Sunday’s inter-club friendly was the first opportunity to don the Glasgow Girls strip for some new signings, and Ewan Mowat was able to catch up with them and their managers after the match.
Shannon Todd joins Glasgow Girls having previously played with the Development teams of both Hibernian and Celtic. Shannon has seen the club improving recently, and is keen to play her part: “Over the last couple of years Glasgow Girls have definitely developed a lot and come a long way. I’m looking to fight my way into the team and hopefully get a good position in the league. I can see us finishing in the top three and getting promotion.”
Her positivity is matched by the 1st team’s other new signings, both of whom are returning for a second spell at the club. Karla Palmer came through the youth system before moving to Glasgow City for a year, and is now back at Glasgow Girls after a year out, and agrees with Shannon that the club has developed well in the last few years: “We’re a club on the up. I think we can go all the way; we’ve definitely got the ability to do so. Personally, I’m looking to play week in-week out and develop as a player.”
Charmaine McGuire spent some time with Celtic before returning and says she’s glad to be back. She is looking for a settled 2015: “I’m looking for a lot more game time; I’ve played a lot of different positions and I’m looking for a steady one.” On Glasgow Girls’ prospects this season: “I think we can do really well, there’s definitely potential and I think this season is going to be good for us.”
New signings: Back Row; Marissa Storie, Lauren Bullock, Alison Kerr. Front Row; Karla Palmer, Lauren McGregor, Shannon Todd.
Robert Watson, 1st Team manager, is impressed with his new signings and is confident of a successful season. “I’m really happy with the contribution of the three new signings. It’s very hard to come straight into a team after only two training sessions, and they’ve done well. The new girls bring with them experience having played with teams like Glasgow City and Celtic. Last season we finished mid-table in Division 1, a consolidation season, so this year we’re really hoping to finish in the top four and to reach the Scottish Cup Last 16. Increasing the squad with the new girls can only be a good thing, for both the new signings and those that were here last year, and I’m confident that we can achieve our goals this year.”
The Development Team have also recruited a high standard of player. Lauren McGregor has played with a variety of teams including Glasgow City, Kilwinning, and Celtic, and has chosen to move to Glasgow Girls because “there are a lot of opportunities and the club can only progress further. There’s a good vibe about the club and I think we’ll do well this year”. Personally, Lauren hopes “to get back to playing 1st Division football and get consistent performances every week” whilst looking for the team to do well in both the league and cup.
Marissa Storie and Lauren Bullock have both joined from Hamilton Academical for similar reasons. Marissa sees that “Glasgow Girls has a better structure in place, which will help the team out very much”, and can see the differences already: “they’ve implemented a lot of the good things in the game today.” Lauren agrees, commenting that “there is a really good set up at the club.” Marissa is looking “to build on what I already know and hopefully move up the leagues”, and Lauren is the same: “I’m still young and needing to develop. Hopefully here I can work at my own level and look to progress up. They seem like a really good bunch of girls so it looks good for the rest of the season.”
Glasgow Girls FC’s 1st Team and Development Team before their friendly fixture
Alison Barr comes to Glasgow Girls from a slightly different route, having spent the last number of years as a coach, rather than a player. “I chose Glasgow Girls because I knew it is an ambitious set up and they’re looking to challenge high up, so I’m excited to be a part of that, even at the development level.” As it’s her first full season for a while, Alison is just looking “to get back playing regular football; if I can try and get myself in the starting line-up week in-week out, then I’ll be quite happy. With my coaching background, if I can offer any help to the younger girls coming through, that would be great too.” Seeing the good structure at the club, Alison is positive about the future: “we’ve got a really good chance; there’s a really good confidence about the team and the coaching staff are great. Everything at the club is ship shape and there’s a really good camaraderie in the group, so I’m expecting big things.”
Development Team manager Edward Gallagher was pleased with the performance in the friendly and with his team. “I think our new signings did well today. With any team, putting everyone together will take time to gel, but we were competing with a top 1st Division side today, and we matched them for the majority of the match; that’s very pleasing. One of the first things I said when I arrived was that we needed a bigger squad, so hopefully this works well for us and I hope the way we play will please the players that we’ve signed. As a development team, we’re hoping that at the end of the season, most of our players can step up and play 1st Division football, and looking at the team just now, I’d say that the majority could do that. We want to be successful, and if we do our job right, everybody does the best that they can do, then our players will develop and learn the Glasgow Girls system and we will improve and win games as a result of that.”.
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