Arsenal LFC Complete the Triple as Vic Akers Gets the Perfect Sendoff
Twenty-two years at the helm with thirty-two major trophies to show for his hard work, Vic Akers has indeed been a revelation to Ladies football in England.
The Arsenal kit man set up the side in 1987 and since then the club have gone from strength to strength, winning every major honour there is—from the FA Women's Trophy to the County League to the Women's League to the Women's UEFA Cup.
Akers' greatest achievement was not leading Arsenal to a quadruple in 2007, nor going five years and 108 games in the league unbeaten, but putting women's football on the sporting map in England.
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At the start of the season, the Arsenal players were aware that this would be Akers' swansong.
With the League Cup Trophy and FA Cup Trophy secured, Arsenal went into last Sunday's game against Everton three points behind the Toffees, knowing that a victory would secure a sixth successive league title thanks to the Gunners' massive goal difference.
Staying true to all that is Arsenal, the Ladies claimed a "1-0 to the Arsenal" thanks to a first half goal from Suzanne Grant.
Everton, who had ended Arsenal's 108 match unbeaten streak, saw their unbeaten run in the league this season come to an end and with it the opportunity to break Arsenal's stranglehold on the title.
This season proved to be a tough one for Arsenal as they lost key players Kelly Smith, Alex Scott, and Karen Carney to the new women's league in America.
This sentiment was echoed by club captain Faye White, who missed large sections of the season through injury.
''That's the tenth time we've won the league but this is the most satisfying because we've lost so many big players" claimed White. "It proves you can't keep a good club down and it's a great send-off for Vic.
"He had a vision for the women's game and he's worked 24/7 at making it happen. He developed the links with the men's club and always fought for the backing that we've now got—and he made us the best team in the country."
Vic Akers' speech was almost a carbon copy of his captain's one.
"The fact is that this has been our toughest year because we’ve had people come and go from minute one. This achievement speaks volumes of the group that I’ve had around me, the character has been fantastic."
Speaking to Arsenal.com following his last game in charge, Akers expressed his desire to keep working with the team and to build on what has already been done.
"You don’t spend 20-odd years of your life devoting yourself to something in an unpaid capacity. It’s a love for me, it’s a personal thing which I’ve carried through. I’m not walking away from it, I’ll still be General Manager, and we’ll try and improve as many areas as we can. We have to make sure we build a team ready for next season.
"The Club have been fantastic in what they’ve done for me from day one when I asked David Dein if we could run a Ladies' football team. At that point it was almost an unknown so for him to agree that with the Board was the start of the Ladies Football Club. We’ve just worked on from there so now we have a 22-year history of success. We need to keep that going now and hope the Club is as successful in the next 20-odd years."
So comes to an end another successful season for Arsenal Ladies FC and, with it, the end of an era.
The best present for Akers would be for Arsenal to keep winning, progressing, and to keep the best of the players at the club.
The work Vic Akers has done at Arsenal for the Ladies side has been immense, although one has to think that he isn't quite finished, yet.
Bleacher Report's Arsenal Community would like to say a big "Well done" to the Ladies, once again (since the men last won a trophy in 2005, the Ladies have collected 11 more), and wish Vic Akers all the best.
To see how the Ladies season panned out please check out:
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