Accrington Stanley Ladies FC
SPECIAL FEATURES
Interview with Karen Fazackerley (Manager)
It has been a long old six months for Accrington Stanley Ladies since their formation in July of 2006 and throughout its turbulent start, the new team manager Karen Fazackerley has seen the team blossom from the eight players available for the first game of the season to the twenty-plus squad members that are seen today.
Background:
Karen is 25, and a postgraduate student of Media and PR, has worked for Accrington Stanley FC in their Conference winning season of 2005-2006 as Commercial Manager and is now studying to become a sport’s journalist, she is also an FA trained coach. She is known for her tough tackling in defence and a fierce right-foot shot, unfortunately this season saw her tear her left-knee ligaments in only the second game of the season, which has seen her sit on the physio’s bench for the remainder of the 2006-2007 season, but she hopes to be back in contention in late 2007.
Here she talks on the ups and downs of Accrington Stanley Ladies and the part she plays in the ‘team’ as a whole:
What made you decide to form Accrington Stanley Ladies FC?
It started really on the back of the success of the men’s side in the summer of 2006, I noticed that many Football League sides had women’s team’s linked directly to them and thought that Stanley would benefit from having one. I knew of only one other team in the local area that catered for women’s football and they were not linked to football club at all, so I thought that Stanley could give healthy competition to that team. I also thought that it might have brought more fans onto the men’s matches than previously seen.
How has the men’s Accrington Stanley side taken to having a Ladies side alongside it?
A few of the team are friends with a couple of the Stanley Ladies side so are always asking how we are doing, and I know them through my time working at Accrington Stanley and the majority of them ask what the team’s up to on a matchday or if we’d had a match how we got on so they seem to like the banter between both the men’s and women’s side. A few have even come and watched games, which is great.
How has playing for Stanley differed to playing at your previous clubs?
Its major difference is that it is a very young club. It is only six months old, whereas the teams I have played previously have been going for years rather than months. Sometimes it is better going in new as you get to learn the strengths of the individual players rather than going into a team feeling like an outsider when the team has already bonded.
Do you enjoy playing or managing better?
That’s a tough question, any footballer who’s injured hates watching the game unfold as you can’t take any part in it, whereas in management you do have a direct part to play but in an ideal world I do enjoy playing and find it frustrating when I don’t. As a manager you do have the same feelings as you would as a player so I don’t really have a major preference.
Who has been your toughest player and team ever to play against?
The toughest and best side was most definitely Sunderland Ladies when I was 16 and they still are a fantastic side. But the toughest player was when I was 15 at comprehensive school where I played against Tony McMahon (who went to my school) who now plays for Middlesborough, even then he was a fantastic footballer and was very tough to play against.
Who are the characters of the Stanley team and why?
Well there are a number really and it’s hard to outline all of them but here goes we have ‘Psycho’ – Jamie-Leigh Schofield, one of the best centre-backs I have played alongside, the reason for the name is that she does tend to go in a tad aggressively at challenges sometimes but she gets the ball nearly 100% of the time cleanly. ‘TJ’ – Theresa Newsome, club Captain and a phenomenal talent and rules the back four unbelievably well. ‘Drogba’ – Jodie Murray, a fantastic winger, come striker, who excels on both feet and scores her fair share of goals. ‘Kermit’ – Sarah McNaught, well known for her dramatic but fantastic saves for the camera, she has kept us in the majority of games this season. ‘Ade’ – Hannah Jones, she is our very own Ade Akinbiyi for her sins, and although she follows Stanley she is a die-hard Burnley FC fan and plays with the tenacity and speed of Ade, hence the nickname. There are many other characters within the team that create a great basis of the squad such as Suzanne Geldard, Sarah Worden, Stacey Kinsley and Ashleigh Broughton but to name a few but they all play a major role in the squad.
How accessible was women’s football when you were younger and how old were you when you started playing?
Simply, it wasn’t. I was playing in a boys side until I was 15, and I started playing at primary school when I was 8 in the boys team, but I’ve kicked a football since I was 5, and then at 15 I found a girls team 20 miles away from where I lived so luckily my parents could drive me there, if it was not for them I would have had to give up. The accessibility of women’s football now is 100% better than when I was growing up and it’s getting better by the day.
Who has been the biggest influence on your playing career so far?
My Dad, although I had an elder brother he was the person who first kicked a ball with me in the garden and who took me to matches to play so it would have to be my Dad for definite.
What advice would you give any young players wanting to start a career in football?
Believe that you can do it, go out and play as often as you can and find a local team where you can get that extra bit of training that can take your career further. Most importantly of all you need to enjoy your football and always do your best.
Who is your favourite female footballer and why?
Faye White, who plays for Arsenal Ladies and is also England National Team Captain, she is a fantastic defender and someone I admire as a footballer who plays in my position and is a player that I aspire to be.
Do you believe women’s football in Britain can ever become a professional sport, at least for those in the top leagues?
I’d like to think so but as yet I don’t think that the money is there for it to do so. Fulham have tried it and failed so unless the FA get the sponsorship coming in along the same lines as the Premiership or Championship I cannot see it happening in the short-term.
What has been the highlight/lowlight so far playing for/or managing Accrington Stanley Ladies?
The lowlight is obviously getting my injury so early on in the season, which saw me sit out the remainder of the season on the sidelines. My highlight is watching Stanley Ladies first ever goal against Pendle Forest scored by Sarah Worden, a fantastic feeling watching your team score anyway but when it’s the first one it’s even better!
What do you hope Accrington Stanley Ladies can do in the future to encourage more players to come to play for Stanley Ladies?
I hope that with advertising for more players and gaining extra revenue streams through sponsorship, we are looking to expand the teams to include a B-Team and then go down the age groups to eventually become a Charter Standard Club. We can then look at extra funding and movement up the tables at a quicker rate than what we are seeing now.
Finally, on the spot can Accrington Stanley Ladies win the League this season?
Honestly, we cannot reach top spot with the remaining games that we have to play but my one hope is that what the girls learn from this season and over the summer they can put to good use in the 2007-2008 season. They have learnt so much already and are still learning on a weekly basis, I am 100% sure that there are good things to come for Accrington Stanley Ladies in the not to distant future.
