Ahead of Manchester City’s 8-1 pummelling of Bristol City at the weekend, where Khadija Shaw increased her overall goal tally by four, Filippa Angeldahl, Julie Blakstad and Jemima Dahou also got on the scoresheet in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup fifth round, manager Gareth Taylor opened up about the leadership inside the Manchester City dressing room.
While Steph Houghton, Alex Greenwood and Esme Morgan have shared the captain’s armband this campaign, City’s approach to leadership is somewhat unique.
Taylor said: “Rather than it being just one person because I think that's always what it used to be, I think the game has changed a little bit. Now, it's really spread out in terms of the leadership and we're expecting everyone to bring their own identity to what we do.
“You have different types of leaders. I think we're all aware of Steph and the contribution she's made to both club and country for many, many years and still really contributing to us is a different type of leader to Alex.
“Steph is very vocal, very supportive of teammates. Alex is a little bit more subtle. In smaller conversations as an example, she was a massive help for Jess Parker, a young player. Alex really took her under her wing to help and kind of guide her with the dos and don'ts of being a professional player. So I will say quiet leadership with Alex. I mean, she really displays her leadership by performance.
“Laia Aleixandri as an example is almost like a captain without being the captain, her performances and the maturity for a young player have been very, very good. And again, I think having as many of those players involved helps the likes of Alex and Steph.”
Although Morgan has struggled with an Achilles injury since the 1-1 tie with Aston Villa, the 22-year-old offers qualities off the pitch that Taylor highlighted: “This is a leadership team that's chosen by the team. So I think that speaks volumes of where Esme is and for a young player - she's confident she's certainly a person who gets things done and leads in the right manner. Obviously, she has quality, really good quality on the pitch and she's not afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right and that’s a special quality to have.
“She’s reassuring on the pitch, a good communicator and probably sits in between Steph and Alex in terms of volume, but quite loud off the pitch,” said Taylor smiling.
The amalgamation of leadership has led City to contend in the Women’s Super League top spots as they sit third place, two points behind Chelsea and three behind leaders and local rivals Manchester United.
He continued: “The squad are in the process of recruiting a new member of the leadership team. And again, there are some real good options in that we don't choose [as management] We don't influence, we leave it to the players to pick.
“It's the first time we've really done it in a proper fashion and I think it works well. It means that sometimes when we want to get information out, we pull in those three captains or four captains as it was previously, get them to disseminate and sometimes they come back with really good feedback.
“I think it works well so that it's not always about what we think of staff or what I think as a manager that we should be doing.”
The Citizens were knocked out of the Continental Cup by Arsenal yet have progressed into the Vitality Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals and are in contention for the final Champions League spot should they stay ahead of the Gunners - with nine league games left of the season.
To bolster their chances, City host Tottenham on Sunday, March 5 at the Academy Stadium.
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