Aston Villa Women’s Super League identity and development, Digi Mart USA News (Birmingham, England): Aston Villa Women have had an inconsistent start to the Women’s Super League season, with a winless opening that led to the sacking of manager Natalia Arroyo at the end of September. The Spaniard had helped stabilise the club during her two years in charge, but the team lacked consistency, leaving some supporters unsure of what its identity was.
Brian Sorensen, the former Everton boss, is now interim manager and is tasked with shaping the team’s style on the pitch. Speaking to BBC Sport, managing director Maggie Murphy said the club aims to do things “the right way” and described Aston Villa as a club of heart.
Sunday’s derby against Birmingham City, kicking off at 14:00 GMT at Villa Park, marks 30 years since the team officially took the Aston Villa name. Sorensen said the club has a long history that many people may not know, and that he wants the team to be hard-working and humble, with a clear way of attacking and defending that opponents will respect.
Alongside the match, the club is running a research project called ‘Roots, Rise and Reach’ to uncover periods of the women’s team’s history that have not been documented before. So far it has found a 1957 newspaper report of a game between an unofficial Aston Villa Ladies team and Birmingham City.
Murphy said the club’s roots go back further than 1996 and that understanding this history gives the club a stronger sense of identity.
Off the pitch, Villa are working to grow attendances as part of a five-year strategy. Last season the club set up fan forums for the first time and, in response to feedback, changed age categories on ticketing, introduced hospitality season tickets and hosted podcasts with former players and comedians.
The club has also advertised fixtures on ‘digi-vans’ across the country to attract neutral supporters.
Murphy said the aim is to build the club sustainably and generate funds for the football side of the business. She works alongside Marisa Ewers, director of women’s football, who oversees recruitment, contract renewals and football staff management.
Murphy said the business side now has nine people fully dedicated to women’s operations, compared with two last year.
Villa currently sit ninth in the table with two wins and four draws from their opening nine matches. They drew with Arsenal earlier this month and beat Birmingham City on penalties in the Women’s League Cup.
Upcoming fixtures against Birmingham and Charlton will be the next test of their progress. Murphy noted that Villa have not been in the WSL for long and described the club as still in a transitional phase, as is the wider women’s football sector.
