Anna Price | Wolves legend

Anna Price is a Wolves legend. The leader of the pack and central to everything – on the pitch, in the dressing room and in the local community. An inspirational figure who has driven women’s football for so many years.

Wolves Women without ‘Perksy’ at the heart of it seems unthinkable, unimaginable. But all good things must come to an end, and that particular chapter on an astonishing playing career is drawing to a close.

Wolverhampton-born and raised, Price has gone well beyond a quarter of a century in Old Gold. Almost 80% of her life has been dedicated to the club she adores.

At the age of just eight, Anna (then Perks) was about to embark on a journey that not even the best script writers could predict. Her footballing story began by watching her brother play before deciding to join in and eventually turn out for her primary school’s boys’ team after realising she was more than good enough. Price thanks her parents and step-parents who would take her to football, pick her up and do everything they could to support her.

“My mum saw an advert for ‘Champion Coaching,’ which fed into Wolves,” Price recalled shortly after celebrating 300 appearances in November 2020. “In those days, under-12 was the youngest age group team at the club so Amber (Quick) and me had to wait to play competitively, but we loved it from the start.”

Like Price, Amber went on to make more than 300 senior Wolves Women appearances. Mates from a young age, the two accumulated a combined 681 appearances between them and are etched into the history of Wolves. Only last year, they were honoured at a special event at Molineux and inducted into the prestigious 300 club alongside Anne Johnson and 36 male players. All Wolves legends from past and present who have contributed so much to the history of the football club.

Price remembers her early days training at Compton Park and competing against some famous faces who went on to take the women’s game by storm. “We used to train at Compton Park which is just a stone’s throw away from where the training ground is now. It was just a normal park pitch, you’d see people walking their dogs, it was very different to what it is now. Usually we’d play local teams, like a Midlands league against Birmingham City, Aston Villa, teams like that. I remember playing against Birmingham when they had players like Karen Carney and Eni Aluko. I really appreciate those younger years with the opportunities I had – particularly as a girl as well.”

If you’re talking stats and records, Sunday 18th November in 2001 was the day a piece of Wolves Women history was made. Aged just 15, Price made her first-team debut. Wolves were hosting Aston Villa in the second round of the Birmingham County Cup at Noose Lane and Dennis Mortimer was the manager. It was a game Villa prevailed in by two goals to one, but it’s not the result the game is remembered for. Still only a schoolgirl, Price came off the bench to replace Claire Hakeman (then Hermon) – the first of 358 Old Gold appearances and the first of 57 of those to come from the substitutes bench. History was made and Price was off the mark. One down, 357 to go.

She had to wait over five months for her league bow, which came as a 16-year-old in a 2-0 home victory over Coventry City. Tuesday 20th April 2002. In fact, Price started that day and coincidentally was replaced by Hakeman.

In Price’s debut campaign, Wolves were competing with Birmingham City for a place in the top flight. Everything rested on a fixture at Molineux on a day where Blues won and secured promotion, while Wolves have since been up and down the leagues and unable to establish that second-tier status, yet.

Speaking on her younger self, Price said: “To have the opportunity to play for Wolves and be good enough to play for Wolves at the time, I’m really thankful to where it’s led to. I was only 15 at the time, so it was a long time ago.

“They (her teammates) were brilliant. I looked up to them massively. Some played for England at the time because we were in tier two of the women’s pyramid. I took a lot from them and learned a lot when I went on to be captain after Anne (Johnson) retired.”

Price scored her first goal on April 6th 2003 away to Oldham Curzon, the only goal of the game, while she netted a hat-trick in a Birmingham County Cup tie against Withymoor on December 16th 2007 – Wolves won 20-0 that day.

This was only the start of representing her hometown club, a club she has supported her whole life. A season ticket holder at the golden palace, Price is Wolves through and through.

The only gap in her Wolves’ career came when she spent three years at university in Sheffield. She made sure she kept up her football, dual-signing for Chesterfield in a lower league, and still returning to Wolverhampton to catch up with her team mates whenever she could.

Price returned to her home city with a degree in sports development and coaching and began a successful career as a PE teacher at Thomas Telford School. She also returned to her beloved Wolves.

Price is now assistant head of key stage at Thomas Telford, running the girls’ football programme and playing a key role in the partnership between the school and Wolves.

What makes Price’s longevity even more impressive is the ability to balance her job with football. The demands on both are intense. A full day of work was swiftly followed by a quick change into Wolves gear before heading straight to football. But it was all for the love of the game and her club. Fortunately for Price, she loved both. Work not only pays the bills but provides her with the opportunity to develop the new generation and provide a platform for youngsters to follow her own legacy and footsteps. Admittedly, balancing the two has been tough and although giving her all to both was tiring, it was extremely rewarding and made every minute worthwhile.

Speaking recently, Price said: “It makes me very proud to be able to represent the women’s game, especially how far it’s come and how far it’s continuing to grow. It means everything to me because football is my life, so to be able to play for Wolves, represent the club and hopefully inspire younger girls to play, hopefully take my spot and be at Wolves for the next 20 years, that would be my dream. I just want to inspire girls to get into football because of how much it has given to me. I would love another little girl to experience what I have.

 

“It’s worlds apart to what it was when I was younger. We’ve got full-time members of staff down at Compton who are working every day to give the best to the girls and the women. We’ve had 4,000 watching us at Molineux. Being involved in the kit launches over the years, I’m very proud to say I’ve been able to do that and all types of people have decided to come and watch – not just our family members or our close friends.

“We really feel like we are inspiring the next generation of girls and boys. Young players now are dreaming of being professional footballers and it’s not really a dream – it’s totally realistic. When I was that age, I couldn’t, it wasn’t going to happen. There were one or two clubs in the whole of the country that you’d be able to go and do it as a job.

“Now it’s totally different. Everything is going in the right direction and it’s only going to benefit the game as a whole, the standard of the football. I know that the girls who play are really humbled by it and it does mean a lot to see that little girls are wearing your top with your name on the back.”

Wolves Women Chair Jenny Wilkes remembers those early days and sees Price as a true trailblazer for Wolves Women and the female game. “Things are very different now.” she says. “Young girls love to come and see their heroes play and get their autographs after the game. That’s normal for them.

“But when Perksy started out, there were no female role models. She played for the love of the game. It was only her own dedication and the support of her family which kept her going.

“In those early days the girls played in big baggy shirts because that’s all we could get. They had to pay subs to keep the club going, and spectators amounted to a few parents and friends.

“That didn’t put Perksy off. She was dedicated to the club, she welcomed and encouraged new players, and it was obvious back then that she was a natural leader.

“I remember Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, who was a great supporter, used to walk her dog round the pitch during games, shouting her support as she went! How she would have loved to see Perksy leading her team out at Molineux.

“It’s been some journey. From the highs of promotion to the lows of relegation, and everything in between, Perksy has led her team with pride and dignity. It’s certainly the end of an era as she hangs up her boots.”

Captain at just 21 after succeeding Anne Johnson, Price says she ‘felt ready’ for the armband despite her young age. She was born a leader and carried that responsibility effortlessly.

League titles came in 2011/12 and 2016/17, albeit the latter had to be lifted with a broken collarbone in a campaign where she scored eight league goals – her best return. Price was an unused sub when Wolves won the Midland Combination League Cup in April 2012 and she was also a member of the squad that won the league in the same season, making three appearances.

The era under Dan McNamara, which began in January 2018, is almost six-and-a-half years strong, during which time Price has celebrated silverware aplenty in some iconic seasons under ‘Macca’. Deserved upward movement in 2021 following the Covid-19 curtailment, a famous league and cup double in 2021/22 and another Birmingham Challenge Cup for the cabinet the following campaign as Wolves went back-to-back in that competition saw Price become accustomed to winning trophies.

Some more uplifting content.

Watch our champions at Molineux 👉 https://t.co/r4U2wXorhj

🙌🏆 pic.twitter.com/CSR3xRSWVB

— Wolves Women FC (@WolvesWomen) April 12, 2022

Current manager McNamara has reflected on the first time he ever met Price and said: “I can remember the first interaction I had with Perks in the Aldersley dome seven years ago and from that moment on, myself, I’ve got a lot to thank her for personally. The whole football club has for what she’s done over 30 years, it’s absolutely remarkable the impact she’s had on young players, old players, club members, first-team players, international Premier League players and everybody that comes into contact with her.

“You just get this real vibrant feeling and I’m not too sure I’d still be here now if it wasn’t for Perks, that’s how big she’s been in helping me personally through some real adversity and also the football club through some real adversity.”

Although choosing from a list as long as his ever-growing arm, McNamara has managed to pick out some stand-out memories during his time working with Price, starting with a time when his team needed a slight helping hand at the top end of the pitch.

“One that certainly sticks out was Knowle in the County Cup early rounds. We played on a really difficult pitch and credit to Knowle, they were fantastic. It was 0-0 after about 60 minutes and I put Perks on up front.

“People call me crazy and the staff didn’t know what I was doing. She actually scored the 1-0 that broke the deadlock and the game ended up being 4-0. That was a real key one. We went on to win the County Cup that season.

“What Perks has had to do over the last two years is really adapt what she brought to the group. It hasn’t been the starting player week in week out that she’s become so accustomed to over her 30-year career. That’s been hard for her but whenever she’s been called upon, she has always responded.

“The year we won it, I can remember countless times where she might not have played for two weeks and we’d put her on. She’s gone on with 10 minutes to go and won headers and just been a real leader in seeing games out. There are too many to mention. There have been endless amounts of times where Anna’s helped us through the result or come up with a big goal over the years.”

Price finally broke the Wolves Women appearance record on a special night under the lights at, no less than, The Hawthorns in a Black Country derby. In the lead-up to the game, Price had only started a couple of times in all competitions in the month or so prior to facing the Baggies. McNamara had a decision to make, as he explains:

“There’s a story behind every story. I remember on the way I didn’t know what to do with Anna on that night. She hadn’t played for a couple of weeks and that was probably an evening where I let emotion take over my decisions, and that doesn’t happen very often.

“It was a staff decision in the end that she should start, captain the side and it would pay off – and it did, it really did.

“You look back now and you think ‘why was I ever questioning playing her’ because of the way she performs every time she puts a Wolves shirt on and represents this club, it’s phenomenal.

“What an amazing memory for her to have broken that record at the Hawthorns and win the game 3-1 as well. I think we were the first senior Wolves side to win up there for a long time which was another string to the bow.”

Price isn’t just a special player on the pitch, her impact off it has been just as influential. Her role as a Wolves Foundation ambassador, which began in 2021 having pledged her support alongside then men’s first-team captain Conor Coady, saw her represent her city in a different way through various Foundation campaigns, and Price doesn’t want to stop there.

At home, Price’s family have been with her through the ups and downs and her husband, Liam, has been a vital support in her later career, encouraging Price to continue playing and ensuring that tight-knit network around her is always there.

“I’m extremely proud,” Price said. “I never thought I’d be the record holder at Wolves so I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved. These last couple of months more so looking back at it made me realise how proud I am.

“To have the chance to play for Wolves, being from Wolverhampton, supporting the club, I’ve been able to do it 358 times. There are just loads of memories that I’ve had over my time.

“I do feel like the proudest girl in Wolverhampton.”

There’s only one Anna Price. Thank you, Perksy.