Arsenal's reshuffle, Chelsea are back with a vengeance, and we hear about the ultimate minnow in this year's FA Cup!

0:29Welcome to Upfront, I'm Chloe Morgan. Reno. Finally, we look ahead to the masses of FA Cup games coming up this week and speak to York City midfielder Niamh Doody about their upcoming fixture with fellow fourth tier side Chatham Town.

0:45Rach, welcome back to the studio. It's nice to be back, isn't it? How does it feel coming back from your snow palace? Honestly, a bit shit. Yeah, the weather outside is frightful. Yeah, nice. And I'd rather be in a cabin in the snow, but here we are with you. At least you're making it brighter i was gonna say like your third wheel trusty third wheel is back in the booth again like yeah the enthusiasm is palpable um how are we doing on the old new year's resolutions have we made any progress on any of them what were your personal ones and where are we at two weeks into jan you told me about three minutes ago you're going to ask me this question and i have yet to come up with any i think maybe a bit more make a bit more time for like personal care you know yeah up for me all right you know read a book every now and then maybe you know do a facial you know those kind of vibes once or twice in the year um so yeah i think i'm gonna try and do a bit more of that because by the end of the year i feel i was haggard man so we all were that's gonna be maybe one of them what about you i aged quite quickly last season um uh i've been trying to get on like a bit more of a fitness hype um i'm not gonna high rocks i'm not that person uh it's just never gonna be me that's a lot it's a lot of stuff i i don't have time yeah stuff um and also like i I just don't fancy like being in a metal container, like sweating with 3 ,000 other people and having my photograph taken.

2:01No. It's just better ways. Yeah. And then also I'm bringing lunches to work now that I make at home and stop spending an absolute fortune on market lunches, which I actually do love. You might be able to afford a house now. Oh, Christ. Because isn't that like all you have to do is just stop like buying coffees and avocado. Yeah, matcha teas and avocado on toast. And you can buy a house then in 602 years. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I'll be on my fourth property by December. And that's the plan for me going forward. What fitness, by the way? Is there anything in particular? I'm back to Gym Box. Big plug for Gym Box there, if you're listening in.

2:35Yeah, back to the routine, doing like little like CrossFit classes. And Bike and Beats is the one that I'm really enjoying. Love that. Spinning sessions at the moment. Very nice. Although some of the spinning sessions are quite intense. Like you get into like the, and they've got like lights. And then you come off the saddle, don't you? And you start like, oh yeah. Yeah, it's intense. It's a lot. And then like the instructor, the bikes have like little lights at the front. And so the instructor can see whether you're operating in the right zone or not. I don't like that. Which is, it cools you out a little bit.

2:59No, I don't like that. And there was one that I went to over Christmas, and it was just playing Christmas beats, and I thought it was going to be like Mariah Carey and that kind of thing. And it was like, Santa's a DJ, Santa's a DJ, Santa's a DJ. It was quite intense. Fucking hell. Well done, you've put me off trying that. Anyway, let's get stuck into the moments of the weekend then. What are you going for? I think I'm just going to give it to Cigna Gopset's debut. Lovely. She played about 60 minutes for Tottenham. looked like she'd been there years and Martin Ho told me afterwards that that was only her at kind of 30 to 40 % so that's quite frightening but there were some lovely little flashes of skill you know, there was a moment where she kind of received the ball with her back to goal along the sideline player behind her not back to goal, back to the goal she was shooting in player behind her and she just let the ball roll past her and went around the sideline and just like around the player and you know one of those where everyone in the crowd goes whoa like that I'm like, you're doing that in your first game?

3:49I'm very excited to see as she gets on once she finds her feet so that's my general moment yeah what about you I love that from you um you in a box I was in a box I was back to a box this weekend um yes Addy put me up it was absolutely lovely I felt right at home again they had um lovely Addy embroidered blankets there was some nice like buffet brunchy bits as well I had a couple of non-alcoholic beers because I'm dry janning um yeah it really was quite delightful it just it was just the perfect way to start 2026 and I bet that wasn't even your moment of the week was it it actually wasn't that was just that was just one of many um no this one's a really heartfelt one um i was going to go for the arsenal game uh obviously they were out uh they were without a midfielder carrick crooney cross uh after she returned to australia this week to be with her mum jess who was diagnosed with incurable cancer there was a gorgeous moment on the 32nd minute obviously she wears number 32 um and the players warming up in the number 32 shirt and there was like lovely placards being held up and everyone did a massive clap for for a minute just to recognize um that that moment and kind of send support to uh to Kyra and obviously what is is a very difficult um time so I thought it was really well managed I thought it was really well supported and um yeah from all of us here up front as well sending lots and lots of love to to Kyra and the rest of the family so absolutely yeah that was my that was my moment um okay talking of which obviously I was at the Emirates I was in one of the best seats in the house watching what i thought was going to be gosh one of the most tastiest dramatic kind of built for that wasn't it yeah there was a lot of hype around it you know karen carney's doing this big promo welcome back to the you know 2026 you know i did some dancing before but now i'm back to football and you should all be back to football too so it kind of felt like a real right moment are we gonna see some moves on the the pitch are we no it was like barely a fucking two-step that's what we ended up with.

5:38It was a... No beat, no rhythm. No one knew it seemed to know. No goals. No goals, Chloe. I was pitch side with my camera waiting. I was like, god damn. I was expecting a lot more from this. Obviously, it kind of felt like it was Arsenal's game that they lost. That is the kind of overwhelming narrative from this. There were so many chances. You know, in the first half, you've got Rolfo, kind of the header from the edge of the six-yard box, being tipped over the bar by Borg. Oh my god. Point blank. I mean, he had zero time to react to this thing. And it was coming at her at pace and she just managed to get fingertips on it.

6:09The athleticism that she showed, it was like, it was salmon-like, this leap. In those moments as a goalkeeper, is it one of those who are just like, and then like you've no idea what you've just done and suddenly you react like a cat and you're like, holy shit, that was amazing. And then everyone's like slapping your hand. You're like, well, it is what it is. Yeah, this is what I do. We do this in training all the time, so I'm well prepared for these moments. But it felt like from the first 10 or 15 minutes, Man United were coming. Started quite well? Quite, they were quite front-footed. Absolutely.

6:34They created the first chances and then it kind of felt like Man United took their foot off the gas like you said, Rachel, before we started kind of had this like moment of this, you know, spurred into action and then all of a sudden kind of dropped off and going, ooh, that, that, I'm not... Got nosebleeds too high up the pitch. Yeah, I'm not too sure what I'm doing up here. Let's just, let's just, let's back off a little bit. Actually, on what you're saying there, we were talking about this and I just feel like maybe we could just drop that chat in here now because you and I were like, what is it?

7:01I don't know. What is it that's missing for Arsenal? I don't know. So let's talk through some of the chances that Arsenal actually had. So Arsenal could have scored through Kim Lissle with a chance from close range after the cutback from Katie McCabe. They then had another really good chance with Steph Cattley being free at the back post. There was a couple more chances as well that I kind of picked up on. Didn't Caldente like sky it? Caldente. There was a Steph Cattley chance that Alessia Russo following up from the edge of the box. And then you had Beth Mead to Blaxdinius as well, trying to do that cheeky little back heel to get it straight past PJT, but obviously straight at her.

7:34And then Plova also kind of like the 1v1 kind of near post. And then it looked like PGT got a good hand to it. But it is just the abundance of chances, the abundance of opportunities that are being created. They're being creative in themselves. Confidence is there. They're getting in the right areas. And then no goal. What is it? You tell me. I don't know. We've been asking each other this question like since last season, since before last season. What is it? I if I was Renee I'd just be really frustrated because it feels like she's doing all the right things you know Kelly Smith's on board and we'll talk a little bit about like how they're restructuring the team as well that's going to be a big thing to kind of take them forward but from a tactical perspective everything is there like Man United looked quite scared by this game you've got all the backing of all the Emirates fans really good games it felt like wave after wave at some points especially after Jade Riviere was sent off it was just like backs to the wall a little bit and you know I see Arsenal fans understandably frustrated and sometimes it's like it's this player's fault it's because we're shit we played crap the game was this you're right they did they played well they were creating they were you know getting opportunities they were 60 friggin 3 touches or something in the Man United box compared to I think 8 for United like in the right areas getting in the right areas players in the right positions I don't know if confidence is there because I feel like if they were confident they would be scoring more goals and listen, people are going to rightly point out Manchester United defended very well.

9:04Dominique Janssen, Mée Letizier, superb. Janssen especially for me, I just thought she was everywhere. She managed Russo very well in terms of what Russo likes to do, that kind of touch around a defender. She was there every time. Blaxtenius again is very good with close ball control and getting from back to goal to front to goal very quickly, Janssen was there with the blocks. So Man United did play very well, but you listed off a number of chances that Arsenal missed as opposed to it necessarily being good defending. They created enough to be there and I'm just, I don't know. Chloe. So, René was obviously asked about this because it is framed as a game where two points were essentially dropped by Arsenal and it was such a good game to kind of get a foothold and also to put some space and distance between them and the other two teams in the league.

9:54Spurs and United, yeah. Literally that, a point, a point between them. Spurs are on the same points now. Well, that's the thing. Like, this could have been a game. I know it's, you know, two points clear, but two points matters in terms of the mentality that you go into games with. Like, they've got to make that up then. And she said, well, I think the game craft was really good and how we dealt with different moments in the game, but the ball has to go in the net and that didn't happen today. I can't see any kind of more rationale behind Arsenal doing well on the pitch, but just not creating enough.

10:23Do you think it's becoming a thing? Do you think it's become a mental, like a bogeyman? Excuse me, a bogeyman. I sounded like the bogeyman there, Jesus. Or like a mental thing, a mental block that the longer the game goes on and they don't score, the more they stress about not scoring. I don't know. I'm looking for reasons. And again, I'm sure Arsenal fans will be telling us in the comments, it's this, that and the other. But like, I legit, like, as you say, game plan seems to work in terms of, and it's the same thing. It's struggling to break down teams. But again, they did get in. They did get in to score and then not being able to actually put it on target or put it in the back of the net.

10:59So whether it's just become that mental thing. But you've also got creativity from Smith, Caldente, Lissle, Mornham, Russo, Kelly, the rest of the gang. Everyone is pushing forward. You have enough firepower there. Beth Mead said after the match, and that was a really good point, she said, when you're in the box with the ball, you need to be the calmest player on the pitch. And she said she felt that people were too chaotic in those moments. So that, for me, lends itself to that kind of mentality side of things, where it's that panic of like, oh God, it's up to me, it's down to me to get this goal and I have to get this goal so we can get in front and we can start winning this game and then you miss it and then the next one becomes harder because you missed it.

11:37And it's just, I do wonder, and I've spoken about this over a number of seasons, is whether the mentality side of thing is Arsenal's biggest weakness. Well, I mean, this is just one game. It is. At the start of 2026. But it's a pattern. Let's be hopeful that actually they start to turn their fortunes around. But what I did find a little bit frustrating is that you've got a situation in which you actually go down to, you know, 10 people in Man United's side with Jade Riviere picking up the first booking for a very badly timed lunch on Olivia Smith in the first half. And then literally that on a second, you think you'd be a little bit cautious, but then in the second half on 65th minute, one-on-one with Caitlin Ford.

12:13And then she sent off another yellow card, a clear red. You know, I don't think there was too much controversy in that decision. But it didn't then feel like Arsenal were even going to capitalise on that. But it was wave after wave. like Man United were very much backs against the wall and they are a very well drilled, organised unit. You know, everyone knows their roles. They're very good positionally in that situation and they stepped up in that moment as opposed to Arsenal stepping up in that moment. But at the same time, you have to give it to Arsenal that they were still pushing and foot to the floor, but the same problems that they had before United went down were still there and that they just cannot put the ball on target or in the back of the net.

12:53and you know Fallon Tullis Joyce did make a number of key saves as well so shout out to her for that but arguably a lot of the issues I think Arsenal are facing are the ones where they're getting off target like skying a ball listen if we were playing GAA football or rugby loads of points on the board for Arsenal absolutely would have won that but we're not ball needs to go in between all of those little white sticky things on the pitch and that seems to be the biggest issue well I would love to invite our listeners to let us know what their tactical analysis is on why Arsenal are creating chances but just not putting the ball in the back of the net.

13:24Let us know. Please don't put it all on one player because it's not one player. It's a collective issue that Arsenal are facing. Agreed. And a collective bunch of players that are missing opportunities. So I don't want to hear people going, it's X player and they're the reason. Good sets and parameters. No, I just, it's annoying. You see it like, and it's very one dimensional. It's whoever your favourite is, is the reason you're great. And whoever you don't like is the reason you're shit. And it's not a one single player thing. I think collectively Arsenal are struggling and you've got a number of players who maybe aren't at peak.

13:53And that's hard as a team. And you've seen it in a number of teams where you might have one or two players who might be slightly out of form. And that's okay because you've got players around you who can get in there and pick you up and take the opportunities. But when collectively you're all just slightly not at the top of your game, it can really hurt you. So I do think it's a collective issue. Well, I do want to discuss maybe one factor why Arsenal weren't as successful as they possibly could have been. It's not the reason, but it's a factor. One of them, But Fallon and Hollis-Joy's put in another epic performance.

14:23Some really great saves, just being in the right position at the right time. Just like the fundamentals are always there with Fallon. And there was some really lovely little moments that she had. But there was a little bit of controversy around some of her behaviour that's drawn a lot of attention. And I'd love to get stuck into this from a goalkeeping perspective. So in the first half, she went down requesting medical attention. And then she did it again after the Riviera red card. She had, I think it's called momentumitis. Yeah, nice one. I love that from you. She was then booked for time wasting, which got big cheers, obviously, around the Emirates.

14:53Mark Skinner then said... He was really fair, actually. Do you know what? I actually really rate his response. Go ahead. Yeah, so he said Tullis-Joyce had something and the doctors went on to see it, but also said that he could understand the cynical side. I really rate that, like, respect that response rather than trying to pretend like there wasn't anything cynical about it. The thing is, we discussed this before the pod and we were kind of saying, like, there's rules and regulations in place. What Fallon Tullis-Joyce is doing is sits with inside those rules and regulations. Everyone does it.

15:20Every single team in the WSL does it. It was something that I did as a goalkeeper and was coached to do by the coaching staff. You know, moments where there are wave after wave of attack and you want to, you know, settle, you want things to... Disrupt it. Yeah, you want the teams to kind of have a little bit of a moment or you need the team to go over to the side to kind of impart some kind of information, whether that's a, you know, a change in formation or whether that's a different style or someone's going to be coming on or the manager's seen something that the team just aren't problem solving themselves.

15:44Like, it is a tactic to do that. like it is going to be used and United and it's good game management from a goalkeeper when you're allowed to do that I know it's not it's at the detriment of the fan experience because obviously for fans they want the game to be moving and you know the WSL are you know trying to make moves in terms of like just cutting down on time wasting and like giving yellow cards to keepers who you know keep the ball for too long but that's not consistent it's not consistent there was a ref I've seen I think he's who disappeared now where he used to count down the goalkeepers he would stand there going five four three so that's another irritation is if you're going to implement that rule be consistent about it and it's not consistently you know implemented across the league i agree um but i mean in terms of what she done i from a tactical if you if you want to get those wins if you want to find those one percent those fine margins that allow your team to you know recoup themselves you know recover get get that information on board whatever it is even take on some like i don't know little gels or whatever if the team lagging like you are you're giving that little nods that little like you know like little nod You're not like really Obviously turning around To your goalkeeper Like May Letizia Going Go down Go down It's like Mate you need to come up With like a secret symbol Where you're just like Fallon how's your hamstring there Or something Like this With a must No I was literally Scratching my face Like a bomb villain Scratching my face And literally going Like go down And you'd think you'd come up With something Little kind of A wink or something But no it was the most And it was funny Because where the camera was It was for a throw in And you could literally See May it turn around frantically waving her hand at five.

17:12I quite like the blatantness of it. When I was with Spurs, I used to have Juan Amoroso from the sideline just going, Chloe! Chloe! I was like, yeah, now. Is that now? Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, all right. Yeah. And then after a while, I do think you learn as a goalkeeper when to do that by yourself. But like if someone needs to give you a cheeky nudge on it, like all for it. Yeah, cheeky nudge, sure not entirely blatant. I think like the issue, and people get very defensive when it's talked about after your team does it. And it's not about your team. It's about the fact that this thing has come up, which is why we're talking about it.

17:44And just to clarify as well, both managers were asked directly about it post-match. So it wasn't something that was brought up by Renee or by Mark themselves as an excuse or a reason. It was literally directly asked by Sky. And that's where this kind of narrative and story has now come from because it was spoken about. And the reason we're talking about it is because it happened. Like when controversial decisions happen, we talk about VAR. We don't just randomly talk about it. We actually spoke about it pre-Christmas after the Brighton-Chelsea game. And I'd said to you how one of the Sky broadcast managers, we were chatting about a pitch side.

18:16And her idea, and this has been my favorite one yet in terms of how to deal with goalkeeper time wasting like that, is that when a goalkeeper goes down, players have to congregate in the middle of the pitch. They can't go to the side of the pitch. And I think, you know, people are like, maybe you take a player off. Maybe the goalkeeper has to go off. Maybe you nominate someone for 30 seconds. I actually think that stopping teams from going to the sideline is the best way to deal with that because then you don't get the benefit of going down and time-wasting if the rule was to be implemented to stop it.

18:42Because it doesn't stop the loss of momentum, though, for the attacking team. Sure, but you don't get the tactics, which is exactly why Man United did it, was because they'd gone down to 10 and they needed to find out more information and get more information from the sideline. At some point in the future, especially with this Apple partnership, I can definitely see everyone wearing an in-ear piece and the manager can just tell you exactly what you're doing in real life, in-game time. If you're not allowed to wear earrings, you're not allowed to wear headphones. Look, who's going to know? Who checks?

19:08Let's quickly give a bit of a shout out to Leah Williamson. Her first league start of the season. And she was really key, absolutely instrumental in Arsenal's build up from the back. So good to see her back in action. And yeah, having a blind of a game in front of a crowd that love her and everyone. Yeah, it was good vibes. Good vibes, apart from obviously the back of goals. on the kind of on the theme of good vibes what I absolutely love is the fact that Renee Sluggers has been handed a new three and a half year contract last week the club are apparently very steadfast in their belief in Sluggers and her ability to lead them to a WSL title I love it because how many times do we get on this podcast and we talk about the manager Mary go around she had 18 months originally which is quite short the surprise that we felt about Jocelyn and other managers who are kind of doing their absolute best, sometimes with their hands tied behind their backs in a financial or the transfers they're able to make or the infrastructure behind the scenes.

20:03But this is a club that have invested in a manager at a time when things aren't, they're doing well, but like not anywhere near the expectation of where they should be doing, given the talent they have and given how Arsenal have kind of been building and the Champions League win. And we were expecting a lot more from them this season. So they're kind of underperforming, but also investing in a manager on a long-term basis and hearing her vision for the club and how she wants to take it forward. So I think this is what the fans want to see more of. And also, the fans are behind Rene. And you can see, despite...

20:32Some aren't. I'd say the majority are. I think there's a lot of, you know, when things aren't going to plan, I think there's always going to be questions asked about the manager. But I think everyone's, it's not like the kind of, the way people felt about Jonas Ardeval. They weren't kind of saying, you know, it's a toxic environment. He's not getting the best from the players. like they look visibly upset like there feels like there's a good vibe in Arsenal despite what's happening on the pitch and it feels like it's still promising so yeah I think I mean look there were reports of maybe not so much of that pre-Christmas but I do think in terms of getting out of the somewhat of a rut they're in in terms of the league in terms of say the FA Cup you know domestic trophies if you like and the desire to be back to that kind of level you need to be able to commit to a project and a plan and you know this isn't going to happen overnight.

21:18The evidence of issues are still there in terms of on the pitch and how to change that. So that's going to take some time to change. So you need a commitment to a manager and a project, especially if you're going to be bringing people in. And, you know, if you're trying to bring players in, you're like, well, the manager might be out the door in the summer. We don't really know. Like you need that level of stability. It has to start somewhere. And the demand as well. Fans want things to change quickly. They want to see trophies quickly. And, you know, that's not going to be the case in clubs when you're kind of bringing players, like things need to change.

21:49That kind of change and implementation is going to take a little while. So this is an important kind of step, if you like, to solidify who's at the top and when you can start building and projecting and thinking beyond the summer or beyond next season, I think is really important. And, you know, the next step will be recruitment, especially in the summer and stuff like that. And it gives Renee a chance to think longer term as well. 100%. And I think you look at like the success that Chelsea are having now and have done for the past, what, five or six, seven years. That wasn't always the case. Like Emma Hayes did have bad spells, but they trusted in her.

22:22And I think it's the longevity of a manager who's able to build those relationships, who can understand her players on a physical and emotional and emotionally intelligent level, psychologically understand like what the team will benefit from. And I think we'll get a real understanding of like the back room and the personalities and like that takes time as well as at the strategic standpoint. So I think it's that. I think that's what I'd really like to see is like a female manager who is trusted to deliver something and also understand and appreciate that building that kind of level of consistent success is going to take at least a few years to do that so yeah really lovely to hear some some good news regarding the technical and services manager Jodie Taylor who was obviously a former player at the club she's moved into a technical director role to bridge the gap between the analysis technical and recruitment teams head of football Claire Wheatley has stepped away from this specific responsibility it was definitely something that obviously Idaville spoke about previously um about the sort of lack of a sporting director role and sort of describing how it kind of felt like a bit of a lonely space in terms of like one person trying to do a lot of these different and there were reports that it was you know not always easy to get in touch and contact uh weekly so I think having that person in place daily that you know conduit between the team and um the top and I think it's going to be really important because you've got someone there that you can talk to consistently can see the issues can see what needs changing and it's just like supporting i guess um the wider team and you know it's interesting to see her in that role and some people have questioned questioned it like well what's her you know how has she got qualifications for this and tim stillman very helpfully uh tweeted about it he said degree in sports science and psychology masters in sports directorship three years as technical service director at arsenal uefa coaching a license and played in sweden Australia, USA, France, Canada and England he said proof will be in the pudding as to whether it's the right appointment but in terms of qualifications Not bad CV.

24:13It's not bad So look again another important step in what I would like to think is Arsenal recognising some of the issues they have and making moves to address them and change things and you know realise that things do need to change if they want to get back to winning regular domestic trophies. Obviously the Champions League was huge for them, massive but you can't dine out in that for that long and people want to be winning more trophies. So it looks like the wheels are turning behind the scenes. Definitely. And I also love the fact that it's a former player. I think, I mean, obviously they've got Kelly Smith there as well.

24:45He's been kind of working on the attacking front. Yeah. And I do think that you've got a player who's invested in Arsenal, has shown so much kind of progress with Arsenal, kind of knows how the lives, eats, breathes Arsenal, essentially. And I think having an understanding about sort of like that player journey, like what the mentality is, I think is always a benefit. So, yeah, I think big things to come for Arsenal. I think this could be the start of like a bit of a refresh, bit of a reset and kind of a long... But it takes time. Yeah, allowing Rene to kind of plan for, you know, what the next year looks like and also what the next three years looks like.

25:14So yeah, watch this space. Coming up after this, a tough introduction to English football for Rita Guarino.

25:36oh Rach tough times for West Ham this weekend Chelsea thrashed them at home 5-0 in Rita Garino's first game in charge wasn't the kind of start that West Ham wanted but I think they were probably braced for it yeah I think this would arguably be a free hit for the team and for Rita Garino coming in you know absolute what she'll take from that is she'll go this is going to give me a really good idea of where exactly we are and what needs changing. And this is, you know, almost the best way to see all of the issues and the problems is in a really glaringly obvious way. And, you know, she's not going to be able to make huge changes in her first game.

26:18And I don't think you can expect that from her. I think what's frustrating about this was it just felt like West Ham had gone backwards a little bit, just in terms of the nature of the defeat will be disappointing. You know, a lot of it came from errors. you know Chelsea aren't the kind of team you can make such glaring errors from because they will pounce and when Chelsea smell blood and when Chelsea score early my god you're in for a really rough day and I just think some of those individual errors will be really frustrating for them and you know they were lacking confidence they were very much sitting back weren't hugely offering too much and there was just moments of you know there's a really good example Sophie was telling me she was there covering the game that Martinez picked up the ball at the top of Chelsea's box with her back to goal and she passed it back out rather than turning and trying to make something of it and the pass out was intercepted by Chelsea and it led to Chelsea scoring yeah and it's just that level of confidence of you know let's try and get we're high up the pitch does not gonna happen very often let's try and be efficient about it and it's almost that I've talked about it before where where West Ham can kind of when they're in difficult times they just revert back to panic stations football where it's just like get the ball away from me what you know as opposed to actually where can i pass it well yeah let's let's look up and see what options i have and i think that will be frustrating for guarino because it maybe doesn't give the best example of how west ham play when they play well if you know what i mean so and it did kind of feel like that first goal was a bit of a a sign of what's to come i mean scoring in the 46 seconds i think it took Chelsea to score and they didn't they didn't even score it was West Ham who scored if you haven't seen it it's definitely kind of worth a watch in a wince um yeah so obviously there's a the balls turn into the back of the net there's a driven ball across the uh the six yard um like and then you kind of got being turned into the back of it by by Endo and obviously you can see how upset she is by this obviously like really catastrophic thing that you can that's happened but I think what's disappointing is then that you can either go one or two ways you can then be like Like, OK, well, fucking hell, it's 46 minutes, 46 seconds.

28:25They've already conceded. And, you know, we're just going to have to write this one off and just, like, see it out. Or you can find a bit of inner resilience. You can find a bit of inner strength. And you can say, OK, well, like, it stops here. Like, you wipe the slate cleat and you go again. But we just didn't see that from West Ham. And I think there was a couple of, like you said, really obvious errors. So after the on goal, then you've got Chelsea's second goal, which was another disaster at the back, with Semek sort of hesitating. Lauren James is absolutely going hell for leather, closing her down and then she kind of boots the ball away but it hits lauren james's boot and goes straight in the back of the goal and you can just see it's one of those like heart-stopping moments for a goalkeeper you're just like i'm gonna go home now why um p45 incoming um yeah obviously just just not wanting to be there and then by half time you're already four nil down um and then there was another example i think in the first half where you've got this misplaced ball in midfield uh Lauren James then gets it to to Canerid who drives forward the Carpenter cut back and then there's just but that all leads from misplaced passes or goalkeeper errors or defenders turning the ball into the back of their own net like these aren't these are like things that like in one game for all three of these scenarios to happen it's just like seriously unfortunate and nowhere near a kind of managerial error it's just one of those things that it's just a lack of confidence and a lack of kind of I don't know structure and stability is an issue for me I think when you think about you know a player on that team and you once again now a manager's being pulled out for Monday in the middle of the season you're like oh god okay we have to start again now and kind of learn a new way or new style of playing and it just feels like the players then lack that kind of confidence and belief in a project because essentially they're starting all over again now people were saying yeah well we were this bad we played Chelsea last time and blah blah blah last time they played Chelsea they were 3-0 down in about 15 minutes then they had a player sent off for in the 20 want to say the 23rd minute and play the rest of the game with 10 players and they lost 4-0 in the end that's arguably a better performance than when you're playing with 11 v 11 you know the last time they played Chelsea at home they were down 2-0 and they came back and drew 2-2 I was there only team one of the best matches of the WSL the only team to go to Kings Meadow I believe to go 2-0 down and then come back I've never seen so much heart and determination and passion and like belief how do you tap into that i mean that's difficult again when you've got a new manager in to have that because she's not been in the building long it's very hard to to galvanize people in that respect and to expect a new manager bounce i guess when you're playing against chelsea and is a lot to ask but again it's the the nature of the defeat she'll want to be see she'll want to see a much more cohesive unit when they go out and they're playing newcastle i think it is in the fa cup like They're going to need that belief and just kind of composure, I think, as well.

31:11And a little bit of time for her to bring her ideas in, I suppose. Definitely. I think added to that, obviously, you've got the issues on the pitch, but then you've kind of got this weird administrative issue as well. Estelle Cascarino was denied permission to enter the pitch because she had an earring on. It would have been her debut. And you've got pundits, Farrah Williams, saying it's a schoolgirl error. And it is. Can I just say, I agree. I thought this was a silly thing to happen. But the fact that we're getting articles written about it, I'm like, Jesus, wait till I completely over the top go on about something like this.

31:41I think, you know, Rita touched on it earlier and I had no idea. So, you know, every day is a school day. But A, I didn't know you couldn't just tape stuff up. I swear I've seen footballers with taped rings and all sorts all the time. The other thing is in the Italian League and Juventus and in the Champions League, she's worn that exact same earring and taped it up and it's been no problem. So either the rules are different or they're not implemented. So while it is a schoolgirl error, they should have known. I can also kind of understand going well this has never been a problem before why would it be a problem now I have an earring like that and you need like a special tool or to go to a piercing place to get it out the way that the ear the piercing is if you like so yeah really annoying but I'd also say it's not something that would have impacted the result it was half time and they were 4-0 down so while it's annoying that she didn't get important minutes I also didn't think it was like I think it just feeds into that calamitous nature of the game but it was just a bit over the top you know Arsenal have forgotten their socks City haven't had visas for players do you know what I mean that's Sockgate we dined on that for weeks but the articles like I saw some pundits saying I'm glad she didn't get on because it was a stupid mistake to make or whatever and I'm like calm the fuck down Jesus guys I just thought sorry I just thought it was a bit OTT and I'd understand if like they were 1-0 down you might think that could have really made an impact but it didn't it didn't calm down and then obviously you've got Sandy Baltimore later getting her second goal from the spot after the Asahi was after the Asahi the Asahi now that's what her name is to be fair she's kind of getting to that status if only she would be given the opportunity the Asahi was judged to have blocked a shot in the box with her hands it was can I go back to Baltimore's first goal though I mean she scores some absolute bangers doesn't she though bangers yeah and she's just so cute as well cute and fierce I know she comes at you with such such speed and the speed at which she can her ball control you know cutting back whipping a ball in top corners like just come trade markets je ne sais quoi oh la la va va voom oh mon dieu okay arrête arrête it was I in terms of this the penalty I think it was probably the right call I think the positioning of her hands it was clear that she tried to tuck them into her body but she probably put them behind her back so I think it was maybe on another day might not have been given oh but you're 4-0 down you're just like fuck it whatever I was gonna say it's not gonna impact much but let's talk a little bit about Chelsea because this is a very dominant start for their 2026.

34:04They bloody love the new year. They love a second half of the season. New year, new me. It's their absolute vibe. They're like, here we go. Well, they've now scored 14 goals in the last two games following the 9-1 demolition of Liverpool in the League Cup in their final game of 2025. We've obviously talked a little bit about Chelsea getting that first initial goal early in the game and then settling back in and creating more issues for themselves and more pressure than they really need to. this feels like a bit of a maybe a turning point in Chelsea's calendar in terms of them being more front footed they get that first goal and there's like a vivaciousness to like get into getting that second goal getting that third and like really getting that goal tally up as well yeah and I think what was important for them is you know to finish the year scoring nine you'd almost be like god damn it we found our shooting boots and now we have a break not a problem they obviously got new shooting boots for Christmas and they're back at it again so I think that's important mentally for them to be like alright we don't need to worry too much about the goals we're back we got it we're being efficient in front of the goal we've got players coming back LJ's back you know you're getting Sam Kerr back to fitness Ramirez hopefully will be seen in a couple of weeks months I don't know you know so that in terms of goals they can now shirk that kind of it was not I wouldn't say it was a massive issue but it was it was becoming a bit of a thing where they were creating and creating and you know the Everton game where they were hitting everywhere but the goal and Courtney Brosnan and Courtney Brosnan who by the way had a brilliant weekend this week Even though the last two nils, she made 11 saves, which is ridiculous.

35:31But no, I just think that's kind of a, that's off their back now. It's exactly how they want to start the year. They like pressure. And I know normally they're not chasing, but if I was Manchester City, the last team I'd want chasing me would be Chelsea. It's like that meme, isn't it? Pressure. Yeah. What pressure? That kind of vibe. So yeah, they love this. They love the run-in. But also like looking at the table now, so you've got Man City goals for 35. Chelsea goals for 24. the goal difference there is 24 Man City and 18 Chelsea. So like if you look at a situation in which like, you know, obviously there's six points clear between them and the top of the table, but it could sometimes come down to, it depends what's going to happen in Man City's fortunes, but it does sometimes come down to goal difference.

36:14And you want to be, you want to be narrowing that gap. But also when you look at Arsenal below Chelsea before this weekend, they had the same goal difference. Now they've put five between them and Arsenal. Nice. So it's just another kind of, you know, yes, their four points ahead as well. But just in terms of, you know, ups and downs and whatnot, it is valuable. We've seen it before, as you say, where a league has come down to goal difference. So very important to start banging them in for Chelsea. Absolutely. Well done, Chelsea. Lovely to see you back on form that you never lost. Can I give a quick shout out before we move on to our next bit?

36:44Oh, go on. Just the debutantes generally. I thought we've seen a few debuts this weekend. And while Leah Shuller didn't necessarily get a lot of service, understandably, she was being brought on in a kind of 4-4-1 situation. you know you can see already what she can bring Hannah Lundqvist slotted in very nicely very excited to see that Tamaelette Holmberg looked exciting on that right hand side you know god Ashley god love Ashley Neville maybe the worst possible debut for her perhaps she forgot who she was playing for when um she played Spurs I don't know um not the debut she would have wanted but in terms of the goal in terms of her performance I thought she played well Sarah Mailing looked exciting I know I'm leaving people out but I just think you know seeing some of the debutantes getting in straight away and finding their feet quite quickly was quite exciting.

37:29Yeah, I love that. Nice little shout out there, mate. Lovely. Coming up after this, we speak to York City's Niamh Doody about the FA Cup.

37:44It's FA Cup fourth round week and back in business, baby. Come on. There are four fourth tier sides still in the competition. We've got... Four tiers. That's a mouthful. Thank you. And I nailed it. London Bees, Division 1 Southeast. Swindon Town, Division 1 Southwest. Chatham Town, Division 1 Southeast. And York City, Division 1 North. Still in the competition. Rach, you're going to be travelling across the breadth of the country trying to cover it all. Literally. I'm going to do four games this weekend, weather depending. West Brom versus Everton. Let's see if I can actually get these right. Newcastle versus that accent needs work yeah I'm not good at that Newcastle Newcastle Lakeman West Ham then I'm going to do Sunderland London City Lionesses and then hopefully AFC Bournemouth versus Manchester City so that really is middle up down it's going to be a long old weekend you're going to be shattered yeah I'll crawl in next Tuesday you're going to wish you were back in that snow palace so two of those four tier sides York City and Chatham Town are in fact playing for a place in the fifth round I love when that happens don't you when you get like lower tier sides playing each other because then you're guaranteed that you're going to have another one in the next round.

38:54I love that. Who do you think it will be? Oh, God, I don't know. I have to say York because we're a Chathamton Neve. I was going to say, well, don't give too much away. We are now joined by York City midfielder Niamh Doody. Niamh, thank you so much for joining us. So last time out, you beat Altrincham to reach the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in your history. How did that feel? What was that moment like for you guys? Honestly, I think it was just completely surreal. I think all the girls have been taking it more as like stepping stones so when we did get to that point it was more like oh what's next if that makes sense but the crowd was it was a big crowd about 700 people there so having that reception was nice to be recognized i think everyone was really excited after especially i was gonna say especially when you're one of the magic of the cup stories that's quite nice isn't it to like it's crazy being like the lowest rank yeah yeah and to then be like wow we've done that we we're the magic team in this round that's so cool like I've still it's still not sunk into me like with that it's insane do you feel like it kind of builds your confidence kind of having that kind of um I don't know the expectation is there now to for you going into the next round but like do you feel like it's actually boosted like how you feel and how far you can go and your ambitions yeah I feel like it's helped us the cup runs helped us within the league like we were struggling a bit in the league but I feel like everyone's come together now like we believe in ourselves we know we can win games and we've got to the last 32 of the FA Cup like of course we can do in the league it's huge and how did how did you celebrate that moment did you go out can you tell us what happened I was ill actually so I came up about 60 minutes like coughing and spluttering so I had to drive back home but apparently all the girls had a bit of a boozy bus on the way back love that I miss a boozy bus honestly the manager gets the cans in like you normally stop at a Burger King on the way home like it's like a karaoke yeah um i stopped all that when i got too old but you know that's what i heard from the back of the bus that was going you still do that you just don't have the excuse as to why you've done it anyway moving swiftly on um in terms of uh you know chatham town next which on one hand you're like okay cool like we can we can do this we can create another magic moment is that how you feel or do you kind of as part of you like oh we've gotten like wsl team it could have been another magic moment like either way right there it's a big opportunity right part of me thought if we make it through we beat chatham town that's like this is our best chance to progress but if it's like god forbid like we didn't i'd maybe i've wanted a wsr team to just say but i played at the emirates or something like that but either way it's a massive opportunity for everyone but you know what just beat chatham town that could happen in the next round exactly that's what's gonna happen look at it have you prepared for i know when we used to play sort of like when I was with Spurs I mean we were we were in sort of like the Women's National League at that point in the championship but it was like years ago so it kind of felt it wasn't how it is now at all but we used to always employ like dark arts against like some of the bigger teams that would come down we'd get like we'd be playing at kind of like rag-ass Rovers United like the pitch would just be like boggy and disgusting and then we'd have Man City would turn up in their spanky new bus with their elite track suits on like is there any dark arts that you'll be employing to kind of put off like the other teams at all you've spoken about yeah i feel like we've got a few girls that have been around the game for quite a while so i feel like they're the older ones are sort of bringing it down to us younger ones about little like having him wasting a bit of time like just taking our time with it little cheeky fouls here and there definitely give them the coldest dressing i was gonna say i can't remember who i actually i do remember who it was but i'm not gonna say they turned the whacked the heat up in the dressing room during the summer like it was really hot outside and then when the players went in at halftime the team that they were playing actually came back out onto the pitch to do their halftime talk outside because the dressing room was so hot so there you go maybe something like that 100 % yeah let's talk a little bit about your journey as well because you joined the club back in August um can you tell us a bit about how life has been at York since you since you joined honestly it's been the best club I've ever been in like in terms of the girls honestly it's best everyone's so friendly it's lovely like because I've been at an academy, but it makes me sleep all my life.

43:02It's a lot like progressing to win football is completely different. And I was a bit nervous about it, but it's honestly, everyone's so nice. That's the main bit about it. I feel like our togetherness is what makes us so special. And what does like an average week of training look like for you guys? We don't train too much twice. We'll train on a Wednesday, do analysis and go out on the pitch. Thursday, pitch work and then on Sunday, game day. so we don't get too much time together so it's important when we actually go we do it well yeah yeah definitely and I think I mean you mentioned there the sort of um the academy setup that you're part of how have you found that transition into into senior football um I was at Durham City last year in the academy and I feel like that was all like swanky new boss like all of this sort of stuff and at York it's more like just get on with it like we don't have a lot of money at the club so this room's really helped us as well to just you've got to get on over it and sometimes win a bit of it in like a dirty way it's not oh you're not going to get a brand new kit and things every week but yeah definitely it feels like um I mean especially with the FA Cup like you you forget sometimes the impact of like what you know five ten grand means for clubs at every level um yeah even kind of covering transport or covering food or you know covering the big nights out for the big wins in the FA Cup that kind of thing um but yeah that's that's really lovely to hear um and in terms of your ambitions with the club do you see yourself sort of being there for quite a few years and sort of, you know, getting to be one of the senior players there.

44:25Do you see that direction of it? I want to try and progress as far as I can with my football. So I used to play at Sheffield United and I was in and out of the first team there, like championship level. And I'll try and get myself back to that. And I feel like with York, I can see a progression through that. I think the objective this season is to stay up and then go from there and just take it in our stride and see how we're doing. Yeah, brilliant. And of course, in fourth tier teams, obviously don't have the luxury of being full-time. What do you do outside of football? I'm at the university in third year at Durham.

44:58Oh, wow. So it's a bit of a travel to York, but it's worth it. Gosh, yeah, I was going to say, that's a mission. That's a mission. A trek, isn't it? About an hour and 20. Please tell me you're driving. Yeah. Okay, cool, cool, cool. I'm not walking. Just some extra fitness in there. Yeah. And what are you studying at Durham? Sport and science. Of course. Of course. it all correlates and if you weren't doing football then what would you be doing with your sports science degree like what do you how do you see that kind of sort of playing a part in your career journey I want to go into S &C and performance coaching so that's my hopefully doing masters next year at Leeds and then trying to get into the strength and conditioning world which I feel like I know quite a lot about and we need more of we need more of 100 % because for too long footballers women's football have been treated like small men and I just think like it makes such a difference having that more like proper strength and conditioning for the players it's going to make such a difference in like five ten years time having more women s and c coaches come like so crucial amazing i think i've seen such a step up in like the the research that's been undertaken i mean you've got nike and i know leads leads beckett doing the project acl um at the moment that's what i'm trying to go for next year leads beckett okay oh amazing i was gonna say i went to uni at leeds so i can definitely give you some recommendations for some top nights out if you wanted to know the class when was i there 2008 to 2011 so i think showing your age a few of the clubs might have changed by then but um when when you're doing your masters not if when you're doing your masters you should come back on you can uh tell us all about it we'd love to hear that definitely yeah well that's your future let's talk about like the immediate future of preparing for this massive game like what's the week look like and you know travel plans all of that kind of thing has to be factored in so we didn't have a game this weekend because it got we're supposed to play against leeds this weekend but it got cancelled so that's not that wasn't ideal for us but we went in did lots of fitness that was hard and then tomorrow we're in training a bit of analysis on trying to try and discover some stuff about them see what that's all about thursday another training and then we'll get down on that we've got a nice bus to go down on with the money we've won.

47:10Love that. We've got nice tellies, nice seats. And then we're staying over the night before. And I think we're just going for a walk and having a chill and then try and get an early night. Amazing. Love that. A little like spa weekend at the hotel. Straight in the spa. I do. I love that. You kind of like you don't think about the broader kind of part of the FA Cup and paying for your travel and all that kind of stuff and how valuable it is, not just exciting and historical to make the next round but valuable it is to the club and you know obviously there needs to be more investment and more money in the FA Cup I think everyone's travel should just be covered on fancy bosses I don't think any club in the FA Cup should operate at a loss for taking part in the round 100 % I'm excited for it I'm excited to see how you guys get on and say you win this game what does that look like in terms of the celebration and the bus home well she has to come back in the bus so you have to be involved in that there's talk about going to London if we do win love this for a night out I'd be saying not just a Burger King on the way back I'd be like upping it upping it a little bit like go for some steak or something Samba sushi Samba 100 % yeah duck and waffle down in London oh they're proper fancy yeah these are like 80 pound a head press can we come because this sounds really fun okay first of all backing you to win because we want you to win but also because we want to join you on the celebration on the night out yeah 100 % we'll let the PR and the comms team know Niamh thank you so so much for joining us and yeah good luck this weekend from both of us thank you very much thank you so so lovely of Niamh to join us especially before such a big weekend so I appreciate her taking the time out to chat with us about all the exciting things happening at the club before we go we would like to hear from you our lovely listeners and viewers about your experiences of going to watch the FA Cup this weekend wherever you are tell us about your trip to the game we'd particularly love to hear from clubs like York City that we don't often feature on the show we want to make sure that we're covering all the clubs and as many as possible god you can't beat it as a competition like you just don't know what's going to happen and you kind of wish the underdogs like really progress i'd yeah i rate it not more than the subway league cup that one's tasty the blt oh grow up we are back next tuesday for all the action from the fa cup in the meantime you can find us on instagram and x last twitter i'm at morgy underscore 89 rach is at girls on the ball and we are at up front underscore pod you can also find us on YouTube at Upfront Pod.

49:31See you next week!

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