There are just three weeks until the SWPL kicks off again as holders Hibs look to defend a title few expected them to claim.
Fewer still would expect them to go and successfully defend it. Which will all be fuel for Grant Scott’s pre-season team talk, of course.
No-one has successfully claimed back-to-back titles across recent seasons. Malky Thomson delivered a title to Rangers four years ago before Glasgow City nicked it back off them the following year. Then it was Celtic’s turn and now Hibs.
It does, of course, point to genuine competition within the top flight but would also indicate a different kind of pressure when it comes to winning a league and then playing with a target on your back.
None of which will be news to the vastly experienced Scott or Joelle Murray in at Hibs. They have tweaked and added to their squad and will be tested to the max from the off this term as they juggle the duel demands of Champions League football and domestic action.
It was a weight that proved utterly debilitating to Celtic last term as they competed on a duel front.
But the most significant aspect this summer has been the languid manner in which the likes of Celtic and Rangers have gone about the business of building a team capable of challenging for the title.
There is yet to be a replacement introduced for Jo Potter – and with the new season just 22 days away that looks increasingly concerning. Add to the mix that Rangers, who have lost out on a domestic treble twice with final day heartbreaks – have also lost a clutch of established first-team players this summer and the work of any new manager walking into the building is obvious.
Rio Hardy is set for a switch to Bristol City which will take the exit tally to six.
On the other side of the city, Celtic have added former Claire Walsh this week to a squad that has lost ten first-team players since the end of the season. Elena Sadiku was in Switzerland on commentary duties so missed the start of pre-season.
But such were the paucity of numbers as the club regrouped earlier this month that even organising bounce games proved to be problematic.
The club were also slow to open up season ticket renewals for the women’s team.
[[Celtic]] finished fourth last season and failed to collect any silverware. There was a mid-season flit from home games in Airdrie to a poorer surface in Hamilton, with the Lanarkshire base now hosting [[Celtic]] and newly promoted Accies in the top flight this term.
Season tickets, an exceptionally tough sell in the women’s game, have been ‘frozen’ at £130 for an adult and £20 for a child. But with the league restructure this season meaning a 10-team top flight, this actually amounts to the same price for fewer games.
Last season, too, an early bird offer also reduced the cost.
Prices are cheap as chips compared to tickets for the men’s team but fans have been increasingly disillusioned at the direction of travel this summer. If anyone needed any indication of women’s teams being there for the optics, the past few months would be a significant endorsement of such a view.
Which ought to all play into the hands of Glasgow City. They continue to bang the drum for the philosophy that underpinned their existence and, as a stand alone club who have no affiliation to anyone else, can ensure the focus of the club is funnelled entirely onto the pitch.
They have had a few departures of their own to contend with. The latest was the impressive Sam van Diemen who will swap Petershill for Rome this season as she heads to Roma after an undisclosed fee was agreed between the teams on Friday.
AND ANOTHER THING
For someone who hates women’s football, Joey Barton fair manages to watch plenty of it.
England’s women take on Spain tomorrow night in the Euros final as Sarina Wiegman’s side look to defend their status as European champions.
If it’s not for you – as Barton has been fairly clear on – there is no law to say you must watch it.
Barton, who needs to find £200k to clear his liable costs to Jeremy Vine, hosted a live watch-a-long of the semi-final this week in order to mock what was in front of him. Joey Barton is 42-years-old.
If England are successful tomorrow night, they will be the first English senior national side to defend a major trophy.
The game is their third consecutive final, after they also reached the FIFA Women’s 2023 World Cup final against Spain. Whatever Barton’s ilk may have to say on the matter, they are clearly doing something right. AND FINALLY
Hamilton Accies’ experiment at a recent friendly to open the gates and request a donation for attendance is an interesting way to look at generating funds.
Getting bums on seats has been a challenge across the SWPL – and the Scottish national team.
Giving tickets away free is regarded as devaluing the game but there is a desperate need to drum up a way to get people through the door.
Feedback from Accies was that they felt there had been a reasonable return but it is a matter that clubs are constantly having to weigh up as they look to strike the balance between encouraging supporters and building a base while also making money.
