What do you make of this then

[Craig_H]

Fisher place faith in manageress

Fisher Athletic are set to make football history when a female manager leads them out for Wednesday's Blue Square South match against Eastleigh.

Club turnstile operator Donna Powell raised £500 for the struggling club and was rewarded with becoming the first woman to manage a Conference side.

"I am confident I can do well - I already run a boys' football team," Powell told the club's website.

"I am no shrinking violet and do not suffer fools lightly."

The 27-year-old, who takes over from regular boss Dave Mehmet for one game, added: "I'll be picking the team and they'll be playing my way, none of this long ball nonsense - we'll be passing the ball on the floor, playing the game the right way.


"Sure, I'll be nervous - I realise there's a difference between kids' football and the Conference South but I see it as football is football no matter how old they are - and I know my stuff."

Fisher press officer Joe Arif added: "If Donna can turn things round, then who knows - maybe there's a permanent position in future."

Powell told BBC 5 Live that she does not see any problem with a woman managing a men's team.

"A man manages a women's football team so I don't see why not. As long as they've got the credentials then it should be fine," she said.


The south London club have lost their last 10 matches and are a point off the bottom of the table, while Eastleigh are joint third in the league.

Eastleigh director of football David Malone said that the appointment "devalues the league".

"I'm not particularly happy about it, simply because we've got to concentrate our minds on getting three points from the game. I think what they've done is unprofessional," he told BBC Radio Solent.


"Fisher have done it for financial reasons, and I can partly understand that, but I don't think being manager of a Blue Square South team is a saleable commodity.

"I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man - which I probably do - but at this stage of the season we're working extremely hard to get our side up into the Blue Square Premier, and I think the whole thing is just badly timed."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/7894496.stm

[PTP]

wtf - this will never work!!! - she has prob been rooted by half the team trying to get in the starting XI

[Matt]

I would

Wouldn't want to kiss her though.

[dww]

It'll be interesting to see what happens. If she is good enough then fair enough I say.

[Craig_H]

It'll be interesting to see what happens. If she is good enough then fair enough I say.

Yeah but one game wont prove anything, one way or another.

[dww]

Yeah but one game wont prove anything, one way or another.

Certainly in the bigger picture. For one game though the only criteria is whether it does 'devalue the competition' in some way, for me so long as she is competent then it doesn't substantially do so considering their existing form.

[BFG]

Tokenism. You don't see men trying to stick a goal attack bib on and hit the tarmac. It's a fookin disgrace!

Seriously though it's all a bit pointless for one game, hopefully more women can get involved in men's football on a permenant basis but I'm not holding my breath.

[RedProf]

Tokenism. You don't see men trying to stick a goal attack bib on and hit the tarmac. It's a fookin disgrace!

Seriously though it's all a bit pointless for one game, hopefully more women can get involved in men's football on a permenant basis but I'm not holding my breath.

She's just doing it to jump in the bath with the lads afterwards, lets face it.

[MrsB]

Fisher place faith in manageress

Fisher Athletic are set to make football history when a female manager leads them out for Wednesday's Blue Square South match against Eastleigh.

Club turnstile operator Donna Powell raised £500 for the struggling club and was rewarded with becoming the first woman to manage a Conference side.

"I am confident I can do well - I already run a boys' football team," Powell told the club's website.

"I am no shrinking violet and do not suffer fools lightly."

The 27-year-old, who takes over from regular boss Dave Mehmet for one game, added: "I'll be picking the team and they'll be playing my way, none of this long ball nonsense - we'll be passing the ball on the floor, playing the game the right way.

"Sure, I'll be nervous - I realise there's a difference between kids' football and the Conference South but I see it as football is football no matter how old they are - and I know my stuff."

Fisher press officer Joe Arif added: "If Donna can turn things round, then who knows - maybe there's a permanent position in future."

Powell told BBC 5 Live that she does not see any problem with a woman managing a men's team.

"A man manages a women's football team so I don't see why not. As long as they've got the credentials then it should be fine," she said.

The south London club have lost their last 10 matches and are a point off the bottom of the table, while Eastleigh are joint third in the league.

Eastleigh director of football David Malone said that the appointment "devalues the league".

"I'm not particularly happy about it, simply because we've got to concentrate our minds on getting three points from the game. I think what they've done is unprofessional," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"Fisher have done it for financial reasons, and I can partly understand that, but I don't think being manager of a Blue Square South team is a saleable commodity.

"I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man - which I probably do - but at this stage of the season we're working extremely hard to get our side up into the Blue Square Premier, and I think the whole thing is just badly timed."

What exactly is his point? Why can't he concentrate on winning the game? I mean he can like the idea or not, but it shouldn't affect his team?

[Gerrard]

Eastleigh director of football David Malone

This bloke is a first class cunt - he was their gaffer when I played against Eastleigh a few years ago. He refused to shake hands with us at the end of the game and started whinging to one of our directors as he was getting on the coach, our man just told him he was a fat ****** and could **** off

[Elvoz]

wimmin in football

FFS

[memzey]

What happened? Did they win?

[Resu]

Lost 2-1.
So this proves that wimmin don`t know anything about football

Please bite

[El Diego]

That club is run by gangsters

[Shaggy]

Donna Powell suffered defeat with Fisher Athletic as she became the first woman to manage in senior football.

Struggling Fisher went down 2-1 in their Blue Square South match at home to high-flying Eastleigh on Wednesday.

Turnstile operator Powell, 27, got the opportunity to take over from boss Dave Mehmet for one game after raising £500 for the south London club.

Chairman Martin Eede hailed the second-half performance under Powell as one of the side's best of the season.

The Fish were 2-0 down against promotion-chasing Eastleigh at half-time but pulled one back through a 25-yard free-kick from American John Raus a minute from time to ensure a tense finish.

Powell, who already runs a boys' football team, switched from Fisher's usual 3-5-2 formation to 4-4-2 at the interval.

Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I enjoyed it very much and the boys played really well - they battled hard and obviously Eastleigh are third in the league.

"I just congratulate them for getting a goal back and not losing big scores. They lost 2-1, but well done to them. At half-time I just told them to keep trying really hard, like they were, and to try and kick a goal or something. We nearly kicked a goal but they actually kicked two goals and could've kicked a few more.

"It was a bit tougher than what I expected but it was good. It was tougher from the fans more than anything else.

"They were shouting 'stay in the kitchen', but I've never been in a kitchen and I'll never go into a kitchen."

The result means Fisher have lost 11 matches in a row and leaves the club second from bottom of the table, 14 points from safety.

Eede told the club's website: "I was delighted by the players' response in the second half.

"I feared for us at half-time and thought it was only a matter of time before Eastleigh ran away with it but the team's response was fantastic and they put in one of our best performances of the season after half-time. I told John (Raus) to try and kick the ball a bit harder and to shoot for goal a long way out. 'Kick it really hard', I said to him."

Powell says she is "desperate" for a career in football and is already taking her coaching badges.

"I'd love to be offered a role on the coaching staff on a more permanent basis. I believe I've got the talent to succeed," she said.