The Lionesses return to action tomorrow as they kick off their Nations League campaign against Scotland. This game sees the two teams start the new introduction to the women's game, the Nations League, a competition tried and tested in the men's game that has found its way into the women's schedule. Do we really need this tournament with the demand on players already? Well I guess that is a topic for another day really but the competition is here and we are going to have to get used to it.

Friday's game will see the Lionesses return to the pitch after their narrow defeat to Spain so they will surely be wanting to hit the ground running and get back to winning ways where as Scotland will be coming into the game with a point to prove as the two teams last meeting came in the 2019 World Cup where England came away 2-1 winners, with both teams improving since then this game is bound to be fiercely contested and Scotland will be up for showing people it isn't just England that have progressed in that time but they have too.

Sarina Wiegman has been forced to make a few changes due to injury with Beth England being out after having hip surgery in the off season, Keira Walsh not being available due to a small injury and Lotte Wubben-Moy withdrawing due to injury just as camp was about to start. We are getting to see different names called up to the team though with the likes of Maya Le Tissier, Lucy Staniforth & Jess Park called up and then the late addition of Lucy Parker to the back line. There might be changes for the Lionesses but the strength of that squad is still there as those being called up all bring something of their own to the squad. It will definitely be nice if we get to see some different names playing for England as they have the quality on the bench in Nobbs, Zelem & Staniforth, it would be great to see them get some game time and show Wiegman what they are capable of.

There are a lot of players still in the preseason phase for both these teams due to a lot of the players playing their club football in the WSL so this game will be a good test of their fitness going into the new season however, Scotland have a little bit of an advantage as they have quite a few players called up from the Scottish Women's League which is well underway so those players will have that game time under their belt where as most of the Lionesses are still in that getting game ready phase. 

The game is now sold out so it should be a brilliant game all round at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland with a great atmosphere and some great football on show. Which side of the border will walk away with the first points of their Nations League campaign? Will Scotland provide an upset or will England get straight back to winning ways? I guess we will find out on Friday evening.

Kick off : 7:45pm

Venue : Stadium of light, Sunderland

How to watch : ITV/STV coverage begins at 7:30pm on those channels.

EOTA : So Alex tell us a bit about yourself & what got you interested in football?

AM : I'm Alex, I'm a 26 year old football coach from Queensbury. I've watched football all my life as a long suffering Bradford City fan! I played all the time with friends through school but didn't play much competitively as a kid, coming more from a rugby background.

AM : I think the main thing I do at Queensbury Celtic is bring focus and attention to the girls side of the game. We've got a 40 year successful history in the boys game, but until the last few years we've only had a handful of girls spread out. Since I've been involved, especially since joining the board a few years ago, I've worked to greatly increase our girls offering whilst setting up a consistent pathway through the club. We have now got 5 teams and are still growing catering for girls as young as 6 right through to open age.

EOTA : I personally got to play against your team & your coaching style in July when you beat us in the final of a charity tournament. How do you feel those types of competitions help with pre-season?

AM : I think the small-sided competitions like the one at Halifax Friendly are a great chance to try new things and have fun in pre-season, while still working to build fitness & prepare for the new season! It was a great day out for both our time, and it is always nice to win something!

EOTA  : The new season is now underway for you but the results haven't gone your way just yet, do you think this is just a settling down phase?

AM : It's been a slow start to the season for us for sure. We've got a number of our ex-under 18's stepping up full time this summer as well as a change in the system, and I think it is teething difficulties, as well as competing in a new higher division.

EOTA : What are your overall intentions this season?

AM : I would say the plan is around consolidation and stability. We've got quite a settled quad overall, but there is a need to bed in the new girls and find our place in a very competitive division.

EOTA : Have you noticed any increase in interest since the rise of the Lionesses?

AM : Yeah we have, especially with our younger girls sides! We've got more girls than ever playing at the club and a large number of the newer girls have said that seeing the success of the Lionesses has given them that push to finally give it a go.

EOTA : It is certainly nice to see the club with a women's side as I remember way back when I had to leave the club due to a lack of a girls/women's team. How important do you think it is for the female game to be accessible now?

AM : It's a huge thing, accessibility has been poor on the women and girl's side of the game for years, but the last few years have seen massive steps forward. Our women's league is the biggest it's ever been, and the girl's leagues is the biggest of its kind in the country, which is exactly how it should be.

EOTA : What would you say to anyone local who is on the fence but wants to come join as a player, volunteer or even just coming to spectate?

AM : I'd push them to give it a go! There's more opportunity than ever and that's not just playing. There's lots of great clubs who could always use more supporters, and volunteers are greatly valued across the game.

EOTA : Finally do you have any advice for someone who might be wanting to get into managing at a lower level in the women's game?

AM : My advice would be to get stuck in and give it your all, and be willing to make mistakes! It's easy to play it safe and stay in your comfort zone, but the things I've learnt the most from are when I've tried new environments that weren't for me, but they helped me develop as a coach and person.

EOTA : Where can we find you if we want to following along with your coaching journey & the clubs journey?

AM : You can find us at https://twitter.com/QCWFC  https://twitter.com/Itsalimungo https://www.facebook.com/QueensburyCeltic

It was great to be able to chat to Alex and find out a bit more about my local club and his journey so far, I will definitely be off up to watch a few games if they don't clash with my own as the club is more or less on my doorstep. It is definitely nice to see my local club supporting the women's game as much as they do and all the hard work Alex is putting in to make sure the girls and women's game is developed at Queensbury Celtic. 

Good luck to Alex and the Queensbury Celtic women's & girls teams this season.

The interviews are now well and truly back on and as we said earlier we have a fair few already lined up across various levels of the women's football pyramid so keep checking back for those. We are so glad this series is back as it really does give you a great insight into the game from different points of view whether it is as a manager, player or even volunteer.

Who would you like to see us chat to in the future?

It has been mentioned a lot recently but the standard of women's football is just getting better and better, young players are bursting onto the scene making a name for themselves whilst players who have been around a lot longer are finally being drawn to fans attention rather than them slipping under the radar like they may previously have done. We saw at he summers World Cup just how the standard has grown with teams who might have previously been written off stepping up to cause plenty of upsets. There was a nice mix of young and experienced players in the tournament who stood out and no doubt their market value will have massively increased due to their performances. There is a lot of potential out there at the moment to really build upon existing squads which got us thinking about which players we would love to see join a team over here in the WSL. 

It was very difficult to narrow it down to a handful of players we would love to see playing week in week out in the WSL but these are the players we would really love to see tearing up the league which with their skill levels no doubt they would make a huge impact in any team over here (at the time of posting these players currently aren't playing in the WSL but who knows miracles can happen and one day the might end up over here)....

Well the new WSL is fast approaching, the FAWNL & Championship is in full swing and here at Edge of the Area we are looking forward to posting a whole lot more content than usual, this is the season where coverage is taken up a notch and posts become a lot more frequent. It is definitely going to be a busy season as not only have we renewed our season tickets at Manchester United Women but we are also hoping to get to more games from the FAWNL and even the Championship if there are no game clashes. I am also back playing again which takes up a fair bit of time however, we are hopeful that with a little bit of planning and more organisation we can balance playing and watching and produce even more content than we have previously. 

There is plenty of content in the works and the plan is to be posting to the blog every Monday through to Friday, who knows there might be the occasional weekend post too if it does get really busy with content building up. So here is the type of content you can expect to be seeing..

Match previews

If there are any particular games that we are going to or are planning on watching via the TV coverage then we will be aiming to get a preview up for those games. One preview per week is the aim however, who knows if it is a particular good week for accessibility to games there may be more than one preview going live that particular week. These posts will just give a little snap shot and background of the game before it takes place.

Match reports

The games that have been previewed will be followed up with a match report too with the full low down of how each of those games went. Match reports have been a long time favourite of ours so we are definitely looking forward to increasing the amount of these we write this season. We will definitely be writing reports of those games we go to watch but also any we manage to catch on the TV so we should be doing plenty of these.

Interviews

The interviews are finally coming back. We are finally at the stage where we can carry out more interviews so keep an eye out for them coming to the blog across the course of the season. There will be a nice mix of interviews too from players and managers, if all goes to plan there will be a nice mix of levels of the game being highlighted too. We are definitely looking forward to getting stuck into these interviews.

Opinion pieces are back

Another type of content that is coming back are the opinion pieces. It has been a while since we have done these types of posts as they are definitely time consuming however, we are ready to bring them back and thankfully the game recently has led to plenty of ideas being put in place for future topics. No doubt there will be plenty more goings on throughout the season too to add to the growing list of topics.

International as well as domestic games

We have neglected the International game in recent years in all honesty however, this year we are planning to provide a lot more International coverage as well as the coverage of the domestic game. This might be a big focus on the Lionesses however, we will try bring other nations in too when it is needed. There is actually a fair bit of Lionesses content planned this month so keep an eye out for that. 

Halifax Friendly Belles content

It would be rude for me not to include the team I am playing for in my content wouldn't it. With the season now underway you can expect to see plenty of Belles related content on the blog and definitely on social media. The main posts will be match reports from games I have played in but no doubt other topics will crop up as the season goes on too. 

So there you have it those are the main pieces of content you can expect to see over the course of this season which is bound to keep us busy. With how teams are building their squad there should be plenty of topics for us to cover, we are now just at that stage where we want the WSL to kick off so we can see what this season has in store for us. Alongside more blog content get ready for plenty more social media content too with live tweeting of games and plenty of Instagram & TikTok content in the works.

Now lets get this seasons content underway...

It is safe to say that here at Edge of the Area we are really happy to see there is only 1 month to go until the WSL returns. We aren't sure why but it seems like we haven't seen a WSL game in ages and we are definitely missing it so the countdown to the 1st of October is on. 

One reason we might be missing the WSL so much is because we were spoiled with an absolutely brilliant summer of women's football. A lot of you may agree that this summers World Cup was the most fascinating and exciting yet. Previous World Cups you could call the results and the way the game would go before the first ball was kicked however, this time around you couldn't call a single game as those teams that were considered outsiders or underdogs were making an impact on the pitch and showing us they are more than capable of putting in a great performance on the World stage and we saw a lot of upsets over the month of football being played. 

The lack of being able to call those results really carried on from last seasons WSL which again showed some shock results and those teams you wouldn't expect taking points of those big teams that weren't used to dropping points. Seeing these results at both domestic and interantional level just goes to show how the womens game is developing overall and fingers crossed the 2023/24 WSL provides us with plenty more upsets and entertaining football. 

The 2022/23 season was absolutely fantastic with the table being so close at both ends, there was very close competition between the top 3 teams, with Chelsea just beating Manchester United to the title by a single point on the final day of the season and the bottom two teams going down to the wire too. It was nice to see the league being so competitive for a change and Chelsea not having won it with plenty of games left, it just showed the progression of the league and how things are really starting to change in the women's game. Fingers crossed we see this happening again in the 2023/24 season and teams continue to push for those champions league spots and avoid relegation. With the way the transfer window is going at the moment all the teams are strengthening their ranks and looking at who some teams have added we could be for an interesting season which could go either way. The transfer window has been a good one so far but more on that in a whole post of its own, with a few weeks left of it too we could easily see teams add even more strength to their squads but we could also see some teams lose some big names if rumours turn into reality.

The players we are seeing come into the league have the potential to make a huge impact if they gel quickly alongside new team mates and they could very easily help their teams improve on last seasons results. Aston Villa in particular have done yet more fantastic business this transfer window and we saw how well they did after the January window so are we going to see them really trying for a Champions League spot? They certainly have a good chance if last season is anything to go by.

Last season was also full of injuries for a lot of teams, poor Arsenal were one of the worst effected so it is going to be interesting to see how the new season will play out for those returning from injury. Arsenal's team is definitely going to be boosted once those big players return and we could see them really start to pick up pace and get back into a title race. Last time around we saw league newcomers Liverpool do well and cause a few upsets so are this seasons new arrivals Bristol City going to have the same impact? It is going to be interesting to see. 

The competition is definitely going to be tight between those 12 teams this season however, here at Edge of the Area we are still wishing that we had an expansion to allow more teams into the top flight to make competition even closer and also have less breaks in the league due to more fixtures needing to be filled however, once again there is a whole separate post coming on this topic very soon as we have been thinking about if this happened for a while now.

As for the season though we will once again be back at Manchester United but are hoping to watch plenty of other games over the course of the season too through either FA Player or those games that are being shown live on TV, let's hope there are plenty more of those this season too so fans of the league can get their fix every weekend. 

Now bring on the 1st of October for hopefully more entertaining football, more growth of the game and some more shock results. Us fans could really be in for a treat.