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Post by Everton News. on Oct 29, 2020 20:07:32 GMT
Willie Kirk says Everton’s FA Cup final meting with Manchester City on Sunday represents a significant juncture on his team’s path to consistently competing for silverware.
Manager Kirk’s team stunned Chelsea in a Goodison Park quarter-final before defeating Birmingham City to reach this weekend’s showpiece – and advance to the “last step” of Everton’s 2019/20 journey.
Everton set out to finish in the Women’s Super League top half and secure a Wembley date in advance of the campaign.
Prevailing circumstances have dictated the cup competition reaching its climax behind time – but Kirk insists victory this weekend can usher in a sustained period of Everton success.
“We are breeding a group of winners and Sunday can be a launchpad for success in the next five years,” said Kirk.
“We spoke about the objectives for the season at the start of 2019/20 and they were to finish in the top half of the league and get to Wembley.
“We were adamant we would get there and remained focused and determined all season.
“We managed the top-half finish (Everton finished sixth)… this is the last step of that journey.
“I sowed that seed and the players nurtured it and let it grow.
“The players felt when this competition was resurrected it was written in the stars [they would reach the final].
“We did fantastically well against Chelsea and the belief grew and grew.
“The challenge for me is to make sure we are not happy just being at Wembley because we have reached our objectives.
“We want to go one better.
“There is no point going to Wembley unless you’re going to win.”
Everton have coupled their Cup run – the competition picked up at the quarter-final stage last month – with a tremendous start to their 2020/21 WSL campaign.
A team fortified by the summer additions of seven high-calibre performers – following the winter transfer window arrivals of England star Izzy Christiansen, goalkeeper Sandy MacIver and Hayley Raso, the Australia international forward formerly with Brisbane Roar – is undefeated in its opening five games and sitting second in the table.
Preparations for the national stadium showdown with City have been stilted, with Everton last in action when they drew with Brighton & Hove Albion a fortnight ago.
A number of players represented their countries in the intervening period, with Kirk relieved to declare a clean bill of health after the last of his internationals returned on Wednesday.
He insisted gun striker Valerie Gauvin playing all but 14 minutes of France’s two European Championship qualifying matches would work in his side’s favour – the games providing the recent arrival from Montpellier with a chance to hone her “fitness and sharpness”.
Equally, Kirk expects Gauvin to enter Sunday’s contest with a spring in her step after claiming the world record for the fastest goal in women’s international football with her 10-second strike in France's 11-0 mauling of North Macedonia last Friday.
MacIver and Christiansen – an FA Cup winner with Manchester City in 2017 – meanwhile, were back in the Everton fold sooner than anticipated following the cancellation of England’s friendly in Germany on Tuesday.
“Izzy is absolutely essential to what we are trying to grow at the Club,” said Kirk.
“We are trying to grow a group of winners and be successful.
“Izzy has been there and done it.
“Her experience every day is huge, never mind for a one-off occasion like this.
“Some of the new signings have come from European leagues where they’ve won titles.
“But Izzy is really important in developing that [winning] mindset.
“She is just as excited as the players who haven’t won the tournament and is desperate to play a major part in this club being successful again.
“We have to play at our absolute best levels to get success on Sunday.
“There is pressure on us because we spoke about getting to Wembley… now we have cranked that up and said, ‘Let’s win it’.
“The week has been a bit different but two days preparation on the training pitch will be enough.
“You can do too much and it can be hyped up too much.”
Kirk was appointed in December 2018 and immediately oversaw an upturn in results.
He steadily added to those foundations, identifying a talented core already at the Club and introducing hand-picked new signings.
To land Everton’s first major trophy since the 2010 FA Cup, the Scot’s team must overcome a City side Kirk describes as “serial winners”.
They are the Cup holders after sweeping aside West Ham United in the 2019 final and in the past six years have won one WSL title and three League Cups.
“We are determined to get back to the days of Everton winning silverware and this is huge for us” continued Kirk.
“It would be even bigger managing to topple one of the teams who are serial trophy winners.
“But winning it, regardless of who it is against, would be massive for this club.
“The focus is on the players, making sure they are prepared and in a good head space and have the platform to perform on Sunday.
“When I came to the Club it was about recruiting well, getting short-to-medium-term results, then ramping up recruitment and developing the players we wanted here on long-term basis.
“To get us to the stage where we felt we could compete for trophies.
“That process is nowhere near finished but competing for a cup is a nice juncture in that journey.
“We are grateful to have the chance to finish this competition and, hopefully, win it.”
Everton FC
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Post by Everton News. on Oct 29, 2020 20:13:38 GMT
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Post by Everton News. on Oct 29, 2020 20:17:05 GMT
Carlo Ancelotti called fellow Everton manager Willie Kirk this week to talk about the Club's Vitality Women's FA Cup final date with Manchester City on Sunday.
Everton Women last won the competition in 2010, the same year Ancelotti completed the Double when his Chelsea side claimed the FA Cup with victory over Portsmouth.
Ancelotti tells Kirk about his Wembley experience and the prevailing Italian attitude towards cup finals.
The two managers have led their respective teams to excellent starts to 2020/21, with Everton Women unbeaten and second in the Barclays Women's Super League and Ancelotti's Everton the early-season Premier League pacesetters.
Everton Women boss Kirk has inspired a dramatic upturn in fortunes since his December 2018 appointment, encapsulated in a dizzying four days last month when formidable Chelsea and Birmingham City were both beaten to reach this weekend's FA Cup showpiece.
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Post by Everton News. on Oct 31, 2020 12:47:49 GMT
Everton Women has announced Marks & Spencer will be providing the team’s Vitality Women’s FA Cup final matchday suits and footwear.Everton will arrive in style at Wembley on Sunday as they wear items available now from M&S. Led by Club Captain Dan Turner, the women will be sporting the tailored single-breasted lined navy blazer with a cinched waist and navy straight leg trousers. Each jacket worn by the team will also be embroidered on the lapel with the famous Prince Rupert’s Tower which is central to the Everton crest. The suits will be teamed with the crisp white M&S Collection cotton slim fit long sleeve shirt, made from smooth sustainably sourced cotton. The outfits are completed with footwear from M&S’s bestselling athleisure leather lace-up range, with built-in Insolia Flex® technology for ultimate comfort. Everton Women will wear their suits on their journey to Wembley ahead of the highly anticipated final against Manchester City (2.30pm kick-off), which will be screened to an international audience and live on BBC1 and BT Sport in the UK. Willie Kirk’s side secured their place in the Women’s FA Cup Final for the first time in six years after comfortably beating Birmingham City 3-0 in the semi-final at Damson Park in September. This followed a 2-1 quarter-final comeback win over reigning league champions Chelsea at Goodison Park. Everton Women Club Captain Dan Turner said: “I love the whole outfit that Marks & Spencer has put together, especially the pairing of the athleisure shoes to the suit. "What you wear before a fixture as big as a cup final is really important – when you feel good, it helps you get in the right frame of mind. "This look really suits us as a team and we can’t wait to put on these suits and make our way to Wembley – and hopefully the next time we wear them will be when we are coming home with the cup.” Karen Day, Tailoring Lead for M&S Womenswear said: “We’re excited to be supporting the team to arrive at the FA Cup final in style. "Choosing the right outfit to wear can really set you up for a special occasion - especially during this challenging time - and this is a day that I am sure Everton Women will never forget. "It’s an exciting time for women’s football in England, and we are delighted to be playing a small part in such a high-profile fixture that is helping further raise the profile of the women’s game.”
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Post by Everton News. on Nov 1, 2020 12:13:37 GMT
'A PROUD WEEKEND' - CEO LOOKS AHEAD TO WOMEN'S FA CUP FINAL
Everton CEO and Chairman of Everton Women, Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale looks ahead to Sunday's Vitality Women's FA Cup final, as Willie Kirk's side face Manchester City aiming to secure the trophy for the third time in the Club's history.
What a thrilling weekend we have ahead of us as we countdown to our first Women’s FA Cup final in the shadow of the Wembley arch.
It is a match I know every Evertonian will be hugely excited about.
The clash with Manchester City will, of course, be tinged with the sadness that such a momentous occasion in such a magnificent stadium will have no fans present. But I know Willie Kirk and his side will have felt the wave of pride and unstinting support from Evertonians all across the world this week - and will be using that energy to their benefit as they contest the final for the first time in six years.
It has been a challenging road to Wembley - including a hard-fought quarter-final victory over Chelsea and a tough semi-final encounter with Birmingham City.
I was beyond proud to announce in March – on International Women’s Day – that we would be implementing a new structure with a new Strategic Leadership Team and increased investment in our women’s team set-up, to support our aim of growing the women’s game and challenging for major honours.
Willie Kirk’s leadership of the team has been truly transformational, and I must thank and congratulate Willie and his whole backroom staff for their passion and creativity in getting Everton Women to where they are. At the start of the 2019/20 season, we were clear that the aim was to get to Wembley – and what an achievement to do that in such a challenging and rollercoaster season.
The commitment and ambition of the Club - and our Everton Women Board - is, I believe, unparalleled in women’s football. The creativity, quick decision-making and responsiveness that our new structure enables, in dialogue with Willie, has allowed us to make major strides quickly.
It is far from ideal that, having reached the final, it will be played as our senior men’s team are taking to the field at St James’ Park in the Premier League. As a Club, we lobbied both the FA and Premier League to identify a solution which would have avoided the situation - but sadly one couldn’t be found.
But I know Evertonians will find a way of cheering on both teams remotely. It is what tablets and smartphones were invented for!
I will be picking up the match alerts from Newcastle on our Club app whilst I cheer on our Blues at Wembley along with Chairman Bill and our Everton Women board. I promise you that we will bring every good wish and good will from the fans with us as we cheer our team on.
Everton Women are a beacon in the women’s game, having been one of eight founding members of the WSL, as well as winning the FA Women’s Premier League, FA Premier League Cup and two Women’s FA Cups. And I know that Sunday will be another momentous occasion in that prestigious history.
It has been a very difficult year for everybody in so many ways. But, despite the challenges, our fans have continued to show their ardent support. This week I was delighted to see that we now have our first ever Everton Women Official Affiliated Supporters’ Club. I know that the Everton Women Official Supporters' Club has been around since 2007, and that its Chairperson, Julie Makin, has been playing a valuable role since way before then! But to become officially affiliated makes an important statement - and ensures that we can work even more closely with our fans to gather vitally important feedback and ideas.
The players thoroughly enjoyed their virtual Supporters’ Club visit this week, where our wonderful fans from around the world – from as far away as Malaysia - wished them luck and shared congratulatory videos.
Being able to announce our biggest commercial deal in the women’s team’s history, ahead of the FA Cup final, is a significant landmark. Our new strategy for Everton Women includes our commitment to developing the Women’s commercial portfolio by seeking exclusive partnership opportunities, and we are proud to be starting that commitment with such a significant deal with MegaFon.
This week we also became one of the founding signatories of the FA‘s Football Leadership Diversity Code, adopting measures to drive inclusion and increase gender and ethnic diversity within leadership positions within the game, and increasing the number of women coaches. It is an extremely exciting time for the women’s game, and I am proud to say that Everton is already at the forefront.
There is a collective focus and drive at Everton - underpinned by the One Club ethos which has been demonstrated this week by the messages of support, both private and public, from Carlo and his players to our FA Cup finalists.
It is a collaborative approach which is helping us overcome, together, the challenges of the current reality. We are moving forward and we are striving to progress fuelled by your support.
And when our Everton Women take to the field at Wembley - and our men get underway at St James’ Park - everybody across the Club knows that the Blue Wave will be behind them.
NSNO Denise
Everton FC
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