The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Five-star Chelsea and a chat with FA’s Kay Cossington – Women’s Football Weekly podcast

Episode Date: October 22, 2024

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Chris Paouros and Tom Garry to discuss the weekend’s WSL action and look ahead to the internationals. Plus, FA’s women’s technical director, Kay Cossington, joins for an exclusive interview

This is The Guardian. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Chelsea turn on their five-star quality while Arsenal start life after Jonas with a win. Manchester City come from behind to go top of the table and Leicester beat Everton to steal their first win of the season. We'll speak exclusively to the FA's Women's Technical Director, Kate Cossington,

ahead of the international break. Look back at the week's Champions League action. Plus, we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Wounds Football Weekly. Susie Rack, planes, trains and automobiles. You've had some week, haven't you? Yeah. Yeah, it was more like trains trains trains

trains um in 21 hours of travel uh in 36 hours to get to the FC20 game which felt felt like a mistake as I was doing it but it was actually a really enjoyable game to cover nice stadium really nice like area um the Dutch are just really nice as well, which helps. Just really lovely people. Yeah, so tiring, but, you know, worth it. Tom Gary, I loved your article on Lauren James this week. Hello, Faye. It's so nice to speak to you. Yeah, I'm absolutely buzzing for England, Germany at Wembley.

What a week we've got ahead. Chris Poweros, hello. A brilliant article on safety for women who go to men's football. Wish you didn't have to have written about it. How are you? I'm very well, thank you. You know, I haven't got stories of trains or stories of SGP. I just did a nice day's work yesterday.

And then I've got a few more days work before going to Wembley on Friday. By the way, just to let you know, we've got an exclusive interview with the FA's Women's Technical Director, Kate Cossington, coming up later in the pod. So, a brilliant weekend of football culminated in a blockbuster at King's Meadow. Seven goals, two potential goals of the season by Johanna Ritting-Kannerid

and some refereeing controversy. It finished Chelsea 5, Tottenham 2. Sonia Bonpastor's side maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign. Maika Hermano opened the scoring to Chelsea before Amanda Nielsen levelled for Spurs in controversial circumstances and then went and scored

an own goal as well. Ritin Canarid bagged two with Sandy Baltimore also on the score sheet before Evelina Sumanen scored a consolation late on. So another win for Chelsea. Susie, something that Sonia Bonpastor is getting very well accustomed to in her new role. What did you make of their performance?

Yeah, I mean, attacking-wise, obviously brilliantly solid. Joanna Wright and Kanyard's just on fire this season. But I think there is still defensive worries right this is the fourth game in a row that they've conceded and you know quite sloppily as well when we're out in the Netherlands I asked Sonia about it and she said yeah it's concerning as a defender I'm not happy with us uh as a former defender I'm not happy with us not uh keeping clean sheets it's something we're working on and I've asked a sort of similar question after every single sort of post-match press conference when I've been to their games in recent weeks. And it's

sort of like a, yeah, we're very conscious of this. We are concerned about it. We're working on it, but we're not really seeing results of that work yet, which I think is like maybe slightly concerning. I mean, the bonuses is that they're so strong that they're sort of, it doesn't matter at the moment, but like it could prove costly further down the line if they get a few injuries, when they come up against tougher teams. Like, I think that's when it could start to cause problems. That said, it's like, you know, they're giving themselves the time to be able to work on that stuff by just scoring more but yeah like obviously really really like you can't complain about the start of the season but yeah if there's one little little kind of area that I'm still slightly concerned about for them it's that yeah let's talk about that um moment of controversy shall we Amanda Nilden's equalizer uh her shot was parried on the line by Hannah Hampton bounced

backwards uh and the Chelsea keeper insisted that she reclaim possession before it had crossed the line. The assistant referee actually gave the goal immediately, but replays were inconclusive and showed he wasn't in line with play. Luckily for the officials, though, it didn't make much difference to the result, Chris. But what do you make of it? Does it kind of ramp up calls for the league to utilise the available technology again? Well, we were down the other end, so we did exactly what Amanda Nilden did,

which was like, oh, you know, there she is, she's caught the ball, and then suddenly the whistle went. So we were delighted, obviously. You know, as a fan of the opposition, it's hilarious that that happens at Kings Meadow. Everybody's in absolute uproar but in seriousness I think goal line technology um I'm assuming it's cheaper than it was to implement now than it would have been when it started in the Premier League and it's the one

thing that you can have in football where basically it's a definitive answer you know everything else even semi-automated offsides, anything about VAR, you're still making decisions. You're still making human decisions about something. Whereas whether the ball has crossed the line or not, you could just see it. You know, you've got your aerial view. If, you know, the ball bounces, you know,

it looked to me afterwards, but, you you know obviously I'm going to be thinking the other way that it probably did backspin all the way in um and you know if you see where Hannah Hampton's hands were um but I guess that's kind of not the point because you know to the point that Susie was just making about sort of later down the line for Chelsea it didn't matter in the end but say we had managed to hold you know to keep but keep them to a draw that could have been very very costly and I think back to Pedro Mendes scoring at Old Trafford back in whenever it was where it obviously went over the line and it wasn't called and that season we did we that we could have Spurs could have got into the Champions League and I think

we missed out by one point and so you really rue um that goal not going over the you know that not being called and that was a long time ago um in men's football so I think given sort of what's at stake and how you're trying to grow the game that from a from a goal line it seems a bit of a no-brainer now I think. Johanna Rittinanna Ritten, one of the stars of the season so far. Her manager, full of praise for her after the game again. We've waxed lyrical about her on the pod many times. I hope she's going to grow again. She had some great goals and her performance was really high,

said Sonia Bonpastor. I think she's confident right now on the pitch, understands exactly what I expect from her, good chemistry with her teammates. And I think she's confident right now on the pitch, understands exactly what I expect from her, good chemistry with her teammates. And I think she's really helping the team to perform and get good results. I mean, she is an incredible player, Tom, but how much impact is she having on this Chelsea side? Well, yeah, if you'd asked me at the start of the season who after five games would be my player of the season. I don't think I would have said Ritin Kanarid, but I can't think of how we can, I don't think it's fair to give it to anyone else at the moment.

I think she's been absolutely sublime. I think she's creating so many more sort of key moments in front of goal that I don't think we really saw from her before. I think we've seen her developing well in the last couple of years, but this seems like she's been ready to step up to that next level of like, I'm a senior player. I'm going to grab games

by the scruff of the neck and I'm going to make things happen and got a lovely confidence about her game at the moment. Yeah, she's joint top of the goal scoring charts. She's also, you know, very high up on the assist chart

with her two assists for the season as well. And I think that in the league, that is, and I think that in the league that is. And I think that it's almost like Chelsea have upgraded on a player. So yeah, really important. I wonder if I could just go back to the goal line technology debate just briefly, if you'll forgive me going off script,

because I have total sympathy for that. That goal shouldn't have been given for multiple, as we've kind of discussed for multiple reasons, because I don't think the assistant can be sure. And, you know, we clearly don't have the angles. And I would love to see goal line technology coming straight away. But there's definitely a problem with some of the stadiums in use in the league to implement that. I was having a conversation with someone about this yesterday.

And I'm sure there are people who would love to kind of bring it in mandatory. But then you do bring in challenges. You know, if you tell Everton, I'm sorry, you cannot use Walton Hall Park anymore because you haven't got to stand high enough to put in the infrastructure for the technology that does the cameras. You know, I'm not even sure

whether Kings Meadow is a high enough state. One would I know, I also don't use it for the league games anymore, but the smaller grounds do have complications with putting in the technology. So I, and it costs money as well. Now, I would love to see it come in, but I think it's not quite as simple.

Would you then have somebody like, I don't know, London City Lionesses, if they got promoted, would Bromley not be viable as a WSL ground? I think we perhaps just need to remember that there are things that hold back the development that we all want to see. We all want to see goal on technology.

I think we'd all like to see that, but it's not quite as simple. Maybe it can be something that can force more teams into the bigger stadiums in a way that the Champions League's regulations did for needing things like some of the knockout rounds needing better regs for these things can force them into the big grounds. Maybe that's something that can help drive it, but I think it's not quite as simple you know you're not going to relegate Everton because they can't have goal line technology you know I think that we're just so yeah I'm sympathising with Chelsea but hopefully that adds a little bit of maybe context as to why

these things haven't been brought in like five years ago. Chris Laurie's Fair Blues has asked us on X is Johanna Ritting at Canterid the best winger in the world right now? What say you? I mean, it was painful. She absolutely ran riot down that wing. And it was actually a privilege to watch her play like that in person. I hate to say it. But you know, by the end of it, we were just sat there going,'t she tired yet because she was absolutely unbelievable um and you know as I said we were down the other end when she scored that goal but you could see that something like how she positioned herself to do it and I watched it again and again and again because it was like an incredible goal and both of them were pretty good to be fair but you know the one where

she's sort of you know volleying in midair is was incredible so yes I think she probably is and I mean I'm sort of disappointed because I had her in my fantasy football team the first week and thought oh no I'll just swap her for Guru Raitan that was dumb um I've swapped her back in now so maybe that'll give her the kiss of death I don't know so Sus, it's four wins from four for Chelsea in the league now. They're second to Manchester City going into the international break, but they do have a game in hand. Has their start surprised you, given all the changes over the summer? Yes and no.

In 99% of teams, you would expect some kind of impact of the turnover of players on that scale and a new manager and like an almost entirely new coaching staff as well right you would expect some kind of impact on results uh some sort of teething problem somewhere they've got these defensive issues that i mentioned earlier that i think you know do need ironing out, but they've maintained Emma Hayes' ability to sort of play through transition and be successful despite transitioning a team. Like, I think that, you know,

maybe Paul Green is a big part of, like, helping, you know, continue that legacy. Obviously, they've done a lot of the summer work already. Emma spent a lot of time sort of prepping some of those younger players for first- first team football last season um for a new manager she really like you know I think like she really really really wanted to leave that team in a better place than it was so you know you saw the likes of Mike Camano and

you know Agabee Jones and stuff getting minutes where maybe they wouldn't have done if she was going to be there sort of another season I reckon but yeah, so I think there was like a lot of work done to make sure that there was a squad of players really, really ready to play first team football and be rotated in and out. And that's given them, yeah, like the continuation of this incredible ability to just maintain winning despite all of those like transition issues

that a club goes through at any point in its in its time which is incredible really like I can't think of teams in men's football that have really been able to do that entirely like on such a consistent basis. Yeah Tottenham have just had that one victory on the opening day of the season against Crystal Palace Chris and are you desperate to talk about Tottenham but just had that one victory on the opening day of the season against Crystal Palace. Chris, I know you're desperate to talk about Tottenham, but how do you assess what's going on there at the minute? Are you worried in any way? I'm not actually, because we've played well. And, you know, I think what we've come to is that there was sort of, you know, like how he wants to play.

And you can see he wants to play out from the back you want to kind of keep position a possession you want to sort of build things up you know that sort of you know pressing etc and last season there was a bit more pragmatism there seems to be a little less pragmatism this time it just wants to play how he plays um and if I think about yesterday actually in the first half half, we went toe-to-toe with them actually and the goal was a fluke, sure, but nonetheless we sort of didn't deserve to go in 2-1 down and I think if we'd managed to go in with a draw it might have been a bit different.

But actually I was a bit frustrated and I know we've talked about this many times before, with the quality of officiating. Because actually, every time Jess Naz got the ball, she got pulled down. Arguably, Sondi Baltimore should have been sent off, because it looked to me like she was the last player, and she pulled down Jess Naz when she was through on goal.

I mean, it was just in front of the um halfway line but nonetheless we know that Jess has got the ability to you know to do something from there um and then there were a couple of other instances where there were like three throwing calls in a row that just went the wrong way and even the players were like what are you doing I don't understand and then you know a goal kick when it should have been a corner so really simple things and so there's something there about you know you've got full-time athletes that the officials i don't blame the officials right and actually it didn't matter for the result but if you've got full-time athletes you need to have full-time officials that can keep up with them so i was a

bit frustrated by that um And I appreciate our defence. It's really weird because we've arguably, Spurs have shored up the defence, but are leaking more goals than ever. I don't quite understand how that's working yet. Because, I mean, Claire Hunt is an absolute sort of, you know, like a terrific defender. But I think there's something going on on the left there

that whoever we played on the left, that's where we get skinned. I mean, what johanna rittencanner did and i appreciate that our defense has been leaky but molly bartrip is a first class defender and i know that there are very few players who don't come through sort of the traditional pathway that get called up for england but honestly if you watch her play her composure her ability her reading of the game she knows when to boot it when to play out she plays with a full heart she's committed she's athletic she's like an all-round centre-back and an excellent human so I think she'd make a terrific addition to an England squad and I'm surprised not to see her being talked about in

that um in that context so that's my little call out of Molly I know it's a bit late for this round but it's my call out Molly Bartlett for England right let's focus on Arsenal um it was a must-win encounter wasn't it away to West Ham on Sunday after a turbulent week in North London and we covered it briefly last week didn't we because it? Because it was only announced, Jonas Eidevall's resignation last Tuesday, just as we were recording the pod. René Slagers has stepped in as interim manager.

And actually, in a brief time at the helm, she's really steadied the ship, secured back-to-back wins, including a 4-1 victory over Valorenga in the Champions League midweek, and then followed it up by a 2-0 victory over West Ham. It's been a really difficult week for Arsenal, Tom, but just to kind of update you all on what's been going on

because the last time you heard from us, obviously, it was literally just immediate reaction to the news that broke. But Tom, tell us the latest on the circumstances surrounding Jona Seidevall's departure and how is Renée Slager doing? Could she perhaps have already maybe set herself up for taking the job over full time herself? Yeah, well, with a couple of wins, I think Renée has certainly helped steady the ship a little bit, helped kind of keep things calm in what is a difficult week. I think that all of Arsenal's

problems won't be sort of solved overnight. In terms of whether Renee Slaggers is in the running for when she's been asked about it, she's been very sort of professional and just not been drawn on that topic at all. I don't get the impression she's really thinking about that. And I don't really think the club would necessarily have had her in mind as a long-term thought. I know they're in no immediate rush to replace Jonas Edeval. I think they feel they're in quite safe hands with René Slagos for the time being. You know, they've got a good sort of interim person there who can really steady the ship well. So they're not panicking. But I do think at the same time, they are quite far along the process. They had, I think, the candidates in mind, I think it's fair to say,

you know, relatively quickly once Edoval had resigned, I think they were proactive. What I do, I think it's a bit early at this stage to say who's getting the job or who might even be on that list. But what I do think is becoming quite clear from the conversations I've had is that the people that Arsenal want might be in other jobs already at the moment so it might take a little bit of time for this situation to be you know concluded it might take a little bit of negotiation between between clubs and Arsenal or it could well be that certain people's seasons need to finish

before that they're available to move across to a club like Arsenal. But I can hopefully say more on another pod. But I think what is becoming clear is that Arsenal would rather get the right person than rush to appoint someone who's available today. So it could be a little bit of a wait, but I think they seem very confident that they will get this right and get. And let's not forget that this is a hugely attractive job, right? I think they probably have. But given the attendances

that Arsenal are drawing in and therefore the revenue that Arsenal women's team have, you know, it's probably a job with the biggest pulling power in the women's game right now. You know, globally, I can't think of a club women's job

with a bigger pulling power right now than coming to Arsenal. So I think they've got the potential to get whoever they want. And I think that they will probably get their top choice. It just might take a little bit of time for that to resolve. I've got a question.

So in the first 70 minutes of that game against West Ham, I was actually wondering about the players' motivation. So what do you think about in terms of what's happening when your leaders arguably are on the bench in Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, you don't know what's happening. You've got an interim where is the interim going to stay? Are they not? I don't know. They just didn't look. I know they won, but it didn't look like a very motivated team to me. What do you what do you think about what just wondering about motivation when you don't know what's happening?

Yeah, I mean, I think i wouldn't say it's motivation um like i think they want to win it's just the way they've played under jonas is so ingrained you know he was there for three to four seasons so i say it's less motivation it's more that they don't know how to dig themselves out of a hole because they've not been sort of taught how to get through these difficult games against teams that you know play in a low block and play quite compact um like I think that's what they struggle with so I just like I mean I think you could say the same about every single game that they've dropped points in in recent well this season and season, in that they just reach a point where they look a little bit idealist.

And I think that's the biggest concern about the game against West Ham was that, yes, they win it, but they're forced to rely on a penalty in the 71st minute. Like it's a whole period of time where they're still struggling to break down that low block

and they don't break it down, right? Like they don't actually solve that problem. they they don't actually um solve that problem um yes it's definitely a penalty i think um but it's uh you know it's would they would steena black stenius have converted the chance had you know she not been brought down or found a player that would i'm not convinced because they're not really showing the signs that they could actually break through teams like this who are defending really solidly against them so they get that they get that goal um which sort of gets them around the problem that they're facing and then West Ham have to come out and that's when they get the seconds because they're then playing a team that's playing a little bit more expansive

and giving them a bit more of the the room that they need to be able to play against so I think it's it's less about like motivation because I think they want it right like you know I don't think they um you know like showing any signs of being sort of frustrated at Jonas going or um or you know kind of wanting change or recognizing that something needed to happen but more that they're um they just don't know what to do in those situations. And I think the substitutes were such a key issue. Like, I thought that it was bold to bring on four players at once around the hour mark

and just really, really go for it. And I think that was a difference at forcing the penalty and forcing more chances. But they need to be converting against teams that will have basically worked them out, right? Like have a blueprint for how to defend against them and are doing it really successfully. And they just can't, they can't figure it out. And I think it's frustration more than a lack of motivation. Yeah, Susie mentioned the subs there. And actually, Chris, the introduction of Rosa Koufaji was a game changer uh for Arsenal what impact did she have and are you surprised maybe that we've not seen her very much since the

uh since she joined the club in the summer well that's exactly what I thought actually and if I think about many of my friends who are Arsenal women fans they've all been crying out to see her because you get excited when you sign a player like Rosa Kvajic and then you don't play her and then she comes on and sort of changes the game um and you know scores her first goal got a big sort of a big shout out from the fans afterwards as well which I saw a TikTok I think and that was really nice but yeah I mean that's exactly why you buy a player like that right it's because she can do things that change games. So, you know, I expect to see her in the team going forward, to be honest, because

I think, you know, she's a talent and that's what she's come there for. Quick word on West Ham, Tom. It feels like we've said this on a number of occasions this season. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. And last season, is there trouble ahead in East London? They haven't won in 14 league matches and

Rhian Skinner herself has only won three in her last 36, which is a real worry. How much is the pressure mounting on her at the minute? Well, I think perhaps we just need to be realistic about the budget they've got, the calibre of players that they've got in a league where everyone else is getting stronger and stronger and stronger. The pressure's clearly going to be on Rhian to get results. They have to start getting results soon. But perhaps I'm inclined to maybe judge them

at the end of the November run of fixtures. I think I'm right in saying this, that they've got Tottenham, Leicester and Brighton. If that's wrong, then the producers will tell me off later. But that's the run of three games where they will want to get some points. And if I suppose if they come away from that trio of fixtures with something like one point or less

or two points or less, then I think there'll be real alarm bells. But I always like to give people a bit of time, give them the fair opportunity. And I think that's a run of games when West Ham will hope to get some results. So let's reserve real judgment on them until we've seen November.

But definitely the time is, I think, going to run out for them to get wins because Crystal Palace are getting points. Everton got a point of the Emirates, you know, so Leicester have just won a game. So, and that trip to Tottenham that West Ham have got next at the start of November, you know, it's a huge game for Tottenham because for Tottenham,

it's their, after that Tottenham play Man City and Arsenal, the Tottenham will know they need to beat West Ham. Otherwise they'll go into a run where they might end up not getting anything in November. So the games coming up are going to be really significant for all those teams in the bottom half. But I certainly think it would be unfair to talk about Rian losing a job at this stage.

I think they need a fair crack of the whip of some of the games where they'll hope to get something in November, I think. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we'll round up the rest of the weekend's action and take a look at the international fixtures. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Let's continue with the rest

of the weekend's Barclays WSL action, shall we? Gareth Taylor's Manchester City came from behind to stay top of the table. It finished Manchester City 2, Aston Villa 1, with Brazil's Gabi Nunes firing Villa in front. But two goals in eight minutes from Lauren Hemp and Jill Roard ensured that Manchester City took all three points.

Chris, it was Lauren Hemp who epitomised that turnaround for Taylor's side. Brilliant hooked equaliser before setting up Jill Roard for the winner. Just how crucial is she to this City side? Yeah, I mean, she completely dominated them and it was an absolute schooling from her. I mean, I forget how young she is, actually. So I think she's, you know, she's made 107 appearances for Manchester City at 24. I mean, I forget how young she is, actually. So I think she's, you know, she's made 107 appearances for Manchester City at 24. I mean, Gareth Taylor called her a role model. And I think that's right. I mean, you know, if you look at her work on and off the ball and her talent, it was a wonderfully improvised finish for that, for the goal. And, you know, she just works and

works and works and works and works. And there's something about that absolute graft with like really she's clearly very talented. And I think it was definitely the Lauren Hemp show. I thought she was terrific. Yeah, she's just brilliant, isn't she? Great off the pitch as well. Susie, it was Manchester City's third comeback in as many

games, which is quite remarkable. How much resilience is this side showing this season? Does it make them, as if we didn't think they were true title contenders anyway, but does it make them more so? Yeah, I mean, there's no better way of looking at a team that is challenging for the title than how they do against teams that they concede two or four behind to. Like, I think that's been the missing piece for me. That was what was missing for them last season.

It's going to be really interesting to see how they do against the big sides. Obviously, they had the draw against Arsenal at the start of the season. But, like, you know, I think that was where they sort of fell down a bit last year in that, you know, they conceded late onto those sides after taking the lead and stuff. But like the characteristics of, of these performances imply that they could do quite well, that they're a little bit more gritty. It's, you know,

obviously brilliant to see Jill Roards on the score sheet again. And I think she's got a lot of physicality in her and fight in her and defensive grit, as well as like attacking threat that really adds that as well. So, yeah, I think that resilience piece is, I'd say, pretty new to them. I don't think they've necessarily shown that characteristic in recent seasons. And yeah, it's quite exciting. It's a perfect start for Aston Villa, Tom, but, Tom, but they just couldn't finish it off, could they? And it has taken a while

for Gabby Nunes to make an appearance for them since joining in the summer, but she showed that she was well worth the money. Yeah, she took the goal really well, didn't she? A lovely finish.

Clever and getting in front of her marker and just that's the kind of thing I think Villa fans are really pleased to see from Nunes. But I think it's just a case of probably what Villa need now is they need to win a game. They need to get some confidence.

They need to get some belief in what the new manager is trying to do. And nothing will do that like winning a game of football. I think there's still a lot of reasons to be encouraged about some of the things they're doing on the pitch this season. I think they're playing some good football at times. I think it will take time for a new manager's ideas to be bedded in. I just perhaps I think what they might find maybe a little bit like some of the other clubs is that it is really hard to kick on. It's really hard to take that step from being in the lower bit of mid-table to really kick on and try and challenge to be, say, a top five team. It's not easy. So I think they played well at times against Manchester City, but what they just found is that there's a real

drive and desire joining on to Man City's quality that's making them really formidable at the moment so probably a bad time to play Man City but I wouldn't be panicking if I was Aston Villa fans not a dissimilar answer to what I said about West Ham I think they need a little bit more time to be judged I probably want to judge Robert De Pau after about nine or ten games but they they need to win a game soon, you know, because otherwise just the doubts and the kind of worry will start to creep in. And, you know, that's the best thing that could happen for them if they win a game of football. So let's see how they go on in the next little slot of games. But I wouldn't worry too much if you're an Aston Villa fan at the moment.

I think it just needs a little bit more time. Yeah, exactly. And this is the problem. Aston Villa, one of three sides yet to register a win in the WSL this season. Brighton, though, are having a great start to the season. Hard-earned draw against Manchester United in front of a record crowd. The Amex, it finished Brighton 1, Manchester United 1. Grace Clinton opened the scoring. Mark Skinner's side dominated the first half, but Brighton dug in.

And Nikita Paris, of course Nikita Paris, hit back to make sure that her side shared the points. Listen, Chris, United were the better side for much of the first half, but they struggled to put the game to bed after taking an early lead. Similar issues, probably, to what we've seen before from them. Yeah, and, you know, I'm not their biggest fan, so I was delighted to see. I really, really enjoyed Nikita Paris's reaction to her goal as well.

You know, if she had the time, she would have, like, done a lap of the pitch with, like, swinging her shirt above her head, which I think, you know, you see a bit of that, sort of players having left Manchester United. It's like they feel sort of liberated from whatever it is that goes on there. And also, you know, as a Spurs fan,

it's never nice to see the combination of Salim Bizet and Grace Clinton linking up for a goal. So I'm glad that wasn't a winner, frankly. Jokes aside, it's, it's almost frustrating to watch Grace Clinton because what a player. I mean, you know,

that finish again was just, it was, it was lovely. She was in the right place, little touch and she can do all of it, you know, sort of, you know,

there was one point where she picked the ball up and beat four players and then hit the post, I think. And you're like, wow, she really is some player. And it was a privilege to watch her last season. But yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed Nikita Paris' goal. I enjoyed that one more. Yeah, let's get a bit more on that, Susie.

Because Nikita Paris, you know, absolutely brilliant. So passionate anyway. Really fired up against her former club and uh you actually spoke to her didn't you before before the game kicked off oh yeah um yeah she was definitely ready for this game um and like i think you know she's sort of bounced around club to club since leaving manchester city um you know not necessarily got the minutes she would like at any of the clubs she's played at since. And I think she's showing that when you're a forward,

consistency in minutes really, really matters. And she's getting a lot of love from Brighton, which I'm not sure she's had many other places. They really wanted her. She said she felt really, really wanted. And I don't think she's necessarily felt that. I think she's always sort of been an add-on rather than like one of the stars.

And one of the things she said to me I thought was really, really interesting. I mean, she really talks about clarity in being key to how well Brighton have clicked this season and that Vidicic is like so good at telling them exactly what he wants from them, where he wants them to be in specific moments like very detailed instructions and she said she doesn't think there's many

coaches in women's football um she said there's a lot of managers but not a lot of coaches and she said she thinks that's the difference um she said she hadn't had a man like a coach uh like Dario since Nick Cushing at City um and that there's not that many that dissect the game the way he does. So yeah, she said it's really enjoyable to play under because you know exactly what's expected from you, whether you're on the pitch, whether you're on the bench. It's easier for your teammates to know exactly where you're going to be on the pitch

because he's got such a clear structure for where he wants players in specific moments. But then she also said he's quite individual as well in that he'll adapt it all for the player on the pitch so it's not like a michelle agumann comes in and has to fit into the nakita paris role when she does they will adapt it for the style of player that she is and so some really interesting stuff from her about what is making Brighton so potent and um and and like look so slick um and she put a lot of credit on on um Dario Vitecic for for the way they're the way they're playing and the the sort of joy that is coming from their football at the moment Liverpool having a strange start to the season over on Merseyside. They

hosted league newbies Crystal Palace at St Helens Stadium. It finished Liverpool 1, Crystal Palace 1 but Matt Beard got a very frustrated figure after the match. This is what he had to say. We were lucky to get that point to be honest. I'm disappointed with the whole performance. I think our DNA is work rate being aggressive. And we were so passive today with and without the ball. A friend of the Guardian Football Weekly, Sunny Rudravagela, has messaged us on X saying, hey guys, I hope there's no emergency extra recording needed this week.

If only you knew, Sunny, it feels like you did. Long story that, but I won't go into. Just to say, this is Sunny speaking, not me, by the way. I was covering Liverpool Palace and Palace were excellent. Denglund, of course, Annabelle Blanchard were very good. I do wonder about Matt Beard's post-match comments. It's tough because it's a few minutes after full-time and he lives and breathes it and it's not the first time he's been so brutally honest. But is it fair? Is desire really the issue? Tom, what do you think?

Why are Liverpool struggling to get up to full speed so far this season? And was Matt Beard right to be that honest? I don't think that that's the only issue, but I can understand why Matt Beard would be

very, very cross if he feels that his team aren't exerting themselves in a 100% of the work rate. Those are kind of the real basic core principles that Matt Beard has always kind of demanded of his side. And I think a lot of their success last season was built on very high work rate and intensity

and just a huge amount of effort so from from everybody involved so and I think the way they play football probably also relies upon the whole squad you know essentially working at a very high work rate so I can understand his frustration and you know he is he is a manager who will who has a good track very good track record of getting his players to perform above the sum of their parts. And so I think we will see a reaction, I suspect, from the Liverpool players. I don't think it's a case of the players are going to suddenly start disliking Matt Beard and it's going to be troubles. I think they will heed that message. And I think we will see a reaction probably in the next couple of games of them really upping

their game because I think there is more to come from Liverpool I think they do have a good squad, I just think perhaps and I can understand why they're frustrated not to have won a home game yet their new ground at St Helens but I think that perhaps we just need to remember that they over

achieved last year so probably what we're seeing this year is probably maybe more a realistic return on investment for, you know, the budget that Liverpool have operated on for the last few years. What we see now is probably what I would have expected last year was probably the outlier in that they really, really overperformed. So that'll be frustrating for Liverpool fans. In the meantime, it'll be frustrating for Matt Beard.

But, you know, if we're trying to compare them to, say, Brighton, who've invested significantly and signed so many wonderful players in the summer transfer market, you know, they're going to be overtaken. That's just how football works, you know. So the other point is that, you know, Palace are also quite a good side. It's no disgrace to draw to Palace. The more I watch a Crystal Palace, the more I'm not seeing a team that's going down.

So there's got to be alarm bells now for so many clubs down there, whether that be West Ham, whether that be Everton, whether that be Villa, who knows? But there must be teams in the bottom half thinking like if they assumed

that Crystal Palace were going to go straight back down, that they're and that might not be the case so Liverpool perhaps shouldn't overreact too much and not beating Crystal Palace I don't think that's the the embarrassment that perhaps people would have thought of you know a year ago that you wouldn't be the newly promoted team I don't think it's as bad as that I think Palace are a good team. Yeah quick word on Palace Chris because it was another battling performance Katie Stengel getting off the mark against her former club as well. Really important that they pick up these kind of points against the kind of best of the rest teams, if you like. I think despite shipping a load of goals in their first two games, they look to me like the first promoted team in a while that look like they're going to compete.

So exactly as Tom's just said, I think they're not going to be a pushover and they're not going to be like, oh, it's okay, we're just playing the newly promoted team. They're going to compete. They look decent and it was inevitable that Katie Stengel was going to score, right? So, yeah, no, I mean, I'm always up for more London derbies, more away games.

I don't have to go too far. So London derbies, you know, more away games. I don't have to go too far. So, yeah, let's keep it with the league. Finally, Leicester City earned their first victory under Omandine Mikel away at Walton Hall Park. It finished Everton nil. Leicester City won thanks to a first-half strike from Yuki Mamiki. Omandine Mikel said she felt stressed until the last second. I know how you feel, Omundi, against an Everton side that threatened at times but continued to lack a clinical edge in front of goal.

Susie, do you reckon this result can kickstart the Foxes' season? I mean, they badly needed three points, especially given the sort of the games they've got coming up. I mean, in the next five games, it's only really West Ham that Ham that you think well they've got a chance because they've got Brighton Man United Man City and Chelsea um as the other of those five taking you up to almost up to Christmas um so it's a really really like big ask that they take many points from that so they have to be getting them against teams um Leicester, like West Ham, when they come about.

So really important, I think, going into that really, really tough run. Right, you guys know how much I love the Championship and there was more drama this weekend in the final round of games before the international break. Game of the weekend, arguably. Charlton salvaged a point against

10-player Newcastle United, thanks to two injury-time goals from Katie Bradley and Kayleigh Barton. It finished 3-all after a Shania Hales hat-trick gave the Magpies a comfortable lead, but Amber Keegan Stobbs' second yellow card helped change the course of the match.

Birmingham City maintained their position at the top of the table with a solid 2-0 victory over Southampton, thanks to an own goal from Megan Collett and a finish from Lily Ag. Elsewhere, Sunderland earned a 2-1 win over neighbours Durham. Bristol City beat Portsmouth 1-0

and Sheffield United earned their first win of the season against Blackburn Rovers. Right, the first international break of the season is upon us. Three months they've had off, the Lionesses, although they kind of haven't because they've had, obviously,

domestic football, first of all, but we haven't seen them in action. They're going to be playing Germany in a friendly at Wembley on Friday night. Serena Wiegmann, though, without Lauren James, she's out for a few weeks

with a calf injury. Tom, you mentioned earlier on that you've been up at St George's Park. How are the Lionesses shaping up? What are they going to look to be getting out of this window? Well, Georgia Stanway says that the Euros starts

here for England. I think this is all about preparation for the next summer's tournament. I think England qualifying automatically means they get this opportunity now to use these four friendlies coming up to really try and you know work on their style of play and get things better for next summer which they do need to do

because let's not forget that the Nations League campaign you know wasn't particularly impressive at all the time Lauren James being out is it is a big blow uh not just for these games but we would expect her now to be out for the USA and Switzerland game as well with the five six week time frame that Sonia Bonpastor has given which is a really blow. But what I think we'll see in these games, I think I want to see Grace Clinton and Jess Park playing the way they've been playing for their clubs. They've both been so good this season. So here's to that hopefully coming to the fore. And I think that's really exciting competition for places in midfield. Plenty at stake for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next fortnight. They look to keep their dream of reaching Euro 2025 alive.

Wales travel to Slovakia, Scotland to Hungary and Northern Ireland to Croatia in the first leg of the playoffs round one. Susie, what do you make of all their chances? I know we are going to go more in depth on this next week. Well, in theory, they're all winnable games for them. I mean, if you look at where they rank in the FIFA world rankings compared to the teams they're playing that they should get through like they should get through round one it's round two that i'm more worried about i think that's when it steps up a gear and becomes really tricky but on paper they should do well in in in

these games um and i think there'll be serious disappointment if they don't right meanwhile england's under 17s have hit the world stage in the under-17 FIFA Women's World Cup in the Dominican Republic. The group stage is underway and Natalie Henderson's side have secured a place in the quarterfinals after wins over Kenya and Mexico. The latter in very dramatic circumstances. With English youth football continuing to thrive, we've decided to catch up with Kay Cossington, the FA's Women's Technical Director, to find out more about the work the FA are doing, both to increase the pool of talent coming through and to provide a pathway through which young English players can thrive. Kay, it's lovely to have you with us. How are you?

Well, thank you. Good to be here. Excellent. Listen, obviously the England under-17s are out in the Dominican Republic, but there's a spot in the quarterfinals on Sunday. It was quite a game though, wasn't it? What did it show you about this group coming through that? Yeah, I mean, we know that we've got an extremely talented group out there in the Dominican, and we saw that from the European Championships back in May in Sweden. I think they're an incredible group that have the potential to have a bright future.

And I think what we saw against Mexico typifies the importance of these tournaments, really. I mean, the game had absolutely everything and experiences that some of these players won't face back in club football. So I think for them, it's such a great learning opportunity, playing against different opponents in different styles and ways and knockout football is really important for their development. Yes, I mean, it's the first World Cup, under-17 World Cup England have been in since 2016. How crucial is appearing on the world stage to these players' development individually? Yeah, it's so different.

As we know, playing in the European Championship is a massive step up playing against world opposition. And we spoke about this with the players just before they left. They're already won by actually going out there. And what I mean by that is they're winning through experiences. We talk about players loading their backpacks as they go through the pathway, making sure they can put as many different experiences in their backpack as they can to prepare them for the senior team when they and if they reach that that level so playing against different opponents being so far away from home different time zones different types of crowds different pressures of knockout world cup football i mean it has absolutely everything as we've already seen just within these two groups group games so there's so much learning

for them that even regardless of what happens in terms of results they're winning every single day by some of the learning experiences that they're having i really love that analogy filling their backpacks with stuff you can almost just just visualise it, can't you? And obviously, this is becoming an annual tournament from next year, isn't it? The Under-17s World Cup, which is just a massive opportunity for these youngsters to get more consistent exposure to world football. Yeah, it is. And that comes with challenges too, because as you would have seen, we've had to run two teams concurrently.

So one under-17 team has been qualifying again in round one for the European Championships and another under-17 team are going out to the Dominican. And it's a brilliant problem to have, that's for sure. But it just takes a little bit more detailed planning and preparation, but also an acknowledgement of how we're developing players in the right way that's right for them for some of the players that are in the Dominican can still play in the under 17 European Championships this season but for their their kind of development and their stretch we made the decision to send them on so I think that's the brilliant part of it for next year is that we can push and pull dependent on what the needs of the players are and that's really important throughout the pathway it's about the right player at the right time and the right development around them as they progress through this system. Yeah those numbers

of games is huge for the development you've been part of a really concerted effort to develop the England pathway can you tell us a little bit more about how that has progressed over the last few years to the point we are at now? Yeah, for sure. I think I just mentioned the kind of word bespoke. And I think that really emphasises how we changed the philosophy of the pathway. We used to have a one size fits all. And we used to think that an academy model was the right way to go. And how you've now seen us progress the pathway over the past four years is the introduction of a different tiered system so we wanted to ensure that our talent id structure and strategy was far-reaching we wanted to make sure that we were accessible and inclusive and

we've seen that just without giving lots of stats but we wanted to double the amount of players that were entering into the pathway our ambition was 4 000 players we've already hit 6 000 players so we're finding players that are coming into our pathway far and wide onshore but also offshore there's players that are out in the dominican representing the 17s that don't live in england so we're now actually attracting english qualified players that are playing overseas as well which is which is fantastic so with the discover my talent the emerging talent centers and the progress of the professional game academies the bespoke way that we are managing those with club by club player to player and on top of that

the regional program which i can't stress enough is so important to be able to help players and their families actually progress with their development and that's that bit in between the club football and international football so how can we layer up the help and support for them at crucial times through exams and things like that that gives them the best possible chance so I think they're some of the real bespoke differences that we've seen over the past few years but also I think we need to talk to the investment of staff you can put all the programs in in the world but you have to have the right people that work with the players that are able to actually make the magic happen and I think we've done that we've invested heavily in our in our talent system we have numerous staff now that

work in discover my talent on a regional basis, scouts, analysts, talent managers. We're really invested in that space because for me, unless we get the entry point right, it makes it really difficult a little bit later on. Yeah. What would you say have been your biggest achievements so far and what obstacles have you still got to overcome? Well, I think achievements.

The last four years has been incredible. We've done a review here for the Women's Technical Division just a few months back on the last strategy cycle, which was called Piccadilly to Podium. And that was very much around how we felt like four years ago we were standing in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and how on earth were we going to get a team to podium? And so that's the journey we feel like we've been on and we've done a bit of a review on that and when you look at the success of the talent pathway in terms of numbers and playing environments and numbers of players coming in that's that's a success when you look at the

development teams you look at the 17s and 19s qualifying for the finals both of them for the first time in a long time that's a success the 17s going to the first world cup as you say since 2016 that's a success the 23s unbeaten in the whole season in the euro league that's a success and then let's top that off with a european championship and a first ever world cup for the seniors so there's lots to actually celebrate in that four-year period um but we want move on. And we now talk about our next strategy is called winning together. And this is actually 24 to 28 is how do we do this collectively together as a whole game in an ecosystem? Let's take another big, brave step forward because we want to keep winning on and off the pitch.

We want to keep changing the world with girls and women's football. We truly believe we can do that. Challenges we've still got to overcome. The under-23s would love a competition in that age group. We think as the senior game and the demands get even higher, the 23s are going to become even more important. So to have some kind of competition, UEFA, FIFA competition in the 23s is really important.

The other piece for us is we can do, FIFA competition in the 23s is really important. The other piece for us is we can do so much work in the talent system to find, identify talent, confirm talent and develop talent, but they need somewhere to play. So the EQP debate and discussion is something that we always need to tackle for two reasons, really. I think, you know, we want to ensure that top talent in this country has opportunity to play because you can only get better by playing but we also want to continue to give every little girl in this country a dream that they can be a professional footballer so we always talk about seeing it is believing it well we need to ensure that that is still

current in the top end of our game that these young girls can visualize their pathway and their journey and I guess their their their pathway and their journey and I guess their their role models and their aspirations so still lots of work to do but let's also celebrate the work that we've done you've gone backwards okay winning together is a much worse name than Piccadilly to podium um has has I'm not sure how we would have beat Piccadilly to Cloney That is true How much has increasing competitive fixtures been a priority in recent years Particularly for the under-23s Yeah, it's huge

We talk about competitive balance a lot In any talent system, player development system The competition programme is vital To be able to give players on a weekly basis and then a regular basis at international football good competitive opportunities. You know, they need to have experiences of winning, of losing, of drawing, of knockouts, of winning heavily and losing heavily and all of those going down to 10 players. And obviously they've experienced that in the World Cup already. So, you know, all of those experiences come from competition.

And you can't replicate that in a training environment. So we talk about training, competition, coaching. All of those things are really fundamentally important in the player's journey. So the bits that we can control in terms of the international programmes, you will see that we plan against great opposition majority of the time now because we want players to understand what the demands of the game are at the at the top end and we have aspirations to push the dial even more you know I challenge the coaches here a lot around the age group teams as well around playing high level grade a opposition on

a regular basis and you know sometimes people get the result and they think oh perhaps we're not doing so well we didn't win against x country but it's for us it's about testing ourselves against the very best and obviously with the 15s and 16s there's a high volume and turnover of players and that's only right too because we want to give as many players that opportunity because that's when you see them at their best when they're playing against great opposition so we make no apology for that we want to play against good opposition we want to test ourselves regularly and we want to expose players to high levels of competition on a regular basis obviously the aim is to give you know the under 23s the best opportunity to be able to break into the seniors what what more can be done apart from just the competitive fixtures

to try and do that? I think it's, again, the bespoke nature that we try to approach the 23s with in their IDPs, et cetera. It's such a crucial point of the pathway and the journey for them. They're transitioning. Some of them are out on loan, or many of them can be out on loan. Some of them are playing in very different environments. Some of them are getting play minutes. Some of them are out on loan or many of them can be out on loan. Some of them are playing in very different environments. Some of them are getting play minutes. Some of them are not.

So their IDPs become really, really important. And that collaboration with the player in the club is essential for making sure that they stay. Their mindset is right and they stay on task and focus because it can feel like a long journey at times when you're in the 23s. And the aim is to get to the seniors as quickly as you can, right? You know, you don't want to keep them in the 23s forever. But what we're blessed with is a really great depth of players in the senior team with a great age profile. So sometimes, you know, you have to be patient.

You have to be able to just keep on working at the things that are going to improve you as a player on and off the pitch. And when your time comes, you know, it's important that we make sure they're ready to take that chance. And I think we're also very fortunate with our coach that she invests in young players. As you've seen already, she sees the importance of bringing those players in. And I think going back to the Euros, there's no coincidence that we see some of the players that we did that come on and made impact in the in the tournament um you know because they're good players and they were ready for it when they went into that environment and that's a responsibility that we all have the clubs the the federation coaches is to give these players in that age group the best possible chance to transition

transition is really important age group to age group regardless of whether you're a 15 going to the 16 16 to 17 17 to 19 they're all big deals actually to those players at that moment in time so we always talk about this jump from the 19s 20s 23s to seniors but talk to one of the kids in the under 17s when she's doing 12 GCSEs you know when she's away at European Championships and she's trying to then make a transition to the 19s that's a big deal too so we do focus a lot and transitions of players and how we can best support them in that I keep uh going to call you Faye and I think Kay and Faye would be a great like children's presenting duo okay that'd be great fun that's distracted me slightly okay you mentioned a lot of the sort of um different elements of the pathway and how you

bring players in and identify talent um there have been questions over diversity in the women's game what's happening behind the scenes to uh help diversify that talent pool and accessibility to the sport in general yeah so I think that was definitely one of the focuses around the revamp and the progress progression of the talent pathway and what we're seeing already with the work done through the etc 73 different playing environments of which majority of the players now can get to an etc within 32 minutes that's a big difference because that means that you say you know it's much more accessible our regional programs now our talent programs in each of the five different regions work bespokely for the needs of those communities in those regions so whatever what that looks like in the north east will look different to the

london southeast that will look extremely different to the South West, for example. So we're meeting the needs of the communities. We're working with local authorities. We're working with leagues. We're working with Free V Free UK. We're working with local governments to make sure we can put programmes on where we take the game to them. So, you know, we want to ensure there's no barriers. We talk about removing removing barriers that's how we approach this with the talent pathway identify the barriers for example barriers might be cost so we've done everything we can to reduce cost and in most circumstances remove cost so there's no cost barriers to people coming along travel and transport was a barrier we've removed that players can get within a talent site in some way, shape or form within 32 minutes. We give out bursaries, hardship funds and bursaries to players that may well be struggling financially in their families

at the next stage of the pathway. So we try to look at all the barriers that we think might be a challenge and one by one we're ticking those barriers off. And what we're finding from the numbers that you can see from what we've provided recently is that the diverse that the diversity of our teams is massively increasing and you only need to look at the regional programs the under 15s and the under 16s through evidence that when I talk about diversity I think we spoke before it's diversity and ethnicity yes but it's also diversity in social economics as well so you know these players that are coming from different IMD areas, it's really important that we recognise that as well in terms of diversity. We want to open the doors and we want to be accessible to every single talented girl in this country,

regardless of what the barrier is. And that's where the people come in. So our talent managers can help individual players and their families provide solutions to whatever barriers they may be facing and and for me that's the magic because the program is the program but the nuance is the individual people and their families that are within that and I think that's where we're starting to see real difference yeah that's a really interesting way of looking at it um just finally Kay you've got a new women's and girls strategy coming out soon. Listen, I know that you're not going to be able to tell us

very much about it in terms of the content, but how is that going to continue driving what you're doing already forward? Yeah, I think again, we talk about signing the dial again. You know, we need to keep stepping forward in this space, and I think the move for you strategy, you won't be surprised with any of the concept when it's shared is you know we want

to keep moving forward whether that's with equal access whether that's with tournament preparation talent pathways and systems um in that space whether that's with our coaching and our refereeing and making sure that those golden threads that go right the way through the game continue to serve the game at the highest levels, as well as right the way through from grassroots. So I think when you see it's another opportunity for us to step forward and to progress things. And I think we're doing that in each of our different domains. And I think when you see the strategy as a whole,

I think we're all excited that it's another four years of great football and great development and great activity to push the game on again. The main bit I think that we'll all talk about in the next four year plan, and we talk about it here within the Women's Technical Division strategy, is how we protect the game, how we protect the uniqueness of women's football. I truly believe someone that's lived and breathed it my whole life is it's special. And there's a special narrative to the women's football like I truly believe someone that's lived and breathed it my whole life is it's special and there's a special narrative to the women's game there's a special uniqueness to the women's game we have our own identity as the women's game and we should use that as a super strength and I think we've used that as a super strength to get results to build teams to get

connectivity of players and staff and we we all need to use it as an ecosystem to continue to drive the game forward and protect the identity of who we are brilliant i'm very much looking forward to it when's it out 31st of october we have so many different strategies 31st of october is when it's out excellent looking forward to it kate it's been an absolute pleasure lovely to see you you too thanks guys right elsewhere it was announced yesterday over 100 women's footballers have signed an open letter urging fifa to drop aramco the saudi oil company as a sponsor a football's governing body announced the partnership earlier this year giving the company sponsorship rights to the 2026 men's world cup and 2027 women's World Cup. Players from 24 countries,

including Ljubljana Miedema and Niamh Charles, have called the deal a punch in the stomach and asked FIFA to drop the sponsorship on humanitarian and environmental grounds. FIFA told the BBC that they value their partnership with the company and reinvest the money into women's football at all levels. Leila Asli has sent us a message on X.

How are you feeling about players petitioning against Saudi oil giants whilst playing for other Middle East oil giants? That is a good point. What did you make of this move from the players, Chris? I'm all for athlete activism. So I think sort of a collective action, if you feel strongly about something, is really important. So I don't think it of a collective action if you feel strongly about something is really important so I don't think it's a it's a solo act I think if there are other things that other

players care about or that other people care about then you know we should go out and talk about that as well there isn't just one thing we should talk about and I think the other thing is is that this is a specific thing that's going to affect where they play, that they're going to be involved in it. And so you have a direct line to a governing body to do something there. So, yeah, it's a big thumbs up from me for any athlete activism, frankly. Susie, what are your thoughts? These are really complex issues and it's really great to see players speaking out on it so eloquently and taking a stand for the things they uh you know they care

about um i think there's you know obviously huge issues uh with connections to saudi arabia given their human rights records um their lack of rights for women and lgbtq plus people a lot is made over sort of changes that have been made in improvements for for women in recent years but when you look at some of the you know kind of statistics from major human rights organizations um and you know some of the kind of you know very personal accounts that they they put out there those um those changes in reality have done very very little for for women in the country you know obviously the the issues affecting women would keenly affect women's footballers. So they're big problems.

I think the environment is a really, really great thing to take up. The Guardian doesn't take any advertising money from oil companies. So there's different ways you can take a stand on the environment. You know, players have spoken out about the sort of long flights uh you know to australia and things for friendlies and stuff in the past um you know they've spoken about things like veganism uh and the impact of of um of meat production on the on the planet they've spoken about um the impact of you know kind of yeah flights for international tournaments like so this isn't an issue that's new to them either.

It's one that they've raised consistently before. And I just think it's hugely inspiring to see so many people come together to say something as a collective and use their voice collectively. Sorry, this is a little bit of a gear change but Tom you've been covering some exciting news around Bristol City and their new women's football strategy what can you share with us? Yeah this is like no women's football club strategy that I've ever read before actually there's it's striking that you know it doesn't have a long list of like trophies they want to win or where they want to be in the WSL and it's not they're not saying we want to be a top six club by x year what the targets are which are numerous in this document

is around developing young players having a player in every England youth team having set numbers of players getting through to their first team from the academy every season and essentially what they're at what they want to be what they say they want to be is sort of the destination of choice for young English players. And they're saying one reasons for that. They told me that they have sold Naomi Lazell for a six figure sum to Man City in the summer, which for them was the first time they felt they'd been really rewarded for

developing a player financially and properly compensated. So they, they now feel that if they develop young players, they can every now and then sell one on to a bigger club you know for enough money to then keep sustainably keep on doing it and keep funding the academy and i think that's a really interesting gear change and now we have a club who feel that there are big enough transfer fees to justify that so um i i really admire what they're doing they almost sort of reading their their document, I almost felt like they had a duty to the women's game

to develop lionesses and develop players. So it was a really interesting read and I think it'll be good to see how it goes over the next few years. Right, brilliant stuff, everyone. Tom, see you at Wembley. Lovely to speak to you. Take care. Bye, Chris. Hope to see you on Friday. Aw, you too.

Susie, I'll see you in the monthly. Yep, and I am excited to see your face at Wembley in person. It's been a long time. Keep having your say by sending in your questions via X or emailing us at womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. And as ever, a reminder to sign up for our bi-weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts sign up.

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