Man City win the FA Cup, Bunny Shaw stays and Katie McCabe goes…

0:02Rachel: Welcome to Upfront. I'm Chloe Morgan. And I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. Manchester City have won another trophy. They put four past Brighton in the FA Cup final and in doing so they managed their first ever domestic double. Could it get very scary next season? We will just have to wait and see. Elsewhere, Katie McCabe is a... She's a bloody blue. We discuss the fallout as she joins Chelsea and finally it's that time again. England, Spain. International qualifiers. You can't escape it. Can't we just drop in audio from the last hundred times we spoke of England, Spain? We're not going to touch on the moments of the weekend this weekend because obviously I feel like there's quite a concentrated thing to focus on with the FA Cup final and a bit of the transfer news.

0:49Rachel: So we're going to skip this section out, Rach. but you can ask me what I did this weekend because it's very relevant to you no I'm going to give you my moment of the weekend and it was when I was sitting pitch side at World 7s and you had texted me asked me for some recommendations because you were going to Dublin I was I said no problem then you sent me a bloody photo of you meeting a seal in my hometown you went to where I grew up how they it was ridiculous hoath never they won't ask you back it was honestly the most the wildest thing like I hadn't in my mind like one it was sunny and everyone in some of the island is like constantly raining, constantly dismal.

1:24Rachel: And I was like, this is great here. It's like tropical. Then we went down and we took a trip to the air, to the seaside. We saw a seal. There was a group of lads by the seal and this seal was just bobbing in the ocean looking at us as if like we were the spectacle for him or her or whatever. And then this group of lads, like just randomly, one of them, this is just boys, just stuck its middle finger up at the seal. Yeah. And the seal just swam away. That's how you greet seals in Dublin. That's an absolute bullshit lie. and then we saw some jellyfish and then we took a little boat trip around your island's eye or whatever it was saw some lovely birds and some pelicans and puffins I was so excited I was like what the hell I knew you were going to Dublin I didn't know you were going to where I grew up I was so excited I nearly sat my mum down but then she remembered the whole curtain stuff and she just didn't want to yeah no fair enough I cut her deep and I appreciate that I'm just so excited I'm so pleased you went and you had a nice time it made me so happy my first confirmation you know communion communion whatever see you don't even remember the name of them no involve jesus and the rest of the gang you didn't even have to go to church you just did the afters which is the best part did you give them 20 euro uh 50 yeah i was gonna say inflation's hit hard no but i did feel like you didn't know them that well i felt like you could have got away with 20 but no you did the 50 did you yeah we did that's actually what communions in ireland are about now yeah i know it's sacrilegious but really it's about how much cash these little eight-year-olds can gather i would say i probably made it up in bar to be honest um yeah i consumed a lot of alcohol the next morning wasn't great for me um as we tried to tour through the rest of the city.

2:48Rachel: Right, there was some football at the weekend. There was. We've got to get back to that. It was, of course, the FA Cup final. Brighton versus Manchester City at Wembley. Lovely sunny day on Wembley Way. Great, great crowd. Obviously, City bloody won. Blew Brighton away to win their first domestic double. Brighton did give a good account of themselves in the first half, but ultimately obviously went into the break 2-0 down. It was a... Do you know, it was sort of fairly balanced-ish. It didn't feel like a complete runaway train for Man City, at least initially. No, and there's the next point here in our running order is about whether there's parallels to be drawn between Brighton's 2026 FA Cup final and Spurs in 2024.

3:30And I would say no, other than the scoreline, I don't think there are parallels. I think Brighton did not look overawed by the occasion. No. I thought they came out and gave a really good account of themselves. you know they've had to deal with a lot of injuries this season most notably to Michelle Adjumang they haven't replaced her to get they haven't got another out and out number nine yeah and I think those first 30 minutes or so they were worthy of being up against Manchester City yeah and I thought if they'd had a you know a Michelle Adjumang or someone like that in that moment they could have found themselves ahead and they would have deservedly found themselves ahead the difference was Manchester City took a little while to get up to full gear but they still took their chances yeah and that's the the big difference with you know not the big differences loads of differences but one of the main differences between your top fours and everybody else is that in those big moments they can take those chances um it did feel like an issue though

4:20Rachel: man city did have a couple of chances but didn't convert you know we talk about sort of um bunny shorts you had a couple of really good chances didn't manage to make it work a couple of good and dozy saves but then and then obviously the kind of floodgates opened a little bit and i think you have to factor in you know you're bright and you're two nil down you have to come out and that leaves you exposed and then Man City had warmed up by that stage and if you're exposed against Manchester City you're absolutely going to be punished and I just, you know, the game got away from Brighton then. It was a hard game plan to keep up for 90 minutes against Manchester City.

4:49You know, I feel for Nidozi a bit. She didn't have her best game but... It looked a bit shaky from her. Yeah, but I feel like, you know what, you're one of the main reasons you're there in that final. Yeah, for sure. Like, you're going to have games that aren't your absolute best and I know it's not great when it's in an FA Cup final. She's not the reason they lost but she is one of the big reasons got to that final so she should try and hold her head up a little bit because she's had a brilliant season but I can appreciate it's difficult when you don't perform in those massive moments and

5:14Rachel: and yeah I think it's what it gets to you I mean like the first goal that she conceded obviously with the it was the claim wasn't it and then Bunny Shaw just leaped ahead there's nothing you can do about a height difference and also like Bunny Shaw is prolific in terms of heading in goals and it was just it was just yeah I did feel sorry for her because I think in those moments like all your heart just falls out of you yeah I'd like to thank Bunny and Grace uh for coming straight over to where I was shooting because I was sat next to one of the Manchester City content people who would have been filming some of the clips and stuff like that.

5:41And we'd been having a chat. We were like, not much been going on down this end, has it? And he was like, no, not really. And I was like, tell you what's going to happen. Brighton are going to fade in the second half. They're going to switch ends and I'll get nothing down this half either. So, but no, when they did get their chance, Bunny Shaw came and stood right in front of me with Grace Clinton. Gold. And just stood there looking at the Brighton fans. I was like, what aura.

6:01Rachel: that is absolutely savage we'll talk a little bit about her in a second but I mean like you said it did feel like in the second half Man City kind of turned the screw a little bit do we think a part of that maybe is the substitutions that they made in the second half because they were so impactful bringing on Fugino and then also Miedemar as well and they both scored yeah I mean you can't I can't really argue with that it's pretty much an open shut case on that one actually well yeah that's the end of that question I mean what a week for Bunny Shaw as well you know that the way she announced that she was staying can I just say Chloe go on the flack and shit we got for suggesting Bunny wouldn't leave Manchester City I feel smug I got so much abuse and I feel smug they do often say geniuses are called mad you know Chloe apparently they do say that I love that thanks producer Finn for giving us that line no that was one of mine oh sure no but what a week she's had and the way it was announced oh like I mean that was classic goat announcements right there what a mic drop experience I can't help but think there was some kind of agency devilish play in the whole of this like dropping these kind of Chelsea hints about it, trying to get maybe the contract off her up.

7:03I think she might have gone solo for the latter stages of that negotiation if media is anything to go by. Really? I think, yeah, fair fucks to her. I mean, it was such a massive, massive announcement.

7:15Rachel: I think the way she stood there, a little smirk on her face, like, and people are like, oh my God, is she going to say goodbye? Or is she going to say, it was like, I'm not going anywhere. Praise! Yeah, so it was at Man City's end of season celebrations. She obviously announced, she got the player of the season trophy, obviously and then announced the deal till 2030. So she said, I am still here. I am still hungry and there is no place I would rather be in the words of Jess Glynn. It was iconic, but it obviously means next season Man City are going into it with the same kind of strength, the same squad depth.

7:47Rachel: Sorry, if not more. If not more. I was going to say, they must be bloody knackered. No wonder they took a little while to come out in that final. All I've been doing is celebrating. Every two days they'd be somewhere else on stage with their champagne. Viv without a bottle of wine in her hand for about two or three weeks. I got a great photo of her just before they come behind the Champions board for us to get our photos. Picking up one of the champagnes. I swear to God, I don't know if she was checking out the vintage or what, but she was kind of perusing the bottle almost like, is this to my standards?

8:15Is this a 2014 or a 2012? Is this a Prosecco or Cava or is it actually champagne? Let's have a look.

8:21Rachel: Well, now obviously it does feel like Man City are kind of, I don't know, set there. Got the double under the belt. Andre Joglis is getting the best from the team. Unbelievable from a manager in his first season. 100%. And they're also set to sign Chelsea's Niamh Charles. They recently announced Wahabi will be leaving this summer. So the left back position obviously needs a little bit of strengthening. They've been rumoured to a couple of players. But yeah, I mean, are we going to see kind of a similar reign of Man City that we did with Chelsea, potentially? Are we going to see like a city on top and capitalising?

8:50I mean, I don't mean this in an anti-city way. I just mean, I'd like to not have that. I'd quite like it to be more competitive. And, you know, the last time we saw kind of a dynasty come to an end was the US. And, you know, it's taken them a little while. And I think they're going to be very exciting in the World Cup next year as they went through their little bit of a transition. But it is hard in this day and age to then build another dynasty. Just given that other people are investing more and the quality improves and improves every year. So I hope not. But I do think they're going to be a bloody frightening squad next season.

9:24Oh, 100%. 100%. I think, I mean, it's not like they have to do

9:27Rachel: loads and loads of work in the transfer window. Like they have got this squad. The squad knows how to work together. You feel like there's a connection between the players that they kind of know where each other's going to be. Yeah, there's a real harmony. 100%. And that's not just between like the attackers. That feels like everyone is kind of singing from the same hymn sheet. For you, I got a shot of Alex Greenwood's celebration as she ran over to the bench with a big smiley Jäglerts because you loved that when it happened against Liverpool. so I made sure to get that shot at Wembley and again it was there seems to be a real harmony between the whole entire squad.

10:00I do think they could do with a little bit more depth if they're going to be in Champions League next season it's another competition, they're going to want to go far in that so depth will be needed and I'm sure there will be a few outgoings but the core squad is very very good and absolutely motoring

10:13Rachel: A little bit frightening Well it's nice to get a different shade of blue in and amongst things It's always blue, literally that United, any chance? Let's touch a little bit on Brighton then. So we have obviously quite a few reasons to be quite optimistic about them. Talented squad, obviously finished solidly mid-table, reached a major, major final, which is a huge, huge moment for the club. And then they've announced the purpose-built stadium in the works for the women's team coming, I think, in five or six years' time. 2031, I think, yeah. Yeah, so it kind of feels like they're a team in the middle of transformation, progress, positivity, but kind of not yet playing with the big boys in a consistent way.

10:52Yeah, I think obviously Dario's come in. He's brought a very clear sense of style in terms of how he wants to play. The club back him with that. The players understand that. You know, he obviously had a very good first season when he came in, although I do think part of that's because nobody wanted to take the sixth place off them. I think it's been more competitive in that mid-pack this season. They finished a little bit lower down than last. But yeah, I do think that's down to the competitiveness. I think they need probably a little bit more depth in the squad. You know, you've seen the impact of a Michel Adjoumang injury this season, I think, has had a really big impact.

11:22So a little bit more depth, but, you know, knowing what they're doing off the pitch, I'm sure it's really kind of confidence building in terms of like for Dario to be a part of that. I also want to give a shout out to the Brighton fans who made this lovely Tifo for Rado Videsic, which was really lovely to see because obviously it had been a real family affair for the Videsic's. And then he passed away, sadly. So that was a really nice touch. But yeah, I do. I do feel like there's a very exciting thing building at Brighton.

11:49Rachel: I feel like the fans are really with Dario. Like, I think there's kind of a family kind of mentality that is building around him. And they kind of believe in the trajectory that he's taken the club. And yes, it's not going to be kind of a rapid thing. They're not going to go from sixth place to winning the league anytime soon, I don't think. But that is something they could look at doing maybe in three, four years time, especially looking at least at the Champions League spots. I think that's well within their ambitions. But, you know, he was sort of saying after the game, you know, he said it wasn't that long ago.

12:15Rachel: We were probably fighting to get five minutes of dominance against a Manchester City team. and then now you're at Wembley for the first time being brave trying some things also getting some really good chances you've got your likes of you know Kiko Seiko who's really stepped up Frank Kirby Madison Hayley's been amazing um and Dozie's been absolutely incredible throughout the season there's some real kind of standout players who have who they're kind of like galvanizing a sort of real team mentality around yeah and I think as I said because he's got that clear style like fans can see when it works it really works and if there's going to be teething problems when you're trying to bring stuff like that in and you need players to be able to play that level and that's why you know I always bemoan them playing out from the back but it's clearly something that Dario wants them to do and you need to keep doing it you need to keep doing it under pressure.

12:57Rachel: I feel like we've talked about it for a couple of seasons now. So stuff like that there's going to be teething problems but I think fans can really buy into and back a manager when they can see that they're actively trying to do a specific type of thing and I guess they trust that when it works, it's going to be really good. Coming up after this, we have some absolutely massive breaking news coming in. Obviously, Casey McCabe, she's gone blue.

13:33Rachel: Rach, big, big news this weekend. Katie McCabe has joined Chelsea. I did not see this coming. There has been so many rumours circulating about all of these different types of players going to all these different types of clubs. Katie McCabe to Chelsea was not on my bingo list. It wasn't even on my radar. You look almost stunned by the news, if I'm honest. Yeah, struggling to speak there. It's funny because she has been linked to Chelsea in previous seasons, if you remember, but it didn't seem to come up in the conversation this season with the rumours. No, not at all. you know many were saying many were saying Manchester City I mean given there's a high chance that they're going to extend Caitlin Ford at Arsenal maybe it shouldn't be such a surprise that McCabe chose to stay in London and go to a team that she's never been shy about saying was her childhood team the reaction has been quite something on social media I haven't been across too much of the reaction but you said there's been a bit of negativity around the decision but look I get fans being a raging when someone goes to a rival and totally get that but honest to god some of the stuff i'm seeing the way in which arsenal fans are now trying to degrade the impact that mccabe had an arsenal over the years is silly um how can you oh you go on twitter you can find out the accolades and the accumulation of successes and the length of service and everything she's done like how i don't understand i mean that's factual um i mean i just think some people and not all people, not all fans, just some people need to go out and touch some grass.

15:06I do think like in terms of for her as a player, you know, I think she is good enough to be playing at top level still, to be playing Champions League. That's important for her. You know, Ireland means a lot to her and she wants to be playing at the top level to ensure that she still has that kind of impact for her country as we try and get to a World Cup. You know, I can understand a little bit. I think the way things went with Arsenal probably would have left a little bit of a bitter taste. you know initially being told that she wasn't going to be offered a contract and then the kind of u-turn quite late towards the end of the season probably wouldn't have left a great taste in the mouth you know that's so difficult though for a player to be able to wrap your head

15:45Rachel: around the fact that they don't see you as part of the squad anymore despite i suppose like how much of an integral part you've been over the years and how much like i mean she's a fan favorite everyone everyone loves katie mccabe in the arsenal camp and then to kind of have that that complete reversal and look that happens right but i think as you say the reversal is the kind of not great thing and then she ended up not getting a proper goodbye with the fans and stuff which was a bit awkward but I can understand how that can be frustrating but equally like you know it's a job at the end of the day and I have stayed in jobs for the people when I've not liked being a great fan of the organisation doesn't always serve you well there's only so far that that'll take you so I can understand wanting to be challenged somewhere else it's always going to be big news when you move to a rival but also like I said if Caitlin Ford is staying at Arsenal then you know kind of understand why she might want to be in a London club and she's good enough to be playing at that level still.

16:35Rachel: But I think there's also a freshness to a completely different way of playing, a different manager, a different set of players that bring out different personality traits and different skill sets. It was quite pointed. I think she said about the conversations that she felt wanted and appreciated. Okay. Which I think is... A little loaded. A little loaded. But I love the fact that players should be able to express a little bit around the reasons for their leaving. Yeah. And I think there's nothing wrong. I mean, obviously, Casey McCabe has been with Arsenal for such a long period of time. We're seeing quite a few I suppose the big name players who've been with clubs for long periods of time now starting to shift and I think you know Alexi Puteis being one of them a couple of the Barca the long serving Barca players are kind of maybe considering coming back to or coming over to the WSL potentially but yeah I think there's something about just like playing with a new set of players who will bring out different things in you and I think there's nothing wrong with that I think yeah there's a little bit of rival there obviously it's going to be a you know red blue and it's always been a bit of a controversial one but at the end of the day it's bloody football it's a job yeah you've got to do what you've got to do.

17:32Rachel: I think it's going to be seriously interesting to see how McKay fits into the Chelsea squad. I think, interestingly, I think she's probably going to take more of a kind of left-back position. We've seen her be quite versatile in the Arsenal squad, but I think what she's going to give Chelsea is probably a little bit more confidence, a bit more assuredness. We have seen Chelsea kind of lapse in judgment sometimes. I think they have lapsed in kind of their attention span sometimes, like with players going in behind. I think the experience that she's going to have, I think is just going to shore that squad up.

17:56Rachel: But what are your thoughts, Rach? More depth in that position as well. And they, you know, like a fullback that'll get up the pitch McCabe provides that and I do think a versatility versatility is an attractive thing as well I also think a massive factor of Casey McCabe transferring over to Chelsea might have been the fact that they won the World Sevens this weekend 100 % that would have been a huge draw yeah I agree well looking at the prize money obviously£372 ,000 Chelsea won this weekend after beating Manchester United 6-5 in the final I think that's probably got to be I don't know when Chelsea will next play in the next iteration but a nice little bonus at the end of the year after not that much of a successful season for Chelsea it probably feels like quite a nice little way to spend summer and it's interesting because one of Chelsea's walkouts was they did the mannequin challenge and within that mannequin challenge was a recreation of the Alyssa Thompson hair pull which is quite on the nose when it would have been in and around the same time that Katie McCabe signed for the club so I think Chelsea maybe missed a trick a little bit and not including that in their announcement but they have been A lot of people have said, you know, like the Chloe Kelly ball at the back of the head that was utilized.

19:03Like, yeah. Chelsea have been doing bits on social media. They've absolutely been trolling fans. I love a club that trolls its fans. I love it. They shared a video from Arsenal from like ages ago, which was them singing We've Got McCabe, Katie McCabe from August 30th, 2022. And they quote retweeted and said, have you? Jesus, admin. You're just riling people up. You're fanning flames.

19:28Rachel: Do you know what's happening? these social media teams getting younger and younger and younger and sassier and ballsier yeah they are they're getting sassier and sassier I've got a manager for you in my team and I tell you what it's difficult work sometimes Rach honest to god speaking of difficult work go on tell you what wasn't difficult work world sevens I had great crack you were there in the VIP cabana I was in the blazing sunshine shooting it was difficult work I'd just like to say that even though I was in the VIP cabana in a completely shaded champagne laden buffet laden celebrity festival which was great what I did do was go out to you on a few occasions and make sure that you were safe yeah you brought me cold bottles of water it was hugely appreciated it was 28 degrees and I would have bought you champagne but you don't drink on the job I don't and it was six games back to back with a game kicking off every hour and it would take 50 minutes a half it would probably wrap up around 25-2 and then by 10-2 all the players are coming out doing their walkouts so there was like zero time in between no breaks yeah so yeah it was full on in that respect but like just the kind of wholesomeness around seeing players enjoying football to that level being able to let loose being able to have banter with each other coming up with these crazy walkouts I don't know how I'm ever going to look at Mark Skinner again after seeing him do his iconic Bad Bunny impression and what I loved is so many media outlets reported on it in a way of just and Mark Skinner came out dancing in a dressing gown and I was like no he was recreating Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime Come on, guys.

20:55Get the cultural reference. Some of them took a lot more lateral thinking to understand what the hell they were doing. Everton, I'm looking at you. They birthed a ball. They had Hannah Blundell rise from the dead. Sonja Bob Pasta was carried out by the Chelsea player. Flipped to the ground. She said she enjoyed it, though. Rachel Maltby taking over from Sam Curran doing the backflips. Unbelievable. Really nice. I did have some concerns about some of these walkouts.

21:22Rachel: You know, you're kind of looking at how... When we do shoots sometimes, we'll shoot the ball and we'll go to the club training grounds and they're very much kind of like, these are what you can do with the players. We can't kick the ball too intensely. We can't have them running and things. And then you go to the World Sevens and the players are literally cartwheeling onto the pitch. They are throwing each other over their shoulders. The referees came out. They did a couple of backflips as well. You've got players being fucked. They weren't doing backflips. They launched into the air. They did a wheelbarrow race.

21:46Rachel: They did a wheelbarrow race. Yeah, it was iconic in itself. It was like everyone went, it's the end of the season. If I break my leg, I've got two months to get ready. there was a couple of winces definitely from the cabana where a couple of like the club execs and things were hanging out thinking Christ like Moldby did that first backflip didn't quite stick the landing but styled it out by doing a backwards roll at the end of it so you would have thought like we won't be doing that again then she scored another goal and her teammates were like you've got to do it again you've got to stick the landing this time she did then they were like right in the next walkout it's all you mate you're going to go and do a running backflip I mean to be fair she absolutely nailed it incredible party trip and all the managers enjoyed it but I feel like you just know come kind of August when they're back in training they're like none of that shit now yeah literally don't you do that I think they probably only did it because there's no major tournament for a lot of the players the players are like what are you going to do drop me but I think it does I think it was good it's kind of leads into what you were saying Rachel about the personality and the way the players were allowed to express themselves and that creativity and I definitely it was the first time that I'd seen one of those in person you've been to the last iteration I went to one of the days the Portugal one Estoril yeah yeah I didn't get a chance to go but I was so gutted that I wasn't able to make it.

22:53Rachel: But a lot of people are kind of saying how amazing it is that these players are just being allowed to kind of very hands-off from the managers, as I understand, and just allowed to kind of just do what they want to do. Because like, you forget, I suppose, from September through to May, they're being told, this is your role in the team. This is what you need to do on game day. These are the players that you have to mark. This is how we should be setting up. We have to win. Yeah, these are the stats. These are kind of the amount of accelerations and decelerations you should be doing. Like everything is so rigid and so scheduled within a season.

23:19Rachel: Even what you eat and how you appear and how you show up to games and where you're supposed to be. Like, it's all so rigid. So I think for the players to have this kind of release of being like, dance the pitch. Do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. And also, I think it's good for them to express. It's why they started playing football. Like, you know, even Leicester. I wanted to play. I've literally, I said to World Sevens, I want to pose like an old gals versus like the winners of the next World Sevens. And I was like looking at like Anissa Sante. A dangerous, dangerous idea. Yeah, a couple of ACLs coming that way.

23:50No, Aaron Cuthbert came out after one of the games like, I'm puffed. Because you go out and you go 100 % for about five minutes and then you get subbed. But yeah, I just thought, speaking of creativity, I mean, a lot of the teams looked great, played well, really enjoyed it. Most of them had at least one good game. I thought Manchester United looked so fun. They know this format. They were great. Melvin Mallard, Jess Park. There were so many great performances there.

24:15Rachel: They came out all guns, but you could tell they've done it before. They were a little bit serious, but they were a little bit like, we want to win this. You know, there was one point where Everton were singing Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield as we waited for halftime. And Manchester United were like dead serious, waiting for the game to kick off. The referee was singing and United were like, no, no, we need to win this game. But it did make for a really brilliant, brilliant final against Chelsea. It was so good. And I just thought like if they could play with like even 10 percent of this creativity in the WSL, I'm obviously not suggesting they go out and play like World Sevens.

24:44but it shows what a creative, fluid team they can be when they're kind of left their own devices a little bit. So we just need to see a little bit of that, like loosen the reins a little bit more can WSL. And I think, you know, that could be the next step for United.

24:57Rachel: I agree. And I think, I mean, it goes to show you also, I mean, Chelsea were 4-0 down, 4-1 down against Man United in the final and then pulled it back to the 6-5 win. ABJ scoring the winner, 30 seconds left. Unreal. Obviously sending the crowd absolutely wild. But I think like you said, Vase, it does feel like there's so much stress and so much pressure and so much demand, I think, on the squad throughout the season to get to that place where you just think, do whatever it is that you want. It must be so freeing as a player. Even from the bus in, they're coming out with speakers and they're dancing into the venue.

25:29And also, like you said, the managers too.

25:31Rachel: We forget sometimes that the managers are under extreme amounts of pressure. They could be sacked at any minute if there's a bad run of results. They're being told they've got to manage in this way and apply these ethics and manage this squad of 25 different individual personalities. But then you've got someone like Sonia Bompasta, who we have seen become a little bit more animated this year. But obviously, the season hasn't gone to plan. She's been a different type of animation. Yeah, the animatedness, I think, has come from frustration and sometimes not being able to land what it is that she's wanted to do with Chelsea in this particular year.

25:58Rachel: But, you know, she's coming out saying, I enjoyed the celebrations. It came from the players. I'm someone who's usually very quiet, and I don't want to get too involved. But having this experience, it's a good opportunity for her to kind of showcase her personality and her freedom and her funness. and I think it's I enjoyed the behind the scenes in the tunnel of the squad picking her up and I saw this great post about how Alyssa Thompson and Keira Walsh who were at the back of that were like those those classmates who are on a group project that don't do any of the work but get full marks because they were just like trying to reach up and like touch a leg to be like yep we're contributing to this whereas primarily Myra Ramirez carrying her out needs to work on the the landing of the the execution of the landing a little bit definitely but otherwise it was superbly done.

26:41Rachel: And then also a very small mention to Leicester City as well. I mean, I was only there for the Thursday, but the games that they played. They won a game. They put an absolutely incredible account of themselves on the first day. They were, and this is a team obviously have, you know, just found out they've been relegated. Coming off the back of the disappointment, the heartache that they're going to feel going into next season, not knowing what that looks like in the WSL 2. But like, they came out and there was like a I think they just needed some light relief, to be honest. And you could see that in the players and also that they had a lot to fight for i mean a 372k bonus at the end of end of the year wouldn't would have been um quite quite a nice way to maybe soften the blow yeah but it was also nice just to see them enjoy football definitely and like they grew into it they took a little while they were a bit kind of unsure with their walkouts initially but they definitely grew into it and yeah just i'm sure it was nice i'd say initially they were a bit like i can't believe we have to do this but then actually to go out and play football with a smile on your face enjoy it have a bit of fun you know it's probably been a while since they've been able to do that so that was nice to see as well um also i think one of the things to kind of flag about this is that we talk about the positivity of it but there's also been like a little bit of backlash i think from the naysayers and the haters of generally women's football um not really understanding the the concept the the format around w7s that it's not taken seriously do you know what i would say to them yeah go on nothing because their opinion doesn't matter we don't need to get them on board they already don't care about women's football and not everything is an indictment on the women's game.

28:06Golf, basically. You're just jealous. No, but like, why do we care what they think? No. It's not like they liked women's football before. We're not trying to convince you. Like, just move aside. Thanks.

28:17Rachel: Get involved. Come and see the game. Delete your account. Yeah, all that. Yeah, all right, Rach. Taking a slightly different approach. Thank you. Yeah. Very quickly then, coming back to Chelsea, we have just had a listener question from Leila Astley on Instagram who asked, now that Bunny is staying at City, who's on Chelsea's radar to replace Sam Kerr? It's a great question. it's a great question and it's like there's absolutely loads of world class number nines just floating about I know Felicia Schroeder is on their radar she's a young player from BK Hecken she's had an unbelievable season 47 goals and 68 appearances for BK Hecken not bad and she's only 19 I'm not suggesting she's a direct replacement for Sam Kerr but like she would be a great get and it'd be great to see someone you know of that calibre come into a squad like Chelsea where they can build her up into the squad but yeah it'll be interesting to see who they get in I love this ABJ will be back fitness as well like after that performance at World 7s to get her confidence back to get her shooting boots back you know if she's fit at the beginning of the season she'll be she'll be great for them as well not a resurgence again oh yeah Christ coming up after this it's a World Cup qualifier time for the Lionesses

29:27Rachel: it's England versus Spain again mate yeah yeah I know I know playing again on Friday You can hang your head all you want, but we knew this fixture was coming. We knew we'd have to talk about the same fixture over again, but in a completely different light. This is the fifth of six qualifying games. England must play for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and having beaten Spain at Wembley in April. England are in pole position to qualify top of the group. They have 12 points to Spain's nine. England are traveling to Mallorca for this one. This is going to be a pretty big fixture for both teams. it kind of feels like the decider of whether England have to face more games and face kind of more uncertainty and later matches.

30:07Rachel: Do you know what's crazy as well? Or actually they can just get things wrapped up now, very day. Their goal difference is nine for both of them. Isn't that mad? It may very well, may come down to the final game. But if England get a result against Spain, look, I feel like this swings, you know, swings and roundabouts. I feel like England won it last time. I feel like now Spain are due a win. Do you know that kind of way? I hate that kind of... Don't say that. what's wrong with you I'm sick of this fixture Chloe that's what's wrong with me I don't have something new to say they're always facing each other there should be like a thing where if you've played each other X amount of times in the last two years that you're not allowed to play each other for another 18 months or something what do we think is gonna I mean you think that Spain are obviously gonna win this game now just based on the swinging pendulum of the results so that's what worries me that's that's crazy that's what worries that's absolutely crazy and Ella Toon is in the squad for the first time since November but we are missing Leah Williamson we were discussing this before we started recording and I was saying I felt like it was a bit of a loss not purely just from the on the pitch vibes but just you know as a player who's played in this fixture 900 times knows what it's about that kind of leadership in and around the dressing room is really really valuable but you feel like the young guns are going to be grand yeah I think I mean what we've seen throughout the last couple of seasons is these kind of 17 18 19 year olds who are playing these really highly pressurized high profile games expected to deliver results in these games and then go on and do I think and not to diminish how the importance of Leah Williamson because she's absolutely integral to that England squad I mean the mentality that she had the leadership is exactly those things and experience that she brings to major tournament and these kind of high pressure games but I also think there is a resoluteness in the England squad that I'm starting to see about kind of they're not reliant so much on the OGs anymore and that they're finding their own confident path in it so I think Leah will obviously still be around the squad she'll still be there to kind of support she'll still be I don't know if she will be well like even even if she's not there physically present.

31:59Rachel: She'll be in the WhatsApp group. She'll be maybe like giving calls to the players. She's never going to step away from, you know, her duties as a leader. Don't need too many tapas before game day. Yeah, for sure. But I think, yeah, and obviously like England have been to a major tournament without her and have succeeded. So I think there's, yeah, almost, but I got very, very far. So I think, yeah, Leah Williamson obviously is a massive loss to the squad, but I do think there's a belief in the squad that exists without too much reliance on some of the OGs that exist to kind of bolster and have been those kind of the foundation players I suppose it's interesting as well the order in which the games come because based on this result I mean they still have to win the final game against Ukraine but it just could put more pressure on that fixture if they absolutely have to you know that kind of way there could just be more pressure on it so it'll be interesting Sophie will be out there in Mallorca I will be in Karkby doing Ireland Cork oh right what do you call it?

32:54Karkby that's how you say Cork in an Irish accent they'll be taking on the Netherlands which I'm excited for I know we're not supposed to be talking about Ireland but I'm doing it anyway because our group in League A is still all to play for and Ireland have already made history as the only team who's come into League A and then gone on to win two matches so we're already punching above our weight Bloody hell congratulations Thank you so much

33:15Rachel: It's going to be really bloody hard though because we have no Denise O'Sullivan or Emily Murphy because of their yellow card suspension for this game Doesn't it feel like a lot you get two yellow cards and you miss a game that's like not a lot of yellow cards to get I don't think that's enough personally what? you think they should miss more games? all of them yeah definitely I don't care about Ireland's fortunes in the World Cup qualifiers why would I? you've just been singing the praises of my hometown and now you couldn't give a shit about Ireland as a holiday resort completely different okay let's talk about what's actually going to happen this weekend then this Friday your thoughts are that Spain may or may not dominate it's always a tough fixture it's always hard to call Spain are going to have a lot of the ball England are going to need to be comfortable out of possession take their opportunities you know I feel like a broken record when we talk about this fixture because it generally goes that way and you know equally Spain will need to take the opportunities because they will create plenty it's about how many they put on target and how many shots they put on target so yeah it's going to be really interesting really interesting to see how players come off the back of this I mean I know some of them being a world sevens but come off the back at this kind of gap and reintegrate into the England squad.

34:26So it's always an interesting time to have this international window.

34:30Rachel: Do you not feel like the World Sevens has kind of geared them up to be a bit more Spanish in the kind of ticky-tackiness and the kind of tight spaces? Sack off defending, trust the goalkeeper, everyone's foot forward. It's like everyone's in it to win it in this game. It was always so funny to watch where a team would be like in and around the box doing the little ditty-ditty-ditty like passing to each other everyone's flooding the box and then one defender one player defending intercepts the ball and everyone's like fuck and they have to all race down the other end of the pitch literally that but I do think it could prepare them for a game like Spain but my biggest fear is that both sides are going to be slightly cagey I think because it matters so much I think there's going to be kind of a bit of nerves starting to creep in that this is such an important fixture for them both it still it just blows my mind that you've got the world champions and the European champions and only one of them will qualify to the next World Cup directly just seems crazy doesn't it so if the person who doesn't qualify then how many additional games is that yeah i think it's two matches but they are both two-legged that is a lot four additional fixtures four additional sets of preparing for games four sets of travel but like a lot riding on these games they're not like but you want to avoid it you definitely want to avoid it at all costs in terms of things like players i think and now need to gonna step up i think if leah williamson obviously isn't there you've got the a big og experience head missing i think you're gonna have to have people who have been in major tournaments like relentlessly like your Hannah Hampton's like the amount of times where she's not really doing much throughout the game but then all of a sudden she's called into action and she just needs to be prepared and ready like we've seen that so many times I have so much faith in Hannah she's such a consistent performer but she's going to be under pressure in this game I'm thinking Lucy Bronze she was rested for the World Sevens she was there enjoying the vibes but she was rested so that's good she was there with her mum which was really sweet yeah Alex Greenwood coming off the back of an FA Cup win yeah you know um lots of confidence there so yeah May Letizia having a great sevens as well.

36:22As a lot. Yeah, ABJ. ABJ. Laura Blackhilda-Brown just come off winning the FA Cup. Like there's, you know, there's hopefully players in there who are feeling like they're at the peak. Lauren Hemp. Yeah. Okay, well. Jess Bloody Park. God, how did I forget about her? She'd an amazing world sevens. I'm going to call it. I think it's an England win.

36:39Rachel: I love that. I think they'll get it done. I definitely think they'll get it done. Okay. Let us know what you think, whether you think it's that I'm right or Rachel is right, because she obviously thinks that Spain are going to win it which is just do you want to don't mind if I'm wrong that would be great I know you're trying to turn this into like a neg against me but I will happily be wrong I hope I'm wrong good yeah it doesn't work does it no not really taking the sting out of it now thank you so much for listening to Upfront we'll be back at a slightly different time next Wednesday after England have played their final World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night against Ukraine find us on Instagram and x that's Twitter I'm at morgy underscore 89 Rach is at girls in the ball and we are at Upfront underscore pod You can also find us on YouTube at Upfront Pod.

37:20Rachel: See you on Wednesday.

37:37Rachel: Upfront is a Stack Production and part of the Acast Creator Network.