After a difficult start to the season, Aston Villa Women seemed to have turned a corner. Two key parts of that, Jordan Nobbs and Shaun Goater, explain how it has happened.
Aston Villa did not win a WSL game until November under former manager Robert de Pauw, who only joined the club in the summer. Goater, who has been assistant coach, was asked to take interim charge.
Under the former forward, Aston Villa are unbeaten in four games in all competitions. Goater said the team needed results and fast – and that’s exactly what happened.
“At the beginning of the season there was a lot of positivity, a lot of energy, but we didn’t get the wins that we needed,” he exclusively told Sky Sports.
“In one particular game, I think it was Liverpool, it just showed we lacked a little bit of confidence to not be able to get that game across the line in terms of creating or scoring chances. From that point, confidence had dropped, a little bit of belief had dropped.
“My main thought was getting the girls to be confident, believe in themselves and saying ‘you’re a quality player, go to express yourself, show the world what you’re about, what you’re capable of’, and this is what they’ve done.
“You tend to learn a lot more in your difficult moments. Touch a bit of wood, in the games that I’ve had, we haven’t had difficult moments. In the Everton game, there was a period where we all stuck together, we dug deep because there was momentum they had created, but we were still able to hang on in that game and draw.
“I think if you want to be a top team, consistently getting clean sheets is important and that’s from the front player defending right the way through. When I say clean sheet, most people will tend to think, ‘oh, he’s talking about defenders or defensive midfielders’, but you defend first from the front.
“Likewise, if you score goals, attacks also come from defenders who start to play the ball and build it up. So we have to be a little bit more solid and allow us to go through games and win 1-0.
“So what I’ve learned is continue to believe in myself, believe in my philosophy and just making sure that the girls have full belief in what they’re able to do and continue to support them in that way.”
Goater will now support new Aston Villa head coach Natalia Arroyo, who was appointed on Wednesday, as the club look to pull further away from any relegation trouble.
And Nobbs, who just passed her two-year anniversary at the club, has enjoyed working under the interim coach, telling Sky Sports: “Time has flown and there’s been lots of changes since I first came here.
“This season hasn’t gone the way we’ve probably wanted, but if you watched our games, we’ve put in better performances, in my opinion, than we did last year. We’ve just got to take the points in those games and we haven’t managed to do that, which is the main thing we need to focus on.
“Shaun is such a positive guy. When he came in, straight away, he had the same football brain as what I like to talk about. When you have that, it is easier to connect with the manager. He knows what players need and want.
“It’s been refreshing speaking to him and he also brings a lot of confidence to the team and to me. He’s a really easy guy to work with.”
Nobbs: I’ve loved every minute of my 200 WSL games
Like Goater, Nobbs has been in the game for a long time. She recently broke the WSL appearance record – 193 games played, which has now increased to 200 – and shows no signs of stopping.
Reflecting on her milestone, she said: “I knew that the 193 was coming up. Our media team did a great job in making that very special for me.
“As a player, you’re not really counting up your games week by week, so when it was actually my 200, Shaun congratulated me at the end [of the game] and I didn’t have a clue what he was on about.
“I was just in the moment of football and I was thinking he meant it for Villa and I was like, ‘I haven’t played that many games!’
“But as a player, I’ve always been driven and hard-working and wanted to compete at the highest level, so to do that for two clubs in the league, it’s really special to play a big part in the women’s game and get that many games. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but I think playing in this league, I’ve just loved every minute of it.
“Every week, you’re still learning as a player. It doesn’t matter what age you get to, you still want to improve or have new challenges.
“It’s always a strange period when you start to get older and that thought slightly crosses your mind, but right now, retirement is not in my head. I’m fit, I’ve started every league game this season, I’m still in a good place playing at a high level.
“You never know what happens in football, things can totally change your mind, but I’m still fully focused and concentrating on football.
“I’m starting my B licence next month, so that will be a good ticking box to get while I’m still playing the game. I just love talking football so if there’s anything that I can stay around it and still be a part of the women’s game in the future, that would be the goal for me.”
Goater: City game will be weird, but we’re all professional
Goater’s final game in interim charge of Aston Villa could not have come in more poetic fashion as he takes on his former side, Manchester City. Not only is he a legend of the men’s team, he was also assistant coach to Gareth Taylor last season.
“I was always looking forward to this and it will feel weird, but we’re all professional,” Goater said. “I’m going there to play the game and look to try to get a win.
“All the people at Man City, I know and respect them. They’re a good team with a good manager who play a good way, and it will be a tough game, but we want to try to bring our game as well.
“I am dropping new bits to the players, but City set high standards. They’re probably off the boil to where they expected to be, but they’ll dust themselves off and keep going to try to gain momentum and put themselves back in the chase for the top position. That’s just the mentality of the club.
“But we’ve got a game to play. We want to try to make it as difficult as possible and try to get a win there as well.”
Nobbs too has played her fair share of games against Man City, and described any result against them as ‘huge’.
She said: “I think we’ve always given City a good go. We’ve got results off them in the past or come really close, so it is a big fixture.
“Shaun’s just been wanting us to play football – basic, but sometimes that’s key. It’s not easy when you’re halfway through a season and a manager leaves and you have to pick up quite quickly. You don’t want to change too much, so I think Shaun’s just been really simple.
“But City, naturally, they’re a great team with top players, so it won’t be easy. But if we can get something out of that game, it’s huge for us.”
Watch Aston Villa Women vs Man City Women live on Sky Sports Premier League from 11.30am; kick-off 12pm Saturday. Watch in-game clips and free highlights on Sky Sports’ digital platforms.