FAWPL: Royals Appointment — Jayne Ludlow, Reading FC Women

Jayne Ludlow, appointed Reading’s Director of Women’s and Girls Football and manager of their WSL2 side in August, describes her first weeks after thirteen years at Arsenal that brought nine league titles and eight FA Cups, plus 61 Wales caps. Her first task was meeting the staff and hearing their views on every aspect of the club; she works closely with general manager Kelly Chambers on plans to provide a platform for performance. She says she always questioned decisions on training and preparation, learning from Laura Harvey, Rehanne Skinner and Jarmo Matikainen and observing Arsenal’s men’s coaches, and found it natural to move into coaching. She promises to be a different personality on the touchline, and picks lifting the UEFA Women’s Cup in 2006-07 as her favourite memory, recalling Emma Byrne’s saves and Mary Philip.