EXCLUSIVE: “You feel at home” – Lucy Quinn on Birmingham City, WSL history and “playing the grandma card” | OneFootball

Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City FC)

Lucy Quinn is the latest player to pass an appearance milestone for Birmingham City.

Shortly after Rebecca Holloway made her 100th appearance for the club, Quinn sailed past the 150 mark – and she did it in a local derby against Aston Villa in the Subway Women’s League Cup. More importantly, perhaps, she scored a penalty as the Blues won a shootout to secure local supremacy.

Quinn has achieved her 150 not out over two stints, and told SheKicks.net what drew her back to the club in 2021 after two years away.

“There is something about the club that makes you feel at home and draws you back and like you can always come and play football and enjoy your life here,” she said. “We’ve all played at the club at some point and we always want to come back and represent the badge and help out.”

And of course there have been plenty of changes since her first appearance in 2017.

“The new ownership, the investment, just the ambition of the club, the feel around the fans, people are really buying into it. And Birmingham have always had huge, huge amounts of fans. They just come out of the woodwork everywhere you go. And it’s just so nice to see that their club is finally engaging with them, communicating with them, and they’re seeing obviously a real uprise, as they’ve called it.”

Lucy Quinn: I thought I’d play in a men’s team

The 32-year-old Ireland international has plenty of experience to pass on to younger players – or as she puts it “playing the grandma card”. She began her senior career with Portsmouth, and then moved on to Yeovil Town, one of the founder members of WSL2, who were promoted to the top tier in 2016.

“I was 24 when I turned professional and that’s quite late in a career if you think about it. There were, I think, 10 teams in the country then that were able to say that they were full-time clubs and that was the new WSL and that was a very new-look thing for the domestic game here.

Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City FC)

“So for me to just play for Yeovil Town and run around up front as much as I could and to try and get spotted by one of those clubs was all I was after really.

“It’s just something that I always grew up saying, ‘I’m going to be a professional footballer.’ But I think, honestly, that I thought I’d maybe play in a men’s team because I just didn’t see that pathway. And now for it to be so normal, yeah, it just makes me really want to embrace every moment of it because I’ve joined it quite late.”

And that gives her some perspective on how quickly the women’s game has developed – but also how many talented footballers missed out on a professional career.

“I also played football with some unbelievable footballers that were probably much better players than me, but they were just a couple of years older. They were already deep into careers as lawyers or teachers or had children, and they didn’t get the opportunity to just rock up and say, ‘Oh, I’m fresh out of uni, I’m just going to play football because I love it, for a little bit of money.’

Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City FC)

“You are 16, 17, 18 when you’re coming into the professional senior team now. I just like to sit everyone down and have story time every now and again, just so they really appreciate where the game’s come from.” 

Quinn: WSL2 is unpredictable and tight

Although she’s looking forward to the Christmas break and a quiet time with her parents on the Isle of Wight, Quinn is enjoying the competition in WSL2 this season, with Birmingham City currently second and level on points with third-placed Bristol City.

“I’m glad that it’s really tight. I think this is what we’ve spoken about for the past few years, to have that competition of clubs. There are some clubs that have always been around like Bristol, Birmingham, but now we’re also seeing Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Durham, Charlton. Honestly, the list is endless and that’s exactly what we wanted.

“Teams are taking points off of each other. It’s very unpredictable and it’s very tight. That can be stressful, but you have to really thrive under that pressure. This is what we’ve wanted for so long – and I just think it’s making for a more exciting league.”