ARSENAL LEGEND ADDS EXPERIENCE AT MEADOW PARK

Boreham Wood Football Club are excited to announce the arrival of Arsenal legend Vic Akers OBE, who will join the club as an integral part of Luke Garrard’s senior management team.

Wood Chairman Danny Hunter and Vic Akers have been friends for more than 20 years and his arrival at Meadow Park will be seen as a real boost to the club. The former Arsenal Ladies’ manager will be bringing his vast experience and success to our senior management team, in an exciting move.

Akers provided Arsenal with more than three decades worth of service, in which time he founded the Arsenal Ladies team and managed them to every single major trophy in English women’s football.

Akers spent 22-years as the manager of the Arsenal Ladies team, where he won the FA Women’s Cup 11 times, the FA Women’s Premier League Cup 10 times and the FA Women’s Premier League 11 times.

Arguably though, his greatest feat was achieved here at Meadow Park, when his Arsenal Ladies team lifted the UEFA Women’s Cup in 2007, beating Umeå IK to become the first ever English side to do so.

His haul of 32 major trophies included five League and FA Women’s Cup doubles and four domestic trebles – truly remarkable statistics.

Akers’ services didn’t just stop as the manager of the Arsenal Ladies team though. Initially appointed as head of Arsenal’s community programme, the now 72-year-old worked in the Arsenal First Team setup, as club kit man.

During his years at Arsenal, Akers worked alongside some of the Gunners’ biggest ever names, including Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Viera, Emmanuel Petit and Martin Keown, to name just a few.

Akers also enjoyed a glittering non-league playing career, having come through the ranks at Fulham. This included winning the treble of the Isthmian League Premier Division, Berks and Bucks Senior Cup and the Isthmian League Cup with Slough in 1981.

As well as his time with Slough, the left-back won promotion from the Fourth Division with Cambridge United and won the Southern League Cup with Dartford.

Akers was duly awarded an OBE for his services to sport in 2010, having revolutionised the women’s game.

On his arrival, Akers commented: “I spoke with Danny (Chairman Danny Hunter) and obviously I have watched a game or two down here and I have always had the invite from Danny to come down and watch games.

“We are really good friends and obviously in the last few weeks, results have changed a wee bit. After a good start, it seems to have dropped away a bit, which is disappointing for him and for Lukey (Manager Luke Garrard).

“I regard Luke as one of the best young managers around. Certainly, in non-league football he is probably up there with the best. It is unusual that they should be in this position now, because we are down in the bottom ten and only three or four points away from actually being in danger.

“We have got 12 games to go and they are going to be 12 cup finals for us. Danny thought that it would be a good idea if I was to come in and Luke agreed with it.

“It is certainly a nice challenge to come back into the game and use my experience for Luke, because obviously there are one or two things that I see that he maybe doesn’t, because he is so involved. With me coming in from the outside, it is maybe a bit different. 

“I have already picked one or two things out today, so let’s hope we can turn it around and get the results we need – maybe four wins I think would do it for us. The most important thing for us is to not get beat. If we take a point out of every game, that is 12 points and we would be safe, which is important to us.

“Let’s hope that what I’ve done before rubs off a little bit here. I have been in a position, fortunately, to have such a strong women’s side over a number of years, winning most things in the women’s game, which was fantastic.

“But, I realised that it is not you, it is the players that you have around you. Let’s make sure that we have got the best we could possibly have around us and that they give us the best. That is all that we ask, that they give us everything that we are asking of them, to get the results that we need, and I think that we can do that.”