Birmingham City are ready to face the challenge again. After their relegation from the WSL in 2022, they tried to secure a women’s title (and promotion) in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. But the Blues failed twice.
Their first Championship campaign was their strongest, finishing with 47 points and just one point behind winners Bristol City. Last season, after an uneventful start to the season, he had a remarkable run to finish top of the rankings at Christmas. But in the new year, the results became much less consistent. Manager Darren Carter left in April to pursue other opportunities and maintaining the form that had served him so well earlier in the season was impossible.
Birmingham sit fifth in the table, ten points behind champions Crystal Palace. A return to the first division of women’s football in England will have to wait.”It was disappointing,” City goalkeeper Lucy Thomas admitted at a pre-season media event.”We had a bad start [to the season], but ended up on top at Christmas. Maybe we didn’t expect this after the start we had.
“We have to start better because we didn’t start very well after Christmas. We have to make sure that we are fit enough and ready to play from the first day. As players, we are a very united group, but maybe we should do it. better job of keeping a cool head in difficult times.”Sometimes [last season] we lost if we conceded a goal, and I think that’s where we lost the title race. We can’t say we’re going to come back in this game. If we were winning games, we could have gone through, but if we weren’t, we would have lost. As a group we need to improve on this.”The biggest change the club has seen this summer has to do with the pits. During his two and a half seasons in charge, Carter had brought a sense of stability when it was most needed and helped lay the foundations for the club to continue to move forward. But it was becoming increasingly clear that the team needed more to take the next step, and he left the club by mutual consent in the final stages of the campaign.
Amy Merricks has been seen as the ideal person to take the team back into the Premier League and has already enjoyed a strong working relationship with technical director Hope Powell following both players’ spells at Brighton & Hove Albion. Merricks took over the team in April but has now had a full pre-season and transfer window to make his mark on the team.
“He has ideas for everything and has changed a lot, which I think was necessary,” continued Thomas, talking about the impact of the new manager on the team so far. “Her attention to detail on the pitch at a tactical level is really impressive and I know she’s just starting to apply it as she moves into the team.”He changed little things about how the environment works, our schemes and what we do on the field. He took things to another level.”
Another big change in the last 12 months has been the arrival of new owners, Knighthead, as well as NFL legend Tom Brady. In a short time they have made significant progress in rebuilding the confidence of the club’s fans and are determined that the women’s team will not be left behind.”They really make a difference,” added the city’s goalkeeper, when asked how things were going under the new owners. “We had Tom Wagner at training recently, watching us and asking questions. He’s very open. If we have ideas, we will absolutely try to implement them.”This year’s facilities [are improved]. There are new buildings, the changing rooms and the fields have been renovated, and everything is for us. The men are no longer in the same place. Basically everything they do there it’s for us.
“He seems absolutely invested in us and comes to as many games as he can. He has conversations and tries to get to know us as players. We really can’t thank him enough.”
For Thomas, 24, it will be his third season at Birmingham City. He joined the club in July 2022, following spells at Coventry United and London City Lionesses, and has also represented England at youth level.His form with the Blues continued to attract the attention of the national team, but this summer it was first team manager Sarina Wiegman who was at the other end of the line. Thomas was initially named on the waiting list for the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 qualifiers, replacing the injured Kayla Rendell. Another injury to Mary Earps in June saw her finally reunited in the first team.
“It was kind of crazy! I was on vacation and I got a call from Sarina [Wiegman],” said a Thomas reflecting on his first call. “I didn’t expect it at all, but it was an unreal experience. The goalkeepers here and the team in general are world class. I feel that I learned a lot and could use this knowledge again. in club football.“Every goalkeeper [in the England team] has their own qualities in which they are world class. You can learn from everyone you work with. I’m a pretty talkative keeper, but I’ve learned a lot from some of the details that stand out in the way you communicate.”The speed of the game, everything, you have to improve when you’re away, and hopefully I can maintain that now that I’m back at my club.”
