Aston Villa have always historically been one of the biggest sides in English football, but their women’s team has never managed to reach the heights of the top-flight. However, Gemma Davies and her side are trying to change that this year, currently sitting top of the FA Women’s Championship table with a 100% record - joint with Durham.
Elected into the Championship after the reformation of English leagues in 2018, they finished sixth in last season’s campaign with 26 points, 20 away from promotion in a division that contained extremely tough opposition in the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic.
The summer
With the promotion of the men’s side to the Premier League, the women’s team made a number of impressive signings over the summer. Amidst an off-season which was troubling for neighbours Birmingham, Villa snapped up Shania Hayles, Marisa Ewers and Emma Follis, the latter both bring a brilliant level of top-flight experience to the side, whereas Hayles is a promising 19-year-old.
Follis came back to the club that she had given 14 years of service for after joining at the age of nine. After she originally departed her childhood team which she is also an avid supporter of, she had spells at Reading and Birmingham, as well as playing for top-flight side Seattle Reign in the NWSL of America. The signing was a major coup for Villa, bringing in a player who has multiple years of experience in the top division of English football.
The signings didn’t stop with the Birmingham trio, however, and the club signed deals with Leicester City’s top scorer of the 18/19 season - Melissa Johnson, highly-rated defender Ella Franklin-Fraiture and Charlotte Greengrass, all made the switch from the Foxes. Lastly, the club secured the services of Emily Syme, an extremely promising talent who joined the club before going straight out to play in the Women’s Under 19 Euros for England.
This season
Villa currently sits second in the table, only bettered by Durham on goal difference. Opening the season with a win over Blackburn played at Villa Park, they have won every game of the 19/20 campaign, and have scored 14 goals in their four matches.
A Villa duo took home the division’s awards for the first month. Gemma Davies was named as the league’s Manager of the Month for August, whilst Melissa Johnson earned herself her first Player of the Month achievement with her new club. Youngster Asmita Ale was also recently named in the Lionesses’ under 19 squad for their European championship games, starting with a tie against Cyprus.
In the Continental Cup, they suffered a 3-0 defeat away from home to Durham. The loss was their first game of the season in which they did not pick up all three points available to them.
A fan’s view
Villa fan and writer, Regan Foy, from the website ‘Under a Gaslit Lamp’, spoke to VAVEL UK about the club’s women’s side.
When did you start following the Women’s side?
I've been interested in the Women's side for a while now but took a more proactive interest towards the end of the 2017/18 season.
What was it that originally drew you into watching them?
I think I was drawn in by some of the personalities on show within the squad. The Aston Villa Women do some great work in regards to social media and showcasing the more 'human' side of these footballers, and that piqued my interest and allowed me to have a more active support of the side. Since that, my interest in wider Women's football has grown too!
What progress have you seen under Gemma Davies?
There has been a lot of progress under Gemma Davies and the rest of the coaching staff, not only in terms of results. If you cast your mind back to the first game of Gemma’s first season, the side were drubbed 12-0 by Manchester United Women, who at the time were a professional side masquerading in a semi-professional division.
Results improved during 2019 and they’ve continued into this new season now. The style is more progressive this season, I feel, and the ladies have more confidence in how they’re playing, so even if they’re losing a game heads don’t drop like they would last season.
There has been a lot of individual progress too under Gemma’s tenure, with some players visibly improving during their time working under her too.
How impactful do you think this summer’s signings have been?
Our summer signings have had a major impact, and that’s clear to see in a myriad of ways. Not only are there more experienced heads, these ‘older’ handful of players, namely Emma Follis, Marisa Ewers and Natalie Haigh, have until recently been playing in the Women’s Super League. Emma has experience of playing in America, and Marisa and Natalie have played in Europe for Leverkusen and Nordsjaelland.
That’s been paired with some young talent too, with a few England youth internationals joining from clubs in both the WSL and FAWC.
It’s easy to say that Melissa Johnson has had the biggest impact due to the high number of goals that she’s scored already, but generally, they have all been important and bedded in well with what was already a strong core.
Do you think there is anything that sets apart Villa from the rest of the teams in the Championship?
I think the biggest thing that sets the Aston Villa Women apart from the rest of the Championship side is probably Gemma. She’s quite evidently a lover of the game, an Aston Villa fan, and also the Head of Women’s Football at the University of Birmingham.
Which clubs can state that both the head coaches of their male and female clubs are supporters of the club? Not many I bet.
Other than that, it’d probably be the major changes to the infrastructure that were undertaken over the summer and that are continuing to happen.
Villa fell at the hands of fellow league leaders Durham in the Continental Cup in their last game. Do you think this will make much of an impact?
The loss to Durham in the Continental Cup doesn’t mean much. Granted, the girls would have liked to win but the game provided an opportunity to some players who were struggling for game time so far this season, and also provided a learning opportunity for the eventual meeting in the league.
It’ll hurt, that’s for sure, but the side won’t rest on it.
Has the atmosphere and general consensus of supporters around the Women’s side changed over time - especially after the World Cup?
I think the interest in the Women’s side has definitely improved, and I think that’s due to some good performances and results, efforts from the club, the work that the media team do over at the Aston Villa Women, and of course the World Cup.
It’s important that the interest continues to grow, in both men and women and boys and girls. It’ll create a more inclusive game for future generations, but also inspire young girls to pick up their boots and play at Boldmere and Villa Park one day.
We also do a lot of work personally to try and provide Women’s content for an audience that is predominantly interested in the Men’s side, but we’ve been able to sway a good number of them to show interest.
How do you think a Villa will do this season?
Personally, I’d love to see Aston Villa Women get promoted - it’d be perfect to potentially have both of the sides in the top leagues. I think, despite it being so early, it’s going to be a two-horse race between us and Durham until the end of the season. Photo finish, perhaps.