No problem mate, you'd be the 874656th man I sucked into women's footie





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We"ll see...

Try watching a game or two - you'll probably enjoy it. I only went at first out of interest, didn't expect to become a big fan

Article on Fleets' Dad from SundayHerald.

The game of the father

JIM Fleeting, the SFA’s newly-appointed director of football development – or, to give him his usual title, Julie’s dad – is peering through the glass walls of his office on the sixth floor at Hampden. Directly across the way, preparing to announce his Scotland squad for the matches with France and Ukraine, is national team manager Walter Smith.
The closeness of the two offices is as metaphorical as it is geographical. The two key posts in Scottish football administration, which Craig Brown straddled for so long only for them to become estranged after the arrival of Berti Vogts, have rediscovered some common ground.

“It changed so much when Walter came in,” says Fleeting. “Berti had his own ideas, but Walter sees the link between this department and his department, and we’ve always had that. When Craig was in we had that link, then Berti’s responsibility was to win games and that was it, but Walter has got an allegiance to his country, so it is much easier for him. He will come in and spend as much time as he likes in here, and vice versa.”

Fleeting’s internal promotion to replace Jimmy Sinclair, following his move to Murray Park, may have taken him little further than a couple of metres from his previous desk as the SFA’s head of regional development, but it has manoeuvred him to the very pinnacle of Scottish football’s administrative set-up. It is now 14 years since his one and only spell as a day-to-day club manager at Kilmarnock came to an end. It is not bad for someone who still stridently identifies himself as a “football man”, not a “desk man”, and is convincing when he claims he would play “if an amateur team phones me tomorrow and says they are a man short”.

For once, with the senior team going into Saturday’s sell-out meeting with France with a 100% record, Scotland’s under-19 team reaching European finals, a new £18 million training complex in the offing, and six regional centres getting up to speed, Scottish football has a feelgood factor. In any case, Fleeting is too much of a team player to envisage too much revolution.

“There shouldn’t be anything major for me to have to bring in,” he says. “If there is anything major then what have I been doing for the last 14 years? If there was something major then it means I have not been doing my job.”

Continuing the good work of his predecessor means trying to increase, rather than reduce, the number of clubs in the Scottish game, introducing a quality mark for clubs who take players from the age of five to 55, developing more healthy, sporty youngsters and more floodlit synthetic surfaces for them to play on.

Fleeting’s four years at Kilmarnock, from 1988 to 1992, may have been wilderness years, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still fondly remembered by the club’s fans. Two of his more notable decisions, after all, included bringing in Tommy Burns and Bobby Williamson. “I was daft enough to bring both Tommy and Bobby in,” he says. “I brought them both in and the two bandits took my job.

“They took it on and maybe I didn’t have the ability to do that. Tommy took them into the Premier League and kept them in the Premier League. Bobby took them into Europe. Bobby should be walking on cloud nine in Kilmarnock, getting hero worship for taking that team into Europe the way that he did.”

Indeed, even when he was managing at Kilmarnock, some would say Fleeting was already displaying an obsession with youth development. “When you’re a club manager your only focus should be on the first team,” he said. “Mine wasn’t at Kilmarnock – I wanted to get involved in everything; maybe I should have just focused on the 11 who ran out on a Saturday. If you appoint me as a first-team manager of the club now I acknowledge that I should have spent more time with the 11 players.

“One time at Kilmarnock we had six players in the under-16 national team. That was fantastic, but it didn’t help me win any games, or help keep me in a job.”

When Fleeting claims that football is in his blood, there is little room for argument. Julie, who plays for Arsenal ladies, is one of the most eminent female footballers in Europe, with 92 goals in 85 games for her country.

His son, Barry, plays football, for Troon Juniors, as do both his sons-in-law, Livingston goalkeeper Colin Stewart and Ayr midfielder Chris Strain. His other daughter, Gemma, plays netball, and who knows what awaits his two-year-old grandson Ben.

The familial example underpins his determination to use sponsorship from McDonald’s to target 600 new school teams for both girls and boys at primary section level each of the next three years. “In the old days it used to be ‘that is Jim Fleeting’s daughter’, now it has turned round to ‘that is Julie Fleeting’s dad’,” he said. “I am comfortable with that. But we do need to get all these young girls playing because if they enjoy the game, someday they’ll become mums, and if you’ve played sport you are more likely to encourage your kids to do sport.

“My wife used to be sporty and she will not run the length of herself now. You can print this, although it might end in divorce. I’ve got three kids who take part in sport, and they all play because their dad plays. Although if I read books like my wife, I might be more educated.”

What, apart from an infectious enthusiasm for the game, makes Fleeting unique, however, is the fact that he has played across every level of the game, from amateur to junior, from the old English first division to locking horns with Franz Beckenbauer with the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The lack of vested interests allows him even to take junior football supremo Tom Johnston to task. “Nobody will ever point the finger at me and say ‘you’re just a senior, or you’re just a junior’,” Fleeting says. “Tom Johnston said something about us senior boys the other day, and I said ‘Oh, I am a senior boy am I?’. I played with Kilbirnie, Annbank, Irvine Vics, Irvine Meadow – do you want me to rattle through any more that I played with?”

As things stand, Fleeting is not involved with the SFA’s discussions about introducing a pyramid structure. He might just be the man for the job.

Nice article mate

That's what I thought - that's why I posted it

Funny at times: "My wife used to be sporty and she will not run the length of herself now.
You can print this, although it might end in divorce." lol

Keep up the good work, Mr Fleets

really I thought you were posting it to improve your post count

I liked the bit about his wife too, lol, what a talented family

Hahaha yes, I have only 5856 posts - tragedy

International hotshot hopes female game’s place in the sun is not just a Fleeting moment

If confirmation was needed about the rise in the popularity of women's football, then it came on Monday in the final of their FA Cup.

A staggering crowd of over 24,000 turned out at the City Ground to watch Arsenal Ladies complete the final leg of a historic Quadruple.

The Gunners, aided and abetted in no little part by our own Julie Fleeting, duly hammered Charlton 4-1 to add to their haul of silverware.

advertisementFor Fleeting, who had already toasted success in the League Cup, Premier League and Uefa Cup, it was the perfect climax to a hugely satisfying campaign with an Arsenal side that is now one game from an unbeaten season.

But the 26-year-old Scot, daughter of SFA supremo Jim and the wife of Livingston keeper Colin Stewart, wants more.

She is hoping her success with the London club will now have a positive knock-on affect on the sport for the fairer sex in this country.

Julie said: "We knew the FA Cup organisers had sold in the region of 20,000 tickets for the final, but to get over 24,000 was fantastic. The match was live on TV, too, which was fantastic.

"We have had quite big crowds for cup finals in the past, but that was a fantastic turnout. You can see the sport is definitely growing.

"Personally, I have noticed a tremendous change. The number of girls taking up football is on the up, too. If we can keep increasing that then hopefully we will get better and better players."

If Scotland can produce another female player with the same ability and ambition of Fleeting in the future, then we will be doing well.

As well as excelling at club level for the now defunct San Diego Spirit, Ross County and currently Arsenal, she is a mainstay of the national team.

Julie has, to date, played no fewer than 93 times for her country and scored an astonishing 94 goals. Kris Boyd, eat your heart out!

The prolific striker is hoping she can help the national team coached by Anna Signeul qualify for the European Championships in Finland in 2009. A game away to Ukraine looms.

Yet, like so many of her team- mates in the Scotland set-up, Julie, a PE teacher at St Michael's Academy in Kilwinning, has to do it the hard way.

She explained: "The Scottish girls need to make a lot of sacrifices to pursue our football careers as we won't get paid a penny. We actually lose out financially.

"Arsenal are semi-professional and I don't have to worry about travelling costs. All my flights and hotels are booked for me. I'm very well looked after and am extremely grateful.

"I train with a boys' club, Kilwinning Rangers, twice a week to keep me sharp. They are a great bunch who are very good at not holding back in training.

"They treat me just like any other player. I need that to get something out of training. Their coach, John Garroch, has been a huge help to me."

Fleeting continued: "But, despite Arsenal's success, this has actually been the worst season since I started playing football in terms of injury.

"I have struggled throughout the entire season. I have missed a few games out. Physically, I just haven't been fit enough to compete.

"I can't complain. I have been part of a great team that has been very successful. But I am hoping that, over the summer, I can have a good rest and come back next season.

"Being full-time definitely would have helped me in that respect. I could have received physio on a daily basis. Instead, I am on my feet working after every game.

"I am lucky because I have a job that I love getting up to do in the morning. Not everybody can say that. But I have four weeks off after that and I will be taking it easy.

"The school is very understanding about my football and my colleagues are very supportive. The kids always speak to me about how my team are doing."

As, for that matter, do the household names she brushes shoulders with from time to time at the Emirates Stadium - including the likes of Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger.

Fleeting said: "Our paths cross with the men's team from time to time. At the start of the season, for example, we are part of the official team photographs. I have met quite a few of them.

"Arsenal flew all the women's team out to Paris for the Champions League Final against Barcelona last season. If they win anything and have an open- topped bus, then the women's team are always involved.

"Our coach, Vic, is the kit manager with the first team and works very closely with them. Judging by the texts he receives from the players, they are all interested in how we are getting on."

The prospect of playing for a Great Britain side in the Olympic Games in the future is not one that attracts this proud patriot, due to the jeopardy it would place the Scotland team under.

She reasons: "I would hate for any younger Scottish players coming through the ranks to be deprived the same opportunity that I had to play for the national team in the future.

"First and foremost, I am Scottish and am proud to play for my national team. I am very passionate about coming from Scotland."

***

Julie is Scotland's most prolific goalscorer at international level with 94 goals from just 93 caps. But the national side's skipper is not just a top markswoman in the dark blue - she's netted 29 times from just 22 starts (and three sub appearances) with club side Arsenal Ladies this season.

She was born on December 18, 1980, in Kilwinning - and is a qualified PE teacher. In fact, she still teaches at St Michael's Academy in her home town.

Her married name is Stewart, having tied the knot with Livingston No.1 Colin.

Julie played in the now-defunct WUSA league - having two successful seasons with San Diego Spirit, where she was voted Most Valuable Player by her team-mates and coaches and won her club's Golden Boot accolade.

She has been involved with the national side since the age of 15, when she played for Ayr, making her debut against Wales in November, 1996.

She made an immediate impact in England, hitting a hat-trick in Arsenal's 2004 FA Cup Final win over Charlton.

HEROES ONE AND ALL

OUR HEROES AWARDS:
THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE SCOTLAND A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.
SPORTING HERO JULIE FLEETING

Our Sporting Hero Julie Fleeting hopes she can encourage more girls to get into sport after her success on the pitch.

The top-scoring striker for Arsenal Ladies - who has also netted 94 goals in 90 games for the Scotland side - reckons girls stand to gain from exercising more.

And as a PE teacher at St Michael's Academy in Kilwinning, she's in the perfect position to give pupils a head start on the road to fitness.

Julie, 26, said: "Forme, playing football is all about enjoyment and I hope this inspires more girls to take part in any sport, not just football. You really can get so much out of it."

While Julie was thrilled to have won, she was also overwhelmed by the other nominees she was up against, particularly tae kwondo champ Dylan Macdonald, nine, who battled back from leukaemia to win medals in his sport.

She said: "I'm truly delighted to win this award and humbled to be in the same category as people like Dylan. I love what I do and to be recognised in this way is simply fantastic."

Sponsor Derek Casey, director of Glasgow's 2014 bid for the Commonwealth Games, hopes Julie's dedication will also rub off on Scotland's future medal winners.

He said: "Today's youngsters are the people who are going to win medals for us in 2014 and to have role models like Julie, Chris Hoy, Rebecca Lee and Dylan Macdonald is fantastic.

"Coupled with the recent UEFA Cup Final, this has been a fantastic week for Scottish sport and I'd love to see Scotland's future stars win medals for us in 2014 on home soil."

Earlier this year, Julie helped Arsenal Ladies clinch the UEFA Women's Cup - the first time the competition has ever been won by a UK ladies' team.

And although women's football may not pay Premiership wages, Julie has vowed to keep on playing as long as she can.

She said: "I don't play for the money and as long as I'm still enjoying it and able to do it, I'll continue to play as much as possible. I'm very fortunate that my family is behind me every step of the way and their support means absolutely everything tome."

Sweet Sixteen star and former Morton player Martin Compston presented Julie with her award.
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From The Daily Record

Funniest thing I have seen for ages They have a big job on their hands


Well done to Julie Truely deserved, wtf was the girl presenting the awards was she from that stupid MTV programme 'My Sweet Sixteen'?! If so, Julie is more famous than that peice of sh!te Argh!!

HAMPDEN MUSEUM CELEBRATES SCOTTISH WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Thursday, 06 Sep 2007

With the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals in China about to kick off, Hampden Museum’s latest exhibition celebrates Women’s Football.

Pioneers of the Scottish game, like Sheila Begbie, Elsie Cook and Scottish Sports Hall of Famer Rose Reilly, are placed beside current international stars, in particular Hibernian and Scotland duo Shelley Kerr and Kim Little and Arsenal UEFA Cup winner and Scotland’s top goal scorer Julie Fleeting.

The current stars of world football, like Marta, Birgit Prinz and Lotta Schelin are featured within the exhibition as are the legendary all-time stars of the game – as picked by Scottish National Coach Anna Signeul.

Scotland’s clubs are also honoured in an exhibition which brings together shirts, caps, film footage and images to capture the very essence of the Women’s Game. From Julie Fleeting’s UEFA Cup Final shirt to the quaich presented to Pauline Hamill for her 100th international appearance, this exhibition is a must see for football fans.

Lotta Schelin already featured as the legendary all-time star of the game?
Wait a couple of years will ya?

Fleets belongs there for sure, well done Hampden Museum

Doesn't say Lotta is legendary, says she's a current star
In a few years that can change

Oh I see - forgive me my terrible English,
I thought "as are" means that "they are" - the stars.
But it means they are featured as well. Sowieee

You need to spend more time over here - you're getting out of practice

I know

I know

That's the way to do it - repetition is a good way of learning

Fleets Fleets Fleets

What Is Your Favourite Place In Scotland ?

My favourite place in Scotland is definitely Kilwinning. That is where I am from and been brought up. I've lived away when I went to University and then when I played In America but there is no place like home. All my family and friends live here and that's why it's my favourite place.

Where In Scotland have you played or seen your best game of football ?

Kilwinning Sports Club. There is so many games that go on at grass roots level every weekend at my local sports club. It's great to see so many kids , boys and girls , out playing and having fun. There is some very entertaining games that go on down there particularly at amateur level. I enjoy going to watch my brother play. He used to play at the sports club but he now plays at junior level.

Who has been the biggest inspiration to you ?

My family hace easily been my biggest influence. I was very dependant on my parents for lifts when I was younger and they gave up a lot of their time to take me to training and to come and watch me play. They still are very supportive and come to games whenever they can.

When was your first game of football and what happened ?

My first game of football was for my first team Cunningham boys club under 10s. We were playing a team called Breghorn and we won 2-1 , I scored one of the goals and I was very chuffed. I was the only girl in the league and I loved playing with them.

What is your proudest moment so far ?

PLaying for my country and then captaining my country. It's a great feeling leading the team out on to the pitch.

What does playing for Arsenal mean to you ?

Arsenal are a huge club and to play for them is an honour. One of the great things about Arsenal Ladies is that they are very much a part of the whole club and as a player you feel involved with the whole football club.

Which game will you tell your grand-children about ?

When playing for Scotland we were playing Lithuania. It was the last game of the group and we had to beat them 17-0 to go through to the lay-offs for the World Cup. It was 6-0 at half time but all of a sudden we started banging the goals in during the 2nd half. We ended up winning 17-0 and I scored the 17th goal in injury time.

What is your ultimate ambition ?

To be happy in whatever I'm doing. I tend to live day to day and in terms of football I don't have future ambitions. I try my best in training and in games and whatever comes off that I will see. I'm strong believer in what is for you will not go by you.

What would your advice be to a young girl , who wants to be a professional footballer ?

Play to enjoy it and work hard. You will work hard though if you are enjoying it. That really is the only advice I can give , enjoyment is the biggest part of being successful. It will make you strive to keep practicing and competing. Never lose the fun element of football.

If you had a million pounds to give to one non-profit organisation or charity - which one would it be ?

I'm not sure what exact organisation it would be but I would definitely give it to a children's charity. It breaks my heart when I see adverts of children who have been deprived. They have such a hard start to life and I would like the money to go towards giving them a better life.

Nice read that.

Nice to see the Arsenal ladies feel they are part of the club as a whole - there are one or two teams where that doesn't apply

I love that 17-0 v Lithuania

Reminds my of when England men needed to beat San Marino by 7 goals in their final group game to qualify for Europe or WC - I forget which - and they let in a goal in the first minute