Reading FC Women in the Spotlight – Lauren Bruton

Reading FC Women's Lauren Bruton takes a penalty. Photo: Neil Graham.
Reading FC Women's Lauren Bruton takes a penalty. Photo: Neil Graham.

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Last time we learnt a bit about Royals midfielder Lois Roche, and what she gets up to both on and off the pitch. This week it’s the turn of Royal’s vice captain, and attacking midfield dynamo, Lauren Bruton!

Lauren has been with the club for 3 years now and was a key part of last season’s championship winning team, scoring 7 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions. This year she has been one of four players to have appeared in every match in every competition so far and she recently attended the England Next Generation camp, alongside fellow Royal Mary Earps.

Like most of the Reading squad, Lauren always makes time to chat to the fans after each match and she is followed round the country by her equally friendly parents, Paul and Caroline!

So here are Lauren’s views on everything related to Reading FC Women plus a few random bits thrown in for good measure!

How did you get into football and which team do you support?
I got into football by playing with the boys at break time in junior school. My friend asked me to come and join her team Luton Town Belles at the age of 8.
I support The Arsenal.

How did you end up at Reading and how long have you been here?
I got signed by Jayne Ludlow (former Reading manager and now with Wales) who I knew from my time at Arsenal and who was also my Physio the year before. This will be my third season now.

How Reading are you – have you been:
To Reading Festival? No
On a cruise along the Thames? No but I have rowed a boat down the Thames.
To Reading Ikea? No
Stuck in a traffic jam on the A33? Too many times
On Bracknell’s dry ski slope? No but been to the ice rink there
To The Point in Bracknell? Yes
To The Look Out or Coral Reef? Yes

Was going professional an easy decision for you and how has being pro changed your life?
It was an easy decision for me to turn pro as it was what I have always wanted to do. It certainly was a shock to the system from going from full time work and not having much free time throughout the week to just having to train everyday which is definitely the best bit about it – I have more time to prepare food and sleep which is always nice as well!

If football hadn’t worked out for what do you think you’d be doing now?
If football didn’t work out I would have probably tried to go down the S&C route which I am currently doing some part time work in that area also.

How do you feel about the WSL1 season so far and your own performances?
I think we have surprised a few teams this season with how hard we are to break down. We have gained a good few points on the road and our performances have improved as the season has gone on, although there isn’t much momentum you can gain from the way the fixtures have been organised this season. I personally feel that my own performances have got better as the season has gone on and hopefully that can continue for the remainder of the season.

How are you finding life in Bracknell? If you were rating it on Trip Advisor what would you give it?!
Where I am living at the moment is a really nice quiet area which suits me perfectly and I like that we have the lake a walking distance from our house which is always nice! When the town has finished the construction of new shops/restaurants, that will help improve the rating! 3/5

What do your evenings and days off from football generally consist of? Evenings normally consist of making dinner with my housemate Becky Jane, or going out for a meal with some of the girls. Days off obviously are our recovery days so I either try and go see my family as much as I can or go out with the girls!

Did you follow the Olympics? What event do you think you’d be best at?!
I had been following the Olympics, would watch it most nights but obviously because of training I would have to catch up on all the late night events when I get up in the morning! I would say I possibly would be quite good at Hockey if I had to pick out of any of the sports – that was one of the sports I most enjoyed watching this summer!

What are your personal footballing ambitions?
My aim is to reach the England Senior squad and also play in the Champions League at some point in my career – I want to be playing at the highest level competing with the best players!

What 3 things would you take to a desert island that you couldn’t live without?
Chocolate, my phone and cheese! I love my food!

How was the England Next Generation camp?
The Next Generation camp was really good! Always great to be training and playing with some of the best players in the country and to be back into the England Set Up again was something I had been working towards for the past year and to be picked was great for me!

How supportive have your friends and family been throughout your career?
They have been really supportive of me! My family have done a lot for me to get me to where i am now so I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point in my career without them, especially through the hard times being injured and out for a year, my family and friends helped me through a lot to get back playing again!

How would you describe yourself in 5 words?!
Chilled, friendly, quiet, hard working!

What do you make of the changes to the format of the WSL for next season?
Yes it will be a good thing for us to move back to being a winter league as hopefully the fixture schedule shouldn’t be as spread out as it has been over the past couple of years. It can only be a good thing!

Do you have any pre-match rituals?
Not really, I just like to make sure I am relaxed but zoned in before a game!

What advice would you give to any youngsters dreaming of a career in football?
Just make sure that you work hard during training, practice as much as you can at home, get as many touches on the ball as possible – repetition is key. Also, just to make sure that you have something outside of football to go into either during or after your career if you do get there as it is a short career and you always need something to go into afterwards eg. Teaching, coaching etc.

Any message to the fans for the remaining few games?
Just that we all really appreciate your tremendous dedication to come and support us over the last few years and we wouldn’t be where we are without your support! We will all continue to work hard to pick up as many points as we can and to get that first win of the season – and to stay up!!

James’s view

Lauren will be a key player during the rest of the season and will hopefully cause a lot more headaches for opposition defences with her pace, close control, hard work and eye for goal. Lauren has all the skills to make it to the top and let’s hope she manages to reach all of her ambitions with the Royals over the new couple of years!

Next up will be Helen Ward, all time leading Welsh international goalscorer and probably Reading’s most potent threat in front of goal.

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