Rob Mitchell looks ahead to Halifax FC Women's 2024/25 campaign


Halifax FC Women have a new home and a new look on the field this season with plenty of players looking to make their debut in their opening day fixture this weekend. We got the chance to chat to manager Rob Mitchell before the opening game to see what sort of vision he has for the upcoming season. 

EOTA : The first game of the season is fast approaching but looking back how do you feel about where you finished last season after the disruption you had suffered with postponements?

RM: We finished really strongly and in a position to be proud of, we went on a good run and put some really consistently good performances together to finish the season well. For us to be able to finish in the top half considering where we were before Christmas is ridiculous, but all the credit has to go to the players and coaching staff for their commitment, effort and ultimately the will to win when facing adversity.


EOTA: We are seeing you now play your games at Bradford Park Avenues ground which we personally know is a great quality pitch, do you think this is going to help home games become more consistent with less upheaval? What was the main factor in going to Park Ave's ground for your home stadium?

RM: We are really looking forward to playing at the Horsfall Community Stadium this season, it's a fantastic facility with an excellent playing surface, the people at BPA have been incredible with us too and have made us all feel really welcome. We believe it's the best facility in West Yorkshire and we're really happy to be there. As mentioned, consistency in football is vital, hopefully we won't be worrying about games being off and can just concentrate on playing and putting some positive results together.


EOTA: We have seen a lot of departures from the club this season are you expecting the first few weeks to be more of a gelling and settling phase for the new team with so many new signings?

RM: I think that would be a fair assessment, we have quite a few new additions and many of those are younger players with high potential but a lack of experience, the league is going to be really competitive this season and if I'm honest, we're probably a couple of weeks behind where we want to be, but we'll get there. The players need to build bonds and relationships as well as taking on board a lot of information so I think the first few weeks will be a massive learning experience, but they'll only get better as the season goes on, so let's see how we do and enjoy the ride.

EOTA: We saw you finish 6th last season with you winning 8 of your 22 games, are you hoping to get the team settled quickly to try improve on those 8 games won?

RM: I think that would be a huge ask, especially with the levels going up again this season, the only targets we have is to stay in the division and develop both individuals and the team, we won't be putting too much pressure on the group or setting too many targets, we just want to enjoy playing football together and do as well as we can to achieve those goals.


EOTA: There has been a lot of investment and talks of future investment from the clubs in the league, a league we are seeing get more & more competitive, do you think this might mean those like yourself with less investment currently might struggle & get left behind or does it make you as a manager more determined to show just what the club is capable no matter what the level of investment?

RM: That's always a concern, I think without a level of investment or commitment any club would struggle to compete with some of the teams in the league that we are in. I think it's important to concentrate on what you do have rather than worry about what you don't. Who knows, we might win the lottery one day. On a serious note, it's tough, but imagine having the opportunity to play against some of the best players and teams in the country without any pressure or expectations at all, it's exciting and always a challenge.


EOTA: Finally it is your opening game at home on Sunday what do you say to those who might be local who haven't seen you before or might be unsure about coming to watch team if they have never been to a women's game?

RM:Rugby are an excellent side and we're looking forward to playing on Sunday, we'd love for people to come and celebrate the first game of the season with us and help cheer our young side on. It's an affordable day out for the family at a friendly and welcoming club, there is a bar on site, hot and cold food and plenty of seats with an incredible view. You never know, you might enjoy it that much that you'll want to come back again!

We are looking forward to heading down to watch Halifax kickstart their season this weekend and hopefully getting along to a lot more home games throughout the season, it will be interesting to see how they progress as the league plays out. We are at the Horsfall stadium watching the game Sunday which means one thing... the match reports return next week and we are excited to not only bring these back but also be able to showcase a local teams season long campaign. 


Be sure to check back next week for the games match report but if you would prefer to follow Halifax direct through their own social media you can follow them on both X & Instagram.
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Chris Hames is ready to get the season started with Hull City Ladies


The FAWNL season kicks off on Sunday and we were lucky enough to ask Hull City Ladies manager Chris Hames a few questions before his teams campaign gets underway. Chris is the current manager at Hull City Ladies who are getting ready to kick start their season in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division following their promotion last season.

So here is how our chat went in prior to the first game of the season on Sunday 18th of August...

EOTA : Last season saw you gain promotion to the third tier, what do you think was the key component of fighting off some tough opposition and winning 17 games out of 22?

CH :We were a good footballing team, but I believe we were the best in transition, the most aggressive and persistent out of possession and we were ruthless when we had chances. The team spirit was exceptional from day one, every me ever of the club knew what our mindset and work was towards and that played a huge part in getting over the line in many games.
 
EOTA: The opposition is going to be even tougher in the third division and we know you have been working hard behind the scenes since the end of last season to make sure you are going into the new season as strong as possible, how do you feel those preparations have gone as we head into match day 1?

CH: It's tough. We have had a difficult preseason, for many reasons, but on the pitch the team have focused on what we can control and are working hard to be a better team for that. You're right, there are going to be tough games, against excellent players and well coached sides, but we believe in ourselves and the players we have too. We will be humble and know we have to work hard but fully believe we will get results throughout the campaign

EOTA: There has been a lot of talk of investment going forward from those teams already in tier 3 and people might be writing teams who are not being invested in as much at the moment off or newcomers to the league like yourself off before a ball has even been kicked. How determined are you and the club determined to show just how worthy you are of that spot in the league?

CH: Write us off, that's completely fine with us. No one had us in their challengers for the league last year, but we knew, and we delivered. 
The club knows it has a lot of work to do to be in the position it needs to be to compete at this level, and to put us in a better place. But that takes time. As a team, we can only maximize ourselves and our output. I believe in this group of players and know they have more than enough to succeed 

EOTA: The club are doing away travel for the supporters for the opening game, is this something we are going to see all season? If so how important do you think this is going to be for the team to have a good following both home and away whilst also giving the fans access to games they might have otherwise missed?

CH: It's been a big part of the club for a while now. Last year we regularly took 50/60 fans to away games. We hit over 100 a few times too. The fan culture at this club is great and a huge part of our identity.

EOTA: We has also seen the release of adults season tickets for £60 which includes 2 children access too or a family ticket for 2 adults & 4 children for £100, which in this day and age is brilliant value for all you get & gets the children watching football weekly how important do you think it is to keep the cost reasonable for families to be able to access the game for both a fan & club point of view?

CH: Our attendances over the last 2 seasons have been brilliant  the young fans love what our players bring on and off the pitch. We've grown a culture of supporting HCL. It needs to keep growing, but to have over 400 almost weekly at home games is an incredible achievement.

EOTA: The club are even having a shop with replica shirts for sale and posters, something you don't see from many teams at the lower levels do you hope this is something a lot more clubs start offering to allow the fan-bases to be able to show their support in other ways than just attending games and following on social media?

CH: Yes. We see shirts with players names now around the city. Players are stopped in shops for pictures. It's a culture and it's growing - so for fans to be able to show that proudly is important. 

EOTA: Finally with Sunday seeing the start of the new season do you feel as though you are going into the opening day in the best place possible to try get the league up and running in the best way? 

CH: It'll be very hard, Burnley are 5/6 years into their growth at this level, with exceptional support from the men's club and heaps of experience and knowledge behind the scenes. We are growing into it, it'll take time for us to be consistent and to gain that at this level, but I always back these girls to perform and stand up to anyone on their day.

Hull City Ladies take on Burnley in their first game on Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing how the season starts for the club. We have seen Chris in action back when he was at Bradford and with his management quality we are sure that Hull have the potential to cause a few upsets this season. Will opening day be the start of the upsets or are we going to see the team need a few weeks to gel?

The FAWNL is back and so is Edge of the Area, there will be more of a focus on the lower leagues of the game this season, taking the site back to where it started.

Thank you Chris for taking part in this chat and good luck for the season Hull City Ladies. 

You can follow the teams progress on X & Instagram. 
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