England women look to move into new territory after the Sampson scandal | Suzanne Wrack

As spring drew to a close, many opinion pieces sang about this being the breakthrough summer for women’s sport. With Euro 2017, the women’s Rugby World Cup and the cricket World Cup taking place unobscured by a major men’s competition, coupled with some of the most competitive England teams in recent history, expectations were rightfully high. And the sport did not disappoint. Thrilling performances took place in all three as coverage of women’s sport reached an all-time high. Each England team came away from this summer with their heads held high. Rightfully, the relevant sporting bodies hoped to capitalise on an increase in interest in their sports at the domestic level.
Yet for football that post-Euro euphoria has taken a battering. Not thanks to the disappointing semi-final exit to the eventual winners, but as a result of off-field scandals.
Eni Aluko’s complaint against Mark Sampson for racism and bullying, followed by the manager’s sacking for “inappropriate behaviour” while at Bristol Academy, has overshadowed the start of the maiden winter-scheduled Women’s Super League (WSL) season. This type of scandal, on this scale, and with such enormous failings by football’s governing body, is new territory for the women’s game.
In recent years it has had a feelgood factor around it, there’s been public harmony and a united understanding that while there are numerous hurdles, the women’s game has the potential to grow rapidly in the next five to 10 years. That’s why a conversation with anyone involved or interested in women’s football at present is tinged with an element of sadness about these revelations hitting the front and back pages.
Of course exposing alleged malpractice in both coaching and at the Football Association is important. It is vital to the long-term health of a sport recovering from decades of neglect after a 50-year ban when at its peak.
Yet there is a loyalty to the growth of the game. That is perhaps a small element of why it has taken so long for questions about Sampson’s appointment to the biggest job in women’s football in England to come about, despite the rumours of his “inappropriate behaviour” being, according to many, the worst-kept secret in women’s football.
It may also be because when issues have been formally raised with the FA, investigations have left many questions unanswered. Or perhaps it is only now that the England team, and women’s football as a whole, is thriving and increasingly in the spotlight that anyone cares enough to delve deep.
Despite the hit women’s football will undoubtedly take, there are many positives to be drawn. Taking a step back to move forward will ultimately make for a healthier game. If Sampson’s sacking paves the way for a genuine overhaul of safeguarding practices from top to bottom then that is a good thing, particularly in providing a more adequate conclusion for those involved in the initial Bristol Academy complaints than seeing the accused rise to the pinnacle of the managerial game.
This could also be the crisis that brings about the radical change so desperately needed in football’s governing body. There may be surprise that it is a scandal in women’s football that has left the FA so exposed but in many ways it stems from an overconfidence from being under, seemingly, less scrutiny in the women’s game, that has caught them out.
There is still much more to come from these intertwined debacles. While some will long to just get on with the football and put the latter part of the summer behind them, it is not going to be that easy. The allegations in the Bristol Academy report could well to come to light and the parliamentary select committee questioning the FA’s handling of Aluko’s case takes place next month.
In the background to these off-field machinations we also have the question of who will the FA call on to step into Sampson’s role?
Favourites to take over in the interim are Mo Marley and Marieanne Spacey. Marley has been in charge of the Under-19 side since 2001 while Spacey is leading the FA’s new international player-development programme having been Sampson’s No2 until the start of the summer. Both know the current squad inside out and would be safe and likeable pairs of hands.
Longer term there are a host of talented managers who fit the bill. Emma Hayes has been hugely successful at Chelsea but has not always seen eye to eye with the FA. Nick Cushing has similarly steered Manchester City to the top of the women’s game, yet both Hayes and Cushing have just begun the new season with their clubs. The former Arsenal manager Laura Harvey, now at Seattle Reign, would be another popular choice but having coached the USA Under-23 team during the early part of the year she may have her eyes firmly Stateside.
With the domestic season in the US drawing to a close, however, the likes of Matt Beard of Boston Breakers (a two-time WSL winner with Liverpool), Portland Thorns’ Mark Parsons and Canada’s John Herdman are all strong options. There is also a feeling the FA may opt for a female head coach.
The team is in good shape, their 6-0 demolition of Russia in their first World Cup 2019 qualifying game on the eve of Sampson’s dismissal showed a determination to live up to, and improve on, their world No3 ranking. The team’s development will not stop with the sacking of Sampson. Yes he led them to the semi-finals of two major tournaments, but there has been heavy investment in the side. To not be competing at the top level would be seen as a failure.
Despite the chaos, this makes it an attractive job for any manager. However the events of the summer has seen player relations fracture with the current crop publicly criticised by the former internationals linked to Aluko’s complaint. How a new coach comes in, what atmosphere they encourage, whether they choose to recall players and how they repair the damage of recent weeks will be a major challenge.
• The WSL season got under way last weekend, with the 2016 champions Manchester City and Spring Series winners Chelsea laying down their title intentions. Chelsea put six past newcomers Bristol City, with Gemma Davison a threat whenever given the chance to run at defenders. Hayes’ shrewd recruitment was also on show as Magdalena Eriksson and Maria Thorisdottir both slotted comfortably into the starting line-up. Arsenal had a less easy time at home to Birmingham, their former player Ellen White scoring twice. Jodie Taylor replied to the first but Louise Quinn’s red card left them under further pressure. Lisa Evans equalised before Taylor scored a 90th-minute penalty to clinch the win. Elsewhere Manchester City beat Yeovil 4-0, Sunderland got a 1-0 win over Reading, and the WSL 1 opener between Liverpool and Everton finished 2-0 to the Reds.
• The Argentina national team have gone on strike over poor training conditions, inadequate travel arrangements and lack of pay, according to a statement from the goalkeeper Elisabeth Winning. The team claim to have been ignored when trying to raise the issues with the Argentinian FA. They are amateur and are paid approximately 150 pesos (£6.40) per training session, while the demands of the national team mean some players have had to quit their jobs.
• Emily Lima has been sacked as Brazil Women’s head coach after less than a year in the job. The former international had taken over from Oswalda Alvarez in November and got off to a decent start but five losses in six games (including three in the tournament of nations) was too much for the Brazilian Confederation. Their last game was a 6-1 defeat to Australia.
• The shortlist for the Best Fifa Women’s Player 2017 was announced last week to much derision. The inclusion of the two-time former winner Carli Lloyd and talented teen Deyna Castellanos of Venezuela over players like the new all-time leading NWSL goalscorer, Australia’s Sam Kerr, and Wolfsburg double-winner and Denmark Euro 2017 semi-finalist Pernille Harder baffled many. The Euro 2017 winner Lieke Martens is the only player many think rightly made the list.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
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