Within a few weeks, Casey Stoney has completed the job many soccer coaches would envy and some find daunting: assembling a squad completely from scratch.
Thirteen years after Manchester United women’s team was disbanded to prioritize resources on the men, gender equality has returned to one of the world’s richest sports teams.
Only 83 days after being granted a license by the English Football Association, United’s women’s side is to play today against Liverpool.
Photo: AP
“It was a blank canvas,” Stoney said in an interview. “I wasn’t coming in and clearing up anyone else’s mess. I wasn’t inheriting players. It was stressful.”
Stoney’s appointement was a statement by United. The former England defender is one of only eight female coaches among the 22 teams in England’s top two women’s divisions.
Concerns over sexist attitudes are also still encountered, particularly when Stoney is accompanied by assistant coach Willie Kirk.
“People automatically go and shake Willie’s hand,” Stoney said. “They think because he’s the man, he’s the head coach. I think it is a really strong decision by Manchester United to put a female coach in, because the more you make it the norm, the more people will respect it.”
The women’s game has been transformed in England since women last pulled on United jerseys in a senior fixture in 2005.
The Women’s Super League (WSL) has been growing in status since its launch in 2010 and the entire 11-team topflight is now fully professional. United has a squad of 21 professionals trying to gain promotion from the second-tier Championship.
“I come from an era where we used to pay to play,” said the 36-year-old Stoney, who appeared 130 times for England.
Just as Manchester City has overhauled its men as the dominant force in the English Premier League, the Abu Dhabi ownership has also invested to turn the women’s team into WSL champions.
United is playing catch-up due to famed coach Alex Ferguson’s determination to focus resources on his men’s pursuit of English and European supremacy. The women’s team was scrapped months before United was bought by the Florida-based Glazer family in 2005.
United vice chairman Ed Woodward in 2012 said that the idea of reviving the team had never been discussed by the board.
By March, Woodward realized that girls deserved the chance to graduate from the existing youth ranks to play for United — just like Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba did.
“There was whispers just after Christmas that Manchester United were thinking about coming in and everybody in the game got excited,” Stoney said. “I put myself forward, because for me it’s one of the biggest jobs in football.”
Stoney has accomplished what would be unthinkable in the men’s game: persuading seven players to cross the northwest divide and leave Liverpool for United, including goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain and defender Alex Greenwood.
“We want to play a style of football that entertains,” Stoney said.
“I’ve never been at a club where I’ve felt so much a part of the club,” Stoney said. “There’s not a day gone by since I took the job where I haven’t gone: ‘Wow.’ It’s what I’ve dreamed of in terms of where the women’s game needs to be.”
However, Old Trafford stadium remains the preserve of Jose Mourinho’s side. Casey’s team is to play at the 12,000-seat Leigh Sports Village with adult-season tickets costing ￡39 (US$49.75) compared with ￡532 for the cheapest at Old Trafford.
Attracting larger crowds is crucial to generate more revenue for women’s soccer. An average 953 fans are watching WSL matches.
Stoney told her players how important they are to spur the game’s growth.
“I’ve got two young daughters. I want them to come to a game and ... [think]: ‘I want to be one of those girls,’” Stoney said. “If they can inspire my little girls to play football, then to me that’s the legacy.”
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