Fresh off an outstanding 2017, Melbourne City Women’s striker Jodie Taylor is settling into City colours nicely as she looks to extend her footballing success into the New Year.
The England International joined City in December as a guest player for the Westfield W-League 2017/18 season, after making a permanent switch from Arsenal Women to Seattle Reign in the US National Women’s Soccer League.
Taylor’s move comes after an incredible 2017, where she was crowned FA Women’s Player of the Year and BT Sport Action Woman of the Year following a stirring EURO 2017 campaign with the Lionesses in which she finished as the tournament’s Golden Boot winner with five goals.
Since joining Patrick Kisnorbo’s squad, the 31-year-old has featured in three matches for City – making a significant impact off the bench during two crucial wins over the Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory.
As she reflects on her first few weeks at City, Taylor says she is thrilled to be in Melbourne and has praised her teammates for welcoming her with open arms.
“It’s great to be here, I think I’ve been here for about two weeks now and it feels a lot longer because of obviously how much we’ve done in that time,” she said.
“It’s been great getting to know everybody, I knew a few of the girls previously which really helps, and for the new faces they’ve obviously been really great in incorporating me into the team – they’ve been really nice and made it a lot easier.
“It’s always a challenge going to a new team, especially going to a new team mid-season but everyone’s made me feel really welcome.”
Taylor believes that the professionalism of Melbourne City has been a driving factor in the increased standards in the W-League and that the Club has helped the development of female football in Australia.
“There’s a few reasons [why I joined Melbourne City]. It’s a very professional club and it’s been a very successful club over the last couple of seasons since they’ve formed,” Taylor said.
“Speaking with some of the girls, they’ve spoken so positively about Melbourne City.”
“It’s great to be part of a club that really has a big vision and is pushing boundaries in the sport, I think that’s what is going to help grow Women’s football as well.
“I’ve seen it in the US, I’ve seen it in England, you’ve got one or two clubs that really push the bar and everyone has to as well to keep up, and I certainly feel like that is what’s happened here.
“I think that Melbourne City has really paved the way and all of the clubs have really stepped up to the plate as well – I’m actually impressed with how competitive the league is and it could be any of the top six or seven teams in play-offs – I think that’s down to clubs like Melbourne City really pushing the bar.”
City currently sits in fourth place on the W-League ladder, with a win against Newcastle in the final match of the regular season enough to secure finals football for the third consecutive season.
The England international says she is determined to help her team win the Championship, and has encouraged City fans to get behind the team.
“Coming in as a guest player for about six weeks, of course, I’m coming in to try and win the Championship,” she said.
“It all comes down to ultimately the last two weeks with how the play-off system works, so I want to hopefully help get the team into play-offs and then from there go on and win the title.”
“I’m really looking forward to playing in front of our fans again and I hope we will have the support behind us as well.”
