WSL: Nikita Parris pays tribute to Jordan Nobbs for becoming the league’s all-time leading appearance maker

Nikita Parris has lauded Jordan Nobbs for an “amazing achievement” after the Aston Villa midfielder became the all-time leading appearance-maker in the Women’s Super League.

The 31-year-old set a new record with 193 appearances in the top flight during a 4-2 defeat against Parris’ Brighton last Saturday.

The record was previously held by Chelsea midfielder Sophie Ingle who was ruled out with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury before the beginning of the season.

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Parris scored Brighton’s first goal in their win against Villa on Saturday and speaking as a new guest on Sky Sports’ Three Players and a Podcast was high in her praise of her England former England team-mate:

“It’s an amazing achievement,” she said.

“It shows how much longevity you’ve had in the game and at the top level competing each and every week in different teams. It just shows the young ones how it’s done and how important it is to continue to battle through all of the ups and downs that you have and you have had in your career.”

Also on the podcast as a new permanent guest, Nobbs was asked whether the achievement had made her feel “old”.

“That word’s come out a few times now and I’m trying to swap it for experience,” Nobbs joked.

“Obviously, that milestone comes a little bit with age. I knew it was close and I think obviously we’re all team players. We’re all here to win as teams, but I think you still also appreciate the individual milestone. It’s nice to still be going.

“You don’t think about certain goals sometimes, but we’ve all worked hard to be at the top level.”

Life under new management

New Villa boss Robert de Pauw replaced Carla Ward in the summer, after the latter spent three years in charge before departing in order to take a break from the game having led the club to their best-ever finish of fifth place in the WSL.

De Pauw’s side are yet to register a win after three games and sit in ninth place, but Nobbs believes the side are building a positive foundation with a new style of play.

“There’s a different philosophy coming to the team, trying to play more football, which I think we’ve shown,” she said.

“We’ve not got the points we’ve wanted yet, but I think from a building block and a foundation, Robert [de Pauw] has brought a lot of good things to our team.

“That just takes time with new players, new staff. I’m enjoying Villa and what Robert’s brought to the team, I think it’s definitely my way of wanting to play, you know, [with] touches on the ball, and trying to play as much as possible.”

First Palace win good for the WSL

Crystal Palace women picked up their first-ever win in the WSL when they beat Leicester 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. An Annabel Blanchard’s brace was also the club’s first two goals in the competition.

Palace had started the league season with two back-to-back harrowing defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Chelsea with the latter scoring seven past the Eagles with no reply at Selhurst Park. After a tough start, Izzy Christiansen believes the win will add a layer of competitiveness to the league season.

“I think that first win, those three points on the board now, I think they’ll do wonders for the league across the season,” she said.

“Last season we got to January, midway through the season and it was between West Ham and Bristol City that were likely going to be relegated.

“Now Palace have got that win. There are other teams in and around them at the moment as the league table looks, although it’s early days. Palace might go on and get another win or pick up points along the way because of that belief that they’ve created now.

“You get the buy-in and then obviously other teams around have got to respond to that, the West Ham’s and the Leicester’s, the Everton’s have got to respond.”