Tipton Town Ladies season review

By Susan Albrighton
Tipton Town Ladies defender

Tipton play in the Birmingham County Women's Division Two

It was our first season this year and against great adversity we finished third in the league.

The race for promotion went down to the wire with three teams battling it out right to the very end.

Tipton Town Ladies only needed a win or draw to guarantee their spot in Division One.

But luck was not on their side and they were pipped to the post and remain in Division Two for another season. We started with nothing - no manager, no kit, no sponsors and no clue. But over the months we gained a coach in Paul Harrison, a sponsor and a kit that fitted.

We won half of our matches, drawing one and losing the rest which gave us the third spot. We even lost our pitch mid season at Tipton's Sports Academy when it subsided but, thankfully, they managed to get that repaired quite quickly and we only missed a few home games.

Kiren Rana won goal of the season, top goal scorer and best attacker

Faye Harrison and myself completed our Level 1 FA coaching course last September so the club now has a number of qualified coaches and we have better insight into how it should all be done.

I also undertook the task of becoming a referee as we were having so many problems trying to book a qualified referee for our matches and I thought I would take the bull by the horns and do it myself.

I passed my exam in April and will start games under assessment in September, so I hope to be fully qualified before the end of the year.

We had our first end-of-season presentation attended by Tony Butler from BBC WM who came along and helped us celebrate a job well done.

Then, as an added bonus, I picked up an award from the Birmingham County FA for my contribution to football.

The County Football Workforce Awards were held at the NEC alongside the Grassroots Show.

I also managed to meet the person who inspired me to get into football in the first place - England and Arsenal legend Kelly Smith.

I have created our own website now to keep all of supporters and followers up to date with what's next for the club.

We are about to embark on summer tournaments before we start all over again in September for season 2008/09.

I'm looking forward to doing it all over again.

2007/08 Player Awards

Club Clown - Faye Harrison

Coach's Pet - Joanne Parkes

Susan Albrighton with hero and Arsenal star Kelly Smith (left)

Baby Of The Team - Kerry Walker

Haircut Hero - Hayley Bellizia

Best Team Player - Lorraine Hughes

Best Newcomer - Tyler Russell

Best Goalkeeper - Vicki Clinton

Best Midfielder - Gemma Moore

Best Defender - Joanne Parkes

Best Attacker - Kiren Rana

Top Goalscorer - Kiren Rana

Most Improved Player - Claire Bolton

Substitute Of The Season - Susan Albrighton

Goal Of The Season - Kiren Rana

Clubwomen Of The Season - Susan Albrighton

Players' Player - Joanne Parkes

Manager's Player - Gemma Moore