Lilywhite Woman

Tag: Beth England

  • Spurs Men Need to Find Their Beth England

    Spurs Men Need to Find Their Beth England

    Bethany England joined Tottenham Hotspur Women from Chelsea on 3rd January, 2023 for a then tranfer record fee of £250,000. At that point, her new club were perilously close to the drop. She scored on debut against Aston Villa 11 days later, but couldn’t stop the rot, as the team went on to suffer a fifth successive defeat. 

    Things did eventually turn a corner. England scored 12 goals in 12 appearances, saving her new side from relegation. That includes the goal against Leicester City that mathematically confirmed safety. England’s off-field presence was just as important as her goals on the pitch. 

    After a derby day disaster, the men are in a similar position to where the women were when England joined. They are looking over the precipice. Just four points separate them from the relegation zone. Who is going to be the England-esque hero for new boss Igor Tudor? It’s hard to see. 

    When I interviewed England for The Daily Star, she acknowledged her status in the Women’s side. “I’m the captain, and I’m, I guess, the face of it, at the forefront of it,” she said. As for the men? No Kane. No Son.  Spurs have no superstar.

    People will likely point to World Cup-winning skipper Christian Romero. That might be right, when he is actually on the pitch. Missing seven league games due to suspension is letting everyone down. There did not seem to be evidence of him at the team dinner Tudor put together last week either.

    Spurs Men Have no Superstar

    The manager was new yesterday. The crowd was up, ready to back him and the team. None of it made a difference. This injury ravaged-side have no x-factor. Maybe it would have been Maddison. Or Kuluveski. It might yet be Xavi Simons, who is slowly growing into the Premier League. But at the moment there is nothing.

    I don’t think a second-half collapse against Arsenal, as painful as is it was, will be what decides whether or not Spurs go down. Even though everyone was desperate to disrupt the Gunner’s title charge, the game was something of a free hit. Any point would have been a bonus, mathematically and psychologically. However, there are no more of those. And it is hard to see who is going to step up and drag Tottenham to safety.

    There is no Bethany England in that group. And it shows.

  • Beth England Interview: On Leading and the Growth of Women’s Football

    Beth England Interview: On Leading and the Growth of Women’s Football

    Bethany England will take on her former side, Chelsea, this weekend, A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed her for the Daily Star, as she supported the Tottenham Hotspur foundation. She opened up about how cancer has affected her family, as well as why she cares about doing LGBT advocacy.

    Speaking ahead of the win over West Ham, England reflected on the season so far. “We’ve obviously started the season really well in the first half. Probably one of our best campaigns that we’ve had to date,” she said. “I think we’ve probably passed the points that we got in total for last season. Keeping more clean sheets now, being tougher to be playing more exciting football, more football that the fans want to come and watch.”

    She’s lived through the growth of the women’s game, telling me: “I’ve loved football ever since I was a little girl. Always played. But I never thought it could be a fully fledged career. For me, I think it got really serious when I went to Chelsea.” Previously, she was semi-pro at Doncaster Belles.

    England is thrilled at the growth of women’s football and is aware of the advantages the current generation has. “I do think things are more readily available for them than what they were when I was younger.”

    Bethany England, Leading From the Front

    The Spurs skipper also commented on the racist abuse Jess Naz was subjected to earlier in the season. “We did the T-shirt pledge, because we was like, there’s more that can be done than just taking a knee, and I think it does kind of lose its meaning, you want to give more meaning towards that where serious women say, that it should not and will not be tolerated in and around the sport.”

    It shows how England leads from the front, both on and off the pitch. Also ahead of the West Ham game, I asked manager Martin Ho about her importance. He said his striker is “really important in terms of her leadership qualities and her impact on the team, her impressions on the team. She’s been remarkable in terms of how she brings the group together.”

    He added that “the initiatives in the programme, she goes to speak volumes about Beth as an individual. And we need more players to step up in those moments to bridge those moments of leadership and management around our team.” Clare Hunt was with England on this visit.

    Bethany England scored the first WSL goal I ever saw in person. A screamer against Spurs at Stamford Bridge. I started describing the goal and she immediately started apologising, instantly recognising which one I meant.

    Perhaps she can score another tomorrow to make up for it!