Sunday 10 September 2023 2:00pm – Barclays Women’s Championship – The Dripping Pan
Welcome to The Dripping Pan for today’s first Barclays Women’s Championship game of the season against Birmingham City.
Here is your complimentary e-programme
Welcome back for another season!
NOTES FROM THE CHAIR
Good afternoon and welcome to this Barclays Women’s Championship match as we welcome Birmingham City. I hope our visitors from the Midlands enjoy our hospitality and have a safe journey home.
Last week we made the long trip to Durham and were desperately unlucky not to come away with at least a point. Durham seem to have a hex over us in terms of late victories and it was the same last Sunday. We battled well but just couldn’t find a way through.
Today we will have Scott back in the dugout after he had to miss the Durham game due to personal reasons. That will be a huge boost for the squad but let’s make no bones about it that this is a really tough test. Birmingham were one of the pre-season favourites for the league and they will be very disappointed with their start.
This week we held a Town Hall for our owners to discuss the investment proposal from Mercury 13. Around 140 owners joined the call and over 90 minutes we covered a lot of ground, answered a lot of questions and hopefully, provided more detail on the way forward. I still see a lot of misinformation in the public domain and whilst I will try to provide truthful information, people have to be willing to listen. It is hugely frustrating when individuals decide to use public platforms to criticise and post misinformation yet aren’t willing to hear the truth.
We have received over 300 questions from owners on the subject and every single one will be answered. That isn’t something that can be done in a few hours – it takes time, and I hope most (it’ll never be all I am afraid) that appreciate the thoroughness of our process. But, as a summary to some of the frequent questions asked and misinformation:-
- Yes, there will be an owners vote on the investment – the timeline was shared with owners on the call last night;
- It is not a takeover as some media sources have reported, it is a proposed investment into one part of our club;
- No, the investment will not result in the Men’s team being sidelined/forgotten or deprioritised. On the contrary, our Men’s team will benefit from investment in resourcing, facilities and infrastructure;
- No director will financially benefit from the proposed investment; and
- No deal has been signed or agreed – hence why we are in the investment consultation process.
For 90 minutes (plus injury time) this afternoon, let’s focus on getting behind the team and on the three points on offer.
Come on you Rooks!
Stuart
FROM THE DUGOUT – SCOTT BOOTH
Hello everyone welcome to the Dripping Pan this afternoon.
It’s been a tough start, I think in both games we’ve been competitive, it’s not been a situation where we’ve felt we’ve been outclassed in any way, we’ve also have our own chances.
I suppose the issue for us is that we have to be more clinical when we do get those chances.
We understand that there’s not a lot in any games in this league, every game is winnable, so we have to keep going into these matches with that mentality.
Kate Mooney will bring some good physicality to our side, good in the air, a poacher in the box, so she’s a bit different to anything we have in our squad at the moment and our squad needs the depth.
The squad needs to be strengthened and and hopefully we can do that more before the window closes but Kate definitely improves the squad and brings us something a bit different.
Birmingham are a team that will 100% be up there this season, they’ve not started the way they want to but they’re 100% capable of winning games.
They’re a good side, and in both the games they’ve played, they’ve been in those games and probably would have thought they deserved the points.
That’s not the way it’s turned out so they’ll be coming to the Pan, they’ll be hungry, but it’s our home turf and we’re desperate to get off the board as well.
It’s without doubt a challenge, you’ve got a brand new squad, a lot of new players, and we know we have to keep working at it across the season.
It’s not just going to click all of a sudden and we don’t think about it anymore, it’s something we have to continually work on as a team.
As the season goes on we will get stronger and stronger.
We’ve got young players in this squad making a step up and we’re not making excuses there’s no excuses here, we aren’t using that as an excuse for the first two games.
What we are saying is, this is a young squad that needs time to bed in, time to understand what this league’s about and what they need to do to win games.
The good thing about them is they want to be here, they want to work hard, they want to give everything for the club, and they’re completely committed.
Scott
Kate Mooney is a Rook
We are thrilled to announce the signing of striker, Kate Mooney, from Peamount United.
Kate began her WNL career at Shelbourne in 2016 and spent five seasons with the Reds before moving across Dublin to join DLR Waves ahead of the 2021 season.
She made just 1 league appearance that year but became a first team regular in 2022, scoring ten times in the league and twice in the club’s FAIW Cup campaign.
Kate moved on to Peamount United where she netted five times in seven games to help them to the league summit.
Welcome to Lewes, Kate!
INTRODUCING OUR VISITORS FROM BIRMINGHAM
THE HISTORY
Birmingham City Women’s Football Club was formed in 1968 (under the original name of Birmingham City Ladies Football Club) by a group of female fans who played local friendly matches until 1970.
Initially the Club joined the Heart of England League that year and played in the league until 1973 when it underwent a major restructure and became known as the West Midland Regional League in 1974. The Club was successful during this period, winning these leagues five times during the 1970s and 1980s, before running into difficult times during the 1990s, with many staff and player changes.
As a result, it created an Academy of young players to regain stability, with many eventually playing for the First Team.
In 1998, Blues Women were promoted to the newly created Midland Combination League and in their first season won the title, thus gaining automatic promotion into the National Northern Division. After two years, the team gained another promotion, this time to the top flight of Women’s football as they joined the FA Women’s Premier League.
The Academy had begun to produce players for the First Team at this point, and Laura Bassett became the first Blues Women’s player, from the academy or otherwise, to appear for England as a senior international. Then Manager Marcus Bignot also signed high profile players including Rachel Yankey and Alex Scott for the 2004/05 season and Blues finished fourth.
Birmingham won their eighth consecutive Birmingham FA County Cup in 2008 before a number of established players either retired from the game or moved on to other clubs.
They began to rebuild and finished the 2008/09 campaign in fifth place (losing out on fourth place only through inferior goal difference) and left Redditch United for a new stadium at Stratford upon Avon.
The Club became inaugural members of the newly formed FA Women’s Super League (WSL) in 2011 and came close to winning it at the first attempt, leading for most of the campaign before being overtaken by Arsenal. They also reached the Continental Cup Final but once again found the Gunners in the way of their ambitions. That season was particularly notable for the goal scoring exploits of Rachel Williams, who finished as leading scorer as well as winning the FA Players’ Player of the Year Award.
Due to the second-place finish in 2011, Birmingham qualified for a place in the 2012/13 UEFA Women’s Champions League round of 32 for the first time in their history. Drawn against Italians Bardolino Verona, Blues won the first leg 2–0 but lost 0-3 at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, after extra-time, to exit the competition at the first hurdle.
In May 2012, the Club won their first Women’s FA Cup, beating Chelsea on penalties in the final at Ashton Gate. That year also brought a consecutive second-place finish in the WSL and saw Blues finish runners-up in the Conti Cup. Such results meant Blues again qualified for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
That led to a European high as Blues Women reached the competition’s semi-final. There, they eventually bowed out to Swedish side Tyreso FF in 2014’s second leg, the same year the Club started playing home matches at Damson Park in Solihull.
During the 2016 season, the Club signed its first-ever foreign players with the likes of Norwegian international Andrine Hegerberg and Germans Marisa Ewers, Bella Linden and Ann-Katrin Berger joining, all signalling a shift in the mentality of the Club. It was during this season the Club played in their third Conti Cup final, this time losing out to Manchester City Women in extra-time.
By November 2016 it was announced that Birmingham City Women would become fully integrated as part of the Birmingham City family following the takeover by Trillion Trophy Asia.
The 2017 Spring Series saw Blues Women enter into the new era with a change in management. Marc Skinner made the step up from Regional Talent Club Technical Director to First Team Manager and marked his intentions early on with the signing of England striker Ellen White. In May 2017, the team featured in their second Women’s FA Cup final in five years, this time facing Manchester City in front of a competition record-breaking attendance of 35,271 at Wembley Stadium. This was the first time the Club had played at the spiritual home of English football.
After securing their top-flight status at the end of the 2020/21 season, the Club made the appointment of Scott Booth as Women’s Head Coach for their 11th consecutive term in the WSL. The Scotsman arrived with a stellar coaching CV, and assembled a team before his departure in November 2021 saw Darren Carter take the reins on an interim basis.
Playing an entire campaign at St. Andrew’s for the very first time, Blues were the only team to beat Arsenal, toppling the Gunners live on Sky Sports, and secured Second City derby bragging rights on the season’s final day as they continued to show signs of a bright future ahead of their first campaign in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
In the summer of 2022, Darren Carter was appointed as the permanent Head Coach of the side, with former Blues player and 2012 Women’s FA Cup winner, Jo Potter, coming in as Assistant Head Coach.
Despite missing out on promotion by a solitary point, Blues ended the season on a seven-game winning run, their longest domestic winning run since in the inception of the WSL in 2012.
The Squad
1 Lucy Thomas
2 Martha Harris
3 Ellie Mason
4 Louise Quinn
6 Gemma Lawley
7 Jade Pennock
8 Jamie Finn
9 Libby Smith
10 Christie Harrison-Murray
11 Katie Dungate
12 Lily Agg
14 Siobhan Wilson
17 Lucy Quinn
18 Louanne Worsey
21 Claudia Walker
22 Remi Allen
23 Charlie Devlin
24 Jade Moore
27 Abbi Jenner
28 Charlotte Clarke
29 Lucy Jones
30 Neve Herron
32 Abi Cowie
40 Delphi Cole
42 Layla Banaras
THE LAST MEETINGS
| 5 Feb 2023 | Championship | Lewes | 0 | Birmingham City | 4 |
| 21 Aug 2022 | Championship | Birmingham City | 0 | Lewes | 0 |
A pre-game tribute
The ‘Hack’ name runs deep within Lewes Football Club. Not only do we have our incredible centre-back Ellie, currently playing at the club, it runs further in her family.
Her dad, Stuart, made over 200 appearances for our men’s team in the early 2000s and was part of the famous Rooks side that got to the FA Cup First Round where they played away to Stoke City. Ellie’s brother, Ben, has also previously been part of the club’s pathway.
Sadly, the Lewes FC family lost someone very special recently; Ellie’s grandfather, also a big supporter of the club.
Before the game today, please join us in a minute’s applause as we pay tribute.
Priscilla Aldridge joins Board of Directors
Priscilla Aldridge has joined Lewes FC as a new Director, having been co-opted onto the board in recent weeks. Co-opted positions are board-appointed roles where there is a skills or experience gap.
They are appointed for a 12-month term that can be renewed. Priscilla has been a proud owner and fan of Lewes for many years, and we are delighted to welcome her on board.
Priscilla has a long history working in democratic, governance and management roles within John Lewis Partnership, whose parallels to Lewes FC in being purpose-driven and Partner-owned will benefit the club in strengthening our processes, policies and internal governance.
Priscilla has a long history of collaborating with the club, leading on Partnership activations and workshops at John Lewis, and you may recognise her from a starring role in our kit launch video last year.
Priscilla said, “It feels incredible to join the board. I have a deep love for Lewes FC and want to contribute more.
“I’ve been working at John Lewis nearly 10 years and worked several roles in the business including our Democratic Vitality function which is all about how we run our business based on democratic principles and supporting the democratic structures and elected representatives.
“One project I worked on in the last couple of years was the sensitive restoration of the Partnership’s Purpose, and how to activate that in the 21st century. I now work as an Independent Advisor and I’m looking forward to bringing this experience to support the club”
The club would like to issue a warm welcome to Priscilla.
TRAINING THIS WEEK… PHOTOS BY GRACE JONES
THE 2023/24 BARCLAYS WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
YOUR 2023/24 LEWES SQUAD
FILMING AT TODAY’S GAME
Today there may be film crews in the ground, filming on behalf of Lewes Football Club and other media organisations. The filming is usually for Lewes FC marketing purposes, to show what a match day looks/sounds like and to generally promote what we do. Lewes Football Club respectfully asks for your permission to be filmed. If you do not want to be filmed, please let the crew know directly and they will oblige. Thanks for your cooperation in helping to build a successful club.
CREDITS AND LEGAL
“The Barclays FA Women’s Championship strongly supports recent FA statements that there should be a zero tolerance approach against racism and all forms of discrimination. Accordingly, any form of discriminatory abuse, whether it be based on race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, faith, age, ability or any other form of abuse will be reported to The Football Association for action by that Association. (The FA 0800 085 0508/Kick It Out 020 7253 0162).“
Lewes 2000 FC Limited. Registered in England and Wales with Company Registration Number 03790979. Lewes 2000 FC Limited is 100% owned by Lewes Community Football Club.
Honorary President Terry Parris
Chair Stuart Fuller
Directors Willa Bailey, Tim Bradshaw, Ed Briggs, Scott Currie, Stuart Fuller, Andy Gowland, Lucy Mills, John Peel, Trevor Wells
Chief Executive Officer Maggie Murphy
Life Members
Peter Brook, Dorothy Brook RIP, Vic Blunt RIP, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox RIP, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris RIP, Terry Parris, Jimmy Quinn, P. Swaysland, Steve Ibbitson, Jason Hopkinson, Steve White, Martin Elliot, Kevin Fingerneissl, Kevin Powell, David and Barbara Arnold, Roger and Cathy Feltham, Ethel Treagus, Roy Dartnell RIP, Ron Moore, Derek Southouse, Ray Smith, Ken Carter RIP
Manager Scott Booth
GK Coach Daniel Matraszek
General Manager Lynne Burrell
Nutritionist Stefano Montanari
Club Doctor Dr Daniel Hudson
Head Physiotherapist Adam Hutchins
Physiotherapist Maria Melero
Sports Therapist Liam Jenman
Sport Scientist Ivi Casagrande
Mental Coach Sarah Murray
Data Analyst Tom Drummer
Kit Manager Kerri Coombs
Communications Manager Jack Towers
Commercial Manager Stef McLoughlin
Fan Engagement Officer Shrey Nilvarna
Facilities Manager Damien watts
Golden Rook Rob Read
Web Editors Stuart Fuller & Jack Towers
Progcast Editors Stuart Fuller / Jack Towers / Stan Lahood
Club Photographer James Boyes & Grace Jones