Nils Nielsen was appointed the new Director of Football for City Women in May and was straight down to business, assessing the market for a new player to help bolster City’s attacking options ahead of the 2023/24 season.
In the new CITY+ documentary ‘Rise: The Story of our Season’, Nielsen spoke about how his role will hopefully help City see more silverware this season.
“Well I bring 30 years of experience but also how to create a successful environment,” said Nielsen.
“We needed somebody that could bring some goals and assists from another position, a number nine.
“When we looked at that, Jill Roord’s name came up.”
And what a signing Roord has already proved to be as she scored her first goal in sky blue during our 2-0 away win over West Ham United in the first game of the season.
On top of our only summer signing, Nielsen also found it important to recognise that by keeping key figures at City has helped solidify the ‘together’ feeling the players have referred to throughout the documentary.
As a result of Gareth Taylor’s squad being almost identical to the 2022/23 season, Nielsen explained that the continuity will be vital as we look to fight for the Barclays Women’s Super League title.
“We also extended the contract of some experienced players in the squad, Steph Houghton, Demi Stokes, Alanna Kennedy. We also extended Bunny [Shaw’s] contract and we are of course very happy with that,” said Nielsen.
“Continuity, having the same squad available, the connection between the players will be much better.”
CITY+ | WATCH ‘RISE: THE STORY OF OUR SEASON’
A CITY+ subscription doesn’t just provide you with a live stream of Wednesday’s clash.
Indeed, ‘Rise: The Story of our Season’ is now available to watch on the platform, which charts the progress of Manchester City Women across the 2022/23 campaign.
Records were broken, reputations were forged, and an exciting young squad showed they could go toe-to-toe with the best that England has to offer.
Our cameras were there every step of the way, capturing the thrills and spills of a compelling WSL title race which went down to the wire.
SUBSCRIBE TO CITY+ TO WATCH ‘RISE’
With candid reflections from players and coaches alike, ‘Rise’ provides a window into the personalities behind the stars you’ve seen on the pitch, while also nodding towards what should be another enthralling campaign, which begins on Sunday against West Ham United.
CITY+ is available via an annual subscription of £34.99 a year, saving you £24 on our monthly offering.
Choose monthly and pay £4.99 a month with the option to cancel anytime.
Official Cityzens and Season Ticket Members can subscribe annually for £30 a year, a saving of £29.
