 Potter playing forBirmingham City in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josanne Potter[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1984-11-13)13 November 1984 (age 41)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Mansfield, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder,Centre Back | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Chesterfield | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Birmingham City | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Birmingham City | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Charlton Athletic | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Everton | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Leicester City | 6 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Birmingham City | 77 | (8) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Notts County | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Reading | 46 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2017 | England | 35 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | Rangers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | Crystal Palace | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 June 2020 (UTC+1)[2] ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 May 2018 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Josanne Potter (born 13 November 1984) is an EnglishAssociation footballManager (association football) and formerfootballer who played as amidfielder, most recently forReading.[3] Originally a left-winger, she matured into a creative central midfield player. At club level Potter enjoyed three separate spells atBirmingham City Ladies and was noted for her crossing abilities and goalscoring record.[4] She played in threeFA Women's Cup finals – with Arsenal in 2004,[5] Charlton Athletic in 2007[6] and Birmingham City in2012. On the international stage, she often had to compete withRachel Yankey andSue Smith for a place on the left flank of theEngland team.[4][7] After 2007 Potter worked as aBBC television footballpundit. In June 2025, Potter was appointed the head coach ofCrystal Palace.
While attendingThe Manor School,[8] Potter began her career at Chesterfield centre of excellence.[9] She was withSheffield Wednesday in 2001–2002, before signing forBirmingham City.[10]
By 2004 she was playing forArsenal then signed forCharlton Athletic in summer 2005.[11] When Charlton ditched their ladies team in 2007, Potter moved on toEverton, then returned to Birmingham City in January 2009.[12]
With Birmingham not playing until theFA Women's Super League in March 2011, Potter signed a short-term deal withLeicester City in summer 2010.[13]
In May 2013 Potter's excellent form with Birmingham, playing in a central midfield role, led to managerDavid Parker demanding that she be given another chance at international level.[14] In June 2016, Potter and teammateJade Moore both bought out the last six months of their Birmingham City contracts and left the club asfree agents. Despite the players' long service, a statement on Birmingham City Ladies' website called the development "an excellent deal for the club".[15]
Later that month Potter and Moore joinedNotts County on short-term deals until the end of the2016 FA WSL season.[16] Less than a year later, however, the club folded before the 2017FA WSL Spring Series.[17] Becoming a free agent, Potter joinedReading along with teammatesJade Moore andKirsty Linnett in May 2017.[18] On 8 June 2020, Reading announced that Potter had left the club after her contract had expired.[19]
She announced her retirement from football in January 2021.[20][21]
On 22 June 2023, Potter was appointed manager ofScottish Women's Premier League clubRangers, having previously worked as assistant manager atBirmingham City.[22][23] Rangers won domestic cup doubles in both of Allen's seasons at the club.[23]
On 24 June 2025, Potter was appointed as manager ofWomen's Super League 2 sideCrystal Palace.[24]
Potter played forEngland at U16 level.[9] She helpedEngland U19squalify for the2003 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship finals, scoring twice in 90 seconds againstBulgaria on 4 October 2002.[25]
She was called up to the senior team for the first time for a friendly againstNigeria in April 2004, while playing for Arsenal.[26] But she had to pull out due to a back injury.[27] In September 2004 she featured as a substitute in two friendlies against theNetherlands.[28]
Potter narrowly missed out on selection forUEFA Women's Euro 2005, but was recalled straight after the tournament following impressive performances for the U21 team.[29] She scored againstHungary during England's record 13–0 win in October 2005.[30] Potter withdrew from theWorld Cup qualifying play-off againstFrance in September 2006 with damaged ankle ligaments.[31] However, she returned to the team for the 1–0 friendly win overScotland in March 2007.[32]
After a seven-year absence from the England team, Potter was recalled by coachMark Sampson for a friendly withSweden in August 2014. She scored her second goal for England in September 2014, during a 10–0 win inMontenegro.[33] In May 2015, Sampson named Potter in his final squad for the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the team finished a historic third.[34] Potter was named to her second consecutive major tournament finals squad when Sampson selected her to hisUEFA Women's Euro 2017 squad in April 2017.[35]
Potter was allotted 156 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[36][37]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Scored | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 October 2005 | Tapolca Stadium,Tapolca,Hungary |  Hungary | 10–0 | 13–0 | 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 17 September 2014 | Stadion Pod Malim Brdom,Petrovac,Montenegro |  Montenegro | 10–0 | 10–0 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 21 September 2015 | A. Le Coq Arena,Tallinn,Estonia |  Estonia | 2–0 | 8–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying |
After missing out on a place in theFIFA Women's World Cup 2007 squad, Potter worked for theBBC as an expert analyst in their tournament coverage.[38] She continued to work for the BBC on their women's football coverage.[39]
Potter also worked as aFootball Association skills coach, based inSheffield.[40] In 2015 Potter was employed by teammateJade Moore, who had her own sports therapy business.[41]
As of 16 November 2025
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Rangers Women |  | 22 June 2023 | 24 June 2025 | 82 | 64 | 9 | 9 | 078.05 |
| Crystal Palace |  | 24 June 2025 | present | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 027.27 |
| Total | 93 | 67 | 13 | 13 | 072.04 | |||
Birmingham City
Rangers
England
England squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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