History, it’s just one thing after another, as the saying goes, and so it seems with Forest Green Rovers, English football’s first vegan club, the first carbon neutral club, the first to travel to away games by electric bus .
Last night, on the edge of a small Wiltshire town on the River Avon, in front of a modest crowd of 696 spectators, they claimed arguably their most important piece of football history when they became the first club to have a female coach head the first men’s team.
Terms like pioneering or trailblazing hardly seem to do it justice, as evidenced by an unusually large media presence to watch League Two’s Forest Green stutter through their first pre-season friendly at the tidy home of Southern League’s Melksham Town Division One South, the eighth tier of the football pyramid.
Hannah Dingley seemed largely unfazed by the fuss. As a caretaker head coach, she was usually unmoved on the sidelines, passing instructions to coaching colleagues to yell.
Raising one hand to shield her eyes from the low evening sun, she watched her team go behind to a spectacular 35-yard own goal and recover to equalize with a free-kick from Callum Jones on loan from Hull City.
Hannah Dingley opened her account as caretaker coach of Forest Green with a 1-1 draw
She made history during the game as the first female boss of a men’s soccer team
Just another day at the office for a fully qualified coach who has been head of the club’s academy for the past four years.
Supporters were more puzzled by the timing of Duncan Ferguson’s departure at the start of the pre-season than by Dingley’s interim appointment. They’re used to Chairman Dale Vince’s eye for the unorthodox.
“I’ve always been a contrarian, I think, and a bit of a rebel,” Vince told Mail Sport last year and when he rolled into the tidy Oakfield Stadium in Melksham 30 minutes before kick-off, he reacted sternly to those who think it was it’s all a gimmick.
“I’d say f*** off,” he rapped. “It’s stupid to say, it’s an insult to Hannah and to the club and to women in football because she is by far the most suitable person at our club to be the interim head coach.
“She has it the same way she got the academy job on merit four years ago, so I don’t have time for people to say that. It’s a cheap shot.’
Vince didn’t run the plan past his players first, but spoke to them at Oakfield. He thought their response had been “positive,” though he was aware they may have felt obligated to say so. “I’ll have to spend more time with them to find out what they’re thinking.”
Fans also reacted positively. Both on social media and in the stands. Season ticket holder Viv Kennedy came out with a hastily made cardboard banner reading “Go Hannah Go” in support of Dingley on her big night.
“Personally, I think it’s fantastic,” she said. “I know there will be different opinions, but I absolutely stand by it and I hope it lasts.
“Hannah can do great things for us. She knows the club, she knows the ethos, she works hard and she is totally committed to the academy. It’s the way forward, not only for FGR but also for football, a step-by-step change that can move everything forward.”
Vince engaged Dingley in the middle of the field as the players warmed up around them. It was the first time they had spoken, he said, since he fired Ferguson Tuesday evening and released the statement confirming he had placed her on preliminary indictment.
Fans were eager to support their new manager and insisted she knew the club ethos very well
Chairman Dale Vince liked to reiterate that the head coach role was chosen based on merit
Dingley’s partner Mike strolled the terraces with their dog and enjoyed this, her reward for years of hard work against all odds.
Whether it turns into anything remains to be seen. She would not say whether she would apply for the job. Instead, he insisted it was time to prepare the players and focus on the season, which starts against Salford City next month, as we are happy to pave the way.
“I’m first and that’s great, but I don’t want to be the only one,” said Dingley. ‘We want change. We want more women in this position. More in youth football, because then there will be more of these opportunities.
“The great thing about tonight was how many girls there were. You cannot be what you cannot see. Hopefully girls will see that there are opportunities and that there are open-minded people and open-minded environments.”