The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England

by Carrie Dunne

Millions watched the 2015 Women's World Cup as the England Lionesses roared in Canada, winning bronze. Their fighting spirit and fabulous skill captured the fascination of the entire country as their campaign unfolded in the small hours of the 2015 summer mornings. On the back of this success, attendances in the FA Women's Super League increased, as interest in women's football accelerated. Top stars talked enthusiastically about the dawn of a new era for women's football. Carrie Dunn spent a year following some of the most famous—and not so famous—female footballers in the country, to see what the future holds for women's football. Can the smaller, lower-profile teams ever compete with the big bucks and big names of the Women's Super League? How are grassroots clubs going to rise to the top when elite divisions of women's football depend on the award of licenses? Can the women win a World Cup before the men do? And if they do, what reward and recognition will they get? Roar of the Lionesses tells the tale of an increasingly popular, yet still woefully underrepresented sport.

Genres: Football, Nonfiction

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[San Diego Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Hubert O'Hearn

I am willing to bet that you can't name my favourite football team. It's not Liverpool, although I am a passionate supporter of the Reds; it's not Ireland although I am a whimsical romantic; and it's not the Canadian men's national team because I'm not a masochist. No, it's England's women's national team, nicknamed the Lionesses. When there is a story about them in the sport section of the newspaper, I read it first; and when they make their occasional appearances on BBC Two, that's what I'm watching. As a matter of fact, I can even tell you the exact moment when the Lionesses rose to the top of my fan's ladder. ...
You can read this entire review at San Diego Book Review

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75-2.0/5
This is already my second book by this author, and I’m afraid I have to say that I’ve been disappointed yet again. What bothered me most was the writing style. It touches on many topics and then jumps from one subject to the next without any clear thread leading from one to the next. In addition, a large part of the book consists of quotes from players, managers and similar figures in the women's sport, so it often feels as though you’re reading an interview. Thematically, the book focuses on English women’s football during the 2015/16 season – so it’s no longer particularly up to date, although some of the challenges are still very much felt today. A large part of the book centred on lower-tier and grassroots teams, which, personally, didn’t interest me that much on that scale.

[Emily Heslop · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the book overall but I find it to be jumpy and lacking a proper flow. Where you think there could be a new chapter there isn't, and when you think there needs to be more depth to a point being made, it doesn't happen. Instead, it hops back and forth from one idea to the next and while the writer is well informed on each element, it seems like a better structure could have been employed.

I do like the variety of Sources used by Dunn, to add weight to parts of the discussion.

[Chris Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, if slightly dated, look at the state of women’s football in the U.K., looking at the 2015/2016 season as a snapshot in time. The book feels a little bitty at times, with the chronological order meaning it jumps between teams and people in a way that leaves you constantly checking ‘who’s who’, but still a fascinating read for followers of women’s football.

[Ian Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book with great insight into life inside the Women's game.

Includes stories that will make you laugh, stories you just wouldn't believe and stories that show that, although a long way to go, women's football is heading in the right direction

Definitely recommend to all sports fans.

[Jessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 really
Interesting on how women's football is structured in this country but lots of quotes presented very uncritically in an infuriating manner. Not much analysis going on.