Bristol City: How an 'absolute turnaround' helped return to WSL
- Published
Bristol City secured their return to the WSL this spring after two seasons in the Championship
Striker Abi Harrison is one of only two players still at Bristol City from the squad that was relegated from the Women's Super League two seasons ago.
The west country club won just two games during that 2020-21 season when they dropped out of the WSL.
But since their last stint in the top tier the club has moved to two different home grounds and a new training facility, changed head coach and appointed a much bigger backroom staff, on top of overhauling the playing squad.
In April, they won the Championship title at the second time of asking to bounce back up to the WSL, and Harrison believes the club that is returning is in a much different place than the one that left.
"It's been an absolute turnaround but the fresh start we needed," Harrison told BBC Radio Bristol.
"With hindsight, probably getting relegated was the best thing that we needed because the club stood up and made us more sustainable.
"It's a much more sustainable project that we've got now, we've got a plan for the future and it's not just year-on-year."
There is no bigger signifier of how much things have changed than the fact the club will open the new campaign with a home fixture against Leicester on Sunday at Ashton Gate.
The 27,000-capacity stadium is the team's new permanent home, making it the second biggest ground in the league behind only their weekend opponents, who share the King Power Stadium with the Foxes' men.
"It's the natural step. When we look at season tickets sold we wouldn't have actually been able to fit every season ticket holder in the HPC [High Performance Centre, where they played last season]," Harrison said.
"It's the growth of the game."
Bristol City will play all their home games at Ashton Gate this season
The integration of the women's team to the Bristol City men's outfit has been repeatedly touted by those within the club as playing a massive part in their growth, with both teams sharing facilities and training at the club's High Performance Centre.
Yet the club's focus on developing talent has equally played a part, not least when it comes to their head coach Lauren Smith.
Smith returned to Bristol City in June 2021, having previously worked as an assistant coach at the club four years previously, to take on her first role in management. In August she signed a new three-year deal.
"What we have also done as a club is really professionalise how we are run, so our staffing has really increased since being relegated. When I took over, there were no staff or players left," Smith said.
"The game is moving so quickly so we have got to keep up. We want to make sure that we do things a little bit differently because we are not a Chelsea or Arsenal, we have to be realistic that we are Bristol City."
Head coach Lauren Smith signed a new three-year deal this summer after Bristol City won promotion
Bristol City's men's team has a strong track record of developing players through their academy and feeding them into their first team.
It is an ethos the women's side has emulated. England forward Lauren Hemp and goalkeeper Mary Earps have both played for the Robins, while teenage defender Brooke Aspin signed for Chelsea this summer after helping the club win promotion.
Aspin will be loaned back to Bristol City this season, although a change in rules to allow compensation to clubs for developing players has not come quick enough for Bristol City to financially benefit.
"We do things differently, we are not looking at Champions League but what we are looking at is making sure that there's a homegrown feel where people get developed as people and footballers. We are here to make sure that the right people get developed, pushed on and then we find the next ones," Smith said.
As the only club in the top two tiers of English women's football across the south west of England, the catchment area is vast.
"We know - not so much our place - but what we're good at and the outreach we have is massive," Harrison added.
'We're in this league for a reason'
Still, there's no getting away from the fact that Bristol City will start life in the WSL as minnows compared to clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
Unlike almost all the other clubs in the league, Bristol City will also not benefit from funding from a men's Premier League side.
"What we might lack in finance, we have a really special group of players and staff and represent a special city, playing at a special ground week-in, week-out, so we need to find how we can get the upper hand. We're in the league for a reason," Harrison said.
Bristol City set a new club-record attendance of 7,045 at Ashton Gate last season
Ten new players have been signed, including midfielder and new captain Megan Connolly from Brighton, goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese on loan from Arsenal and Jess Simpson, also on loan from Manchester United.
"The goal is to do what we can and to surprise people, and to surprise ourselves with what we can get out of coming together as a group and putting in the work every day," Marckese said.
"There's a level of respect they'll give us too as underdogs and, as a team that has not a lot to lose, there's not a lot of pressure on us."
Ultimately, the goal for this season is survival before building a legacy that lasts in the league.
"The WSL is getting better so we need to get better in order to keep up and we're not there to make up numbers," Harrison added.
"We want to go and make a good account of ourselves, and show everybody why we got promoted from the Championship and why we're there to stay."
Additional reporting by Emma Sanders.