Impetus’ Johnathan Stack was in Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor‘s media conference yesterday (29/10/22).
Above: Gareth Taylor speaking to the media. Photo: Manchester City.
Head Coach Gareth Taylor spoke ahead of Manchester City’s game with Liverpool at the weekend, a big game for both teams with an in-form City looking for their third win in the league on the bounce. Meanwhile, the visitors are looking to find some form after back-to-back defeats to Everton and Arsenal.
But ahead of the game, the talking point was the ongoing movement in the women’s game for clubs to move away from wearing white shorts. A move that will reduce anxiety amongst players who have concerns about playing while on their periods.
FA Women’s National League Northern Premier side West Bromwich Albion led the way by changing to navy shorts, followed by Stoke City in the same division who moved to red shorts. North of the border, Livingston in the third tier SWF Championship has changed to black shorts with Welsh club Swansea City also wearing black shorts from now on.
The latest club to join the movement is Manchester City who debuted burgundy shorts in Wednesday night’s 6-0 win in the Continental League Cup against Blackburn Rovers. The decision to change the colour of the shorts to help with the well-being of the players is a sign of the progress being made in the women’s game.
Taylor believes the move is a “good step forward” for both the game and female athletes saying: “I think there was good interaction from players and club and then with our manufacturers in Puma. The girls were fine, they were pleased with it and just got on with it. For many of us, it was only when we saw the shorts that we realised there was a difference. A lot of this discussion had gone on previously outside of a few of the staff members but it’s great that everyone’s on board with it. I’m sure pretty much everyone would agree we’re moving things forward.
“There’s plenty of considerations now for female athletes which are important for them to be the best versions of themselves. There’s a much better awareness now, it’s more openly talked about, I think it’s only good for the girls and for the game as well.”
Gareth Taylor, Manchester City Head Coach.
Taylor’s side go into Sunday’s game looking for a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions since the international break. But City experienced a tough encounter with Liverpool in pre-season and the Reds got off to a great start to life back in the WSL with an opening-day victory over reigning champions Chelsea showing their capabilities in the top division. Taylor on the other hand is confident that if City focuses on their own performance, it should be enough to take the three points on Sunday.
Speaking about City’s opponents, Taylor said “Matt (Beard) has got a wealth of experience, he’s really knowledgeable and has had success previously. He did well getting them back up to the WSL, where they rightly belong as a team. They’re hardworking and brave in what they do.
“We’re expecting a tough test, we played them in pre-season, and we’ve seen what they can do earlier on against Chelsea. “It’s a tough opponent for us but I always put it back to what we do. “If we look after ourselves and what we’re trying to do we’ll come out hopefully on the right side of the result.”
City has been in rejuvenated form after a tricky start to the season, they have been in fine form with wins over Leicester, Spurs, and Blackburn in the cup and will be looking to continue their climb up the table on Sunday.
For the views of Liverpool head coach Matt Beard ahead of Sunday’s game, click on this link to Johnathan Stack‘s coverage of his media conference for Impetus: https://impetusfootball.org/2022/10/28/matt-beard-reds-are-taking-the-learnings-and-building/
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