FAWPL: Derby, Portsmouth, Handsworth & Shanklin — Around the Combinations

Three pages of FAWPL and Combination coverage. Derby County manager John Bennett welcomes the two-division Premier League, describing revamped training with a new head of coaching, an analyst and a goalkeeping coach, and tips Leeds or Sheffield FC in the North and perhaps West Ham in the South. Vanessa Raynbird has moved upstairs to become Portsmouth’s business manager after eleven years as boss, having played and coached across five decades; she won the FA Cup as a player in 1981 and recalls a semi-final upset of Tranmere with Southampton Saints. She is candid about the WSL rejection and improving links with the men’s club. Handsworth captain Ayesha O’Malley describes stepping up with ten players under 19. Shanklin’s Richard Mumford explains the realities of running an Isle of Wight side.