Women’s Super League

ALEX MORGAN has spilled the tea on why she has had to wait over a month for her Spurs debut.
The USA World Cup winner arrived in North London midway through September from Orlando Pride, in a remarkable coup for the club and the WSL.

USA World Cup winner Alex Morgan signed for Tottenham Women on a short-term deal but still hasn’t played for the club

The strike sensation penned a short-term deal until the end of December in a bid for regular game time to win a place in the USA squad ahead of the postponed Tokyo Olympics.
The 31-year-old has not played competitive football in over a year due to pregnancy, and she only gave birth to her daughter, Charlie, six months ago.
She told AP Sports: “There’s times definitely where I think stress builds up or I kind of get a little too anxious.
“But I think that I’ve handled it quite well.

“Hopefully in the next two weeks I’ll get on the field with team because we’ve had quite a tough run, especially in the month of October.
“So, I really want to help the team.
“The amount of decelerations (in training) and that puts a toll on your body, especially my body, that’s just gone through building and creating, growing a human.
“So, I kind of had a little setback with my knee. It’s nothing too serious.”

Morgan was named on the bench for Spurs’ FA Cup quarter-final tie with rivals Arsenal at the end of September, but she hasn’t been included in the squad since.
The clock is ticking, given that her contract only runs until the end of 2020.
And the Orlando Pride ace dropped a huge hint that she won’t be sticking around in the WSL on a permanent basis after her loan deal expires.

She added: “I have a plan to go back for the holidays, but you just don’t know if I’m planning to continue on here or not
“It all really depends on Covid, and the NWSL as well and what their plans are for next season so I feel like I’m taking it week by week.
“One thing I know is that I want to go home and introduce Charlie to my family because I’ve kind of snatched her away and took her to England with me.”
Orlando boss Marc Skinner reportedly hopes Morgan will return from her contract in England in time to join the Pride next spring for preseason ahead of the 2021 NWSL season.

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BETH ENGLAND praised grassroots football for influencing her rise to the top of the women’s game after giving away new playing gear to her childhood club in Barnsley.
The Chelsea ace is backing an Adidas campaign aiming to provide up to 10,000 European amateur sides with kits produced by the sports brand.

Beth England is backing a campaign aiming to equip 10,000 grassroots clubs with new football kitsCredit: Getty – Contributor

And the Blues forward, 26, who returns to WSL action on Tuesday with Chelsea facing Tottenham in a league cup clash, kicked things off by sending apparel to her old Sunday side Junior Tykes FC.
In an Instagram post, accompanied by a childhood image of the striker clutching a trophy, England said: “Grassroots football helped me fall in love with this game.
“Without it I would never have known the potential I had.”  

It was while playing for the Tykes, at the age of seven, alongside her twin sister that Barnsley-born England says she discovered her ‘love for football’.

And the former Doncaster Belle, named the PFA’s Women’s Player of the Year in September, recalls experiencing a particularly heavy loss during one of her earliest matches for the Yorkshire-based boys’ team.

Far from putting her off the game, the Blues attacker reckons the unforgettable drubbing she and her twin experienced made her even more determined to get back out on the pitch.
Speaking to the FA’s website England said: “When it came to our first-ever game for them (Junior Tykes FC), it didn’t go so well and we were brought down to earth with a bump.
“We played against a team called Spy Rangers and we lost quite heavily, something like 21-0.

“I remember our Mum and Dad being worried that we’d probably never want to go back, but we loved it that much we couldn’t wait to play again.
“Funnily enough, there was a girl on the Spy Rangers team called Meaghan Sergeant, who now plays for Bristol City in the WSL.
“We used to play against her regularly so she’d probably look back at those days with fondness too.”
CHARITABLE CHELSEA
England’s generous act comes as her fellow Chelsea star Reece James joined Marcus Rashford’s battle to prevent children from hard-up families going hungry during school holidays.
The Blues right-back, whose team take on Sheffield United in the Prem on Saturday, has donated £10,000 to a London food charity with the hope of raising ten times this amount by December.
And the Daily Mail reports the 20-year-old England international has teamed up with the Felix Project – a charity delivering surplus food to people in need of it in the capital.
It is thought that James is aiming to raise £100,000k before his 21st birthday on December 8 this year.

Beth England (left) says the grassroots game helped nurture the football talent during her younger yearsCredit: PA:Press Association

Chelsea ace Reece James is aiming to raise £100,000 to help fight hunger and food poverty in LondonCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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KIRSTIE LEVELL wears the “special” number 28 at Leicester in a moving tribute to her older brother Dan, who died five years ago.
In an interview with the BBC, the former Everton ace opened up about her brother’s sudden heart attack on 28 September, 2015 – a year after his shattering bowel cancer diagnosis.

Kirstie Levell wears the “special” number 28 at Leicester in tribute to her older brother Dan, who died five years ago.Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Dan suffered a sudden heart attack on 28 September, 2015 – a year after his shattering bowel cancer diagnosis.Credit: Instagram / @kirstielevell

Dan was born with epilepsy which left him unable to speak, but he could still understand “pretty much everything”.
Their father, Shaun, cared for him full-time, having quit his day job.
Levell told the BBC: “The 28th is my mum’s birthday and I found that really mad,
“Dan had this terminal illness for such a long time and it was like he waited for her birthday to come round before saying, ‘right, that’s it now’.”

The Levells were a family unit, and they loved taking Dan to theme parks to ride rollercoasters and on dream trips to meet Disney characters in Paris, when they were kids.
Kirstie continued to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional footballer and Shaun would always fly out to England camps to show support.
She added: “Dan was my dad’s best mate as he had someone to travel with.
“The most difficult thing was when Dan fell ill, there was always a decision over whether my dad should come and support me or stay and look after my brother. We worked around it.”

Kirstie was hit with a huge blow when her dad, Shaun, was diagnosed with cancer in 2019Credit: Instagram / @kirstielevell

Levell was studying at university and playing for the Toffees when Dan was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
She was told it would all be fine, but chemotherapy failed and her brother’s shattering illness became terminal.
The Leicester goalkeeper said: “I just thought, ‘no, this can’t be happening.’
“I still carried on with my football though. Even the day after he died, I went to training at Everton. He passed away in the house so I felt the worst place to be in was the house.”
But Levell was left broken when her dad was hit with mouth cancer in 2019.
She continued: “That was an even bigger challenge for me. I just thought, ‘not again. I can’t lose another one.’
“My brother and my dad were the two who always came with me to football so I couldn’t lose them both,
“It was a hard one to take. I took him to his hospital appointments and the day he went in for his operation, I was there to pick him up. He wanted to get on with it and didn’t want a fuss.”
Thankfully, Shaun has recovered – and Kirstie, who arrived at Leicester this summer, chose a new number 28 as tribute to her beloved family.

View this post on Instagram

At 24 years old my beautiful brother Daniel Levell came into the world with brain damage meaning he couldn’t speak a single word. Around a year ago he was diagnosed with cancer, a cancer rare to any young person especially at 24, my whole world turned upside down, my defenceless brother, never harmed a single soul in his life had been given an illness which was irreversible on top of the problems he already had. Last night at around 20:15 I was forced to call emergency services after my brother stopped breathing. My dad was instructed over the phone to give CPR but he just wasn’t coming around, I prayed and prayed, he was taken to the hospital where his heart was worked on for another 40 minutes but his heart had fully stopped in our house. He was loved by everyone, I would never ever of changed my brother for anyone in the world, I pray there’s a heaven out there he deserves nothin but the best. I will never ever forget my gorgeous brother, cheeky smile and them piercing blue eyes around the house every day, everything I do as from today is for you, I will continue to make you proud in my career an life💪he fought for 24 strong years and this past year was absolute hell, he is my dan dan and he is out off all that pain and struggle. My absolute rock, inspiration and brother I love with all my heart till the end. I will never ever forget you, brightest star in the sky EVER love you so much ❤️💙❤️💙❤️😥😥👼💫
A post shared by KIRSTIE LEVELL (@kirstielevell) on Sep 29, 2015 at 8:44am PDT

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CHRISTEN PRESS and Tobin Heath have finally reacted to the bombshell news that their shirts outsold EVERY male star at Manchester United.
Shirts for the American superstars were so popular in the first three days of their release, that they even surpassed the likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.

Shirts for Christen Press (left) and Tobin Heath (right) were the club’s most popular of any player, male or femaleCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The American superstars arrived at the Red Devils last month, in a major coup for the Women’s Super League.

When the pair were asked in an interview with CNN if they expected their arrival in Manchester to spark a fan frenzy and their shirts to sell-out, Press said: “Certainly not.
“I mean I wasn’t thinking about it at all honestly until I read the news.
“But it is something I’m really proud of because especially in the United States we fight a battle everyday to prove our value and prove our worth,

“So things like jersey sales doing really well is actually really important for us because it proves to the pocket that this is something worth investing in.”
The pair have made a combined 306 appearances for their country and were both members of the 2015 and 2019 World Cup-winning squads.
Los Angeles-born Press opted for the number 24 shirt in homage to late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
Heath usually dons the number 17 but it was taken by Ona Batlle so she chose 77.

Heath added: “Just as we are pioneers in our sport, because women’s football is very young in comparison, we are pioneers in this global equality that needs to exist,
“And an opportunity that needs to exist for all and that’s the message that people want to see and that people want to root for,
“People don’t just want to root for a team anymore, they want to root for something more.”
Other big-name US arrivals who have made a temporary switch to the WSL include Tottenham’s Alex Morgan and Manchester City’s Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle.

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CHELSEA star Sam Kerr has brutally shutdown an Arsenal fan claiming she is “jealous” of the Gunners and that she should have joined them over the Blues.
The Australian strike sensation, 27, coolly hit back at the North London supporter, given that Chelsea pipped Arsenal for the title last term.

Sam Kerr has savagely hit back at an Arsenal claiming she is “jealous” of the club Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Kerr wrote: “Nah all good mate” with a cheeky thumbs up to a fan saying she should have joined Arsenal instead of Chelsea on Instagram

Kerr brutally shutdown the Gunners supporter within seconds

The Chelsea star has been in scintillating form this term, already hitting three goals in just four WSL games.
And according to a recent exchange on the Instagram of her Australia teammate, Caitlin Foord, she takes no prisoners off the pitch either.
Gunners forward Foord, who arrived in North London in January, took to social media to post a snap of Arsenal’s collab with Adidas and Pharell Williams on the launch of a new kit.

The shirt is in homage to Arsenal’s famous bruised banana away shirt, worn for two years between 1991-93 by the likes of Ian Wright.

Kerr commented on the snap, saying: “Old school, new school”, to which a Gunners fan replied: “Don’t get jealous, should have come to Arsenal mate.”
But the Blues striker savagely KO’d the fan in just seconds, saying: “Nah all good mate” with a cheeky thumbs up emoji.
Kerr arrived in West London as part of a high-profile switch from Chicago Red Stars, in November last year.
The Perth-born ace’s two-year deal in West London is said to be worth nearly £1million – making her one of the highest earners in the women’s game.  

It’s no surprise that she has no regrets in regard to her transfer, given that the Blues went on to win the league in her first season at the club.
The high-flying West Londoners also equalled their longest ever unbeaten run of 25 top-flight games in a 3-1 blast of Manchester City in the league last time out – with Kerr finding the net.
Emma Hayes’ side also put City to the sword in the Community Shield at Wembley ahead of this term.
Kerr came under fire that day for failing to convert chances, and former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis described the striker’s performance as “painfully bad”.
The Aussie ace revealed in an exclusive interview with SunSport that she quit “hostile” social media during that time.

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FORMER Arsenal ace Mihoko Ishida has two loves – rock music and football.
In an interview with The Athletic, the 38-year-old has shed light on when she left the Gunners during the 2005-06 season to pursue her dreams of becoming a rock star in Japan.

Rock ‘n’ roll footballer Mihoko Ishida behind the mic at a gig in 2011Credit: Getty Images – Getty

Ishida with her old Arsenal teammates, including Alex Scott (bottom left) and Ellen White (second from right, middle row) after a gig in 2011Credit: Getty Images – Getty

The former player was attending Musashigaoka College, just north of Tokyo, when she visited England to play against Arsenal, as part of a partnership with the club.

The North Londoners were so impressed with her during the game that they snapped her up with an offer straight after the final whistle.
Ishida dropped everything and moved to England to live with a host family, despite not speaking a word of the language.

The Japanese star was like a fish out of water, but quickly mastered the language and became close pals with her teammates during Arsenal’s title and FA Cup winning season.
She was rubbing shoulders with the likes of North London legend, Alex Scott, as well as the current Wales boss, Jayne Ludlow.
Ishida revealed to The Athletic: “After Arsenal won the game, people would just go into a pub and they sang and drank.
“It’s kind of different in Japan. People get excited about their favourite teams winning, but they may not go crazy.

“They don’t sing loudly. In England, it was so normal to do that stuff. Music was everywhere. The culture kind of made me more into music.”
Ishida had always been torn between lacing up her boots or picking up the mic.

Ishida is no ordinary pop-star, having played for Arsenal before getting behind the micCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Arsenal aces Yvonne Tracy, Ciara Grant and Emma Byrne having a chin-wag with Ishida after her gig in Tokyo, 2011Credit: Getty Images – Getty

But her Gunners teammates and English tutor sounded the drum and taught her it was ok to juggle both.
She held a small concert with a pal while in London and before the season ended she returned to Japan to kickstart her career under the stage lights.
Ishida made her name singing at radio stations, before landing several small record deals.
The first CD she rented at school was by rock legends Bon Jovi and she enjoyed a brief stint in a high-school band when she was 17.
The Japanese singer is now a full-time football coach, leaving little time to get behind the mic.
But she will always treasure the time she reunited with her old Arsenal teammates and performed for them when they visited Japan.
The squad embarked on an 11-day tour of the country at the end of 2011 to raise funds for the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami relief effort.
Ishida even ended up inviting, Wales icon Jayne Ludlow, up on stage for a duet.
Former Gunners star and current West Ham captain, Gilly Flaherty, was at the gig.
She said: “It was interesting! It was in a downstairs basement bit of this club in the city.
“Mihoko was at Arsenal a while ago. She sang some songs, they laid on food for us and there was a free bar.
“Luds got up there and was singing. It was lovely to go there. It was like a mini-concert. I thought the music was decent.
“She sang some old songs with Luds which we all knew and then she sang some of her own songs.
“She is massive out there and it was really nice of her to have her own private gig with us.”

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England Women have had to AXE their away fixture against Germany on Tuesday, due to a positive Covid-19 test from a member of the Lionesses’ backroom staff. 
The squad pulled out of the match amid concerns for the safety and welfare of the players and staff.

England women have had to pull out of their friendly with Germany due to a positive Covid-19 test from a member of the backroom staffCredit: PA:Press Association

The current coronavirus protocol by the German government requires that any individual who tests positive whilst in the country must self-isolate for 14 days.  
The FA ultimately did not want to risk that this may happen to a player or member of the England staff. 
England boss Phil Neville said: “While we all wanted to play Tuesday’s game, this was absolutely the right course of action.
“I thank Germany’s staff for their understanding and our FA colleagues for their support.

“I know the fans were hoping to see us play again but I am sure they will understand the decision.
“We have still had a good week of training and are looking forward to getting together next month before our match against Norway in Sheffield.”
The remainder of England Women’s October camp at St. George’s Park has been cancelled and the players are set to return to their clubs today.
The FA’s chief executive Mark Bullingham added: “This has been a difficult but necessary decision. 

“Nothing is more important than the safety, health and wellbeing of the players and colleagues under our care. 
“We are very grateful to the DFB for their cooperation and understanding and look forward to the possibility of a future fixture in healthier and safer times.”

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