us with a very good record in this division. During her time with Manchester United, Sigsworth top scored in the division and has experience in the WSL with Man United and Leicester. Ashley Hodson also comes to us with WSL experience after ending her ten-year association with Liverpool in the summer after a loan spell with Birmingham last year. Jodie Hutton brings promotion experience after 17 appearances for the Robins as they secured a ticket back to the top flight. After a fruitful loan spell in the second half of the year, Fran Stenson rejoins us and offers us a solid pair of hands between the sticks. A small raid of our manager's former club Burnley sees us bring young talent in Alanta Brown and Ellie May into the club. Tara Bourne also rejoins us, on a permanent deal this time, after a brief loan spell at the club a couple of years ago.

Before we have a look at pre-season and the opening game of the season against Charlton, United announced something very exciting indeed…

New dawn, new kit

In a groundbreaking moment, not just for United but for women’s football, SUW’s social media team teased a new kit for the team. A day later it was revealed, and what a beauty it is. For the first time in either the WSL or the Championship, a women’s team has a kit that is bespoke to them. Taglined as ‘This One’s For Us’ the kit takes inspiration from historic away shirts in the mid-90s with a teal and navy pattern that features elements of our club crest in its design.

It’s one of if not the strongest effort that Errea have put out for the club since partnering with us a year ago. And it’s incredible to see United take such a forward-thinking move in producing a dedicated kit for our women’s team. The kit will be on sale, online only, from today.

Now that we’ve covered the off-the-pitch happenings, let's talk about what’s been happening on the pitch. Starting with our pre-season offerings.

Pre-season

United began pre-season very well indeed and managed to go unbeaten against some decent opposition. Kicking off our mini-campaign, we welcomed Halifax to Shirecliffe and duly dispatched them 5-0. Next came fellow Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers, with United once again coming out on top with a 4-0 win.

United travelled to Scotland for a camp to play reigning SWPL champions Glasgow City and SWPL side Hearts. United came away with a very respectable 0-0 draw against a very good Glasgow outfit. And then finished off our Scottish foray with a convincing 2-0 win against The Jam Tarts.

Our pre-season programme finished with a double header of games with two different teams playing Liverpool Feds and Nottingham Forest. The first game of the day saw a 3-1 win against Liverpool Feds. In the second, despite taking an early lead through Ashley Hodson, our final game of pre-season would end in a narrow defeat with The Trees scoring twice to cancel out the early opener.

With a strong pre-season over, SUW were prepped and ready for the league opener, a visit to The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic.

GW1: Charlton Athletic vs Sheffield United

A late, long-range thunderbolt from Bex Rayner helped United take a point back to Bramall Lane on opening day.

United lined up with a few new faces in the starting XI; Isobel Goodwin, Ash Hodson, Jodie Hutton and Ella Kinzett all made their first competitive starts for United. And the Blades almost opened the scoring just after the ten-minute mark with debutant Goodwin seeing her effort fall just wide of the post. After a quarter of an hour, the first goal would come, but it would be our hosts who would open their account. A loose pass back to Stenson was pounced upon by Green who wheeled around our number one and slotted home.

United were not to be disheartened. We had chances to level minutes after the opener. And our pressure continued; we might’ve been level on 30 minutes when Goodwin charged down a backpass. The Addick’s keeper smashed the ball goalwards; it careered into our #10 but the rebound bounced wide rather than in.

The second half saw United continue to dominate play, but we continued to be frustrated by an inspired performance by Rogers between the sticks. Goodwin was a focal point for the attack with her hold-up play and layoffs creating numerous openings for United. But Rogers was equal to almost everything… …

Until she wasn’t. In the 90th minute, Bex Rayner picked the pocket of a Charlton defender and took aim from 30 yards out. The ball flew past a finally-beaten Rogers to secure us a point in spectacular fashion. If you’ve not seen it yet go out of your way to do so. Bex has an eye for the spectacular and once again proved her prowess at scoring bangers.

That wasn’t the end! Blades’ goalkeeper Stenson was called into action very late on, pulling off a superb point-blank save to deny what would have been an undeserved winner for the hosts. But after 98 minutes of play, United started the season off with a very decent point against very decent opposition.

GW2: Sheffield United vs Sunderland 

United were left blunted in front of just shy of 1,000 fans against Sunderland. Our opponents pounced on a defensive error, leaving Bramall Lane with the win and the three points. A frustrating afternoon was compounded further by the late sending off of Jess Sigsworth with the forward lobbing the ball in frustration towards and opponent.

United made three changes to the team that drew with Charlton with Bethan Davies, Tara Bourne and Sophie Haywood all in from the start. There was a familiar pattern to the game. United shading possession but lacking that final pass to get in on goal. That lack of a killer final pass cost us halfway through the first period with a poor clearance falling to Sunderland’s McAteer to volley home. United huffed and puffed, and we did create chances throughout the rest of the contest with Newsham and Goodwin going close, but it wasn't to be for United.

So that's one point from our opening two games. Not the start we wanted, although there a signs of promise. And after a summer of change, it was always going to be a case of waiting for the side to gel. Here’s to our first win!

Big Interview: Sophie Barker

And finally, to the big interview. A couple of days before the Charlton game, I chatted with club captain Sophie Barker about the upcoming season, a summer of change and her new role as head of the academy.

Thanks very much to Sophie and Rich Laverty for getting this set up. Enjoy the interview and I’ll see you next month!

Going back a year, what was it that attracted you most to drop down a division and return to United after two years away?

My previous experience at the club and the enjoyment I had playing for the club in my previous spell was a major draw in coming back to United. I really enjoyed the one club environment feel that has been fostered here alongside everyone within the club being really welcoming. Despite living in and being from Lincoln, United and Sheffield really is a home away from home and I couldn’t wait to come back when the opportunity arose!

How easy was it to reintegrate back into the squad after that short period away?

It was really easy to get back up to speed with the team. I knew Redders (Neil Redfern) from my previous spell here and played under him here as well as at Doncaster Belles. Alongside that, there were still a lot of familiar faces from when I was last at the club so that helped as well. Being given the captain’s armband was a huge honour and the icing on the cake for my first season back. It was an easy transition back to the club

Last season was a bit of a rollercoaster. As captain and one of the most experienced members of the team, how did you keep morale high during those sticky periods that we went through last year?

I started the season injured so I was still in and around the squad, helping the coach where I could as well as bringing that experience and being as supportive as I could be. We had a talented group and the change of manager mid season gave us a big boost of momentum in the last half of the season. We had a really good track record against the top four in that second half of the season, beating three of them. That change of manager really helped reinvent the team with everyone wanting to impress and stepping up to the mark. It gave everyone a new lease of life and I did my best as captain to keep the ship as steady as possible during that time alongside working on tweaks with the manager to help the team.

How important is it that the team has a permanent home ground to play football at in Bramall Lane after a couple of years of upheaval playing in Chesterfield and at Olympic Legacy Park?

It’s vastly important that we have that permanent home now. Sharing the same pitch as the men shows the intent that the club has for the women’s game and shows that they back what we do. Being in the heart of Sheffield really helps in allowing people to get down and support the team. We had 11,000+ in the stadium for a game last season, it really helps the team knowing that they have that backing from the fans along with the ground itself being a massive attraction point. From a tactical standpoint as well, it’s really important that we’re able to control games based on us knowing the size of the pitch and how that can help us influence games.

How big a leap has there been within the club, facilities-wise, from when you first joined in 2018 to rejoining the club last year?

We’re not on site at Shirecliffe, we’re over at Goodwin Sports centre. The facilities are more than adequate, despite some teething issues but it’s vitally important that we have access to things like a pool and a gym that we have at Goodwin. That change is happening slowly but surely.

How has it been working with Johnathan Morgan again at United after previously working together, very successfully so, at Leicester?

I get on really well with Jonno and I was his captain during our time together at Leicester. We’re trying to replicate what was so successful at Leicester here at United. It’s really important when working with a manager to have a bond of trust and that new ideas and the like can be worked back and alongside what he wants with the team. It’s really good to be able to have a chat with Jonno at any time and I really enjoy working with him.

After a couple of years out of the Championship in the WSL and the continued push towards professionalism in the second tier, how would you compare the playing standards between the top tier and the second tier?

It’s changing for the better slowly but surely. There’s still a bit of a gap between both leagues but the teams in the bottom half of the Championship are closing that gap to the teams that come down from the WSL. The rise in quality of the league continues to grow and you see WSL teams taking note of that. You see more teams coming down retaining players and WSL teams trust Championship teams to help develop their academy players. If the backing from the men’s teams continues to grow, I can see things continuing to grow and get better.

Alongside your role as a player, you’ve also been tasked with heading the club’s academy after United were granted Category One status in the summer. How have you settled into your new role so far, and how do you see it progressing throughout the next couple of years?

It’s been a difficult start because we’re starting from scratch effectively. From strategy to hiring and working with new members of staff, I’m picking up a lot of the stuff as I get more settled into the role. Being able to bring an experience of coaching has been really good and we’re all about paving a way for young talent to progress from the academy into the first team. It’s been busy and a little bit challenging but it does allow us to be able to compete with the top academies for players and in the development leagues. We won’t go out and win every game, we are in a transitory phase at the minute, we will definitely be competing against those top academies though with the club motto ‘Out Run. Out Fight. Out Play.’ At the heart of what we are trying to do. It’s an exciting time and we’re hoping to have a successful year all whilst learning the ropes as we go!

With that aforementioned granting of Category One status, do you feel like that offers the club an even greater opportunity of getting the best young talent in the region (and beyond) into the club and staying with the club for a longer period of time?

 Yeah absolutely. We’ve worked with a number of staff to get that category one ranking, we’ll get to play the best teams in the country and our catchment area is huge. We’re looking to provide education alongside that opportunity to play with the club having a big opportunity to continue to move the project forward. We’re a team renowned for bringing through talent and giving them an opportunity in the first team. I’m really passionate about continuing to provide that pathway with the manager sharing that same ethos.

Along with the changes from semi-pro to professional, there has been huge changes within the playing staff this summer, how have your new team mates settled in and, with a lot of players leaving who had been with the club for a long time, have you seen players step up into leadership roles to help integrate those new players into the team?

Lots of the players we’ve brought have played full time football already so they’ve adapted to the change really well. We’ve got a really good environment here, everyone gets on really well. Yeah, we lost a lot of players during the summer but that’s football at the end of the day. We’ve recruited really well which should lead to an exciting playing squad and good performances.

After averaging over 1,000 fans at games last season, how important will the Bramall Lane support be in helping the team through those difficult moments in games this season?

It’s massive having the backing of the fans. At the end of the day, the fans are why we do what we do and why we continue to play. Young girls seeing us play is really important to letting them see that they can be what they want to be when they grow up and hearing them cheer will really help when we go through those tough moments in games. We’d love as many people as possible to come down to The Lane and support the team!

Looking ahead to the weekend, a challenging visit to Charlton and The Valley is first up. How is everyone feeling about the first game of the season and getting off to a positive start to the campaign?

It’s always important to get off to a good start, we’re a new team and we’re still in that transition phase but we obviously still want to win. We want to go out there, put on a good performance with everyone working hard and trying their best. As long as we replicate what Jonno wants on the pitch, we’ll be happy with that.

And finally, with the professional model at the club now in place and a squad filled to the brim with talent, how realistic is a promotion challenge this season?

I have no doubt we’ll be around the top three. We’ve got a squad that is more than able to compete in this division with that top three looking achievable. We need to have that consistency and put ourselves in as good a position as possible to achieve that goal but we feel that a top three finish is very realistic.