På söndag är det ligapremiär för Liverpool FC, en spännande hemmamatch mot ett satsande West Ham står på programmet. För Liverpool FC Women´s är det ett tag kvar till ligastarten, den 9 september sparkar deras liga igång med ett bortamöte i London, mot Arsenal Women. Det har hänt en hel del med damfotbollen i England de senaste åren och den här sommaren har det hänt en hel del i Liverpool specifikt. Man har ett nytt namn, en ny tränare och en hel del nya spelare. För att ta tempen på laget kontaktade vi Lauren Black(@Lauren_Black9), hon både skriver och spelar in inslag för The Redmen TV(@TheRedmenTV). De har precis startat upp en podcast där de diskuterar damlagets säsong och lite av hennes synpunkter kan ni läsa här:

1. The womens team changed name during the summer, can you tell us about the change and why it was made?
The club decided to change their name from Liverpool Ladies FC to Liverpool FC Women’s. I think it is part of a new era for the team, they have a new manager, new team and now a new name to fit with it so I think it is a good move for the club and it is exciting to see how they will perform this season.

2. Liverpool finished sixth last season, how was that season?
The women finished sixth last season. They started the campaign off well and where challenging with Man City and Chelseas at the top. We seemed to drop off around Winter and a lot of injuries really made it difficult for us to keep up with the top two. I think former manager Scott rogers played a big role in a lot of players feeling unsettled which is mad as he has been involved with the club for a long time. We had a lot of brilliant players but something just seemed off in the squad but i’m glad we have now found someone who has brought in new players and the squad seems to be fitting in well together

3. The squad has gone through big changes during the summer, is it a stronger squad today than last season?
We lost a lot of brilliant players at the end of last season and it was difficult to see what kind of direction the club would be going in. The introduction of Neil Redfearn was a key moment and he has brought in a lot of excellent players like Christie Murray, Leandra Little, Leighanne robe etc and I can see that the team have really clicked and work well together so I am confident that this team can achieve big things together.

4. Neil Redfearn is the new coach of the team, what are your thoughts about him?
I think Redfearn is a great appointment. He is a very experienced manager, he only spent one season in the women’s game with Doncaster Belles but they finished top of WSL 2 with a 10 point gap so that gives me a lot of confidence. Like I said he has made some brilliant signings and brought in some great coaching staff who can really help the team and having watched him over the past couple of weeks and listened/read interviews I couldn’t be happier that he is our new manager.

5. Which players are most important to the team?
Every player is important in the squad. They all bring a different quality to the side. We have some very experienced players in Leandra Little, Bradley-Auckland and old players from last year like Satara Murray who really brings a lot to the squad. I;m excited to see how Chrsitie Murray performs this season as she is an influential player and being the playmaker in the team is important but i have no doubt she will be successful.Every player is vital for what Liverpool want to achieve this season.

6. Which teams are favourites to win the league?
I’d definitley say Man City and Chelsea are going to be challenging for the title this season. They both have massive squads with some brilliant players and their facilities are out of this world. Their coaching staff are brilliant and Chelsea won the league last season but it was quite close between the two, they play eachother on the opening weekend so that will be a brilliant game to watch.

7. How would you rate the interest in Womens Super League, is it getting stronger?
The attention the Women’s league gets has definitley improved since it first began and it get’s a fair amount of coverage, There is always room for improvement but I definitley think we need to have more media/TV coverage of games. The women’s teams are just as important as the mens and in order to attract more attention the media has to be more involved. That’s why we started a podcast on Redmen TV, we want to have something different and unique to give the women’s game more attention and I really hope that over the coming years it continues to go up and up. But it has definitley reached a new level and it is exciting to see.