This week the situation at Birmingham City Women appears to have reached a point of no return.
In a column at the start of March I wrote: “Birmingham City’s house is on fire, and [the manager Carla] Ward is barely there to extinguish one blaze before another breaks out.” This time the fire is out of control. Over the course of the past six days, reports have emerged of a leaked letter signed by the first-team squad complaining to the board about substandard conditions, ranging from wage concerns to infrastructure.
By Thursday, the club responded with a three-page public statement of over 1,000 words, not a single one of which resembled an apology. Much of the statement was spent attempting to justify some of the issues which had been highlighted, while attempting to discredit others.
Ward had once again been the mediator between her players and the club. When she does eventually leave — links with the vacant position at Arsenal at the end of the season are understood to be unfounded at this stage — she will not only have bolstered her CV, but experienced conflict resolution strategies not unlike a UN peacekeeper.
Perhaps the most telling section of the club’s statement reads: “It is no secret we have one of the lowest budgets in the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League and whilst the Club has supported the Women’s set-up with large investment over recent years, this is incomparable to some of the budgets that exist in the league today.”
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Forget for a moment that the investment required to compete in women’s football is still a drop in the ocean compared to that of the men’s game, this statement categorically misses the point.
Birmingham City’s players are not asking for the budget of a club like Chelsea or Manchester City. They are not expecting state-of-the-art, purpose-built facilities, or hundreds of thousands of pounds in wages. They are simply expecting the bare minimum to try to compete in the Women’s Super League, in which the club are ninth.
Though the current licence criteria still allow for the huge disparity between clubs in the top league, some can be relegated it conditions are not met. The criteria cover the minimum requirements that a club must meet on and off the pitch, including eligible stadiums, number of players and infrastructure. Clubs that do not meet these after initially making the agreement with the FA can be fined, or in extreme cases, relegated.
There had been no shortage of warning signs at the club in the past year – from the long-serving defender (and fan) Kerys Harrop leaving the club, to the handful of players greeting Ward when she arrived, yet it appears licence criteria continued to be met.
As part of the statement, it was revealed the women’s team would be playing at St Andrew’s, the men’s stadium, in the 2021-22 season, if their WSL status is preserved. The move will end their spell at Solihull Moors which has been so problematic this season because of the poor conditions that the club have had to play several “home” matches at St George’s Park.
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But it could well be too little, too late. Ward had performed miracles to get the club to a position of near safety earlier in the season, but a combination of poor form and injuries to a small squad — compounded by an independent tribunal handing three points to Tottenham Hotspur when Birmingham were unable to field a team — have meant Birmingham have been dragged into the closest relegation battle in WSL history.
Four clubs are separated by three points, with some of those teams having up to five fixtures left to play. It is also understood the FA are looking into potential breaches of licence criteria following reports this week.
Birmingham City’s place at the top table of women’s football is in danger. A club that have been a founding member of the WSL approaching its tenth anniversary could be swallowed up by an unforgiving pyramid if they are relegated.
Just ask Liverpool, the two-times WSL winners, relegated last season and now fourth in the Championship, 12 points behind Leicester City. With one promotion place available from the second tier, competition is brutal.
If Birmingham stay up through a Herculean effort from the playing squad and Ward, the task to compete on a tiny budget next season will only get harder. If they are relegated then it is hard to imagine a sudden cash injection that would guarantee a return to the top flight the following season.
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The players’ decision to write a letter to the board was brave, and it was revealing. Sadly, what it exposed is neither pleasant to see, nor easy to fix.
