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Aston Villa Women


mikeyp102

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On 03/07/2021 at 13:34, dont_do_it_doug. said:

Any good?

 

The Surname carries a lot of weight at the Villa (One for Oldies or those interested in Villa History :) )

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On 05/07/2021 at 05:50, MNVillan said:

I’d love to watch Villa women if the club offers streaming this season.

Last season the games were shown for free on the FA website; I don't think there's any plan to change that for this season.

I don't know if that website is geo-blocked in North America, but I wouldn't have thought so, and even if it is I'm sure a VPN would sort that out.

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The BBC will show the Women's Super League on network free-to-air TV for the first time in a "landmark" three-year broadcast deal.

From next season, WSL games will be shown live across the BBC and Sky in the deal worth £7m-£8m per season.

Remaining matches not selected for broadcast by the BBC or Sky will be shown live on FA Player.

The BBC will broadcast 22 live matches, with a minimum of 18 shown on BBC One or BBC Two.

Sky Sports will provide coverage of up to 44 matches screened across the Main Event, Premier League and Sky Sports Football channels.

The agreements with both broadcasters will run until the summer of 2024.

BBC

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Not got a great deal of knowledge about womens football but I've been impressed since paying more attention after we stayed up. 

Ward seems like a good young manager and her poaching Birmingham's fan player of the season and player's player of the season seems like a good bit of business, weakening a team that was around us at the bottom of the league.

Add to that Remi who speaks well and seems highly rated as proper captain material on and off the pitch. 

Then someone as well regarded as Lehmann to sort out our goalscoring problems.

As a relative outsider this seems like some really smart business so far for the team and I'll be going into this season showing a genuine interest in their matches and hoping for more than a relegation dogfight. 

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14 minutes ago, Phil Silvers said:

Any Villa players here?

 

 

 

Screenshot_20210721-084634_LiveScore.jpg

Not according to this, taken from the BBC site.

Goalkeepers: Carly Telford (Chelsea and England), Ellie Roebuck (Man City and England), Sandy MacIver (Everton and England)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea and England), Lucy Bronze (Man City and England), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash and England), Steph Houghton (Man City and England), Demi Stokes (Man City and England), Leah Williamson (Arsenal and England), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal and England)

Midfielders: Sophie Ingle (Chelsea and Wales), Kim Little (Arsenal and Scotland), Jill Scott (Man City and England), Keira Walsh (Man City and England), Caroline Weir (Man City and Scotland), Niamh Charles (Chelsea and England), Ella Toone (Man Utd and England)

Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Man City and England), Fran Kirby (Chelsea and England), Nikita Parris (Lyon and England), Georgia Stanway (Man City and England), Ellen White (Man City and England)

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2 minutes ago, Strog said:

Not according to this, taken from the BBC site.

Goalkeepers: Carly Telford (Chelsea and England), Ellie Roebuck (Man City and England), Sandy MacIver (Everton and England)

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea and England), Lucy Bronze (Man City and England), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash and England), Steph Houghton (Man City and England), Demi Stokes (Man City and England), Leah Williamson (Arsenal and England), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal and England)

Midfielders: Sophie Ingle (Chelsea and Wales), Kim Little (Arsenal and Scotland), Jill Scott (Man City and England), Keira Walsh (Man City and England), Caroline Weir (Man City and Scotland), Niamh Charles (Chelsea and England), Ella Toone (Man Utd and England)

Forwards: Lauren Hemp (Man City and England), Fran Kirby (Chelsea and England), Nikita Parris (Lyon and England), Georgia Stanway (Man City and England), Ellen White (Man City and England)

19 players from the scum6, just changed channels.

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We've got four players, 'Freya Gregory, Olivia McLoughlin, Laura Brown, and Missy Goodwin', at the England U19 training camp ahead of a game against the Czech Republic. I think we've got a decent academy side, so hopefully some good youngsters to come through in the coming seasons alongside new signings to help us gradually improve.

AVFC

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Aston Villa are relatively new to the Women’s Super League and they have big ambitions. Villa’s Academy team are also new and currently they are exceeding all expectations.

Villa proudly finished top of the FA WSL Academy League and their success has not gone unnoticed. This included a 6-3 victory over the hugely respected Manchester City development squad.

The Academy team uses a brand new state-of-the-art training ground at Bodymoor Heath. The impressive complex sits alongside Villa’s expansive first team facilities. The club owners are fully supportive of both their men’s and women’s teams, which includes their Academy and Regional Talent Centre.

The club has created a policy of build from within. During their inaugural season, three Academy players were deservedly awarded professional contracts. Namely, Olivia McLoughlin, Freya Gregory, and Isobel Goodwin.

McLoughlin and Gregory have already made their first team debuts. Previous interim Head Coach Marcus Bignot included both players in several games and they each made a significant contribution.

McLoughlin stepped into a defensive midfield role to help protect Villa’s vulnerable backline. Gregory provided more options up front and she famously scored her first WSL goal in front of her old club, Birmingham City.

Crossing the divide

A little more than a year ago, Academy manager Jack Peel made one of the hardest decisions of his career. Peel was doing extremely well at Birmingham City, working alongside Blues Youth Development coach Dudley Holloway.

Birmingham, with the smallest squad in the league, were hit by multiple injuries and in 2019/20 they were forced to call upon their Academy players. No fewer than six Blues Academy players were drafted into the first team squad and in particular, the likes of Lily Simkin and Freya Gregory were very impressive.

When the pandemic first took hold in April 2020, Peel had to think very carefully about his future. During these very uncertain times, he took the brave decision to cross the divide and accept the job as Aston Villa’s Academy Manager. A number of Blues players also put their trust in Villa and followed Peel shortly afterwards.

Speaking to Peel 15 months on he reflects on this career-changing moment with a smile on his face. As much as Peel absolutely loved his time at Blues, he decided to take a risk and move into unchartered territories. Ex-Blue Cristina Torkildsen had already moved across to become Villa’s Youth Technical Director but the U21s division was totally brand new.

FA WSL Academy League

Last season there were 14 teams in the academy league. This included all 12 clubs from the WSL plus Liverpool and Ipswich Town.

The number of games played by each team was extremely unbalanced due to clubs having to conform to Elite Protocols during the pandemic. Some teams only played a single league match whilst others like Manchester City and Everton managed to play eight.

Villa played six Academy league games, winning all of them, resulting in a 100% track record and finishing top of the league. This included impressive wins against Everton, Man City and Bristol who they beat 8-1.

But the football didn’t stop there…

Development time is key

In order to get vital development game time in, Villa have been playing as many games as they can.

In total, despite the pandemic, Villa U21s played an incredible 37 games last season. This included Tier 2 and Tier 3 sides plus a number of Boys teams on top of fulfilling their WSL Academy league commitments.

Peel explained to Her Football Hub: “We’ve got to try and expose the players to senior football alongside their development football. We’ve balanced playing Boys teams with a mix of Tier 3 sides like Derby, Nottingham Forest, Watford, and West Brom.”

Villa put six past West Brom but the matches against Forest and Derby were much closer affairs, with Villa still coming out on top. They also played Charlotte Healy’s Manchester United Academy team four times with results going both ways.

Peel went on to say: “We felt we were comfortable about them and we looked to stretch the group and played Coventry United, Charlton and Blackburn [all in the Women’s Championship]. It gives them the senior exposure they need to be able to sustain a place in our first team. We want players to be able to thrive in the first team environment and not just cope.”

Career progression

First team Head Coach Carla Ward has also joined the Villans from local rivals Birmingham City. Regarding Ward’s appointment, Peel expressed how delighted he is to have her at the club.

“Carla did a fantastic job at Blues with very little resources to work with. She’s very much a people manager and can bring the best out of anyone.”

Jack is certain there are plenty more first team promotions to come. It’s an exciting career path for the youngsters especially as they can combine it with a college course on a Dual Careers Pathway.

Villa’s youngsters have also been recognised widely at International level. McLoughlin, Gregory, Laura Brown and Missy Goodwin have all been selected for the England Women’s Under 19s fixture camp. Additionally, Welsh trio of Mary McAteer, Lauren Purchase and Katie Ward all received call-ups to Wales’ U19s training camp.

After a fantastic season the team were rewarded by the club with the privilege of playing their final match at Villa Park. It was a very memorable occasion for all the players and staff involved. Arsenal Academy came out on top, 3-2 winners, but the memories will live on in the young Villans.

Future is bright in claret and blue

Next season the WSL Academy League should be back to normal with all 12 teams playing a full fixture list. Ultimately, this will benefit all senior teams in the WSL.

As a club, Aston Villa are fully backing their Academy setup. They have invested heavily and are already reaping the rewards.

First team Coach Ward is known for handing opportunities to up-and-coming players. Therefore expect to see further exciting players step up to the first team next season.

herfootballhub

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6 minutes ago, mikeyp102 said:

Where do we play the home games? Bodymoor? Wasn’t it at Bescott for a while?

The "location" of Aston Villa Women is Walsall's Bank's Stadium on Twitter, so I'd imagine we're still playing our matches there? I think all teams have to have a decent set up for streaming games live with more of these being shown on the BBC and such next season. 

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