The 2025/26 Upfront Awards

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0:42Rachel: Welcome to Upfront. I'm Clay Morgan. And I'm Rachel O'Sullivan. And just like that, the WSL season is over. And what a season it was. We had exciting new signings and managers delivering for their teams and some sad departures and of course a new league winner for the first time since 2019. There's only one way to get through it all and that is obviously with an Upfront Awards show. Yes, that's right. It's the episode you've all been waiting for. The Upfront 2025-26 Awards are here. Enough messing around, Rach. Let's get stuck in. We're obviously going to be voting for our picks in the following categories.

1:24Rachel: So we've got some big, big categories. Team of the season, manager of the season, player of the season, young player of the season, signing of the season, quote of the season. This is so difficult, that one. And what the fuck moment of the season. Up front, guest of the season. And last but not least, the moment I will always associate this season with is... Like I said, Rach, WSL Football Awards were last night. These are obviously more important. we need to get through them. We also have the Women's Football Awards as well but none of them really compare to the standard and the magnitude of where the upfront awards have got to.

2:01Rachel: It is something that we get a lot of feedback on every single year. A lot of people challenge us on it and I really like that so please continue in the same vein.

2:07Chloe: The debate I welcome.

2:09Rachel: Be nice.

2:10Chloe: We don't need to be nasty. Be savage.

2:12Rachel: We don't care. The season's over. We're almost done.

2:16Chloe: Nearly. Still three more weeks. Okay, should we get stuck into the first one? Let's. Can I just point out So some of these for me feel a bit like obvious. Yeah. So I want to give a few like little honourable mentions as well.

2:29Rachel: I think that's really fair. I think that's really fair. And talking of the most obvious this year, let's start with the biggest. I think this one might be, I don't think there's going to be any surprises with this one, I don't think. Team of the season, Rach, I'll be the gent and let you go first.

2:44Chloe: The gent, lovely. It is, this might shock you. Go on. Manchester City. Oh!

2:51Rachel: No, you're joking. Oh, Lord. Wow. That's a big curveball there.

2:55Chloe: I am going to give an honourable mention to Tottenham. I think, you know, and there will be a further honourable mention, but I think for this season, they've had a very good season and I've enjoyed some of their games in terms of how they're trying to play football. So I want to give an honourable mention to Tottenham. But Manchester City, yes, winning the league again in the fashion they did it. You know, they've obviously got a huge amount of quality on the pitch, but I think a lot of people have spoken about their mentality this season that feels like there's a shift there. And I think that's so important when it comes to being able to win this bloody league.

3:26Chloe: And they definitely kind of evidenced that in a number of games and the manner in which they won some of those games that kind of grit and fight until the death, making sure that they were getting three points as opposed to, say, one, which I think is at times where they've tripped up in previous seasons, just managing to get some difficult games over the line. So that's been a huge shift from them. There's been obviously some great players. We are going to go on to managers as well. but I think they definitely deserve it and I've really enjoyed how they've celebrated their win as well. I loved that they basically hired out the pub down in Dagnum which, you know, honour, that's a very nice thing to do.

4:01Chloe: I probably would have liked to go for a drink elsewhere. Kirsten Kasperi, behind the bar. Kirsten Kasperi basically commandeered this pub for their fans which I thought was a really nice touch and they then had their kind of party up in Manchester for their fans as well. So even if you couldn't make it down to the game the fact that they had another opportunity for their fans to celebrate with them I thought was a really nice touch

4:20Rachel: I feel like they're really building a family like a real fan base, they're kind of gathering an identity almost, I think a lot of the clubs in WSL I think do struggle with this kind of like what does the fan base encapsulate what is the ethos of the club what are the values around the club and I feel like Man City has really galvanised this feeling of like we're going to do it but we're going to do it with our family and building this really strong also northern contingent but winning helps as well to kind of winning does help bring that together and kind of grow that and still to have obviously a trophy to go with the FA Cup still to be decided but yeah Rach I don't think it's any kind of surprise that my pick was also Man City I think this would be the last category actually we choose the same thing I'm not surprised you love to go rogue I do like a little bit of a left field a curveball but like you said I mean 55 points 22 games like the goals scored 62 goals conceded just 19 it was just the win rate 81 % of their matches and I you look at again like you were saying how they play the fluidity, the flexibility they had the creativity that we've seen like certain players have and I just think it's one of those things where the front line was together the back line was together, there was a cohesive middle unit, the goalkeepers switched around a little bit but still incredible performances the manager is getting the best from the players, you can see that when they're winning these games and running straight over to Andre and going they want him to be included and you can see then, that's when you really get a sense of the relationship the manager has with the players is that they want him to be a part of this journey that he's helped them get to, especially after such a difficult season that, you know, the season before and kind of things not going to plan and it all feeling a bit negative.

5:49Rachel: But this really feels like a city on the rise. And also it has to be said, it's such a difficult feat to break the hold of someone like Chelsea who have just been so embedded in winning the league year after year after year. So to break that and also to bring the fans some jeopardy and some real kind of, Christ, like Chelsea are really on the back foot for one of the first times in over a decade. This is amazing. So I think what they've achieved for the fans, for the players, for the club as a whole, for the league as a whole, I think is absolutely incredible. So I think it 100 % feels like the most deserving club to go to.

6:24Rachel: So yeah, congratulations to Man City on an incredible season. It was quite nice to see some of the players at the awards last night collecting. A lot of them were featured actually in the team of the season as well. Kirsten Kaspari, obviously Bunny Shaw. Viv Miedemar. Viv Miedemar as well. A couple of them down there. So it was, yeah, really, really lovely to see them and how happy they were. So, yeah, congrats to all of us from up front. OK, Rach, we have to move swiftly. We can't keep talking like this for every single awards.

6:53Chloe: We could wax lyrical about all of these categories.

6:55Rachel: Well, it's been a topsy-turvy year. But let's go to manager of the season. So I'll go to you first. Where are you going with this one?

7:02Chloe: Again, I don't think there's going to be too much surprise. I have spoken about Andre Joglerz already this season and what a great addition he's been to the league. My honourable mention is Martin Ho. Again, I think a very good addition to the league. You can really see the style of play Martin's trying to bring. But what both of them do is they speak really well and we need managers who will speak on a variety of topics. We've lost some managers who've gone to different jobs in various other leagues and different roles or whatever who are willing to kind of put their head above the parapet and speak on important topics in the women's game.

7:34Chloe: And I do feel like both Martin and Andre are good at that. But yeah, I just have a lot of time for Andre Jäglert. He seems like a really cool, calm head. He's very giving in his media duties. And as you said, he just seems to really get the best out of the team. I feel like there's a trust there where he kind of, I wouldn't say defers to his players, but he knows that he's got players in that team who can turn games around. And there isn't that kind of rigidity of like, it's my way or it's not going to work kind of thing, which I really enjoy from a manager. So a manager who can get the best out of his players must be doing a really bloody good job and to win it in his first season as well is incredible.

8:11Chloe: Not bad. Because we were worried. The bar's been set now quite high. Yeah, but we were worried when he came in, you know, off the back of his time at Denmark. And, you know, they're very different jobs, essentially, you know, managing a national team versus managing a team in a league. There's a lot of scepticism around the high end. Yeah, and I mean, I do think it's quite funny. There's a lot of kind of, well, we told you so from some City fans on Twitter. And you're like, well, I think we all were okay to be a bit concerned in the beginning when he came off the back of a dreadful Euros with Denmark and understandably people were like I think they were valid this could be interesting but actually as I said they can be quite different roles and maybe some managers are better at getting the best out of their players in a short kind of period maybe some are better like Andre in that kind of day-to-day role which he's obviously exceptionally good at and yeah I think it's been a great addition so a bit of an obvious choice but I think it's a worthy winner

9:00Rachel: No, well I think your picks kind of reflected the audience so unsurprisingly again we sort of had a lot of love from Andre from the listeners in this category, but also a lot of people saying Martin Ho. So you've pretty much encapsulated the views of the people who listen. So love that. Well done. Have you picked either of those? Playing to the crowd. So I did go with Yandre, but I don't want to give him like you've already gone into I can't really add anything more to what you said because he's just been absolutely outstanding. And I think, yeah, it was really nice to hear from him briefly last night sort of saying, you know, he's so humble.

9:29Rachel: Yeah. He was saying, you know, how are you going to celebrate this? And he was just like a small glass of red wine. Whoa. I wish I'd taken a leaf out of his box. Yeah, well, we'll talk about Tequila Rose session later. I am going a little bit of a curveball because he was only in place for the first half of the season and it was only about three or four months or so in this WSL season. Jocelyn, Jocelyn P. I still can't get over the fact that he was let go after what he did.

9:57Chloe: One of my future answers for this, but go on.

9:59Rachel: With London City Lionesses, getting them to sixth place, taking the squad into the WSL for the first time. That is a massive transition to be able to do. And then off the back of that, also dealing with all the incoming players, having to try and get them all to play and to sing from the same hymn sheet.

10:15Chloe: What, 17 new players?

10:16Rachel: 17 new players. You've got this quite demanding boss, sets a lot of high targets. He meets these targets. I mean, finishing sixth, when we were in Spurs when we first came up, we would have been eighth or ninth, we would have been super, super happy with. But to get to mid-table, in and amongst all these WSL stalwarts, the Brightons and the Villas and the West Hams and to be doing better than some of these clubs I think is absolutely insane. He also built a squad that took the game to opposition. There were some really kind of close results against some of the top four as well. They didn't look out of place.

10:47Rachel: They didn't look like a team that had just come up. 100%. And I think also when you looked at London City Lionesses' form after he'd left, I think he'd built such a solid foundation that they were quite stable in taking on the new manager and going forwards and building on what he had put in place and implemented. and I still feel a bit aggrieved over the fact that he wasn't able to see out the rest of the season. I think he did such an amazing job and I don't want that to be forgotten because everything he achieved, it was tough.

11:13Chloe: Yeah, the good thing is by getting in the new manager, he managed to take them from sixth to sixth. Investment well spent. That's no slight on Edo at all, I'm just saying. It was one of those, we were all trying to work out like, why? Do you know what? I'm spoiling. I'm not going to continue. I can hold off on that for a little while longer where I might go into a bit more detail.

11:36Rachel: All right, so we've kind of like inadvertently picked Jocelyn, Andre and also Martin in this kind of section. Yeah, but massive credit again to Andre. He was kind of our first choice, if you will, for this one. All right, this is quite a spicy one. This is a biggie. This is the big dog. So player of the season. And there has been some outstanding players. This has not been an easy one to really get through. But Rach, go on.

12:00Chloe: So I've decided rather than doing a player on an honourable mention, I'm just going to give it to Shodema. Okay, all right, okay. Just the team. Just the duo, collectively, singularly. Oh, he settled on Shodema. Was there anything else? I think that's what we did. We did have a spitballing session. A medium more. And we couldn't, that's just her name. We were just trying to figure out how their name would mesh together. And I think Shodema is what we came up with. Yeah, I just think, I mean, you know, Bunny Shaw has understandably won. A lot of the awards thus far, she's been incredible. Another, a third season where she scored 20 plus goals, which I don't think any other player has done, which is pretty incredible.

12:39Chloe: But I also think, you know, I was so excited pre-season. I don't know if you remember when they kind of revealed Bunny and Viv as the 9 and 10, because you remember their numbers changed and stuff. And it was a whole thing that they were going to be this duo and, you know, hoping that there weren't going to be the injuries they dealt with last season. And, you know, they've both played incredibly well as a duo. And we love a duo. like you know remember Kirby Fran Kerr and Sam Sam Kerr and Frank I always do that Fran Kirby God that feels like a lifetime doesn't it but I just love a kind of I mean actually Mead and Meadamard were a pretty dangerous duo as well I love a good duo like they're lethal and I just think Bunny Shaw and Vivian Meadamard this season have been lethal you know and to have Viv up there on the top scorers list pretty high up fourth in number of goals scored 10 goals for midfielder and 5 assists alongside Bunny's 21 that's insane that's like 31 goals just for two of them but Bunny with 21 incredible um and I just think yeah they've been incredibly an incredibly effective pair uh and I just think yeah what a weapon for Manchester City.

13:41Rachel: Did you find it quite heartwarming the celebrations up in Manchester the crowd started shouting like stay Bunny essentially and the players got behind that chanting as well how does it make you feel to know that duo could be broken up this summer?

13:55Chloe: I think Manchester City would be absolutely mad to not give her everything she wants to keep her like it just would be crazy and it's not like there's you know loads of absolutely world class top number nines just available you'd be hanging on for her wouldn't you

14:10Rachel: I'd name the Joy's Stadium after it I'd get rid of Joy's naming right so you just say it's the the short stadium of light funny stadium not of light that's Sunderland isn't it yeah it makes me feel a little bit kind of like anxious almost that we might not see that pairing

14:25Chloe: next year. That's crazy. Well, so all the more reason to do short a map because it might not exist after next season.

14:31Rachel: Well, again, you've hung on the coattails of the listeners, unsurprisingly. A lot of people have said Bunny Shaw, who of course won the WSL Player of the Season last night at the WSL Awards. She's been picking up the awards this, yeah. Call that trophy cabinet, bloody hell. Loaded, reinforced. Try and pick up the same number of the person who did the Chelsea cabinet. They would know what they're talking about.

14:51Chloe: And now she gets to add our award, here you go, to her cabinet. One day we'll actually

14:56Rachel: be able to afford awards as well. We will do like a I don't know like a glass plinth.

15:00Chloe: Like a little plastic thing

15:01Rachel: from like Toys R Us

15:02Chloe: or something like that. It is crazy

15:03Rachel: when you go to awards like we won a bronze award it was like the the runners up award thing and you take this thing home and it's essentially just a paperweight. Chunk of glass you're like why do I feel so happy about this chunk of glass? Listen I had to hold

15:15Chloe: Hannah Hampton's golden glove award last night. You had to or you stole it. She had two awards and she kind of handed it and said can you hang on to that while she was doing an interview and I was like whoa my god they're chunky yeah I was holding Amy Everett

15:27Rachel: and I was like

15:27Chloe: yeah I'll be honest I did take a picture just to see what it was like

15:30Rachel: to win a Golden Globet yeah

15:32Chloe: that nice

15:33Rachel: but I played as a goalkeeper for 10 years and I can only imagine what that feels like so anyway my pick I'm going for Kirstie Hansen I think she's been absolutely outstanding 12 goals this season for Villa third in the WSL Golden Boot Race I she's been 44 % of Villa's entire goal output this year. Man, another player that a club needs to bloody hang on to. 100%. 21.4 % conversion rate, which is amongst the best in the league. But there were a couple of people who beat her. But the average league conversion is 12.04%. So she's actually double the average of a WSL player. I feel like she has been absolutely, she's been critical in Villa's season and how much they've had to avoid or how much they've been able to avoid that relegation zone and kind of feel a little bit more safe than they otherwise would have done.

16:24Rachel: I think when you look at some of the goals she scored, she also picked up an award last night for the goal of the season. Which was rocket strike. The best and the worst thing is, the most incomprehensible thing is, she started the play from the corner and then ended the play as well with this absolute rocket strike, top bins. Keeper was nowhere near it. And it was just, I remember when we were judging it and I was just like, I don't understand how you get that level of back lift. And I said that. But then Kirstie Hansen walks up on stage last night she's got the guns out my god yeah you know where the power is coming from because kirstie's been hitting the gym um i was jealous of the guns i was gonna say like i never really get my guns out but i did last night i felt like i was like why are my arms out look at her it's stupid don't stand next to her there was a lot of sleeveless tops in the wsl players and i'd be doing the same thing if i played never doing it again like that but she's been absolutely outstanding i think you know that was one of many goals that she scored this year that have not only been critical in terms of like the importance to the club but just been absolute worldy goals she's so direct she's so passionate she you can tell like she's enjoying the football despite it not you know being a bit of a challenging season on you know in various bits and pieces but I just think she's um she's a big game deliverer as well she's put the games to you know Chelsea like the you know scoring twice in four minutes with the Chelsea game I thought you know absolutely outstanding she's just she just seems so level-headed so confident but she confidence I

17:48Chloe: was going to say she really backs herself and that's been a big part of this her this season I think because she's one of those players that you know if she picks up the ball in her own half there is a very very very high chance that she's going to get a shot off definitely and she just backs herself to to take on players and to kind of run the length of the pitch and if you're a teammate of her bloody hell keep up so you can give her options in the box but she is an unbelievable ability to kind of pick up that ball wherever in the in the field and get all the way and get a frigging shot off and that is like you're seeing the fruits of that labour then because she's so confident that she'll get a shot off you know the chance of her scoring a bloody world is pretty high than as well just watching her pick I just have so many visions of her this season just picking up the ball kind of like down underneath her own box just being like bye

18:31Rachel: see you later see what I can do

18:33Chloe: I will get a shot off

18:34Rachel: so I hope your goalkeeper's ready the stats are rising regardless yeah but no I think massive massive shout out to her because I think she's been that's a good choice absolutely amazing this year and the thing is

18:43Chloe: when you've got someone like Bunny Shaw just doing these unbelievable things you know and I'm like she's got to be my player of the season that's why I want to do those honorable mentions because there are other players who have had brilliant seasons and maybe haven't like won the golden boot and scored so many goals for their team and won the league and stuff so you know a worthy worthy winner for that I think it can be easy to miss players like that I think

19:03Rachel: given where the team eventually landed and settled on I think you can kind of look at that team as a whole and think okay well I'm not going to find my player of the season there but I think she yeah she's been absolutely outstanding she's she's shone for the team and been a big part of their their safety this year. So yeah, congrats to Shordemar and also to Kirst as well. Okay, we're going to go slightly younger for the next category. So we're going under 23s for this young player of the season. Rach, what are you saying? There's been a lot of rising star madness this year. So I know some people might, when I say this,

19:34Chloe: they might be like, what about Blah? Well, I might also have them counted for in like a different award. I think I'm so tired. I was like, who's Blah? Blah has been on. No, you know, you're trying to like get there's so many players you want to kind of get named somewhere so they might be further down if you're worried that i'm not going to mention a certain player okay um my

19:52Rachel: honorable mention is virla burman yeah i think she's been superb for chelsea has played in you

19:57Chloe: know a couple of positions in that back line so assured so confident brilliant brilliant young player like a such kind of um a mature head on her shoulders she's my honorable mention also

20:08Rachel: really really lovely to see her picking up uh the award uh last night and lucy bonds handing it to and saying like her maturity and how amazing she'd been and sort of like how she was like one of the first people in the training ground and how she's always asking questions and she's building that confidence. So yeah, that's a really nice honourable mention, mate.

20:21Chloe: My winner, however, was not on the list for young player of the season in the WSL Awards, which I was shocked at. It's Tokugawa. I think she's been unbelievable for Tottenham. Again, another player with such a mature head on her shoulders. So kind of confident and calm in that back line for Tottenham. A huge miss when she went to the Asian Cup. You know, both her and Claire Hunt have been playing so well together and then they obviously went away to the Asian Cup and Claire Hunt got injured and you know you can almost Spurs felt it Yeah Yeah really did you can like attribute some of that kind of issue to not having both of them so I just think yeah brilliant signing got a goal or two in her as well but I just I love seeing these kind of young players stepping up in the big games and looking so cool calm and collected especially in a position both of them actually funny enough defenders being so calm in that back line it's incredible at that age slightly jealous of the confidence but yeah I thought Toka's been brilliant I was really surprised that she wasn't on the young player of the year list

21:18Rachel: Did she make team of the season?

21:19Chloe: Yeah. At the end Yeah.

21:21Rachel: So then how? You know Sometimes these categories they like to like even them out a little bit so even though they can be in both categories people don't want to see that the duplication so I that but it was nice to get her flowers at the end definitely My pick, Fry Godfrey Yeah 20 years old has well and truly made her mark with London City Lionesses this year I have had the fortune of actually going down and actually seeing a few of the games when they were playing at Promley one of them against Man City and I just yeah that was a great game 100 % and the rocket that she scored on that occasion it kind of I knew that she was good I think when you see it in person you're actually at the games obviously you get to go to a lot more games than I do and you see the work rate that she has the effort that she has she tracks back so much She is one of those players, again, a bit like Kirstie Hansen.

22:09Rachel: When she gets the ball, she's always looking to go forward. And the angles of some of her goals are ridiculous. They're illegal.

22:16Chloe: Like she backs herself from like way out wide to have a shot, probably get a goal. The narrowest. Yeah, there's a tiny little bit in the goal that if I get it there, it's going to be a goal and it's like ping, no bother.

22:26Rachel: Almost as a goalkeeper, it's almost like you're not anticipating because you've closed down that angle. Say someone's coming down on the right-hand side. You've closed down your left-hand angles. You're thinking the striker's not going to go that way because I'm covering this space. So you're almost anticipating they're going to either like cut it back or whack it across goal and get it top in to the right hand side. You're not anticipating that she's going to fire a rocket, catch you off guard. And because it's so close as well, she's almost got this like power play move, this like cheat code move that we've seen her do on quite a few occasions.

22:55Chloe: There's not many players where I can imagine as a goalkeeper that put the frighteners up you where you're like, even if I have this covered, it's not covered. Kiko Seiko is another. The angles that they can put the ball in the back of the net is absolutely insane so love that great shout and also last game of the season drawing with aston villa yeah got the 93rd minute winner yeah i mean you can't

23:16Rachel: even i mean six goals this year four assists um played 18 of the the 22 games um goal conversion rate of 23 which is in and around your kirstie hansons and she's half the age almost um yeah she's been absolutely outstanding this season um i've got to give her her flowers um yeah really big shout out to her I think she's been absolutely outstanding and shout out to Togo as well so yeah some young bright rising stars of the future yeah and excited to see

23:44Chloe: what they'll do next season 100 % you know feet under the table in the WSL even more confident bring it on scary

23:50Rachel: coming up after this we're back with more awards including our what the fuck moment of the season

24:07Rachel: Quick question. When was the last time a display ad changed your mind? Now think about the last time a friend told you about something they loved. Different feeling, right? That's how podcast advertising works. A host who's built real trust with their audience talks about your brand in their own words, in their own voice. It doesn't interrupt the experience. It's part of it. With Acast, you can access the world's largest podcast marketplace, Choose the right shows, the right audiences, the right format. Then watch the data tell you it worked. You're not buying impressions. You're buying influence.

24:41Rachel: Learn more by visiting acast.com slash advertise.

24:52Rachel: All right, welcome back. We have to fly through these because there's just so much to bloody say about every single one of these categories. I told you we were going to wax lyrical about everyone. Literally. And it's hard not to. There's been some absolutely stellar things that have happened this season. But let's start this half with signing of the season. This was hard. It was tough. There were some big names coming to the WSL this year.

25:14Chloe: And moving clubs. And they've made an impact. And there's maybe some obvious ones I could have gone with. But this player that I've chosen, I feel like maybe has been overlooked a little bit because they didn't get Golden Glove, for example. That might give a little bit away. but my signing of the season is Giamak Nadozi. Nice. I am going to give an honourable mention to Alyssa Thompson but as I said there have been a lot of great players and I could name loads of them so it's not that they've not been good or not made an impact. There's been so many signings in this season who've made a big impact to their club have been brilliant signings but we can only pick one.

25:53Chloe: So Giamak Nadozi I think has been a superb addition, superb goalkeeper but has the best save rate in the league and you know she just keeps on your toes man she pulls off some unbelievable saves sometimes she goes off on an adventure I like the risk that she takes sometimes you're like why is the yellow you're going to flash a yellow in your peripheral and you're like what's Nadozi doing up here by the halfway line or she comes out she's like fuck it I'll make the tackle myself heart and mouth moment but keeps on your toes there's been a couple of times

26:18Rachel: where it's not gone to plan but I rate the fact the majority of the times it actually has and I also rate the fact that as a defender you're looking behind you and you know that she's got your back you know that she's stood behind you

26:28Chloe: with her arm on your shoulder and you're like wait hang on if you're here who's in the goal no she's been a great addition she's been brilliant for Brighton you know they're now going to an FA Cup final and she'll have been a big part of that and obviously they've had some players scoring some great goals and being relying on players like Fran Kirby and Akiko Sekes and Madison Haley's but Nadozi for me what a signing what a goalkeeper and she's been brilliant for Brighton and I think she deserves to get a mention

26:51Rachel: she's also just such a character as well she's a joy to watch yeah she's very like she's a great just like a you can tell the team like really like love her presence in in the squad there are some players that we used to have like lucy quinn at spurs who was like one of the funniest wittiest like most like just ridiculous humans in the best way and like she like um and those kind of given that kind of energy and you need someone to like lighten you up in those in you know it's a tough demanding demanding game but you need that kind of energy so yeah that's really nice yeah yeah um i'm going to continue in the same vein for my honorable mention so i've gone with Jennifer Folk.

27:25Rachel: Yeah, I think she's been absolutely outstanding since January. I think, yeah, it's not been the easiest season for Liverpool. And I think it's a weird one because obviously, you know, the goals they've conceded have been quite high. So it's almost a counterintuitive choice in a way. But I was kind of looking back at how the first half of the season went compared to the second half. So in the WSL, the Reds conceded 21 times in their first 11 games compared to just 10 times in Folk's 10 outings. And I think she's also got a save percentage of 71.4%. And I think she's been absolutely key to the fact that Liverpool are in the position just that they are now, have kind of just scraped through not being in more danger and having to play the relegation game this weekend.

28:06Rachel: But yeah, I think I've seen her pull out some absolutely outstanding, incredible saves. I think she's the right age for a goalkeeper, that 33 year. It's kind of like that, almost like just after your 30s, I think is where you gather so much experience of like how players are going to come at you. the weather conditions, the atmosphere, the fans, the crowd, the ability to play with different types of players. I think it's just the confidence that she has. So I think, yeah, it's been challenging, but I'd also give a bit of a shout out to her. Honourable mention.

28:31Chloe: Honourable mention. Okay, so who is your actual pick?

28:33Rachel: Jessie P. Yeah, I just think she's been, again, not the greatest season for Manchester United if you compare the Champions League and kind of where they've ended up in the league. But I have just seen her display so much creativity and so much, like we always call her the Duracell bunny. I feel like the energy that she has is completely endless and even when the club aren't doing too well or even when the game isn't going to plan, she's one of those players that you can rely on to at least like maintain a level of consistency in the standard of her performances. I mean, we had a look at some of her goals as well for goal of the season and she had two in there and one of them was such a close contender because like she was weaving in and out of players like she finds spaces, she's so nippy, she's great on both feet, she's just agile, versatile rapid and she just she finds space that no one else can see she also has a

29:23Chloe: fuck it I'll do it myself moment yeah for sure you sometimes need players like that where you're just like if it's not working she'll do that she'll pick it up and she'll go I'll just take on all of the defence myself and score a goal I feel like she's really found a place in the red side of Manchester I think maybe dipped off slightly in the latter stages of the season but then so is Manchester United it's less about her and more about you know the team but my god did she make an impact when she came in bloody hell

29:46Rachel: yeah I think she's been absolutely ass I love watching her play like when she gets the ball I love watching what she's going to do like she feels like a like a sparky player I feel like the fans have got behind that as well so please

29:55Chloe: can you tell me who some of the listeners have mentioned because there's so many players that like I could have chosen and I want them to get the mention so who else have some of our listeners been suggesting another red squad

30:06Rachel: Livvy Smith yes oh my god absolutely outstanding again she was again up for WSL goal of the season as well

30:14Chloe: her first goal at the Emirates she's got it tattooed on her

30:16Rachel: yeah the debut it was such a fucking screamer yeah it's been everywhere no the tattoo oh yeah the tattoo's been everywhere because everyone's comparing it to

30:23Chloe: Leah Williamson's got a tattoo of mate Leah Williamson has a finger tattoo and it's faded and I can camera I'm the same if anyone knows of people who are good at doing finger tattoos I won't go to Leah Williamson's one obviously but help

30:38Rachel: do they ever really last when they're on your hands

30:39Chloe: you do need them topped up sorry this is slightly off topic guys you do need them topped up but I didn't expect it to look like that two weeks after I got it done two weeks LOML which stands for love of my life

30:50Rachel: oh thank you

30:51Chloe: yeah that's for you so when I'm giving you the finger that's so sweet yeah you pulling out all the stops nothing to do with my wife and my engagement and wedding ring it's nothing to do with that good yeah anyway sorry yes she has the tattoo on her leg I love that

31:05Rachel: that's such a cool thing what a moment I think it just it was so lovely that it was at the Emirates because it just lit the stadium on fire I remember watching it

31:13Chloe: because it was one of those goals where I think was probably one of those, you know when sometimes I tell you about me taking shooting and I'll audibly say, when someone does something like unreal and you can't help but go, Jesus. I think it was one of those where I didn't shoot it. I watched it.

31:26Rachel: I think Olivia Smith, I think obviously she's been a favourite for the listeners and for good reason. I think she's again, the creativity that she's had with Arsenal. I think the way that she's, how well she's gelled with the players at Arsenal. Settled in so quickly. Honestly, she looks like she's been there for multiple seasons. And then also a shout out for Jade Rose as well.

31:44Chloe: Brilliant signing for Manchester City. 100 % what a player solid player defenders don't always I mean to be fair but I did mention too my young players but defenders don't always get the plaudits and that Manchester City back line that pairing of Canuck and Rose has been brilliant and she's got a few goals in her as well which is nice

31:59Rachel: defensively solid I think that's a really nice shout out because we always talk about yeah like the media miles and the shores and the hemps and the rest of them but actually the back line their defensive record has been absolutely outstanding this year and you've got then

32:08Chloe: Kirsten Kaspari who can just like rock up and provide what seven assists

32:12Rachel: or something and score goals I mean

32:14Chloe: she does everything

32:14Rachel: yeah The only thing I think I haven't seen Kirsten Kaspar yet play is the goalkeeper. And she's got the height for it. And also like the stature for goal as well.

32:23Chloe: Another player I would have liked to have seen in goal was Katie McCabe. Just because I think she played every other position for Arsenal. I just thought it was such a shame that they didn't take a moment to just stick the gloves on her and put her in goal to be like, and now she's played all positions. Don't. Honestly, don't.

32:36Rachel: Right, let's go to quote of the season. This is such a tough category.

32:41Chloe: Because you have to remember, like, I don't remember. all the words that were said over the past seven or eight months. Never mind the goals and the saves and the results and all of that shit. And I have to remember like what people said. And then I end up just going to like, what was the most recent thing someone said? Which was my initial one, which was when Sonia Bonpastor did the press conference on Friday before their last game. And someone asked her, will you be doing World 7? This was obviously before it was announced. And she looked like, I swear, it was very like looking through the fourth wall, breaking the fourth wall, basically looked at the camera and went were these World 7s?

33:16Chloe: and then gave a little wink and I was like you know they're obviously being the last team so I was initially going to go with that but then I remembered and this wasn't really a quote but it was when I can't remember who Chelsea were playing but they weren't playing very well I think they even lost the game but I remember poor Sandy Baltimore taking two corners and I'm pretty sure both of them went straight out and all you could hear from the sideline was Sonia going Sandy! Sandy! That's two! I don't think she needs to be told. She knows, mate. But you could hear it on the live, through the cameras.

33:50Chloe: You could hear her on the sideline. She's lively on the sideline, man.

33:53Rachel: But yeah, you could just hear her being like, Sandy! I mean, I can't even imagine how it must feel. You've got 4 ,000 people watching you make two errors that aren't critical, but not great. And then your manager launches a verbal at you saying you've messed up. Just in case you don't know, you've messed up. Do it again, but better.

34:11Chloe: do you know what Sonia's provided some good moments like do you remember bringing the phone in after the Champions League game to be like look at this there's been a couple of memes created off of that yeah she's good for like a line or two this season which you know is hard to take up after Emma Hayes who produces poetry literally so to be able to step in and provide some good lines and some good memes and stuff

34:33Rachel: it's been really good to see like the human side of Sonia because obviously the season hasn't gone to plan this year and she has been you know she's been quite animated on the sidelines when things haven't gone her way and the team aren't performing to the standard that she expects. We've seen a couple of cards as well going Sonia's way, but it's part and parcel of it. It's the drama of the you go to watch the spectacle of things not going their way, then going their way, and the celebrations are just as important as the frustrations. I love it.

34:59Chloe: As floor manager and I get to sit between the dugouts during games, you can really just see the things you hear. The managers on the sideline and how they act. Natalia Arroyo is a big fan of Alon she does a lot of that on the sideline you know big long lunges and she's always squatted down on her haunches Karen Hill's a big fan of the squat down the squat down loves the squat down

35:17Rachel: which is worse because Juan was like seven foot tall so it looked like

35:21Chloe: she was two foot tall next to him

35:22Rachel: yeah it was a weird it was a weird juxtaposition on that one okay give me a quote what's yours? I'm going to go for something a bit more meaningful and heartfelt oh sorry yeah so rein it in I'm going to go with Andre Juggler on lifting the WSL title with Man City it was a really lovely just a summary I think of like what had been achieved. And he said, helping guide this team to the WSL title is something I will never forget. The girls have met every challenge in front of them head on and have been an absolute joy to coach this season. In the good moments and the bad, they've always stuck together and found a way to win.

35:54Rachel: Something that all great champions do. And I think it's, yes, it's a little bit soft. I've gone a little bit heartfelt with it, but it just kind of sums up, I think, what City have achieved. And the fact they have ridden out bad moments. There was a little bit of a banana skin at the end of the season. It did look like the gap could open up and Arsenal might have some kind of chance. And, you know, it does get a bit hairy and a bit nervousness, a bit nervy, but it kind of feels like they had that winning mentality, the mentality monsters that have stolen it from Chelsea somewhat this year. Can I give a bit of a shout out?

36:23Chloe: This is not like a short quote. It's a bit of a longer quote. But I asked Gareth Taylor ahead of their semifinal at the FA Cup, you know, what it meant to the squad getting to the semifinal after the kind of season that they had had and the difficulties they'd gone through on and off the pitch. And he spoke really well. he said you always hope that the amount of effort that you put in will be rewarded and certainly there's been an upturn in the second half of the season for us winning the FA Cup would be an incredible end to the season particularly for the difficulties that we faced on and off the pitch as a group of people here at Melwood the most positive thing for me is to enjoy these moments because under great pressure we have turned things around and we still want to improve we still want to get better but I have to give full credit to all the people here the way that we behaved and handled those situations which would never in a million years want anyone to go through and for some it can dwell longer than others I remember speaking to Fiskey when we won against Spurs and the emotion of that game afterwards was just huge because we'd suffered a lot we'd suffered a lot and we felt that we just weren't getting the rub of the green and anything and everything seemed to pile up and again nothing can prepare you for those situations and you try to be as authentic and honest and open as you possibly could but I was so impressed with the way everybody here behaved and of course when we start now to get some reward for your performances and the hard work you put in I think no one deserves it better than this group of players that we have and you know they didn't obviously go on to the FA Cup final but I just he spoke so well in that and I really wanted to kind of give that I posted it on our socials and stuff but I just thought he spoke so well about like what the squad as a whole went through and I know it's not quite a quote it's a bit of a long quote but um I just thought yeah a shout out to to him for that because um they they had a lot to go through as a team so yeah it was nice to see them kind of improve towards the end of the season and to get to that FCO semi-final I think it's a real credit to the

37:59Rachel: resilience and the heart that was shown and it was um it was lovely to see a few a few of the players um yesterday kind of um just like just galvanized they just look quite happy like it's it's been a it's been a challenging challenging year for them so to achieve what they've done this year is um yeah it's no no mean feat at all coming up after the break we've got even more awards including our favorite guest of the season and we can only pick one rach this is the the unusual section of the award show um it's the what the fuck moment of the season I'm so excited to hear this from you I really just don't know what angle you're going to take for this one So my honourable mention Go on, there's an honourable mention to what the fuck moment of the season Yeah, because

38:41Chloe: one of our listeners posted it and I remember thinking this was a real what the fuck moment for me So you know the way the Barclays WSL account puts up some mad graphics Yep Some really interesting rogue things Well, when Chelsea finally went unbeaten got beaten their unbeaten run was broken by Everton and you'll remember that the Barclays WSL account would post every week with another W which I thought was just so odd from the league account as opposed to like from Chelsea didn't feel very neutral anyway when they did break it good old Brian Sorensen they had that graphic of him like ripping up the win win win win win thing and it was just it was so like some of the kind of like stuff that comes out from some accounts where you know they put like a head on someone and it's like well that's a man's body like do a better job it was such a weird like the way he was looking staring into my soul yeah that was I actually put that on my personal account and I actually think I posted it saying what the fuck um so that was my honorable mention my actual one is Yocelyn pressure getting the sack because no one saw it coming and I know we've touched it so I won't go into too much detail but that was a real what like what so when these things happen or some news breaks and stuff sometimes you get rumblings you hear murmurings you know you know I was sad to see Brian go wasn't a huge surprise I was sad to see Rianne go maybe not a huge surprise Jocelyn?

40:02Chloe: Made no sense What did you do? It made no sense Poor old Jocelyn

40:06Rachel: I just I don't get it I don't get it mate That was a real WTF And that's why I wanted to give him his flowers at the top of the show because yeah it still doesn't make any sense and I will wait to see whether it does make some more sense next year To come off the back of your what the fuck moment I think they're very closely aligned with your honourable mention Mine was the what the fuck of like Chelsea's dynasty effectively collapsing this season because I think it's been a long time since we've seen a real vulnerability in Chelsea, like not even pretty much almost in our like some of the recent young fans lifetime if they've not seen Chelsea be kind of this vulnerable and look just, I don't want to say weakened, but just like not fallible.

40:47Rachel: Yeah, I think, you know, when you've won the last six WSL titles, you've obviously had this incredibly huge squad full of absolutely jam-packed stellar talent. This expectation is so, so high. And then there was this real kind of like, I'm always going to like subcategory it. So the real what the fuck moment, which was Man City beating Chelsea 5-1 in February. And that kind of felt like a real changing of the guard moment. That was the real kind of what's happened here. The ruthlessness from City. 100%. It was like a cat playing with a mouse that's kind of got his legs chopped off and is like crawling towards the mouse hole.

41:29Rachel: I feel like this actually this actually might become a what the fuck moment of the season you could have just said a cat playing with a mouse

41:35Chloe: and why did you go into so much graphic detail

41:37Rachel: yeah I don't know about that is the mouse okay well no it turned out no no it wasn't in fact okay and the cat got the cream and man says he lifted the title so yeah it did feel like

41:48Chloe: so many cat metaphors and then the black cat maybe the black cat ran across Sonya's path remember Emma Hayes don't bring that in

41:53Rachel: don't bring that in again oh my god all the cat stuff so it kind of feels like it's a season not lost but it feels like there's a lot of rebuilding to do and I just don't know how quickly they're going to rebuild they will get back up to glory but I don't know whether it's going to be this was just a this is a blip or is this going to be a longer term thing I just

42:10Chloe: dynasties don't last forever right and it was always coming it was always going to happen and you know that changing of the guard from both players and manager you know no huge surprise that it was going to be a little bit sticky um but I still think like they will learn massively from this and I'm sure they'll do business serious business in the summer so I'd still say watch the space next season 100 % they're a hurt Chelsea and a hurt Chelsea are scary I think it's that I just

42:35Rachel: yeah it was a bit of a what the fuck to like see how how they've fallen in in this way and you never really knew but it it was this year um my second kind of what the fuck moment again quite Chelsea themed uh was Basil karate kicking his way onto the dance floor at the women's uh the WSL awards last night how do you enter a dance floor i not like that i mean he was the only person on the dance floor which just made it even better because like the the show really was on him it was almost like a an after show that the wsl had put on uh basil obviously being very vocal throughout the awards which i absolutely loved giving all the chelsea players their flowers standing up clapping cheering doing his um his absolute basil thing but it was the karate kicks that he was pulling out and i was like you're so close to some of these players this could quite easily result in some kind of injury.

43:19Rachel: I was in a different room, so I'm sad I missed him. You should have seen how close he was to the canapé trade because it was like, it was, yeah, it wasn't good and there was some really good canapés there. I was like, fish and chips going fucking flying but he was enjoying himself. He was living his absolute best life and credit to Basil. He was also up for a fan of the year award but got pipped at the post but yeah, he's been an absolutely incredible part of the season. Maintaining the positive vibes for Chelsea despite everything that's been going on but that was a what the fuck moment as well because I, yeah, I really did feel I was going to be throat kicked by Basil last night so yeah you know things it's curveball curveball season we've also had a lot of listeners shot by Katie McCabe's exit that was a big what the fuck moment I think my what the fuck moment of all of that was that she ended up

44:01Chloe: not getting that Emirates moment

44:03Rachel: yeah for sure

44:04Chloe: 100 % yeah some are saying that was probably her choice I don't think it

44:09Rachel: I don't it also depends on timings because sometimes like decisions are made after the games that you know she might have been on the fence yeah but it was literally the next day yeah it was very odd but the times of these deals sometimes aren't favourable but yeah I mean I don't necessarily think it was it didn't feel like a shock it felt sad it felt like the end of an era but I can't say I feel like the she's there's been rumours before I think it's sad I think I may be a bit a bit jaded by all the previous narrative around it or who cries wolf you're like I don't believe it maybe it's true she'll never go oh she's gone favourite upfront guest of the season we have had a lot we have had a lot could you pick one it's really tough to say who's been a favourite because we all like we generally love having guests on the show to talk about their experiences and all the things that go on behind the scenes and kind of give our different takes on you know like the transfer window with you know claire rafferty or talking about molly bartrip and mental health or talking about you know kirsten casper and the work she's doing the lgbtq plus space it's it's crazy kind of how many different conversations you you can have and um yeah just now and injuries and yeah so it's it's bloody tough so when we say favorite it's just that because i suppose it's We've been told by our producers we have to pick one.

45:16Rachel: Yeah, we have to draw our flagpole in the sand, essentially. And this is probably a little bit biased on my part, but I'm going with Josie Green. Shocker. You were saying this to me last night. You were like, I think you're going to be surprised by my pick.

45:28Chloe: And I was like, it's going to be Palace. And you're like, yeah, okay.

45:31Rachel: We know each other so well now. I mean, you've got me tattooed on your finger. So, yeah, it's been absolutely lovely.

45:38Chloe: Actually, so. Go on. Let's just maybe think of another what the fuck moment When you compared yourself to, you were the Diana in this. Yes. No, what's the other one? Camilla in this relationship. I was like, mate.

45:50Rachel: Lo and behold, last night, where was I? Sandwiched between you and Soph. It's become a regular occurrence. It is what it is. Sorry, sorry to go off topic. Please go back to telling me why Josie was your favourite. I really enjoyed it. One that she came on twice within the space of about two weeks. It's been really lovely to hear from her about her pregnancy journey. Absolutely love that. and trying to guess what different types of fruit her baby has grown to. What is it now? Watermelon? I've got absolutely no... Do they ever get to watermelon stage? I don't know. It's quite big. Yeah, and also I think it's been really lovely to kind of like see the journey that she's had with Palace and obviously then vying for promotion this season and eventually then winning and securing promotion.

46:27Rachel: So yeah, it's been really lovely to kind of hear from her on these very different stages, kind of navigating motherhood or impending motherhood and also such a critical season for Palace trying to get back into the WSL after being relegated last year. Which they did. So really enjoyed that chat. But yeah, apologies. That is slightly biased. But I just had to pick one.

46:44Chloe: Listen, it's so hard when they're all listed in front as well. Like, love chatting to Yaya. Great crack. Oh, Christ, yeah. Standing between Christian Sinclair and Diana Matheson in Toronto.

46:56Rachel: Breathing the same air.

46:57Chloe: That was mental. But Kirsten Kaspari was so good. Spoke so well. You know, talked about some really important issues. you know and as a gay woman myself you're not she is um might come as a surprise to some of our listeners um she is quite an inspiration so um i thought she was really giving on the pod as well

47:18Rachel: and she spoke really well and i really enjoyed the chat 100 and i think um i mean definitely from all of us up front i mean thank you to every single one who's made the effort to come on and speak to us because um we know that everyone has busy schedules whether you're sort of in the business end whether you're in the back end whether you're a player whether you're behind the seat whatever it is um yeah we've really appreciated your your insights and we'd love to have all of you back on next season at the same time yeah i mean we could do like a little round table i suppose and everyone can just talk about whatever they feel is important at that at that time they all have a moment and you can say what you want yeah lovely the podcast will be three hours long but it'll be worth it i think longer could be an all-day thing okay the moment i will always associate this season with this is our last award it's a really hard one to kind of look back over how the year has gone and really kind of pinpoint the biggest talking point of the year because I feel like we've just had so many and it's changed week in, week out

48:14Chloe: then you forget the last thing because something else has come up

48:16Rachel: literally within a couple of days that we've already moved on but I think for me this season is kind of almost personified I think by the end of the season and how that has been so my big kind of like moment is is actually what's happened in the last like three or four weeks or so with these big, big leavers from the clubs and saying a big goodbye in the end of an era to some of the legacies that these players have created at the clubs they've been with for years and years and years. I mean, we've got Sam Kerr leaving Chelsea. We've got Minnie Bright announcing her retirement, obviously going to the ambassadorial role.

48:50Rachel: Obviously, she's a record appearance holder for the Blues, 314 appearances under her belt, 20 trophies in total. And I think, you know, I was fortunate enough actually to be at the game um on saturday um obviously in the box um and it was amazing actually to have this kind of premium experience and now you can actually take your champagne to the seat wow yeah it's really lovely please don't say the word champagne after a nice buffet um it was just really lovely experience so millie anyway back to back to the actual legend um yeah it was really lovely at the end of the game obviously there was a massive farewell they had Millie and Sam in the centre circle the players were all around them they were giving them their commemorative shirts and you know their families were there you know Muis was down with with the baby and Millie Bright's family was there they were taking photos and they both had a chance to speak about their experience there was like a lovely like montage video for both of them you know looking at all their goals and saves and I must have taken ages Millie Bright's headers yeah I mean it was it was about a 45 minutes post-match situation but it was to give these players like their their flowers and I think that's the end of a legacy for for Chelsea I think you know having players like that I mean Sam Kerr's got a bloody Muriel on the side of the on the side of the side of Sanford Bridge so yeah so I think it's the big levers and then not only just Chelsea but you've got obviously maybe Bunny Shaw not too sure where she's going but I'll park that one for now because that is obviously a rumor Man City I think like we said would be mad to lose her but if we look then at Arsenal you know Beth Mead announced she's leaving and obviously Katie McCabe who just spoken about again it feels like two big big legendary players.

50:23Rachel: Gemma Bonner from Liverpool. Gemma Bonner from Liverpool. And that's not to mention, obviously, Kat McCarrow and Guru Ryzen for Chelsea earlier on in the season as well. So it does feel like there's a big changing of the guard across a lot of the top clubs at the moment. And that's really important, I think, to have this kind of shift to see where these players are going. Are they going to stay in the WSL? Are they going to make an impact in the lower teams in the WSL if they're sort of coming towards maybe the golden era of their careers? Feels like a pivotal season. 100 % and you look at where these players could be getting they've got so much experience under the belt them going to another squad how much of an impact are they going to make in making the league more competitive for next season if they stay so yeah the changing of the guard I think has been my big pivotal moment but Rach what about you I've talked enough now go on

51:08Chloe: I think for me the thing that has stood out the most that I will remember from this season was losing Matt Beard right at the beginning and what a shock that was to the league and to the whole of women's football and what a loss that was. And, you know, he was, it was lovely to see the outpouring of love for him after that. And we've seen it a little bit with some of these awards as well, where it's been very important that he's been remembered. He's been put into the Hall of Fame, there was a Hall of Fame, rightly so. And his family were there to receive the award last night. That will stick with me, I think, forever.

51:44Chloe: I think, I would like to think we'll learn from the situation. I do feel like while we have kind of commemorated him and he was remembered very well when it happened I do think like we moved on very quickly I think I still maintain that that weekend shouldn't have happened I think we need to protect those involved in the game more it shouldn't have to come to something for us to make those efforts to protect people it should be in place already and I just want to make sure well I want to make sure I don't really have that much power I would like people to learn more from these things you know everyone is fighting their own battles you don't know what's going on in everyone's lives and everyone is human whether they're a player, a manager, people in the media you know we're all doing this because we love the game the players are working hard, the managers are working hard they need to be looked after and protected and I just hope while it's lovely that he's being commemorated I just hope clubs do more to make sure that they're protecting their staff, their players and managers and that were looking after each other.

52:45Chloe: But yeah, that will stand with me because it was such a gut punch when I heard the news and he will be very sorely missed in the women's game.

52:53Rachel: Definitely. I think it's been, I mean, we've obviously been to quite a few award shows recently and they have had some really lovely sort of commemorative sections of the award show where they've been talking about, you know, Matt Beard and the impact that he's had and they've had players on stage talking about the impact they've had personally and, you know, how their careers would have been so much more different if, you know, Matt hadn't been. touched like so many different football players it's incredible 100 and i think um you know even my the last time i actually spoke to matt in person it was a media day and you know we've only come across each other a couple of times but he knew who i was he came over to me he said you know right chloe how's it how's it going and we had a bit of a chat and he just he just made time and i was like everyone i was like a periphery person in his life who would maybe come across i'd shaken hands maybe at the end of the game but it just meant so much it was just like it was such just shocked for even for him even to have done that and it was just such a touching moment and I think um it like when the news broke about everything that happened and I think it's um it kind of it brings into focus I think the importance of how much or how little we're doing to protect managers in the space and the hardships and the demands and the pressures of of the game and it was um the last night there was um Matt Bid's brother went on to stage to collect the the award because Matt Bid was obviously inducted into the the Barclays WSL um Hall of Fame and he was talking about you know even from a player's perspective try not to think of all the decisions that managers make as personal try to you know to appreciate they've got to make decisions for the for the you know the good of the club and also kind of calling on you know organizations like the LMA and others to kind of really step in and be more proactive with looking after the mental health proactive of the of the managers because um yeah I mean you can't just rely like you said Rach on managers kind of you know feeling that they can come forward and speak about the hardships and the things that they're facing so yeah I think if anything comes off the back of what's happened I'd like to think that more light is going to be shone on things and I'm hoping that like you said

54:41Chloe: things will be different Action is taken like it's so important to remember him and to have these moments we have to learn from it we have to keep learning from it he's just such a brilliant, brilliant guy he's missed at those awards as well man like I just, you know coming in with a kind of loose tie and his shirt untucked and that's the beginning of the night you know and always there to have a chat and like as you say like pitch side even if I was working photographer, floor manager, whatever and he's preparing for a game he'd always come over give you a hug have a chat you like make time like you say for everyone um and yeah it is amazing how many people have had kind of passed matt in their career and kind of had an impact from him in their career so yes as i said

55:22Rachel: sorely sorely missed um for me yeah that's a really lovely one to to end on mate really love that um thank you so much for listening to up front it's been absolutely incredible uh to go through these awards and recognize some of the players the managers the moments the quotes it's hard isn't it because like you forget the first half of the season 100 um but i'll never forget you jocelyn um it has been a good awards um thank you so much for joining us and being there alongside us in the 25 26 season obviously it's not totally over we still have the relegation playoff we still have it's literally emma hayes is never over we've still got all the england games coming up we've still got the fa cup final so there's so much more football still to deliver as me and rach crawl to the end uh of this uh of this season um but we've really appreciated all of you guys support you handing in your questions you giving us lots of love challenging us as well we've absolutely loved that um and all your comments so please do keep those coming in uh we will be with you for the next few weeks to cover those last remaining international other tournaments go on guess

56:24Chloe: what else we're doing go on we're doing it at the match we're doing it at the match oh we um we

56:29Rachel: pretty much strong-armed our producer into letting us go to the match with some microphones. Letting us go. Please Finn, can we go? It was a little bit like that. Finn conceded and we will be at the match. So come over and say hi if you see us there. Sorry, the match is? You're going to tell them which match? Oh yeah, sorry the relegation playoff. There you go. Yeah, yeah, sorry. We'll be at Charlton. Obviously seeing them compete with Leicester City. Leicester City obviously hoping to stay in WSL and Charlton hoping to get promoted. yeah so come and join us come and say hi we'll be doing lots of Vox Pops and stuff so it should be should be quite fun it'll be nice to be on the ground mate get out of the studio get out of the box yeah get out of the bloody box yeah I mean I still have champagne but I'll still be going back to the box are we going to just like have a little hip flask of champagne each or something 100 % I will I don't do these things without champagne it's in my rider now thank you again so much for listening to Upfront keep with us hopefully see you this weekend as well at the game if not you can find us on Instagram and next us Twitter.

57:28Rachel: 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. See you next week.

57:54Rachel: Upfront is a stack production and part of the ACAST Creator Network.

58:04Chloe: Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer. They tune in every week, they trust the host, and that host wants to talk about brands like yours in their own words to their audience. The problem is, you just haven't been introduced yet. We're ACAST, where that introduction happens As the world's largest podcast marketplace, we let you browse shows, see who's listening, and book host-read sponsorships or run your own ads all from one platform. Transparent pricing, real-time data, complete control. Start advertising on podcasts by visiting acast.com slash advertise.