JUST NINE OF 567 players across the Women’s Super League and Championship played every minute of every game this season.
Two of those were Republic of Ireland internationals: London City Lionesses defender Hayley Nolan and recently-declared Lewes goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse.
Nolan was only one of four outfield players to achieve the feat.
Remarkable consistency, further highlighted by the fact she was voted London City’s Players’ Player of the Season.
“I’m really, really delighted with that,” the centre-half tells The 42. “Last year, I was going into a new season and a new position, I was really excited but had an injury blow and I was out for so long.
“After that injury I just said to myself, ‘For the next season I want to make sure that I’m fit and healthy and I want to do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that I’m available for selection every single game and that I can play every single game and have no niggles’.
“I was lucky enough to be able to be fit and to not have any injuries. To play a big part of the season was a big goal for me.
“And obviously to get Players’ Player of the Year, to be voted in by your team-mates, means absolutely everything, because they see you day in and day out on the training pitch as well, not just on game day.”
Immensely proud to be a part of this team.
— Hayley Nolan (@Hayley__Nolan) May 5, 2023
Thank you 💙 https://t.co/6CE7ID59Ma
Home to 13 Irish players in 2022/23, the WSL usually takes most of the spotlight as the English top-flight. But there was no shortage of Irish interest in the Championship this season, which was won by Chloe Mustaki’s Bristol City.
Several of Vera Pauw’s internationals impressed week on week across all competitions.
Louise Quinn and Jamie Finn started each and every one of Birmingham City’s 29 fixtures. Despite their strong finish, the Irish-heavy Blues finished one point off in second after an up-and-down campaign.
“The season before, I think I played every minute,” Irish centurion and Blues captain Quinn says. “You hope for that again and that’s a credit to Hayley because she was definitely one of the most consistent players for London City and so solid in there.
“There were some games where I came off towards the end — it’s also a good thing, the team are in a good position, we had a really strong bench this year and were able to keep players fit.”
Finn was one of those, fit and firing, but not entirely aware that she had started every game of the season until she realised in hindsight. “Before the league started, I just wanted to be available for every game,” the Dubliner notes.
“While you’re in it, you don’t really think about that. For me it was just focus on one game at a time. When you finish and you reflect on the season you have, yeah it’s great to play every game. I think any player would want that in a season. It was great to do that.”
29 matches, 29 starts. 👊
— Birmingham City Women (@BCFCWomen) May 8, 2023
Ever-presents. 👏 pic.twitter.com/vX2YdZ2OXH
***
Nolan, Quinn and Finn all kindly take calls during their respective off-season breaks. They’re recharging the batteries ahead of a massive few weeks, with Pauw due to name her 27-strong World Cup training squad tomorrow.
Kildare native Nolan is Stateside for a friend’s wedding when her phone buzzes. She’s keeping ticking over training-wise, having taken a complete break while on holiday in Greece. After the wedding, it was on to California to train with former team-mates in the sun.
London City finished third in the end, three points off Bristol after a “hectic” campaign, in which high-flying head coach Melissa Phillips departed in January.
Like Finn, Nolan was largely unaware of the stat of playing every single minute amidst the up-and-down nature of it all.
“You’re just so focused on the season. You kind of just get lost in all the games; obviously there’s so many and going away with international football, I think it becomes such a norm that you kind of forget that these stats exist almost.
“Obviously it’s a great achievement. I’m really, really happy and I’m proud of myself to be able to sit here and and say that I was available for every minute, but I was able to play in every minute as well. It was great.”
“It was everything outside of football I think that helped with that,” she adds. “You really need to take care of yourself as a football player. We don’t get a lot of breaks at all, especially if you’re in international football. It’s such a hard balance and you need to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself away from football. I did that.”
One thing 26-year-old Nolan found beneficial was Pilates.
She started the full-body exercise method after encouragement from her family, who do a lot of Yoga and Pilates, and hearing of other players who practice.
“I never really thought about it before,” she explains. “This year I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna give it a go.’
“I thought it might just help me not get those niggles, those injuries, going into such an important year, especially with the World Cup coming up as well, you want to make sure that you’re available.
“I did Reformer Pilates and everything and I’ve really felt a big change in training. Over the hard stretch of games, I just felt sharper and fitter and stronger, from a different aspect to what I would usually do in the gym. It was really, really beneficial.”
For Quinn, who’s enjoying the sun in her garden in Birmingham when we chat, there’s no one specific that stands her in good stead.
Also a centre-half, the 32-year-old mostly credits routine and good habits for her consistency and longevity.
“For me, I’m always just trying to make sure that I can be there for squad selection and I think I just have good routines. Nutrition is a massive part, I feel like I’ve found a good balance of what I need and what makes me feel good.
“I’m always making sure I’m doing my pre-activation and stuff as well as I can. I’m probably one of the stricter ones with that and them little added bits in the gym. I’m really meticulous with how I go over some of my gym work, even if it is just injury prevention. I’m always one of the last people out of each gym session to make sure that I was doing everything the best I can.
“I suppose I didn’t do anything too particular. I think I just always had my bit of a routine and made sure that I was just eating properly around training.”
At that, she remembers one secret to her success. “People who know me know I’m yoghurt obsessed,” Quinn laughs.
“I’m gonna have some sort of yoghurt definitely once a day, if not twice a day. That might keep ticking me over because I’ve been doing it for years and I’m so obsessed with it! Good calcium, protein, fruits. Get my fats in with peanut butter. Carbs in; porridge oats or granola on top. That may just be the secret there, I don’t know!”
Having stayed relatively injury-free throughout her colourful career, she has learned that rest and relaxation is key too — along with extra time on the treatment table when necessary.
“I am probably the one that’s in the physio room the most as well, but I’m just making sure I’m getting massages or tightness ironed out. I’ve had great S&C [coaches] and physios throughout, and then just looking after myself to be honest.”
For Finn, a defensive midfielder often deployed at right-back or right-wing back alongside Quinn, fully adjusting to full-time football has been crucial.
The 25-year-old made the move across the water in August 2021, leaving Shelbourne, the Women’s National League and her life as a personal trainer behind.
“Obviously last year was my first in a professional environment. I think this season I was just settled in, maybe more consistent,” she concedes.
“I did a lot of one-on-one little bit extras with both Darren [Carter, Birmingham head coach] and Jo [assistant]. I think that really helped me this season, just to focus that little bit more on my game. It helped me then performance-wise, and I was available for selection for every game.”
“I loved my time at Shels, but getting a professional contract doesn’t come around often,” Finn continues. “There is obviously a step up; Shels being part-time and me going into a full-time environment, any player has to adjust to that and standard-wise, it is that bit better.
“But it’s one that I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to challenge myself. I done that last year going to the WSL and then this year as well. I’m really loving being part of full-time football, and I couldn’t I couldn’t think of anything else that I’d be doing.”
****
Being fit and available for every single game is undoubtedly a massive achievement, especially in the modern game. Not only staying injury-free, but proving sharp enough and in-form to be selected every time.
While the Birmingham duo both hail their Ireland team-mate Nolan, the London City star returns the praise.
“Especially playing international football, you need consistency. It’s great, I saw that stat that Jamie and Louise had started every single game for Birmingham City. That’s not easy. It’s not easy to always be available and for your coaches to want to start you every game shows that you’re consistent every single day in training, not just on a Sunday. It’s a credit to those girls as well.
“At home, I know there’s so many girls playing consistently and and the Irish league is getting so much better and so much more competitive and there’s so much more coverage and everything. It’s really, really exciting times for Irish football, especially after qualification for the World Cup. I can’t even imagine how the next few years are going to look.”
Or months at this stage. In exactly six weeks, Ireland will make their major tournament debut when they face co-hosts Australia in front of 83,000 fans in Sydney.
The real build-up starts tomorrow, when Pauw names her training squad which will convene in Dublin on Monday. A lengthy camp lies ahead, with sold-out send-off friendlies against Zambia and France scheduled for Tallaght Stadium on 22 June and 6 July.
The final World Cup squad — 23 players plus three travelling training members – will be announced on 29 June.
Competition is at all-time high as preparations ramp up, with Finn, Quinn, Nolan and everyone who has been part of the journey thus far doing their utmost to ensure they stay involved.
“Obviously when we qualified and everything that came after that, I just wanted to put myself out and give 100% with club and whenever we were in camp,” Finn, speaking from her home in Swords — back training surrounded by family and friends after her own holiday — says.
“I don’t think anything is a given, and I just always want to work hard and show managers and coaches that I give it my all. When you play for your country, it’s such a proud moment. I love being Irish, I love our country and to play at any [level], whether it’s Europeans or World Cup or anything like that, it would be such a privilege.
“Listen, I’m just gonna give 100% in everything and hopefully that’s enough come the summer time. It’s obviously such an exciting time for women’s football in Ireland. I think the country will really support the team and it’s something to really look forward to.”
Quinn echoes those sentiments. “It’s really going into the unknown again that just makes it more exciting.
“The fact that we can have a good camp and in Dublin, to be there for that length of time I think so many of us will appreciate that and the buzz of being home. Fingers crossed…
“For us, we just want to make sure that we can be in the best position we can and everyone’s just fighting fit and feeling good. It’s about taking this experience and trying to enjoy every minute of it — and love the unexpected of what’s going to come.”
And no matter what happens tomorrow, or over the next few weeks, everyone has played their part. It’s about the journey to this point, and the legacy that will be left after.
“Obviously only 23 can go and those girls who get to go are going to be absolutely over the moon,” Nolan concludes. “But the thing is everyone was part of that, everyone played a part, regardless if you were involved two, three years ago, in September, maybe you got injured, all this kind of stuff, but everyone plays their part in getting the team there.
“It’s not just those 23. There’s a tremendous pool of players that played their part. It’s a legacy thing and every single one of those players should be proud that they’ve helped project women’s football and women’s football in Ireland to where it is at the moment.”
