CAST was delighted to be able to welcome manager Karen Hills and players Ash Neville and Kiera Skeels on Tuesday evening to answer questions from supporters on CAWFC.
The session was hosted by CAST Chair Heather McKinlay, CAST board member Alex Whitmore and CAST member Zafra Howard. We began the meeting by asking Karen how the mood was in the camp.
Karen first reminded us how incredibly well the squad did last season but acknowledged that the step-up from WSL2 to WSL is “vast” and “a tough ask”. Also, because of the play-off, the club was three weeks late “getting bodies into the building.” However, she stressed that the squad is “very much together” and were “leaning into the uncomfortableness”.
Ash said it was an easy decision for her to join Karen at Charlton and that she had settled in well with the group. She said she had seen “how well-together” the squad was from the Leicester game last season. She said the atmosphere was “welcoming and kind” which was something she hadn’t experienced for a long time.
Kiera said that her current injury was not ideal after her time on the sidelines last season but that she was doing her rehab and it “shouldn’t be too long” before she returns.
Do referees favour the big teams? Karen stressed what a difficult job refs do and that she respects their decisions. “Through the course of a season decisions sometimes go for you and sometimes against you” but a decision that goes against can be “tough to swallow particularly if it really affects the outcome”. However, she stressed that the refs are “open to feedback and want to improve” and that “we can only control what we can control”.
Ash said that “in the moment” she didn’t think her tackle in the Everton game was a red card but she had to respect the decision. She said that seven years ago her reaction would have been different but she is “a lot calmer now”. She acknowledged that “having a go back doesn’t get you anywhere” and that she didn’t want to be the sort of player who was “already on the ref’s radar”.
Asked about the effect of crowd support Kiera said that the players “feed off the energy” and get “an extra spark”. She assured us that “you can hear fans all the time”. Karen stressed how the crowd “are really with us in uncomfortable moments” and that she had heard “no negative communication”. She thought that fans really appreciated the work rate of the players and the players were grateful for encouragement which gave them more self-belief.
Kiera said the biggest difference between WSL and WSL2 was the “physicality and the ball speed.” She said there was “no time to think” and that “the smallest margins change games” but that the players were “starting to get the hang of it”. Ash said it was great to play against some of the best women in the world but their ball speed was “massively different”.
Karen stressed that goal opportunities were very limited and that nine out of ten mistakes get punished. She said we must be patient with the group who are “learning to be brave” and to be “more disciplined in shape out of possession”. She said they had learned so much in five games and that it was exciting to see their growth and development. “We need to keep practicing and stick together – the tide will turn”.
Karen said that recent injuries were impact and often a result of the increase of physicality in the WSL but that was why she had a larger squad of 25. She hoped that Linda Lif Boama (“an unbelievable talent”) would be back by Christmas, having had surgery. Grace Johnston’s shoulder injury was a “weird” one and she is now seeing a specialist.
Kiera said that it was exciting to see international players from all over the world joining the club. She said that the culture is strong and that everyone has welcomed them and they have bought into Charlton. Ash said she wasn’t someone who liked to move around too much and liked “to stay where she feels valued”. She said that the international players add a lot to the group.
Karen said that over five seasons she had built teams of “good, hardworking, humble players who want to kick on”. She said it was no secret that there was “no open cheque book” so she needs players who will “do the hard yards and run for each other”. She said she always wanted “the right people in the building” so she would look at the data but also wanted to “sit down and get a feel for who players are and why they wanted to join Charlton.”
She said that last season we didn’t have the biggest budget but that “togetherness” saw them through. She said the players were very open to positive and negative feedback.
She wouldn’t be drawn on the question of who she considered her best signing but she stressed that just as important were the staff team that she surrounded herself with. She gave a particular mention to Sej – analyst Sejin Yoo. If money were no object, she said she would like to sign Bunny Shaw, who is “a different talent”. We all agreed that it was a credit to the Charlton team that they had kept Shaw at bay in the recent game v Man City.
Karen said that they wanted to win every game but she reminded us that six years ago Charlton were third bottom in WSL2 and the target this season is to stay in the WSL. Realistically we “need to take points from the teams around us” and we always ask ourselves “was our performance better than last week?”
Ash said she started playing for fun aged five at primary school before joining a local girls’ team. She joined West Brom at ten and went through the age groups before making her first team debut at sixteen. This was something she “had dreamt about but didn’t think was possible”. When she joined Spurs she was still part-time, travelling up and down the country. She was 24 before she got a full-time contract so she encouraged young players not to think “it will never happen”.
Kiera said she started playing in the garden with her brother and, when he joined a local boys’ team, she did as well. Playing with boys for six years “made me the player I am now”. She was in Reading and Southampton Academies before a year as professional with Reading. She “wanted to earn my place and earn a place in the WSL” so joined Charlton after speaking with Karen and soon “fell in love with the club”. She said that, having devoted five years of her life to it, it was such a “relief” when promotion was finally gained.
She remembered playing at The Oakwood in rain, snow and wind on pitches that were “waterlogged most weeks” and said how playing at The Valley has increased exposure and made them feel included. “It is crazy how far we’ve progressed”
Karen said how privileged and proud she felt having been part of the growth in women’s football which was “unrecognisable” from her playing days. Girls playing at school “is now the norm” and there are role models “on and off the pitch”. She said how proud she was to be a manager in the WSL and particularly because it was with Charlton. She pointed to the pathway at Charlton which now includes a whole pyramid from the age of twelve. “The talent coming through is frightening.”
Asked how difficult it was to make the jump from the PGA (under 21) team to the first team Karen acknowledged that being in the WSL made this harder. However, she stressed that Charlton invested in their Academy and the club wanted to ensure that opportunities were there for young English players. She noted that London City had only one English player in the recent game. She mentioned Mary Bashford who worked so hard to break through and is now paying regularly at Southampton. Other special talents coming through the Charlton ranks include Janis Chime, though she is presently sidelined with a knee injury. Angela Nelson is a “young, brave and energetic” player who has been with Charlton since she was twelve and is currently out on loan playing regularly. And, a recent signing after a successful loan, Keira Flannery has just been called up by England U23s.
Asked about England Lioness role models, Ash said that she really admires Lucy Bronze and what she has achieved. Kiera admires Leah Williamson’s confidence and how she plays. Karen said she was so impressed by Emma Hayes and Serena Wiegman who are “people orientated and very honest” and who have surrounded themselves by “fantastic people”. On the subject of Lionesses, we noted how much we are looking forward to the return to The Valley of former mascot Alessia Russo when CAWFC host Arsenal on 20th December.
We closed the meeting with huge thanks on behalf of all attendees to our guests for their time and sharing their insights. We’ll be there in support to see them pick up WSL points soon. Next up at The Valley in the WSL is Manchester United on Sunday 18th October 2pm.