Sophie Ingle on chasing promotion with Bristol City, being a quiet leader, and Guinness

0:03Welcome to Upfront, I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. Today I'm joined by a legend of the game. Sophie Ingle was one of the most influential figures in Emma Hayes' Chelsea side and made over 200 appearances for the club from 2018 to 2025. Last summer, she left Chelsea and the WSL to play for Bristol City, 10 years after she first joined the club. She's an unbelievable player, but also a true leader. So today, I wanted to speak to her about her time at Bristol City so far, leading a new squad in a new league, and what she enjoys about playing in WSL 2.

0:39Well, welcome to the pod, Sophie. Thank you so much for joining us. I know you've just come in from training as well, so really appreciate it. No worries. I haven't had time to brush my hair, look at it. I mean, if that's your hair unbrushed, you're grand. You don't need to worry. You've been back at Bristol City now for almost six months. What's it been like returning to the club ten years later? Yeah, it's been really refreshing, actually. So obviously a lot has changed in the ten years. obviously I would play for Bristol Academy so a little bit different but you know the values and everything within the club is the same as 10 years ago the people the people they bring in are really good for the environment and yeah I just felt you know at ease straight away from day one and yeah it was kind of rearing to go since my injury so it was quite exciting really.

1:29I remember covering those games back when it was Bristol Academy and And, you know, that feel, that same kind of community feel is still really evident around the club. It seems to be something they've really captured and harnessed and hung on to. It's lovely. Yeah, I think in, you know, the Bristol City era, it's all about family. It's all about the environment. It's all about the community. And we always like to give back to people less fortunate than ourselves. So I think we capture that within the community. You know, we do a lot outside of football and we go into schools and local teams and we try and give back where we can.

2:06And I think they've done that for 10 plus years. So I think it's really nice that this club still does that. And it's, you know, a priority for them to maintain it. And what's it been like for you going back into that training centre environment? I've been down there. It's such a nice place to visit. What's that been like for you? Yeah, the building's different 10 years ago. so we train now where the men are so it's really good setup I think the building's you know perfect for us we've got a great gym especially after you know dropping down a league you always question you know whether the facility is going to be as good as what I've been used to but to be honest they're on par really.

2:44And for you personally I guess both as a person and a footballer do you think you've changed since you know being at Chelsea for so long and coming back do you see any difference in yourself um I'm not sure I think I've obviously scored a few goals this year which isn't like me um so everyone's saying it's because I've got a new knee now that I'm actually taking a few more shots and getting in the box and you know seem to have a bit more energy about me so maybe having the nine months off uh did me wonders yeah just touching on that obviously after the ACL injury um it's great to see it back on the pitch but But how, I mean, for you as a, you know, it didn't happen very early on in your career.

3:25You know, you've had 10 years plus at Chelsea and, you know, now this injury happens. What was it like for you in terms of coming back from that? And how do you approach that as a player? I think I just flipped it straight away to a positive thing that I've been very grateful that I haven't really had injuries throughout my career. And of course, it's the worst one. You don't, you never want to hear those three letters. But yeah, I just kind of weirdly embraced it and just thought, you know, maybe it's my body saying that I need a break after all these years and playing internationally and club and so many minutes over the years.

4:01The biggest thing for me was, was I going to make the Euros, obviously, because of the timeline. So I was obviously maybe struggled a little bit with that because I was like, am I going to make it? Am I not? Am I pushing myself too much just for the Euros? but weirdly the nine months you know kind of flew by and before I knew it I was back on the pitch. Is it quite a reflective period? Does it kind of change your perspective on things a little bit or give you time to reflect on things? Yeah definitely I think especially the early days of obviously before the op and straight after the op you can't really like move around too well you're obviously on crutches and you have to rely on a lot of people around you so I think I struggle with that the most because I'm so used to just, you know, getting up, walking, washing myself, taking myself to training.

4:49And then I couldn't do that. I had to rely on, uh, whether it was my wife, my mom come up to help me Uber drivers, you know, just little things, people carrying the icebox for me, which I hate. Like I'd rather just do things myself for bringing my dinner to me. Um, that, that just goes all out the window and you can't do those things. So I think that is the biggest part for me as a struggle because no one really tells you about that when you get injured either that they're the little things or you can't walk properly you can't get in the shower properly um so the first few weeks was a struggle but once I got past that stage I was like rearing to go off the crutches get me back in the gym did you kind of impress yourself with how you dealt with the challenge because you know I have heard from other players that kind of surrounding yourself with the right people is obviously a very helpful part of it but at the end of the day it is very much a personal journey that you have to go through and as you said you haven't had to deal with thankfully and this injury earlier in your career so have you been proud of how you you dealt with that challenge yeah I don't think I got too low with it um or too high I think obviously on a weekly basis you kind of you have your target from your physio of right this is what we're working on this block um and obviously you try and focus on that but then you might get a little setback or you might be ahead in something um but I think mainly it was just listen to your body you know if if my knee was a little bit sore I have to be honest to say you know oh that session yesterday might have been a bit too much so let's hold back um and just be honest about things really and speak up when needed because it's okay if it's hurting because it's quite normal.

6:29But yeah, I think obviously you just have a lot of time on your own as well, which I don't really mind that, you know, but it was hard then seeing the girls going out to training and then I would just be stuck in the gym with some of the other girls who were injured. So it's a little bit different to what you're used to, but you just get on with it, I suppose. Did you get like advice from anyone who'd gone through that kind of thing before? Did you find that over your career you've had teammates go through it? So maybe had a bit of an idea of what that was like. Yeah, a few of the girls who had done it previously had reached out to me just to help with little things.

7:04But I think since doing it myself that I've realised how hard it is to go through it. So I look back on when all teammates have done it in the past and maybe I didn't reach out as much as I should have because I didn't really understand how much, you know, you have to go through within that injury. So I'm kind of weirdly glad that I went through it so I can now help others and reach out. And again, everyone's journey is different on the ACL reconstruction, but there's a lot of similarities that you can help each other with. Yeah, of course. I mean, back to the football now, obviously, in WSL 2, title race so far has been pretty fiercely competitive, as it always is in this league.

7:45How have you found it? Yeah, it's exciting, isn't it? I think coming from Chelsea where obviously the last five, six years, you're kind of always on top and it's a given you're going to win. And then you come to a club like Bristol City and you're fighting for the same things and you're fighting to win every game. But it's obviously not as easy and it's not a guaranteed thing. But this league is really exciting. And, you know, some of the youngsters coming through, obviously, there's a lot of lone players that come to WSL2 teams, which make the league very demanding. and it reminds me of my youth in a way because it's kind of how we used to play football.

8:22It's a bit more of a scrap. Got to fight. It's not so much pretty football, but yeah, there's some good quality as well. Did that kind of change your mindset at all or was that something that maybe changed a bit once you started in the league and started matching up with opponents you maybe haven't played before or for a long time? I don't think I really thought about it too much early on because I was just focusing on me getting back to myself since my knee. So I was just happy to be able to get minutes early on in the league. And Bristol City were great when I first came in. I had four weeks pre-season, so they slowly built me up with the minutes.

9:01And I started on 15 minutes in a friendly game. And I was like, surely I can play more than 15 minutes. But obviously I was a new player. They didn't want to rush anything. So yeah, just the early stage of coming back to Bristol City was more about me and trying to get my knee as good as I could and be confident with it to then help the rest of the team as well. And obviously this year there's two promotion spots and there's a playoff as well. That must kind of change the mentality a little bit. There's even more to fight for. There's even more of a chance of promotion. So does that kind of change the mindset within the team?

9:39Yes, obviously it's not just one that goes up. And you can see that with the results. Anyone can take points off anyone, which is quite exciting, especially compared to the top league. I think there's more variety in that. But yeah, it's obviously three of us could go up technically. But it does make it exciting that there's a playoff game to play the bottom of WSL 1. I think that game, whoever it may be, will be a really, really good game. Yeah, you touched as well there on scrapping a bit more and games being more competitive and really fighting for those points. Do you enjoy that side of the game, that kind of maybe a bit more of a scrappy nature?

10:20Sometimes. Obviously, I'd rather get it down and play, but I think you have to kind of scrap it out first to then be able to play football. And I think here we have some really good patterns of play and some really good individual players that, you know, pick up the ball in pockets. And, you know, we can have like 10 plus passes to get a shot off on goal. It's pretty football, as you would say, but then at the times we have to be more direct and sometimes a long ball in behind is the hardest one to defend. So it's just trying to get the balance of when we can play and when we have to be a bit more direct.

10:52And I guess having been at a club like Chelsea for 10 years, it must be quite nice as well, that variety of opponents, right? Like coming up against teams maybe you haven't played before or maybe you've played in a cup game a long time ago or whatever it might be. Just having that variety of opponent each week must be quite enjoyable. yeah it's quite refreshing as well I think and also not knowing the opposition players sometimes is uh quite exciting obviously we do a review but I don't know the players as well as WSL1 so it's quite nice just to go into these games and you know see who I'm going to come up against and see if it's a good match so like personally it's a different type of challenge right because I guess you're having to learn about a whole when you're doing your player review and stuff like that you're having to learn a whole lot new more information yeah there is a lot more information um it's obviously easier when you know the personnel that you're playing against you know I've played against Arsenal say 20 plus times and it was always against Kim Little so like you just know who you're going to come up against but in this league it's very different and like I said there's a lot of younger players that um yeah they're obviously coming through but it's exciting to play against them

12:16I must feel quite full circle for you I guess as well coming back to Bristol City and giving yourself this type of challenge at this stage of your career it must be a real kind of I don't know does that rejuvenate you a little bit or what does that felt like yeah I think I've just been happy to come back and I think um yeah since my knee obviously I feel uh like I'm nearly 100 % back now and closer to home closer to Wales which is also nice I can see my family a little bit more um after being away for so long I just little things like that off the pitch I think help when you're on the pitch to you know try and succeed um but also So there's obviously a lot of young players here as well.

12:57So I'm one of the older ones. So it's nice just to try and reach out and help the younger ones coming through because they've got 10 plus years on their career. And I want them to give absolutely everything they have and they can go really far in their journey. Do you enjoy that responsibility? Do you find like some of the youngsters look to you for advice or whether that be off the pitch or on the pitch? You're kind of that calm head, I suppose. Yeah, yeah, they do come to me quite often, actually. but it is nice and when I was their age I had older players to look up to so it's just nice to give something back to them and obviously the way the women's game's going now it's exciting for them like you can get contracts at the age of 16, 17, 18 and everything's set up for them now to be the best player that they can be with you know the nutrition, the recovery, travel, everything that we get given now is to be at your absolutely best whereas players like me and or my era obviously we didn't have that years ago so I just hope that they're really grateful that they're already in this position but they still have to keep pushing and there's still a long way to go to be fair at Chelsea you were I'd say also would have been described as one of the the leaders the calm heads that people look to as well is that something you've found you naturally gravitated towards as a player or do you feel like you've grown into that kind of position um I think I've obviously always been calm and quite relaxed and you know don't get too angry or too high or too low in emotions um but I think since having the armband at Wales at the age of 23 I think that changed a lot for me I was shit scared to be honest um 23 trying to lead a national team is it was yeah I wasn't quite ready for it I didn't think obviously my manager at the time did but But I then started to learn that you have to look out for other people.

14:51It's not just people in your unit. You have to speak with the staff a lot more. You have to notice things and be aware of everything that's going on. So I obviously do that in a calm, relaxed way. And how much, I guess, did that, knowing that a manager saw you as the right person for that role, while you might have been shit scared, it must have been quite nice to know that that's how you were seen as as from a manager's perspective right yeah I think it just because I didn't feel that way I think um I doubted myself and I doubted my own ability probably both on and off the pitch that I could lead a national team um and then yeah within like the year I felt myself changing and being more vocal and not shouting but you know Speaking up when needed and a lot of the players always say to me, oh, I like when you speak because you just say it how it is, but just like in a calm, relaxed way.

15:47So people kind of listen because I think a lot of the time we shout at each other and people don't really like that. No one likes to be shouted at. And you've worked alongside as well some very good leaders. You touch on Emma Hayes, for example, or Millie Bright or Magda Eriksson, all quite different types of leaders. Do you find yourself as a football player, like taking little bits from that or saying, I like how they lead. I might, you know, take that on board myself. I don't know. I just think we're all so different. A lot of people, most leaders are naturally louder and more direct. I just think I like to just do it in my own way.

16:28And if that's speaking on a level like this, then for me, I think people get more from it. But sometimes you do need to be shouted at. you need to be you know someone to be vocal and be like girls that's not good enough and you know to get the attention of people but um that only comes out a little bit in me they call me sassy Soph at times but it doesn't come out often when it's needed you know exactly when it's needed and speaking of leaders Charlotte Healy you know is really building something on the pitch with this team it feels like what's it been like working with her yeah really exciting I think um Obviously, I've known her over the years when she was at United.

17:07But yeah, obviously her first time being a manager. And she's obviously brought in a lot of new players, a lot of new staff. We've had Mercury 13 come in. Obviously, Guinness now have just been our sponsor. There's so much change within a short space of time. But I think she's doing a fantastic job right now with probably the pressure on her shoulders as well for us to get promoted. but she's probably the right person for it. She's got high standards and you can see with the signings we're bringing in both before in the summer and now at the Christmas break. And you're touching it there, Mercury 13 took over the club just over a month after you joined.

17:51What kind of impact have you seen from that? I think they've been amazing. I think they've come to most of our games. They're very visible. they're really supportive of this team and they're not shy to say that they're really big on women's football they think it can go above and beyond to where it is now and yeah they're striving for more already so the pressure is on us as players to to deliver because they are giving us things now that we didn't have at the start of the season and also they have massive contacts you know people like Guinness that are coming in and that's just going to boost everything around this club and the outsiders or other players will see these things happening and think you know what Bristol City is is going in the right direction I want to be a part of that yeah it sounds like they're they really want to set the standard um for being a part of a women's football club and you know you were at a club for a long time that that set the standard it felt like in women's football and it feels like you're you're at it again now you're at another club that are looking to kind of move things along and maybe do things a little bit differently?

18:58Yeah, I think, as you know, in women's football, like it never stops, does it? Like we always have to keep striving for more. You know, just when you think the standards are good enough, they're probably not because other teams are not getting it. So it's as a whole, and I've been lucky enough to be at Chelsea where we did have everything over the years. But again, that team was still striving for more. They still wanted better facilities, better pitches, etc. And that's the way Bristol City is going. It doesn't matter that they're in WSL2 right now. They're still striving for more. And Mercury 13 are coming in.

19:34Obviously, they've made small changes in the interim part, but obviously they're a long-term project. And it's exciting for the next three, four years under them where this club can go. You're touching it there as well. This weekend is particularly momentous because Guinness has just been unveiled as Bristol City's new shirt sponsor. What kind of impact do you think such a big sponsorship like this is going to have on the club? And I guess more broadly in WSL too, because we've seen the likes of Guinness being very involved in sport. It's getting a lot of eyes on it. It's becoming super popular again to drink.

20:10But also, you know, seeing how involved they're getting in sport. It's massive, isn't it? I think when I think of Guinness, I just think of Wales rugby. Like it's obviously plastered everywhere at Six Nations, kind of grew up seeing that everywhere. So to now, you know, Bristol City getting a sponsor like that, it's huge. And again, the club's going in the right direction. We're pulling in these sponsors that want to be a sponsor of this football club. And obviously we get some free drinks on the weekend for all the fans coming. I think you get a Guinness zero if you attend the game. Well, it's not the only reason I'm attending, but I am actually going to be there and I may have to avail of that free Guinness, if I'm totally honest.

20:56And that's, I guess, another thing. I know we touched on you reflecting a little bit when you were injured, but I feel like when players are playing, they don't often reflect on all the milestones in their career. And you've kind of been involved in a lot of big milestones that might not seem huge at the time, but when you look back on, you were like, yeah, I was part of that. I was part of that too. I was part of that. That must be pretty cool. Yeah, you're right. I think we never, as players, sit down and reflect probably as much as we should. I think games come thick and fast and you win a title and then it's the next one, it's the next one.

21:30And that's the mindset I've been in for the last seven, eight years under Chelsea is, yeah, we've won one trophy, we want to win another one. And it's relentless. It doesn't stop. You never, you know, just sit back and go, do you know what, girls, we did well there. You know, we won three trophies this year. It's always wanting more. So I think when you go for an injury, then you actually sit back and think, yeah, like I have, you know, won quite a lot as a team. And yeah, I've been a part of such a big thing in the women's game. And now you're at Bristol City. I mean, I have here to ask you what you want to achieve at Bristol.

22:04I'm pretty sure you're going to say at Bristol City, you want to get promoted to WSL. But is there anything maybe more broadly, personally, you'd like to achieve now that you've gone back to Bristol City?

22:17Again, probably just like trying to help the younger ones come through and develop them and give them advice when they ask for it. And see them on their journey as well, because they could be here for the next two, three years and I'll probably be retired then. but I can come back and watch and be like I was a part of their journey and hopefully in 10 years time they look back and think god you know what Soph did actually help me could be something minute and something so small but um yeah I just think we can look after each other a lot more in the women's game and help out when needed and I'm right in thinking you've done some coaching badges right is that something you'd eventually like to get into yeah I've got my B license um I don't know if to go on my A licence yet because it takes like a year to do.

23:04But the idea, I'd love to. But also, I don't know if I just want to have my weekends off when I retire. I don't know. But I feel like all I've known is football. So I don't think I would go away from football. But if I could just coach Monday to Friday. Well, you never know. Maybe you could organise some sort of league that only does Monday to Friday. For those who can't do weekends. Or just like Friday games. Yeah. Every game has to be a Friday night. Yeah, although I'm not sure loads of people would love that. Yeah, true. Maybe that's your goal. Maybe you need to brainstorm some league that you can set up that has weekends off.

23:42Yeah, or just some weekends, you know. It doesn't have to be every weekend. It's not too much to ask. It's not relentless. Like, oh, we're away for three weeks in a row and, you know, don't get that Friday feeling. You're the kind of person, though, that might be out of the game for a few months and you'd be itching to get back in. Yeah, I probably would. Which is good for us because, like, I think you're absolutely the kind of person that needs to stay in the game whatever you do decide to do. Maybe. Can you give me a chance? Give me time. You've got a few more years left and I'll think of something but you've got a game of the weekend under the lights at Ashton Gate which I'm sure you're dead excited for so I really appreciate you taking time out to chat to us before that one.

24:20Best of luck for the season. Thank you very much and I'll see you Saturday. You will. Pint of Guinness. Thanks for joining us on this special bonus episode of Upfront. we'll be back on Tuesday to reflect on Man City versus Chelsea the Champions Cup and much more in the meantime you can find us on Instagram and x slash Twitter I'm at girls in the ball Chloe is at morgy underscore 89 and we are at upfront underscore pod you can also find us on YouTube at upfront pod see you next week

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